It's the perfect hybrid between the often-recommended houseplant and small pet to brighten up drab winters. However, with the college budget and disadvantage of having an extremely limited amount of luggage space when moving back home, I had to opt for an alternative. Thanks to tumblr, I found the perfect "pet"- a Marimo!

I'm all about cute, chubby, round things, so when I learned what a Marimo ball was, I decided to look into how this teenie little thing could be mine. Marimos, Japanese for "moss ball", are accumulations of algae that are common in the cold waters of northern Japan. The constant flow of water is what helps shape the Marimo into a cute, fuzzy orb. While they're adorable as pets, they are also used in aquariums to help reduce odors and keep the water nice and clean.

Marimos are extremely low maintenance and very affordable (I got mine at Petsmart for about $8.00). You don't have to feed them, but should replace their water and squeeze them a little to maintain their round shape. Here's a handy guide on additional care for your little friend.

I thought I'd keep it appropriate and named my Marimo ball Momoko, which means "peach tree" in Japanese. I say hello to her every morning, she's so cute and chubby just sitting in her little mason jar. I decorated her home buy cutting up some white satin ribbon and making it into a bow, and sticking it on the 'front' of the jar. To disguise the silver lid, I applied some white felt and cut out a light pink heart, which I glued to the white felt background. Simple and clean, just the way Momo likes it.

I absolutely love having this weird little ball of moss in my apartment. Do you have any apartment-friendly pets? Let me know!