#plus your cacti/succulents are my favorite

[studyfeather]

✨ Congrats on 1k lovely!!! Your blog is the cutest thing ❤️ I'm getting ready for a college visit today so that's exciting and a bit nerve wracking 😬

aa! thank you Meg! but omg I definitely know the feeling! I was required to take a tour of my school before signing up for classes, and my school felt so big and foreign like I was never going to know where I was. but a week into classes it felt like my home away from home ✨ I hope that you’ll have a great time today though! learning your campus is important! you never know when you need to go into a different building than where your classes are at, or if someone will ask you directions. 

icon: who/what? | cute! | aesthetic love | can I steal it?!?

desktop theme: default | bit hard to navigate | minimal vibes | perfect | giVe mE the cODe!!

url: don’t get it? | ooo nice! | awesome!! | so jealous | can we trade? please??

original content: couldn’t find any? | good job! | pretty!! | #goals | plEase teacH ME YOur waYS

overall:  1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | +

compliments: MEEEEG! your blog is seriously one of my favorites ever. (let’s not talk about how many times I visit your page slkdjf) you are so cute and interactive with everyone - seeing anything from you makes me smile like a goof. your posts give off this relateable and cozy feel I love it. you’re honestly an inspiration to me and I wish to be as tumblr social as you are someday!

[baroquebucky]

house plants

in which bucky has a green thumb and you don’t, but god do you love plants.

masterlist

a/n: hi guys 0.0 sorry for like dying on y’all, college was ROUGH but I’m on break now !! so I’ll try to be more active hehe i hope you guys enjoy! I’m getting they some requests and I’ll post them later i just rlly wanted to get dis one out there hehe also this was way longer than i expected it to be uhm

you smiled at the small succulent in the passenger seat, “okay, i may have gotten you on a whim, but i will not let you die on me, you will be my new daughter” you nodded your head confidently as you grabbed the other groceries, balancing a small succulent in one hand.

“Buck? I’m home!” You stated, hurrying to set everything down and softly plancing the plant on the counter. You smiled brightly at it before turning on your heel to find Bucky.

“I’ll help in a bit i just need to find something” he spoke, you headed toward the room, finding him looking around helplessly, “what are you looking for?” You questioned, sitting on the bed and laughing as he tore apart the room.

“i remembered i had this t shirt i really liked and now i can’t find it anywhere, i looked through all my cabinets and it’s nowhere in sight” he huffed and you smiled.

“did you check my closet?” you quipped and he furrowed his brows, mumbling as he looked through your shirts before pulling out a black long sleeve, he smiled as he held it close to his chest.

“how did you even get this? You didn’t go through my drawers did you?” he worried, something flashing in his eyes, but it was gone before you could notice. He quickly grabbed it and put it on, kissing you on the cheek as he walked out the door, “no i didn’t and plus you barely used it so i stole it” you shrugged.

“okay now that you have your shirt, you are legally not allowed to be mad at me” you began, running infront of him and blocking the plant from his view.

“y/n, doll please tell me you didn’t get a cat” he sighed and you shook your head, “no, however i was thinking about it” you mentioned, a smile on your face as he rolled his eyes at you.

“i present to you, our new child!” you cheered, presenting the succulent and shoving it into his face. Bucky furrowed his brows and processed the information, the small green plant staring him right in the face. “It was on sale at the grocery store and i thought why not give house plants another shot! It’s not like we’re out doing much nowadays” you smiled, patting the plant gently before setting it down once again and going to fix the other groceries.

“y/n last time you gave house plants a shot you killed all six of them” he sighed and you threw a roll of paper towels at him, of course he caught it and threw it back, effectively hitting you on the back of the head.

“things are different now, maybe i have a green thumb this year” you smiled, happily putting everything away and setting the plant by the window.

Bucky saw the joy in your eyes as you watched the small plant grow, you even texted the whole team about the new member of the barnes and y/l/l household. You had spent hours at a time researching the best ways to grow and care for succulents and yet, one week later bucky noticed the small plant (which you had dubbed ‘Brenda’) had began to wilt.

He stared at brenda, debatin on letting her just die and prove a point that gardening was not your strong suit, but then he thought about how crushed you would be, coming home and finding the dead succulent. He ran his fingers through his hair and sighed, watering the plant and going out the buy some things to help it get more nutrients.

Within days Brenda was healthier than ever, growing rapidly and a beautiful dark green color. You quickly noticed and teased Bucky for not believing in you.

“I told you! she is so beautiful look at her! they grow up so fast don’t they” you wiped a fake tear and Bucky laughed rolling his eyes and focusing back on the show the two of you were watching. “I think it’s time for the next step” you smiled, his eyes widened as you finished your sentence, “another plant!”

So weeks passed and within a couple months you had all kinds of house plants, every windowsill covered with green and even some hanging from the ceiling, vines wrapping around lamps and even flowers in the patio, you even got bold and bought an orchid (which was doing amazing you may add).

While you watered them regularly, Bucky had to go above and beyond to care for the absurd amount of plants you now had. He would water them individually (by now he knew how much water each plant needed and what days to water them) and even added fertilizer to their soil, buying all kinds of things to keep them healthy and to stop them from wilting. Your most recent purchase, olive the orchid, had been the toughest to care for yet. Bucky had to watch tons of videos on orchid care to stop it from dying within the fire few days.

It took him a while to go through his routine while you were at work, you never caught wind of his meddling and you continued to believe that you had the greenest thumb in the world, Bucky happily going along with it, he couldn’t bare to see your soul crushed if you realized they would’ve died had they been in your care.

You and Bucky were laying in bed watching a movie when he got a phone call from Sam, telling him they had a mission, Bucky was both suprised and nervous considering there had been almost nothing going on lately and he would have the leave all the plants alone with you.

“I can always tell Sam i can’t go you know that doll” Bucky protested as the night progressed, you sighed and curled more into his side, pulling the blanket into you more, “I’ll be fine James, and plus i have all of our plants to keep me company” you smiled brightly and he felt his heart swell.

He wanted nothing more then to tell Sam to shove it so he can stay home and care for all your plants to keep that adorable smile on your face, but of course he couldn’t.

“I’m gonna be gone two weeks are you sure you can handle it?” Bucky asked once again, one foot out the door before turning around again, “yes bucky i know where everything for the plants is, plus I’ve kept them looking good for this long, two weeks is nothing” you smirked, punching his shoulder as he smiled at you.

He chuckled softly and nodded his head, kissing your forehead and saying goodbye, he also said goodbye to all the plants, knowing they would be gone by the time he came back. He did however have a shred of hope that they would be able to hold on just until he got back, to nurse them back to health.

You closed the door and sighed, the house feeling empty without Bucky, but then you looked to your right and saw Brenda, you smiled and put on your favorite show, cuddling up on the couch and sighing. You could keep your plants alive for two weeks, you had done it for months on your own.

Sam put the quinjet in autopilot after setting the route and sat across from Bucky. “So why didn’t you wanna come, getting used to the domestic life?” He joked and Bucky rolled his eyes. “Cmon I’m joking losen up” he laughed, throwing a peanut at him and Bucky broke into a smile as he caught it in his mouth.

“y/n and i got a bunch of plants right” he began and Sam nodded, “yeah i know she sends up pictures like all the time,” Bucky laughed and continued, “but she sucks at keeping them alive, so I’ve been taking care of them when she isn’t home and keeping them alive” Bucky spoke, a smile on his face as he realized how ridiculous this was.

“she doesn’t know you’ve been taking care of them does she” Sam questioned and Bucky shook his head, he bit his lip to stop his smile as Sam broke into a fit of laughter. “Oh my god they’re all gonna die on her like last year aren’t they” he spoke between laughs and Bucky nodded, his heart hurting as he thought of your face when the plants began to wilt and you couldn’t stop them.

“i just feel bad because he cares about them so much, but she just is actually incapable of caring for them, i mean she killed a cactus! even after doing everything she was supposed to!” Bucky laughed, wanting nothing more than to go home and hold you, and kiss you on the cheek.

“I can’t believe she can do basically everything but care for plants” Sam spoke and Bucky sighed, closing his eyes and drifting off to sleep.

As time passed your plants began to wilt, first was the orchid, a petal had fallen and it was now slumped over. Then was the ones hanging from the ceiling, the leaves all drooping and and even starting to dry up after the first week.

And then your succulents, you had been watering them way too much and essentially drowned them, and you accidentally killed your cacti by not em giving them enough water.

Of course with each plant death on your end, Bucky received the news through your daily calls. He felt so bad for you, comforting you every night and wishing he could kiss you and make you feel better. “Don’t worry doll I’ll be there in a couple days” he would say and you nodded, “maybe they just miss you” you giggled and he smiled, “maybe.”

By the time bucky got home, all the plants were basically dead, and you had thrown out half them before Bucky could even say goodbye.

“Sweets? I’m home!” Bucky smiled, setting everything down and closing the door, turning around to see you throwing out yet another plant before your face lit up and you jumped on him.

“i missed you so much james” you laughed as he picked you up, holding you tightly as he nuzzled his head into the crook of your neck.

“i missed you so much more doll” he whispered a smile on his face as you placed a kiss ontop of his head. He set you down gently on the couch and you immediately pulled him down with you, cuddling into his side and closing your eyes as you listened to his heartbeat.

“okay doll, please don’t get mad at me but i can’t hide this any longer” he spoke suddenly, getting up from the couch and moving infront of you. Your heart dropped and you felt dizzy, “what?” Your mind was racing, thinking of what the hell he could be hiding from you.

“okay it started off because i didn’t want to hurt you okay, i didn’t want to crush your spirit because you looked so happy and god i didn’t want to take that away from you, but then you went and got more and i couldn’t tell you then because i was in too deep and-“ you cut him off before he could continue.

“Barnes just spit it out!” You groaned, brows furrowed and a scowl on your face as he rambled.

“I took care of the plants!” He rushed out, letting out a sigh and putting his head in your lap. “I took care of Brenda when she started to wilt because i saw how happy you were taking care of her” he mumbled, looking up to see your confused expression.

“but my other plants i took care of those” you shook your head, and he scrunched his face up. “I took care of those too, i kept them all alive and cared for them so that you could think you were doing it, i wanted you to be happy as a plant mom, i knew how bad you felt last year” he spoke, looking up at you and searching you face for your reaction.

“that why they all died after you left, because you kept them alive” you whispered, finally putting the pieces together. Everything made so much more sense now, from you catching him moving the plants around and him buying fertilizer, you realized now it’s because while you were gone, he was taking care of the plants.

“You didn’t even tell me after i bought like 10 more” you smiled and he let out a breath after he realized you weren’t upset. “I just wanted to see you happy” he giggled and your heart fluttered, you ran your fingers through his hair and he closed his eyes.

