3.27.2013

A Grateful Moment



It's lunch break time in Jen land - emphasis on "break" (a habit I'm trying to incorporate into my regular routine) - and I'm feeling grateful for sunshine and music. So, I thought I'd share a few quick snapshots.



How's your day going?

3.20.2013

Small Changes and Perfect Plants



Over the past several months I've been embracing something a little unnatural for me: the slow down. Contrary to my "I can do anything and everything," efficiency-high loving, ultra productive tendencies, I'm getting to know the value of recognizing and being happy with taking a little more time to enjoy my day in a quality instead of quantity type way.



In terms of decorating rooms in my apartment, that has meant slow adjustments instead of blitz finishing a room in one weekend.

Which brings me to my lovely new plant: a gorgeous Staghorn Fern (from Serendipity in Old Town Temecula) perfect for the empty corner in my dining nook.



So here's how the slow-changes went down... That corner started with a 6 foot fiddle leaf fig tree - a set-up that ran into some problems:
1. The kitchen heating vent was right next to the tree - Mr. Fig hated having hot air blown on him and lost several leaves in protest.
2. The size of the tree made the dining area feel a little cramped.
3. Tim and I want to add a small bar cart to the dining room and Mr. Fig was taking up prime cart real estate.



So, Mr. Fig moved out and Lady Philodendron moved in. She was wild, curvy, filled the space beautifully and... oh... toxic to cats. Dangit.



Don't worry, the cats are fine.

In the end, I'm glad Lady Philodendron didn't work out because look at this Staghorn...!



That's one sexy fern.

Next up - find a cute bar cart! Fill it with cute glasses and yummy liquors! Live like beautiful people straight out of Mad Men. Well, maybe that last one's a little ambitious...

What do you think? Are you digging the fern? How do you like to decorate - slow steps or all at once?

3.11.2013

The Power of Paint



Remember when I shared the five gifts under $5 I brought to a gift exchange? Yeah, you're right, that was forever ago. As promised, today I share the potential of one of the goodies I ended up winning in the exchange.



It was the ceramic paper bag!!



My sister thought I was a little crazy for loving this random ceramic bag, but with a fresh coat of high-gloss white spray paint, she's looking as quirky and modern as one of these Brandt crinkle cups (for a lot less).



Because she lives on our coffee table, I also hot-glued some felt to her bottom so I won't have to worry about the rough ceramic scratching up the wood.



What do you think? Still crazy or crazy adorable?... see what I did there? Shameless ;)