Bopril

Decorative

I don't think it is wise to underestimate the power of a few artfully placed accessories to really make a place feel like home. We spent a couple of hours last night hanging photos and various pieces of "art" (I use the term loosely as the majority of ours comes from embarrassing stores or flea markets), and instantly, our "comfy home" meter swung heavily to the right. 

Patience isn't my best quality, and I'm inclined to want every single aspect of a place to come together in perfect harmony right from the start. I simply don't understand the ability to move in and unpack boxes slowly over time. I honestly can't live another minute until my things are neatly put away and order is restored to my surroundings. We were essentially fully moved in by the beginning of day 3. Why yes, it IS a total blast to live with and be married to me! Why do you ask?

To that end, a long adored activity which I refer to as "online decorating" has become a treasured guilty pleasure.

I trolled around on a few of my favorite sites to drum up a few "essentials" that I think Casa Carretta really needs.

First, let's discuss rugs, shall we? I adore rugs. You can't have too many, really. And these days, the rugs are getting more and more unique and (mostly) cool. Our bedroom is done in grays and whites and browns, and I think these contenders would fit right in:

We are soon to be the very excited owners of a brand new, quite fabulous couch for the main living room. We ordered it back in the beginning of June, and expect it to be delivered some time around the end of August. I'll have to wait to see it to fully determine what decor will be essential to complement our new staple piece of furniture. It's a grayish brown color (are you sensing a theme here?), so who knows? Perhaps a new rug will be in order along these lines?

I also stumbled upon these adorable framed images which I think would be a perfect fit for our master bedroom:

And while we're on the accessories kick...

I'm pretty much in love with these lamps:

And these vases:

You know what accessory is absolutely essential, but also quite difficult to find? A MIRROR! I think this beauty would work really well in our upstairs half bath:

It's sort of fancy and yet, not really at all. I quite like that quality in a mirror.

I'm having fun conjuring up something like this for the main wall of our downstairs den:

It's quite different from my typical style, but there is something whimsical about it that keeps drawing me back. These lovely oars are having a similar effect (and would work perfectly in our guest room, I think):

I love having something in the house that evokes the water---it's the reason you'll never visit without seeing seashells on display in at least one room. It's my small way of keeping the coastal life central to our daily experience. And no, it's not even close to a replacement for the real thing.

Speaking of the real thing, I honestly can't piece together the right words to describe my delight at this:

I want this on our office wall, immediately. I think I'd spend forever in there, just marveling at the awesome organization.

Bit by bit, we'll make it our own and ever so slowly, the masterpiece in my mind will meet the walls and floors and shelves of our home. That will be a beautiful day.              

Home, Sweet Home

It's sort of an odd thing, packing up all of our belongings---purging what isn't essential to bring into the next phase---and then unpacking them all over again in a brand new place.

I love getting to know a new space---allowing our things to blend and settle in and find new routines that color our normal. I'm the sort of sappy gal that's hard wired for nostalgia, so I certainly miss each place that we leave behind, and even as I'm embracing a new place, I give melancholy its due until it goes away and our redefined normal firmly takes root, pushing the old normal out once and for all.

We aren't 100% settled yet---we still have those nit-picky tasks like hanging photos and artwork and finding the perfect rug for about seventy different spots throughout the house, and choosing accents that fit just perfectly there---or hey, maybe we should move that over there, or how about we just find shelves that actually fit our pantry so we can organize the food in there? It's the small things---you understand.

In spite of our formidable list of items to purchase and tasks to accomplish, the new place is already beginning to exude all the right smells and sights and comforts---already welcoming us home day after day. 

We are thrilled to have the most tedious parts behind us---the packing and hauling and unpacking and organizing and picking up of the packing peanuts and bubble wrap---rinse, cycle, repeat. If there is a process more exhausting than moving, I don't believe I've yet discovered it.

And while things in our new little casa aren't 100% perfect or quite yet ready for prime-time, I think it fits us perfectly. It's homey and comfortable and lived in and warm---and I look forward to each new enhancement---to choosing the exact perfect spot for each of our photos, to finding just the right pattern to reupholster our chairs---step by step, to creating our home. 