“so you aren’t mad?” you laughed at the question, confusing him, and suddenly he was terrified because if you were mad at him he doesn’t know how he would make it up to you.

“how could i be mad at you baby, you spent hours on end taking care of plants that you didn’t care about just so i could be happy thinking i had a green thumb” you smiled, kissing his forehead and letting out a sigh, “if anything i should propose to you for caring for me that much.” Bucky smiled at you and gave you a quick kiss on the lips.

“i would marry you in a heartbeat doll face” he whispered, sitting back down next to you on the couch, “even if that meant taking care of an absurd amount of plants for me?” You teased and he rolled his eyes.

“as long as they aren’t orchids, that one was a pain in the ass” he laughed and you slapped his chest lightly, “i loved olive!” you argued and he shoved you softly, “you didn’t have to watch hours of videos to keep olive alive!” He shot back and you huffed, accepting defeat and setting your head on his chest as the tv played in the background.

After a couple moments of silence you smiled, realizing the trouble he must’ve gone through just so you could be happy over some plants. “I wasn’t joke when i said i would marry you y’know” you whispered, and Bucky blushed, kissing the top of your head.

“I know doll, and neither was i” he smiled as he saw your face flush, and suddenly all he could think of was the small velvet box he had hidden away in his t shirt drawer.

[ohnoyoonoh]

should haves | based off of sunflower by harry styles, like the meaning. | jaehyun angst | requested | a/n: i assumed how you wanted sunflower to be used in like the meaning, which i researched about. if you’re not satisfied with the story, please message me!

a photo-book was always a good way to reminisce memories. people say to live the moment, but jaehyun was the type of person to live the moment and capture it to relive the sweet memory once again.

he started the photo-book, once he received a polaroid as a christmas gift. he remembered when he started. he started exactly the first day of the new year. he thought it would be fun to take a picture of something everyday. then, he realized that taking one every day wasted precious film, but he also grew bored of capturing his cacti and little things in his apartment. despite the circumstances, his subjects evolved from the succulents placed in his home to himself or maybe his food to someone worth while. 

jaehyun flipped to the next page after reaching the pictures that started to be filled with your presence. he chuckled, as one of the pair of polaroids were you and him covered in flour. that day was filled with joy as you both tried to make a homemade brownies after he found a recipe online that worked out with his best friends. he remembered that you only agreed because you didn’t fully trust him as he burnt the meal the last time he tried to make food.

“so we’re going to need three cups of chocolate chips,” you read the recipe on your computer before looking at him which he nodded. he searched through the drawers and cupboards to find the measuring cups and spoons. as he rummages in a drawer, he perked up his head, “babe, i don’t think we have measuring spoons or cups.”

meanwhile, you were busy taking out the other ingredients that were listed but stopped after hearing him. he squatted quietly as you pondered upon the subject. he watched your facial expressions change quickly as you thought of how to answer the statement. he understood your delayed response as  it was rare to see a home-cooked meal made by the two of you. jaehyun typically just ordered not wanting to tire you out. “maybe, we can just eye it.”

“or we can just use the metric system,” he offered an option by pulling out the scale. 

“yeah, we can do that, too. i don’t know to convert between the systems, though,”  you scrunched your face. he could tell that you didn’t want to take the unnecessary steps to convert the measurements.

“i guess, we’re eyeing it then,” he said, putting the scale back into its place in the cupboard. relieved that you both didn’t needed to put extra effort into measurements, you started pouring the dry ingredients that needed less first in the bowl. “jae, can you get the flour?”

jaehyun hummed, as he opened the cupboard to reach for the flour. he didn’t realize that the bag wasn’t secured all too well as he tipped the bag over before grasping it tightly. his way of collecting the bag of flour didn’t end so well as the next thing he knew was that your work-space was covered in flour. his eyes widened, “oh. i’m so sorry, baby, i didn’t realize that bag was open.”

he wasn’t sure what to do since wetting a paper towel to clean up would cause another mess to deal with. flour mixed with water would make the mixture gummy and can stick to the surface. he knew that situation a little too well, when he was cleaning up after making a birthday cake for you. the white powder was all over the floor, but you. you were caked in the flour, he couldn’t help but chuckle at how silly you looked and managed to still looked cute.

“it’s okay, can you get me a damp paper towel? so i can wipe my eyes, i can barely open them. i also don’t like the taste of the flour,” you asked. 

“yep. i’m sorry, baby,” he rushed to get what you needed but actually went to grab his polaroid camera as it was the perfect moment to do so.. you reassured that he was fine that it was just an accident. as he came back, he went to retrieve what you needed he made sure to not get any splatters of water near the floury mess. as he turned around to hand you the paper towel, he was faced with powder all over his face. he lightly coughed as it got into his mouth, still handing you the paper which you gladly took to wipe your face. needless to say, jaehyun had other plans in mind as he grabbed a fistful of flour and threw it at you, caking you in even more flour if that was even possible. 

“oh, it is on, jung jaehyun.”

the flour battle extended from a portion to your kitchen to the entirety of it. jaehyun started the dramatic music, but he must have forgotten that he has his music on shuffle by default. the music determining where the little flour war started to go in terms of the fighting’s moment. the songs became the songs that you both enjoyed. the battle slowly progressed to you both laying on the ground, making snow angels. basking in the fun while it lasted, you didn’t want the moment to end. 

“i couldn’t want you more, kissing in the kitchen like a dance floor,” jaehyun sang as he held your hand, pressing his lips to back of your hand. he wanted this moment to last, and he remembered the camera. without any comments, he quickly got up to grab it which was still on the counter. you watched him hop up before laying back down with the device in hand. he held it out, already perfected the angle to capturing the photo due to the amount of polaroids he has taken with you.

“that day was great. i remembered when johnny and doyoung caught us laying there laughing our heads off. doyoung yelled at us like there was no tomorrow,” jaehyun laughed. doyoung chewed their heads off for wasting the flour, but he confessed that he disliked that you both didn’t start later enough to where johnny and him could have joined. turning the pages, he finally reached the dried out sunflower which he was reminded to water the plant. he stood up from his sitting position on the floor, grabbing the water bottle and fed the sunflower. he smiled, it was pretty, the petal strong. 

once he finished, he returned to the book, the page was dedicated to the little date that you had at the sunflower field. he always wanted to go to one, despite knowing full well, his allergies might start acting up.

“are you sure you want to have a date here? i don’t want you to get sick or anything,” you pushed the stray strands in front of his face to the side, joining it with the rest of his hair after you saw him trying to blow the pieces away. you stood at the entrance of the field, and he knew you wanted to make sure that he was committed into entering a world full of possibly allergies. the last time you visited a flower patch, he sneezed all week. but he didn’t regret going to it, though.

“yep, plus i’ve been wanting to go here,” he said. he smiled as dramatically did a spin, taking the scenery. taking the first steps into the field, he turned and stuck his hand out to you, “leggo.”

a warm feeling grew inside when you slipped your hand into his, which he started walking you through the beautiful garden. the stroll through the tall stocks of sunflowers left you both in awe. it was magnificent to see the golden petals, and you couldn’t get enough. despite being the same type of flower, they each looked different. each having a different characteristic. 

“babe,” he called your name.

“hmm?”

“do you know why the flowers are facing us?”

“why?”

“when the sun is out, they face it.”

“mmm.. that’s nasty, i’m gonna go throw up,” you laughed at his cheesy pick up line. jaehyun enjoyed telling cheesy lines even if it makes you smack in the arm sometimes. he pouted, knowing it’ll get you to respond to his joke. you replied to his joke. “i’m sorry, bub. yes they do face the sun, because you are the sun.”

his pout turned into a big grin, dimples poking out. he shook his head, “no, you’re the sun. no going against my word. i said it first.”

you rolled your eyes, “fine. i lost this time. i will win next time.”

“and i said, no matter how hard you try, i somehow still win,” he grinned. “i was better at pick up lines. but they were full of cringe. you always made fun of yourself when you thought of the cheesy lines to say. and then when we got home, i started sneezing like crazy. i ended up having allergies. even when you knew you were right, you never made me feel bad by saying i told you so.”

flipping to the next page. the last page. the last polaroids. you holding the gift of ear pieces he given you. a picture of you two with some nctzens and the members holding a sign that said will you marry me. another image captured everyone standing in front of the busking crowd. finally you two standing in front of the eiffel tower. the day jaehyun asked you to marry him is one of his favorite days. the perfect opportunity was when nct had visited paris for a couple of things on their schedules. he used your bucket list to his advantage and chose the point of how you wanted to do a busking. it took awhile for the approval to do one, as the managers needed to get the male a permit to do it. he’s never been so jittery when hearing the result of his plan. he had multiple, but he wanted to knock something off of your bucket list. “ah, the busking. you were so nervous about singing because you only ever did it when you’re scrolling through social media or playfully doing so when it was a karaoke night with the boys.”

“jae, i don’t know i am really nervous. the only times i ever sing is like when we’re at our apartment and it’s just you. or when it’s karaoke night with the guys,” you said as jaehyun led you through the streets of the city of love. he chuckled as you commented how you didn’t feel the romance in the air, as you expected it to be but sure was pretty. he listened as you compared paris, saying it different from the korean streets but shared similar feelings. the only difference was it shared a little bit more diversity among people. 

your hand in his, he squeezed it to reassure you, “you’ll be okay, baby. you shut everyone else out when you get so into the song so well. plus, the boys will be there, too. they’re part of your number one fanclub.” reaching the destination, you see the members already performing and gathered a small crowd. it grew bigger bit by bit.  the live sound from the band made your heart race more but also somehow made you calm down. it was exhilarating to say the least. you always enjoyed buskings similar to these. watching them back in korea was something you did when you and jaehyun ran errands and always made sure to reach the time the singing buskings would start. the tune of pandora’s box grew louder as you neared the make-shift venue. jaehyun quitely sang the song as he led you to where the managers were waiting for you both .they helped jaehyun put his ear-pieces on, adjusting the box into his back pockets. the managers handed him another box, revealing to be your own set of ear pieces. 

he showed you the ear pieces, taking it out of the box. you observed the ear pieces, reading the engraved words. you laughed, seeing that your inside joke landed as the design. you jokingly told jaehyun that if you were an idol that you would get a design on your earpieces that it would say be quiet, don’t cry on one and the other with i just want some milk. in your words, “it’s such an iconic line for teenage jaehyun.” you given him a side hug, showing your appreciation towards the ear-pieces even if you were going to only use them this one time. 

jaehyun helped you prepare for the performance, straightening the wires making sure they didn’t get caught within your undergarments. he slipped the clip onto your waistband, adjusting it so it wouldn’t be uncomfortable as you sat in the chair. “you ready, love?”

