Ocean Jasper is a beautiful stone known for its rarity, soothing powers, and colorful spherical patterns. It’s prized by collectors due to its unique history and limited availability since the one and only place it exists on Earth is closed to future mining. Ocean Jasper comes in a variety of colors including green, gray, pink, blue, yellow, and white. Its patterns range from wispy banding to bold colorful orbs, meaning no two pieces are alike. It’s typically sold as polished stones, crystal towers, or jasper jewelry. I have both a large tower and a small polished heart. What Is Ocean Jasper? Ocean Jasper is a rare form of jasper found only on remote coastlines in
Rainbow Fluorite: Crystal Meaning & Uses
Known as one of the most colorful minerals in the world, rainbow fluorite is a mesmerizing multicolored crystal with distinctive purple, blue, and green banding. Beyond its obvious decorative qualities, it’s enjoyed around the world for a multitude of manufacturing benefits – and many believe it has metaphysical properties as well. What Is Rainbow Fluorite? Rainbow fluorite is a multicolored variety of the mineral fluorite, also called fluorspar when used in manufacturing. It is the crystal form of calcium fluoride which, like table salt, is a member of the halite family. Fluorite is an abundant mineral that’s most commonly found in Mexico and China, but also in the United States, Spain, Russia, and more. It
Green Aventurine: Crystal Meaning & Properties
Green aventurine is a special type of quartz that’s characterized by sparkling metal fragments embedded within it. It’s found in a variety of colors, but green is the most common (and my personal favorite!). Like its color might indicate, it’s thought to be the luckiest gemstone and is said to bring prosperity and good fortune to those who hold it. I definitely love decorating my shelves and tabletops with it. The subtle green color is just gorgeous. What is Green Aventurine? Aventurine is a form of quartz that’s characterized by mineral inclusions that give the crystal a shimmering or glistening appearance. This effect is called “aventurescence.” Different kinds of mineral impurities produce different shades of
Fiddle Leaf Fig – Care Guide
Fiddle leaf figs are equally beloved and notorious in the houseplant world. When they’re big & healthy, a fiddle can make a room. We’ve all seen the glossy magazine shots to prove it. But they can also leave you feeling like a good-for-nothing plant killer when they droop & die. Luckily I’ve got some simple methods to keep your fiddle leaf fig happy, thriving, and looking its best. Fiddle leaf figs (Ficus lyrata) are native to African rainforests, so they thrive in sunny and humid environments. So the better you can recreate those conditions for it in your home, the happier it will be. That’s why keeping a fiddle leaf fig alive boils down to three
Blue Calcite: Crystal Meaning & Properties
Blue Calcite is a rare version of an otherwise common mineral – and it’s one of my favorites to collect! Calcite is found all around the world and is a key ingredient in limestone, marble, and other building materials. Blue calcite, on the other hand, is a beautiful crystal that’s less common and is said to have calming properties. It definitely has a peaceful look to it – like a soft blue sky or peaceful blue waters. I have several blue calcite crystals in my home, like the large one on the open shelves in our bedroom. Their rich moody color and polished surface looks good with everything, and definitely adds a nice calming vibe.
2022 Holiday Gift Guides
Did Christmas come early this year? Nope! But our annual gift guides did (by a smidge, at least). So, without further ado… let’s dive into the 3 categories that we cover every year, which are all here in just one post: Gift Ideas for Grown-Ups Gift Ideas for Kids Gift Ideas Under $12.99 It’s probably helpful to mention that nothing was sponsored/gifted in order to get into this guide. If something’s in here, we just genuinely love it (and in many cases, already own it and can vouch for it). Each list also includes some things that we plan to give a friend or family member this year, and a few things we’d love to
How To Pack Light For Paris
Walking onto the plane carrying just a duffel and a purse for 7 days in two different areas of France (and a stop in Germany!) was my goal. And here I am standing at the airport, right after John dropped me off and took this shot. Yup. Just a purse and this duffel. I did it (with space to spare!). And because I’m nothing if not a minimal wardrobe hype woman (more on that here), please allow me to sensually tip your head back and shout directly into your mouth: “knowing how to maximize your options without dragging your entire closet with you is a real actual life hack.” So read on to see how
We Downsized – And Here’s What We Kept
Settle in. This post is a DEEP DIVE. One of those long detailed dissection/reflection posts that feels like the blogging days of yore. So if you love those & wanna grab a cup of coffee and go on a little journey with us – today’s the day. We’re about to dive into: This whole post idea came to us when we were in our downstairs sitting area recently and we realized that a lot of the furniture hadn’t moved with us from our previous house in Richmond. The loveseat, the chairs, and the coffee table were all purchased after we moved here to fit precisely into this new smaller sitting area that we slowly figured
How To Make A DIY Trellis
Behold: our DIY wire trellis! I’ve wanted to try this project for over a decade and I’m over the moon with how it’s turned out. All it took was some basic tools, wire & hooks, plus a climbing vine to bring it to life. Oh, and planning. It does a bit of planning. So let’s show you how to make your own! My urge to make a vine trellis intensified after we painted our house white last fall. The back of our garage practically screamed “ADD A DIAMOND TRELLIS ON ME!” It feels like such a chic garden accent, that our white house finally felt fancy enough for one. Wire Trellis Before & After Before
Adding Storage To A Small Kids Bedroom
When we thought about all the functions that would be helpful to have in our son’s bedroom, which can definitely be described as “cozy” when it comes to the size (real talk: this room is small), he needed: We definitely could have pulled the “your room is really small for a desk, not sure we can do that” card – but we thought it was worth a try thanks to the idea of customizing a built-in desk right next to the bed that could double as a nightstand. And low and behold, it worked like a charm. So yes, this small room has everything on that list we shared. A bookshelf, a desk (that also
Our Minimized Holiday Decor
It’s wild to think that this is our second year of decorating this house for the holidays (what even is time?!). You got a peek at some of it in our new kitchen door post, but today we’re gonna show it all! I’d describe Year Two in this house for the holidays as a more minimal Christmas but still a festive one. Last year we got a mini real tree for upstairs in the family room as well as putting up our skinny faker (that’s what I affectionately call this tree right here) in the bedroom. But this year we had a more central spot for our main tree… right in the nook our new
Adding A Door To The Kitchen
There’s been a big change in our kitchen! As in, new-hole-in-the-house kind of big! Okay, so really it’s just a new door. But that’s big, right??? Our last post covered all the photos and angles of the new kitchen porch we created outside – just steps away from our cooking area inside. So let’s take a look at what went down inside. It’s always fun to rewind, so if we take a step back in time, this is the kitchen as it looked when we bought this house in Feb of 2020: We talked about our initial updates to the room waaaaay back in this post from May of 2020 (before we moved in). And