Casa Bella

Pink Inspiration

2013-04-29T22:58:00.002-06:00

Happy Weekend...

2013-03-24T12:51:00.000-06:00

I would love to be doing this today...

...but I'll happily settle for a relaxing Sunday in my beloved home with my hubs...

That's just as good as being in Paris.

Sometimes we spend our lives dreaming of a different life instead of

being thankful for what we have.

Enjoy what you have...

and if you don't like your situation today,

then take the first step to change it.

Enjoy your Sunday..enjoy your life.

Live happily, darlings.

All images from my Pinterest boards.

Hello Spring

2013-03-20T14:55:00.000-06:00

The calendar shows today is the first day of Spring here, in the Northern Hemisphere.

Apparently, no one told the West of the Rockies.

We'll probably have snow these next few days.

But in my mind, you are already here, beautiful Spring.

Welcome...

Enjoy your day, wherever you are.

Kisses,

All images from my Pinterest boards.

Beautiful Bathrooms

2013-03-18T01:32:00.002-06:00

It's Monday morning and I'm thinking about the many changes I need to make to my home.

The list is long...but I have to start somewhere.

Definitely, the main floor bathroom needs a coat of paint.

I love the white walls and white decor I see in images from Nordic blogs.
However, I don't think I can pull that off.
It doesn't fit my lifestyle. I need color.

If I could have the bathroom of my dreams, it would look like one of these...

(all photos from Pinterest)

At times I get overwhelmed with all the things circling around in my head.

I have so many ideas...I would need to dedicate my entire life to accomplish them.

I think I just have to be smart and choose a few to do this year.

A girl needs to have fun too...

Definitely, painting the bathroom walls is one of those I've got to do this summer.
At least, the paint color has been chosen.

It's a matter now of prepping and start painting.

Contrary to most people, I love Mondays.
A new week, new plans, a new beginning.

To a happy Monday.

Enjoy life.

Yesterday meets today

2013-03-05T03:28:00.000-07:00

It is interesting for me to notice that as we grow older, some of us learn to appreciate

and are drawn back to the very things we wanted to run away from when we were young(er).

A lot of what I considered old or ordinary, I now see as charming and relaxing...

almost as necessary.

For instance, our darling elderly neighbor María had moved with her children to another city.

The little home she had left was right next door to my parents' and she asked them to

watch the house while she was away for the springs and summers.

My friends and I would use the tiny rundown home to play house while my parents

gathered pomegranates, kumquats, and tangerines before they'd fall to the ground and go to waste.

I still remember the beautiful wisteria vines that cascaded off the porch.

Their fragrance was deliciously intoxicating.

Yet as a little girl, I thought the place was all quite gloomy and depressing.

I wanted luxurious, elegant, and grand.

Now, it seems that the changes I make to my home lately,

are a poor attempt to imitate the atmosphere I enjoyed when
being around that elderly woman's home.

This image I saw on Pinterest last week reminds me of that place...

And these, remind me of my grandma´s home.

She was Italian.

In her patio, under the shade of overgrown trees,

the very large family would gather for the long Sunday lunches.
Pasta, pasta, and more pasta.

I bet that you can close your eyes right now,
and for a moment remember something that brings you peace.
A memory of a place that made you feel home.

Wherever that place is, I hope you can go back to it, even if just only in your thoughts.

Be good to yourself.
Celebrate being alive today.

Cheers,

Loving Winter

2013-01-23T02:25:00.001-07:00

A long time ago, I used to dread winter. The freezing wind that dried out my skin, the snow that made it easier for me to slip and fall, the cold weather that made it harder to go out for a walk, the fact that all I could see outside was either white snow or the brown and semi-dead naked tree branches.
Blaaaahhh...bo-rinG. I wanted spring to come. I couldn't wait for it.

Thank goodness, us humans can change.

One day, I decided to stop being a complainer and instead I chose to start living and enjoying whatever the present day or the present moment happens to be, without judging it. Instead of looking for something better in an uncertain distant future, I began to appreciate the now. The change didn't happen overnight. I had to work at it...but now...

If it rains, great, I get to use my cute boots and that darling bright green umbrella I bought last year.
If it snows, awesome. I make plans to go snowshoeing.
I now love walking on the icy snow and hearing the crackling noise my boots make with each step.
I love peeking through the window at night, like tonight, with the thermometer showing 20 below outside, and seeing the mass of sparkling snow in my backyard. It looks like someone sprinkled glitter over it. It's so spectacular. Can't see that in the summer.
If it's freezing cold as it has been, I thank heavens I can be warm and cozy in my home or that I have a car that takes me from point A to point B without breaking down.
I make the most wonderful tea I can find, I savor it (even in a busy work day, there has to be time for tea...if only 5 minutes...for yourself).

Hope this post serves as a reminder to live happily without letting bad weather get to you.

If you live or are visiting a warmer climate, great! Hope you enjoy that as well.

Wherever you are today, I hope you find something wonderful about the weather and the day you are experiencing.

Cheers to you all from the west side of the Rockies.

Brrr... Serving myself more tea now...

Cozy Friday

2012-10-05T00:05:00.001-06:00

Temps are going down quite gradually in our area.

The air is crisp. The skies are blue. Leaves have turned an incredible fire red.