“yeah, a little nervous but just as we practiced.” you nodded your head. you both waited for the song to end. he wasn’t going to join them for a song wanting to prepare as much as he can before the proposal. the busking venue the managers chosen was cute. there was a white blanket hanging behind them, which projected videos and pictures of the boys. the idea showing the members first as they performed and it subtly transitioned to your memories together as you done your songs were entirely his idea. he knew that you kept a pile of sd cards lying around with the vlog material that you had, along with the pictures. you enjoyed capturing the moments as he does with his polaroid. he left his thoughts after seeing that the boys finished. johnny patted jaehyun on the back. jaehyun took your hand in his once again, staring at you with a small smile. he awaited your response, wanting to know your final response to performing. you nodded, confirming that you were ready. he walked towards the two chairs, letting you pick which one you wanted to sit in. some of the members cleared the leftover chairs, creating a space just for you two. he thanked them with a head bow, donghyuck and mark shooting a thumbs up that everything was ready to go. johnny manned the computer that was connected to the projector, prepared to start the video when it was the right time.

jaehyun handed you a microphone, and he introduced the two of you. he knew how hard you’ve been practicing ever since that he told you that the managers were able to make the busking happen. you worked hard for a straight month. he was sure that you could debut as an idol if you wanted to.

exactly how he said, you immersed yourself into the song well that you forgot that you were singing to a crowd. it was just you and him. it felt so nice to sing your heart out to someone, knowing that they’ll treat it well. you were the one who jaehyun wanted to spend the rest of his life with. he was sure of it. he couldn’t help but stare at you as you sang your verses. he certainly was whipped for you. well in the words of mark. he watch you smile as the second song ended. opening your eyes, you met them with jaehyun’s. the crowd cheering you both before he spoke again, “i got a little surprise for you.”

the countless nights he stayed up to complete the video were surely worth the loss sleep, as your reaction was worth it. you may have cried, but it was worth it. the boys and the fans that helped him were overjoyed to hear you utter yes. the crowd at the busking also cheered again for the successful proposal. he grinned, remembering the loud claps and whistles that were for you two. 

a tear dropping onto the page covered your smiles.

jaehyun wiped it off, but he couldn’t stop the incoming tears that soon fell onto the page. now he was here without you. he knew it was his fault. it was all his fault for you leaving him. he should have tried harder. he should have done something. he knows if he tried harder then that you would be there with him. he should have done better with the first argument you had. he should have listened to you and taken the time off from work. he should have learned from the first argument. he should have committed time to you more. he should have done it right the first time. he could have prevented these should haves and you would be right here with him.

but now here he is. he hoped to fix everything by watering the plant just like how he did with the sunflower earlier. now the given attention was a little too late as the sunflower finally let go all of its petals.

-

“Sunflowers just died Keep it sweet in your memory”

[lovewhenthereisnone]

Rules: answer 20 this- or- that questions, tag your friends, then add a cute gif!

I was tagged by @einendloseralbtraum​, thank you so much!!!

1. Milk or Water?

I like milk, because strong bones, but I think I’ll have to go with water. I like to add stuff to it (lemons, etc), plus I drink it more during the day. 

2. Cupcakes or Cakes?

I love sweets, but probably cake. 

3. Cacti or Succulents or Big leafy plants?

STOPP. I love them all okay? If I really had to choose one I’ll say Cacti. So many types and so many dangers. 

4. Circles or Triangles?

Circles. They’re so much more satisfying.

5. Roses or Daisies?

Roses. I like how fancy they are, the colors, and their whole tie to romance. 

6. Almonds or Walnuts?

Almonds. I like them in trail mix. 

7. Cats or Dogs?

I have allergies but my love for dogs and cats is stronger. I currently have two cats, so I feel like I need to say I prefer cats. I do really love them both though. 

8. Warm colors or Cool colors?

Cool Colors. I do like yellow in some shades, but green, blue, and purple are my favorites. 

9. Sunset or Sunrise?

Sunset. I like a good photo and sunsets have such beautiful colors. 

10.  Sun or Moon?

Moon. The sun is too hot. 

11. Polka dots or Stripes?

Stripes. I don’t really like polka dots. 

12. Apple or Android?

I’ve only had android, so Android. I do respect Apple though, I think it has it’s own advantages. 

13. Autumn or Spring?

Autumn. It’s the season for spooky month, there’s not a lot of bugs, it’s sweater weather and it’s not hot. 

14. Winter or Summer?

Winter. I really hate the heat and the idea of being sweaty. I also really love all my jackets and I think they really are crucial parts of my outfits. 

15. Heels or Flats?

Flats. Heels make my ankles hurt. 

16. Dark shades or Lighter shades?

Dark Shades. 

17. Pants + Shirt or Dress/Skirt?

Pants + Shirt 

18.  Hair up or Hair down?🙆‍♂️🙆‍♂️

I wear it both ways, down when I’m out and up when I’m in. I think I like it better when it’s up. 

19. Online or In-store shopping?

Well I like both but I feel like it’s so much more reliable to do in-store shopping. Plus it gives me an excuse to not stay home all day. 

20. Snail mail or Digital penpal?

Digital penpal. I would get anxious waiting. 

I’ll tag @oblivionsongstress​, @counterbalance​, @fishpillowses​ @swiffrrswept​, @call-me-jerusalem​, @hannibalcatharsis​, @silverloser​, @helsi-palermo​, and anyone else who wants to do this!

[powerfultulips]

hej!! for the calm asks- all.

i- okay

1: Golden mornings or peachy sunsets?

both is good! i love sunsets though. plus mornings are early

2: Sugar cones or waffle cones?

both is good! i prefer waffle cones though!

3: Do you wear scarves often? do you have a favorite?

i don’t actually own any scarves but they’re cool

4: How long do you lay in bed before you finally get up?

my personal record is six hours

5: Is there a food you’ve never had but always wanted to try?

uhhhhh probably but i do be kinda samefooding tho 😳

6: What does your umbrella look like?

I Do Not Own An Umbrella

7: Do you listen to ASMR?

yeah i love ajr /j

no i do not i simply do not Vibe with it

8: Rain storms or a light drizzle?

both is good! i think i prefer drizzly rain though

9: What’s a little thing in life that you love?

the smiles and laughs and voices of people you love

10: Favorite color aesthetic?

trans pride flag. or just black bc i’m edgy okay

11: Wobbly lines or using a ruler?

🎵 i’ve been feelin’ wobbly 🎵

12: Bright colorful living room or neutral cozy living room?

neutral and cosy i think. i like the spaces around me to feel comfy. plus bright colours make my eyes hurt sometimes

13: Do you have any candles? what scents are they?

i do not but i enjoy smelling the candles at like.... walmart and cracker barrel lmao. i used to drag my parents into yankee candle when i was like seven and i had a whole collection of em but idk what happened they probably got thrown out or hopefully donated or something

14: Have you ever rode a horse?

yes and the best horse i ever rode was named rusty. he was a good boy

15: Do you have glasses?

yes and amazingly i haven’t broken them yet. they’re soooo flexible

16: What’s a language you’d like to speak?

i just wanna be better at spanish and swedish lmao. i also wanna learn japanese and maybe finnish?

17: What’s your favorite season and favorite month in that season?

spring, march

18: Do you have a favorite pair of socks?

yes my diamond socks that my dad gave me. they’re so comfy

19: Favorite Ghibli and/or disney movie

fuck disney. all my homies hate disney. howl’s moving castle tho

20: Disney, Dreamworks, or Pixar?

fuck disney. all my homies hate disney.

21: What snacks do you usually get at the theater?

i haven’t gone to see a movie in a theatre in like 2 years please

22: What’s an underrated video game/ movie/ show you love and think it needs more recognition?

i already answered this but i’ll give a different answer. the game oxenfree is so fucking good please play it

23: Would you fill your house with plants if you had a green thumb?

yes.

24: All plants are great but do you have a favorite?

dusty miller used to be my fav but now it’s like,,, cacti or succulents of any kind are my shit

25: Do you have a favorite type of art style? (eg: soft looking, no to little color, sketches, crisp and clean, minimalist, pixel art etc.)

i really love soft, sketchy, doodly art

26: What would you do if someone gave you flowers?

melt

27: Do you like nicknames?

yes but also,,,, i will just hoard names

28: Do you still watch shows you watched when you were a kid? even from time to time?

i don’t watch anything please i’m begging you

29: Do you still like old memes? (tell the truth)

memes for the meme god

30: Favorite Halloween costume you dressed up as? (if you don’t celebrate halloween have you ever cosplayed or would you like to? who did you cosplay as?)

i went as phineas one year. that was fun. and i wanna get into cosplay but i’m too broke and scared i’m too old to actually start doing it

31: Are you a fashionable person?

when i’m manic

32: Do you like watching holiday movies?

fuck holidays, all my homies hate holidays. groundhog day good tho

33: Cookies or brownies?

both is good, cookies best tho

34: Do you blow in the cold air just to see your breath?

if you don’t you’re a cop

35: Do you find the crickets chirping outside your window relaxing?

no unless they’re kricketots in pokémon go

36: Do you like cobblestone streets?

hell yeah that’s aesthetic

37: How often do you doodle?

all the time if i’m in class, but since i dropped out, not often enough lmao

38: When was the last time you blew bubbles?

when i was in the hospital LMAO we love getting trauma flashbacks

39: What’s your favorite random piece of decor in your house and room?

my trans flag which i STILL haven’t hung up. or the giant fucking butterfly painting on my wall

40: Do you bite your fingernails off or clip them more often?

clip them

41: Any birthmarks?

probably, not that i like. can name though

42: Thoughts on freckles?

hell yeah

43: First video game you ever played?

mlb power pros. actually it was like, super mario or something but power pros was the first one i ever owned

44: what type of bird do you hear most often outside your door?

i don’t know shit about birds @literally-an-envelope this is your job

45: Do you use gifs/ memes a lot when replying to people?

no but i use emoji a lot

46: Thoughts on spring?

as mentioned before it is my favourite season. and it’s also the one where baseball starts so hell fucking yes

47: Ideal temperature outside?

sixty-two degrees fahrenheit (or like, 12-22 celsius for the educated folks)

48: Cloudy, partly cloudy, or clear skies?

partly cloudy gang

49: How often do you hear airplanes outside?

not often enough

50: Do you enjoy windy days?

not when i’m trying to walk or smoke lmfao

[gra-sonas]

21 Questions

Tagged by no one in particular, saw several of my mutuals answer this one and thought it’d be fun.

Rules: simply answer the following 21 and tag 21 people please feel free to do this meme, I’d love to read your answers!

