Things I Love #44

Happy Sunday everyone!!  It's a little hard to believe that it's already the last Sunday in July.  That means winter is almost over and, more importantly, my birthday is just over 3 months away.  This is probably another post for another day but I'm really not all that stressed over the idea of 30.  In fact, I am kind of looking forward to it.  Maybe that'll change as we get closer to October who knows but right now, I'm okay with it.  Rambling aside, here is what I loved this week:

DIY Terrarium Necklace Tutorial.  I am determined to make this and wear my succulent obsession proudly (thanks Gerry for sharing this on Facebook).

Another friend on Facebook linked to this article about creepy dudes on Captain Awkward.  Seriously, this should be required reading for everyone.  Especially the comments that follow.  Its long, it's a little scary but it's also very enlightening...

On a lighter note, cats dressed as Hello Kitty.  Some of them are cute, some just look really, really grumpy.

I found this awesome sound effect necklace in the kiddies section at Diva:

A 102-year old ship got a new lease on life as a floating forest.   Slightly spooky but very cool.

Nicholas Cage as Disney Princesses.  These made me laugh so much! 

The Mary Sue put together a slideshow of awesome cosplay at Comic Con.  I love the Tetris hair ladies.

If I had this awesome cutting board, I might be more inclined to cook.  Or at least cut things that can be cooked.  

I just love this unicorn onesie.  I (probably) wouldn't wear it but still...

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Aki Inomata created amazing new shelters for hermit crabs.  Seriously, these are beautiful and the concept behind it is food for thought.  

Adevnture Time Mashups are my very favourite things.  Here's a Wolverine one (about halfway down the page) and another with The Walking Dead and Star Wars.

Neil Gaiman is going to release his first video game.  Can we say excited???

Olly Moss has done some awesome Studio Ghibli posters for Mondo and I want them all!!  

And finally, I went to an extra fresh meat practice at the stadium this morning and it was so much fun:

Seen anything you love this week?  Let me know in the comments:)

Currently...

A new coaster for my desk, gratuitous hamster photo, Saturday morning reading

Watching:  Right now I am rather obsessed with Pawn Stars and Storage Wars on the History Channel.  I never really paid much attention to them but when Jason and I were off sick two weeks ago, we got totally sucked in.  Out of the two I think I prefer Pawn Stars.  I can’t believe all the random things people bring in to sell!!

Thinking About:  Being an adult and doing adulty things. Every now and again I get the feeling that I am a small person playing at being an adult.  I look at the things I do every day, the things happening around me and my increased responsibility at work and find myself thinking “How am I old enough for this??”  Other days, I get on with my job, sorting out my life and being married without it even crossing my mind.  Does this ever happen to anyone else?  

Reading:  Life, The Universe and Everything.  One of the books on my 10 Books List for 2013 is The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.  My friend was kind enough to lend me her boxset so I thought I’d tackle all of them.  While I loved Hitchhiker's, I am finding the rest a little hard to get through.  I am also reading Blog Inc which I have heard so many good things about.  I am still in the early stages (setting up your blog etc) but I will keep you posted.

Celebrating:  The fact that I have been accepted to do my Honours in English.  Hooray!!  I can’t even explain how excited/nervous I am about this.  I know that I can do it and I am excited about being forced to think in a different way but I am also a little socially awkward and meeting new people always makes me nervous.

Making Me Happy:  Pictures of bunnies and sad pugs on the internet.  I’ve said it before but if the internet’s sole purpose was the dissemination of cute animal pictures, I would be okay with that.  Also making me happy?  Playing Ratchet & Klank again from the very beginning, my terrarium, marshmallow Easter eggs, watching The Avengers AGAIN and the idea of buying cute stationary for varsity.  

These currently posts are inspired by the ones over at Sometimes Sweet.  You can check out the most recent one here:)

DIY Terrarium

One of the things that I promised myself I would do while I was on leave was make a terrarium.  And guess what?  I did!  I originally set out to follow a tutorial that I found a few months back but alas when I went back to look for it, it was gone.  Because I tend towards laziness, I thought about giving in and buying one but they are so expensive - think almost 200 bucks for a teeny tiny little plant!  Anyway, I decided to just wing it and it turned out well.  Really well.  Here’s what I did:

1) Purchase a Glass Bowl - I found this one at Mr Price Home in Argyle Road for R 59.95.  It’s a nice size and depth.

2) Purchase Some Plants - I had already been looking at pictures online and on Pinterest and decided I wanted three little plants.  I probably should have researched the varieties available but I didn’t.  I went to the Tropical Nursery in Sherwood Road and picked three succulents that I liked the look of.  Here’s what I ended up with:

Aloe Aristata:  A small stemless aloe with succulent spotted leaves.  It has red or pinkish tubular flowers in November.  A very cold, hardy aloe.  Full sun. little water (from the label).

Echevaria – Rock Rose:  Pink/Grey tips and creased leaves highlights this silver/grey rose.  The sap is caustic, don’t let children handle it.  Full sun, drought resistant, hardy and slow growing. (From the label).

  

Unnamed (but cute) little plant:  This one is the tallest of the bunch but sadly didn’t have a label on it’s packing.  It has a slight reddish tint on its tips which I rather liked. 

