Jess at Ramble Supply had the place decorated so beautifully to set the mood for a terrarium class.  Check their website  because she often hosts classes from a variety of different local artisans, so you can make everything from your own soap to wreaths and flower crowns with a group of friends for a fun and creative night out downtown.

If you have a chance to catch a class by Megan George, she is a fantastic speaker and teacher. Obviously she knows what she's doing (the arrangement she made below on grapevine wood won first place at the N. C. State Fair!), but she's also great at making sure you feel free to channel your inner whimsy.  Terrariums are so of-the-moment because they are a full-fledged embodiment of bohemian freedom, and her class encouraged you to experiment and get creative.  Even though all of us bloggers started with the same supplies, no two terrariums looked alike when we were done.


She started off by giving us a few basics.  Succulent plants store water in their leaves, so over-watering is the biggest reason people kill them.  Here's a great example of your plant telling you to lay off the water:


They also need well-drained soil, so if you are watering too much or leaving them wet for too long, your plants can start looking like the one above.  Once a week is a good rule of thumb on watering. 


There's no shortage of varieties of succulents that will be at home in an open-air terrarium.  And these plants can root almost anywhere, so they are easy to propagate just by pinching off a branch and shoving the broken end into soil.  Most of Megan's plants are from her own propagation, but she also likes to buy new varieties from Raleigh's own J & C Greenhouses at the Raleigh Farmer's Market.


2. Fill with Sand
Fill your container about 10% with regular old playground sand.  It's hard to come by a small bag, so again, easiest to share this with a group unless you are making a ton of terrariums.  Sand is a great way to promote water drainage in your terrarium because your succulent plants do not like wet roots.

3. Fill with Rocks
Now put a layer of rocks over your sand to fill another 10% of your terrarium. You can buy a bag of rocks at Lowe's or Home Depot, but pet stores are also a great option in the aquarium department. Remember to wash your rocks before putting them in your terrarium (especially if you got them at a garden supply company) because they could have been cleaned with chemicals prior to packaging that might be toxic to your plant.  You can use your brush to spread things evenly.  Rocks are an extra source of drainage which is why they are so commonly found in terrariums.

4. Sprinkle with Charcoal
A little charcoal goes a long way.  A vase this size needs about a gram of charcoal to do the trick. Charcoal helps prevent bugs or pests from wanting to nest in your cute little terrarium biosphere, and acts as a natural "air freshener" in case you watered a little too much and your terrarium starts smelling a little musty.  Charcoal for planting can be found in the plant sections at most gardening/home stores.


5. Fill with Soil
The best soil for a terrarium is a fast-draining variety.  Don't get your regular garden potting soil variety because it retains moisture.  Cactus soil or "quick draining" soil is your best bet.  You want about a 2-3" layer of soil spread evenly over your rocks at this stage.


6. Add Some Decor
Now's the time to branch out.  You can add natural element like stones or pieces of grapevine wood (seen here), or really think outside of the box and add quirky elements like old toys or plastic animals.  This is your little terrarium world -- think of it like a plant aquarium.  Personality encouraged.


7. Time for the Plants
There's no real right or wrong, but an easy step for terrarium success is to pick a short, medium, and tall variety of succulent to add height and texture to your vase.  A vase this size can hold three or four single plants, but stuffing in more won't give them much room to grow.


The hardest part of terrarium making for me was planting the succulents without breaking the delicate stems and leaves.  For best success, use your wooden dowel to dig a little hole.  Then put your succulent roots inside this depression and let go.  Gently use the dowel to press the soil around the plant and firmly bury the root downwards.  If you are holding onto the plant while you do this, or try to push the plant downwards with your hands, you are much more likely to break a part off.


8. Top with Pebbles, Stones, or Rocks if desired.  Or don't.  

Some people I know will stop reading after this introductory sentence, but you're still here which means that I haven't scared you off yet.  That's great, because this is one of my favorite TCM movies thus far.  Cria Cuervos is a movie that is kind of hard to summarize.  Not that much happens.  It's not a movie about events (though a few big ones do launch the story), but instead about growing up-- which is one long event in itself.  The beauty of this film is that it really reminds you of how you felt during that age in life where reality and how much (or how little) power you had to control it really wasn't yet defined.  Ana is a young girl who due to a volatile family life is truly desperate to exert more control over her life.  The problem is, she's 8.

