Succulents are as Southern California as surfing and palm trees. They’re planted in yards, sold at boutiques, and often the decor of choice in cafes and restaurants. They’re cute, they’re low-maintenance, and they come in all sorts of kooky shapes. I was sold. That said, constantly buying new succulents becomes a costly affair. Enter: succulent propgation, the process of using succulent leaves to breed new succulent plants.

I used this very handy, very visual guide from fellow SoCal bloggers, Needles + Leaves, to get started on my succulent that was beginning to take on a life of its own. If you’re looking to try this yourself, I highly recommend the Needles + Leaves guide, since they took better notes than I did. Ha! But for now, I recently transferred some baby succulents into the new pots, so I thought it would be a good time to share my progress. My number one tip? Let the mother/host leaf die before yanking it off. There were a few times that I pulled off the precious roots in the process.

For those that did survive, take a look:

February  MarchAprilA few weeks later in April. You can see the host lead if beginning to shrivel and die.
My balcony setup Trimmed rosettes replanted
Rosette replanted (left) and new baby succulent planted (right)

New succulent babes

The post how to propagate succulents appeared first on My SoCal'd Life.

Chocolate walnut cinnamon rolls (via The Little Epicurean)

Carolinea typeface (via Creative Market)

DIY painted coasters (via The Lovely Drawer)

Turtleneck style (via Who What Wear and We Wore What)

Cuban-style black beans with coconut cream rice (via The Clever Carrot)

Follow me on Pinterest for more picks!

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Once I moved to San Diego and began caring about building a home, one fact I just couldn’t wrap my head around was why coasters are so dang expensive. Square pieces of fabric, cork, wood or stone costing as much as a pair of shoes? They were just begging for a DIY, so I recently shared my version of color-blocked painted cork coasters inspired by Tuts+ for The Society, a new online lifestyle magazine that speaks to the young, modern and South Asian reader. I’ve always said there needs to be a site like theirs, one dedicated to creative South Asians, so I’m honored to be a small part of their wonderful site.

You can see the full post here!

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I sweat. I sweat a lot. I have no idea what it’s like to be one of those pretty girls at the gym who merely glows. I’m too busy adjusting the sweatband at my hairline and toweling off the sweat that is literally rolling off my face and arms. (And that is why I never enjoy and will never again do hot yoga.) But now that I’m a regular yogi committed to three vinyasa classes a week—I love it so!—I realize that I need to take better care of my mat, which is the victim to all that salty sweat.

A yoga mat spray is a great way to keep your mat sterilized and smelling lovely. There are plenty on the market, but it just didn’t make sense to pay so much for something I could easily make myself. After combing through a few recipes, here’s the concoction inspired by Free People‘s that I came up with:

Materials/ingredients:

• Glass spray bottle (essential oils can corrode plastic, so I got this one)
• Distilled water
• Lavender oil
• Tea tree oil
• Witch hazel or white vinegar (optional)

Fill your bottle 3/4 full with distilled water, and then add essential oils. For my mix, I used 35 drops of lavender and 10 drops of tea tree oil. (Store your oils in the fridge to keep them fresh.) Tea tree oil has disinfecting properties, but if you want to get extra clean, add vinegar or a non-alcohol version of witch hazel.

Spray your mat, let sit for a few minutes and then wipe it dry.

All that for about $25, and so much leftover ingredients that I’ll be able to make plenty more sprays. Enjoy!

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About 1,000 years ago on Instagram, I teased that Eaman and I were making a headboard out of an old door. Maybe you’ve been waiting for the big reveal or perhaps you totally forgot about it (how could you?!), but now I can finally share the end result! The blue beauty now lives in our bedroom, and while I don’t think a headboard is all that necessary, I like that we made one so cheaply.

We spread out the project over a few weeks — starting with the cleaning, sanding and sawing outside in our complex’s parking lot and ending with painting and installing in our bedroom. As expected, Eaman handled the more mechanical work, like sawing and drilling, while I oversaw the painting. Through the whole process, all I could think was: How do DIY bloggers do this? Work on a project, photograph the steps beautifully and look flawless throughout? I was a hot mess.

But I digress. I dig the final look, and even better, I love that we used our creativity — and took a much-needed break from our computer screens — to make something out of virtually nothing.

