Saturday 21 December 2013

#JoulesLovesRugby!

A week or two ago, I was lucky enough to go to a blogger event hosted by Joules at Bath Rugby's training ground.

I'm from the South West, so it was very strange getting on the south western train at Paddington, seeing all the familiar stations go by, but alighting at Bath! We were greeted by the lovely Christmas lights of Bath, but unfortunately did not have time to go and explore the lovely, famous christmas market. Next year, Bath, next year!

Once we arrived at the beautifully renovated and gothic, Farleigh House, we were met with the offer of tea, which always puts me in the best of moods, so I knew it'd be a good day.

 We chatted and played a fun little speed dating (rather, getting-to-know dating) game with the fresh-off-the-pitch rugby players. The players I met were Roko, Dominic and Guy, they definitely did tell me which positions on the pitch they played, but I definitely can't remember... However, of these things, I am sure: Dominic was at least 6'5", Roko served in the army (and was full of secrets about his fellow players), and Guy had thighs that you'd be hard pushed to get your arms around! They were very friendly and it was lovely of them to meet with us, especially straight from training.




Then it was time for some snaps in front of the building, and once we'd said cheerio to the sleep-eyed ruggers, we headed back to the train station.



I met a myriad of delightful bloggers, but spoke most with the lovely Megan (aka Briar Rose), and the delightful Sally (aka Queenie and the Dew).



Left: me and Megan
Right: me and Sally swinging our Joules bags

Sally is absolutely lovely, and I know a couple of you reading this were pointed my way by her, please get comfy, I'll stick 'kettle on.

Hope everyones's Christmas preparations are going swimmingly. I've just arrived home in Devon, so I'm about to get merry and dress the tree. Pictures to come!

If you fancy looking like a proper lovely sporty person, take a look at Joules' fab men's and women's polo shirts. 





Tuesday 10 December 2013

My Little Greenhouse

For my 22nd birthday last October just gone, I only wanted one thing. But it was a tricky-to-find/ even-harder-to-get-shipped thing, naturally. I wanted a little greenhouse/terrarium to keep some of the Lithops that I have collected over this last year in.

I found one; hand made, beautiful, small- everything I could've asked for! Here's a link to it- though bare in mind, if you order one, due to the nature of gorgeous handmade goods, yours may differ slightly from mine.

Here is a couple of recent pictures of the little 11cm tall terrarium, housing various species of Lithops (also known as living stones) and succulents.






I love the hinged roof, I love the size and I am so impressed with the quality. As you can see I've chosen the black patina (the edging between the glass panels) as opposed to the copper finish, but both are so beautiful. In fact I am so impressed with this little addition to my plant family, that I've started to investigate copper foiling classes in London, so that I might create my own little greenhouses. There is a surprising amount of workshops and courses available, but I will let the Christmas attack on my bank balance subside before I book anything.

(cue me pushing my glasses up my nose, and getting all green fingered nerdy on yo' ass)
The species shown here are as follows:  the largest Lithop is (I think) an 'Aucampiae', and the three brainy looking ones are 'Julii. fouscous' ('focous' basically means 'brown', as mine is the brown variety). The little greeny pink things aren't Lithops at all, they're succulents known as 'baby toes', which is apt as that's exactly what they feel and look like. Their scientific name is: 'Fenestraria', the windows on the top of each little stem allows for photosynthesis. Baby Toes are ridiculously easy to care for and absolutely beautiful to look at, though you must be careful when handling (in my case, stroking them) or repotting them, as they tend to show injuries a few days after the actual damage has occurred

These plants have been in the terrarium for 2 months now, and seem to be doing wonderfully. The bottom of the box allows me to witness the growth of a healthy root system, which I will post a picture of soon, as it is exquisite! 

On hotter days (my windowsill gets full sun from 8am til 11am), I have to prop the roof open ever-so slightly. I usually use a small paintbrush or hair grip. This prevents condensation, which can lead to mould, which would be disastrous for these tough, but young, plants.


If you'd like to know anything else about keeping succulents or living stones, drop a comment below or email me: fifi.nicholls@gmail.com.


Thanks to my lovely mum for getting this beautiful birthday gift for me.

Sunday 8 December 2013

'Green thumb' by Y. Brykensova

As you will definitely come to realise, I absolutely love keeping indoor plants (mainly succulents) and outdoor plants (also mainly succulents). So when I was recently checking my bookmarked etsy sellers, I was over joyed to spot this watercolour print by artist, Yelena Brykensova. I've been an admirer of Yelena's for some time, but must have overlooked this little beauty in the past. I felt like I was staring into a mirror, it was like she'd painted me, doing my favourite thing: repotting lovely little plants, starting new succulent arrangements.  Of course, I bought the print and have since framed it and have it hanging on my wall. It doesn't fail to make me smile. It makes me think how one day,  I'd love to have my own little repotting shed, filled with unusual species and pretty gardening shirts.

Here she is:

Other favourites of mine include:





More lovely art (prints and originals) by Yelena are available to buy from her etsy store, www.etsy.com/uk/shop/ybryksenkova