Sublet Sweet Sublet -- A peek inside my closet sanctuary

I've always loved forts, tents, and the like. That also includes converted crawlspaces, secret rooms, makeshift tents, and natural crawlspaces woven by vines and tree branches. It's been a little over 3 months since I've moved into my new space, and I took the liberty of converting half of my closet into a miniature sanctuary within a sanctuary. This is especially exciting as this is the first time I have a room to myself, and a door. I actually have a real room with walls and a door *squeeeee!* 

I love my new closet space, which I formally named the Cuddle Cubby. This is where I craft, read, write, and listen to music. While some small spaces totally freak me out, this space is mine--I created it, and it provides a sense of comfort. It almost feels like a security blanket--when I'm over the day, I have a place to retreat and be with my thoughts. It's incredibly therapeutic, because I'm often overwhelmed by my surroundings and lately I'm finding that I need a place to hide and recharge. I'm a homebody--and I am proud of it, because I have made this space my own. It is an extension of my personality, values, and hobbies. You can walk into my room and know that it belongs to me. My 'home' is basically a mix of a greenhouse, museum, and now, a room that I thought only existed in my dreams and on Pinterest. 

Pro-tip: String lights make any space dreamy.

Ahh, Sublet Sweet Sublet. 

Plant Lady Life and Projects

I'm a little late in posting these, but here are the remaining succulent plantings that I made a few weeks ago: 

As I mentioned in my earlier post, June has been a wonderful month for projects, and here are some of the projects I've been working on...

 Crystal/mineral terrarium necklaces! I've been trying out new creative ideas with terrarium necklaces, so I wired some amethyst and sodalite minerals to the corks so they stay in place while worn. Also, check out my basic terrarium necklace tutorial here!

I got this cool "crystal" cactus growing kit at Green Apple Bookstore and here are the results:

I love the way this crystal cactus looks, but unfortunately it isn't so solid. The crystals break off so easily that half of it fell apart when I moved it to my desk. BLEH. Well, it was beautiful while it lasted--I think I'm going to stick to real cacti from now on.

June's Succulent Planting Party (Continued)

So last week I started what I thought was going to be a one-day project...and it didn't happen that way. I decided to continue the planting this week, armed with shovels, pebbles, succulent dishes, and a bottle of champagne. Can I just say, that this week's planting activities were way more awesome than last week?!

Most of my succulents have outgrown their original pots so I'm planning to plant them all together in a larger dish. Some of my cuttings and plants are too small, so I'm going to plant them in cute little pots.

 I love the variety of colors succulents have--some are frosty blue with lavender tips while others have beautiful shades of reds and pinks. A lot of succulents actually turn pink in the sun (that is if they don't burn, so be careful!)

 I often don't know what to do with the extremely tiny cuttings, but this time I was prepared--I went out and bought these teeny tiny 2-inch pots and clustered the little cuttings all together:

Here are the two I did so far. Aren't they cute?! I have a couple more plantings to finish from yesterday, but today's rain sort of shooed me back inside, so I'm going to have to continue this later on in the week. More plantings are coming soon, I promise!

New finds: Shells and Bones

My collections keep growing larger by the month and I'm starting to run out of space to store them! My fantasy is to have a little museum in my house where I showcase all of the stuff I collected or found throughout the years. Just last week I added another piece to my shell collection and started a bone collection. In general I prefer finding items but in some cases I will buy them if I take a special liking to them.

Clear Sundial (architectonica perspectiva Linnaeus)

Coyote atlas from The Bone Room

Home Inspiration: Converted Campers, Caravans, and Buses

[Tumbleweed Tiny House Company]

Ever since I first stumbled upon Jay Shafer's Tumbleweed tiny houses I have fantasized about one day owning my own tiny house. I like the idea of road-tripping in a camper or converted bus and not spending money on hotels and food. I'd camp in beautiful spots along the way and slow down a bit in the comfort of a small but spacious mobile home. The Fencl is my favorite, and if I ever won or saved up about $50,000 this would probably be one of the first things I'd purchase.

 [Tumbleweed Tiny House Company]

[Remodelista]

This converted bus is gorgeous! Unlike the Tiny Home which is more like a scaled-down house, this converted bus is more of a comfy sleeping/lounge area and can also act as an extra lounge/guest room when not in use. I love the look/color of this bus because it blends in nicely and wouldn't draw too much attention. You can also read about the process here.

[Lovelane Caravans]

These beautifully furnished caravans are perfect for long trips. I also love the idea of parking this in our backyard and use it as a studio/guest house/study when we aren't traveling. I also thought about purchasing an old camper bus or bus and convert it into a studio.

[adhesiveproduct]

Rodolfo and I spotted this beauty in Santa Cruz, CA. I am drawn to  tiny/mobile homes for many reasons--first and foremost I think our culture emphasizes home ownership and 'bigger-is-better' mentalities and I see that as another way capitalism continues to expand. Living in a small space also encourages me to be okay with less stuff. We are constantly made to feel that what we have isn't enough and we must buy "stuff" to fill our spacious homes. I am pretty critical of consumerism, and although I am bound to the system in many ways, I try to at least be critical of the values we place on ownership of goods and property. I'm still trying to figure out where this awareness fits into my life. I still fantasize about owning a home, although if I own property, I'd probably get an empty lot and fill it with caravans and tiny cottages--it would house a community of friends and we'd have space to grow our own food as well--my little utopia, I suppose. Another reason I like tiny homes is they are generally comfy and spacious, especially if you use space-saving techniques like hidden storage and shelving. Right now I live in a two-room back house about 12 x 24 ft, and for two people it's livable and comfy. We still have a lot of work to put into it, but right now I really like our space. Perhaps in the near future I'll be able to go on adventures in my caravan or camper.

Cooking with New Ingredients: Lotus Root

Now that I am done with all of my final papers for the semester I can finally cook again! I really dislike the last two weeks of the school semester--the stress can be overwhelming and I often end up eating too much processed foods and too much meat. I miss my vegetables! I normally follow a plant-based diet with some meat here and there, but when I'm under a lot of stress it's very easy to order take-out or eat out, and the foods tend to be heavy in oils and meat. So to mark the first meal of winter break, I went out to the Korean market and picked up some ginko nuts and lotus root. To save some time, I bought pre-peeled and sliced lotus root soaked in water. I was feeling quite nostalgic, as my grandma made tons of soups and dishes with lotus root and I actually forgot how delicious and versatile they are. Last night I made two dishes, the first dish I sauteed lotus slices on a pan for about 5 minutes on each side at medium heat, threw in some ginko nuts and chopped green onions and stir-fried the whole mix for another 3 minutes.

I also made another stir-fry using chopped lotus root, shallots, minced garlic, walnuts, and dinosaur kale. Talk about a protein-packed meal!

 

My Backyard Sanctuary

My Thanksgiving weekend was spent in my backyard tending to my plants and succulents. In fact, Friday morning I spent the entire morning sitting in my backyard with a big cup of coffee. I'm not a big fan of Black Friday, but I did pick up some lovely succulents from Urban Bazaar to plant in my backyard. My vegetable garden is currently being picked away by rats, and last night they got to the last of my zucchinis. RIP. Since it's been too cold to plant any new veggies, I am bringing my succulents back out and I hope to plant all of them by the end of December. I'll keep everyone posted! Thanks for stopping by!

There is so much more to be done here!

My Flower Garden in Art