Name/Nickname: grá (that’s the first half of my user name and means ‘love’ in Irish Gaelic) Sign: Capricorn, ascendent Gemini (crazy mix, let me tell you) Height: 5’7 Hogwarts House: Ravenclaw 💜 Last thing I googled: apart from not using google: something something Tyler Blackburn something something (priorities, I have them) Last song I listened to: Listened to the new Jonas Brothers album on my way home, @moderngenius94 recommended it (thnx bb, I liked it) Song stuck in my head: I’m not obsessing over a particular song atm, and my brain definitely appreciates the quiet Following: Mostly RNM friends ✨💚👽 Followers: Are super lovely so far, thanks so much for hanging out with me! Do you get asks:  None so far, not sure why, but my ask box is open in case anyone’s in the mood to send one. 👋 Amount of sleep:  Ideal are 7hrs, I rarely hit that target tho (I’d have to go to bed earlier for that b/c no matter what, I’m up at 5am... OOPS) Lucky number : 4, 44, 444, 4444 (you get the idea) What am I wearing: PJ pants (b/c my 3-day-weekend’s already well under way) & a striped shirt (stripes = ❤️) Dream trip: I haven’t been to Sweden in a while and I miss spending time there. Favorite food: I’m going with my two favorites’ favorite food 🍕 (guess what’s for dinner today 🤤)

Instruments: I learned to play the flute and piano as a kid, I can still read music, playing instruments not so much anymore Languages: German (native), English (fluent, well, at least I like to think I’m fluent, let’s not put that to the test tho :P), French (I had to learn it in school, can still read, suck at speaking tho), Swedish (I can hold a simple convo and read the newspaper), I can also read Dutch and understand a lot, I can’t speak tho. Favorite song: Ever since I first heard it on the radio in 1985, a-ha’s Take on Me Random fact: I never read manuals, it’s way more fun to figure out how sth works on my own (it’s not rocket science tbh), also I love computers (kind of a requirement for my job) and mobile devices, I don’t play computer games tho Aesthetic: lots of wood (floors, furniture), earthy colors, cushions, white, plants (succulents and cacti are the cutest) - I’d move into Tyler Blackburn’s house immediately, it hits ALL of my interior design kinks (He’s more than welcome to stay btw, I bet he makes for an awesome room mate - and he cooks! PLUS THERE’S DYLAN, OF COURSE 😍)

[fragilelcngs-blog]

INTRODUCING…. me.

hey, babes !! my name’s dee, and i’m very new around here. i’m twenty-three, live in the est, and use she/her pronouns. i’m a moody aquarius, chaotic neutral, and infp for those of you that are into literally anything that will tell you about your personality like me. i’m legit so painfully shy but i’m so down for plots, threads, and ships of all kinds so please bring me whatever your little hearts desire !!! i’m so stoked to be here and write with y’all it’s INSANE, and my ims are ALWAYS open for screaming about plotting, sharing headcanons, or making friends !! i only have two triggers that i feel should be mentioned and those are anything involving heavily graphic or explicit mentions of self-harm or pedophilia. otherwise, i’m good to go but please let me know if i miss something and don’t tag or give a content warning for any of your triggers !!!

INTRODUCING…. the muses.

HEATHER VINCENT, phoebe tonkin, ( 26 ) + screwtape by cane hill.

JANIE FOLEY, holland roden, ( 21 ) + disco tits by tove lo.

CARCOSA LUSK, lucy hale, ( 23 ) + ain’t no grave by johnny cash.

MICKEY ST. CLAIR, lynn gunn, ( 24 ) + soon be gone by boots.

VERONICA ST. CLAIR, carlson young, ( 21 ), + hotter than hell by dua lipa.

EVE RAYNER, holland roden, ( 27 ), + when the levee breaks by led zeppelin.

VALERIA PADILLA, eiza gonzalez, ( 27 ), + down by stone temple pilots.

MOLLY STARRETT, madelaine petsch, ( 22 ), + ultraviolence by lana del rey.

BRITNEY STARRETT, katherine mcnamara, ( 20 ), + come as you are by nirvana.

NIKKI FREY, maggie lindemann, ( 19 ), + baby i’m dead inside by kopps.

INTRODUCING…. wanted plots.

oh wOW alright so i’m gonna be basic for a second and tell y’all that i fucking love angst. i mean, fluff’s great and all, but my heart truly lies with the gritty, toxic, dysfunctional, and fucked up. i’m also a huge fan of anything having to do with crime so if you ever wanna do any crime plots come my way !!!  it’s also no secret that i’m a very big fan of age gaps ( obvs not with minors because GROSS ). but seriously, give me everything. friends or exes or enemies to lovers, two toxic people that know they should walk away from each other but can’t live without the other, criminals on the run, any kind of criminal or bad influence with pure characters that have hearts made of gold, characters that go through something horrible together and become each other’s lifeline because they’re the only ones that understand, secret and / or taboo relationships, slowburn and unrequited love, exes that reconnect under literally any kind of circumstances, etc. i’ll link some good examples of my favorite plots so you can get a feel for what i’m describing !!!

x, x, x, x, x, x, x, x, x, x, x, x, x, x, x, x are all some ( hopefully ) pretty good examples !!

i’m also always down for plots away from the romantic side of things. i LOVE giving my characters ride or dies, enemies, exes, family, or anything else you can think of. the more unique the connection the better !! legit one of the best relationships i ever played out in an rp was between carcosa and another girl. totally platonic, but it was such a rich and fucked up dynamic that was full of toxicity and power struggles and manipulation and backstabbing, but also drunken benders and risky adventures and late night confessions, and those were easily some of the funnest threads and plotting sessions i’ve ever had. so please, like i said, give me all of the connections.

INTRODUCING…. the favorites.

i’m totally gonna break this down into quick lil sections because i have a lot of favorite things lmao so here you go !!!

SHIPS

tbh i have so many favorite crackships so pls don’t even get me started on those ?? but i love both f/f and m/f ships and have absolutely zero preference when it comes to which one we do. i’m also a huge fan of poly ships and i’ll never say no to having multiple ships/plots/threads with the same person. i’m very much a multi-ship kinda gal so as long as it’s cool with my writing partner(s) i tend to assume each ship is in it’s own little verse unless otherwise discussed. though i’m totally down for and love ic drama so don’t be afraid to approach me about ships existing in the same timeline !! i’m a fan of everything from the sickly sweet and fluffy to the fucked up, toxic, and angsty so just give me all of the ships because tbh i’m a slut for ‘em.

FACES

alright so some of my favorite faces to play are holland roden, lucy hale, phoebe tonkin, eiza gonzalez, madelaine petsch, katherine mcnamara, dove cameron, halsey, emma greenwell, maggie lindemann, emmy rossum, madison davenport, lynn gunn, vanessa morgan, carlson young, deborah ann woll, and maggie siff. some of my favorite ladies to play against are zoey deutch, lindsey morgan, kat graham, vanessa morgan, dua lipa, eliza taylor, adelaide kane, candice patton, dove cameron, arden cho, chloe bennet, vanessa hudgens, danielle campbell, ashley benson, margot robbie, blake lively, ginny gardner, angelina jolie, emeraude toubia, meghan markle, and zoe kravitz. some of my favorite fellas to play against are charlie hunnam, jon bernthal, dj cotrona, charles melton, manny montana, oscar isaac, andy biersack, andrew lincoln, chris evans, bob morley, garrett hedlund, tom hardy, jason momoa, tyler posey, michael b. jordan, frank grillo, jeffrey dean morgan, dom sherwood, jensen ackles, skeet ulrich, and froy gutierrez.

EXTRAS

 just for fun, here’s a mismatched list of some of my favorite things across the board !! snakes, glitter, the colors purple, teal, and black, dogs, iced coffee, horror movies, outlaw bikers, drag queens, classic rock, vinyl records, bath and body works, geodes, mexican food, pulp fiction, the moon and stars, tattoos, neon lights, iasip, succulents and cacti, richard siken, candles, myths and folklore, metallic lipstick, sons of anarchy, and concerts.

INTRODUCING…. future plans.

tbh i hope to get a lot of things out of this group. i’m hoping to find a safe space to let my creativity run wild and a home for my muses where they can constantly grow and develop through interactions with other characters, in-depth plots, and my own exploration the more i write with them. i’m also hoping this will be a good opportunity to make friends, since i’m very much a loner and some of the best people i’ve met have been through the world of roleplaying. i definitely want to push my muses and challenge myself to be a better writer here, and i hope to help out those of you that are seeking the same things in your journey !! i’m already planning on adding some more muses in the very near future ( because i have ZERO impulse control ), and as far as future plans for plots go i want EVERYTHING. romantic, enemies, exes, familial, platonic, and literally anything in between. i would definitely love some slowburn ships where our characters don’t just fall in love overnight. i’d also be so down for exploring the dynamics of age gap relationships. not just the taboo aspect of them but like the differences in generations, the potential repercussions, the ups and downs and the times where they’re not sure if they can make it work.

INTRODUCING…. why i said fuck it.

i mean who hasn’t felt like saying fuck it to the rpc ??? i’ve been rping for several years, about six of those years have been on tumblr and as much love as i can have for this community at times, most days it’s just fucking exhausting. i feel like it’s mostly become a very toxic, judgmental, and honestly shallow place. i hate the expectation groups put on members these days with activity checks and whatnot because honestly who even has the time to write every single day ????? or y’know sometimes we just don’t feel like it ?????? i know for me personally between my mental health and irl responsibilities i just don’t have the time or energy to be on every two days. and plus a lot of them are cliquey af or die in a week or are riddled with petty drama so i tend to avoid them altogether. i joined the indie community in hopes of rping on my terms and while i def feel like that was a step in the right direction, it’s still a very exclusive community at times and i’ve had difficulty fitting in. there’s still a lot of ugliness towards female ocs or muns that exclusively play females and tbh i’m over it ??? i decided to give this group a try because i love the idea of the indie format but in a group, making it easier to plot with people and put yourself out there. tl;dr i decided to say fuck it because the community’s gone downhill and i needed a change.

[themanicnami]

Witch Tips for City Witches

City Witch Tips for all of my fellow witches stuck in apartments, dorms or other city areas.

