ujb | Jillian In Italy

Tag Archives: ujb

Urban Jungle Bloggers: Plants and TEA

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

Urban Jungle Bloggers

25 Sep

After a summer hiatus Urban Jungle Bloggers is back online today and I couldn’t be happier. I love seeing my FB and Pinterest feeds inundated with fresh green-inspired images full of lush plant life.

As I’ve mentioned in the past, I’m not an expert plant keeper. My heart is in the right place but my mind is, as usual, elsewhere. I love all the green loveliness that fills the rooms of my home but for some reason I just sometimes forget that they need care and water. Luckily, I’m not like this with my three kids.

So after a summer of coming and going my poor plants were all looking a little….brown. And dry. But I’ve made a promise to myself and the plants to take better care of them. Play them music. Dust their leaves. Oh, and maybe give the a little something to drink more often. In any case, even after a few days of love they’re already starting to look a lot livelier and happy.

Today’s UJB theme is Back To School: Plants on the Workplace. I shot a few images of where I’ve been working lately. Whether it be on the computer writing or editing photos, sewing or crafting with my girls.

I don’t have any succulents or house plants per se where I work but I love having fresh herbs surrounding me. It’s amazing what a brush of a hand over a rosemary or thyme plant can do to your concentration and energy levels. The smell is like a jolt of caffeine (for me at least).

I also always make sure to have a fresh mint plant. Sometimes I throw a few leaves in my teapot or rub them in between my fingers. The smell of fresh mint is one of my all time favourite scents and, again, so energizing.

And because I’m a colour lover I always include a little vase of fresh flowers. Usually in my coveted Gokuri Peach Juice can that I got out of a vending machine at a train station in Kyoto, Japan. Oh and tea. There’s always tea on my workplace. As you can see in the photo on this particlur day I was in a detox tea mood (to counteract an overdose of sugar the day before).

When I break out the sewing machine things start to get a little messy and crowded on my workspace. Which I have to admit I kind of love (except the little pieces of thread that get wedged in my computer keyboard).

Can’t wait to check out the other UJB images for this month. If you’re interested you can visit their brand new website, their FB page and their Pinterest page. Many thanks to Judith and Igor for such a cool initiative.

backtoschoolUJB

Tags: green, photography, plants, ujb, urban jungle bloggers

Comments 9 Comments
Categories Creative, photography, urban jungle bloggers

Urban Jungle Bloggers

25 Apr

Time for another Urban Jungle Bloggers post. I had so much fun with last month’s post and especially admiring all the other images done by some seriously talented bloggers, stylists and photographers. This series is really taking off and I love being part of it.

This month Judith and Igor chose the theme “Show your green balcony or windowsill”. I love the idea of having windowsills overflowing with assorted green plants in colourful pots. It gives a room so much life and colour.

Unfortunately we have to keep our windowsills pretty clear due to the fact that we have to open our windows twice a day in order to close and open shutters (too many break-ins to risk leaving them open all the time). But living in gorgeous Italy makes it all worth it.

The last week I was visiting my in-laws in Belgium and since they have such a beautiful garden filled with the most lovely plants of every kind I decided to do my UJB shots there. And being the great sports that they are they didn’t even mind me rearranging their whole terrace and moving plants, pots and garden furniture here and there. I lucked out in the in-law department.

And since it was a warm and sunny day I decided to use an outside stoop next to a large window. I guess you could call it an outdoor windowsill?

As you can see my in-laws have a great collection of Tuscan flower pots (bought at a shop close to me for a fraction of the price as in Belgium).
They also have a great collection of green plants and succulents of every kind. And I have no idea what half (or more) of them are called.Fermob furniture in tones of purple and red match the whole garden perfectly.I couldn’t resist including a few colourful flowers.
Doesn’t this look like the perfect place for an afternoon tea and book reading session? And look, I accidentally made it into one of my UJB images!