Category: 2012

2012, accessories, costume, friends, glam, jewelry, makeup

Speakeasy Style

by casadeberry4 Comments on Speakeasy Style

Over the weekend, our friend D, who’s the bee’s knees, held a helluva birthday party at a speakeasy up in the city. We got our wiggle on, put on our glad rags and drove up to the juice joint to join the other fellas and dolls who’d be celebrating. D and her husband C definitely put on the Ritz for this party, and we had a swell time!

My husband rented his outfit from a local costume shop, which happens to be a block away from the first place we ever lived in. I, however, relied on the kindness of friends, cheap stores, and some craftiness to put my ensemble together.


My headpiece was made of 3 purple feathers glued to the back of a gold satin rosette that I made. I added some pearls and rhinestones to the rosette and glued felt to the back to secure the feather stems, then sewed the felt to a small comb. I made a thin braid on the left side of my head to anchor the comb, slipped the comb in, and secured it with some bobby pins. It didn’t not move all night, through hugging, windy San Francisco streets, and lots of dancing.

The earrings were made from clear crystals years ago and the necklaces I got from Forever 21.

Our dear friend J lent me a gorgeous ruffly black dress, it was perfect, comfortable, and fun to dance in. I wore sheer dark stockings and black pumps.

The stole was made from costume leftovers and all I did was cut the rectangular piece in half lengthwise, then join small sides together to make it a longer, thinner piece. I used a huge (length of my index finger) needle and since it was faux-fur, didn’t bother to hem it or anything.

We had an absolute blast — the party was great, the band played fab music all night, and there was delicious food AND a candy buffet table. The three chocolate martinis I had weren’t bad, either ;D  I have to admit I got giddy when a lady wearing a real fur stole and a long strand of real pearls came up to me to ask me for my card because she thought my costume was the bomb.  Or I should say, the cat’s pajamas.  What can I say, we like to have fun on the cheap ;D

We were so happy to celebrate D’s birthday — we wish you nothing but the very best, doll!!!

2012, craft, decor, friends, glam, paint, paris, red

Sassy Red Bookcase Makeover

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As much as I am in love with my shades of turquoise and chartreuse, my love for burgundy will never fade.  Although it does when I try to put it on my hair.

Recently I re-organized the entryway and ended up with a plain little bookcase with nowhere to go, so I decided to glam ‘er up and give her a place to live next to my desk.

First I gave it a coat of primer, then two coats of Krylon’s Burgundy – geek moment: I was so giddy when I realized I used up the last of both that can of primer and the burgundy shade –  am I the only one who loves finishing up cans of spray paint, because it means I can get more? – and finally, a coat of Rustoleum lacquer.


After waiting impatiently for it to fully dry, I started filling it up with items that I wanted near me, that had no place on my desk, and that made me happy.

Et voila!

I am super happy with the result, it adds a lovely pop of color against the white walls of the office, and it has many items that make me smile.


I just received this beautiful mug for mother’s day, from my dear friend D, and believe me, it’s already getting some use. Seeing it there when I first go to my desk reminds me to just take a moment for myself before the craziness of the day begins. The green oval box hides some Splenda packets, and the Paris-papered oatmeal canister holds whatever current magazines I have.


The adorable mini chest of drawers was a gift from my dear friend A long, long ago, and the picture frames were gifts from my mom. The photo on the left is of us holding our month-old oldest, and the one on the right is our youngest’s hospital picture. I don’t think it looks anything like him but yes, I know it’s him because they took the pics in my hospital room ;D


The bottom shelf has a tray I decoupaged with more Paris-themed paper, one of my favorite votive holders (from the dollar bins at Michaels!), a little tray I made inspired by an item at Paper Source, my current inspiration books, and the most sought-after treasure in our household: PENS!!! I swear, I can’t keep them on my desk anymore because they get taken at an alarming rate 😀 so now they are sort of, maybe, semi-hidden. Who am I kidding, by the time this post is published there won’t be any pens left!

So that’s it, my latest re-vamp – I took this bookcase from drab to fab and didn’t spend a cent. But now, I must spend a penny, if you know what that means.

Have a wonderful weekend!

2012, chocolate, family, husband, kids, outdoors

My mother’s day

by casadeberryLeave a Comment on My mother’s day

Our Sunday was a relatively quiet one, the boys ran around and did their own thing while we (me and my in-laws) enjoyed on the wonderful lunch my husband put together.

But first, it was present time!


I got a sweet, handmade “vase with flowers” from each of my boys – one was on a paper plate and the other was made out of a pasta sauce jar. I’d asked my husband for light summery jammies and he bought me a bunch – thanks, honey!

