TJMaxx Homegoods Heaven: African and Indian Bazaar

Hi there!

I'm back with another post on my adventures through TJMaxx Homegoods!  What can I say, I can't get further than a few feet into that store without gasping and whipping out my camera...  There's such gorgeousness everywhere that I feel compelled to share it with the world at large.  I'm sure Homegoods doesn't mind my fanaticism, especially since they have tweeted some of my posts and featured some of my finds on their blog!  I'm sure you can imagine my crazy squeal of delight when that happened. :D

Anyway, I took so many pictures during this one shopping trip that I had to break them up into different posts - this post features their amazing selection of African and Indian home decor.  I couldn't get enough....

Scroll on and enjoy!

Catherine
xoxo

Past shopping posts:
The Indian Bazaar is at TJMaxx Homegoods
TJMaxx Homegoods:  Lusting and Shopping
Decor Indulgence at Ross

Treasures from Marshalls

Oh the baskets.... 

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

This is a free printable, check out more here.  Have a safe and fun Sunday...

Catherine

xoxo

Getting my decorating fix!

I've been seriously deprived of decorating and designing spaces lately, so I had to find an outlet and a way to sneak in some decor amidst the renovation madness here at my boyfriend's house!  You see, ever since I left behind my apartment in downtown to finish college, I've been living like a bohemian between here and my mother's house.  My precious belongings have been squirreled away in storage, garages, under beds, in closets and basically anywhere I can shove them.  The phrase "bursting at the seams" just came to mind, oh dear.  Anyway, imagine my excitement when Ivan painted his room and (basically) told me to have at it...  Pretty wonderful eh?  Yesiree!  

The bedroom doubles as an office space for both of us, but at the moment it's a hot mess and it's still in the process of "coming together."  In other words, we have yet to build that perfect DIY desk that we've been dreaming of, with lots of storage and space for both of us to work side by side.  In the meantime, I needed a bit of sunshine to break up the chaos for the times when I'm sitting at my desk staring at a blank wall!  In other words, I needed art and trinkets on the double!  I've had a few new white Ikea Ribba ledge shelves in the closet for a while, so I decided to honor versatility and hang those to give myself a blank slate to work with.  I'd like to change up the art and decor every so often, circulating items and creating different vignettes over the year.  Getting my antique furniture and belongings out of storage ASAP is on the list of things to do, in the meantime digging through it is like opening Pandora's box, so I had to work with stuff from my other more accessible stash spots... I rummaged through my car and whatever I had stored at my mother's house, including things I had (shamefully but lovingly) accumulated at TJMaxx Homegoods and Goodwill ever since moving... and then I went to work!  Hi-ho, hi-ho!

 More to come as soon as things shape up, but here is a sneak peek at what I've done so far, enjoy!

Catherine

xoxo

I've had these beautiful prints since my first apartment.  I can't remember whether I bought them at Marshalls or TJMaxx, but I remember I had been ogling them over the course of months, before finally finding them on clearance and sealing the deal.  

Surprisingly, they both had Certificate of Authenticity stickers on the back from LIFE Picture Collection Archive in New York City.

This print is called Chrysanthemums by Walter Crane (dated 1889) and reads: "Where still in triumph, stiff with gold, the right Chrysanthemums unfold."

This print is titled "Lilies of the Valley" by artist Walter Crane (dated 1889) and reads: "The little Lilies of the Vale, White ladies delicate & pale"

Update: I did a quick search on Walter Crane and found out from this post that he was an artist and illustrator from England who lived from 1845-1915.  He is acclaimed for many children's books, illustrations, paintings, and more.   In the article linked above, the curator of the book display describes Crane and his philosophy about the influence of good art and design on learning:

"...Walter Crane (1845-1915) was the most prolific and influential children’s book creator of his generation. His pioneering designs for nursery books helped to popularise the idea of visual literacy. Crane radically improved the standard of ‘toy books’ – cheap, mass-market colour picture books, featuring alphabets, nursery rhymes, fairy tales, and modern stories. He also created a novel series of musical rhymes and fables for babies, as well as a set of experimental books that show how reading, writing and arithmetic can be learned through imaginative play.

Crane believed that good art and design could stimulate interest in books and help children to learn to read from a very early age. He recognised that every feature of the book – including covers, end papers, titles, illustration, type, and page layout – can be used to encourage children’s enjoyment of reading."

