Succulents…

They seem to be the new trend in modern design.  Especially mid-century modern design.  I recently went into a little chic boutique here in our quaint little town, and saw the most adorable succulent container.  I really, really, really, wanted it. It was made out of wood, and was rectangle in shape; just filled with succulents.

I talked to the lady at the counter about it.  We discussed how much it would cost to put one together for my space, and discussed my own design for one.  My vision was one for my kitchen table, and of course for the new house.  She counted up about how many succulents it would take, and about how much it would cost; and I then was I was just a little shocked.

Now, I am in the know that succulents are pricey; even the fake kind!!  I have bought many of those at Hobby Lobby to put in the house too!  I was however shocked when she told me the one for my table would be over $100.  I told her I would have to think on it for a time and get back to her.  I did then ask her for a little bit more info about succulents.  I wanted to know how long you could keep them alive.  I wanted to know if $100 would truly be worth it if I decided on it.  She told me that succulents could live a long, long time if you gave them the appropriate amount of water.

I went on to find out that succulents do well when you just spritz them with just a little bit of water every few days or so with a spray bottle of water.

So… needless to say, I became obsessed with thinking about this beautiful wooden container of succulents from this chic little downtown store.

A couple of days later I was walking around a local big box store when I stumbled upon a whole selection of succulents at very reasonable prices.  I found some in some big pots that I knew I could pick apart and separate.  When I saw them I new I would just make my own little planter box.  I bought them and brought them home.  I told myself that I would find a nice wooden planter box at a store or online somewhere.  However, when I was unloading them all on my kitchen counter this little beauty was staring me right in the face:

…..and I knew it was perfect.  Just what I was looking for; a fun wooden box to hold succulents.  I then went to my favorite local garden shop and picked out some unique succulents that cost a little bit more to fill in the gaps, and 5 clay pots.

 

I filled the 5 clay pots with soil, and then randomly filled them up with the succulents.

Then I placed them down in this fun little box. 

Every other day or so I spray them with water from a water bottle and they have done great. 

I have had them here for about 3 months now.

I actually like how this turned out even more then the one that I was going to purchase.  I ended up spending about $30, but I already had the container which was $12 when I bought it.

….and because I am obsessed with succulents now, this little planter wasn’t enough.  I have been eyeing these copper cups that have been floating all over the design boards the last few months:

I happened upon mine at Walmart.  I bought these 4 and new exactly what I would do with them. 

Yep! Succulents! Same routine! Soil. Succulent! Spritz with water and wah-la!!

Succulents add such a fun feel to a space, and it’s fun to know that you can keep them alive for a long time.

 

It’s even better to know that you can do this yourself on a much cheaper scale than what is out their to buy ready made.

Here are a couple other fun succulent terrarium and garden ideas ideas:

Source

source

This one in particular is only for sale on etsy, but I would love to figure out how to build one like this:

source

Couldn’t find the source for this one

Source

Enjoy making your own little succulent gardens!!

Today

Today was a cold and wet day.  Did I mention it was a cold day?

We woke up this morning, and about an hour after our little peepers opened the snow began to fall.

Tess was so excited and of course she wanted to run right outside to check out the snow.

I think she is excited about ski season.

After we got the kiddos off to school, Tess and I went to the gym.

Tess laughed the entire walk from our car into the gym.  She was laughing about the snow.

It made me think about how differently children and adults think about life.

I’m thinking about how cold it is, and how I don’t want to drive in it.

Tess was thinking about how fun this was going to be.  This simple little thing was so amazing to her.  Especially since it has been a whole year since she had seen the snow. 

I am thankful children can bring us back down and help us get excited about the little things too.

so… today I am savoring being a mom and enjoying the little things.

I am trying hard to be better about my journaling.  I am trying to find time to write down the little things that happen in a day, and also find the time to write down the big things.

Stella made me laugh this morning when I asked her what she wanted for Christmas. 

She told me, “I want a 4 wheeler.” 

I replied, “okay, I need another idea just in case Santa can’t bring the 4 wheeler, or find a way to get it in our house.”

Stella said, “I have another idea, tell him to park it outside.”

I love Stella’s personality.  She is so stubborn, determined and blunt, but she does it all in a loving, funny sort of way.

