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Urban Jungle Bloggers: Plants and Art

After a relaxing summer vacation hiatus the Urban Jungle Bloggers are back and ready to start a new year of creative green posts from around the world. This month’s theme Plants and Art is one that has produced some amazing images so far. The combination of house plants with beautiful art just makes so much sense and can be interpreted in so many creative ways.
I decided to shoot a few of my favourite paintings with some thriving succulents that I bought a few months ago (they quadrupled in size this summer!).

These paintings are by American artist Larry Catanzaro. I first saw his work at an exhibition in Merida, Mexico years ago (in the 90s!). It was the first vacation that my now husband and I took together and the day after seeing the exhibition we actually got engaged. To make a long sappy story short, I eventually hunted down the artist in New York and bought a huge painting of his to give my husband as a wedding gift. It was pretty romantic if I do say so myself.

I love Catanzaro’s naive style and use of contrasting patterns and bright colours. We bought these three little paintings a few years after we got married and they’ve been hanging in our kitchens in various houses since then. They just make me happy and I have yet to see any other painting of a bunch of beets anywhere.I planted a bunch of miniature succulent plants in this old brass pot that I found at a second hand shop ages ago. I hung it from a tree in my garden all summer and somehow they thrived in the extreme heat we had. Even despite the neglect due to the fact that we were away for almost 2 months. Take a look at how small they were when I first planted them here.

*Urban Jungle Bloggers is a monthly series initiated by 2 bloggers: Igor (Happy Interior Blog) and Judith (JOELIX.com). Every month they share ideas to create an urban jungle through styling ideas, DIYs and green tips & tricks. You can find additional inspiration on their Urban Jungle Bloggers Pinterest board and keep up-to-date on our website and Facebook page. Want to join? Use #urbanjunglebloggers on Twitter and Instagram. Or let them know and they’ll share the badge and upcoming topics with you. Let’s bring some green into our homes and blogs!

**Some really talented and inspiring Urban Jungle Bloggers were featured in the new issue of Dutch magazine VT Wonen (blogazine edition). Take a peek and you’ll even see one of my UJB images and a photo of me hiding behind my lens (as usual).

Tags: art, green, larry catanzaro, photography, plants, plants and art, urban jungle bloggers

Comments 3 Comments
Categories Creative, daily life, photography, urban jungle bloggers

Urban Jungle Bloggers: Green Gifts

4 May

2015ujbapril1 Giving plants as gifts is one of my favourite things. I love visiting friends’ houses and gardens and seeing the plants and flowers I’ve given thriving and growing and being appreciated. And I really love the fact that when people see these gifts on their windowsills, book shelves and kitchen counters they sometimes think of me and our friendship. Makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside.

This month’s Urban Jungle Bloggers theme is Offer a Plant To a Friend. Usually I give miniature succulents as gifts because they are easy to package and are a low maintenance plant for my friends who don’t have much of a green thumb. A few weeks ago my daughters and I gave this one to a dear friend and it made her so happy. 2015ujbapril3
But for this month’s UJB post I decided to re-create my favourite green gift that I ever received. When my son was a chubby little four year old he arrived home from kindergarten one day with a little pot of self-sown water cress. He proudly snipped off the sprouts and served them to me on a piece of bread and butter. It was so simple but one of the most delicious little meals I’ve ever been served. The big blue eyes and dimples helped I’m sure.
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I thought an “adult version” of this sweet little green gift would be perfect to take to a friend who had invited us to dinner and asked me to bring a little pre-dinner snack.

So about a week before the dinner date I sprinkled some watercress seeds on dampened cotton balls in a beautiful little hand-painted ceramic bowl (found at Maison du Monde). They were ready just in time for the dinner.

I also took some tasty brown bread and the fanciest little tin of butter I could find (because when else would you spend 5euro on butter?). The hostess was delighted with the gift and so happy that she could continue to grow the watercress in the little pot (I included a little envelope of seeds).

2015ujbapril4 Not your typical “green plant” gift but one that I think a lot of people would love to receive.

Tags: green gifts, greenery, photography, plants, urban jungle bloggers, watercress

Comments 3 Comments
Categories Creative, daily life, diy, gift ideas, photography, urban jungle bloggers

Urban Jungle Bloggers: EASTER

4 Apr

Hello and Happy Easter to all! Over here in Italy it’s bright and early(ish) on Easter Sunday morning and we’ve already eaten lots of chocolate eggs (rolled into crepes!). Soon we’ll be making the dough for our traditional Hot Cross Buns and while that rises we’ll go for a little stroll in the local woods. It’s going to be a lovely day.

