Plant mom: Just Chill Already

I've been quieter here lately, mostly because I can only do so much in a lockdown situation (Massachusetts is, rightfully, taking reopening slowly), but also because a lot of my time has been spent stressfully harassing my plants.

We're going through a rough patch at work because we're taking on new patients finally. We always have quite the waitlist so I'm not surprised even given the current situation, but unfortunately this means a complicated quarantine protocol and lots and lots of chaos and stress. Additionally, we finally made the decision to postpone our wedding which was originally going to be this August but has now been pushed to August 2021. The decision is a right one and I don't regret it but it's rough fielding all the questions from people, hearing their input (*insert eye roll here*), and doing all the frantic emailing of vendors/ordering "change the dates." It all worked out though and we were able to get all the same vendors booked for next year but I'll admit, the process left me in a little bit of a funk (shoutout to my fiancé who can still stand me even when I can't stand myself and swoops in for the save when I need it most <3).

On top of all that, I'm one of many that feel a lot of pressure to take this lockdown as a good opportunity to reach my full potential of creativeness and productivity. Of course, that's not how it works really, especially since I still go to work each day, so since it's been so crazy, I've taken extra steps at allowing (/forcing?) myself to just chill already.

And lately, that mostly means PLANTS.

Plant growing has turned into a really absorbing and rewarding hobby for me so it's a great stress reliever. As I mentioned in my last post, I ordered a new plant on Etsy... and here it is! Silver/Satin Pothos. I got it from this shop, which I mention because it arrived quickly, super well packaged, and clearly very healthy. My first foray into ordering plants online was a success! It has been repotted into a pot recently vacated by my...

Oyster plant! I repotted it into a pot from this Etsy store. It's a tricolor Oyster Plant but it's looking a little sad... I'm thinking not enough light, which is why he now lives in front of my kitchen window with his rattlesnake plant brother, who I also mentioned in the last post. I absolutely love the pot- it's a painted terra-cotta pot and the picture doesn't show it's super cool holographic shine so check out this picture from the shop's page (see above link):

It really glows in the sun but unfortunately today is pretty overcast so I couldn't show it's full potential. On days like this, it presents as a kind of sparkly black- most definitely not a bad thing. Something to note if you want to be pot twins with me is that this shop took a while to ship. I don't hold that against them though, as they clearly state that on their shop's page.

One more thing I noted in my last post is that I made a last ditch effort to save my Purple Wandering Jew. I'm proud to report that it's already looking better! I'm so glad I salvaged some cuttings, I might actually be able to grow a new plant out of it!

Maybe you can't tell but I assure you, the coloration is already more vibrant which is a good sign. I popped it in a smaller version of the Oyster Plant's pot.

As much as I'll go on about my plants, I promise that's not the only thing I've been doing with my free time. There's also been *games.*

My fiancé set me up with his old gaming computer (he just built himself a new one!) and hooked me up with all the accoutrements so we could finally play games together (my "everyday" computer is a MacBook Pro laptop). I've never really had a serious go at video games before so I wasn't sure if I would get into it but so far so good!

We're playing Diablo III together (I'm a Monk!) and I find myself really getting into it and even getting excited to play it! It helps having my fiancé (I'm gonna start calling him M) there to sort of guide me through it since I'm by no means an experienced gamer so it's a good place to start. 

M has also introduced me to a very chill game called Fez that I absolutely love.

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The graphics/art and soundtrack are fantastic and it requires the perfect amount of effort- not too intense/stressful but it takes enough brainpower to keep it interesting. This little dude discovers his world is actually 3D and he has to collect these cubes to keep his world from crumbling. So you rotate the screen and explore/solve puzzles to get all the cubes.

I've yet to turn on the ol' game computer today yet- I'm already jazzed for some Diablo so I'm waiting for M to get home from work. I spent the better part of the afternoon on the porch reading The Return of the King and drinking a White Russian. 

I'm really feeling my color combo today. Neutrals with a big splash of goldenrod yellow and to cap it off, turquoise and red finger and toenails respectively. I also debuted- to absolutely no one- my newest made-by-me earrings;

They're simple but I like the colors and how they look when I'm wearing them (especially with my hair in my go-to summer messy bun) so I think they'll get a ton of wear. They're made from some vintage Czech glass beads!

You may not be able to make your own earrings but if you'd at least like to join me by drinking a Dude-tacular beverage:

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I have a particular fondness for Kahlua so I usually make it with equal parts vodka/kahlua- I go 1.5oz of both and just kinda wing how much dairy I put in (I don't always have cream so often it's just almond milk, which still tastes great). You do you though.

Well, I'm going to continue to relax as much as possible (full disclosure: I did do a whirlwind cleaning session in the morning. Totally relaxation after that though, I promise). Lord Huron will be playing in the background- I find his voice/vibe very chill and calming. Here's a song from his newest album. Enjoy!