Life is Grand

Just dropping in to say hello to everyone and give the blog a little holiday upgrade. Here's us with our grandbabies on the day of giving & thanks. Life is going by so fast. The weather is chilly in the morning and night, delightful during the day. The gardens still growing strong, were currently building a hoop greenhouse to protect during the winter months. Rain is expected today and on and off this week.

Home Depot had a massive Poinsettia sale on black Friday 2 for $ 2.50 so I had to get a cart full. We originally just went there for greenhouse material but I'm not going to pass up a plant sale. Tis the season to be Holly.

I transplanted the poinsettias to bigger pots I spray painted in a beautiful sage green. This is the porch decor so far, still need to get the outdoor Christmas decor from the shed. Still working on setting up Christmas / Yule in the house.

I spy Strega Nona's little helper! My grandson is almost 2 so this year we can craft and create together on a different level. And yes, we have made many pots of spaghetti and have feed others in the village. I hope your holiday celebrations and traditions are in the making and bring you extreme comfort and joy.

The Color of Change

We have grown tired of looking at oatmeal colored walls streaked with hand prints and such other marks left behind which could not be scrubbed off. A weekend date to The Home Depot (when me and the Hubby run errands :) resulted in the purchase of Glidden Blue Forest. Elated to renovate and refresh our space we knocked it out the next day. But then...........

I got depressed. The rooms were so much darker and depending on the time of day really dungeon-ess . The Hubby loved it, it's a very masculine color and I'm used to light bright and beachy. Perusing Pinterest and a trip to the Thrift Stores was the remedy to my mental dilemma.

Enter the Zen Zone. A peaceful, tranquil space in which I unwind  and find space to join my mat and immerse myself back into yoga again. Without change we cannot transition, ain't that the truth! So you can say the Blue Forest is growing on me. We still have our bedroom and bathroom coastal to escape to. I'm in love with the coral orange accents throughout the room, very Autumnal. Look out for my Hallowed Home update soon.

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Speaking of weather, Imelda dropped a wrath load of rain upon us. By some miraculous looping of the storm we escaped mass flooding. Many counties around us are putting back the pieces again. We had moved here in 2017 right after Hurricane Harvey had hit and yet here we are in Texas enduring everything this bipolar weather brings. I can honestly say most Texans have hearts as big as there state. How's the weather in your corner of the globe? Calender says October but its still hot as hell over here.

Solstice Salutations

Season's Greetings from Casa Sol y Luna. Despite the many pin boards I made on Pinterest to find my decorating style this year I didn't end up needing them at all. Classic red, greens , and golds made the scene this year.

 

 We purchased our tree from a grocery store parking lot again this year, but I'm truly thinking of buying a faux one when they go on discount after the holidays. We got pretty lucky in picking a good one since we had no idea what it looked like until we cut the binding and the tree opened up like an umbrella.

After we trimmed the tree the stockings were hung with care.  I have four beautiful children but{E} being the teen girl she is requested I do not post her pic, that's why you will rarely see her here. Even Chico hangs his stocking!

A glimpse this may be into our festivities because I have truly been very busy with life in general.There has been plenty of baking , making, and planning for the new year that is quickly approaching. Today marks Winter Break for the whole tribe (except the Renaissance man) so hopefully I will post more often.  I wish you the Brightest Blessings on this Winter Solstice.

Out with the old ... In with the new

 So long old appliances, you've served me well. They don't look to shabby from their outer appearances but let me tell you the truth. The fridge was our first purchased fridge when we moved from an apartment to our first rented house. Over the years the condiment holders broke off, veggie bins were replaced with random plastic bins, and the over all stainage...yuck. The freezer section had many years of beverages left in overnight and explosion aftermath. Truly we are lucky it lasted 13 years. Next a gas stove that my husband acquired from my Suegra's backyard claiming it could be fixed. The thermostat was off and you had to guess the temp, it took forever to bake or burn. The stove top was missing a knob and only two burners worked. We have a saying around here "ride it till the wheels fall off".

Enter the new stove and fridge ..ohh so shiny, and they match. In my last post I wrote about how I manifested free couches and had exactly the right amount of cash to purchase these appliances on spot. Once in place, we decided it's time to do an upgrade to our kitchen. It has been 7 years since we first slapped "Crisp Autumn Leaves" paint over the wallpaper that lined the walls when we moved in.

When I say I have a cozy little kitchen, I mean it. The square footage is small but the warmth from the heart of the home is definitely felt.

We are currently here at this phase where the avocado ceiling is being painted crisp white, and the fluorescent lighting has got to go. I wouldn't budge on my wall paint color so were patching it up and slapping on a fresh coat. Good thing I'm not hosting Thanksgiving because of right now the cabinets are off the hinges and being transformed. Hint hint... I love me some chocolate!

If I don't post later on in the week I hope all of you have a wonderful Thanksgiving and a weekend filled with leftovers & laughter.

Lavender Zen

 Finally after promising for a year the girls got there room makeover. When we first moved in 6 years ago the walls were painted a coastal blue and the room was decorated in a beachy theme. The girls are getting older and their taste and style has changed. Getting them to agree on color and decor wasn't as difficult as I had thought. So without further ado here is the girl's room that they designed together......not bad for 12 & 10 years old's I must say. 