3) Put Plants in Glass Bowl - I initially thought I would need to buy some extra potting soil but I spoke to the lady at the nursery who assured me that the soil I had already would be more than enough.   I carefully removed each plant from their soil...

...and then used a mix of all three soils to create a base.   One I had a little bit of soil in the bottom to work with, I planted each one according to the rough idea in my head. 

4) Add Some White Stones - While I liked the look of the terrarium with just the plants and the soil, I decided to add some white aquarium stones.  To me it just upped the prettiness factor by creating more of a contrast.

And that is how I made a terrarium that now lives on our coffee table.  Luckily our flat gets a whole lot of sun so I didn’t have to give too much thought to where to put it.  Altogether it came to:

1 x Glass Bowl - R 59.95

3 x Plants - R 100.80 

1 x White Stones  - R 49.95

TOTAL - R 210.70

It came in a little higher than buying one but for that price I got three plants instead of one and enough white stones to make another two or three terrariums.  I think I am going to start giving them as gifts!  Plus, because we live in a flat, I don't get many opportunities to play in the dirt so putting this together myself was very satisfying!!  Yay for finally owning a terrarium!

Things I Love #17

Is it just me or is this year passing very, very quickly?  My birthday is roughly three weeks away and Christmas decorations are going to start showing up in stores any day now.  It's weird because every year around this time, I start thinking about all the things I wanted to accomplish at the beginning of the year and how many of those things are still unfinished.  I think my mission for the last few months of 2012 is to try and get as many of those goals/ideas/projects done as I can.  Anyway, that really has nothing to do with the randomness I have found on the internet over the last two weeks so, without further ado, here is Things I Love #17.  Warning, its a long one!!

First up, this article about why weird experiences boost creativity.  Turns out they don't even need to be that weird.  

The amazingly cool Star Wars Force Glove.  I need this in my life...please...

Vintage Confections on Etsy make planet lollipops.  Really.  Filled with edible glitter to give them that space feel, you can now suck on the Sun, Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune and Pluto.  If these could survive the trip to South Africa, I'd order them now.

Sam is back from London!!  Hi Sam!!  Anyway, being the good friend that she is, she bought home Lego Star Wars key rings for us.  Yay!

On the subject of Star Wars, these handbags have officially earned a spot on my wishlist.

Want to see Banksy's street art come alive?  Click here to see some awesome animated GIFs.

My Chemical Romance, one of my favourite bands in the world, is releasing some new-old material in an amazing boxset called Conventional Weapons.  I just wish it wasn't so pricey *sigh*

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Also music related is the new Deftones single!  Download it for free here.

Not one but two friends sent me the link to this Gradient Nail Art Tutorial (thanks Shannon and Miss V).  I can't wait to try it out.  It's the perfect excuse to go out and purchase some new, complementary nail polishes.

What eyes would look like without pupils.  Creepy and cool all rolled into one.

I got some super cute new summer shirts this week.  One with bunnies and the other with apples.  I like them a lot.

Is the pursuit of happiness a bunch of bullshit?  An interesting read from Gala Darling.

Sad Etsy Dogs collects pictures of dogs who are modeling their owners' Etsy creations.

I absolutely love this collection of 60 Freaking Awesome Animal Emotions.  There is no way you can look at these pictures and not smile.

These necklaces contain teeny, tiny pieces of regurgitated animals.  Designer Trixie Khong hand makes these vials using the remains left over by a friend's pet owls.  The site also makes it clear that no animals were harmed to make these necklaces.  Not sure if I think these are awful or amazing.  What do you think?

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On the subject of jewellery, this Bazinga Necklace is to cool for words and would totally match my obsession with The Big Bang Theory.

These illustrations give us an idea of what our favourite movie creatures might look like on the inside.

This week I mentioned my new found love for Terrariums.  While I still have plans to build my own, I'd still love one of these cute terrarium necklaces.  So unusual.

This article about how to get pumped about your work is worth a read.  Also, the site is called Unicorns for Socialism which makes me smile.

Religious icons really appeal to me.  Not necessarily for what they mean but just for the aesthetic value.  I know that some people may not appreciate them but I think these alternative takes on the Virgin Mary by Soasig Chamaillard are really great.

I got my first birthday present yesterday!  Another Genevieve Motley necklace which I have had my eye one.  Thanks Gill:)  Also this super cute bunny brooch.

And lastly, I have the best Dad.  He bought my mom and I these nifty hand and nail care sets and now my nails are shiny and awesome.  Thanks Dad!

Terrarium Love

Right, so I have recently found myself utterly consumed by the need to own a terrarium.  We have a dead spot on our coffee table that some extra greenery would fill so nicely.  First, I thought about buying one.  I did some looking around and found that while there are some really pretty ones for sale, they are really pricey!  The ones on the lower end of the price range are just a little plain for my tastes.  I came home and did some googling and found a whole host of terrarium DIYs!  Yay!  Anyway, seeing as Monday is a public holiday, I thought I’d go succulent shopping and see if I can’t put one together myself.  I’ll keep you posted!  In the meantime, I thought I’d share some of my terrarium inspiration (thanks Pinterest) and the tutorial I’m planning on using.

This is the tutorial I am planning on using.  Looks nice and simple. If anyone has any suggestions or advice, please feel free to share!

Sources: 1/2/3/4/5/6/7/8/9/10