decorating withdrawal

Since we're not at our place this Christmas, I haven't been able to get carried away with decorating and creative projects like I usually do.  During those 10 blissful, relaxing days I spent back at home in between trips, I seriously had to sit on my hands to stop myself cutting out snowflakes, baking cookies or stringing paper garlands... and honestly, I'm having decorating withdrawal.

Not having a Christmas tree is another major bummer, since - as I mentioned in last year's Christmas tree post - Will and I collect ornaments from places we visit throughout the year and then relive those trips and favourite memories as we hang those ornaments upon our tree.  This year we didn't get a chance to enjoy the new additions or relive old memories so I've decided to absolutely insist on a tree next year, for this is one tradition I don't want to die.

Wrapping presents and admiring their splendor beneath our (very basically decorated) mantle is all the decorating cheer I've had to contend myself with the Christmas.

my live, DIY rustic wreath

One thing I've enjoyed with my leisure time this past week is Christmas crafting!  After talking it over, Will and I decided not to get a tree since we won't actually be around for Christmas, but that didn't stop me going to Lowes to fish the tree trimmings out of their boxes like I did last year, to make the (now traditional) live garland (link) and several other little things for the house:

a fragrant live pine/ silk poinsettia
table bouquet

a live pine/ cone display in each bathroom

My most favourite project was the live, rustic wreath that I made for Will's aunty, whom we are staying with over Christmas:

Nothing beats the smell of live pine or a gift crafted with love!  I drew inspiration from Pottery Barn, where the live wreaths cost upwards of $100 and I want to tell you that making your own wreath is super fun, easy and cheap to make! So if you're strapped for ideas this Christmas - or buying for someone who has everything - this might be the perfect solution for you. Here's what you'll need:

live pine trimmings (free from Lowes!)

a wire wreath ($5.99 from Micheal's)

a bag of pine cones ($3 from Target)

twine

shears

scissors

small green wires 

(I already had some but you can buy these from Micheal's for about $3 if you don't have any)

I also tried to be ceative with some 'juniper' looking berries
and pine from our garden/ but the berries all fell off as I was
attaching them to the wreath :( Major bummer - but the
varying foliage looks great on the wreath!

I strongly recommend a wire wreath like this one from
Michael's - it's super easy to attach the pine and hold it firmly
in place - others I've tried are too time consuming and finicky! 

To start, just lay the pine needles in places
without securing them, to see how they will look

When you're happy, wrap the wires around
the bundle

They're so hard to see! The perfect secret :)

Roughly finished

Hang it up to see how it looks

Then secure any pieces that have gone haywire with the
small green wires

You can make it as tight/ neat/ round as you like -
I wanted mine to look rustic so didn't tighten it too much

Now it's looking neater :)

If you want to decorate with pinecones, place the wreath back
on the floor and roughly lay the pinecones in place

To secure them onto your wreath, tie twine tightly around
the bottom layers... 

Thread the twine inconspicuously through the foliage... 

Making sure it's completely hidden from the front...

And tie in place around the back

Voila! Your rustic wreath is all done! 

Well almost...
I personally LOVED it like this, but when I showed it to
Will - he said it needed colour to make it more festive...

Luckily I had these berry wires  ($1.99 from Michael's)
left over from Xmas present wrapping

So I pulled them apart...

And wrapped them randomly around pine needles on my
wreath 

Certainly more festive! 

Total time spent: 1 hour

Total cash spent: $9

HAVE FUN!!!

this week's tip | succulents for summertime

I truly love the idea of growing plants.  My dream is to have mismatched pots scattered about the place with bright flowers and big, green leaves; filtering the air and cheering up the place.  Some of my earliest childhood memories from Kazakhstan are of my grandmother's flowers that were perched upon every windowsill in her downtown apartment.  Unfortunately the green-thumb that everyone else on my mother's side inherited skipped me entirely and left my own thumb looking a little blue.

This spring was a perfect example: I tried growing herbs with puzzling results!  My harder-to-grow peppermint, parsley and basil are all looking splendid; while my poor (apparently easy to grow) coriander, lemon balm and dill have seen better days.  Since I'm seriously lacking the aforementioned green thumb, I have no explanation as to why this could be - instead (logically) becoming upset every time a plant starts to die and taking it personally.

After some experimentation and a stubborn refusal to give up, I have found the perfect solution for the plant-challenged like me: succulents and cacti!  For one thing, they look amazing as summery accents with my Southwestern decorating scheme; especially in rustic clay or (my fav!) talavera style pots. And for another, they're virtually impossible to neglect - only requiring one watering per week (a very small one in the case of the cactus) and very occasional re-potting!

I purchased my very first succulent, a Jade plant, shortly after moving to Austin in October last year and am happy to report it's doing very well :)

Recently I purchased two more that look like flowers - one to sit on the coffee trunk and another for a side table:

Bright Kilim rug coming soon! 

My prized prickly pear cactus was, as many of you know, a souvenir from our Xmas in the desert.  

In case you need more convincing, or have a green thumb and can successfully grow many plant varieties, I have linked up some ways in which my fave bloggers use succulents for decorating: Cupcakes and Cashmere, Sincerely Jules, a Beautiful Mess.

Now that I've finally found the plants for me - my plan is to buy several more, plant them in gold, silver and talavera style pots, then scatter them about the house to see if I can make my plants-everywhere dream come true!  Wish me luck and try one out for yourself!  They're the perfect summertime plant and would even make a great hostess gift :)

PS: The myth is that succulents need a lot of light, but when I worked in the J.Crew bridal office we had a Jade plant that grew on our bookshelf without any windows at all!  Artificial light was enough.

PPS: A cactus is technically a succulent too!