Of all the strange twists in my life, this one might be the most unexpected (though not especially life-defining) one. My “brown thumb” is family legend, and being keenly aware of my shortcomings, I have always shied away from keeping plants around. Yet, somehow, within the last couple of months, my home has become a veritable greenhouse. At last count, we had twenty plants, not including the half dozen cuttings in various stages of growth.

How?

Contrary to common familial misconceptions, I actually really like plants. I am not overly fond of the outdoors (bugs, too many of them), but I like indoor greenery. Having spent a lot of time lately combing through interior design books, I came to realize how much of a difference plants can make in terms of making a space feel warm and inviting and, well, alive. In the past, I might have been tempted to recreate the same effect with fake greenery, but I’ve reached a stage of my life when I don’t want fake anything in my life. It’s the real deal, or nothing.

When I switched jobs last year, a couple of assistants at my old firm gave me a potted plant “bouquet” as a farewell gift, with a promise to call me weekly to remind me to water it. I’m sure you can guess why. Well, as it turns out, the promised calls didn’t happen (more’s the pity) but – in another unexpected twist – I managed to keep those plants alive, all by myself, for over a year. Granted, we are talking about a bunch of pothos and philodendron (aka as indestructible as plants get, short of bamboo), but still. I felt emboldened by this minor success, possibly to an unwarranted degree.

I decided it was time to reconsider my stance on the keeping of plants.

As my mom sagely noted after the fact, I am not a person who enters upon a new hobby with anything less than full steam. This is true. [It’s why my hobbies tend to be either unqualified successes or terrible failures which are never mentioned again. Now that I think about it, this post may be premature. Ahem.] I tentatively bought a few plants at IKEA and Home Depot, but quickly went all in once I discovered a proper plant nursery within 10 minute’s drive from our house. They know us by name there now. Their “tropical” greenhouse is a plant-lover’s delight, and even after my recent buying spree, I still have a wishlist that’s a mile long. I may have told my husband that he should be looking for my next Christmas/birthday/anniversary present there. See, my mom’s not wrong: I am intense.

[Lest you think I am kidding, I also bought a couple of books on plant care, a moisture/light/pH meter, a cute watering can, soil, fertilizer, you name it. And I am now following several plant care IG accounts.]

We are a pet-free home due to my husband’s allergies, so I have channeled all my extraneous attention upon the plants. The kids and I gave them all names, and I have found myself legit talking to them on more than one occasion; sometimes, the kids follow suit and it is the cutest thing ever. I am constantly worried about how much light and/or water they’re getting and/or not getting, and I can tell you that, as far as that goes, being a plant “mom” is a lot more stressful than I anticipated. But there is also nothing like the pride one feels when a new leaf unfurls. In fact, when Augustus (our fiddle leaf ficus) showed signs of a new leaf, I went all Sally Field in the middle of my living room – “you like it here, you really like it here!” *cue tears of joy*

Ahem.

You may think I am being overly dramatic, but I assure you that I am embellishing by no more than 15, 20% at most.

Anyway, I thought I would formally introduce our current plant family:

The aforementioned Augustus (his new leaf is still “cooking”).

This is Geraldine, our very first plant. She recently unfurled TWO new leaves in one week. Another leaf is on the way. The small pot on the shelf is Arthur.

These are (left to right) Arnold, Ruth and Leopold. Arnold is part of my original “plant bouquet”. I split the various offshoots into 2 pots when I brought the original container home from the office this summer; the other half is now Arthur (see above).

These are (left to right) Phinneas, Helga, and Winston. By way of full disclosure, all of our plants have middle names – which I have not included here for brevity – except for Helga. We got her at the Devon Botanical Gardens, and she is a Sedum Voodoo plant. My husband also likes to call her the Red Baroness.

These are (left to right) Evelyn and Luella.

This is Frederick, who came to us from a friend. Frederick is a Monstera plant, and is named after Frederick the Great, aka Barbarossa, aka Stupor Mundi. I am hoping that encourages him to grow as large as the cheeseplant we used to have in my childhood apartment. My mom is still traumatized by that plant, but I have nothing but fond memories of our living room “jungle”.

Lastly, this is our succulent garden. I call this my “needles corner” – all prickly things and needlepoint. For some reason, most of these remain unnamed. The tall silver lantern cacti have been collectively nicknamed Mr. Fuzz, but that’s about it. We did have a flowering event a few weeks ago, which was extremely exciting:

Sadly, these blooms (there were two) only lasted one day. I am cautiously optimistic that we will see them again next year.

In the meantime, if you have tips, tricks or general words of encouragement, let me know in the comments.