Here’s how we did it:

Tools:

• Towels
• Electric saw
• Electric sander
• Sand paper
• Goggles
• Old blanket you don’t mind getting paint on
• Primer
• Paint
• Brushes
• (2) 2×4’s cut to your desired length
• Screws and bolts (I regrettably forget the sizes)
• Electric drill
• Tape measure
• Door knob (optional)

We found the door resting next to a dumpster by our apartment, hauled it over to our parking lot and left a note on it (“PLEASE DON’T REMOVE!”) until we were ready to work on it.

The door was filthy, so we started by cleaning it with paper towels, damp towels, and some Clorox wipes. We then proceeded to sand down the surface because after so much weathering, the paint was peeling and edges were rough. (I look so cool!)

We thought, “Hey, let’s just unscrew the hardware.” As it turns out, this was an old-school door with no screws to be found. How did we end up getting it off? By hacking away at it with a hammer until it came off. Keepin’ it classy.

We then brought the door inside because with all the painting and drying time, it’d be tough to keep it outside in our public parking area. There wasn’t much room in our apartment, but we somehow made it work in the bedroom. We lay down an old blanket and got to work on priming one side of the door. (You can paint the other side if you’d like, but it seems pointless since it’ll face a wall.) Our primer was not an odorless variety, so we kept as many doors and windows open as possible.

Once the primer dried, we painted two coats of Valspar’s Blue Bolero, a low-odor, zero VOC variety, which was so amazing to work with after the smelly primer. Teddy was locked out of our workspace for obvious reasons, but he managed to find a way to interfere anyway; we kept finding his stray hairs float into the painting area.

The 2×4’s prop the headboard up, and we needed two holes per 2×4 — one to attach the 2×4 to the door and one to attach the actual headboard to our metal bed frame (which has holes for this very purpose). Drill, baby, drill.

For maximum support and hold, we positioned the 2×4’s on the thickest parts of the door. Based on our desired headboard height, we determined where to drill on both the door and 2×4’s so they would align properly.

Once the holes were in place, we attached the two pieces together with the screws and bolts. Now we had a headboard!

Even though we measured everything, getting the holes of the bed frame and holes on the 2×4 aligned required some finessing during the actual attachment process. But it worked!

Et voila. Some people like to disguise the characteristics of the door, but we played it up by exposing the door slot and installing a new door knob. That door knob was actually what prolonged this post. I bought it from this Etsy shop, which was having a huge sale, and as a result, a slow delivery time. It arrived a few weeks ago, and now, I’m happy to say that we’re done! We were going for a Greek-Mediterannean-white-on-bright-color look. What do you think?

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Ah, dumpster diving. I love it so.

Remember that simple, sort of blasé two-tier shelf I had Instragammed in April? Well, I finally got around to giving it some TLC, and here’s the end result! Thanks to everyone who chimed in with ideas. In the end I went with a white metal frame—à la Maggie‘s suggestion—and dark wood shelving because there is something so crisp and modern about a rich brown against a white frame.

Here’s how I did it:

Supplies (with links to the actual brands and colors I used):

• Primer
• White paint
• Paint brush (I used a 2-inch Ace brand brush that’s not online; it’s not great, it does the trick)
• Wood stain (Jacobean color)
• Old white T-shirt (a brush will soak up too much wood stain)
• Tarp to cover your space

Instructions (Read instructions on all paint, primer, and stain cans before using! I’ve simplified the instructions here):

First I cleaned the whole piece to ensure that no dust (or dog hair) remained and began work on the frame. After applying primer and allowing it to dry for an hour, I painted the frame, which was the hardest part of the project thanks to all the nooks and crannies. When I walked down the stairs to get the mail and had a different view, I discovered that I missed an entire side. So just take your time if you have a similar DIY.

Also, I should’ve kept the wood boards farther away from my paint station because tiny flecks of white paint got on the boards and couldn’t be covered with wood stain. It’s not that noticeable, but of course I know they’re there. And then a little wood stain got on the balcony thanks to a hole in my tarp. I’m seriously the worst.

The wood part was fun because I’ve never worked with a stain. I propped up each slab on a large, shallow basket, poured just a little stain, and spread it in the direction of the wood grain with an old tee. I could’ve worn gloves, but I didn’t have any. Just make sure to wash your hands (very) thoroughly afterward if you’re unprepared/lazy like me. I was happy with the color after just one coat, which was a little more than 1/4 cup for both boards. But if you’d like multiple coats, make sure to let the stain dry for 4-6 hours first.

