The beaches here in Cali are pretty fabulous – but nothing compares to the black beach on Santorini. Here are a few pics from our morning on Perivolos in Santorini. And yes, I did take some of the volcanic sand home ;)
Hottest sand I’ve ever walked on! What’s the most bizarre beach you’ve been to? My last post on Greece is coming next! Tear** {’bout time, right?}
Have you heard of a weekender? A car you use only on the weekends? Well, living in California has made my urge to get a little rag top more dramatic. All I daydream about is a convertible to drive the coastline in or cruise around the hills in. If I could have my pick, I’d pick an oldie – a volkswagen cabrio or bug. Plus I think Rob would look pretty handsome in one.
If you could have a weekend car, what would you get?
Vertical succulent frames. We’ve all seen them and I’m sure you can agree with me that they’re gorgeous. I’ve wanted to make one for the longest time and last weekend, I finally did! I can now check this off my summer bucket list.
Heather’s Dad made us our succulent frame planters using reclaimed wood from his backyard. If you don’t have a cool Dad like this, you can buy a kit at one of your local nurseries. We bought our succulent cuttings and soil from Succulent Gardens in Castroville {since we already had the planters, we didn’t need to buy a full kit}.
Heather {I say her name a lot, don’t I? :)} had the brilliant idea to host a succulent party. So, she did and we came! Anxious to learn how to make one? Here we go!
Heather set us up under some nice shade. It was a beautiful day for gardening with the girls!
Now before you do anything else, make some margaritas {I feel like this is something The Pioneer Woman would say}. This would be fun with sangria, too.
Alright – you’re ready! Remember, it’s crucial that your planter has holes in the back so the soil can breathe and drain water properly.
Lay out your succulent starters so you can see what you have to work with. They’re so cute and small – like little babies!
Start putting your soil in! Keep shaking it back and forth to ensure the soil is evenly distributed.
Once it is filled to the top, you get to pretend you’re an artist of the Earth. Start your design by placing the {very small} roots in the soil pockets. This is the fun part!
Remember to take some pictures with your fellow gardeners {friends}:
When you run out of succulents, that means you’re done. Water it {don’t drown it} and voila! You have a soon to be vertical succulent frame.
How to care for your frame after this point:
Now celebrate with some dessert! We enjoyed lavender cookies and lemon ice-cream. Absolutely delish!
Now that you know how to make a vertical succulent frame, head over to Heather’s blog on how to throw a succulent framing party. Heather did such a great job with the details {if you can’t tell already} and it really made everything so memorable. This afternoon with the girls was so much fun and I highly recommend you do it with yours! Let me know if you have any questions!
The day after our Big Sur adventure, Heather invited us to Davenport for the day with her – a secluded cliff beach just north of Santa Cruz by 15 minutes. The beach is famous for its sea-glass – scraps of colored glass tunneled by a natural river from famous glass artists up the hill. Sunday is beach day, as you know, so we of course went!
Heather and I showed up in the same pants and same nail polish {typical}:
Once we parked off the 1, we took a small trail to the beach.
Heather brought her ukulele and Rob quickly stole it from her to make up his own tunes {sorry about the sun spot!}. It is the coolest instrument and I’m so excited to have a friend who’s learning to play it!
After some hours in the sun and sea breeze, we went to the Roadhouse for clam chowder, endless bread and a half glass of tempranillo.
