Creating a Mini Succulent Planter Oasis

O·a·sis  | /ōˈāsis/ | Noun

1. A fertile spot in a desert where water is found.

2. A pleasant or peaceful area or period in the midst of a difficult, troubled, or hectic place or situation.

With our moving truck still missing (I haven't heard from them once since they hauled my stuff away 3 weeks ago) it has become increasingly challenging to remain calm and keep focused on the positive. And it probably goes without saying, but finding entertainment inside an empty house is getting a little hard to come by as well. Fortunately the weather has been gorgeous here...perfect gardening weather!

So while my gardening skills are pretty much maxed-out with silk plants and pre-cut blooms from the grocery store, I decided to give succulents (real plants!) a try. Rumor has it they are pretty difficult to do away with. After watching a handful of YouTube videos on how to plant succulents and feeling only marginally more prepared, my daughter and I trekked off to the local hardware / nursery store and dove right in.

Time to create a mini oasis! Back home I poured my special cactus mix soil (supposedly good for succulents...but we'll see) into the large pot I'd picked out and started arranging the plants in the soil. I didn't really have a rhyme or reason for where each plant ended up...I just wanted there to be nice contrast and a bit of a wild feel about the finished look.

The thing is, that even though I have been a horrid gardener up to this point in my life, I have always had a deep affinity for succulents. They will forever remind me of childhood visits with my grandparents here in California. As a kid who lived neck-deep in snow most of the year in Minnesota and Montana, stepping off the airplane and into a place warm with sun and brimming with plants and flowers was something more than just a little bit magical to me.

So now that I have my very own little spot of planted magic, I'm going to be keeping a watchful eye on it...and will hopefully have nothing but good news to report about it's progress as the year goes on. Maybe one day soon I'll even have a chair (what a novel idea) to prop beside it where I can watch the sun set in our neighborhood. How beautiful would that be?!

By the way, I'm by no means a plant expert. But after sharing a photo of my little succulent plantings over on Instagram a request for plant identification came in. So since most of the pots that my plants came in were not labeled, I made a trip back to the store and wrote down all the names that I could find to share with you here today (hence all the succulent identification above). If you notice that I got anything wrong, please feel free to send the correct details my way! I hope they will come in handy for you if you decide to create your own little succulent oasis someday soon. xo Ez

P.S. For those of you wondering...it turns out that we legally have to give the moving company 21 "business days" (not 21 actual days) to return our things to us. This is why you haven't yet seen me calling these horrid people out all over social media. When the time comes I promise to tell you know exactly who they are so that you can keep yourself and everyone you care about as far away from them as humanly possible!

Learning a new Skill: Digital Illustration with Brad Woodard

Hi friends! I just wanted to quickly pop by to share my excitement with you. Earlier this morning I enrolled in designer/illustrator Brad Woodard's Skillshare online class where he will be teaching Digital Illustration: Communicate with Color, Pattern, and Texture...and I couldn't be more jazzed.

I love Brad's illustrative style, and am hopeful that even without all the usual tools (my digital tablet, scanner, etc. are all stuck on our missing moving truck) I can learn a ton through his tutelage. The best part...after a discount code (offered via Brad's blog) the full class is only $15! No reason not to sign up, right?! I hope that if you have been curious about illustration or have been wanting to add the skill to your long list of talents, that you'll consider joining so we can be classmates!

Why not Today? Lessons begin tomorrow! I hope to see you there! xo Ez

All illustrations by Brad Woodard

Easy Strawberry Cheesecake with Ginger Snap Pecan Crust

I considered titling this post: Finding Small Comforts in the Midst of Discomfort...but the words "cheesecake" and "ginger snap" seemed to have a bit more of a ring to them. In any event, this isn't a recipe post in the traditional sense (not to worry...there are links and notes leading you to the recipes included below), but instead more of an update on our moving situation (as I promised I'd give you) and a little glimpse at one of the small distractions (cooking) I've used to keep my spirits up during this very long drawn-out moving headache.

So if you've been watching our moving/settling-in process over on Instagram then you may have noticed an absence of furniture in any of my photos. This is because although we were verbally promised that our moving truck would arrive in California on the same day as we were scheduled to, we have since (16 days later) not heard a word from them (they won't answer or return my phone calls). Yes, it's incredibly scary! About 100 times a day I start imagining strangers digging through our belongings, selling off our stuff and trashing the things I love the most...artwork from my daughter and my daughter's baby photos (I have no digital copies of them...they are irreplaceable. Nearly every single thing I own is on that truck). The one small glimmer of hope I have is that upon investigating the fine print of our contract, I discovered a section that claims that delivery will happen within 14-21 days (I'm willing to put the verbal promise behind us at this point, and am holding my breath that there is still hope that we'll see our belongings before next week ends). So we've got 5 days before I start considering what legal action I want to take...I can't even let my brain go there yet.

