I have a very special announcement, friends!
today, the Lunas brought two babies into our small, two bedroom west seattle home. we are now proud parents to two adorable arabica coffee plants. the first little one is 1lb., eight inches tall, and the second is 1.4lbs., twelve inches tall.
please join gus and I in welcoming them into our home and our hearts. please wish us luck in our newest journey. we are so happy to have them!
silliness aside, hello.
happy summer.
today was the first official Saturday of summer, and in our house, that means diy projects.
my husband Gus has been working on revamping our front yard. he paces himself while building, only tackling one part of a project at a time, instead of trying to take everything on all at once, which means a lot of trips to the hardware store.
I usually tag along. I like walking down the aisles, looking at all the different kinds of screws, sizes of nails, the different widths of paint brushes, the smell of hardwood and the sound of a fork lift in reverse. it gives me ideas about design; nail-heads, the coils of screws, chain links, the grain of wood. all these mundane things put our world together. they’re what builds the doors to our homes, the roofs over our heads, the tables that we eat our meals at, the chairs we put our bodies on.
growing up, my parents did a lot of diy projects, so it feels like a comfortable place to me.
but I digress.
Gus wanders around hardware stores with confidence. he looks for something specific but has no idea where it actually is, so we just wander up and down aisles together, chit-chatting about all the potential design and renovation ideas we have from looking at a single black matte sink faucet.
Lowe’s, Home Depot, the local hardware store; this is his space. Gus works in the industry; I’d say he spends at least 12 hours a day thinking about home improvement for the tech startup he’s been at for 3 years. I guess going to the hardware store with him gives me a better look into his mind—something I always try to do, for better or worse.
today, we went looking for outdoor paint primer, paint roller, paint brush, a roll of paper to protect the deck, and something like charcoal for the new CharBroil grill he just got.
but then, I stumbled upon two adorable coffee plants when I wandered off on my own. they were not on the list of things to buy but I insisted they come home with us as a “present”. we’re celebrating summer solstice, right?
so, happy summer, thanks for the coffee plants.
I’ve been wanting coffee plants in our house for a while but I’ve been scared to adopt leafy plants since I tragically murdered our monstera plant last year. since then, I’ve been taking care of a small 4″ aloe, an orchid, a snake plant, and some kind of cactus that are all growing. my orchid even outgrew its pot! when I saw the coffee plants, I thought they might be worth a shot, plus they’re very “on brand” for me.
when we got home, I planted them in two white planters I had from previous plants (rip) while Gus started painting primer on the deck railings. he’s going to paint the horizontal slats of the deck black to make our outdoor space more of an “outdoor room.” we have plans to add lights and a fire pit too, but he’s taking it one step at a time. I like that about him.
we want to spend our summer evenings sitting on the front porch, listening to the sounds of the neighborhood and enjoying the warm breeze instead of in front of the tv.
anyway, join me in welcoming our new plant babies to the family. if anyone has any tips for taking care of these cute coffee babies, please leave them in the comments!
Becca Risa Luna 