As you can probably tell this month’s Urban Jungle Blogger’s theme is Easter. It’s one of my favourite themes because it involves lovely spring colours and the birth of the new season, the blooming of beautiful flowers and, this year, the hatching of seven of the cutest little chicks. I had been waiting on their arrival to do my UJB post this month and they arrived perfectly on time for Easter.

Who could ask for better props for an Easter styling image? Even if they are incredibly uncooperative and poop on set.

One of the plants I used is called Canterbury Bells (please correct me if I’m wrong). My daughter picked it out at an amazing garden centre that we visited the other day and it has really brightened our home with the pink bell blooms and lovely greenery.

2015UJBeaster7

The other plant is my beloved fresh cilantro. Every year I buy so many cilantro plants and they all go directly to seed. I’ve tried planting them in the sun, in the shade, in full ground and even in pots. Nothing works. I have a feeling it’s due to the extreme heat that we have in the summer (and NOT my bad gardening skills of course). This year I’ll try growing it inside and see how it goes. I love to cook with it so much (although I can’t even think about my favourite Chicken with Cilantro Sauce recipe due to those sweet chicks in the photo).

These sage green eggs above were lovingly produced and delivered by our one and only adult chicken Dahlia. After a long egg-less winter she started laying last week and we’ve all been enjoying omelettes made with eggs that are minutes fresh. The lovely embroidered silk “nest” is actually used by women in India to help them carry large baskets on their heads. An old man at a market in Jodhpur gave it to my girls as a present and we love it.Enjoy your Easter everyone!
Last year’s origami inspired Easter UJB post here.
(ps…washi tape is the perfect egg holder!)

2015UJBeaster8

Tags: easter, green home, photography, plants, urban jungle bloggers

Comments 5 Comments
Categories Creative, daily life, Living in Italia, Living in Italy, photography, urban jungle bloggers

Gratefully Grateful 28

19 Mar

A few weeks ago my family and I witnessed a horrible motorcycle accident. It was a Sunday afternoon and we were on our way home after seeing a beautiful Steve McCurry photo exhibit in the nearby city of Monza. The motorcyclist was behind us in a long line of traffic before he decided to pass. We saw his face in the rearview mirror seconds before he died. Unfortunately the woman who was in the passenger seat of the car that crashed into him died as well.

None of us slept that night. We kept playing back the horrific scene in our heads. Besides feeling extreme sadness for the families of the people who died we were left feeling so grateful that it wasn’t us or anyone we knew.

So here’s to a safe spring season full of beautiful colourful blooms, warmer and longer days, visiting family, planting and planning our garden and so much more.

This is Birdie. He loves to tip things off window sills (iphones are his favourite) and he refuses to put on his specially made party hat (while awake) He’s a walking nightmare but for some reason we love him to death. At least 4 of the 5 family members do.

A little unexpected family trip to Milan to visit the Cimitero Monumentale. Who would have thought visiting grave sites could be so much fun. Proof to be found here as well.

An accidental shot found on my camera that I actually love.

Some images of a flower crown workshops that my daughters organised for their grandmother and cousin. They definitely have a future in event planning. The small details of the workshop made my heart burst with pride (fancy snack table, little goody bags, appropriate music and even matching outfits).
Statue seen at the Cimitero Monumentale (Monumental Cemetery) in Milan. Is there anything more beautiful than a mother breast-feeding her baby?

Gratefully Grateful
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Tags: family, flower crowns, gratefully grateful, photography

Comments 12 Comments
Categories Creative, daily life, Family/Kids, grateful, gratefully grateful, Living in Italia, Living in Italy

Urban Jungle Bloggers: Hanging Plants

27 Feb

Time for another Urban Jungle Bloggers post! Unbelievable that a month has already passed since the Plants and Tea theme in January. Is it just me or does February always fly by? Here in Italy we’re already heading into spring and experiencing beautiful sunny warm days. Everyone is walking around with a smile on their face and a spring in their step. My favourite time of year despite the itchy watery eyes.

When I first heard this month’s UJB topic was Hanging Plants images of polyester, multi-toned orange and brown macramé monstrosities from the 70s came to mind. But after browsing through some shops in Milan and Copenhagen and doing some research on Pinterest I came to realise that there are so many beautiful and contemporary ways to hang plants in your home nowadays.