The food was delicious – the corn on the cob didn’t even need butter!

My burger:

My husband’s burger:

His momma’s burger – she was very adventurous!

Enjoying lunch under our little gazebo

And then — oh my goodness, came the dessert tray:


Strawberries, mango and kiwi dipped in chocolate, and fresh-from-the-over brownies. So good!!!
I had asked for something chocolatey for dessert and boy, I got it!

It was a wonderful day, full of love, and I hope you all had a great Mother’s Day, too – or a great Sunday, if you did not celebrate.

2012, family

A new mommy to congratulate!

by casadeberry2 Comments on A new mommy to congratulate!

My new nephew was born at around noon (CA time) yesterday. It was evening time in Sweden, where my sister-in-law, K, and her Swedish husband live, and I am glad everything went well. No name or other deets yet, but I am so incredibly happy — a little bummed that it will be months before we meet our Swede new relative (see what I did there wi . . . never mind.) but so, so happy at the thought of sweet newborn toes, the soft downy cover of hair on his little head, the soft cheeks.

I decided to be up most of the night so I can sympathize with the new mother — not really, I’ve been up with my youngest since 1:45am. Yeah. My oldest told K to not name the baby until they visit us 😀

Anyway, wishing a super Happy Mother’s Day (a couple of days early) to the newest Mommy I know! And to all the other mommies I know, and my mom readers. I hope you all have a wonderful day.

2012, girl crush

Girl Crush: Evan Rachel Wood

by casadeberry2 Comments on Girl Crush: Evan Rachel Wood

I’ve stopped watching award shows in the last couple of years. These days, I am relegated to hashtagging it on Twitter to find out who wins and then watching the acceptance speeches plus whatever interesting bits happened during the show, on YouTube. Such is the life when children take over your telly.

A couple of years ago, I was reading one of those “Best Dressed” articles online and Evan Rachel Wood caught my eye.

I mean, hello, the makeup is absolute perfection, the updo formal enough but messy and youthful, and the dress suited to her figure AND the event.

I made a mental note to see if this was a one-time-lucky kind of thing, and was thrilled to see ERW as Queen Sophie-Anne in True Blood.

Here’s another red carpet apeearance:

Honestly, I think she is one of those rare creatures who can do just about any kind of colorway when it comes to her hair and makeup. I’ve seen pics of ERW as an angelic light blonde, as a dirty blonde, redhead, brunette, and everywhere in between. Nude lips, pink lips, rose lips, red lips, she can pull off just about any color and she can play good, bad, innocent, lost, evil, you name it.

Then she went and did something that has been the kiss of death for many a starlet – she cut off her hair. And, no sh**, she still looks amazing!
Innocent in her little haircut

Kick-ass and androgynous

OWNING that red carpet!

And seriously, I don’t think MY feet have looked this smooth since I was a week old:

Now, my husband just asked me if ERW is my style muse. To be honest, no. Mostly because of the boobs. There’s no way I can pull off the super low-cut styles she rocks because it would look pretty tacky with my D-cups. Also, my skin coloring limits what hair color I can get away with — I just appreciate someone who can be so put together in such varied ways. Obviously, if might be her stylists who are doing all the putting together, but ERW absolutely OWNS her looks. Whether it is a vest and pants or a white couture shirt dress, she doesn’t look like most generic starlets of her generation.

And when she can pull off a look that is so generic in show biz — the pretty blonde

and still make it her own, I admire that.

2012, flowers, food, fruits, gardening, plum, veggies

Garden Update: First Week of May

by casadeberryLeave a Comment on Garden Update: First Week of May

There has been a lot of growing going on in our backyard — I can’t wait for harvest time to start enjoying our veggies and fruits, do some canning with friends and family, and feed my family lots of wonderful, homegrown food!


Imagine about 40 of these babies and you’ll get an approximation of what we have in the backyard. From the original 72 plants I grew from seed, I gave some away and donated some to my youngest’s school. I figure a few are not going to make it, but the truth is, I need to buy more cages — eek!


We grow some of our strawberries on the top of those upside-down hanging tomato planters. Last year we got lots of berries and lots of tomatoes, so we’re going for it again. A friend gave me another planter so hopefully they both do well.


My roses make me smile every time I go out to the backyard. I think some of them are going to decorate our home this week.


Our plum tree will give us lots of sweet, juicy plums this year. Plum jam is a pain to make but just so good!


There are hundreds (thousands?) of tiny grapes, the size of a pin’s head, all clustered and green right now. They’re Concord grapes, and once they’re ripe, my boys love to run around the backyard, scooping up a few each time they pass the grapevine.


