Category: autumn

2015, autumn, candle, decor, fall, halloween, living room, wisconsin

Halloween table

by casadeberry1 Comment on Halloween table

Being in a bigger house – three times the size of our house in California – means that we need more stuff to decorate it for the holidays. This year we’re going to focus on expanding our Christmas stash, so for Halloween we’ll decorate smaller areas in our home, such as the sofa table in the living room.

The center lantern is one Steve has had forever, as is the marble chessboard. I found the striped candles at World Market and loved the pattern play, so I added them. Then I thought we needed a little dose of glam.

I saw these adorable mini pumpkins at Target, polka dotted black and white and metallic gold – perfect.

The spooky cloche is from Michaels, and I added some suitably horrifying books from our book collection to complete the scene.


It’s a nice little spot in our living area and makes me feel like I have accomplished my Halloween decorating for the year 😀 I also managed to score those blood-dripping candles from World Market so I might change it up at some point.

We are enjoying the first days of fall here in Wisconsin, some of the trees are already sporting flashes of bright reds and oranges. I can’t wait to experience this season!

2015, about me, autumn, california, family, weather, wisconsin

Six months on

by casadeberry6 Comments on Six months on

In March of this year, we embarked on an adventure — we moved from California, the only place my husband and my boys have ever lived in, and started a road trip that would take us to our new home in Wisconsin.

That morning, we said goodbye to friends and family, and to the home we’d lived in for 10 years.
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We drove mostly along route 66, seeing places like Hoover Dam and the Grand Canyon, discovering new foods like fry bread (which Alexander loved!), and driving through long stretches of road that seemed to go on forever. We saw bits and pieces of Nevada, Arizona, Utah, Colorado, New Mexico, Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Missouri, Iowa, and Illinois, before arriving in our new home state of Wisconsin.
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We lucked out in that we arrived just as the snow was almost gone. On the boys’ first day of school, there were barely any traces of it, and so we escaped the worst of winter. Speaking of school, we couldn’t be happier. The difference in school budgets is clear (even though Governor Walker has done his best to cut funding, he hasn’t wrecked the budgets to California level) – and the resources that my boys can enjoy are amazing.

Our home – what can I say about our beautiful new home?

We have plans for the landscaping, and the exterior paint, although the latter might not happen for a couple of years due to budget constraints. But as far as I’m concerned, it’s beautiful, and a house we could never have lived in back in California. It’s three times the size (without including the basement) and it still cost significantly less than our house in San Jose.

I keep being told to “just wait” until I go through my first winter here. People are probably right and it will be much more difficult than I imagine, but I am sure as heck enjoying the fall weather right now. Today’s high temp will be 64. That’s my kind of weather. True, the humidity is kind of icky, but not having entire weeks of 100-degree weather is a relief to me.

On a personal level, I am making some good friendships here, meeting wonderful people. Our neighbors are delightful and one is about to have a baby girl. I get to shop in the pink aisle! 😀 I am also currently in a lot of pain because of an aerial yoga class I took two days ago. Oh, so worth it. I loved it. There is so much to do here, lots of it family-friendly, including scenic drives (picture courtesy Travel Wisconsin):

Six months have gone by so quickly, we arrived with the promise of spring and now the leaves are changing color. Thank you, Wisconsin, for welcoming us with so much kindness and beauty.

2013, autumn, dining room

Sweet Vintage-style table setting

by casadeberry2 Comments on Sweet Vintage-style table setting

I was going through my fabric stash the other day and I came across a couple of pieces that I thought would look great together, so I set up a quick little vintage-style table.


I love the small pumpkins we got at the patch last month, we each get one pumpkin, but my choice was the 4/$1 deal on the little ones 😀

We had a mishap last holiday season and lost half of our dishes. Steve had had them since before we met so we decided to donate the rest and get some new ones at IKEA. We chose cream and brown so we can mix and match.

I love that I have a brand new palette for my table setting and I didn’t have to spend any money on it!!

2013, autumn, decor, fall, home, living room, orange, september

’tis fall in our living room

by casadeberry3 Comments on ’tis fall in our living room

And nowhere else, apparently, given the 100-degree weekend we just had. But in the spirit of “if you decorate for it, it will arrive”, I added some fall touches to our living room.