If you can’t burn incense you can make your own sprayable incense by mixing alcohol (usually vodka or rubbing) with essential oils and a bit of oil, spray in the air to act like incense

If you are unable to go outside for whatever reason to get rain water (in my case just no where to collect it safely), fill a jar or glass with regular water and keep it near a cracked window to charge it with the wind, sound and scent of the rain outside. Same goes for storm water

Trapped in city and unable to get ocean water? Sea salt mixed with rain/storm water can be an excellent substitute

To continue on with water substitutes, if you can’t collect snow crushed ice from your fridge will suffice

Low key warding/protection you can use: spray moon water, salt water or sprayable incense about your apartment or dorm, place sigils under doormats, furniture, inside cupboards, etc; place crystals about hidden or out in the open, sweep and dust out the door or towards windows

If you need melted wax to seal a jar or for any other magical purpose, but can’t burn candles, by a wax melter and melt that wax and imagine the light from the burner acting like a flame (plus they are rather cheap, I got mine for 25 bucks)

Need stars in your craft but too much light pollution? Glow in the dark stars on your ceiling or wall can work just as well for visualization. Print out pictures of your favorite constellations or planets and place them up on your walls or on your altar. Live video feed of the night sky can also be easily found on the internet

Bath magic is amazing for low-key ‘in the woods’ witches. Use teas, milk, oils, herbs, bath bombs, bubble baths, salts, etc that relate to your intent. It is also a good place to meditate if you have roommates or family around that would disturb you otherwise

If you do for whatever reason need to burn a candle, birthday candles are small, melt fast, and don’t create a lot of smoke or smokey scent

Sigils are another great low-key form of magic. To boost them up, use color magic related to the color you draw them in, write them using quills made of feathers related to your intent, use colored paper, rub a drop of essential oil on them, charge them with crystals or in your windowsill

You don’t have to burn sigils to activate them, which is hardly an option when you are in a dorm or apartment. Other options are: Shredding them, erasing them, soaking them in a bath or shower, using body heat or your own pulse, etc

Miss having the outdoors and plants around? Windowsill gardens can really help. Small plants you can consider keeping in your windowsill or counter-tops: succulents, cacti, bamboo, lemongrass, basic, rosemary, mint, rosemary, mosses, aloe, snake plant, pothos (and other vines), carrots, beets, shallots, lettuce, spinach, garlic, chives, parsley, oregano, thyme, and marigold

Open your window to let the wind and air from outside to help energize you and clear out negative energies inside

Fun places to put sigils: under furniture, carved into soap, onto shampoo/conditioner bottles, on your make up, inside phone cases, in shoes, under bandages, sewn into pillow cases and blankets, behind pictures in frames, underside of nail polish, carved into wax squares for your wax melter, keys and keychains, behind mirrors or in medicine cabinets, on bookmarks, on or in binders and pencil cases, on medicine bottles, and water bottles/travel mugs

Easy to make and dispose of poppets: carrot sticks (one of my personal favorites), apples or other fruit, clothe, paper, popsicle sticks, paper towels/napkins, toilet paper rolls, eggs, celery stocks, and cotton balls

The internet is an amazing thing. Need some sounds to help you focus or meditate? Easily look up the sounds of rain, storms, wind, ocean waves, jungles, forests, etc

Christmas lights are fun and great way to use discrete witchcraft. Select ones in the colors you wish for them to bring ie green for growth, yellow for inspiration, white for protection, purple for psychic abilities, etc. 

Some everyday things you can use for discrete witchcraft that don’t cost much at all or that you most likely already have: water, table salt, black pepper, paper, crayons/pencils/pens/markers, vinegar, milk, tea, highlighters, make up and beauty supplies, shampoo and conditioner, rubber bands, paperclips, thumbtacks, computer/phone/tablet, music/music player, playing cards, dice, air freshener, perfumes, toothpaste, rice, flour, sugar, honey, and all kitchen herbs and seasonings.

Can’t afford gemstones or crystals on college budget? Crackle and dyed quartz you can find super cheap at craftstores and online. I bought a whole bag for 4 bucks. Use them based on their colors and shapes. Can’t afford that but still want to use rocks in your craft? Find some rocks you like outside, again use their colors and shapes to determine their correspondences. Want to use them for a specific purpose? Paint sigils on them in the color that corresponds with what you want! Charge them in your windowsill or with your own energy and intent. There you go!

Pocket mirrors are cheap, easy to carry around and great for glamours and on the go magic. 

Seriously though, glamour spells are going to be a good option for you. use your make up, skin products, hair care products, brushes/combs, perfume, mirrors, toothbrush/toothepaste and intent. Good to do while you are getting ready for your day

Dream magic is another friend of the city witch! Use crystals, sigils, herbs, etc near your bed before you go to sleep, drink some chamomile, get yourself a dream journal (mine is literally a notebook with construction paper on it), keep it and a pen near you. In the morning write down your dreams, your thoughts, how you feel (tired, refreshed, groggy, etc), and interpret them. 

Can’t afford tarot cards? Print out some, you can usually find them online and they won’t last as long as a real deck but it is a good temporary solution. Want a Ouija board but can’t keep one or need it to be easily hidden? Print one out, draw on one on paper or cardboard, fold it up and store it once you are done. Want a pendulum but can’t afford one? Use your favorite necklace, bracelet or keychain!

Tea and coffee magic is great, make your own tea blends with the herbs you like. Or just buy simple green or black tea and add sugar, milk, etc depending on your intentions

As I said before, crock pot magic. The Modern Cauldron: brew and cook all day with it, fill your apartment with the scent of the herbs and food to fill it with the energies they correspond with and you get a delicious meal to come home to! Most dorms allow them. Rice cookers also work well.

Can’t afford fresh food? Have to survive on ramen, canned soup, and microwaved meals? That is okay! They even correspond with things! Tomato soup for love, beauty and passion. Beef ramen noodles for strength, courage and longevity. Microwave mac n cheese for beauty and feminity. Look at their ingredients and what they correspond with. Sure its not as glamorous as a making a huge made by scratch traditional meal but its kitchen magic none the less. Stir it with your intent while you cook. It isn’t fancy but it works just as well!

Use a notebook or binder for a nice grimoire, decorate it as much as you want on the inside. Print out pictures of nature, animals, planets, stars, places, crystals, etc that you cant’ access/afford and use them in your craft. Spell books and grimoires are powerful tools

Don’t have a wand? Use a wooden spoon. Tie a colored string or ribbon to it to correspond with what energy you want it to have and move and flick it as you would a wand. 

Knitting, crocheting, and knot magic is very apartment friendly. As well as sewing and embroidering plus it is super calming.

Glitter, sequins, and beads are great in witchcraft! Use their colors to determine their correspondences. Put them in spell jars, sachets, bottles, etc. Glitter tip: if you spill any don’t fret, get some packing tape, wrap it around your hand with the sticky part outwards and dab at that glitter spill. You will literally pick up all of the glitter in seconds!

Enchant and charge your pots, pans, skillets, and other cookware to make every meal magical

Make moonwater in your windowsills. Use it for cleansing, beauty, divination, clarity, protection and purification

Take walks. Even if it is a city there is still nature about. Pigeons flying about, potted flowers outside of stores, grass growing in front lawns, etc. Enjoy yourself, even if it is not some wild, vast forest you can still connect with your local nature.

Pick up litter or garbage you see outside, being in the city we all see it. The natural world around you will appreciate you helping out. Bring a bag with you when you take your walks or travel and fill it with wrappers you see on the ground.

I hope this was helpful to all of my fellow city and dorm witches!

[iimperium-blog1]

TAGGED BY :  @izukusdeku <3  TAGGING :  ¯\_(ツ)_/¯  idk who’s done it yet so 

NAME :  Birdy~  BIRTHDAY : Feb 21st  ZODIAC :  Pisces HEIGHT :  5′0 haha haaa  SEXUAL ORIENTATION :  who fUCKING knows anymore but lets just go with gay/ace 

FAVORITE COLOR(S) :  pink !!! but also lavender~  FAVORITE BOOK :  Good Omens by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett  FAVORITE ARTIST(S)/BAND(S) : Twenty One Pilots, The Killers, Marina and the Diamonds RANDOM FACT :  idk man i have 19 succulents/cacti in my room and they are all named and adored

WHEN DID YOU CREATE YOUR BLOG ? :  August! so, four months ago!  DO YOU HAVE ANY OTHER BLOGS ? : right now? I have a Mic blog, a Kouta blog, and i recently made a blog for Hojo too DO YOU GET ASKS ON A DAILY BASIS ? :  Sometimes i’ll have streaks where i get daily asks but not right now  BONUS FACT : I’m a fitness instructor and sometimes i just scream PLUS ULTRA at my class and they all scream it back because they don’t fucking know what it means but it gets them PUMPED so wHATEVER 

[syngoniums]

What's your least favorite plant store nonsense? Personally I hate glued together rocks as topsoil and styrofoam made to look like perlite. But my absolute least favorite has only happened twice, I took out some plants to re-pot them and found out they were growing in a little sponge lol

Oh man, all of those things, plus the following:

- Plants glued into decorative containers with no drainage

- Containers with no drainage in general

- Succulent “wreaths” where plants are packed together so densely they have no room to grow or offset

- Pure peat/high peat mixtures as a potting medium

- Decorative gravel on top of soil. Sometimes gravel has a legitimate purpose, like supporting top heavy plants and keeping rot-prone stems out of direct contact with the soil. But gravel for decoration is annoying and inevitably spills and goes everywhere. It can also keep water from evaporating as quickly as you’d want.

- Buying a potted plant only to discover it’s actually a cutting they started rooting like... last week

- Misleading or outright incorrect care instructions and mislabeled/misidentified plants

I hate all of these things, but I think lack of drainage probably kill more plants over time than anything else, and they charge so much for cheap plants in fancy pots.

(Oddly one that is commonly cited, fake flowers glued on cacti, doesn’t bother me that much. They’re not hard to remove, the glue falls apart in time, and they don’t actually do any real harm to the plant. They’re just gimmicky.)

[tap1rs]

hi i was tagged by @frankcastlcs​ to do a meme thing! it reminds me of the livejournal days... i lov it. also under a readmore bc i got wordy!

Rules: Always post the rules, tag 11 people, tell the person who tagged you that you answered their questions. 

1. What’s your favourite flower?

im allergic to a lot of flowers so! i like plants im not allergic to, like succulents and cacti! being cheesy tho, i like lilies and roses (my sisters name is lillie rose lol)

2. How many languages can you speak

english is my first language, but as i’ve lived about five miles from the us/mexico border my whole life i also have a pretty good grasp of spanish, tho i am much better at understanding spanish than speaking it. i also took arabic my first year of college, but i havent kept it up (although i keep say i am going to brush up hghg) and so i understand maybe. one or two of every ten words. i also have a very minor knowledge of german, as my mom’s grandparents spoke it and my mom goes off in german sometime. very very minor. i lvoe languages tho and i am fasinated w them and want to learn as many as i can!

3. What time do you usually go to sleep at?

if i am not at work (i generally work closing) i get ready for bed around 9 pm, and go to bed at ten. if i work, i generally get off at 10 or 11 at night so most of the time i fall asleep around 11 or 12. ive had some trouble sleeping lately too so. oog.

