I’ve had my eye on several realist artists for the last little while. My fascination started with Erin Rothstein, and it has since expanded to the work of Kim Testone and MĂłnica Ajenjo. Have a look.
All in 2D! Can you believe it? These artists are so talented!
As you may remember, my family and friends gave me a whole list of challenges and things to do during my 40th year. My cousin suggested I take a dance class. I was open to the suggestion, but didn’t have anything in mind until I went to see a Flamenco show in August here in Waterloo, and it clicked!
I saw my first flamenco show when I was 25 and traveling in the south of Spain with my pen pal*. The show was powerful, dramatic, and beautiful. I loved it. For a few Halloweens, I sewed my own flamenco costume. I have been a forever fan of flamenco!
So after I saw the show in Waterloo, I signed up for classes immediately. A friend lent me her flamenco shoes and skirt (so beautiful), and I’ve taken two classes so far. I love the drama, the music, the clapping, and the stomping (careful, thoughtful, purposeful, rhythmic stomping, I might add). It’s been a highlight of my busy back-to-school weeks to be honest.
I haven’t even mentioned how gorgeous the outfits are! The women look beautiful and fierce, and the men look strong and serious. I love watching the dancers “speak” to one another through their movements.
I’m so glad I was challenged to take a dance class (thanks, M!). I wonder if there’s an end-of-term recital. 🙂
*Yes, I had a pen pal…who is now really an email and Instagram pal. We’ve only met in person less than a dozen times in our lives!).
I have always liked to have plants around my home. I like having to take care of them, and I definitely like watching them grow and take shape. Yes, science also tells me that having plants improves air quality and people’s mental health. Bonus!
I do my best to place my plants in appropriately sunny spots and keep to a good watering schedule, so that they thrive. The plants that I currently have are doing quite well, which makes me smile each day.
Want to peek inside my home and see what’s growing?
I have two fiddle leaf fig trees growing in my living room. I bought the tall one six years ago when I moved into my home. It has changed shape over time because I have had to cut it back and get rid of dead branches. It’s growing like a champ now! I bought the shorter one at Ikea just a few months ago.
My mom and I each picked up one of these at the beginning of summer. I don’t know what it is, but it does love to be in the sun.
My mom bought me this begonia, and it’s growing wildly. I love it so much! The leaves are huge, and each day, it seems like I see a new leaf bud. It’s the best! It’s in direct sunlight, and I’m not moving it from its home anytime soon because it’s doing very well here.
I have a collection of orchids that take turns blooming. At the moment, a purple one is in bloom. It’s from a few years ago, and it has bloomed regularly. I have to watch my watering routine carefully with my orchids. They only need a touch of water each week.
I have a few ferns in my current collection. This frilly one sits on one of my side tables just out of direct sunlight.
Here’s another frilly fern that is currently on my dining room side board. I’m still experimenting with putting it in different levels of sunlight, but I think it’s happy to be hanging out with a bunch of plant friends!
Beside the fern is a coin plant. I love the airy nature of this plant so much.
My kalanchoe is from May when I picked one up for me and my mom from the St. Jacob’s market. It’s bloomed a couple of times already. It currently has one bloom open, but others are on their way.
I have a bunch of Pothos plants that I gather together in one large white container. These plants are the easiest and fastest growing plants I think I have ever had. If you’re not sure if you have a green thumb, buy one of these. They never die. I cut them back a lot, root the cuttings, and then plant them once they’ve rooted.
This next plant really puts a smile on my face. It’s a poinsettia that I bought last November. A poinsettia! It is nearly one year old, and it’s looking full and healthy. I’m not sure if it’ll turn white again.
Finally, this little succulent (I think it’s a succulent) was an Ikea purchase from a few years ago. About one year ago, it wasn’t looking too great, so I chopped it way back and hoped for the best. It’s growing well now (very slowly), and I love it’s mini size.
That’s my Urban Jungle plant tour. I do have a few more, so maybe I’ll share them in a future post.
Let’s go to the moon!
Have a stellar weekend!
In July, when the September issue of Style at Home arrived, I challenged myself to create an even lower version than the low version of the office in the magazine’s high/low feature. Phew. Wasn’t that a mouthful? At the time, I thought that I could replicate the low office (priced at $931) into an extra low office. And I did! See what I did here.
The October issue of the magazine arrived last week, and once again, I was curious about creating an even lower version of the high/low feature. So here’s Episode 2 of How Low Can You Go?
Here’s the magazine’s high or low challenge. Take a guess!
In this issue, an entryway was featured. The high version (left) was $1815, and the low version (right) was $742. They are nearly identical though, aren’t they?
While I tried my best to find exact matches with online retailers, I have a few variations in my product choices. Read on to see the total cost of my version of this entryway design.
Add some plants and green paint, and this entryway is complete.
The total cost for my extra low version of the entryway is $479.23 CAD, which is $300 less than Style at Home’s low version! I find it so interesting that you can get similar items at such different price points. The two hardest items to find for my version were the wooden stool and the rug. I found it a challenge to beat Ikea’s versions and price points of these two items.