It took just one afternoon and the next day, I had a very cute stand that finally occupies a formerly awkward, empty space in our bedroom. I filled it with these DIY terracotta pots, an ivy that now lives in a tomato can I spray painted copper, and pretty much the only picture of me, Eaman, and Teddy, courtesy of Found Creative Studio. It was shot for the March issue of San Diego Magazine, and I love that it’s a portrait of our little family in our new city next to our favorite coffee shop.

That deserves a beautiful stand to set it on, no?

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Succulents come in a variety of shapes and sizes, but I was more excited about the pot they’d call home. I started with a classic terracotta base, and for each pot I chose three different designs, working with a color palette of pink, gold, white, and turquoise. I wanted the designs to look very distinct but like they were part of a family. The colors were bright (just the way I like them) and would go well with our teal and white-themed bedroom.

Few may know this, but I actually love painting and always think about nurturing my interest with some proper classes. For now, this DIY was a great way to get back into the flow. It was fun, easy, and took just an afternoon to finish, and the pattern and color possibilities are endless. Here’s how it went down:

Supplies

• Terracotta pots and saucers (I chose 4″ pots, each $3. Ideally I get them cheaper at a thrift store, but my local shop was selling each for $3.50!)
• Acrylic paints (Terracotta is a porous material, so be safe and go with acrylic, which is non-toxic.)
• Foam brushes of different sizes
• Paintbrush (Actually, mine is an eyeshadow brush I haven’t used for years.)
• Something to cover your workspace.
• Don’t mind the tube of puffy paint. I had an idea for a design using it, but it bombed.
• Not pictured: masking tape

I picked up my plants and cactus soil (specially formulated for proper drainage) at Mission Hills Nursery, a wonderful local shop with a knowledgeable staff. If you’re not in San Diego, I recommend you support your local nursery! Small businesses, all the way.

Now, I’ve seen different theories on painting terracotta pots. This how-to from SF Gate is quite comprehensive, and involves bleaching the inside of the pot and sealing the outside with a terracotta sealer. Then, there are other people (ahem, bloggers, ahem) who just slap some non-toxic paint on the pots and call it a day. My method is the latter. (Sorry, I’m not sorry.) Since my plants will be indoors without much direct sunlight, I didn’t bother with the extra steps. But if yours will be outside, you might want to try the Gate‘s version to protect the pots.

How did I decide on the patterns? I love the simplicity of color-blocking, so that was definitely going to be one pot. Masking tape made the color split a cinch, but wrapping tape around a conical pot in one straight line is hard. My line wasn’t 100% even, but I prefer the imperfection.

I pulled inspiration for the splotch print from this Etsy find. It’s my favorite pot of the trio. It also happened to be the easiest to make. No tricky masking tape, no need for accuracy. And I’m happy that my Estée Lauder brush was finally put to good use.

I wanted one pot to show a little terracotta color in its natural glory. The triple stripe pot, hiding in the back left, was a way to do that and incorporate almost all the colors. I also liked how it felt sporty, like an Adidas track suit. That said, trying to get those lines straight was a mother. I basically just used masking tape for the bottom lines and eyed the top line of each stripe myself. Some portions were more successful than others.

All in all, I’m so happy with the project, which totaled about $50. I found the painting process extremely soothing, and what I’m left with is an awesome piece of homemade art. If you’re a friend or family member, you may see some DIY pots in your future. They make lovely gifts.

And if you’re into the DIY part and less enthusiastic about plants, this craft idea might be right up your alley. Happy painting!

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First things first: I’d be thrilled, honored, appreciative, and oh-so-glad if you take 1 minute (even less!) to fill out this easy six-question survey about My SoCal’d Life. I’m a new and growing site, and want to make sure I’m writing, covering, and sharing to the best of my ability. Thanks in advance!

OK, back to the post. Our apartment has turned into a bit of a DIY factory this past month. It all started with an abandoned door we found next to a dumpster by our apartment that we decided to turn into a headboard. That was a long, laborious, but ultimately rewarding DIY that I’ll share soon, but that whole process motivated me to finally attack some lingering—and much easier—projects on my list. The truth is, I can be quite lazy. And though I do Pin a lot of crafts and love the idea of making something myself, I often don’t have the patience or gentle touch.