Many have been asking for photos, and I'm here to please, so I will oblige---if you promise to overlook the empty walls and the somewhat "lived in" feel you'll see throughout. I didn't bother to perfect the place before snapping photos---you're getting the uncensored version, because that's what it looks like 90% of the time anyway. Enjoy and we'll update as we continue to put the finishing touches on our humble little abode.

I think we can all agree that the kitchen alone made every back pain and paper cut and packed box worth it---it's new and modern and sleek, and yet still very comfortable and warm, all at the same time. The back splash makes me positively giddy:

The kitchen opens to a small dining area which I'm pleased to report we've been using most evenings, opting to shun the TV and instead, actually sit and chat while we eat. It's very "Leave it to Beaver" of us, and also, really quite nice.

Just beyond the eating area is the living room, which is a cozy space to snuggle up and watch tv and where we look forward to enjoying roaring fires in the fireplace this winter. There are floor to ceiling windows and sliding doors that open onto our small balcony where we have a little table and chairs for dining or chatting and my beloved geraniums, thriving as they are wont to do.

The other room in the house over which we can just barely contain our glee, is the master bath. Heavenly shower with dual nozzles, a rain shower head and a bench (all encased in gorgeous tile)? Check. A deep and lovely jacuzzi tub that I plan to line with candles and fill with bubbles and sink into with a good book this weekend? Check. Side by side sinks and vanities that strike a perfect balance between modern and classic? Check. All around, Internet, this bathroom is one gigantic CHECK:

Beyond the bathroom is our master closet---it has a lot of shelving and a built in hamper and a bunch of really cool hooks where Hubs has displayed his impressive collection of hats. It isn't exactly my dream closet---you see, in that scenario, it would be a little deeper, would offer a little more shelving options, maybe an island in the middle, some drawers, and oh yes, there would be TWO side by side: as in his and hers, separate---but it's pretty damn close.

In addition to the master bedroom, bathroom and closet, the downstairs also features a very cozy den where I know we'll spend a ton of time watching movies and hanging out---I really love how this room is coming together.

There are also two more bedrooms---one of which we're using as an office---a guest bathroom and a full size washer and dryer, which we're thrilled with after three years using the smaller version at our old place. We're slowly climbing a ladder, as I recall being thrilled with the small washer and dryer since our last place in LA required us to leave our front door and insert quarters in order to do laundry. Progress!

All in all, we're thrilled with the space and I'm excited to make it home in the coming weeks and months. In our case, the evidence is irrefutable---home is, indeed, where we are.   

Casa Carretta the Second

We survived the chaos and we are busy settling into the new house, new neighborhood, new routines. I promise to share photos soon, but for now I am enjoying our new digs and adjusting to change---always a biggie for me. The time, it goes so fast. Cheers to enjoying every moment. Cheers to embracing new routines.

Game Changer

This post brought to you by a new app I just scored on the iPhone. I'm testing it out and if it works, posts could become a lot more frequent. God, I love technology.


And now, back to packing up our entire household.

Brief Hiatus...for the Big Move

Pardon my silence of late---the days have been a crazy blur of work and travel and family and obligations and other vertigo inducing experiences, and have conspired to push writing WAY down to the very bottom of the to-do list.

I am wading my way through boxes and bubble wrap, packing tape and paper---and of course, piles upon piles of stuff---everywhere I turn. There are books and clothes and furniture and dog toys and dishes and piles that need sorting and items that need tossing and also? Wine that needs drinking and a head that won't stop pounding (mine, in case you were curious).

But on the other side of this here chaos, I know there is order and a new place that Team Carretta will very soon call home. I fully embrace the process that gets us from here to there---and until then, dear friends, cross your fingers that the complete disarray of my current home won't swallow me whole.

Cheers to a new beginning, and gratitude---to say nothing of memories---for a place that has held us dear, sheltered us and provided a soft spot for us to land, day after day after day, for more than three years now.

Onward.

Paging Martha!

