Friday Finds - Terra & Succulents

Mom's day was this past Sunday and on Monday I shared  my table with you.  Today, I thought I'd share this cute little gift I gave my Mother-in-law.

I found this wonderful terra-cotta planter at a local pottery shop, along with the terra-cotta garden marker.   It's French for "My Garden".  The planter didn't have any holes in the bottom, so I had to use my masonry drill bit to carefully add some drain holes.

My mother-in-law has a hot, sunny patio so I wanted to give her something that would be easy to care for.  Succulents are a little like cactus because they do not need very much water and like the hot sun.

 
At the end of the summer she can plant these in her garden, perhaps along a path amongst the rocks where they can fill in nicely.

You can purchase a flat of these small succulents at Lowe's.   I bought some for myself as well. 

If you know someone who needs a low-care plant, this is the way to go...with the extra bonus of planting them in their gardens at the end of the season.  Have a fabulous Friday and I'll see you tomorrow at Arranging Saturdays.

I'm Linking To:

 Chic On Shoestring Decorating

Rooted in Thyme 
Fishtale Cottages 
The Tablescaper 
The Dedicated House 
Boogieboard Cottage 
Thrifty Decor Chick 
Cozy Little House 
The Rustic Pig 
Shabby Creek Cottage

 

Something Other Than Wine

Friday Finds

Today on Friday Finds I wanted to show you this cute little wine rack I bought at a home decor store. 

 I have a wine closet so I really don't need a small rack to hold just a few bottles.  (I'll share my wine closet with you soon).  I decided I would repurpose this into something that would be useful to me.  A hand towel rack for the guest bath.

Remember those cute little rose petal soaps I showed you on last weeks Friday Finds?  I think they look sweet in front of the rack and will be handy for guest.

I'd love to hear any ideas you may have for a small wine rack.  I think this will come in handy.  Have a great Friday and I hope to see you tomorrow at Arranging Saturdays.

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Pretty Petals - Friday Finds

Ahh...Soft rose petals and sweet fragrance.  That's what most of us think of when roses are mentioned.  Take a good look at these.  Notice anything different?

Yes, these petals are as soft as baby's skin and so sweet to smell but they are actually soap petals.  I love them.  You can peel away one petal for a hand wash or use the entire rose bud  in a relaxing bath...aren't they so pretty?

And....you'll never believe where I purchased these.    At The Dollar Tree.  Yes, I said it...The Dollar Tree.  Here's what the package looks like.

They come in a package with nine rose buds and you can get them in cream, like mine, soft pink, or soft blue.  One package is perfect for a small dish.  They do need to be put close together so the roses don't "bloom".  

I have been using them a lot and think they're just as sweet as can be.  Sometimes we get lucky and find just the perfect little thing for just a dollar.  

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Those Pesky Critters

FRIDAY FINDS!

It's about that time again.  You know...evenings sitting out on the deck, relaxing and enjoying each other's company when, bam...you get bitten by a mosquito.

Well, I've had enough...and it's time to do something about it.  

We've all heard that mosquito repellents that have Deet in them are said to have toxic effects such as seizures, slurred speech, hypotension and other things.  Many of us try to avoid these products because of this.  

Then there are the smokey coils you burn, but the mosquitos are not the only ones inhaling the fumes.

I chose to go a little more natural.  There are many plants you can put on your porch or deck to help keep these pesky critters away and they actually work.  These are the top five mosquito repelling plants.

1.  Citronella.  This perennial is a clumping grass and smells, of course, like citronella.

theexchange.com

2.  Beebalm.  This is fast growing, shade tolerant and drought resistant.  It also has very pretty flowers.

gardeningchannel.com

3.  Marigolds.  They prefer full sun and fertile soil.   They also have a very unique smell.

the flowers avenue.com

4.  Ageratum also known as flossflower.  This is an annual and likes full to partial sun.  Very pretty blue/purple flowers.

fine gardening.com

5.  Catnip.  This is supposedly 10x's more effective than deet.

commons.widimedia.org

Okay, so this takes care of the sitting area, but what about the walking-around-area?  What do we do then?  Well one thing is to make sure there is no standing water anywhere.

I found an all natural mosquito repellent that you can make at home, doesn't cost very much and isn't harmful.  You need to reapply this every couple of hours, but it smells good...and makes your skin soft.

Mix together:
1 part essential oil - choose one (cinnamon, lemon, eucalyptus, citronella)  
10-20 parts of one of the following - (olive oil, sunflower oil, cooking oil, witch hazel, vodka..be sure to put this one in the spray bottle and not in your glass, lol )

Put in spray bottle and spray away.

That's it!   No more blood sucking critters.

Death to Mosquitos!