(read more here)

I agree with Crane's philosophy and I like how he approached his passion.  If it's even possible, I just fell more in love with these prints I bought all those years ago!  Especially now that I know more about the interesting man behind them.  Of course, there was never a doubt about their beauty and I've always loved their cute rhymes and delicate details!

I love them almost as much as these vintage ceramic salt and pepper shakers that I found a while back on eBay...  I'm totally in love!

Here is some more framed craft paper...

..and beloved matryoshkas too, of course!  

Check out the clamp lamp that I bought at Home Depot, it was around $5.99 and I couldn't be happier.  I love the look, and the price is right... 

I had originally bought the larger clamp light as well, but it had a large dent in it, so back it went.  I'm happy with this little guy for now, but I want to go back and get the bigger one again, it's less than $10!  Ya might wanna look into it if you haven't already...

If you're a long time reader (hi mom!) you may remember this Peacock art from my first apartment or my second apartment. I found him years ago at a Church yard sale and put him in a copper frame found at Goodwill with pre-cut black matting that I had from the craft store.  I still love it like the first day...

I found those antique brass eye liner vessel/applicators in the shape of peacocks on eBay as well.  Basically the heads screw off to reveal a small applicator tip and well for kohl.  You may have seen them before in this post. 

Anyway, I framed some handmade craft paper (found in a pack at TJMaxx) in one of those small inexpensive IKEA frames, and then added the Matryoshka gals and other goodies for a fun vignette...

We should all remember to dream big! :)

By the way, this card comes from a pack I found in the Michaels dollar section!  Whee...

And now, let's turn for a look out the window...

Stunning view!  This plant is called Clerodendrum quadriloculare a.k.a. Starburst Bush or Shooting Star, and it is growing everywhere around Miami.  My mother has it growing in her yard as well, but it's not nearly as big as this one in Ivan's backyard.  The blooms are spectacular, I really enjoy them from the bedroom window, as you can see...

You can find more useful information about Clerodendrum quadriloculare a.k.a. Starburst Bush or Shooting Star on Dave's Garden here.

(All images in this post are property of Inspire Bohemia, please do not use them without written permission - InspireBohemia(at)gmail(dot)com - thank you!)

Garden Update: New Planters, Succulents, and Cacti!

Do you remember the little planter garden I started at my boyfriend's house?  I first shared it here, and then its progress here...  Well, things have evolved and I've made quite a few new planters since then!  Ivan and I are working on grooming the yard, planting palms, fruit trees, an herb and vegetable garden, and so many other things.  Suffice it to say there are a lot of projects going on around here, including a kitchen renovation!  Yep yep, hold onto your pants people, I'll share every little bit with you soon.  So, while DIY mania ensues,  let me wow you with my beloved succulents and cacti, starting with the latest additions to my ever-growing collection...

Catherine

xoxo

I've raved about my Stapelia Grandiflora cactus before and how much I LOVE her gorgeous flowers! Here she is...

Stapelia grandiflora

Here is another opening flower from one of the plants I started from her cuttings:

Stapelia grandiflora

My aunt has a different type of Stapelia cactus, it's called Stapelia gigantea and its flowers are equally lovely.  She has shared several cuttings with m,e however the plants I started from them have yet to bloom, so here is a picture of hers in full bloom...

Stapelia gigantea a.k.a. Stapelia nobilis or Stapelia marlothii

Gorgeous huh?  Stapelia gigantea - it's gigantic alright!  Nature is amazing!  

You can imagine how thrilled I was when on a recent trip to Home Depot I spotted this tiny little Stapelia cactus...

Once the flower opened I couldn't help but add the little decorative ceramic owl, the color match is nearly perfect!  By the way I first blogged about the ceramic owl planter stakes here.

This species of cacti from the genus Stapelia is called Stapelia scitula, commonly known as the Mini Star Fish Cactus.  At least that is what I have concluded after some photo-match research via Google, and the invaluable Dave's Garden!  Feel free to correct me if I'm wrong, as I know there are a variety of Stapelia cacti out there.  Unfortunately, the Home Depots in my area purchase their plants from Costa Farms in Homestead, FL and the succulents and cacti must not come labeled, except for the gallon sized landscape succulents - weird.  Anyway, I bought this little beauty for $1.99!  She bloomed almost immediately after I potted her, that is when I took this photograph...

