Autumn Aromatherapy

Recently, it has begun to get chilly {and we even got a little rain!} here in Northern California. I was inspired by this fall-like weather to mix a few essential oils and create the sweet scent of autumn!

Feminine Bathroom {Vagabond Villa}

 

My style of home decorating is very eclectic.  I tend to lean towards bright colors, bold patterns, and a mix of ethnic fabrics.  When we moved into our Vagabond Villa the bathroom had pastel yellow and pink tiles.... everywhere... and drab {poorly painted} yellow walls.  Ugh.  Well, I just couldn't see how I would make my usual style work.  So I took a complete 180!  I embraced the pastels and went very sweet and feminine.

Bring on the Good Vibes!

After having spent so many months in a space filled with negative energy, I wanted to ensure we began our new adventure (in our yet to be named) house with the most amazing positive vibes possible!  And so... with a little bit of ritual before we began moving in on Monday, I blessed all of the rooms, spread as much positive energy as I had, and hoped for better things to come.

When life hands you lemons...

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When life hands you lemons sometimes there isn't enough sugar on Earth to make a good lemonade.  Sometimes you just need to toss the lemons and grab yourself a refreshing apple cider.  And so we begin packing boxes as we ready to move... again.  I know, I know... we just moved!  We have only been in our Cherryland cottage for less than 6 months.  We knew when we moved in that it had "character".  That was part of the charm... but also why it was so affordable.  We didn't mind the little projects to make it our own.  We prefer unique to cookie-cutter.  But some things are just too big to handle.

Autumn & Dias de los Muertos

 

I love Autumn; it is one of my favorite times of the year!  I love the leaves falling, the crisp air in the evening, the jewel tone sweaters, but most of all the Mexican tradition of Dias de los Muertos has always captured my heart.  It is so vibrant and reflective - I particularly love to see the altars that people create for their loved ones.

Poufs.... and more poufs!

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This oh-so-colorful pouf with patchwork fabric is so boho!

I love the mirror on top too - using it as a table.

I'm a pouf addict right now.  I looked at them for months in all the stores... and on Pinterest... and kept looking and finally  - when one I loved went on sale in early July - I pounced on a pouf! 

Bold ~ Beautiful ~ Bohemian Rugs!

A good rug can make or break a space.  And I love wild, bohemian rugs!  Which some might think are too much and overbearing... but I simply adore eclectic patterns, bold colors, and risks in decor.  And a bright, beautiful rug is fantastic for any room! Here are some of my most recent favorites, found via Pinterest.

Bohemian / Mexicana Budget Dining Room

 

 

I'm a thrifter.  I love scouring craigslist's FREE section, visiting second-hand stores, and finding new ways to decorate with random things.  My style is eclectic, colorful, boho.  I'm enamoured with religious iconography and Mexicana.  All of this is reflected in our little cottage, which still doesn't have a name.  I want to call it Cherryland Cottage because we live in Cherryland, but Dave has taken to calling it Mockingbird Heights - partly because we have a mockingbird in the palm tree in the front yard and partly because that's what The Munsters' home was called.  Whatever we end up calling our cottage, more and more it's beginning to reflect our style.

A Quick Patchwork Curtain.

Fabric / Fat Quarters & My Pattern

I don't think anyone else would be able to decipher my pattern scribbles - but they make sense to me!


My latest DIY project is to make curtains for our bedroom. I've been collecting scarves to make bohemian scarf curtains for the larger windows, but I've also been lusting after patchwork curtains on Pinterest.  So I decided to grab some fat quarters yesterday {half price at Joann Fabric!} and give the patchwork curtains a try. And I love them!

Laundry Room {Cherryland Cottage}

The other half of our pantry is our laundry room.  We didn't have a washer and dryer in our apartment, so we are pretty excited to have a laundry room of our own.  In fact, when we went to buy our new washer and dryer, we felt like married adults for the first time - buying major home appliances!  We're a tad dorky, but Wow! it was exciting to make such a big purchase together!

Spicy!

I recently was given a gift card for Bed, Bath, and Beyond and knew exactly what I was going to get - spice jars!  Probably not everyone's first pick, but I love the crazy organized photos on Pinterest of people with uniform spice jars... so I went for it!  I love the jars.  I love how they look so clean, but mostly I love how the spices are so colorful!

BEFORE

Vintage Birthday

A last minute theme for my husband's birthday.... vintage.  Here's a cute bunting I threw together and his cake - his initial "D".

Mexicana Kitchen

I love Mexican-inspired decor.... especially with the Virgen de Guadalupe! Religious iconography has always been a thing for me. I bought this candle holder at our local dollar store.... for, well.. a dollar! I was so excited to see them that I bought 3.. one in every color they had. I also found this vintage California map tablecloth on etsy. Love it!

You can see more here: Our Mexican Inspired Kitchen.

...and a Happy Christmas to all!

Here's a little glimpse into the awesomeness that our Christmas has been so far!

We have a couple of cats... that I "married into".  We hadn't had a Christmas tree yet, because we were worried about the cats' behavior around it.  Well, no need to worry!  We put up our first Christmas tree this year and they've been fine!  With the exception of a couple lower hung ornaments M.I.A., I think we have gotten pretty lucky.

 We got this ornament our very first Christmas together!  After knowing each other just a few weeks... we decided to go camping in the Redwoods in Northern CA together for Christmas!  It was a magical trip.  I felt like I was falling in love, but I loved traveling so much that I had to be sure that Dave was the best fit for me.  The test?  Travel together!  We really had such an amazing time... it's no surprise we were engaged just a couple weeks later.  

 I made this ornament with our wedding invitation.  ♥

Mmm.. Mummies!

A little sneak peak at my Halloween plans...  Zombie decorations and candy Mummies!

Bedroom Redecorating Continues...

You might recall a couple years ago when I upholstered my dresser drawer fronts with burlap from our wedding reception table runners and painted the body of the dresser brown.  If not, here's a link:
http://vagabondzen.blogspot.com/2011/07/home-decor-crafting.html

Sad to say, our adorable kitties thought my creation was created for them.. for scratching.  It didn't take long before they tore apart the sides of the dresser drawers and left them looking pretty gnarly.  Own cats?  Don't upholster furniture.  Lesson learned.

Last summer I started redecorating our bedroom... making it less country/minimal and more bohemian/eclectic.  I needed a boost of color! We painted the walls a deep teal and slowly I began redecorating with homemade curtains, lots of pillows, a lovely new quilt and painting our nightstand bright orange.  (See the links below for photos.)
http://vagabondzen.blogspot.com/2013/03/our-bohemian-valances.html
http://vagabondzen.blogspot.com/2013/03/scrap-fabric-pillow-slip-cover.html

What I hadn't gotten around to doing... for more than a year.. was refinish the dresser.  Removing the burlap just seemed daunting.  And so, due to a sick kitty and having to cut my summer vacation short by nearly a week (long story), I was home the last few days with not a lot to do.  Finally, I finished my dresser!

I painted the body white and sanded the drawer fronts down through 3 layers of paint to a layer of stain.  Admittedly, I got a little tired by the time I got to the stain and decided to work with it.  So, here it is - my "new" dresser!

Our Mexican Inspired Kitchen

For years I've been collecting things here and there...  a cross in OK on a road trip, a print of the Virgen de Guadalupe from a friend, a shadow box for Christmas from my husband, a Frida from my neighbor... and I've also been slowly crafting....  sewing the chair covers, after painting them red and blue, making an oilcloth table cover... and now it has finally all come together - with our new wall color - Goldenrod!

I absolutely love how our kitchen finally feels like our kitchen and no longer feels like a rental we're just inhabiting.

Before Painting, but with most of our decor.

Our Bohemian Valances.

 The Inspiration.

 

I saw a few beautiful photos of Bohemian inspired rooms with these gorgeous Toran curtains.  But if I can make something, instead of buying it - I will.

Scrap Fabric Pillow Slip Cover

My latest craft project... a throw pillow for our bed made from scraps!

It was kind of fun after it was made to name all the different projects it represents.  =D

And the zebra throw pillows behind it are new-to-me.  I found them at a thrift store for $2.99 a piece on my most recent trip to Boston. 

Sewing New Pillow Slips

We're frugal people.  Most of our furniture is thrifted or hand-me-downs.  In fact, I'm pretty much against paying full price for furniture, when there is plenty out there that is still perfectly usable (and relatively attractive) that can be had for less.  My only exception to this is our mattress.  There is nothing more important than the right mattress.  But that's not really what this post is about.  It's about the ugly, but nice feather pillows we got for free, with our sofa (also for free).

We got our sofa from craigslist from a student moving away.  It was free because it had a few minor cat scratches on the ends' upholstery.  This didn't bother us much because we have cats that have since added to the destruction.  The sofa did come with fluffy feather pillows, which was nice.  But as you can see below, they're pretty ugly.