It's a very, very dark shade of forest green....

The lack of a yard has never stopped me from having plants. This cool info-graphic helps justify my ever growing windowsill collection here at chez refeathered. Next time Ler rolls his eyes at a new plant I can just say "biophilia hypothesis, dude, biophilia hypothesis." However, my green thumb has changed from a verdant shade to a very,very dark shade of forest green. It started with this innocent looking little violet, which was a thoughtful gift from a first-grader.

  

Dead. Totally dead. I came home one afternoon and it was covered in aphids. Where the hell did they come from? I quickly disposed of it and inspected my other susceptible plants. They looked fine. I kept my eye on them and all was good for a few weeks until...

dead. Like, over night dead. Poor little rose bush. Also a gift from students. Damn aphids.

 

Also, dead. Same crappy little bugs killed my basil. They must have been very motivated to make that journey. The distance from the living room window to kitchen sill must be like the Oregon Trail for aphids. The thyme plant, however, meet a kitty demise. That scrappy thing next to the sad basil was once a nice little bush. At least the aphids didn't get the satisfaction of killing that plant. The lavender is thriving though, since it is not pleasing to their palate.

 

Neither bug nor cat related, but the aloe in that picture is also dead. I tried to encourage new growth. Nope. No roots or shoots. Just dead. Dead. Dead. Dead.  

Mogget Monday: Table Top Napping

 

Snooze.

Fancy that Friday: That's Rad(ish)!

I'm way late to the quick pickle party, having tried it for the first time last summer. One can pickle just about thing, just ask Bryce Shivers and Lisa Eversman. So when I wound up with a giant bunch of radishes last week, I decided to take a crack at pickling some.

Aren't they lovely?

The jar did not last long- perhaps 3 days. I used stuff I already had around the kitchen and I couldn't be happier with the results. My super precise recipe appears at the bottom of the post. Check out some other rad(ish) items inspired by the peppery little root!

I love getting mail that is made and sent by an actual human.
Make someone's day with this note card by Hello Sprout.

Sage life advice from lifeonmars.

Looking Up

While sitting in my fab little workspace my eyes wandered into the living-dining room. Something, something felt off balance. I squinted and that immediately made Ler ask what I was scheming. I think I need something more than the candle sticks on top the bookcase. It looks lopsided, I replied. I could tell he immediately regretted asking. Nothing major, I reassured him. And then I did nothing for weeks, mostly because I wasn't sure what. All I knew was that I did not want more tchotchkes.

The answer is plants. Always and forever plants. The bookcase needed a little more "oomph" to balance out the amazing painting this lady made. The candle sticks needed some assistance.

I already had the fauxbois planter in my closet (it's one of a pair) and the ceramic dish was in the bedroom. I spent a whooping $6 to balance things out on an English Ivy plant and the "tropical folliage." I have no idea what it is actually, but the colorful, curly leaves told me it needed to be mine. And it had the same light and water needs as the ivy. Win.

In time both plants will fill in and look fabulous. Simple little tweak that makes me stupidly happy. And Ler is super relieved it didn't require a trip to IKEA.

What little tweaks have you made to your nest?

Goals & Getonits: At the Half!

With six (nearly seven!) months behind us it feels like 2013 has grown wings and has taken to brisk flight! This seems like a good time to check in on my Goals and Getonits. 

I know it is simply a matter of semantics, but I do not use the term resolution. As I said in my original post - a resolution is easily broken and allows little room for negotiation or failure. Goals and getonits are statements of intention in which effort is directed, but are flexible and allow for setbacks, failures, detours and happy accidents. I know the progress I have made looks more like the image on the right than the left.

 

Let's check in on my intentions for 2013:

  

Areas of (mostly) steady progress:

Mogget Monday: Too Hot To Play

Mogget hoped that by pretending not to notice him, the ball would move on in search of other playmates.

Fancy that Friday: Coffee Talk

Who loves coffee? This girl. Who will admit that this will probably be the first of many coffee posts? This girl. While this girl certainly does not need more coffee mugs, she can dream about:

this Site Corot beauty.

this lovely little  Cornishware cappuccino set.

 
More after the jump!

Mogget Monday: Superior Being

 

I can do what 19-35% of you pitiful humans cannot.

Stat source.

Fancy that Friday: Stormy Weather

The summer has started out rather stormy for those of us living in the southern half of the state. After nearly two weeks of turbulent winds, pouring rain, and menacing water levels, the Sunday sunshine felt particularly radiant. Although I am the type of person who requires a sweater 98% of the time, I will take a cool and coastal day over hot and humid hands down.  I revel in a rainy summer day. I enjoy the sweet scent of wet pavement and earth, the pattering upon the rooftops and trees, and the inexplicable calm that befalls a bustling city. Sometimes I wait to run until the rain has started; it feels so fresh and invigorating. Early evening thunderstorms are THE best. Perhaps I am better suited to the Pacific Northwest?

This week I fancy:

this tempestuous wallpaper via Design*Sponge.

these Dropit wall hooks are an example of beauty in simplicity. Like Anna at Door Sixteen, I really dig the black and natural finish.

this print.

this set of mugs. 

feeling like a super hero in these*, these or these !

Simple Pleasure

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The sound of church bells on a hazy, dreamy Saturday evening.

Mogget Monday: Let Me Get That for You

Mogget Tip #5: Accept help from others.