We had everything I used, although some of the garlands have seen better days and didn’t get used. I love groupings of candles at varying heights, and I made the little candle with cinnamon sticks last year:

The brown vase in the back is from IKEA and the green bottle held liquor in its former, non-decorative, life. The two lovely glass pumpkins are very dear to me and I will share why later in this post.

On the TV console, I used a fabric runner my mom made a few years ago and used decorative pumpkins, our LED candles and real candles, a miniature chest a friend gave me long, long ago, and a fall floral spray on top:

The other side continues the theme with more small candles. Even though it was like 90 degrees when I took this picture, I have to admit I love candles. Their glow is just magical.

Overall view:

Now on to the glass pumpkins. These were given to me by my dear friend Kat.

I can’t believe it’s almost been a year since she passed. I miss her every day and although I am super busy, the mornings I used to spend with her still feel empty. Thank you for making me a better person, Kat.

So that’s our living room with some touches of autumn throughout, I am hoping that the matching autumn weather is here SOON!!! I dream of long walks with my sweet Foxy, wrapped in sweaters and scarves — both of us, ha ha – while the wind blows and the leaves turn golden. For now I just have super early walks because anything after 10am is too fricking hot and I am sweating like a pig 30 seconds into the walk.

I have a couple of fall projects I am working on and hope to share with you all soon!

2013, autumn, candle, fall, friends

Trip to the “big mall”

by casadeberryLeave a Comment on Trip to the “big mall”

My friend J and I hit the big mall yesterday, but instead of a plethora of inspiration what we found was mostly “meh”. Maybe we’ve been on Pinterest too long (not) but there were a few things that caught my eye, and our noses:

This candle is awesome. The smell is so unbelievably yummy, I can’t wait to put these out around our living room once this freaking heat goes away.

Seriously. It’s almost September, people, I should not be sweating at 7 in the morning.

Then we hit Sephora and I found this gorgeous gloss, I think I had looked at it before, but it’s such a pretty and wearable shade, although it’s scary purple in the tube. It wore down to a shimmery raspberry.

I had no lipstick or gloss before so I got a pretty true representation of the color. It’s Givenchy’s Velvet Purple and it’s just gorgeous. Still not paying $29 for a lip gloss, though.

The last item that caught my eye was an orange skirt from LOFT. I have so many neutral clothes that it would go with many of my current tops, and it would be delicious with burgundy. Again, once this freaking heat goes away.

Other than that, and our yummy coffees, there really wasn’t much to capture our imagination. Pottery Barn was a big room full of tan and grey, and I’m sorry, I need some color in my life. We were, however, inspired by the pretty candles the autumnal atmosphere around many stores, so J and I decided to go home and decorate for fall. Sort of an “if you build it, they will come” thought, maybe “if we decorate for it, the weather will cool down” — at least we hope.

Thanks, my dear friend, for an awesome morning and even more awesome chat!!!

2012, autumn, thanksgiving

So thankful

by casadeberry2 Comments on So thankful

Tomorrow we will be celebrating Thanksgiving. I was not born or raised in the U.S., but my parents and I celebrated Thanksgiving because we found a new start here.

I am an incredibly lucky girl and have so much to be thankful for — my husband and sweet boys, my mama, memories of my dear dad, lovely friends and family who support me, and last but definitely not least, all the wonderful people I have met online, including my sweet readers!!

For those of you celebrating this most American of holidays, I wish you good times with your loved ones. If this is just another Thursday for ya, then I hope it’s a good one ;D

2012, autumn, bronze, brown, burgundy, clothing, cosmetics, fall, fashion, makeup, maroon, neutrals, orange

Fashion Friday: Fall Cravings

by casadeberryLeave a Comment on Fashion Friday: Fall Cravings

I am loving all the rich colors in stores everywhere – be it home decor or apparel, deep greens, browns, burgundies, and golds are everywhere. Let me share a few pretties that have caught my eye recently:

1. Wool blend coat from Old Navy

2. Cotton peplum shell by LOFT

3. Polka dot top by Merona @ Target

4. Rose bouquet print skirt by LOFT

5. Leopard print cropped pant by Merona @ Target

6. Hooded anorak from Old Navy

7. Celtic riding boot by Etienne Aigner at DSW

8. Wedge pump by Adrienne Vittadini at DSW

9. Stargazer bangles at Nordstrom

10. Lost in Paradise Earrings at Francesca’s Collections

11. Rustic Wear Scarf at Francesca’s Collections

12. Bellini Lip & Eye Palette by Bobbi Brown

What has caught your eye from among the fall season offerings out there?

