Monthly Archives: November 2012

11.30.12

Did you catch this picture on our facebook page a few days ago?

While sending Tim pictures of all the books I want for Christmas, I stumbled upon “Artful Blogging” magazine.  I want to be artful…and I want to blog.  Before I knew it I was snuggled up with my peppermint hot chocolate flipping through the pages.  Oh la la the inspiration.

I want to learn to take photos like this.  Anyone taken a good photography or styling course?  Give me the details…I need to be better.

Now it is time for the very best of my blogosphere this week.

When T and I do decide to settle down and shoot out some chitlins…I am totally making this advent tree I found on A Beautiful Mess.  Each day they pick a little present.  Totally adorable and totally doable.

My girl Mrs. Lilien made me laugh so hard when I saw this post.  That girl has some killer graphics.  I can’t wait to start wrapping so that I can “wrap” and feel oh so gangster.  Happy Holladays!

My new favorite color combo….turquoise, yellow and brown.  Nobody does it better than over on Apartment Therapy.  Now I need some pretty feathers.

What did I miss this week….link to your favorite posts below.

Written by Christina and Tim
11.29.12

You already know when you look in a fish tank there are bound to be fishies.
If you are into this hobby, or have taken a gander at our Tank Tour tab up there, then you know that you can also find corals in saltwater tanks.

Tim and I…we are coral people.
We love our fishies, but we LUUURVE our corals.

I look at corals like the furniture of the tank.  You can add pretty curtains, move the modern sofa, and refinish the coffee table.  Maybe that is why I love this hobby so much.  I not only get to decorate my home…now I get to fuss over a fish tank too.  It all makes sense now.

Tim looks at corals like art.  Which is why he took these photos.  Secretly.
Seriously, I didn’t even know he took these.  I wonder what else he is doing secretly, hopefully wrapping presents and baking cookies.

I just found them on our hard drive….and now I want to share them.
Maybe after seeing these you will be coral peoples too.

Pretty as a peach right?  An underwater peach?

A lot of people don’t realize that when you go to aquariums, they generally use coral inserts because the maintenance is really low.
Even on the show Tanked, they rarely use live corals.

I can’t keep a plant alive to save my life, but coral growing….that’s my jam.  Not to mention, you can score deals on corals all over the place.
Then I feel all thrifty and smart.

Are you converted?  Do you lurrrve the corals?
Or will the fishies always have your heart?

Written by Christina and Tim
11.28.12

Smack dab in the middle of our mile long to-do list…is a frame wall.

You know floor to ceiling frames covering the wall full of pretty prints, lovely photos, and sentimental art.  Apparently that takes patience.

Frames are not cheap, but we started collecting on our recent trip to Ikea.

Now comes the patience part….filling the frames.

Sure I could just find pictures and throw them in frames, but I really want our frame wall to sum us up and make us smile.  When people walk into our home I want them to look at our frame wall and say, “now I understand”.  Ok not really.

You know what makes me smile….our road trip.
Yea, I’ll make a road trip tribute.  If only it played 80’s cover music.

One frame down…seventy more to go.

Send me sentimental art y’all.

Written by Christina and Tim
11.27.12

Welcome Baby Brooklyn....

Posted by Christina // 4 Replies

Who remembers when I threw my very best friend a baby shower?

Well, her little dumpling in her belly decided it was time to make a grand entrance.  Say hello to the sweetest thing since your gramma’s cookies.

Oh my goodness, my heart just melts.

Katie had a fantastic pregnancy, and from what I hear an even more fantastic baby.  I can’t wait to meet this little bundle of love when she takes her first road trip from the great state of PA all the way to MO.

Congrats to two of my very best friends….you make beautiful babies.

 

 

 

Written by Christina and Tim
11.27.12

First thing is first….does anyone remember Fraggle Rock?

All my little cousins think I make these critters up.  Boo-yah.
Ohhh to be a child of the eighties.
 
Second thing second….below you will find a lot of words.
Pictures are at the bottom for you visual learners.
 
For those of you who are curious about this whole “fragging” thing we are always talking about.  I am going to break it down for you.
 
“Fragging” is short for fragmentation, it’s the process of reproducing corals.  The long story short is you break a piece off of your coral and call that it’s baby.
 
Fragging is usually pretty simple and a good way for you to share or sell some of your corals.  A lot of people frag their corals and hold onto the mother colony…kind of like breeders.
 
The best reason to frag is simple….conservation.
 
Corals are dying off at a remarkable rate and one day the majority of corals will be found in homes.  Sad but true friends.
 
Corals are almost always fragged out of the water, you generally don’t want to keep them out of the water longer than 15 minutes and no extreme temperatures people.  You think your Hawaiian pretty piece wants to visit the chilly South Pole….nope.  They are tropical peoples.

 If you want to frag a coral with large polyps, gently wave your hand over the coral before removing it from the water so that the polyps retract. Major tissue damage can occur if you lift some corals with large polyps out of the water while the polyps are fully extended.  Ouch.

How you frag depends on what coral you are fragging.  If you are wanting to split a soft coral or leather then we suggest a scalpel.  If it is a rough and tumble kind of coral, then try coral cutters or even a band saw.  Be careful please, no coral is worth being thumbless.

Here is where I will beg you to always wear safety goggles.  There is a woman from our neck of the woods who was blinded after a Zoa attacked her eyeball with it’s squirt.  Danger, please wear goggles….oh and gloves too.  Ok, now I am done preaching.  Love ya.

We always dip both the mother colony and the new frag in a coral dip containing an iodine solution after fragging. This dip will help ward off bacteria, fungus, and protozoans.  Gotta keep your babies healthy.

After you break a piece off from your mother colony, you can return the her to the water and let her relax…she had a long day. Using some aquarium-safe super glue for SPS corals and epoxy for LPS, stick the frag to a rock or plug and return it to the water. Eventually, the frag will encrust the plug or rock.

We use epoxy on most LPS corals because epoxy can handle the weight of the frag better, and it generally only comes in contact with the dead calcareous skeleton. The epoxy curing process will kill any tissue it comes into contact with, so Super Glue is really the best bet for SPS corals even if it sounds crazy.

It is important to never frag more than about 25-30% of your mother colony at one time.  Seems like common sense….but you know.

Happy Fragging my friends!

 

 

 

Written by Christina and Tim
11.26.12

Our house is so super clean now.
I know my mom doesn’t believe me right now because of how often I got grounded long ago for having a messy room.

We did not host Thanksgiving, and we did not have company.

I just felt like cleaning.

I am talking Magic-Erase-every-baseboard-in-the-house-type cleaning here folks, not my usual routine of Febreze and fluff.

I realized I have a few go-to tools that I absolutely adore.
I wanted to share them because I love them but I also want your advice.

You will see that none of these are “green” cleaners.  Bummer.

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My super secret-weapon is number three.  Those wallflower plug-in scent thingys make your house smell amazing without having to light a bunch of candles.

So since you all are the smartest people I know…I want your tips.

Your favorite cleaning products, and if you have found anything like my favorites that happen to be good for the planet.  You know, because I am all for saving our homeland.  What’s up with it…tell me all your secrets.

How do you keep your home so fresh & so clean?

ps….no one paid us to say nice things, it is just what we use and love.

Written by Christina and Tim