Elevated Business Casual

I’ve recently developed something of an aversion to sheath dresses, for years a main staple of my work wardrobe. This is unfortunate insofar as there is no easier professional outfit formula than dress + blazer. Before you jump in to ask, I don’t really know why sheath dresses don’t do it for me anymore. Not baggy enough, maybe? I kid, except not entirely. Anyway, let’s rejoice because I do have some other alternatives in my closet that work with that classic formula … like this amazing Maria Cornejo dress. Hope you’re not tired of seeing it yet.

And speaking of pieces on repeat, does anyone recognize this blazer? It’s an Elie Tahari number I bought a long time ago (as far as clothes go); I want to say circa 2012? I used to wear all the time, and then for some reason I stopped and sent it to the archive closet. I did a recent sweep of said closet and realized that this blazer fits well (again?), and has a relaxed, streamlines silhouette that works with my current aesthetic, so it’s back into regular rotation. The medium grey is a good grounding neutral without being as stark as black. Add some red shoes, and you’ve got yourself an easy outfit.

Vintage, Revisited

High waisted, pleated pants are back! Or so I hear. It’s rare for me to be so on-trend, so let’s go with that being the case, ok? The new iteration of this trouser silhouette is still too “hot” to have hit the thrift racks, but there is no shortage of the vintage kind. Now, not all vintage pants are made equal, especially when it comes to front pleats. I think I’m on safe ground with this pair, though, even if they do pack a lot of lewk. There’s the aforementioned pleats and high waist, but also the tapered leg … and did I mention they are velvet? A heavy velvet, and lined to boot. Vintage at its best, most vintage-y. These pants were made in Canada for Eatons, you guys! If you remember Eatons, you are official An Old Person, like me. Congraaaaaaats!

But in all seriousness: I loved this outfit. When I thrifted the pants, I tried them on with a Uniqlo blouse made of a print with small flowers against a black background. I didn’t buy the blouse – it had a pussy bow, which is a big NO for me – but kinda regretted it because I liked how the black-on-black combination looked. A few days later, I came across this Maeve blouse at the consignment store. No pussy bow. Sold.

Weekend Formula, Times Two

Now, THIS was a popular outfit on IG. I dig it a lot, so I am not surprised by its popularity, except insofar as I’m always surprised that IG shows my photos to anyone nowadays. Yes, that’s a very Blogger-y complaint, I know. Moving on. This MaxMara camel coat is still going strong, 4 years later. I am dreading the prospect of trying to find a replacement. Hopefully, that trial is years removed. Polished coat + distressed jeans + knits = instant chic. In my books, anyway. And check out those recently thrifted SoftMoc boots. Amazing.

So amazing, in fact, that I wore this outfit twice, with a couple of small tweaks:

As an average cusp-Millennial with access to social media, I am susceptible to getting a Case of the Wants every so often. You know what I mean: when you become convinced that a product – be it a piece of clothing, skincare, or some random doodad – is the only thing standing in the way of your being the Best You That You Can Be. I don’t know about you, but my mental image of the Best Me That I Can Be is a less intimidating version of Tilda Swinton. I am several light years away from any remotely similar incarnation, but let me put it this way: if Tilda Swinton published a 24 hour product diary, I would be parsing that shizz like a holy text. Hope springs eternal in this bosom.

The fun part of being an adult is that, sometimes, I get to indulge my Wants. The less fun part is that I also have to make the hard decisions about which Wants can be indulged responsibly, and which can’t.

I keep a rough mental list of the Wants, mostly in the hope that I will, someday, find them for a bargain basement price, preferably at a thrift store. This rarely happens but you know what I said about hope. I’ve never written down this list, assuming it would be a fairly depressing exercise, but you know what? I’ve done it now, and it made me realize that there are actually not that many things on it (all things considered – I am a sucker for pretty things), and that’s because I’m damn lucky to already have most of the things I’ve ever coveted. I know I sound like a broken record, but thrifting has opened up a world of self-indulging (and self-indulgent?) possibilities. One woman’s trash truly can be another’s treasure.

I decided to share my “Wanted” list here as a bit of an experiment. A year from now, I want to see how many of these items I can check off the list – either because I no longer want them, or because I was able to get them (and, in the latter case, how I got them). We’ll see if this Law of Attraction business works.

In no particular order:

1. Diptique candles. I love fancy candles; I just can’t deal with the price. The only way I could bring myself to buy a $80 candle is if it came with an envelope containing $70. A friend of mine recently found some Jo Malone soap (new in box) at the thrift store, which gives me hope. People throw out all kinds of expensive s**t; why not fancy candles? To be perfectly honest, I would take an empty Diptique glass container (candle holder?) for the Instagram potential alone.

