Category: home

2020, clothes, home, organizing

The Shameful Shame

by casadeberryLeave a Comment on The Shameful Shame

When we moved to Wisconsin five years ago, I was thrilled to have my own small walk-in closet. As someone who had spent her while life content with having part of a regular mirrored-door closet and a dresser, this was a major upgrade.

Unfortunately . . .

this is the current state of my closet.

AND! This is AFTER I removed most of the yarn and work-in-progress bags.

#theshamefulshame

Recently, I have been wanting to pare down. Don’t get me wrong, the pictures of gorgeous closets with luxe finishes, endless rows of handbags, walls filled with expensive shoes and rack after rack of shirts, jeans, dresses, etc. are beautiful to look at.

But they are not me.

I don’t know if it is being older, because it’s definitely not being wiser, I am not sure when (if?) that will ever happen, but I am wanting to pare down. I like having a “uniform” which for me it’s soft pants or jeans, light top, and a cardigan. I usually carry one handbag for months/years, and since I received my dream bag last Christmas, I have no plans of switching. I don’t faff around with lots of jewelry – usually earrings, especially since I cut my hair. I do have some pieces for special occasions but my everyday outfits are predictable and comfortable.

I have big plans for my closet, including some accent wallpaper. Which might run into issues with the center shelf bracket.

My husband said it would be no problem and he could install the wallpaper.

I need to be more respectful of this space. Every December I start throwing boxes and bags everywhere I can stash them because I hide everyone’s presents here. That needs to stop. No more throwing yarn here instead of putting it – oh I don’t know – in the storage space I have in the basement?

No more of that. Respect for this space will beget less stress for me because right now, just walking in makes me nervous.

Looking forward to sharing the process, and hopefully, the progress with this space.

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

A little Winter Wonderland

by casadeberry1 Comment on A little Winter Wonderland

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
1206boys

— 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
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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, bath, decor, flowers, home, house, ikea, paris, wisconsin

Master Bathroom

by casadeberry2 Comments on Master Bathroom

When I came to Wisconsin to narrow down our choices for homes, there were some outstanding bathrooms in the houses we toured, but undoubtedly, the one that left me speechless was the one we dubbed the Captain America shower.

Either we would go in as ourselves and come out mutated in some way, or I’d end up pressing the wrong button and launch the whole thing into space. The master bathroom in our home, while still gorgeous, is a bit more normal looking. This is what it looked like at first:


It has a double shower, a separate alcove for the toilet, a sweet soaker tub and a lot of storage. A mirror that spanned both sink areas was added before we moved in, as well as light fixtures. We added cellular blinds to allow light in and retain privacy, and a few touches to make it more pleasant to get ready in the morning.



I brought my Georgianna Lane framed photos and Steve was sweet to placed them above the tub for me. The Paris map also made the trek, and lives on my side of the vanity. We purchased the same towels we had in our apartment in Paris last year. Six months later, they’re still like new.

Hope you enjoyed this little tour of our master bathroom, we’re certainly very happy with it!

2015, decor, home, wisconsin

Roost at Lynndale Farm

by casadeberry4 Comments on Roost at Lynndale Farm

There are many places written down on my list of Must Visit around the Milwaukee area, and one of them is Roost at Lynndale Farm. It’s a collective where sweet vintage goods are sold next to beautifully crafted items, it was my first visit but I can say with confidence, it won’t be the last.


It is less than ten minutes from my house – hello! – and there is a gluten-free bakery next door. I know, right?



From the moment you step out of your car, you see beautiful items for your home that will make you smile.



Inside, there are many little shops next to each other, lots of furniture that I had to tear myself away from (for now!), some pieces that I could not tear myself away from 😀 There are homemade decor items, soaps, candles and cards, jewelry and knitted pieces, and so much more.





I bought the earrings shown above plus three items for my home – you will get to see where I used them in my home in a couple of weeks.

The lady who was working there was very helpful, there are two floors full of treasures, and many of the vendors do custom work. If you’re in the area, I highly recommend you stop by Roost.

2015, bedding, bedroom, glam, gold, home, ikea, neutrals, paris, wisconsin

Master bedroom

by casadeberryLeave a Comment on Master bedroom

A wise friend advised me to focus on the master bedroom, to create a sanctuary there even if the rest of the house was not finished. For the most part we did that, because having a place for the whole family to gather was at the top of our list, so our living room did get top priority. Today I’m sharing our master bedroom as it is now. I still want to have a little sitting area, but for the most part, it is functional, and after a few things we added this past weekend, I think it’s beautiful.

I wanted warm, soothing neutrals, a bit of glam, a bit of Paris (of course), and I definitely wanted to make good use of things we had in our California house.

The main purchase here was the bed. We wanted a king-sized bed (Eastern king, not California king), and Steve wanted a sleigh frame, so we looked and looked, and found the bed at Wayfair.

We had the white duvet cover, got white sheet sets from IKEA and WalMart, and the beaded pillow is from the clearance aisle at Pier 1. Our Stearns and Foster mattress is absolutely heavenly to sleep on, and was purchased from Ashley Furniture in nearby Brookfield.