4. What movie do you wish you could experience again for the first time?

dark city. its my favorite movie and i found it by accident. my mom got it from the library and we were getting ready for a family friends quince and i put it on bc the cover art looked bad but. it turned out to be so good. please watch dark city. also star trek iv the voyage home i lvoe my whales

5. Where in the world would you like to live?

im happy here in san diego! i honestly cant see myself living anywhere else! plus i live in a very stragitic voting district and i need my vote to count

6. Do you like horror movies?

sorta? theyre ok i guess but i dont go outta my way to watch em

7. What is your favourite season?

i live in san diego we have one season more or less. sunny san diego. i like fall tho bc of colors and aesthetic and i love salted caramel and fall equals salted caramel

8. What are you looking forward to right now?

im gonna go to fanime with some pals in may! while one of them lives by me and i see pretty often ive only met one of the others once and the third its gonna be the first time irl! im excited bc im really close w these ppl and while im not too big on cons in generally i cant wait to be around my friends!

9. Do you believe in aliens?

yes

10. If you could have a superpower, what would it be?

uh. idk. pyrokensis maybe

11. What’s you biggest pet peeve?

people who dont use turn signals, also when ppl act like its the cashiers fault that the sale is in multiples of 2 or 3 or 4 and they didnt realize.

i tag: @congestex, @burekbabe, @pochx, @narumyia, @fwankcastles, @gayflirt, @gayjorkira, @coffeebisexual, @firstheartbreak, @ladycapulet, and @shitheadgod

here are my questions!

one. if someone wanted to really understand you, what would they read, watch, and listen to?

two. how do you relate to ethnicity? how does it shape you into you?

three. inside or outdoors?

four. whats your hogwarts house?

five. could you ever be a hermit? 

six. what is the most comforting thing at night for you? 

seven. what is the most charming thing in others to you?

eight. how do you see yourself when ur an eldery person?

nine. whats your favorite fact about yourself?

ten. how do you look right now?

eleven. how do you deal with unrequited feelings?

[samyalter354]

Ideas to grow plants in winter

If you find yourself hanging around the house this holiday weekend, it might be a good time to catch up on your garden.

Yes, in the fall.

In fact, gardening in the winter and fall can help prepare your garden for the spring, says Debra Knapke, a garden consultant in Columbus, Ohio, and owner of The Garden Sage.

“Planting bulbs, going out and weeding, edging beds, you know, it all depends on what your plans are for the next year,” she says. “And that might be the first thing you might think about doing is looking at what didn't work last year and trying to figure out how you can make it work next year, or just throw it out and start over.”

In recent years, it’s gotten more difficult to plan for the spring because the seasons have been “truncated,” Knapke says. Plants also suffer from extreme freeze-thaw cycles.

“It's all about finding plants that are resilient and adaptable,” she says. “And that can become difficult because we don't know yet how all of our plants are going to react to these changes in climate.” For the next week, Knapke suggests planting any bulbs that may be sitting in the garage.

Bulbs that bloom in the spring like daffodils and tulips are planted in the fall, she says, while bulbs that bloom in the summer are planted in the spring after the frost departs.

Last year, she says she planted bulbs up until Christmas though she grew mostly leaves and few flowers.

To further prepare for spring, gardeners can keep up with weeding. One winter weed to look out for is winter bittercress. edible mushroom growing kit https://www.justhomegardening.com/8-best-edible-mushroom-growing-kit-plus-growth-tips-for-beginners

An infestation of winter bittercress can start from a mere 10 plants, she says.

Tips for fall and winter gardening:

• Beginners should start small with low-maintenance succulents • Start planting trees and shrubs as early as mid-March • Bulbs such as daffodils and tulips should be planted in the fall for a spring bloom • Rake the leaves around plants if it’s really piling up. Otherwise, keep some leaves on top to act as insulation • Use the fall and winter season to plan for your spring blooms “It looks like this cute little rosette. It's so cute. And then it blooms, and it has cute little white flowers and then it makes about a million seeds,” she says. “And the next thing you know, you're battling this weed every year … and you're thinking, 'How in the world did that happen?’” Weeding is a productive winter gardening task, but Knapke says whether you should rake leaves is a more complicated question. Leave the leaves alone in areas like the woods, she says. Fallen leaves insulate the plants on the ground and help them grow better in the spring.

One exception to that is if there are plants that could be harmed by having too many leaves on top of them. In this case, spread out the leaves so there’s still some covering the plants but not too many, she says.

Once late-March hits, it’s Knapke’s favorite time to start planting trees and shrubs until mid-April, though she does plant them all season long. She loves planting perennials until June when the heat hits. Once summer comes to a close, she recommends waiting until the fall or late August and planting perennials until around Oct. 15.

“What I try to do is take my cue from Mother Nature,” she says. For beginning gardeners, she recommends putting succulents and cacti in a sunny window to enjoy this winter.

Then in spring or summer, fill a vegetable garden with one plant of tomato, chili or pepper. forest origins pink oyster https://www.justhomegardening.com/8-best-edible-mushroom-growing-kit-plus-growth-tips-for-beginners

“Grow one beautiful rose in a pot or in the ground by your front door where you can smell its perfume. Start small and then start adding,” she says, “and give me a call if you have any questions.” Best Gardening Ideas and Tips for Vegetables: 1. Gardening Ideas and Tips: Fertile, well prepared soil is necessary for a successful garden. The soil should be free from stones and weeds. The soil should be supplemented with good organic matter and soil should have well-drainage for successful home gardening. 2. Gardening Ideas and Tips: Sufficient sunlight (at least 7 to 8 hours) & good aeration (air movement) around a garden is crucial during the plant growth period. 3. Gardening Ideas and Tips: Garden layout should be in such a way that you can move all the sides of garden with ease and comfort. 4. Gardening Ideas and Tips: You are now ready to sow your seeds, Water your garden thoroughly the day before you intend to plant or seed. 5. Gardening Ideas and Tips: When you sow the seeds, planting depth play major role in germination and survival of the pant so, don’t put seeds more than 2 to 5 cm depth. 6. Gardening Ideas and Tips: Make sure to firm the soil over the seeds to ensure good moisture contact for better germination. Water thoroughly using a gentle spray without disturbing (uncovering) the seed. 7. Gardening Ideas and Tips: After sowing in seed bed, seeds require good moisture to germinate, so it is important to keep the soil evenly moist until the seeds germinate and growing. 8. Gardening Ideas and Tips: Avoid Over watering as it may cause root rot. Generally watering should be done depending on soil moisture condition. An inch of water/ week is usually sufficient. Water when the top inch of soil is dry. In case of heavy rains, make sure soil drains out as soon as possible and most of the plants are sensitive to water logging. 9. Gardening Ideas and Tips: As we already said that weeds compete with your vegetables and any other plants for water, manures, fertilizers and nutrients, so make sure to keep to keep them to a minimum. Mulching between the rows will help to control weeds. Keep removing weeds whenever they emerge and make your garden weed free. 10. Gardening Ideas and Tips: Finally, keep your garden clean and neat from all kinds of unnecessary items to make control of pests and diseases. best mushroom growing kit for beginners https://www.justhomegardening.com/8-best-edible-mushroom-growing-kit-plus-growth-tips-for-beginners

Gardening Ideas and Tips #9 – Vegetables Suitable for Home Gardening:  The following vegetables can be suitable for your backyard. • Tomato • Beans Type (French beans, cluster beans, etc…) • Gourd Type (Bottle gourd, Ridge Gourd, Snake Gourd, Ivy Gourd, Ash Gourd and Bitter Gourd) • Herbs like Mint, Basil • Drum stick (Moringa) • Peas • Brinjal (Eggplant) • Potatoes • Green Chilli • Bell Pepper / Capsicum • Leafy vegetables (kale, spinach, Lettuce, Leaf amaranth, coriander, etc..) • Cabbage • Cauliflower • Ladies Finger (Okra) • Broccoli • Carrot • Radish • Onion • Brussels Sprouts • Beet root • Cucumber/ Squash

[uncleyarn2-blog]

Our 2018 all-Chicago holiday gift guide

Sustenance

1/ Local coffee subscription: Back of the Yards, Dark Matter, or Metric Coffee

Coffee is the social lubricant that wakes you up, keeps you awake—or maybe puts you to sleep. You can drink it hot in winter to stay warm! But drink good, fresh coffee. Chicago is home to many fine craft coffee roasters, and may offer subscriptions for a steady supply. Metric Coffee offers espresso ($20) and blend ($20) subscriptions as well as a Roasters Choice Subscription ($22) and Single Origin Subscription ($24) each with two different eight-ounce bags in every weekly or monthly delivery. Dark Matter Coffee offers three, six, and twelve-month subscriptions to their monthly limited blends for $20 per month—with discounts for longer subscriptions. Back of the Yards Coffee Co.'s Coffee Club subscriptions page is currently under construction. Hopefully that will be available again soon. In the meantime, they do sell their espresso and 47th Street Blend medium-dark roast coffee in twelve-ounce bags ($15.99), with one dollar from every 47th Street Blend going to their Social Impact fund to benefit the neighborhood.—John Dunlevy Prices vary at backoftheyardscoffee.com, darkmattercoffee.com, and metriccoffee.com.

2/ Coffee maker Nº3 by Manual.is

Manual's newest coffee maker is four usages in one: pour over, French press, cold brew, and a pitcher. It can keep its liquids hot for about an hour in the double-wall insulated design. With this elegant, hand-blown borosilicate glass vessel, even a person who doesn't drink coffee regularly (me) will savor the ritual of making, and serving coffee. —Sue Kwong $140 at Manual Shop & Studio, 3251½ W. Bryn Mawr, 312-870-0799, manual.is.

3/ Mushroom tree ornaments by Facture Goods

The handcrafted mushroom Christmas ornaments come in earthy brown clay glazed in gray and flecked with 22-karat gold. They typically sell out in minutes when creator Aron Fischer puts a fresh batch in his online shop. But on November 24 you can find them at Martha Mae in Andersonville during Small Business Saturday. The mushrooms come in enoki, morel, shiitake, and straw varietals. Plus, while you're there, you can snag plenty more gifts for loved ones in Jean Cate's magical shop. —Maya Dukmasova $18 each or $60 for a set of four at facturegoods.com and on November 24 only at Martha Mae, 5407 N. Clark, 872-806-0988, marthamae.info.

4/ Malort soy candle

Everyone's favorite drink in candle form. —Vince Cerasani $30 at reuse-first.com.