   

Ana's universe is in desperate need of control.  And you'll be right there with it as she tries to take hold of it, at first believing that she really is a lord of her surroundings, and then the desperate fall of "growing up" when you realize that you are only a small piece of the world after all, at the whim of forces big and small around you.  All of this coming of age story hangs in the shadow of a the falling government of Fascist Spain -- with Anna's personal growth kind of mirroring the Spanish populace waking up to a new reality out of the shadows of what the old one left behind.  This quote from the director, Carlos Saura, sums it up nicely: 

"Cria Cuervos is a sad film, yes. But that's part of my belief that childhood is one of the most terrible parts in the life of a human being. What I'm trying to say is that at that age you've no idea where it is you are going, only that people are taking you somewhere, leading you, pulling you and you are frightened. You don't know where you're going or who you are or what you are going to do. It's a time of terrible indecision."

When I finished watching Cria Cuervos, I have to agree I felt very sad.  I spent a lot of time remembering those years in my own childhood where I really struggled with self, and identity, and my place in the world.  Just like Ana, I always really struggled with the concept of being the master of my universe, too.  You know when your parents would say something like "the world doesn't revolve around you."  Well I was that kid who wasn't so sure that declaration made any sense.  Wasn't reality being experienced through myself at all times?  Wasn't I the only person in the world that I would ever exist through? So far all intents and purposes, wasn't I the only person that really mattered in my own existence?  Even as a young child I knew these thoughts were not something I was going to be encouraged to share, but the logical nature of this line of thought seemed to encourage me to stay in my "id" phase a little longer, because it seemed I was onto something -- I really was the master of the universe, because my universe was all I would ever know.  We all eventually realize though that even though we're the windows through which our soul looks, we aren't really able to exert as much control over life as we might hope for.  I keep thinking maybe one day when I start a family I can help my own daughter through this time a little easier, but the truth is, we all have to deal with that truth one day by ourselves,  And that day will be sad, but honest, and essential to growing up.

When's the last time you watched a movie that made you feel all of that?  Thanks TCM.

I had to google "Squad Goals"

If you know what the hell squad goals means then you are apparently way cooler than me.  I knew I was old when the article I read to decipher the meaning of "squad goals" cited the cast of Friends as an example.  So the only way I could have missed the squad goals phenom is if I haven't watched TV since 2004?

Falling Really Really Hurts

Friday I went biking, you know just around Paris.  It was fantastic and freeing and picturesque until I decided to follow my husband around a stopped bus and missed the part where bikes need some help over curbs.  The last time I rode a bike, falling was a momentary distraction.  You got up and kept biking, especially if you were toting a bottle of wine and a cheese and bread spread to eat in the shadow of the Eiffel Tower.  But as a 30 year old falling off your bike means crying on the side of the street for 10 minutes, spending another 10 minutes fighting off the urge to puke in the Seine, and then not being able to straighten your arm for an unknown amount of days (I'm on day 4 and can almost bring a fork to my mouth again). 

Celebs My Age Look Ancient

You know you're old when the people you used to think (so, so long ago) were famous or fashionable look like they belong on the first season of Dancing with the Stars.  I feel older just looking at her.  If this is what 33 looks like, heaven help us all.

Maybe when I can move my arm fully again, I will feel better about 30 and the strange world we live in.  But today, 30 needs some wine.

These are my 2 favorite products at the moment -- the DayWear has an almost cucumber-esque fragrance and gives me that SPF boost in addition to excellent hydration.  At night, you can't beat the Advanced Night Repair cream.  It has a little tingle with application that really seems to tighten up the skin around my under eyes, and is intensely hydrating.

• Question the status quo.  The only way we can make the world a better place is to ask ourselves, could this be better?  There is so much to improve upon in the world still -- there are still people being discriminated against due to their race, their gender, who they chose to love, their religion.  We can get so used to "the way things are" that we don't stop to question, "but is that right?  Or could it be better?"  The answer is almost always yes, so get passionate about making your world a better place, no matter how small or how big your ideas are.