2012, autumn, bath, craft, decor, fall, ribbon

Fall accent craft

by casadeberryLeave a Comment on Fall accent craft


Recently I decided to make a little something something for the bathroom — I was walking around Daiso and saw plain wood boxes, so I grabbed one and decided to fall-ify it a bit.


Two coats of dark brown paint later — this was the bit that took the longest, waiting for the paint to dry — I added a lovely dark orange bit of ribbon I have had for a while. I used yellow ribbon to make a little flower accent and added the year in a cardstock circle.


I had leftover brown cardstock so I made a little tag and added glittery chipboard letters to spell out “autumn”. The filler apples, scented cinnamon sticks and candle were also in part of our fall decor bin, so this was a super cheap craft, I paid less than $2 for the little box and everything else I already had.

So there you have it, a little piece of fall for not much money — hope you have a wonderful week!

2012, autumn, kitchen, red

A bit of fall in the kitchen

by casadeberry4 Comments on A bit of fall in the kitchen

Last week I decided to bring some autumnal bits and bobs into our kitchen.

I purchased some lovely mums destined for some baskets we have hanging outside the front door — aren’t these gorgeous?

These red cup and spoon measures were much needed, we have had the same measuring cups and spoons forever, are, in fact, missing a few, and a couple are even cracked, so I got these super cheap ones at WalMart, and love the pop of color they bring:

Those plastic bins with handles are from the Container Store, but HELLO!!! I just found similar (i.e. practically the same) bins at a Daiso store — sort of a Japanese dollar store, except most things are $1.50 — and I bought three there. If they have more next time, I will be getting some more because I love them.

Snack bowls in chartreuse are stacked on the lower shelf – these don’t go in the microwave but are so useful for quick after-school snacks:

My morning coffee tray is ready so waking up goes as smoothly as possible 😀

My dear friend J got me hooked on Torani Sugar-Free Salted Caramel syrup – so good! My usual Vanilla and Hazelnut are taking a break for now.

I also got a mat for the area in front of the sink and my feet are loving it while I do dishes, but it didn’t make for a very exciting photo, ha!

The dining room is getting fall-i-fied soon!!

2011, autumn, baking, boys, candle, cooking, dining room, entertaining, family, food, home, husband, kitchen, love, lunch, november, thanksgiving, wine

Our 2011 Thanksgiving

by casadeberryLeave a Comment on Our 2011 Thanksgiving

Our thanksgiving lunch went beautifully; Steve and I planned, made lists, set up a schedule, and with some help from our family, we had a great time.  I printed the menu and set it up in the dining room:

My father-in-law showed up early — he was in charge of the turkey — and also helped out with the rest of the cooking. He and my oldest had a blast peeling potatoes:

Soon my boy was a potato peeling expert!

I had told my husband that I’d seen (can’t remember where!) an idea to use a wreath as a centerpiece and he came up with this:

Isn’t that cool?

Soon the rest of the family showed up and we started doing the oven-revolving-door dance. Dishes would go in, in twos and threes, and something yummy would come out. Soon our dining room table looked like this:

This was about half of the food we made. The wine took up one of the hutches ;D and the desserts people brought took up another.

Here is some of my wonderful family.

The little cups hold the butternut squash bisque, which was DELICIOUS – Steve made it from scratch and I am so happy there is some left over, because I’m having some of it for lunch!

One of my favorite moments was when we all shared what we were grateful for and my oldest said he was grateful for “the colors of autumn”, I thought that was so unusual and sweet.

I hope your Thanksgiving was wonderful, and if you don’t celebrate it, then I hope today is a great Friday and I wish a wonderful weekend for everyone! I’m going to leave you with the menu we had for our Thanksgiving Lunch.

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