5/ Tellicherry Black Whole Peppercorns from Reluctant Trading Experiment

Pretty amazing pepper from an outfit started by Scott Eirinberg, the entrepreneur who founded, and later sold, The Land of Nod. —Suggested by Kate Schmidt, written by Reader staff Starting at $6.50 at reluctanttrading.com.

Self Care

1/ Houseplant from Foyer

This little plant and stationary store opened in Andersonville a few months ago. It's run by a tremendously helpful and non-judgmental Alma Vescovi, who wants you to get past your fear of killing houseplants. The stock is refreshed weekly and she carries hard-to-find varietals like pilea, monstera, and satin pothos alongside all kinds of succulents and cacti. There are also vintage planters and pots as well as ones made by local artists. If things don't go well with your new plant friend, you can always bring it back for a check-up with Vescovi. She once helped me resuscitate a delicate plumosa fern. It's doing great. Plants are the gift that keeps on giving.—Maya Dukmasova Starting at $8 at 1480 W. Berwyn, 713-994-0302, foyer.shop.

2/ Sound wave art, Soundwaves by Mordecai

Kathleen Mordecai turns sound waves from parts of songs or special moments (for example Pat Hughes saying "Chicago Cubs win the World Series" or children's laughter, as pictured) into sculptures she handcrafts using reclaimed wood. Whether you're shopping for someone who lives in a tiny studio, or in a mansion with plenty of wall space to fill, there's likely an option that will fit; the current selection of sculptures in her online shop runs from 12 inches to 4 feet. Mordecai also takes custom orders, and for those who want to be able to hear the sound while enjoying the visuals, she offers an option for audio playback. —Jamie Ludwig Starting at $76 at etsy.com/soundwavesbyMordecai.

3/ Soap Distillery

The brand tagline for Soap Distillery may promise "Small batches. No hangovers," but no such claim can be made about whether these boozy body care miracles are addictive. Because they are, friends. A bottle of the Beer + Cigarettes hand and body wash disappeared so quickly from my bathroom that I'm not entirely convinced my partner wasn't drinking it. Perfect for the person on your list who always smells so damn good. —Karen Hawkins Prices vary at soapdistillery.com. Catch up with founder Danielle Martin at a holiday shopping event or click here for a list of retailers.

4/ King Spa & Sauna

King Spa & Sauna, the Korean spa in Niles, does not fulfil the glossy magazine ideal of the spa day. There are no fluffy white robes, no soothing music or nice-smelling oils and lotions. Instead, there's a series of saunas, each filled with a different substance that will relieve you of a different source of stress, each more baroque than the last: amethyst geodes, living crystals, 350-million-year-old salt rocks, a 23-karat gold pyramid. The admission fee gets a person access to all of them, plus the soaking pools, food court, and movie theater. (Massages and other spa treatments are extra.) The spa's open 24 hours, so guests can stay as long as they like. In Korea, entire families go to spas for an easy weekend getaway. Maybe they're onto something? —Aimee Levitt $40 admission at King Spa & Sauna, 809 Civic Center Drive, Niles, 847-972-2540, kingspa.com/chicago. Gift cards available.

5/ Mochimochi Land knitting kits

Forget sweaters and scarves, Mochimochi Land gives you the tools to show off your needle skills by knitting something truly unique: cute miniature characters like tiny burgers or tiny walruses or tiny robots and really any other tiny thing you can dream up. The kits go for $12-$15 and include yarn, stuffing, notions, and patterns—all you need are knitting needles, available separately on the website. Mochimochi Land creator Anna Hrachovec features her knitted friends in stop-motion animated videos and GIFs of everyday life in the mystical, yarn-covered land of her own creation. Hrachovec also used the style in her book, Adventures in Mochimochi Land, which follows the adventures of a talking doughnut and a lovelorn balloon, of course. The online shop offers patterns for larger, equally adorable knitting projects ranging from $5-$8 and, for the less crafty among us, pre-knit gnomes, hedgehogs, zombies, and unicorns for $25 each. —Brianna Wellen Prices vary at mochimochiland.com.

6/ Mano y Metal handmade accessories

These aren't your basic accessories. Mano y Metal offers handmade metal jewelry that spices up any look. Owner Desiree T. Guzman features hand stamped metal rings, cuff bracelets, earrings, necklaces, dog tags and more with empowering sayings engraved on them like "be badass" ("chingona" in Spanish) or "me vale madre" which translates to "I don't give a damn." The online shop even offers options available for customization and a Chicago collection. —Marissa De La Cerda $10 for keychains, $16 for rings, $20-$22 for double finger rings, $16-$28 for bracelets, $17-$58 for necklaces at manoymetal.com.

7/ The WasteShed Art Supplies

Help fuel your loved one's winter craft addiction and help rescue markers, knitting needles and paints from the landfill. Cultivating a more sustainable culture, The WasteShed accepts donations of art supplies and repurposes art, craft and school supplies. Pull together a gift basket for a DIY project from their low cost offerings, or grab a gift certificate for the creatives and teachers on your list. While you're there, drop off the crocheting you gave up on. The WasteShed is a tax-exempt 501(c)(3) so your donations are tax deductible! See their web site for complete list of acceptable donations. — Jamie Ramsay Prices vary at 2842 W. Chicago, 773-666-5997, thewasteshed.com.

8/ Mermaid lessons at AquaMermaid

Who doesn't know someone who once dreamed of being a mermaid? (If your answer is "me," feel free to skip this item.) Fortunately, AquaMermaid exists for the sole purpose of helping people fulfill this glorious dream. Weekly lessons are available on Sunday afternoons at the UIC Sports and Fitness Center pool for both kids and adults; parties can also be arranged. You'll learn basic mermaid maneuvers, like how to glide gracefully underwater, flip your fins, and wave gracefully with your tail. And yes, tails are provided—though you'll have to wear your own bathing suit, or a seashell bra if you want to go full Ariel. Be warned: being a mermaid is a lot harder than it looks, but you'll get a great core workout. —Aimee Levitt Starting at $60 at UIC Sports and Fitness Center, 901 W. Roosevelt Road, 866-279-2767, aquamermaid.com.

Community Care

1/ Chicago Community Bond Fund donation

What better way to spread holiday cheer than to help someone in jail get home to their family? CCBF accepts donations large and small to pay bail for those awaiting trial in Cook County Jail. —Maya Dukmasova Visit chicagobond.org to see the criteria they use to select whose bail to pay.

2/ Women & Children First gift certificate

This post-#MeToo moment is a really good time to give all the sexist jerks in your life a gift certificate to one of the oldest and most significant women-owned bookstores in the US. Making people support women-owned businesses and select from an array of books including a higher-than-average spate by women and nonbinary folks is truly a gift that will benefit generations to come. —Anne Elizabeth Moore Prices vary at 5233 N. Clark, 773-769-9299, womenandchildrenfirst.com.

3/ My Block, My Hood, My City gear

Founded by Jamal Cole, MBMHMC is a connectivity-encouraging, mentoring nonprofit that focuses on providing underserved teenagers exposure to opportunities beyond their familiar neighborhoods. Through excursions in STEM, art, entrepreneurism, and community development, called the Explorers Program, as well as service projects like shoveling snow for seniors, MBMHMC fosters experiences to nurture and empower Chicago youth. Twenty percent of all apparel sales go toward the Explorers Program. On December 1 and 8, volunteer to help hang holiday lights from 51st to 87th Streets along historic Martin Luther King Jr. Drive. Like their Facebook page or check https://www.formyblock.org/events/ for updates on projects, calls to action, and to learn about volunteering. —Jamie Ramsay from $50 for hoodies (available in English, Spanish and Mandarin), $25 for skullies, at formyblock.org.

4/ Haymarket Books Book Club

If there's a radical or revolutionary on your shopping list, or, at the very least, someone who cares about social and economic justice, odds are they already know about Haymarket Books, the Buena Park-based publisher of Angela Davis, Rebecca Solnit, Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor, and Eve Ewing, among many, many others. Membership in Haymarket's book club provides regular monthly shipments of all the publisher's new titles, in either print or e-book format, plus discounts on everything on the backlist. Not only will you provide someone with the foundation of a great personal library, you'll also be supporting a local business. It's a win for everybody. —Aimee Levitt $20-$30/month at haymarketbooks.org.

5/ T-Shirt from the Silver Room

I discovered Silver Room when I first saw Eve Ewing wearing a "Make Chicago Great Again" Harold Washington T-shirt at Pitchfork last year. But the store has a lot more to offer, with shirts by local artists ranging from a profile of Colin Kaepernick made out of tiny red fists to one that looks like a hand-painted bodega advertisement for Hyde Park. The store is full of hand-crafted leather goods, jewelry, and home decor, many by black makers. —Maya Dukmasova $20-$30 at Silver Room, 1506 E. 53rd St., 773-947-0024, thesilverroom.com.

6/ Rebel Betty Arte prints and zines

Support a Latinx artist this holiday season by buying zines, prints, buttons and other artwork by Rebel Betty, an Afro-Latina artist, DJ, and educator. Her work focuses on raising awareness and creating discussions about gentrification and issues affecting black and brown communities. —Marissa De La Cerda $5-$35 for prints, $5-$15 for zines, $10-$15 for buttons and other items at rebelbettyarte.com.

Good Times

1/ Hollow Leg cocktail class

Contrary to popular belief, Hollow Leg is not a store where you can buy a leg lamp a la A Christmas Story, it's a company that offers mixology classes at various venues around the city. Founded by Devin Kidner, Hollow Leg aims to share the art and science behind crafting cocktails so that anyone who attends their events leaves with the knowledge, taste, and skill to finally make a decent drink—and since they offer plenty of non-alcoholic options, everyone can join in on the fun. You can purchase individual tickets or gift certificates to workshops such as Liquid Confidence: Mixology 101, or book them for a holiday shindig so you can give a whole bunch of your friends the gift that keeps on giving (and giving, and giving . . . depending on who you hang out with). Though most classes are hands-on, they also offer tastings, so you and your guests can just sit back, sip, and learn. The best part might be that they'll play "cocktail whisperer," and tailor the menu for their audience, so if, for example, you hate sugary sweet drinks, you won't have to waste your time—or your booze—mixing one. —Jamie Ludwig $60-$95 for gift certificates at hollowleg.com.

