Let Heaven & Nature Sing

Hope you guys had a lovely Thanksgiving holiday! Chris and I were truly blessed and thankful for all the quality time spent with friends, family, and each other. Our friend from India, Sanjiv, joined us for the weekend, and we had such a blast setting up our Christmas tree together! We did not expect this tree to look so humongous in our apartment. I got chills when the lights came on :)

I mentioned a while back that I wanted to create a themed tree. Well, we finally decided on a "Nature" theme! We've split the tree into three tiers - Air, Land, and Sea - and are slowly collecting ornaments that represent various habitats. Here's a peek of what we have so far~

Air:

Land: This section has been the easiest to put together. Not sure which biome to classify the Sock Monkey under...

Sea: All we have right now is a lonely walrus. I picked up some dried starfish from Evolution to nestle in the branches and keep him company in the meantime. This section has been a bit harder to collect for, but that's part of the fun!

Diary of a Wannabe Gardener

Spring is here in full effect! I've been hearing lots of buzz about people planting carrots, strawberries, radishes, corn (?!?), and herbs this year, and have been itching to start an urban garden of my own.

Since I'm not known for my botany skills, I figured a terrarium garden would be a good place to start. Terrariums are a fun and practical way to create a miniature landscape inside your home. They don't require a lot of sunlight, and are ideal for people who are too busy to spend a lot of time caring for plants -- perfect for serial plant killers with black thumbs. Ahem.

I made this tiny terrarium at Anthopologie's Earth Day workshop. We used Ball canning jars and topped them off with tealight holders to allow optimum sunlight through. I had so much fun arranging the plants, and even carved a C+J inside a heart on the "tree". Once the plants become fully established within the enclosed environment, the terrarium will begin to function as a self-sustaining ecosystem. The plants transpire moisture, which then condensates on the glass and flows back down into the soil. Often, a closed terrarium can survive a month or more between waterings.

My jar terrarium has been sitting on our kitchen windowsill for two weeks. I've already witnessed tremendous plant growth as well as several water cycles. Now that I know how to create a viable terrarium, I'm looking forward to experimenting with different containers, plants, and designs. More later!

Domestic Endeavors

 

Truth? I'm domestically challenged. I can hardly keep plants alive longer than a week, and I buy kitchen things mainly because they're pretty. Chris could tell you countless stories about insanely burnt/salty/soggy meals sent tearfully down our garbage chute. I'm ready to learn! Thankfully, I've got plenty of wonderful teachers around me to impart wisdom and advice, including my mother and my sister-in-law, Talida. Check out her fantastic baking blog here! As I strive to conquer my domestic anxieties, I thought it would be amusing to document my trials, triumphs, and tribulations along the way.

What better way to start exploring than with dessert? I found this adaptation of Momofuku's Cereal Milk Ice Cream on Cafe Fernando's blog, and decided to give it a go as a Valentine's treat for Chris. Although I got distracted by its pretty pink label and accidentally purchased almond extract instead of vanilla, the ice cream turned out pretty darn delicious, if I do say so myself! I think I'll let the custard churn and thicken in the ice cream mixer for a little while longer next time. This is the perfect excuse to have ice cream for breakfast :)