Uptown: My Urban Jungle

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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.

fiddle leaf fig

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.

Can you identify this plant?

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.

begonia

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.

orchid

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.

fern (coin plant in the background)

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.

kalanchoe

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.

Pothos

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.

poinsettia

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.

a mini plant

That’s my Urban Jungle plant tour. I do have a few more, so maybe I’ll share them in a future post.

Design: How Low Can You Go? Ep. 2

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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.

Desk – $157.99
Mirror – $117.99 (25” diameter)
Clothing rack – $39.99
Coat rack – $29.99
Woven planter – $11.11
Stool – $6.88
Wall hook – $2.68
Set of 3 baskets – $40.99
White light fixture – $43.64
Plant pot – large – $6.99
Plant pot – small – $2.99
Rug – $17.99
Total cost: $479.23 CAD

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.

Books: What I’ve Been Reading

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Here’s a round-up of most of the books I’ve read or listened to in the last little while. If you have any questions, let me know

1.The Men in My Country by Marilyn Abildskov. This one was recommended by a friend who thought I could relate to the story. It is a story of a 30-year old woman who packs up and heads to Japan for a fresh start (yes, I can relate). She falls in love with the country (yes, I can relate). While there, she dates a trio of men (yes, I can relate). That’s a very simple explanation of the story. The book is beautifully written.

2. The Strange Library by Haruki Murakami. Yes, I’m still making my way through this Japanese author’s book list. The Strange Library is a short story. I normally don’t like short stories, but the beauty of them is that they’re quick to read. Murakami’s stories are fantastical and sometimes hard to explain. That said, they’re unlike other books I’ve read, and I enjoy his storytelling, so I keep getting drawn into his stories. If you’ve read them, you’ll know what I mean.

3. Maid by Stephanie Land. After seeing this on so many reading lists, I picked it up at the library when I was in Florida. It was a touching story of a woman’s determination for a better life. She becomes a maid, then starts her own business, meeting kind people along the way and pushing herself through school. Her determination was impressive. I’m sure many similar stories go untold.

4. Start Over, Finish Rich by David Bach. This book was published in 2010, but I think the principles of saving smart and spending wisely remain the same today. I flipped through this pretty quickly and skipped all the sections that were US-focused (hello 401K). There were a few good tips that I have adopted since reading the book.

5. The Immortalists by Chloe Benjamin. This book has been on several reading lists, and although I found it a bit hard to get into, I really enjoyed this book. It follows the story of four children over five decades. In their adolescence, they visit a psychic who tells them about their deaths. I liked the characters, their interactions, and their bond throughout the book.

6. Lush Life by Richard Price. This isn’t a book that I would normally be drawn to, but, again, I think it was on a recommended reading list, so I listened to it. It is set in New York City, so I liked that the audiobook version had readers who spoke like New Yorkers. The story depicts the rough, gritty, and violent side of city living.

7. Stay with Me by Ayobami Adebayo. I loved this story of Yejide and Akin, their marriage, their challenges with fertility, and the sacrifices they make. The book is set in Nigeria, so we get a glimpse into life and customs there. It was an easy book to get into and read.

8. Hum if You Don’t Know the Words by Bianca Marais. I have just started this book, but I am enjoying it so far. One of the reasons is that it is set in Apartheid-era South Africa, so it’s interesting to learn a bit about what was going on then. Family is a theme in this story (like it seems to be in other books on this round-up list).

In other book news, did you hear that Elene Ferrante (of the My Brilliant Friend series) is releasing a new novel in November? I’m going to pick it up forsure.

If you’re looking for more book recommendations, search books on my site.