Mom's Garden: Rose Pruning


The other day, I went with Mom to a rose pruning workshop at Roger's Gardens in Newport Beach. Apparently, in Southern California, now is the time to start chopping back your roses. In our area, it never gets cold enough for the roses to loose all their leaves naturally. So, we have to help them along. Pruning roses keeps them in top condition, shape and size for the area you have planted. If you let a rose continue to grow, it becomes "leggy". Canes get longer & thinner, and blooms are fewer, weaker & smaller. Pruning roses in the winter prevents plants from spending unnecessary energy on growing and producing blooms when sun & nutrients are at a minimum. It's surprising how agressive you can be when cutting them back.
Despite the fact that Mom has told me a million times how to correctly prune a rose, I have never really been super confident. So, she and I went out on a rainy Saturday and cut back a section of her rose garden. It was fun and a learning experience. I'm definitely getting the hang of it!

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Monthly Obsession: Bone China


I realized that I haven't done a Monthly Obsession post in a while... so, I'm remedying that now.
This post is dedicated to a seriously crazy {borderline hospitalization} obsession I have with bone china. I'm not talking about your plain 'ol boring shiny china dishes that you would get for a wedding present or little girl sculpture you'd see on your grandmother's bookcase. I'm talking about unglazed, matte, translucent, creamy white, rough and completely dreamy porcelian. Good thing I am a slightly more than picky when it comes to whipping out the wallet - otherwise my apartment would be floor-to-rafters with the stuff.

basket, octopus, bracelet 
My first foray into slip-cast-ware was a few years ago via Brooklyn Flea when I found Alyssa Ettinger's ceramics. After seeing them once, they haunted me for months, so I headed back out and snapped up her New York set of slip-cast milk bottles. So cute and teeny, they look great with just one or two tulips or daffodils.
A few months later, sometime just before Christmas, walking through a totally idillic evening snowfall in NoLita, I swung by Haus Interiors and found Jennifer Jones's awesome feather ornaments.
Needless to say, my collection has grown a bit over time, so here's some nice stuff I've seen lately - please let me know if there are other good ones out there!

Accessorize: Hand piece


Grey is the new black. Pearls are the new diamonds. Etcetera, etcetera. 
Well, I'm calling it: Hand pieces are the new two-finger rings. I've been seeing these things pop up a bunch lately... it happened to me a year ago with the whole feather hair extension thing. A trend that made me say to myself; Huh. that's interesting. Looks cool, but I'm not sure I'd do it myself. {cut to a year later and soccer-mom's are driving their minivans around town, feather extensions billowing out the window, while I'm also sporting feathered earrings from Urban Outfitters... I know, I'm so ashamed}

Anyway. So, hand pieces. Or, is it wrist-to-ring-chain? I don't know what to call them. But, I distinctly remember these being specifically for the hippie or princess-fairy-tale girls. Apparently, not so anymore! The one's I've been seeing {and, honestly? Some, I'm kinda digging} are much more edgy and almost punk rock. Check 'em out, you may be seeing more and more of these around soon... besides, it's only a matter of time now that Urban has one too.

PS. If you're crafty, you can totally make one for yourself. No prob!
PPS. Watch out for another trendy weird-slash-cool thing! Ear cuffs. Eek!

top photo: LuvAJ
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