Monthly Archives: July 2014

DIY Plant Pots

So, I understand that a post about plant pots is somewhat out of character for a self proclaimed black-thumb, but I’ve turned over a new leaf. Having killed more plants over the course of my life than I would care to admit, I am excited to announce that I have started an herb garden! And kept it alive for over a month! Nothing too impressive here..just three plants, really..but I am quite pleased with myself for keeping them alive for over a month!

One thing that I’ve heard from some gardening experts (thanks mom!), is that plants like love. And while I can’t bring myself to stand there and talk to them, I’ve decided to show them love by giving them somewhere pretty to live. I’ve also given them names, but I won’t get into that. No more ugly plastic containters for these guys!

I started with a couple of these terra cotta pots from Home Depot. While I think these are quite adorable as they are, I thought I’d jazz them up a bit.

DIY Plant Pots - Tulips and a Terrier

I gave them a couple of coats of white spraypaint and tried to decide where to go from there. In my opinion, the toughest part of a DIY like this one is actually making up your mind. There are sooo many options and decisiveness is not exactly my strong suit.

DIY Plant Pots - Tulips and a Terrier

After consulting my craft supply, I decided to try to save some money and use whatever I had on hand. I had these stencils left over from when we made Christmas ornaments last year, and I figured you can’t go wrong with stencils and gold paint (plus my trusty pouncers for applying said gold paint).

I must warn you, this isn’t particularly creative..but I basically just used the stencils to label the plants. I’m  sure you can figure out the rest from here..

Apply stencils..

DIY Plant Pots - Tulips and a Terrier

Paint..

DIY Plant Pots - Tulips and a Terrier

Remove stencils..voila!

DIY Plant Pots - Tulips and a Terrier

I did however think that the letters were spaced a bit far apart for my liking, so I tried to overlap the stencils the second time around. I also had to do ‘lavender’ in parts because the package of stencils only gives you one per letter.

DIY Plant Pots - Tulips and a Terrier

I will say, overlapping the stencils seems like the way to go. Since they all stick to one another, you can peel them all off at once!

And then I decided to add polka dots. Because, why not? I used the same method seen here, but with the craft paint instead of nailpolish. While I’m sure you can use nailpolish, I was trying to keep the color consistent.

DIY Plant Pots - Tulips and a Terrier

I left the stickers on for a bit longer than I should have, which caused parts of my polka dots to peel off with them, but I can just pretend I was going for a weathered look anyways.

DIY Plant Pots - Tulips and a Terrier

I’d love to hear what you guys think! Better with polka dots or without? Also feel free to share any gardening tips which would help me continue to keep the plants alive.

– Lusine

Bar Harbor

I hope you all had a lovely holiday weekend! It’s been a little while since I’ve done an ‘out and about’ post so I thought I’d share a recent trip taken with my girlfriends! Since we’re all nearing the big 3-0, we thought it would be fun  to get away for the weekend for a girls’ trip while we still can! Meaning, it will probably be a lot harder to take one of these weekend trips if one of us has, say, a baby or something (leaving the fur babies was hard enough).

Since everyone in and around Massachusetts seems to flock to Cape Cod at every opportunity throughout the summer months, we decided to avoid the hoards of people and and experience something new!

Bar Harbor - Tulips and a Terrier

I’m not sure how I originally stumbled upon Bar Harbor, but a quick Google search later, I was sold. Bar Harbor is a town on Mount Desert (pronounced like dessert) Island along the coast of Maine. We actually thought people were mispronouncing the name of the island they inhabit until our trolley tour guide explained otherwise. Oops!

Bar Harbor - Tulips and a Terrier

A quick 6-ish hour drive from Boston (which included multiple pit stops), the town kind of sneaks up on you. After a long stretch of road during which you’re thinking ‘where the hell am I?!’ as you drive by countless gun shops, you arrive at this adorable gem of a town!

Bar Harbor - Tulips and a Terrier

All picturesque rugged shorelines and a quaint coastal New England vibe. It was absolutely perfect! Quiet enough to give us the break we all needed and had enough going on to keep us from getting bored. And breathtaking ocean views everywhere you look.

Bar Harbor - Tulips and a Terrier

One of my favorite things to do on vacation (and I understand this makes me sound like a total weirdo) is to venture out on my own first thing in the morning to explore and take photos. So, at 6 am on Saturday morning, I grabbed my Nikon and headed out to capture Bar Harbor. Before you write me off as completely insane, I have some valid points..  1. minimize the amount of time your travel companions have to stand around rolling their eyes as you snap 20 photos of the same thing. 2. Most everyone is still sleeping and there are less people walking into your pictures.

Plus, the lighting. By no means am I pretending to be some photography expert, but you can get some awesome pictures when the sun is sill kind of low on the horizon. I’m quite proud of my first successful silhouette shot..

Bar Harbor - Tulips and a Terrier

The rest of the weekend was a total blast too! Hanging by the pool, spa treatments, shopping, and remembering how fun it is to just hang out with your friends without a million things to worry about.

Bar Harbor - Tulips and a Terrier

We did manage to squeeze in some nature/history with a trolley tour to Acadia national park which took us all the way  to the summit of Cadillac mountain!

Bar Harbor - Tulips and a Terrier

We’d heard that watching a sunset from the top of Cadillac mountain was kind of amazing. And seeing as how we were there on the longest day of the year, it promised to be a good one. Obviously, there was no way we were going to miss it.  With dinner and shopping taking a little longer than expected, we had to literally race to the top of a mountain to catch the sunset. Ever thought you would be in such a situation? No, neither did I.

Well, it certainly didn’t disappoint. I mean, is this for real?!

Bar Harbor - Tulips and a Terrier

I know that my fondness for sunsets/sunrises is greater than the average, so I’ll refrain from bombarding you with 75 sunset photos. Last one, I promise..

Bar Harbor - Tulips and a Terrier

Overall, we had an amazing time! I would totally recommend Bar Harbor to anyone considering a vacation in the New England area and really look forward to visiting again in the future! Like I said, there’s plenty to keep you occupied but it wasn’t at all packed with tourists or overwhelming.

Bar Harbor - Tulips and a Terrier

In  case you are planning a visit to Bar Harbor at some point, I thought it would be helpful to include some of the details of our trip!

We stayed at the Harborside Hotel which had a great location! It was literally on the water (above picture was taken somewhere on the hotel property) and a quick walk from where most of the shops and restaurants were located. The room was very comfortable and had a balcony with an incredible view! My favorite meal of the trip was seafood risotto at McKay’s which was incredible. Coffee Hound was our coffee spot for the weekend and featured a large variety of yummy flavors. If you are a dog lover (or are buying a gift for one), Bark Harbor has some great stuff and a big selection of breed-specific gifts (because I totally needed more Boston Terrier stuff).

I hope you enjoyed reading about our fantastic weekend! I’d love to hear what you think! Ever been to Bar Harbor? Planning any fun trips this summer?