2/ Fat Tiger Workshop hat

Streetwear boutique Fat Tiger Workshop first set up in a small Congress Theater storefront four years ago. Founding designers Vic Lloyd, Desmond Owusu, Terrell Jones, and Joe "Freshgoods" Robinson quickly made the space a home for friends, aspiring artists, and established musicians. One day I wandered in to find Chuck Inglish and Sulaiman filming a music video behind the storefront; on another I bought a Save Money shirt during a pop-up helmed by Joey Purp. Fat Tiger has changed locations twice since then, and the owners still make sure its large West Town headquarters is an open-door community space, even as their individual profiles have risen. Robinson has become a streetwear celebrity since he made a one-off clothing line in homage to our previous president, "Thank U Obama" (Chance the Rapper wore one such hoodie while collecting his first Grammy), and he's since been enlisted to make clothes for the Chicago Bears, McDonald's, and the MCA. All four designers make gear for their individual brands, but they also have a run of Fat Tiger clothes. The simple, bold Fat Tiger hat is a great way to show love for all four of these independent, community-driven designers. —Leor Galil $30 for a signature hat at 836 N. Milwaukee, fattigerworkshop.com.

3/ Custom handmade guitar strap from Souldier

In 2004, Chicago musician Jen Tabor started making instrument straps for her friends, and soon began selling them at shows. Nearly 15 years later, her company Souldier, which specializes in hand-cut leather guitar, bass, and banjo straps, has helped support the instruments of artists such as Jeff Tweedy, Tom Petty, and Kim Gordon, and has practically come to have rock-star status of its own. You can find Souldier straps at a number of instrument shops and other retailers throughout the city, or purchase directly through their website, where there's more fun to be had by customizing a strap of your own. Choose between dozens of color and fabric patterns to match anyone's personality and/or artistic aesthetic. And though Souldier is most known for their instrument accessories, their product line also includes camera straps, headbands, wrist cuffs, dog collars, and more, so there are plenty of gift options for your non-musician human and canine friends. —Jamie Ludwig Prices vary at souldier.us.

4/ Fine Prints cassettes

Chicago's rock scene–if you can say there is one single community–is a lot broader than it often gets credited. Local label Fine Prints gets it. Founded by Robby Haynes (who helps run Hermosa studio Strange Magic Recording) and Ziyad Asrar (of Baby Blue, formerly of Whitney), Fine Prints has put out only a handful of cassette releases, but the small catalog shows how weird and wonderful Chicago rock can get. The label launched in August by releasing tapes from prog misfits Mayor Daley, art punks Wage, and synthpop hypnotists Desert Liminal; in October, Haynes and Asrar dropped the second EP by bedroom-pop wizard Adam Schubert, aka Ruins. The acts Fine Prints have worked with don't overlap stylistically, and that's partly why these four cassettes work well as a single package; they're great individual documents, and all together they unintentionally function as a reminder that there's a lot of great music happening in the city beyond the sounds on these tapes. —Leor Galil $7 per cassette at fineprints.bandcamp.com.

5/ Sharkula T-shirt

Can you really claim to be a Chicagoan if you've never met Sharkula? For the past couple decades, the oddball rapper who also answers to Thigahmahjigggee and Dirty Gilligan has roamed around the city's streets, selling his wares hand-to-hand: usually that means CD-Rs of his unpredictable raps housed in a photocopied sheet of paper littered with his drawings. He recently started making his own T-shirts, and his detailed, gritty graffiti style gives his pieces a lived-in quality. Sharkula designs each shirt by hand and no two are identical, which means this is the most unique gift you can give the Chicago hip-hop fan in your life. And, since buying a shirt requires that you call Sharkula, this also gives anyone who has never met him before the opportunity to finally meet a local legend. —Leor Galil Starting at $30 at 773-647-4995.

6/ Experimental Sound Studio tickets

Experimental Sound Studio, founded in 1986 and based in Edgewater since 2006, is one of the city's great incubators of avant-garde and experimental music. The nonprofit's facility houses a full-service recording studio, of course, as well as a small public gallery that hosts exhibitions, workshops, and other events. ESS also provides a home for the Creative Audio Archive, which it describes as "an invaluable collection of recordings, print, and visual ephemera related to avant-garde and exploratory sound and music"—including a trove of Sun Ra material dating back to the 1950s and thousands of improvised and underground shows captured between 1981 and 2006 by Chicago sound recordist Malachi Ritscher. The concert series that ESS presents in its cozy live room, including Option and Oscillations, feature internationally celebrated Chicagoans—drummer Hamid Drake, sound artist Olivia Block, visionary multi-instrumentalists Ben Lamar Gay and Douglas Ewart—as well as renowned out-of-towners such as trumpeter Greg Kelley, saxophonist Don Dietrich, and pedal steel guitarist Susan Alcorn. —Philip Montoro $40 for a pack of five tickets good for any concerts, which usually cost $10 apiece—and if you e-mail info@ess.org in advance to make a reservation, they'll even get you into one of the handful each year that sell out, 5925 N. Ravenswood, 773-998-1069, ess.org.

7/ Ninja Zombie DVD

In 1992, aspiring writer-director Mark Bessenger and a small crew filmed a low-budget Super-8 horror comedy in Chicago, the exurbs, and Wisconsin. No distributor wanted to touch his movie, Ninja Zombie, though I have a little trouble understanding why; the sight of a green, shirtless zombie adeptly fighting off a small army of ninjas would've sold me in 1992, but I was also seven at the time. Bessenger made a few VHS copies for friends, but the film otherwise disappeared. More than two decades later a copy wound up in the hands of cinema fanatic Zack Carlson, who helps run Bleeding Skull, a site and film distributor that documents obscure horror pictures. In 2014, Carlson brought the VHS to his Bleeding Skull collaborators (writer Annie Choi and site founder Joseph Ziemba, an Illinois native) who were so charmed by the goofy, light-footed picture they decided to find a way to release it. Last month, Bleeding Skull and Austin-based nonprofit the American Genre Film Archive co-released Ninja Zombie on DVD. I just hope with this wide release it may soon become a midnight staple. —Leor Galil $13.99 at americangenrefilm.com/releases/ninja-zombie.

About the artists

To accompany our gift guide, we commissioned two local artists to create the gift wrap featured on our two variant covers. To take full advantage of the festivities, pick up a paper copy of this week's Reader.

Justin Clemons from Chicago Lawn is also the Production Manager at Magnolia Printing. His gift wrap features hands spelling "C-H-I-C-A-G-O" in American Sign Language. The piece started as a hand study he painted at age 17 in the program After School Matters, and his instructor noted that it evoked the feeling of people being deaf to the youth of Chicago and their issues. Years later, Justin completed the painting in acrylics. It was featured in Black Creativity Juried Art Exhibition hosted at the Museum of Science+Industry Chicago 2014.

Laura Berger is an artist living in Chicago who paints, sculpts and also animates. Her beautifully minimalistic work often focuses on themes of nature, dreams, or travel. Sometimes, her images feature a host of culturally diverse naked bodies—as appear on one of our variant covers. She is interested in how people create meaning and a sense of belonging to a greater whole.

For more info on Justin's work: justinianart.com. For more info on Laura's work: lauraberger.com.   v

Source: https://www.chicagoreader.com/chicago/chicago-reader-2018-holiday-gift-guide/Content?oid=63481605

[reneetru]

Let’s get real!

The second task of my assignment was to search the web for pictures and articles as potential content for my magazine. To my surprise there are thousands of articles on succulents and some of it is quite fascinating! (Of course everything to do with succulents is amazing but some things are just more fascinating than others). Anyways, here are some quotes from the articles I have chosen and a couple pictures to give you guys a better idea about the content of my magazine.

long article 1: “ What could we love more than a succulent? A whole garden of succulents, of course! Lucky for us, it's easy to grow a collection of these hardy, colorful plants at home via propagation.”

long article 2: “To say succulents are having a moment right now would be an understatement. But since they're extremely easy to care for, come in just about every color, and are so very cute, we think their popularity is long overdue. Before you pick up your next stonecrop or agave plant, here's what you should know:...”

long article 3: “Luckily, they not only look beautiful and are seriously low maintenance, but they also come with some useful health benefits. Here are five brilliant ways succulents can improve your quality of life at home and help you live healthier.”

short article 1: “ Well, there is a small grey area when distinguishing succulents from cacti. Scientifically, cacti are considered succulents, yet some botanists and horticulturists categorize the two differently.”

short article 2: “ Succulents are noted light cravers, with some being happily #nofilter in almost all but the toastiest climates. Zebra plant, though, adores filtered light. We hear its favorite Instagram filters are Juno and Amaro.”

short article 3: “Little jewel is one of the many hybrids whose roots belong to the two aforementioned genera of succulents, but there’s nothing ordinary about it. In our latest Altman Plants video, succulent wizard Tom Jesch likens this darling intergeneric cross to candle wax that has formed into a beautiful symmetrical star.”

short article 4: “ The mimicry plants known as mesembs are the thespians of the succulent world, mind-blowingly adaptable actors accustomed to harsh, sun-blasted habitats that receive only a few inches of rain a year.”

small article 1: “Succulent plants are trendy for a reason. With juicy leaves, stems, or roots, succulents form a vast and diverse group of plants, offering easy-care choices for your home. Plus, they look stunning planted alone or as companions.”

small article 2: “ What are succulents you may already be familiar with? Favorite heirloom succulents with odd but familiar common names and somewhat recognizable Latin names include...”

small article 3: “ These mini-cacti generally produce brightly colored flowers and take on interesting shapes.”

links for all articles in consideration for use:

https://www.bhg.com/gardening/houseplants/projects/top-10-succulents-for-home/

http://www.diynetwork.com/how-to/outdoors/gardening/what-is-a-succulent-plant

http://homeguides.sfgate.com/minicactus-plants-51847.html

https://www.shopterrain.com/article/propagating-succulents

http://www.housebeautiful.com/lifestyle/gardening/g3441/interesting-facts-about-succulents/

https://www.1800flowers.com/blog/flower-plant-care/succulent-care-and-facts/

http://www.redonline.co.uk/interiors/homeware/home-trends/five-health-benefits-of-having-succulents-in-your-home

https://www.drought-smart-plants.com/flowering-succulent-plants.html

https://leafandclay.co/blogs/blog/the-difference-between-succulents-and-cacti

https://altmanplants.com/zebra-plant-haworthia/

https://altmanplants.com/pachyveria-glauca-little-jewel/

https://altmanplants.com/mimicry-succulent-plants/

http://Chelseajacobson.wordpress.com

Picture 1: 

https://images.pexels.com/photos/185500/pexels-photo-185500.jpeg?w=1260&h=750&dpr=2&auto=compress&cs=tinysrgb

Picture 2:

https://iso.500px.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/stock-photo-150151767.jpg

Picture 3:

https://c.pxhere.com/photos/ac/3c/succulent_greem_pastel-1285824.jpg!d

Picture 4:

https://media.treehugger.com/assets/images/2017/11/cactus-flower.jpg.662x0_q70_crop-scale.jpg

Picture 5:

https://www.hdwallback.net/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/vintage-cactus-wallpaper-iphone-vintage-images.jpg