flowers: week 10 & 11

Sorry I didn't post last week. Busy, busy, busy.
The flowers have been mostly the same for the past few weeks.
Only 2 changes have happened. One, one more plant died. Two, there's another bud.

The one plant, the one that looks like a fern, still has no sign of any flowers.

Day: 70

Plants: 4

Flowers: 1

Buds:0

Day: 77

Plants: 3

Flowers: 1

Buds: 1

flowers: week 9

Nothing new to report this week.
Same 4 plants. Same 1 flower.
The only change is that the bud I thought I saw last week wasn't actually a bud. Just another leaf or something like that.

Day: 63

Plants: 4

Buds: 0

Flowers: 1

flowers: week 8 and...... a kitten?

The flower has bloomed! Still don't know what kind it is though. Anyone?
The second plant like the one that is flowering looks like it's getting a bud. We'll see what color that flower is. Hopefully it's not pink like the other one. I like variety, ya know?
Still no signs of buds/flowers on the other two plants. Hopefully they'll start here soon. The package said that they should start blooming around day 60.

Day: 56

Plants: 4

Buds: 1

Flowers: 1

Unrelated to flowers, but equally, if not more, interesting. The other day I was going to take out the trash (at like 10:30pm, cause I forgot), and when I opened the garage door, I heard this weird cry of sorts. I had no clue what it was. Then, my dog grabbed something fuzzy. Turns out it was a little kitten. She's no older than 4 weeks, but older than 2. She was so scared and hungry. We took her in for the night, because what else were we supposed to do? We're pretty sure she was abandoned, and on her own for at least a day or two. Didn't have any kitten formula, as we have never had cats, not to mention one this young. We had to research an emergency kitten formula and feed her that until we could figure out what to do with her. Luckily, my coworker Jade LOVES cats and has raised them before, and she was MORE than willing (and extremely excited) to take care of the kitten. She's doing a lot better just overnight. Jade was able to get some kitten formula for her, and that seems to be helping a lot. She's eating the amount she should for her age, and seems to be in good health besides being malnourished and probably dehydrated. She's super skinny, but so sweet and has such a playful, fun, carefree personality already. She loves to cuddle and explore/climb all over you. She's got big blue eyes, and a cute little permanent milk mustache. I'm just so glad that we went out to get the trash when we did, or she may not have made it. I don't even know how long she was alone for. God works in mysterious ways for sure. 

The morning after we found her. 

photo courtesy of Jade

This is from Jade's sister, who was taking care of the kitten while Jade was at work. The kitten already looks TONS better than she did yesterday (and loves pulling faces)

flowers: week 7

First and foremost:
WE ARE WITH FLOWER. I repeat WE ARE WITH FLOWER!

Now that I got that out, I can begin today's post. Not much has changed with 3 of the 4 plants. We've got a cute little flower coming in if you didn't already gather that information.

But the real question is: "[What] could it be? this [flower] that I did see. Can you help me guess this mystery?"
Some of you may have caught that reference. For those who didn't, you're gonna learn today. That, my dear reader, is from a lovely children's show called Zaboomafoo, and it featured Martin and Chris Kratt and their cute little ring-tailed Lemur friend. The show hasn't been on air in YEARS, but it was one of my favorites.

ANYWHOO, back to the flowers. 

Day: 49

Plants: 4

Buds: 1

Flowers: 1/2ish

flowers: week 6

Not a whole lot has changed in a week. The little bud is getting bigger, and so are the plants. Besides that, there have been no new developments. No new sprouts, no new buds and no flowers yet. 

Day: 42

Plants: 4

Buds: 1

Flowers: 0

flowers: week 5

So, good news and bad news this week.
I'll start with the bad.
We lost another sprout.
Now for the good news.
The remaining 4 plants seem to be doing much better after I moved them to the porch. The bug spots seem to be healing, and they look greener/stronger.
AND, we may have the first bud! Exciting stuff!

Day: 35

Plants: 4

Buds: 1

Flowers: 0

On an unrelated note, my photography website is starting to come together!

flowers: week 4

First off, sorry for the delay in posting and the lower quality photos this week. It's been fairly busy. I got a new job and between that and my summer class, life's been pretty busy during the week. I finally found some time this morning to snap a quick photo or two and post an update before I'm off on other weekend adventures :)

Things don't look too good for the little plants. There are now only 5 left, and one looks like it's on the way out with another being eaten by bugs. I did some research on the flower packet I had, and apparently, you're supposed to plant them late spring. I guess this summer is just too hot for them to really thrive. Lesson learned I suppose. I moved them from the back yard where they were getting the full heat of the afternoon sun to the front porch where they get more of the cooler morning sun. We'll see if that helps with the heat problem at all.  I'm hoping the larger ones will at least have a flower or two (assuming they last that long, and aren't consumed by bugs).

Day 28:

Plants: 5 

Buds: 0

Flowers: 0

pinterest. the land of a million good ideas

 Oh Pinterest. The best one stop shop for most anything. Food, crafts, quick fixes, life hacks, wedding planning. It's all there. Heck,I have my entire wedding planned thanks to Pinterest (and I'm not even dating anyone).  But I digress. This post isn't about my non-existent wedding. It's about these SUPER cute DIY polaroid coasters. And, they're super easy to make!

Here's the details:

Supplies needed:

4x4 white ceramic tiles ($0.79 at Lowe's)
3.5 x 5 photos
Mod Podge (glossy or matte... or the one made for paper if you want archival)
Sponge brush (for mod podge)
Clear acrylic spray
Small felt circles (like the ones that go under furniture legs)

Here's the link to the blog I found it on: 

http://www.darkroomanddearly.com/blog/rkroomanddearly.com/2012/04/diy-homemade-polaroid-coasters.html

I followed her directions but made a few tweaks. 
I didn't use white tiles, but that's only because I already had some off-white/tan ones. Instead, after I glued on the photo and sprayed the first layer of enamel, I taped off the photo and painted the border with white acrylic paint and sprayed another layer of enamel.
(I'm definitely getting white tiles next time. So much easier!)
Instead of buying 3.5x5 photos, I used 4x6 ones and cut them to the right size. (If you take a standard post-it note and overlap another one over it, it's the perfect size. Just stick it on the tile and decide what size you want the photo).
I didn't have acrylic spray so I used some clear enamel I found in the garage. Worked great :)
You don't have to use actual photos if you don't want to. Photos printed on regular printer paper work too, but be careful as the photos start to smear when applying Mod Podge. 
I recommend using an actual paper cutter to trim the photos instead of scissors, got to make sure the edges are straight. 

before the white paint

before the white paint 

after the white paint

Now go out there and have fun! The possibilities with these are endless!

it's a nice day for a white wedding

Ah, summer. Wedding season is in full bloom. Before you start asking who the lucky guy is, or when the big day will be, this is not about MY wedding.
I got asked to be the wedding photographer for my Uncle Nate and his new wife Amy yesterday. First wedding I've ever shot. There's a LOT of pressure for a wedding photographer. These photos have to be ABSOLUTELY perfect. To all you professional wedding photographers out there: kudos to you!
Anywhoo, here's a little sneak peek. Enjoy!