So...I come home from work this evening and immediately commence my normal routine. I grab the mail on the way in, say an eager hello to the fur babes who are bouncing with joy as they do every time we return home, drop the contents of my arms (work bag, purse, mail, keys, gym bag, etc) in their proper spots and dash to my closet to quickly change into sweats and remove every piece of jewelry I am wearing.

[Side note: does that happen to you? The attack of the jewelry? I adore jewelry - no, really, I do -- but there are times when I honestly cannot get it off fast enough. Times like, you know, the close of every single day.]

Anyway, now that I am sufficiently comfortable, I grab the fur babes, get them into their harnesses and leashes, snatch the poo bags on my way out and take them for a quick spin around the block until they've both taken care of business. We dash back into the house where I hurriedly fill my water bucket and head out back to check on my gardening masterpieces.

My geraniums are beautiful -- practically flourishing in the 48 hours or so since we planted them. The hydrangeas though? Meh - they aren't really dying, so much as just kind of - I don't know - wilting? Leaning far over the edge of the pot, looking a little puny and brown instead of hearty and in full bloom.

I spend several minutes investigating - I scrutinize each leaf, test the soil for moisture - but I have no clue why these lovelies aren't performing at the top of their game. Am I not providing the right mix of sun versus shade? Am I watering too much? Too little? Are bugs getting to them? Should I be giving them "plant food?" And if so, what kind of plant food (the selection in that aisle truly boggles the mind)? Is it completely insane that I'm writing this post and forming these questions in my mind SO SOON after planting these? Do I stand a chance in hell of ever having anything that even remotely resembles a green thumb? Have you run shrieking from your computer screen already - horrified and bored to tears by this rambling rant?

The truth is, the hydrangea plant was actually a little on the expensive side - certainly more than I typically part with for items that I'm fairly certain will have a short shelf life - and I'd like to keep them around for at least a week, you know?

I suppose this all means that I'm going to have to squeeze in a few gardening specific sites amidst all of the research I'm doing to find the perfect hike(s) for our Hawaii trip. Yes, I'll get right on that.

As you were.

New Toys

Last weekend, Hubby and I spent some quality time roaming the aisles of Best Buy -- I know this has long been designated a guy's playground, but the truth is, I love it there as much as he does (maybe more?) -- and we left with a couple of new toys to keep us occupied.

I'll spare you the play by play, but Internet, we have yet another flat screen television in our home -- this one proudly displayed in the bedroom -- and we absolutely love it. Even before we have the HD box hooked up so we can really take advantage of our new gadget in all its glory. In our defense, the television we were using previously was Hubby's from when he first moved to California, weighed about 3 trillion pounds and was always threatening to collapse the dresser upon which it perched. That thing had to GO is what I'm sayin.

Hubs quite enjoyed pulling the new guy out of its box and setting it up in its new home -- all in less than half an hour. There's something to be said for the smaller variety of flat screens. He decided to balance the brand new TV on our tiny outdoor cocktail table, giving me a small heart attack (but also a photo opp...bonus!):

 

Here is he is hard at work so you can get the full picture:

Moving so fast, I actually caught a blur on the camera! And here is our new flat-screen baby already tuned in to a much beloved channel:

Perhaps one of these days, all the Food Network watching will actually lead to a desire to cook - what do you think? Stranger things have happened, but just in case, I've suggested to Hubby that he might not want to hold his breath.   

In other news, Mama got a brand new lens for the fancy camera. So of course, I've been clicking away and am already amazed by the difference and the new limits I can push this photography thing - all because of a few focal points and the ability to zoom. Yep, I'm in love.

The fur-babes enjoyed a little midday sunlight (and the requisite nap to accompany it):

 

And look, things are starting to get really green around these parts:

Speaking of green, we leave bright and early tomorrow for some Derby fun and green is the preferred color for this year's dress. Sneak peek in 3...2...1...

Yep, it's purposely vague and cropped! I am evil. Oh and one more thing, I can really, seriously ZOOOOOOOOOM with my new toy:

Next time I am not leaving without an iPad. And that's final.

Happy hump day, folks. Thanks for reading.