candle – Casa de Berry

2020, candle, knitting, Uncategorized

A Momoa-sized challenge

May 9, 2020May 8, 2020by casadeberryLeave a Comment

Steve has received from me a handknit sweater each of the past three years. Every time it’s the same, “oh, whatever you think best” back and forth until I pretty much just close my eyes and point to a cabled sweater pattern and call it a day.

This year, though, he has a pretty specific sweater in mind.

For those of you able to get past the sight of Mr. Momoa looking like a fine feast, he is wearing a heavily cabled sweater with a shawl collar in this publicity pic from the movie Justice League. I’ve made cabled sweaters for Steve before, of course, since that is his preference. The challenge, however is to find a starting point – I’ve never knit a shawl collar before – and then customize it to look as much as possible as this sweater.

I happen to have Norah Gaughan’s Knitted Cable Sourcebook, which is, in fact, a guide on incorporating a variety of cables onto whatever you choose to design. The plan is to make a chart including all the cables seen on the front, figure out how many stitches for each cable and in between cables, total them up, and adjust depending on how many stitches the front of my starting point pattern has. I have a few ideas for the base pattern, thanks to my lovely yarnie friends C and L, so I will decide that in the next few days.

As far as yarn color goes, I’m going to make Steve’s sweater in a shade of blue. If I’m going to make all those cables, which are not difficult but are time consuming, I want them to be easily visible, so a medium blue-gray is the goal, and will also go well with Steve’s fair coloring.

Added to the mix is the fact that Steve has wanted me to knit him a hoodie as well, so do we make this a hoodie or stick with a shawl collar. No, I am not making a shawl collar hoodie, dogdamnit.

Also Pinterest, showing the sleeve cabling.

I usually start Steve’s sweaters around September, so that I can present it at Christmas. This past year a friend was having a bebe so Steve graciously let me make a bajillion baby knits and his sweater was ready in February. Considering how this year has gone so far, though, I am probably going to start early, take a lot of notes on what I’m doing, and light a few candles.

Maybe one of these.

If you want to follow my daily knitting adventures, follow me on Instagram.

2016, candle, holiday, home, house, white, winter, wisconsin, wreath

A little Winter Wonderland

December 9, 2016by casadeberry1 Comment

Now that we live north of the wall, I wanted to have one of our rooms full of sparkling, snowy adornments – and our library is small enough that I could put up a few things and not compete with the red and plaid madness of the rest of the Christmas decorations.

I mean, when your boys look like this while waiting for the school bus
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— aren’t they rocking those double layers? ha — then you have to bring some of that snowy loveliness inside. Just not literally. We have a shoe brush thing my husband built so if you have snow on your shoes please leave that snowy loveliness outside.

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I bought the two glittery deer on the right last year, with the thought of adding some more this year.
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The dignified fellow on the left is from Target, and all three of them spend their days keeping an eye on the neighborhood. Neighbors have left, new neighbors are moving in, they can tell you all about it. The center candleholder we’ve had for years, and I got the white wreath at JoAnn’s to hang opposite the outdoor wreath we have on that window.

I don’t style my bookshelves because we actually read the books we have, but I did have this spot with a huge yellow vase in it.
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The vase got relocated and I stuffed some snowy greenery we had into a Target dollar spot galvanized vase. FYI, those things are NOT waterproof, so my awesome husband had to seal it for me so I could put flowers and not end up with an indoor lake. And then, of course, I went and stuck fake stuff in it for Christmas.

The beautiful houses on either side are part of a collection Steve has, he got them and the others he has from art festivals and renaissance faires, and they’re works of art. They fit perfectly in that spot so I didn’t move them, just added an old little lantern and a fleur-de-lis I found at WalMart, and a glittery little house from Michaels.

Finally, the spot where I can wait for the school bus in the afternoon – our youngest is only let out of the bus if one of us is waiting for him and these days I’m not waiting outside, so I can hang out with our Cherry girl and knit while I wait.
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Although when I’m sitting there, it looks more like this

The JOY and NOEL signs are from World Market, our Sussex sign is by LulaRue and purchased at Roost. The blue throw, A.K.A. Everybody’s Favorite Blanket, is from ZGallerie, the white birdcage is Partylite and the delicious pear candle inside is from Rosy Rings. The monogram mug is Target and the coffee inside is made in my beloved Nespresso.

We’re having our second annual FriendsGivingMas this weekend so I’ll be sharing some pics next week – have a wonderful weekend!

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

Halloween table

October 1, 2015October 1, 2015by casadeberry1 Comment

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!

2013, autumn, candle, fall, friends

Trip to the “big mall”

August 30, 2013August 29, 2013by casadeberryLeave a Comment

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, bloggy friends, boys, candle, family, summer

She loves me . . . She loves me not!

