Fiddle Leaf Fig

Between the two of us, Mike and I have four brown thumbs. Seriously, we kill just about every plant we get our hands on.

With the new house and an actual patio, we've decided to give gardening another try and are both pleasantly surprised that the few plants we've bought haven't kicked the bucket yet. I attribute this to the the fact that most of the grassy areas in our complex are way over-watered so any that seeps into the ground surrounding our yard provides enough to keep our plants from dying during the 'dry spells' when Mike and I forget to water.

Along with the few plants we've put in the ground, we also have a lime tree in a container that's really taken off as well as a few other little flowering plants that seemed to die at one point but are now back with a vengeance.

All this luck has pushed me to take the plunge and try my hand at a house plant I've been coveting for a few years now - the fiddle leaf fig. Now that you've seen one, I bet you will notice a million more as they've become the 'it' plant of home decor. I've read from other blogs that a few years ago they were super expensive and virtually impossible to find but now they are more common place at big box stores like Home Depot and Lowe's.

As we do almost every Saturday, we hit up Home Depot this weekend for a few items and ended up coming home with a cute little fiddle leaf fig for $16. Right now it's about three feet high and more of a bush than a tree, but already adds so much color to the living room. These plants can be a little finicky but do well in front of a window with a lot of light and consistent watering. At the very least, I have comfort in knowing that if it dies within a year, Home Depot will gladly take it back... though I'm hoping that won't be necessary.

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Office Update

Well it's been about two months since Mike and I ripped out the closet in our spare bedroom in favor of putting in an office and I must say it's one of the best decisions we've ever made! For the first four months in our townhome, the spare bedroom was nothing more than a storage room where we could dump all the stuff we didn't feel like dealing with at the moment and close the door.

Now it's a place where we spend time every evening. Though after living with it for a while, we have made a few updates:

//1.Hide Those Cords! I strategically hid them behind the chair in the original shot but really it was a mess under the table. Mike mentioned that he's like to build something to hold them out of sight and away from our feet so last weekend I let him go at it.

//2.  Add Another Chair. Originally I had built this space for myself but only a few days later I found Mike and I were fighting over who gets the chair vs. the ground. Since chairs are a hot commodity around here (meaning we have none), we decided to 'splurge' and by a set. The space already had enough to keep the eyes busy so we went with these acrylic, 'tobias' chairs from Ikea. It's so nice for both of us to be able to comfortably work side-by-side in the evenings.

//3. Add a Rug. For some reason, the wood line from where the sliders used to sit really bothered me so when CB2 was having a rug sale last week, I went for it and bought this 'pembetatu' cotton runner I've been eyeing. I like that it's basically neutral with pops of color & plan on using it downstairs once we rip out all the carpet and replace it with hardwood next year.

Goose has also claimed this as his room (no, not in that way...although he does love to mark every tree/fire hydrant/pole in the neighborhood). He has a handful of toys/bones and has to keep them all in here. Everyday when I clean up, I put all his toys in his bed in our bedroom and about 10 minutes later they are all back in here. He's also learned how to open his plush toys and pull little tufts of fluff out which means it often looks like a stuffed animal massacre in there but he's having so much fun we don't mind cleaning it up.