RAINY ROFO

Hello friends! It's been far too long since we last posted in February, but we have been keeping ourselves very occupied... A has been busy designing, traveling and working working working in cool places like Miami and Nashville while Ray has been working, taking care of her fur baby and still getting to know the area she moved to last fall, like discovering a delicious donut shop and the coolest brewery right up the street from where she lives. We love having weekend adventures and this day was filled with brunch, music, plants, beer and of course, Chick-fil-A. Also in case you're wondering, RoFo is an endearing, slang term for Ray's new town Royersford, but we're cool so we call it RoFo now.

Walked to brunch and got a nice surprise rain shower on our way back... Hotdog.

Once we dried off and decided to drive instead of take our chances with the weather, we headed to Ott's... a plant lovers dream.

They have all the plants imaginable... for real.

Yeah, that's an indoor waterfall.

We left with cacti twins! YAY!

We love plants and this place so much that we thought up a plan to host an event called "Sleeping with the plants" so that we could spend the whole night in this greenhouse. Sweet idea right? Please don't steal our idea, cause we're going to make it happen one day and we want to invite you, so stay tuned. In the meantime, go to Ott's if you're in the Bucks Co. or Philly area, it's definitely a morning or afternoon of plant-filled fun (and a test of self-control)

Make sure you're following @rayandablog on Instagram for more adventures like this one, and we'll have plenty more to come!

#plantladies4lyfe

THE "NOT SO FALL THEMED" PLANTER DIY

WE INTERRUPT THIS BLOG TO ANNOUNCE A DIY THAT DOES NOT INVOLVE PUMPKINS, LEAVES, GOURDS OR ANY OTHER FALL ELEMENTS. 

So, Ray found these great priced clay planter pots at this super cool organic and sustainable local plant shop called Greenology in Peddler's Village. Sidenote: If you live in Bucks County Pennsylvania and haven't been to Peddler's Village you need to check it out asap. Anyways, Ray felt inspired by the blank canvas these pots offered and ran to the craft store, actually drove, to buy supplies to transform these pots! We hope this DIY inspires you to get creative with the planter pots you may have laying around in your shed or garage to fill with a beautiful plant and display in your abode. Feel free to use rich, down to earth autumn colors for this DIY since Ray went for quite the opposite theme.

^  can you spot the dinosaur? 

M A T E R I A L S

+ Acrylic paint
+ DuraClear Matte Varnish
+ Foam brushes
+ Terracotta pots
+ Newspaper and wax paper

S T E P   O N E

Cover the table you're working on with newspaper. Your roommate or spouse will be thankful. Apply the first coat of acrylic pant with a foam brush to your planter pot. Allow about 15-20 minutes for each coat to dry. Watching The Office or another favorite TV show helps the time fly by!

S T E P   T W O

Allow to dry and continue to add three or four coats in between drying. Be mindful when you begin painting the top and bottom of the pot, it will stick to the newspaper. Placing the planter pot on wax paper prevents sticking!

S T E P   T H R E E

Examine the planter pot and use a smaller foam brush to touch up any blank areas that you may have missed. Add fun designs or patterns to your planter pot using a smaller or larger foam brush.

S T E P    F O U R

Once the planter pot is fully dry, use a foam brush to apply the Duraclear. Once it is dry to touch apply another layer and allow to fully dry overnight before planting, just to be safe.

S T E P   F I V E 

Planting time! Add your beautiful plant babies to your new pots and put on display in your favorite spot! A refreshing way to give your plants a personal touch.


We would love to see your DIY planter pot creations! Tag @rayandablog on Instagram to share them with us!

#keepitfresh

OCTOBER IS HERE

It's that time of the year again where our weekends consist of comfy sweaters, warm drinks and pumpkin everything. With the rare occurrence of Ray & A getting together lately, it was great to catch up eating brunch at our favorite hometown cafe and picking up some apples, gourds and of course fresh baked goods at our local farm. We're sharing some of our favorite October activities below!

A P P L E   P I C K I N G

Going to pick our own apples at an orchard definitely beats waxy apples at a grocery store any day. It's even cheaper as well! We're all about fresh and healthy, besides the occasional Chick-fil-A, which is essential to our diet.


C A M P F I R E S

Cool, fall nights are perfect for sitting by the campfire under the stars. Campfires are also the best time to stuff our faces with s'mores and other roasted goodies (we're healthy, remember?) Going to bed with that smoky smell signifies a great night by the fire.