I had never heard of Swiss Chard until I read Animal, Vegetable, Miracle — and no wonder Barbara Kingsolver likes it so much! We bought the plants once, three years ago. It just comes back on its own. I did get some Chard seeds for my 40th, so I’ve added to Chard Row.


One of my favorite fruits to eat as I’m working in the backyard are blueberries. I’ll be weeding for half an hour or pulling tomatoes off their plants and run over to grab a few blueberries. Then the boys see me and pretty much empty the plant of its fruits within 10 minutes. And hey, that’s why I grow stuff, right?

I have lots more to show you in the next Garden Update – peas, broccoli, corn, carrots, beans, etc. Stay tuned!

2012, boys, california, travel

Our trip to Disneyland: part 3

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Our last day at Disneyland brought us back full circle – Dumbo was the first ride my boys ever rode. They were obsessed with elephants at the time and I think we went on this a good dozen times. Each day.

Alex chose to wear one of his pajama tops (made by me) for the day:

The carousel is always a favorite!

The boys tried their best to pry the Sword from the Stone:

In the end, my husband told them, “maybe next time”.

On Thursday, we started the drive back home, with a stop at the Los Angeles Museum of Natural History — more specifically, their Dinosaur Hall:


The boys loved seeing all the skeletons and interactive features — their interest in dinosaurs is not as strong as it was a couple of years ago; now Godzilla and superheroes have taken higher places of importance, but still, dinos continue to fascinate them.

We drove home after our brief visit, with a few stops for nourishment and bathroom breaks — the sky looked like this for most of our drive back:

But it wasn’t too bad, even when it did rain. We got home late, tired, happy, the boys eager to play with new toys, us adults eager to fall into bed, but all of us very, very grateful to Gran and Grandpa for taking us to Disneyland. Again. My little man did so well this time around, he was very clear when it was all getting too overwhelming for him and he and I would go back to the hotel room so he could spend some time in more calm surroundings. My big boy is such a good big brother, always looking out for Alex and such a delight to hang out with. There were a few moments of crankiness, but hello, some of them were mine, too.

Good-bye for now, Disneyland — I am sure we will see you again!

2012, boys, california, family, travel

Our trip to Disneyland, part 2

by casadeberry2 Comments on Our trip to Disneyland, part 2

Our trip to Disneyland continues with some collages I made of the boys:



My boys LOVE Tarzan’s Treehouse – I went up that thing once and decided that was the last of it for me. My back started to kill me and it took two rides of the Indiana Jones Adventure to fix it. That thing is better than a chiropractor, I swear. I went on it once when my back was pretty locked up, and when it was done I swear half the pain was gone, so of course I went on it again. It worked like a charm. Worth the price of admission right there ;D


Ssshhh – don’t tell them it used to be the Swiss Family Robinson tree house.

If you liked Cars, you will love the new Cars Land opening in June, they’ve recreated Radiator Springs and have several attractions and shops almost ready to go – a friend of my husband’s is an Imagineer working on this project and s/he showed us the preview room (open to everyone) which includes some of his/her work. Don’t want to get anyone in trouble so that’s all I’m going to say about that.


Alex decided he was getting overwhelmed by it all so he and I went back to the hotel room after lunch and we just hung out, played on my laptop, and I caught up on a new cookbook I got.

More about our trip in the next post!

2012, boys, california, travel

Our trip to Disneyland!

by casadeberry2 Comments on Our trip to Disneyland!

We were gone last week, and for a very good reason – Gran and Grandpa decided to take us all on a vacation to Disneyland!

My oldest made it clear upon arriving at the hotel room that he meant to have a ferociously good time!

He was also very happy to see the many Avengers posters around D’land and Downtown Disney 😀

Waiting in line for the Jungle Cruise – the boys’ all-time favorite!

My youngest loved looking out the hotel room window — we were on the third floor and he thought it was awesome being able to look down at all the cars and people 😀

My little guy wasn’t tall enough for Star Tours so Grandpa kept him entertained.


(yes, we are totally getting lots of ideas for a future birthday party or room makeover!)

More on our trip to D’Land in my next post!

2012, colors, glam, makeup, orange

Tangerine Tango @ Sephora

by casadeberry1 Comment on Tangerine Tango @ Sephora

I saw this collection a couple of days ago and decided that I would stop by Sephora soon and see the colors up close, but so far, I like what I am seeing.  Pantone’s Color of the Year, Tangerine Tango, has been interpreted as a make-up collection at Sephora.

Now, I am not one for orange eye shadow or liner, but . . . nail polishes and nail glosses?

Oh, I’m there, sweetie. Back in a few to show ya what I got ;D