But once I got started with one, I got DIY fever.

The gold mug above is maybe the simplest DIY on this planet. Make a pattern with tape, spray paint with choice of color, and coat with ceramic sealer. But because I am so lazy and it took me months to go to Michael’s and get that dang ceramic spray, I only just finished it. But I love the end result! It’s easily my favorite mug for morning coffee.

And as for the three other projects…

During our RTW trip, we collected a postcard from every country we visited—and from every city if we were really on top of it. We had dreams of collaging the cards into one frame, and it took me more than a year to finally do it. What really got me in the zone was finding a large, empty frame near my apartment. (Dumpster diving is the best.) I primed it and then painted it with white paint because I wanted the color and variety of postcards to stand out. I then pasted each postcard with reusable mounting tape onto a piece of cardboard and secured that into the frame. There’s no glass to protect the whole poster, but I like the bulletin board look. Reminds me of hostel tack boards with postcards, pictures, and maps. It’s hanging in our bedroom, which was previously lacking on the travel souvenir front.

Yep, dumpster diving strikes again. I found this just a few weeks after moving to San Diego last year and for a while it went un-DIYed in all its generic stool glory. One day last summer I slapped some white paint on it and hastily spray painted the bottom tips gold. While I was painting last weekend, I finally came to terms with how sad it looked and gave it a fresh coat of paint and new copper tips. These dip dyed stools from Serena & Lily were my inspiration.

I bought this ottoman-bench from the Kobey’s Swap Meet flea market last year but waited until I found just the right fabric to redo it. I scoured thrift shops and fabric stores, but in the end, it was a cloth sheet from India that made the cut. The actual upholstering was so easy. I simply cut the cloth with extra fabric on all sides, pulled it taught, and secured it over the existing fabric with a staple gun. I’m not sure white was the best choice for the frame, but I didn’t want to buy a whole new can of paint and I also liked how the white brightened up the fabric’s darker colors. Right now this bench is more a catch-all for mail, keys, and Teddy’s toys, but I’m looking forward to giving it a proper home whenever we move to a bigger place.

Stay tuned for all the details on making the headboard. It’s a good one!

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I love body scrub. I love it so much that I feel like a different person after using it. What I don’t love is how expensive the natural ones are. Sure I could pick one up at a drugstore for under $10, but those are typically filled with chemicals, artificial fragrances and other junk I shouldn’t be slathering all over my skin. But then I realized it’s stupid simple to make your own body scrubs — and you probably have most of the ingredients already!

After I got a $3 jar (wide enough to get your hand in) at Ross, I decided which base to use. Sea salt scrubs feel too abrasive on my skin and rice is too fine, but I did have brown sugar on hand. (Birchbox has a handy guide to the best natural scrubs for your skin type.)

I started with this recipe as a guide, but made a substitution for the rose petals. It sounded lovely to use soft, fragrant petals, but I didn’t want to buy a bouquet or risk the bad juju if I poached a flower from a neighbor’s garden. Instead I used about 5 tablespoons of orange blossom syrup that we had gotten from the Middle Eastern market ($2.50). I think any essential oil would work in the rose petals’ place. As the recipe suggests, you can top it off with jojoba or almond oil; jojoba was more expensive, so I got this $5 bottle of almond oil.

The scrub smells divine — mostly of coconut — and feels gentle enough not to break the skin but rough enough to get results. The best part is that the coconut oil leaves a nice, moisturized finish so you can skip the extra step of applying body lotion post-shower. (I know some products can leave a too-oily film, but this recipe wasn’t like that.) I cannot reiterate how much I loved making this scrub. It was cheap and whipped up in a matter of minutes. I’m pretty sure I’ll never go back to buying store-bought. Check it out:

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And that’s where I find myself now. I just finished giving a thrift store frame a gilded update and now I have a whole can at my disposal. (If you can’t already tell, I’m kind of obsessed with gold.) I wanted to share a round-up of ideas I’ve been kicking around — ideas that are a beautiful, easy and a little out-of-the-ordinary. Like using-plastic-animal-figurines out of the ordinary.

Photos via 1/2/3/4/5

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