2. Alexis Bittar jewelry. Love their stuff, but the brand is hard to find in Edmonton and, needless to say, it’s even harder to score at bargain prices. I always keep an eye out for this whenever I travel, especially in places like Nordstrom Rack.

3. Alex & Ani bracelets. I actually fell in love with these after thrifting a bunch at Goodwill. I want more, but I also don’t want to pay $30 or more for a simple metal bangle. Edited to add: I actually found another one recently, with a letter “A” charm. OMG, this might actually work!

4. Hermès scarf. I know their bags are ridiculously sought after, but those are not really my style. [Listen, I wouldn’t kick one out of my thrift store cart if it landed there, but I’m not actively looking for it either.] Their scarves, on the other hand: yes, please. The prints are truly stunning, and if I ever got my hands on one, it would likely end up framed on my wall.

5. Miu Miu patent leather lace-up oxfords. When I worked at my old job, I used to see a young woman at my train station from time to time. She always wore head-to-toe black and rocked an aesthetic that I have since come to adopt to a certain extent (relaxed Scandi minimalist). Even then, I became obsessed with her clothes, but especially the black lace-up loafers she wore most of the time. I never summoned the courage to ask her where they were from, which was as unfortunate as it was/is typical of my MO (to wit, admire from afar, hoping not to come across like a creep). The closest thing I’ve found online is a Miu Miu pair I spotted on eBay. I keep trying to find a thriftier alternative, but I may give up at some point and splurge instead.

6. Anything patterned from Dries Van Noten. My relationship with prints is slightly different now; I don’t wear them as much as I used to, but I still enjoy an unusual pattern. Nobody does prints like Dries; it would be like owning a piece of wearable art.

7. Rick Owens velvet dress. There once was a mushroom grey, asymmetrical, velvet Rick Owens dress at Swish. I fell in love with it, and tried in on, oh, at least 2 or 3 times; but it was about $150, and I chickened out of buying it every time. This was about a year before my aesthetic (r)evolution and, at the time, it felt too much out of my comfort zone for the price tag. Needless to say, I deeply regret not getting it. I have not been able to find it online since, but I am forever looking for it.

8. Anthropologie flower vases. I already have this one:

… but Anthro came out with a bunch of different versions, and I want them all. I don’t want to take my chances with eBay, so I keep hoping the local thrift stores will deliver. Edited to add: my friend Jenn (thrifter and reseller extraordinaire) found me a second one from the series! I am on a roll!

9. Marc by Marc Jacobs Iridescent Q Hillier bag. I have a lot of MbMJ bags already, I know. But this is the one I’m specifically talking about:

O.B.S.E.S.S.E.D. There is a small version currently listed on eBay for $300CAD+ but that seems excessive, all things considered.

10. Zero+Maria Cornejo, Sarah Pacini, Marni … basically, anything. I’m not picky because these brands’ aesthetic is 100% my jam.

11. Loro Piana cashmere. This stuff is baby angel soft, I hear. I wants it.

12. Isabel Marant Lecce belt. I blame Sherry from Save, Spend, Splurge for introducing me to this belt I Absolutely. Need. Right. Now.

Honestly, I love it enough to actually consider paying full price for it, but it doesn’t seem to be available at regular retail sites or on the secondary resale market, yet. Sigh.

13. Rachel Comey shoes and/or jewelry. Sometimes, browsing the Anthro website is really dangerous. Actually, it’s always dangerous. I do love the minimalist/quirky look of RC accessories though. Haven’t thrift spotted this brand in the “wild” yet, but I feel like it’s only a matter of time. Optimism for the win!

14. Aritzia Daria (p)leather leggings. These are really not that expensive in the scheme of things, but I am sometimes unreasonably cheap, OK? I cannot bring myself to spend $130 on a pair of leggings (whether Aritzia or Commando or Spanx) and I’m also too unmotivated to hunt around for a decent sale. [Actually, I generally try to avoid online sale-stalking, because I find it fuels my feelings of Wantiness.] So, I’m just gonna put them on the list and hope that they will somehow, magically, end up in my closet.

15. Celine Belt bag. I haven’t paid much attention to designer bags in the last year or so, and there aren’t any other ones out there that I covet (new or old), but this Celine is the exception. I love the casual elegance of the belted flap; it’s epitome of effortless cool to me. It’s an impractical bag for my day-to-day life, but it still makes my heart flutter every time I see it.

Actually, I take that back. There are two other designer bags I covet – the Polene No. 1:

And the Chloe Faye:

Siiiiiiiiigh.

Tell me: do you have a Me Want List? What’s on yours?