DIY Succulent Bowl for Mother's Day

I was flipping through the three hundred catalogues that ended up in my letter box this week thanks to Mother's Day. I was mentally picking out what slippers I'd like until I realized I was now old enough to find slippers an appropriate gift and proceeded to slap myself silly.

I moved on to the homewares section, because being a fan of decor isn't quite as embarrassing as eyeing off the fluffy fox slippers, and saw a gorgeous bowl filled with succulents for a lot of money I don't have.

Because I'm a tight ass (let's say frugal, it sounds better), I thought I could totally make it myself for nowhere near that price, mostly using stuff I had at home.

I walked to the local swapmeet where about half the vendors are selling plants, and bought some little succulents that were seven for $5. I could have got more established plants for more, but this was all on a spare of the moment whim, so I didn't want to over commit!

Running total: $5

At home I grabbed a big, wide bowl that was holding a bunch of pinecones as a centrepiece on our outdoor table. The bowl was, like so much at my house, from the side of the road. Day-um I love me a road side bulk rubbish pickup!

Running total: still $5

Armed with my plants and my free bowl, I grabbed my shovel and dug up some dirt from the back of the garden. At this point I noticed a bigger succulent that had been sitting in a pot in my garden for a good six months or so, and figured it needed a new home, too. The price of the bigger one? Free. The lady, at the same markets I got the new lovelies from, had thrown it in when I bought some herbs.

I had a little helper

Running total: yep, still $5

I popped them all in, not in any particular order as I figure they'll grow and smoosh together eventually. All I really wanted was for the big guy to not be in the centre.

I'm so happy with the result and particularly the price!

Final total: $5 WOOHOO!

Because this bowl doesn't have a drainage hole, and because I kinda couldn't be bothered drilling one in it, this has to be kept in an area where it won't get too wet from sprinklers or rain. Seeing as it's a table centrepiece, it's not an issue. A few drops of water for each plant once a week is usually all these dudes need. Just keep an eye on it and adjust accordingly. You could also cover the soil with rocks to make it look pretty if you wanted to.

So happy Mother's Day to me! 

Philips Airfryer Review {alternatively titled Ermagherd Healthy Chips!}

Ermagherd CHIPS.

If you're not familiar with ermagherd it's the noise I make when trying to say oh my god with a mouthful of chips.

A few months ago I was sent a Philips Airfryer to review. In that time I've put that baby through it's paces. Purely for research purposes you see, it *ahem* had nothing to do with the whole I love chips thing. At all. What?! Stop looking at me like that.

I'm a chip connoisseur. A chipoisseur if you will. And I have never EVER tasted homemade chips this good. Once again, ermagherd.

I've embraced the whole cooking from scratch thing for a few years now and yes, that even includes chips. Partly because I like knowing what is in my food, partly because it's healthier and partly because, well, I just really like using those little mandolin slicy things and pretending I'm on a TV commercial. But the chips just didn't measure up to the store bought ones, no matter how much cajun seasoning I dumped on them.

But the Philips Airfryer makes them taste way better - like they've just come from a cafe. It does do more than chips (I cooked a range of homemade goodies in it including garlic bread, chicken nuggets and even beetroot chips) but it's called the chip machine in this house for good reason.

If you go a bit Cheaty McCheaterson and buy frozen chips that have been flash fried first, they taste just like you'd buy at a pub. Serve it with some dips in little bowls and a glass of wine whilst watching the footy and all of a sudden it's a Sunday Sesh. Serve them with fish and Oh. My. Cod. See what I did there? You're welcome.

But having said that, there were definitely a few down sides.

Firstly, every time I used it, without fail, it would set off my smoke detector before I'd put any food in it. The only way to combat this was to sit it directly underneath the rangehood - anywhere else and the smoke detector would start screaming after a minute or two of preheating. That was so insanely annoying because it meant we could only use the Airfryer when we weren't using the stove top. So if we wanted anything else with our chips, well tough.

Also, the bottom section really needs it's own handle. When you release the basket from the bottom there is no way to pick it up other than using just your fingertips - if I've got a chip basket in my hands that is 200C I can't exactly put it down easily to pick up the other part (which is also 200C) with two hands.

We've used this quite a bit in the last few months for different foods but even after all the drooling over how good the chips and the crumbed yummies are, and even loving the retractable power cord, I don't think I'd spend $330 on it when my oven can do a pretty good job at it. Will I sell this and go back to the oven though? No. Because ERMAGHERD CHIPS!

Are you a chipoisseur? Do you have cupboard space for a teeny oven?

This is not a sponsored post however I did receive a complimentary Airfryer. As always, all opinions are my own.