from coffee pot to flower pot

I love flowers and am always on the lookout for fun ways to display them. So, imagine my delight when I found this great little coffee pot while digging around a secondhand shop. It’s from an old hotel in Ireland and is very solid silverplate. I knew immediately it would make a great vase — not too big, not too small, with an opening just the right size for a good bunch of flowers.

I was not disappointed. First, I made a quick trip to my local farmer’s market, which resulted in this gorgeous selection of fresh blooms.

I then cut the stems (diagonally, under running water), trimmed the leaves, added some sugar and water to the coffee pot … and voilà, a beautiful, easy, and inexpensive arrangement!

Cheers!
Nicole

ex libris — Recipe for Press

This week’s book review is of Amy Flurry’s Recipe for Press: Pitch Your Story Like the Pros & Create a Buzz. I met Amy during the Southern C Summit earlier this month, where she gave a spot-on nuts and bolts presentation on how aspiring writers, designers, and entrepreneurs can pitch stories or products to magazine editors and bloggers. This book discusses the same topics in further detail, and is chock-full of useful advice and tips on being a DIY publicist. With 18 years in the business (including at the magazines Sassy, Lucky, Country Living, and InStyle — just to name a few), and with her own successful art direction business, Amy knows what she’s talking about.

The book’s 14 chapters cover key topics like finding your voice, generating content, strategy and stamina, creating press kits, following through, and, of course, creating the perfect pitch.

Interwoven among Amy’s suggestions are interviews with other successful creatives — like textile designer Amy Butler, chef Hugh Acheson, and artist Rebecca Wood — who discuss their own successful strategies.

If you’re an aspiring writer, maker, or small business owner, then read this book. PR firms are expensive. Recipe for Press shows you how to make DIY publicity work for you.

Recipe for Press: Pitch Your Story Like the Pros & Create a Buzz by Amy Flurry (PC Press 2011)

Enjoy!

Nicole

if you’re considering. . .a hanging planter

Apparently, I just have plants and gardening on the brain all the time these days. And one of the things I’m really digging now is the hanging wall planter that my mom gave me. It’s great, as it allows me to maximize what I like to call the “magic window” in our kitchen. Because it gets both morning and midday light, basically anything I put in the magic window flourishes. It’s only about 30″ wide, however, and I’ve run out of space on the sill, with lemon, mango, caladium, jade, and strawberry plants all residing there. I still needed a space for herbs, though, which is why I wanted to try a hanging planter.

This one is from West Elm and works really well. With jute pockets and a coated synthetic back, it’s light, which is good, because once you fill it with plants and soil it gets quite heavy. There are drainage holes in the back, however, which — if you plan to use indoors — need some tweaking to protect your walls. I covered the drainage holes with duct tape (a staple in our house), which seems to do the trick. A few small pebbles in the bottom of the pockets provide alternate drainage. After prepping the planter, I just popped in my basil on the top row, mint and dill in the middle row, and rosemary on the bottom. And now we have fresh herbs again! I’m so happy I gave this a try. We only have one magic window and I have to  make the most of it!

Cheers!

Nicole