Can you believe this room was started and finished in one weekend! Here's the inventory break down.

Buddha Accents and Plant - ROSS

Paint Color- Violet Blusher GLIDDEN

Bunk Beds- SVARTA  IKEA

Dressers - MALM  IKEA

Shelving Unit - KALLAX  IKEA

Bedding - TARGET

Ceiling Fan - THE HOME DEPOT

Accent Rug - DD's DISCOUNT

Paint & Pillows

It sure feels like Spring around here which means cleaning , organizing, and projects! The front of the house got a little face lift with black faux shutters added to the windows and fresh paint to the front door.

Door Before

And After

Since painting the door red the living color pallet seemed a little off to me. I found this painting that had nice coastal hues and red tones so I used it as a base for accent colors. We are forgoing Santa Cruz season passes this year but I can enjoy the Coastal vibes in my everyday decor.

I purchased a few pillow sets for the couches. A coral set for this couch and light sea blue for the other tan couch ( not pictured).

 The mandala pillow is from Ross at a sale price of $2.45 and little one a slip cover for 99 cents from the Goodwill.

 A few more additions to what I call my "Cali Coastal Vibe". I love this hanging planter for our Wandering Jew plant. I felt a money tree would be a nice addition to our red door and I just realized we did this the weekend of Chinese New Year and I'm a Lucky Fire Monkey. Talk about synchronicity. The VW van beach print is from my recent thrifting trip. Say hello to our new member of the family "Frankie Blue" short for Frankenstein the blue beta.

 I wish everyone a Valentine's weekend full of love.

BOHO Holiday Decor

 This year I went for a real simple and budget friendly decor for my holiday home. Most of my decorations and such were purchased at the Dollar Store & Goodwill. I hope you enjoy our little bit of Christmas at Casa Sol y Luna.

These stockings are new this year. Unfortunately mice had gotten into our storage and lived in the stocking box. I picked up these burlap ones at the Dollar Store and the sparkly initials for 96 cents at Walmart. Chico (my dogson) was upset he did not have one so I must craft him a "C" when I get a chance.

I'm a sucker for pillows and material. When I saw these it screamed BOHO flare to me so this was my main base for decor and color theme. The green sturdy sheer material was actually an Indian Sari that provided me with yards of fabric.

My existing pillows got an upgrade. A long piece of material was wrapped Furoshiki style to create the green pillow. I wrapped a few presents this way too with scarfs, a double gift! A cute ribbon accent for a pillow I made out of a grey lace dress.

My Christmas tree skirt is also the same sari material. This V.W. bus is an early gift from my husband, I got the little red bug also (not pictured). Micheal's Craft Store has deep holiday discounts up to 70% right now just check the website for discount items and days, usually a pricey store but we got this tree for $2.99.

 The floral is left over from fall decor around the house. Baubles and reindeer from the Dollar Store. The reindeer's choker is embellishment from the sari. Sprigs from the Christmas tree were placed on shelves and jars along side scented pine cones.

 And here is our lovely Christmas tree, still haven't gotten around to decorating yet but I find beauty in it's simplicity without the ornaments which is the last element to complete the holiday magic. I hope you all have a wonderful weekend. Take time to enjoy the small wonders in these hectic holidays weeks.

BOHO Holidays in Red

Tis the season to be Holly and that means decking the halls and furniture in Christmas hues. Check out these beauties I found at the Goodwill $4.00 total! I plan to cover my already existing pillows in a green Sari material also from the Goodwill. When decor is complete I will do a post tour of Casa Sol y Luna Holiday Edition.

Happy BOHO  Holidays !

Autumn Goodwill Hunting

Take me to the Mall and I could walk out with nothing, but a thrift store...well that's were the treasures are. Two Fridays ago instead of heading home to do the usual home stuff , I ended up at my favorite Goodwill. I did not leave empty handed this time, a Fall overhaul is more like it. Trinket boxes, jewelery, frames, flowers, basket, and vintage photography book of  San Francisco were part of the loot.

I found a whole new Fall wardrobe with a few warm season items mixed in. 3 pairs of jeans, 4 blouses, 3 tank tops, 3 t-shirts, 3 knit sweaters, 1 pair frilly boho shorts, a warm fuzzy never worn patterned sweater, and brown suede leather boots. I was in the zone!

The piece de resistance, my Halloween costume! I need a few more accessories but the bones are there. Can you tell who I'm going to reincarnate  ? Wishing you a wonderful beginning to this week. Do you still dress up for Halloween?

Beach House Welcome

I've slowly been transitioning my house from hum drum to coastal beach house flare. Little disclaimer " I am nowhere near the beach and live in the hot dry Sacramento Valley" , but hey a girl can dream. Paint lately has been my means of fun and expression now that crazy mercury retrograde has left the building.

So lets start off with this paint that has been sitting around in storage for about 2 years. It was originally purchased for our beachy bathroom makeover but was a little to dark for my taste. I finally popped the top and added it to a piece of plywood I rescued from the fire pit.

I used stencils from Walmart craft section to do the lettering & hot glued the shells on. Twine was added for hanging.

Welcome to Casa Sol Y Luna . I found this lovely rocking chair at the Goodwill for $8.00 (score). Stay tuned for more paint and home improvement projects.