In any event...while it is incredibly stressful (understatement of the year) not knowing where our belongings are, or if we will ever see them again, we are still very happy that we've made it here to California (in the midst of a very gorgeous pre-Spring season at that). There is no shortage of sunlight or fresh produce here (I am so thankful). Because of the bounty, I've been itching to start making all sorts of yummy recipes. Thankfully I was smart enough to pack a few cooking necessities in the car with us, such as a couple of pots and pans, utensils, etc.. On Tuesday, after our second trip to a roadside stand for strawberries, I decided that a cheesecake was probably in order (plus we were driving down to visit my grandparents the next day, so we had a good excuse). Of course the recipe needed to be as simple as possible to accommodate my limited cooking gadgetry. Queue the No-Bake Strawberry Cheesecake filling from Epicurious (I used Neufchâtel Cheese in place of standard cream cheese to lower the fat content), which I then poured it into my favorite Ginger Snap Pecan Crust (it's gluten-free, but you'd never know it). It was divine! Sweet, creamy, a little bit tart, and scrumptious!

You can even make the crust if you don't have a food processor! I discovered that a hammer and a couple plastic bags will work just as well for pulverizing the cookies into crumbs as a machine! Awesome, and worth the extra effort! If you're in need of a simple and delicious dessert recipe (maybe for Easter or Mother's Day), I can't recommend this tasty combo enough. And if you don't have strawberries on hand, I'm certain this recipe would taste just as yummy with any other variety of berry. Mmmm...

While quickly snapping these photos yesterday, I thought it would be amusing to give you a little look at my "photo set-up" (click the image for an enlarged view). Won't it look better when my furniture arrives?! I hope, hope, hope, it gets here soon! Cross your fingers for us please! xo Ez

Oh...and here's another one of our small comforts that we are so thankful for: snuggles with our sweet boy Orey.

Three Things I'm Loving Right Now

Phew, this has been a long week...anyone else feeling me on that?! Over the coming weekend I'm looking forward to finally unpacking my suitcases from Alt, catching up on neglected housework, and gearing up for the rest of the month (good things to come). But before I dash off and bury myself in loads of laundry and to-do lists, I wanted to share three things that I'm loving right now. Maybe you'll fall in love too!

1. Tuna aka Tunameltsmyheart — Move over Grumpy Cat...the cutest little mug taking over the interwebs (@tunameltsmyheart on instagram) is Tuna. This precious little Chiweenie was born with an aggressive overbite/lower jawline-dysfunction, and never fails to brighten the life of everyone he meets with his unique smile.

True story: I was having a bit of a depressive moment last week and was struggling to shaking it. After crying for about an hour (so ridiculous) I decided that if anything could snap me out of my funk, it was going to be Tuna's grinning face. So I popped onto instagram and within minutes I was feeling world's better. And I swear I'm not a stalker, but Tuna's little face seemed like the perfect subject to draw, so while I was stuck in the airport last weekend I made a little sketch of him sporting his spiffy bow tie (you might have seen it in progress over on my Instagram). I used the Procreate App (for iPad) and a cheap-o stylus from Target (if you are curious).

2. Nutella Rice Krispie Treats — You can thank me later. Just run into your kitchen and make these right now! Oh. My. Goodness. So. Good! Thanks Pioneer Woman for the kickin' recipe! If you'd like, you can substitute Gluten-free Rice Krispies Cereal (like I did) in place of classic Rice Krispie Cereal (who knew that the old standby has gluten in it).

3. Lana Del Rey — I'm late on this bandwagon (as I generally am with these things) but I'm obsessed, and can't get enough of Lana's unique vocals and haunting lyrics. Love! (image source)

Have a gorgeous weekend friends! xo Ez

Art in My Home: A Good Reminder

I first saw this Screw Perfection art print via Pinterest last year, and since it marries my obsession with brushed hand-lettering with a sentiment I could stand to remember more often, I decided to treat myself to it this holiday. I know it's not for everyone, but I love it! It hasn't found a permanent room to live in just yet, but I'm thinking that my office (for those times when I'm in the midst of blogger's block and being too hard on myself) or the washroom (to kick negative thoughts to the curb while getting ready every morning) are the most likely spots.

I love how even though the art is a print, it has great dimensionality. It looks like actual paint on the paper. Look at that droplet on the C! One negative that I feel like I should point out is that the shop name is printed on the lower right portion of the piece. It unfortunately detracts a bit from the overall look of the print, but since we're embracing things that are not exactly perfect...I suppose I can't mind it all that much, right?!

Oh...and the other art print pictured here (that I also adore) is Landscape Painting 2 by Russell Leng. I picked it up from Mammoth & Company a while ago. It's even more gorgeous in person!

Do you have any motivational art in your home? I'd love for you to share in the comment section below. I'm always looking for new and wonderful things to be inspired by. xo Ez