Snake Plants for Mid-Century Indoor Planters

Our home was built in 1960 and like many of the mid-century homes in our subdivision, we have an indoor brick planter. I like how it provides a division between the front door entry and the living room, but I've been confused about what to actually do with it. I don't exactly have a green thumb. 

First, I tried succulents. They were gorgeous for a couple of weeks, but ultimately, an abysmal failure. The planter only gets filtered morning light because I keep the grass shades down while we are at work. So my guess is they did not enough of the right kind of light. 

Next up...a magazine holder! This worked beautifully for the magazine hoarder that I am. It held three magazines across, by at least 20+ deep. But after 18 months of constantly hanging up the coats that get thrown on the magazines (even though the coat closet is two steps away,just to the right of poster boy above) I thought I would try plants again. They always look so great in magazines and warm up a space.  

I am not a huge fan of snake plants, a.k.a. mother-in-law tongue but they may be the only plant I can keep alive or will thrive in the planter. They are supposed to be indestructible so this weekend I planted planted three in the mid-century planter. I hope they take. I really love the way the way they turned out and now it looks like poster boy is jumping out of the grass with a full moon glowing. I'm in the market for a replacement for poster boy, but I haven't found the exact right piece. I'd like to find some kind of tapestry. But more to come on that. 

Do you have a mid-century planter? What have you done with it? 

Attitude of Gratitude: 08

Our garden did not yield much this year. Enough herbs for Audrey to munch and to throw into half a dozen salads. A modest amount of cherry tomatoes that never made it to the kitchen. And this morning, the yard littered with so many leaves and with frost on the car windows, I noticed five zinnias, their bright hot hue compensating for their scraggly petals. Summer is saying good-bye. As much as I loathe winter, I am grateful for the changing seasons, the cycles. I'm grateful that Audrey loves and appreciates our little garden and wants to grow carrots next year. I'm grateful that she asks for tomatoes for breakfast. I'm grateful for our little patch of earth and this quiet moment I have on this Friday morning. Happy weekend y'all.

Weekend Bits & Pieces

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After a brutal week of weather (hello 108°) and packing boxes and furniture into a 16 foot pod (hello 180°), this Saturday we bought a new house. I'm going to be honest. I am terrified.

I have lived in the same two mile radius for 15+ years. We were hoping to buy in Webster Groves,  Shrewsbury, or Crestwood, because they are a some of the closest suburbs to the south city area, our territory. But we've had no luck finding homes that match what we are looking for. Saturday we looked at four houses and fell in love with a ranch rambler on a cul-de-sac in the Kirkwood school district. The backyard is private, quiet, cozy, quaint and the basement is huge (studio!). The house has great bones and is in excellent condition, but does need some updating. Many DIY projects are in my future, which I am thrilled about and will chronicle on this blog. Seriously. I love the house and feel really good about its energy. (Sorry to get all hippie about it.)

So why have I been crying almost non-stop since 3:00 p.m. today?

While we will be in the Kirkwood school district, our actual address is Des Peres. That's officially considered West County. And I am having a REALLY BIG emotional barrier with that fact. I grew up in the country but have lived in the city most of my adult life. I always claimed it would be one way or the other. We would live in the country or the city BUT never the suburbs and never ever West County. But here we are headed to Des Peres, land of the tear down/rebuild.

Why? One word. Schools.

Audrey starts kindergarten next year and St. Louis City is a non-accredited school system since 2007. That is unacceptable, embarrassing, and depressing. My guess is that the city will continue in a downward spiral until the problem is addressed regionally. I'm no scholar on the subject, but a moral solution would be pooling school taxes paid by all St. Louis City and St. Louis County residents and then dispersing the money evenly between ALL students, no matter what district they live in. This will never happen in a region as divided as ours or more broadly, in a country as divided as ours. Wake County in North Carolina has had one of the most successful school systems in the country for years under this model. Now it is under attack by national tea party conservatives.

We researched our options for over two years. The few private schools we looked at were impressive, but would leave us financially strapped. I think testing preschool age children to qualify for gifted/magnet programs is questionable science at best (Read Nurture Shock). Area charter schools are dealing with quality and solvency issues. And we would never consider supporting the Catholic church or its schools. Every one of the above options have been chosen by friends. I do not judge anyone and hope not to be judged. I listened to their anguish as they tried to make hard decisions and I believe we are all going with what we instinctively feel will be right for our kids. For a variety of reasons, Lindsey and I believe the public school system will best serve Audrey's needs. So we looked at the best public school system for us and settled on three...Kirkwood, Lindbergh, or Webster.

We know we aren't the first family to face the school issue, and sadly, we won't be the last. We are going to miss terribly living so close to family and friends. [I can't even go into detail here, because that is when I truly turn into a basket case.] And we will miss Biggie's, Chris' Pancakes, Michael's, Anthonino's, Pint Size Bakery, Sweet Art Cafe, LeGrands Market, and all the other local establishments we have enjoyed supporting over the years. I know we will be back, but the reality is, it probably won't be as often. We will miss our neighborhood and such easy access to a unique culture and community, which we value tremendously and have taken full advantage of.