2015UJBhangingplants2 After thinking about it for a few days and looking for the perfect spot in my house for a hanging planter I decided I was going to go the DIY route for this month’s post. I thought it would be a perfect little creative project to do with my kids while they were on February break and my daughters were happy that their room was going to finally get some greenery. First we made some little pots with air-dry clay that I found in a local craft shop. It was really easy to work with and was dry the next day. Plus, I love the milky white colour and texture of the dried clay so there was no need to paint them. Since my daughters are experts at decorating sticks with coloured yarn we decided to get some bamboo from the garden and deck it out a little. The result is so cheery and colourful and perfect for my twin daughters’ bedroom.They’re pretty wonky and crooked but I love them. And more importantly, so do my girls.

Tags: gardening, greenery, home garden, photography, plants, succulents, urban jungle bloggers

Comments 12 Comments
Categories Creative, daily life, diy, Family/Kids, Living in Italia, Living in Italy, photography, urban jungle bloggers

Indian Snapshots 4

17 Feb

The other day I was perusing Expedia for flights (one of my favourite ways to pass a cozy winter evening) and I was so tempted to book a trip to India. Luckily my husband was sitting next to me and gave me one of his “are you off your head?” looks and I managed to not press PURCHASE. I don’t know how long I’ll be able to resist though.

Here is the next batch of my favourite images from our recent trip to Delhi and Rajasthan.

I’m pretty sure this guy is paid to sit at the Jodhpur Fort and smoke his pipe. And I’m also pretty sure there are thousands upon thousands of photos of him out there in the world.I loved this little girl’s brightly coloured outfit. She was swirling around and giggling and generally making everyone in her vicinity smile and feel happy. 2014indiabagru2 One of my all time favourite things about India has to be the decorated trucks you see everywhere you go. The time and effort that the drivers put into embellishing their trucks with stickers, tassels, garlands and pompoms and hand-painting the bumpers is unbelievable. I asked one of our drivers to stop at a roadside “Truck Decoration” shops and I bought a suitcase full of all of the above. Judging from the owner’s reaction I’m pretty sure I was the first tall blond female customer to enter his shop. Woman doing her daily washing in the Rajasthan countryside.

Our bicycle rickshaws in the Bharatpur Bird Sanctuary.

Even pigeons like to photo bomb. Amer Fort, Jaipur.

Rest time.

Jodhpur. The Blue City.
Indigo pit. Twenty metres deep. I had to keep a hold of my son because he was way too interested in finding out if it was indeed twenty metres deep. Bagru, India.

Our breakfast table at our hotel in Udaipur. You can see the famous Lake Palace Hotel in the background (remember it from Octopussy?).

Indian Snapshots *1*, *2*, *3*

Tags: family travel, India, photography, rajasthan, travel, traveling with kids india

Comments 4 Comments
Categories Creative, daily life, India, photography, Travel

Urban Jungle Bloggers: Plants and TEA

29 Jan

It’s time for the first Urban Jungle Bloggers Post of 2015!

As I’ve mentioned in my past UJB posts I don’t have what you’d call a green thumb. I think I might have even referred to it once as a sooty black toxic thumb.

But I’m happy to say that after my new re-found love of having lots of greenery in my home (thanks to Judith and Igor) my thumb is turning an ever so slight shade of the lightest mint green possible. And I hope that with every month that passes the greenness will get brighter and more vivacious. And that I’ll be able to keep more and more plants alive and happy.

But really, look how that sweet little succulent above is so healthy and, I like to think, very content looking.

At the moment I have a few that are thriving. And a few that are…not. But I’m keeping positive and learning a lot from all of the great links that the UJB team post and share. It’s become such a fantastic and supportive green community of people around the world.

This month’s theme is Plants and Coffee (or Tea like I chose).Since my twin daughters are laden down with (way too much) homework we rarely have time to sit down to a nice cup of tea or hot chocolate anymore. So a few Sundays ago I decided to hide their books and persuade them to take a study break with me. That’s right, they’re so studious that I have to HIDE their books for them to agree to take a break. I’m a proud mama. And at times like this a bad influence. I used my new teacups from Dutch designer Esther Horchner. I love these so much. I had them on my Wishlist board on Pinterest for years so when I saw them in a local shop on sale I knew I had to get them. I just hadn’t expected them to be so shocking for some of my guests (seriously, some of them have to close their eyes when they sip their tea).I decorated the table with some of my favourite miniature succulents and cacti. I found the little copper container at a second hand shop for 2 euro and it’s perfect for these miniature plants I picked up at my local plant shop (I make a concerted effort to buy all my plants locally from small family businesses). 2015urbanjunglebloggersjan2 And because I’m a fabric and textile lover I decided to use my coveted piece of Japanese double gauze designed by Nani Iro that has been sitting in my fabric cupboard for over a year waiting for the perfect sewing project. Turns out it makes a perfect cloth to adorn an afternoon tea party with the two coolest almost thirteen year olds around. And their equally cool mama (right?). 2015urbanjunglebloggersjanwithlogo *Urban Jungle Bloggers is a monthly series initiated by 2 bloggers: Igor (Happy Interior Blog) and Judith (JOELIX.com). Every month they share ideas to create an urban jungle through styling ideas, DIYs and green tips & tricks. You can find additional inspiration on their Urban Jungle Bloggers Pinterest board and keep up-to-date on our website and Facebook page. Want to join? Use #urbanjunglebloggers on Twitter and Instagram. Or let them know and they’ll share the badge and upcoming topics with you. Let’s bring some green into our homes and blogs!