We bought some prints from street vendors when we were in Paris last November, and I’ve held on to them until I figured out what I wanted to do with them. We considered putting them in the living room, dining room, but in the end I liked the idea of having them in our bedroom.

The frames are from the “value” section at Michaels, and the set of mirrors are from Kohl’s, but I’ve seen similar at Target.

Steve did a great job putting them up and we both love how they look up there.

The neutral frames let the color in the prints pop and this little gallery is a sweet reminder of our trip.

The nightstands are IKEA Expedit pieces we brought from California, and the lamps and shades are from WalMart.

I love these curtains.

They’re from World Market and the moment I saw them I knew that I wanted them. They’re neutral and warm, and I liked that they give us privacy but are not completely blocking the light. Don’t worry, we don’t light those candles when the curtains are closed 😀

The painting to the left was brought from our California bedroom.

We also have our two dressers facing the bed, as well as the trunk that is a family heirloom. We’re really happy how our bedroom is coming along, it is a soothing, comfortable space we both love.

2015, home, house, husband, wisconsin

Hello Wisconsin

by casadeberry2 Comments on Hello Wisconsin

I had the chance of visiting the Milwaukee area a couple of weeks ago, to make a decision on a house along with my husband. Apparently, we arrived on the day of a really bad snowstorm.

I took this as we were readying to land

My husband, who has been working there (he came back for the holidays) and was familiar with the weather, kept looking at me as we stepped outside — I felt the chill, looked back at him, and said, “I am home!”. Well, it was really cold. But I like the cold.

One house had what we called the “Captain America” shower, because seriously, it looked like you might come out looking totally different.

Given my clumsiness, though, I think I’d have hit the wrong combination of buttons and I’d have accessed the nuclear codes or something.

I was a little too excited about my meal to take my time and focus properly, so I apologize.

Deb’s Main Street Cafe in Dousman has the best fried chicken ever! It was so good. Light, crisp fry, yummy insides, great seasoning, these folks know what they’re doing.

Everyone recommended the frozen custard.

Kopps has delicious frozen goodness, different extra flavors every day, but I went with vanilla. Because the best test of any sweet shop’s products is whatever vanilla product they have. If they get THAT right, you know they can get anything else right. It tasted like creme brulee but frozen, so uh, creme glacee, I guess? The same consistency and texture, so rich and good. Steve got the Oreo flavor which was that day’s special. We went back and again I got the vanilla because it really is that delicious.

As far as houses go, we had two favorites in mind before I flew out there. And guess what? We decided on neither! Ha.

This is just a peek because we’re still in the middle of the process. Rather, we’re at the beginning of the process, so I will share more when it’s more of a sure thing.

Now I am in California, and my darling is back in Wisconsin. He’s amassing quite the collection of gloves and hats, I tell you 😀

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, bedroom, family, history, home

Heritage

by casadeberry2 Comments on Heritage

We brought more than great memories from our trip to the Pacific Northwest:

Steve’s uncle and aunt graciously gave us this steamer trunk, belonging to Steve’s great-great-uncle Carl Swanson.

Isn’t it gorgeous?



The boys were oohing and aahhing over it, and the trunk that previously lived in our master bedroom is now in our living room, housing various blankets.

We are so happy and honored to have this beautiful piece of family history in our home.

2012, decor, holiday, home, house, outdoors, wreath

Puttin’ some flair out there

by casadeberry4 Comments on Puttin’ some flair out there

Our sweet little Christmas tree is now up and delighting my boys with the colorful lights:

But when it comes to the outside of our home, we like our lights clear and steady. No blinkin’ for us ;D

We got a few extra pieces, some to replace items that had gotten damaged over the years. Like these huge red ornaments, they look great against the white garage door!

Between our two windows, we place this lighted wreath, which I love.

The swirly drop ornaments are also new this year. I like the different textures on them; smooth metallic, glittery, etc.

Our entryway has a bit of whimsy with a hanging Ho Ho Ho decoration that Steve painted, and a couple of welcoming pieces leading up to the wreath on the door.

On the front lawn we have some candy canes and sparkly accents:

I didn’t notice my youngest’s big wheel until I was editing the photos ;D but you know, that’s part of our home’s charm.

Are you decorating outdoors for the holidays?

2011, boys, food, holiday, home, parties

Our Christmas

by casadeberry2 Comments on Our Christmas

My oldest decided to use a whole jar of sprinkles for Santa’s cookies ;D

it was all about quality, not quantity because the rest of the batch was deemed not worthy of decoration.

The key words this year were “super hero” for my oldest, and “Godzilla” for my youngest, so most of their considerable loot was in one of those two camps.

I love little-boy bedhead!

My husband did an outstanding job with dinner, again, with a few dishes made by mom and me. We made the little Santa hats that were all over pinterest.

All too soon, the festivities ended, mom went back home, and we got some much-needed sleep. In a few days we will host the last of our holiday season events, a New Year’s Day brunch. We are doing it potluck-style, with us providing coffee/tea and pancakes/waffles, and everyone else bringing other items. So far, our response list is looking scrumptious!