6 lessons I learned when we were robbed
Coming home after a long day at work, it was a shock to see our front door wide open — even more disturbing to see everything upended.
How acupuncture helped treat my post-natal depression
Tom’s birth experience was drastically different to what I’d been hoping for and expecting. Instead of a calm, quiet drug-free home birth, I ended up being whisked to hospital in an ambulance, and having every intervention I’d hoped to avoid. Immediately following the birth, I knew that my physical recovery would take a while. What I didn’t realise was how long it would take to recover mentally.
Gothic garden planning: 5 black blooms worth braving the sun for
As I dove into garden-planning season, I came across this breathtaking flower: the Black Parrot tulip. Now, I know it’s too late to plant tulips, but that doesn’t stop me from fantasizing about these.
Happily, the Black Parrot led me down a rabbit hole of other dark plants — the kind of vegetation that might convince even the palest of goths to slather on sunscreen and get into the garden.
How to hang paper collections, a miniature castle, and turquoise walls in this week’s reader photos
Start your week with our collection of interesting articles on the web and photos from our readers. This week: see a revolutionary stained glass window and a mural on the side of a home. In these Clicky Links you’ll find lots of sites to waste a little time on — and new perspectives on roommates with bad habits.
Click through, too, to find our links on submitting YOUR stuff to Offbeat Home!
Write your grocery lists with this ghostly pen and a signature stamp
In college I worked in an art supply/fine pen/framing store, so I had to know all three. (You want a $900 Montblanc pen, old man banker? I will SELL YOU a $900 pen!) I got real snobby about pens for a while there, and good ones still catch my eye — like this pen listed for $50 in The Ghostly Store.
How to make an animated gif party invitation
I love animated gifs! They’re like the magical photos in the Potterverse. Here’s a reason you can make one this week: PARTY TIME. Whether you’re planning a Super Bowl party, a Valentine’s Day cocktail hour, or just a mid-winter soiree, you can make an animated gif invitation in a few quick steps.
I turned a storage barrel into a magical wine table!
I’m becoming a bit of a recycling center junkie — my husband and I go for a “hot date” every week and come home with a bootload of “treasure.” These barrells are storage barrells used by a health food company to import bulk spirulina etc. and cost a whopping NZ$1 each. The paper I used also came from the center — about $2 for a huge carton of old maps, sheet music and atlases — decoupage heaven!
Get over hating Valentine’s Day, and start culture jamming
The day that everyone loves to hate is coming right up! Oh, Valentine’s Day. It’s not just the single people who hate Valentine’s Day (“the holiday designed to make me feel lonely”) — it’s the people with sweethearts, too (“the holiday designed to force me into contrived expressions of romance”).
Well, I have one thing to say about Valentine’s Day: STOP WHINING.