Tags: cacti, greenery, indoor gardening, photography, plants, plants and tea, succulents, ujb, urban jungle bloggers

Comments 14 Comments
Categories Creative, daily life, Family/Kids, italia, Living in Italia, Living in Italy, photography, urban jungle bloggers

Map Themed Gift Guide

12 Dec

I wrote a map themed gift-guide over on Classic Play that includes some really fantastic options for just about anyone on your holiday gift list. Everything from map adorned leggings and scarves to whiskey flasks and enamel mugs to my favourite map-inspired books on the market at the moment. Take a look at the full post here.

Tags: classic play, gift guide, map, map themed gift guide, map themed gifts, travel, travel gifts

Comments 2 Comments
Categories Creative, daily life, Family/Kids, gift ideas, photography, Travel, Traveling with kids column

Coroncine Floreali

10 Dec

Hello.

I’m still here!

I’m just popping in to share about a lovely fresh flower crown workshop that my twin daughters and I did a few week-ends ago in Milan.

The workshop’s venue was the most charming little café that doubles as a cultural centre called Spazio Culturale My G where they offer all sorts of creative courses for kids and adults. It’s a bright and colourful space filled with charming old couches, mismatched wooden chairs and an amazing book corner (where they even sell my favourite FLOW magazine!).

When we arrived at the workshop we were warmly welcomed by our flower-crown teacher Jessica from the blog Uhlalà. Such a vibrant and happy lady and so talented with flowers.

The flowers that we worked with were Ranunculus, Anemone and Chrysanthemum. There were also branches of a special type of Mimosa that I had never seen before, Eucalyptus branches and some berry branches as well. A beautiful mix of colours and textures. About 15 of us worked around a big wooden table covered in buckets of flowers, berries, special florist tapes and tools and different coloured ribbons. Jessica explained everything perfectly and we dove in and started creating our crowns.
I was amazed at how quickly the girls caught on and unlike me didn’t have to think and re-think about how to put it all together. I had a serious creative block for the first half hour while my daughter Chloe worked like a busy bee non-stop and without any doubt or indecisiveness.

All the ladies in the workshop made beautifully dainty feminine crowns. It was a beautiful sight to see everyone at the end proudly walking around wearing them. As you can see from the two photos above, my daughters’ crowns ended up being completely different. Their unique personalities really showed through in the finished product.

Since the workshop we’ve already had one big flower crown making session. We tried out different blooms and branches that we bought and collected from our garden. They came out beautifully and we can’t wait to make some more. Many thanks to Jessica for such a lovely Sunday morning. And thanks to Yael from Spazio Cultural My G for organising such fun workshops. We can’t wait to come back.

Tags: coroncine floreali, flower, flower crowns, milan, spazio culturale My G, uhlalà, workshop

Comments 9 Comments
Categories Creative, Family/Kids, italia, Living in Italia, Living in Italy, photography

Gratefully Grateful 26

13 Oct

I’m sitting here recovering from a whirlwind 48 hour trip to Belgium. It’s actually amazing how much my daughters and I squeezed into our short trip: passport renewal appointment, visit to the charming city of Brugge, eating waffles and french fries, shopping in HEMA, visit to the girls’ great grandmother and a fun family birthday party with cousins. Exhausting but so much fun.

Here are a few images that are making me smile on this rainy, chilly, grey day here in Northern Italy.

I’m a sucker for colourful garlands. They just make me happy.

My daughters and their friends made this little breakfast for themselves using vegetables from our garden. They have inherited my love of making food beautiful as well as delicious.

Sharing her french fries. I’m not sure if she has a frown or a smile behind there though.My kids are currently obsessed with archery (thanks to Hunger Games of course). We visited a local farm that offers courses and I fell in love with their arrows.