And if I'm really honest, I am mourning for St. Louis, who still can't get its shit together and is losing yet another family to the county. I have invested a lot of energy over the past 10-12 years trying to support and promote this city through a variety of different projects and endeavors. That is why I've been crying since 3:00 p.m. today.

I know we will make friends in our new neighborhood. We already met nice neighbors today. They all appeared to be over sixty, but I'm hopeful we'll find some like-minded families. We are going to embrace this as an experiment, an adventure. We'll explore new parks and restaurants. And when we get itchy, we'll head east.

Des Peres is about a twenty minute drive from where we are now in Clifton Heights. But in a region as divided and parochial as St. Louis, it's like a trip to the moon.

Our new home is on Firethorn, which is the common name for Pyracanthas, a thorny evergreen shrub, particularly valued in situations where an impenetrable barrier is required. They are also a good shrub for a wildlife garden, providing dense cover for roosting and nesting birds, summer flowers for bees and an abundance of berries as a food source. I find irony in this and oddly, a sense of comfort.

Growing

Over the holiday weekend, Lindsey and I completed a yard project that has been on "the list" for about three years. Nothing fancy. Just putting down some weed barrier, rocks, and pavers under the deck so we don't have to mow and it doesn't get so jungle-like. Gardening and yard work always make me feel so satisfied. Those are the rare occasion when my mind isn't racing with a million other thoughts. I'm just in the zone, completely in the moment with the task at hand. I haven't done much gardening at this house. This yard and I never connected and it was just harder to find the time with a newborn. I am very eager to find a house with a loveable yard, or one I can transform into loveable. On Sunday afternoon, when we were done, we sat back against the fence, our nails crusted with dirt, drinking lemonade and feeling might proud with what we'd accomplished in the little space of three hours.

Gardenias

Gardenias...my favorite!

{top to bottom: Billie Holiday, Chanel, Me, Mistral Gardenia Soap, Alfred Eisenstaedt}

SOLD

My parent's got a contract on their farm. I have so many mixed emotions. I knew this would be tough. I am elated that they will be so much closer. But when I think of all the good times at the farm, and of its incredible beauty, I get so emotional. I have often said that place has felt more like "home" than any house we ever lived in growing up--and I've never lived in the house. My parent's moved there after I was out of college and living on my own. But I love their new house and am very excited to help my mom with all the details of making it feel like home.

We actually spent Saturday at their new house and then had dinner at Cowan's for Mother's Day. On Sunday, I slept in while Lindsey made me breakfast. I got some caramel coral bells and a bunch of other sweet little things from my two darlings. We worked in the yard most of the day. I got my zinnias planted and Lindsey finished the vegetable garden. It was a lovely weekend.

Windowscape

Last weekend I finally got hairdos for my three little lovlies. They look so cute next to sugar bowl Annie. (All four courtesy Etsy's Plants on the Brain.) The peppermill girl was Audrey's birthday gift to me. 

A Man Named Pearl

We watched the 2006 documentary A Man Named Pearl a couple of weeks ago and I've remembered something from it almost every day. I heart netflix.

How does your garden grow?

Finished the gardens this weekend. We have a small vegetable garden of 5 tomato plants (2 Celebrity, 2 Beefmaster, 1 Sweet 100), 2 broccoli, 2 red peppers and 4 basil plants. I also planted rosemary, oregano, thyme, sage, and parsley. And we put a couple of tomato plants in a Topsy Turvy that someone gave us. I'm curious to see how those progress. I've never tried growing broccoli, so I'm curious about that too.

Down one side of the backyard fence, I sowed 12 varieties of zinnia seeds including: Persian Carpet, Scarlet Flame, Canary Bird, Violet Queen, Pastel Sunset, Envy, Peppermint Stick, Cactus, Oklahoma Mix, Lilliput, Mini, Exquisite. I'm afraid I put in too much seed and will have to do some thinning. It will break my heart if I can't find place for the seedlings.

On a walk last week, a neighbor gave us some trays of Dianthus and Marigolds leftover from Operation Brightside. I plugged the Dianthus in the front and the Marigolds in the side yard, where I am sure it is too shady--but we just don't have the room. I would love to have a much bigger garden. It took a lot of time to just get this new garden bed ready. We'll see how it goes this year and maybe expand next.

Gardening

Thinking about gardening. Hope to work on beds this weekend. Probably will only do some tomotoes and herbs this year. We are starting with no garden spot at all and have a lot of very thick grass to dig up/till. Plus, I want to get some zinnias in. Everything seems ambitious, overwhelming.

• Heirloom Acres Seeds (Atomic Red Carrots! Shut Up!)
• Revolution Seeds
• Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds