Thursday's Thought

 

“You only live once, but if you do it right, once is enough.”   ~Mae West

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!

Pantry Build {Cherryland Cottage}

If you know anything about the San Francisco Bay Area, you know rents are ridiculously high.  Therefore, to find a rental that isn't an apartment, has a yard, is within a reasonable commute*, and affordable.... well, it has it's challenges.  We were fortunate recently to find such a cottage, with history and charm, and a yard perfectly sized for us.  {History and charm is my way of saying the cottage is old, strangely built in sections, and has plenty of quirks.}  Most importantly though, it is affordable and 25 minutes to work!

A Summer Solstice Gathering

We've moved into our new/old cottage and I can't wait to have friends over for a backyard soirée. I'm daydreaming of celebrating our new home with a Summer Solstice Gathering. I'm not sure if I will actually have the day off from work yet, but if I do... here are some ideas that I hope to put to good use.

{I've also recently learned that Summer Solstice is also called Litha - an interesting informational can be found here.}

All White Decor

White Twine Orbs in the Trees

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White Lanterns in the Trees

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White Lights in the Trees

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Dress to Impress

Floral Crowns

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White, Flowing Dresses....

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Create Together

Create a God's Eye

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..or Create a Sun

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...or Other Activities

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Gather To Eat

Fruits and Nuts

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...and Cheeses

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....and Summer Salads.

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Betseyville... or in my dreams... The Vagabond Villas

I have just discovered Betseyville.  An amazing cluster of palapa roofed bungalows on a beach, in a little village, just a couple hours north of Acapulco that THE Betsey Johnson owned and designed.

And yes, this amazing little slice of heaven.. it's for SALE!

Let me tell you, if it were 20 years down the road and the old man and I were ready to start retiring and living the dream, I would seriously consider this.  $250,000.  How could I not?

It's been my dream since I lived in Puerto Rico a decade ago to have a bed and breakfast, a hostel, a something where I could invite wandering souls to sit a spell.  On a beach.  In the Caribbean or Mexico (but mostly Mexico - how I LOVE Mexico!).  And well, I'm eclectic as all hell, and Betseyville is already a bohemian paradise!

Well.. Betseyville, if you're for sale again in 20 years... I will be changing your name to The Vagabond Villas.


Oh, and if you're interested in buying it - click here.

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Update!  Someone bought it and you can now stay there yourself!
http://www.haciendalarusa.com/p/blog-page_4.html?m=1

DIY Boho Steering Wheel Cover

I saw these steering wheel covers over at Junk Gypsies... and fell in love!
How could I not? All the bright colors, fringes... and leopard!

Here

Here

Fell in love... but not about to pay $25, plus shipping for them.  After all, I have scrap fabric and a sewing machine.  So, I set off to duplicate one of my own.

I couldn't be happier with my attempt!  I am glad I went for a patchwork fabric design too, instead of a solid base like theirs.

Mine came out perfect!

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!

DIY Baby Gifts

My husband's niece is having a baby girl... like due any minute now! I made these cute little things for her. A bib, binky clips, washcloths, and burpy pads. I LOVE the green zebra flannel on the burpy pads. So cute!

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.

Bleach Pen Art

One Clorox Bleach Pen, an old t-shirt, old yoga pants and 30 minutes yields some new-to-me clothes!

After creating my designs with the pen, I let it set for 30 minutes.  After 30 minutes I rinsed them in the bathtub and washed/dried them as normal.

My T-shirt Design

My Yoga Pants Design (On the bottom side of the leg)

Home Decor Crafting

I've been decorating our home a bit more lately... with my meager sewing skills and the endless supply of burlap we have from our table runners. You've already seen our upholstered dresser here, but I've also finished our nightstand, which was started at the same time.




Nightstand




Dresser




Notice the jar of rocks? Those are our blessing stones from our wedding.



I've also created a pendant lampshade and, from scraps from the previous projects, a tote bag!



Lamshade




Tote Bag



And... not with burlap, I've sewn a new kitchen curtain and valances (with a matching pillow case) for our bedroom.


Kitchen Curtain




Bedroom Windows - Before




Bedroom Windows - After




Bedroom Valance



The photos aren't that great... I took them with poor lighting and with my cell phone, but I've been having fun crafting for the inside of our home, while Dave has been doing amazing things outside in our garden!