R E A D I N G

Since weekends are our lounge days we're ready to dig into new reads and dive into another world. Ray highly recommends The Fault in Our Stars and Looking for Alaska, obviously a John Green fan. A wishes she had books to rave about, but doesn't read as much as a cultured adult should, so help her out and send some recommendations her way.


K N I T T I N G

Yarn, yarn and more yarn. Tis the season for knitting and crocheting! A actually just did a mega yarn haul at JoAnn and is ready for some Netflix and knit. If you're looking for some cool patterns, Pinterest is our go to for inspiration and how-to's!


What are your favorite fall activities? Share below or comment on our Instagram @rayandablog

#haveagourdfall

BACK TO THE CITY PART II

Get it? While the rain has been sticking around for literally weeks, it didn't stop us from going out on another Philly adventure. And this time we went exploring along with two others– A's sister, Kelsey, and our dear friend, Leanne. 

FIRST STOP 

Of course we needed to fuel our bodies for the day, so we stopped by Little Spoon Cafe for our brunching needs. Mason jars, windowsill plants, cheery printed wallpaper, and fine food are just a few of our favorite things about this place! The menu alone has such a unique variety of foods that we didn't even know existed, like ramps which are apparently a 'mild green vegetable,' kinda like a green onion... go figure. They definitely know what they're doing here because it was a delicious choice. 

SECOND STOP

What's a day in Philly without stopping by La Colombe each and every time? But this time we were able to give our friend Leanne the experience of her first draft latte, and she loved it (of course.) There's really nothing quite like the smooth layer of foam, crunchy ice chunks and fresh espresso. Insanely refreshing.

THIRD STOP

West Elm. The visuals in this place are literally jaw dropping each and every time. From the room accents to the pillows to the furniture pieces we were already planning our future, non existent home as if we could buy everything in the store for it. One day my friends, one day...

FOURTH STOP

The Blick store. Ray had never been in here and boy was she missing out all these years. For all your art supply needs, and we mean any, this is the place to go. Walls of different kinds of pen is the place we want to be! Let's just say we spent a good chunk here gawking at the variety of supplies Blick carries, and definitely didn't come out empty-handed.

FIFTH STOP

The perfect stop for accomplishing any projects in a chill atmosphere that has two floors for space with drinks and eating options, Chapterhouse Cafe. Our main goal for the day was to assemble all of Ray's wedding invites so they're all ready to send out. This was the perfect way to catch up with each other, share some crazy stories, and get organized. We even had a little visit from the cafe's dog friend. We highly recommend this place to get some serious work done, or if you just want a chill spot to catch up with a friend.

Until next time, Phily. We're thankful for friends that stick together and always make time for each other even when life is crazy!

#galpals 

National Alpaca Day

Not only did we spend our Saturday drinking coffee and meandering around a local flea market, but also by celebrating National Alpaca Day, spending quality time with, you guessed it, alpacas. Lots and lots of fuzzy, cute and all around glorious creatures. We even brought home "make-and-take" alpacas with real alpaca fiber that we will cherish. If you haven't met and pet an alpaca, we recommend you do ASAP. 

Check your local area to see if there are any alpaca farms near you! It might surprise you how many actually do exist.

#longneckteddybears

Apple Picking: Tabora Farms

What better way to welcome in fall than to go apple picking? We spent our Saturday afternoon at Tabora Farms eating delicious sandwiches, picking apples and browsing for mini pumpkins. Tabora has an indoor market which includes freshly-baked goods, special blends of coffee, fresh fruits and vegetables and a full deli counter. We especially love their stuffed rolls and raspberry apple crumb pie! 

This is just the start of our many fall adventures and we can't wait to explore more autumn favorites soon! 

#supportlocalfarms

WHAT WE'RE INTO

Summer sure is winding down fast, but that doesn’t mean it’s over. Post-college life means no more school, so we’ve been trying to take advantage of that as much as possible! Though our weekends will not be filled with exotic travels, here are some fun links and things to check out if you’re bumming at home too...

+ The Hunger Games Mockingjay Part II Trailer released this week. Cue the mockingjay whistle.

+ Beware. Squirrels are now capable of crime.

+ Latest iced coffee trend. Run to your nearest coffee shop and demand it. Politely.

+ This shower curtain kicks you out in 4 minutes. Great for the environment, bad for shower addicts that stay in for over 20 minutes. You know who you are.

+ A must-have for all the fashion-forward cat ladies out there, suit up!

+ A new trend in travel will either terrify or excite you.

+ San Diego's lending a helping hand to the community through music and love of the waves.

So get out there and make the most of your summer! What have you discovered this week on the web?

#goodbyejuly