last weekend i celebrated my birthday with some of my closest friends and family. you know, the way it should be. part of the celebrations involved a super-fun workshop in parkdale at crown flora studio. i talked a bit about my plans on the blog here, but basically what we set out to do was enjoy each others company while making something with our hands at a local toronto establishment. what a fun morning it was!

we got out bright and early and the laughs started rolling the minute we arrived. adam and davis, the studio owners and our workshop hosts, said we were one the of the funnest groups! yeah for loud and crazy girlfriends!!

first up on the agenda were airplant terrariums. we are all guilty of black thumbs and plant deaths in our homes so we were so relieved to discover that these babies are extremely hard to kill. tillandsia (yup, i now know my greens) are very resilient and require little maintenance. that was music to our busy mama ears!

speaking of music, the guys had a really nice playlist going off of songza. there was a nice mix of everything - part lana del rey, part santigold, all mainstream indie. the vibe in the studio was laid back, casual and quite cozy. just i was looking for! my sister made these morning glory muffins and i made this addictive banana bread granola to munch on while we worked.

while we all used the same airplant and globe planter, we were able to choose our own unique elements, from different coloured rocks and gravel, to moss and pine cones, to cute animal figurines!

this is what mine started to look like. i went with gold on gold because, and if you know me you’ll know, i LOVE gold. but sometimes i’m so indecisive when it comes to creative projects. i start out liking my choices, and then, bam. i just don’t anymore. needless to say, my planter didn’t end up like this. i decided on an all white base and i love it! the guys were so good about it too. super patient, very friendly and cool.

and mister ape is now our little friend at home. at first daani thought he’d eat her, but she’s since warmed up to him.

i like to think i’m a naturalist. or nature-ist at least. i really enjoy the beauty of flowers and plants. they can be so exquisite and mash’allah they are all his creation. the guys have so many beautiful vignettes in the studio i couldn’t help but snap away! i also couldn’t help treating myself to one of their handmade, hand-stamped leather pouches. happy birthday to me, right?!

next up we got our hands dirty with a mini succulent planter. they had so many options to choose from! and yes, i had to replant this too, because i didn’t love what i’d initially chosen. while the aloe was so so pretty, it felt small all alone in my jar. i’m so glad my friends put up with my nonsense. seriously, they are good peoples.

look at the cute illustration that one of my oldest friends on this earth drew for me! the makings of a cute limited edition letterpress notecard? perhaps!

we ended off the morning over brunch and more good conversation at school in liberty village. the 45-minute wait was the perfect opportunity for snacking on cookies and snapping selfies. although, this selfie-induced lice epidemic got us holding on tight to and thankful for our hijabs!

the huevos 101 were good, but the krispy krunchy french toast with orange maple marmalade was divine! thanks to one of my fave mama bears for sharing your plate!

all in all this little planned birthday outing was a hit. everyone went home happy with their new green spaces and it was a great way to spend the morning. i couldn’t have asked for a better birthday. thanks to my ladies for coming out. and we missed those who couldn’t make it.

stay tuned tomorrow for a fun crown flora giveaway. you are definitely going to want to take advantage of this opportunity!!