May 23, 2012by casadeberry2 Comments

She Loves Me

1. My sweet new nephew – it will be months before I ever get to meet him, since he lives in another continent, but I can’t wait to squish the little guy and cover his sweet face with kisses!

2. New scented candles – just received this one as a gift and it’s so yummy! There’s also a little hint as to what we’ve been working on.

3. That my boys are almost done with school – I can’t wait for summer and all the fun we are going to have together! Have you seen this great summer photo checklist from Simple as That? Full of great ideas to capture those fab summer moments!

She Loves Me NOT

1. I will admit I am dreading the summer heat. I don’t do well in heat or direct sun. A big floppy hat (like this one from Target) is always my best friend in these months.

Joining Michaela Noelle’s linky party!!!

2011, candle, decor, glam, gold, holiday, ikea, white

Corner bookcase all decked out

December 13, 2011December 10, 2011by casadeberryLeave a Comment

We have a little bookcase in the dining room – it has most of our cookbooks and fits perfectly in a little corner. I decided to jazz it up with some holiday goodness this past weekend:

To the left are the doors going out to the side deck, but our avocado and pear tree block most of the light. Since this corner can get a little dark, I chose some bright accents in gold and white.

First is a beloved picture of my boys. I’ve had this frame for decades but it’s usually on one of the living room bookcase shelves. Now it gives some much needed glam to my little bookcase. The floral fabric is from a runner my mom made — she made a few some years ago and I love to add them throughout my house. The red and green candle holder is cute but gets lost in the larger decorations so I put it here.

Then comes another candle craft I made with candy canes, this one in a mason jar. I added a taper, taper ring and glittery bow.

Last are my white lantern from IKEA and a rustic gold star I got at Pier One.

The bookcase looks so cheerful now — I am very lucky to have so many little areas to decorate. Hope you like my corner bookcase!

2011, candle, craft, decor, holiday

Candy cane candle

December 12, 2011December 15, 2011by casadeberry12 Comments

After seeing this idea on pinterest, I decided to make a couple of holiday crafts with some candy canes – that’s right, Christmas candle crafts with candy canes. It’s all about the alliteration.

I have a couple of glittery white candles, one of which I chose for this project. The easiest way to keep the candy canes under control was with the help of a rubber band:

Once all the candy canes were secured, I added a pretty bow to cover up the rubber band and give the finishing touch:

Simple, but so pretty and colorful:

Hope you enjoyed this little craft!

2011, boys, candle, decor, flowers, glam, home, husband, ikea, living room, red, wreath

Lush table decor

December 5, 2011December 13, 2011by casadeberry10 Comments

There is a little table in a corner of our house that got some glam treatment recently:

D’oh! A little elf got in the picture!
My son saw me taking photos and decided I should take some of him, too 😀

It is layer upon layer of holiday items surrounding a huge hurricane vase we used at our wedding.

The table itself is from IKEA; then comes a folded table runner my mom made a few years ago. Then you can see the wreath we last used in a Thanksgiving centerpiece. A beaded garland sits on top of the wreath, then I stuck in some large silk flowers with their foliage. I placed the vase in the center and had no idea what to put inside, and my husband added a candle, which I now love because the glow from this little table is just gorgeous.

2011, blue, candle, decor, glam, green, holiday, husband, ikea, love, office, paris, turquoise

My glam office shelf

December 2, 2011December 2, 2011by casadeberry5 Comments

I was at Michaels the other day and saw a few ornaments I had to have, in my favorite colors of 2011 – turquoise and olive green. I added some items I had at home to complete the look.

From left to right: IKEA vase with Christmas greenery from Michaels clearance last year, Noel ornament and scroll ornament from current Michaels selection. I don’t remember where I got the snowman!!!
Target frame from 2009. Eiffel tower ornament from Pier One.
Cupcake pedestal, gift from my dear friend K, with garland we’ve had for years and glittery white candle. Little Christmas tree my husband put on my desk, it changes colors ;D Green lantern from IKEA.
Candlestick from Goodwill, spray-painted ORB with plan taper and the most fabulous peacock ornament, again, from Michaels. Their ornaments are 50% off so each of the three ornaments I got were $2.50 – $3.00 – score! LOVE print from Made by Girl.

So there you have my sparkly glam shelf – full of items that mean a lot to me (mini tree from my hubby, pic of my boys, gift from a dear friend) and items that make me smile, with the most beautiful sentiment of all, LOVE, as the background. Hope you enjoyed the peek into a corner of my world. Have a great weekend!

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

Our 2011 Thanksgiving

November 25, 2011November 25, 2011by casadeberryLeave a Comment

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.