I recently acquired some succulents. This is in part because they're basically the same thing as cacti and in part because I'm venturing out on my green thumb potential. What better plant to start out with than a cactus? (Or at least something similar to it.)

However, the first one I purchased in the beginning of March from Home Depot came in a cute little terracotta planter, and I thought "this is easy enough. Maybe spray it with water every other day and let it do its own thing." It wasn't until my mom came over one day and looked at the plant that I thought maybe I should rethink my approach. "Ashley," she said with surprise. "These plants do not look healthy! Are you sure you're watching them correctly?"

It turns out . . . I wasn't. So here are some tips and tricks to make your succulents the best they've ever been! (Well, it's trial and error, but this is what I've gathered from experience and from reading other blogs - which I'll have links to at the bottom.)

 

• Bright sunlight. If you're growing succulents indoors like myself, it's important for them to be in the brightest room in the house. From what I've read, they typically need at least 6 hours of good sunlight - a south-facing window is suggested. This is because these types of plants are used to desert environments, which get a lot of sun and also varying temperatures. If you have the opportunity to place them outside during spring and summer, that's ideal. If you notice your plants "stretching" for light, that probably means they're not getting enough sunlight.
• Well-draining soil. This is important. Make sure that your succulent is in a pot that has adequate drainage and that you're using cactus soil or something similar. It has characteristics of the soil that succulents are used to growing in. Your container should be terracotta, which is ideal. Some growers suggest non-glazed pots as they tend to retain water, but it's what works best for you and your plants.
• Watering. The amount that you need to water your succulents actually varies per season. If it's cooler (i.e. winter and late fall/early spring), your succulent will need less water. If it's late spring, summer, and early fall, your plants will need watered more. HOWEVER, it can become easy to overwater them, which you don't want to do. Some websites suggest watering once or twice a month during the winter and once a week during the summer. You should always pay attention to the dampness of your soil first and foremost. If it is bone dry, then you water it. This should happen a maximum of once a week, and your soil always needs to dry completely in between watering. You also need to pay attention to root rot, which occurs from over-watering.
• Pay attention. Most importantly, all of these things vary (trust me, I didn't like hearing that either). People have different methods for caring for their plants, but if you're doing something that isn't exactly like what people are telling you, it doesn't mean you're doing it wrong if your plants are responding positively to it. Have fun! That's the point of getting house plants, right? To nurture and see progress in the little things you're taking care of.

Here are some links that I found really helpful in learning how to care for my plants:

• DIY: How to Stop Killing Your Indoor Succulents by Erin Boyle, Gardenista
• Tips for Growing Succulents Indoors, Succulents and Sunshine
• Growing Succulents Indoors by Bayer (yeah, the aspirin people)
• How to: Care for Your Succulents by A Pair & A Spare

Enjoy your journey with succulents! If I can't be out doing something outdoors or because of something else (which is really hard when I want to be outside, but it's still cold and rainy where I am), adventure can be had by trying something new! For me, it's learning how to care for something I've kind of always want to, but never took the chance in doing.

Adieu Caribou! xoxo

Cherry Blossom Festival 2014

I started going to the Cherry Blossom Festival in DC in 2008 and have gone pretty consistently ever since. However, the past two years I was unable to because I was in Texas and it broke my heart. It's usually a tradition that my mom and I share, but she was in Florida this week so I took it upon myself to go on my own.

If you're ever worried about traveling to DC on your own, don't be. As long as you're by the monuments and Smithsonian, there is always security and usually a lot of tourists. If you decide to venture behind the Eisenhower Building and White House into "real DC," then you may want to take other people with you.

BUT the Cherry Blossom Festival is a beautiful celebration of the 3,000 cherry trees that were gifted to the United States in 1912 by the mayor of Tokyo in Japan. There are parades, famous cameo appearances, special art galleries and tons of Japanese culture that flood DC for two weeks. If you want more information on events (the festival ends on Sunday), click here to find out more.

Here are some tips that I have for making the most out of your experience:

• Get to know the camera you're using before you go. There are various settings you'll need to be acquainted with and you don't want to be stuck standing around the Tidal Basin looking at your camera like a foreign object. There are a lot of photographers that go, and they can get cranky if you're in their shot.
• Leave early. I drive from Washington County, and it can take a good hour and a half without traffic to get to Downtown DC. I woke up and left around 5 am and still hit traffic on 270, but I got there in time for the beautiful sunrise. It's probably the most beautiful thing you can see and take pictures of while there.
• Know where to park. If you get there early, the East Potomac parking is free and it's right by the Tidal Basin. Always my go-to when I go to DC. They also change the traffic patterns, so have a GPS handy if you're not good with maps and be free and open to having to change your route often.
• Have a tentative schedule in mind. Like I mentioned earlier, there are a ton of things going on during the festival. Weekends are always the busiest, so make sure you know what's planned. Even if you leave early, you're probably still going to run into crowds throughout the day. DC is a big city that's hard to realize when you're walking around such big structures, so plan time to walk between places and make it to your desired events early.
• Carry something to eat and drink with you. Always. This is probably a no-brainer, but something you should always do.

Happy traveling, folks!

Un Viaje de República Dominicana

I'm back :) We, our group of 17, returned on Monday evening safe, sound, and changed forever. I'm going to be posting my musings and photos on tumblr, but I'll try to post some of my absolute favorite pictures here in my spare time. Being back is weird. Like, let me emphasize this weird. I've had moments where I've cried unexpectedly coming home from class because the wrong type of song was on. I've had moments of determination to learn Spanish (so much determination that I think I downloaded some weird thing on my computer instead of what I was wanting to do. Advice: don't do torrents if you don't know how to do torrents).

It's almost like I know I'm not mentally prepared to ever go back to the normal ways of doing things. I carry keychains that were gifted to me on my work keys to remind me to always keep working hard and stay focused on what's really important. It's really, really hard sometimes when everyone else around you didn't experience the same things as you. They ask how your trip was - some care and some don't, and you just have to deal with that.

Anyway, below are some pictures. I'm hoping to get to DC this upcoming week for the Cherry Blossom Festival, so hopefully you'll start to see me more regularly. If you want to read more about the trip, my link to tumblr is here.

I laid this row of block by myself :)