I love that she knows a 4 wheeler might be a hard gift to come up with, but she is going to tell you she wants one anyway.

These are the funny little moments I want to remember. I made sure I took the time to write it down this morning, and stick it in my smash journal.

Speaking of smash journals, I have enjoyed making them for a few friends and family members as gifts lately.

I have such strong feelings about keeping records.  I know that writing things down can have so many benefits. 

There are so many ways to record our thoughts and happenings in life now with instagram, facebook, smash journals, and blogs.

Even a #hashtag can say so much

for example:

Posted on Instagram: After school snack.

#feedingthestarvingswensons

I also made a smash journal for Jonathan and I.  We have started writing simple notes back and forth to each other.  This little smash journal gives us a place to stick all those little notes.  I keep thinking how fun this will be for our kids to go back and read someday. These simple notes will be part of our history someday.

As our life gets busier and busier, I struggle with finding the time for writing down the memories.  I hope and pray that I can work on this and get better; especially here on this blog.

….because I don’t want to forget about the little things like laughing because it’s snowing, or asking for a four-wheeler for Christmas.

It’s the times when I sit down to digital scrapbook that I realize just how special and important writing can be.

I incorporate my blog into my scrapbook and as I go back and read what I wrote clear back in 2008 I am so thankful I wrote it down.  There are so many things I would have completely forgotten about.

In the past, blogging has been such a big commitment for me.  It has been very time consuming.

I spend way to much time editing pictures, uploading, and including everything.  I need to simplify this process somehow.  Any ideas? I’ve never been known to keep things simple.

Today, I want to commit to just sitting down and writing more.  Even if it’s just a few lines here and there. 

Today was a good day. 

Next week I probably won’t remember much about it, but now I have this to remind me.

I am thankful for that.

I’m thankful that in 2019 when I finally get around to scrapbooking the year 2014, these words will be here.

Laughing about snow, and 4-wheelers for Christmas will not be forgotten.

Meeting others.

Often times when you move into a new neighborhood, you are greeted with treats and goodies from kind neighbors.

We had a lot of that going on here in this awesome neighborhood that I may or may not have deemed “Zion.”

Along with goodies, neighbors offered to watch kids so that I could unpack boxes.

I am thankful for the goodness of others.

As a way to say thank you, and to meet some of our new neighbors; we also took around a little treat.

(homemade strawberry jam)

It was a nice way to meet people, and say “we are glad to be here.”

My advice to those of you who may be moving.

Don’t sit around and wait for others to come and meet you; get out there and introduce yourself.

It can make all the difference in a move.

Take it from the girl who has moved, oh about 10 times, in the last 9 years.

A little gift…

I really enjoy putting gifts together for people. 

I made some beautiful coffee filter peonies for a gift this last week. I gave them to the kids teachers for teacher appreciation.  I also made some for a few of my girlfriends for Mother’s Day.

It was a little time consuming; but I enjoy creating so it was worth it.

What you need:

small coffee filters

large coffee filters

green floral tape

floral wire

food coloring

vinegar

a deep pan

cooling rack over a cookie sheet

dryer

pots

potting soil

I really wanted to try dying the coffee filters. I have seen it done all over Pinterest.  What held me back was that everything I seen had people hanging and drying coffee filters over their house for days.  I found a tutorial where she put the filters in the dryer.  That changed everything for me, so I gave it a go.

I used this video tutorial for dying the filters.  She does a wonderful job showing you how to do it.  It is worth watching.

Here is my version in simple Andrea terms.

1. put cold water, 4 T. of vinegar and your choice of food coloring in a deep pan.  (I followed the back of the food coloring box to get the desired color) 

2.  Separate your coffee filters.  You need 5 large and 5 small to make each peonie.  I dyed the sizes separatly so that I knew which were which.

3. Submerse all of your small coffee filters in the dye.  Use tongs to swish them around.  Let sit 5 minutes.

4.  Pull out the filters.  Squeeze out the extra dye over the dish of dye.  You can do this to a whole bunch at once.  Lay them on the cooling rack.

5.  Separate the filters and place them in your dryer.  Dry for 15 minutes.

6. Repeat with the larger filters.

So Easy and beautiful.

Once they were dyed; I followed this tutorial to make the peonies.  She does a beautiful job of explaining it, so I will not repeat.