Precious little thing, huh? According to Dave's Garden, this little Stapelia does not exceed six inches in height, which makes her a smaller version of other Stapelia cacti. I can't wait for her to fill in and bloom some more! 

Also, somewhere throughout my search for the name of this cactus, I read that one should take several cuttings from their Stapelia cactus throughout the year to stimulate new growth - because flowers only sprout on new growth! Wow, great tip, I didn't know that... However, I would say to do this in moderation because I did this for a while (consistently) and my Stapelia grandiflora started to decline in growth and appearance. When I told my grandmother she told me that if you take too many cuttings in a short amount of time the plant will suffer. It did bloom more when I initially began to take cuttings, but at one point or another I must have taken too many too soon and she shriveled a little. She recovered quickly, and has gotten pretty big since I last photographed her, but I will have to keep the cuttings tip in mind as she has not bloomed in a long while and lack of new growth is most likely the cause. 

Moving on... Wouldn't you like to see more of the planter that I planted my new Stapelia cactus in? Of course you do, check it out....

  

I pretty much gasped and ran when I spotted this pale fuchsia pink succulent (during the same Home Depot garden center shopping trip). You see, I had just joyfully swooped up the little Stapelia scitula cactus and some repeat favorites (succulents I already have), so I was pretty happy already... But when I spotted this colorful work of art I really had a crazy moment of marvel, I'd never seen this succulent before and I absolutely needed to have it. That's natural, right? ;)

I mean come on, just look at her!  This succulent is called Graptopetalum Pentandrum Superbum (more here).  If you think it looks beautiful here, just look at what happened a few weeks after I took the photos above (apart from more sunshine and better/brighter photos)...

Graptopetalum Pentandrum Superbum

You may or may not have noticed the well-formed stock and flower buds in the first images...  Well, as luck would have it (for you), I procrastinated on posting those pictures long enough for the flowers to bloom so that I could take new pictures and give you instant gratification. Voila! 

Flower of Graptopetalum Pentandrum Superbum

It's always refreshing to see a new flower on a new succulent!  I love these little flowers, they are stunning...

My camera and I were fascinated...

You're loving that glazed ochre planter with the Moroccan five-pointed star pattern, aren't you? Well, I'll admit that it evoked a giddy squeal from me one day while perusing the aisles of Ross, especially because there were two colors (note the blue pot in bottom right background) and three sizes of each color... yowza!  They all came home with me, after all the small one was $2.99, the medium sized one was $5.99 and the large one was $8.99... how could I resist!?

What succulence!  ;P

I love the combination of yellow and turquoise, so I paired these babies up!

This fuzzy green succulent is another new addition to my collection. I originally thought it was some type of a Kalanchoe, Panda Paw something, because of the ridges at the tips of the leaves... Well, I was close with the Panda Paw thing, it's actually Bear's Paw, but it is not a Kalanchoe it's a Cotyledon - Cotyledon tomentosa... 

Precious as precious can be!

And then there are the Jelly Beans, not exactly a new addition to my collection but I can't help but buy them whenever I see them, which isn't often. They propagate soooo easy, each little jelly bean that snaps off will form a new plant almost 100% of the time, unless it's shriveled and yellow.  They are fantastic little succulents, I love how they start out green and then with more sun exposure the tips of the "jelly beans" turn a burgundy color!

And here is a smaller version of that five-pointed star patterned planter in blue...

There are a ton of bricks piling up because we're pulling up an old long-buried brick border from the previous owner. Rather than leave them in a messy pile, we stacked them up off of the back patio to look neat until we could decide what to do with them... After the bricks were stacked I decided that they made a pretty good sunbathing spot, with adequate drainage to boot, for displaying my planters - at least temporarily. Plus, the planters lessen the random-pile-of-bricks-eye-sore, hehe.  I played around with the stack and created tiers, like steps.  I'll have to take better photos of that once the surrounding area shapes up.

Sedeveria Hybrid - Blue Giant #1

Creating a little spot for my planters wouldn't be complete without an owl.. or a billion.  Hahahaha... Maybe not a billion, but a cheerful bunch scattered about would be nice, I'm workin' on it... :D

(All images in this post are my personal photographs, please do not use or publish them without my written permission - InspireBohemia[at]gmail[dot]com - Thank you!)