These were time consuming.  I found it easiest to do them in a production line.

 

Cut them all first, and then put them all in the wire and wrap next….and so on.

Once all your peonies are finished, I filled my little buckets with potting soil. 

Then I arranged the peonies.

I attached a sweet little tag with ribbon, and they were ready to give as gifts.  Our kiddos also wrote the sweetest note of appreciation to their teachers.

This project took me about 4 hours.  I made 18 peonies. 

I love how beautiful they are and so I made some for myself as well.

I currently have them in a vase with potting soil, but once we move I plan to use the crystal water to give the illusion of water in a vase.

I have found that stuff does not move well in the heat; so I will wait.

I also love how these flowers look on this piano, and want to recreate this same idea in our new home with my new coffee filter peonies.

source

These would be a great gift to lift the spirits of a friend because they are flowers that don’t die.

I can’t wait to dye more coffee filters and come up with some more projects.

For more gift ideas from JandA&Co; go here.

Baking Box

Thanks for stopping by JandA&Company today. 

Today I am sharing a little gift inspiration.

You can find more ideas here, here, here, and here.

I gave this as a Christmas gift, but it is something that you could give anytime of year.

I put this together for my sister’s for Christmas.

I know that we just finished all the Christmas hoop-la; but I would love to receive this gift any time during the year.

If you are looking for something fun to give someone; this just might be it.

I think it would make a wonderful Valentines gift.

I have said before and I will say it again, “I love to give gifts that are consumable or something that we use.”

I came up with this idea because I wanted to express to my sisters what a gift and a tool baking has been for me.  It has been one of the greatest methods I use to spend time with my children. 

I started by collecting some cookie cutters for them. I think I ended up with about 20 for each of them.

My box of cookie cutters is one of my most prized possessions, so I am hoping this box with be important to them as well.

There isn’t a better way to spend quality time with your kids than teaching them something.

(Stella at three years old)

Teaching them to bake is a win-win for you.

I taught Stella to bake at a really early age; and now she makes most of our family treats.  It is also a great time to talk, and when I have found my kids really open up.

(Stella at eight)

Once I found a stash of cookie cutters, I picked up some sprinkles.

Sprinkles make everything better.

I stumbled on some holiday picks and of course…

some cute cupcake liners.

 

I gave them quite a variety of cupcake liners.

Cupcakes are a good place to start with your kids.  A cake mix and some store-bought frosting; and they have made a treat.

From the time my little ones are very little; probably one years old, I have them put the cupcake liners in the muffin tin.  It is a great way to start them out with helping in the kitchen.  It always gives them great satisfaction.

As part of the gift, I knew I wanted to add an apron.

It was my lucky day when I found a Christmas apron.  There are adorable aprons in all styles out there right now.

The most important part of the gift was a few of my favorite baking recipes; this is the part of the gift that makes it personal. 

I also wanted them to be handwritten so they would have a little piece of me in their recipe file.

I had all four of my kids before my amazing sisters had any.  Even though, I have been a mom longer, I still learn from them all the time.

I wanted to share something I have learned about being a mother with them.

They also have small children so now is the perfect time to start the tradition of involving your kids in the kitchen.

Then I put it all together in a adorable photo box, that reminded me very much of Christmas. 

It was important for me to give it to them in something they could keep it in.

I included a note on the top about why I bake with my kids, and how it is one of our favorite traditions.

When we bake in our house, not only is some really delicious goodies made; but also a lot of love.

I wanted my sisters to share in that love.

So I packaged it all up with a pretty little bow, and sent it to them to begin their own baking traditions.

I hope you can find a way to share a piece of you in your gift giving.

Valentines is right around the corner.  I think kids would even enjoy a baking kit for the big love day.  What better way to show your kids you love them, then by spending time with them in the kitchen.  Remember to think simple when teaching your kids to bake.  Maybe by a a sugar cookie mix and store bought frosting to get them started.  Then you can move on to a real recipe. 

One more thing I wanted to tell you is that my oldest son didn’t think baking was real awesome.  That is until I taught him to read the recipe, and showed him how it involves math. 

Every once in a while, I will tell him I need his math skills to help me double the recipe.  It is really teaching him about fractions.

He feels important when he feels like he is really helping me.