I want to drink tea...

Gives me a cozy feeling.

Enjoy your Friday

All images via Pinterest

October

2012-10-02T19:26:00.002-06:00

We are having the most perfect weather here, west of the Rockies.

I love October!

To a wonderful month for you all.

Besos,

Paris in print

2012-09-29T22:50:00.001-06:00

It's a happy day when I stumble upon something wonderful.

Today was one of those days.

During my blog hopping, I found this fantastic shop:

The Paris Print Shop

The owner is the talented Nichole, author of the popular blog Little Brown Pen
Look at these fabulous prints and post-cards:

They would certainly brighten up any space.
O la la.

Happy weekend, loves.

Besos,

Polka dot Friday

2012-09-28T01:31:00.005-06:00

I have two pesky meetings to attend today.

I'll be wearing polka dots to make the day more fun.

source for all photos

Enjoy your Friday, with or without polka-dots.

Besos, loves.

Playing with white

2012-09-25T17:04:00.000-06:00

I remember my pre-blogging days when I fulfilled my brain's daily needs for decor and color

by watching the shows on the Home & Garden channel.

I was addicted, even when I allowed myself to feel that my home was somehow

uncool for having white walls. The message was "color, color, color!"

I remember designers even sometimes making fun of homeowners for not feeling the need for color.

Then, and thank goodness for us, we started visiting blogs that featured homes from all over the world.

I discovered my love for French Country and Tuscan styles as well as

(who knew?) Gustavian and Nordic.

I started to see, like many of you, that white walls were not only acceptable

but also beautiful and that they offered a new view on what chic and fresh can be.

They gave me the validation I was secretly looking for.

I find the rooms in this Scandinavian home absolutely inviting,

with an air of elegance that seems to happen naturally.

I love the subtle touches of blue.

Only the walls in this last room are painted blue

(and let me say, what a beautiful shade of blue that is...very Gustavian!)

I adore the wood floors, white or natural. Very lovely, wouldn't you say?

So...for you....in favor of white, not at all, or somewhere in between?

Besos,

Credits: source

Hello Autumn

2012-09-23T13:32:00.002-06:00

September weather on this side of the Rockies is what I define as just about perfect.

The air is crisp, the sun is a deep golden yellow,

harvest it at full swing, and signs of Halloween celebrations begin to appear.

I love, love, love it.

Welcome, dear Fall.

I'll enjoy every single wonderful day of dreamy,
cozy weather while you are here...

It's time for...

And, I'm happy that this means

it's time for a new pair of these... ;-)

What do you like the most about autumn?

Credits:

Goodbye Summer

2012-09-21T11:31:00.000-06:00

Oh, dear summer.

The calendar tells me it's the last day you'll be here this year -

in the northern hemisphere.

I'll miss you 'cause I had so much fun enjoying...

I rode a wave runner while at Lake Tahoe this summer.

Laughing my head off as I rode the waves at full speed

(and I don't like speed..., so yeah, that was a first).

Goodbye, summer.

I had SO much fun.

While I enjoy the wonderful, golden autumn days

and later I cozy up during the very cold winter on this

side of the Rockies, I'll think of you, fondly.

Thanks for the good times.

See you next year.

Have a wonderful Friday, loves.

Whatever season may be where you are.

Besos,

Credits: All images via my Pinterest boards

Country French

2012-09-17T14:52:00.001-06:00

I just got the last issue of the fabulous

Country French magazine.

As soon as I opened it, I started doing cartwheels of joy.

Not only every single page is

filled with decor that is exactly my taste,

but the writing is positively exquisite.

If you like country French decor,

this is a must have.

Such great reading and a feast for your country French eyes!

Have a good afternoon, loves.

Besos,

Morning Coffee

2012-09-17T01:29:00.000-06:00

Ready for the week?

I will be, but first...

I need my morning coffee...

This is my Monday morning inspiration for you...

To a beautiful Monday and a wonderful week.

Spaces with personality

2012-09-15T01:38:00.001-06:00

Normally I don't go for the style of this home, but I was fascinated by the layout.

Imagine having your kitchen and possibly the dinning area there in the back.

Imagine your child doing his/her homework in that space,

aided by all the light coming through the windows/sliding doors.

And that patio/courtyard?

Amazing.

Spacious.

With a long table.

With a fireplace.

Alfresco heaven.

I am smitten by the simplicity of the kitchen below.

Maybe because I dream with having a stone/brick oven someday.

It's not too hard to imagine a think crust pizza

going right off that oven and onto the fabulous wooden table.

For me...this is rustic elegance at its best.

Enjoy your Saturday :-)

Live your own style.

Besos,

Images via

France on my mind

2012-09-09T00:46:00.001-06:00

The stuff my dreams are made of...

Happy Sunday.

Keep on dreaming.

Besos,

Enjoy your Sunday

2012-08-26T15:00:00.001-06:00

Hope you are making great memories today.

Happy Sunday!

Enjoy.

Laundry Hideaways

2012-08-23T17:17:00.001-06:00

When I moved to the US from Argentina, I was amazed to find out that people here had actual laundry rooms to keep their washer and dryer and to perform their laundry duties.

And such pretty washers!

Where I grew up, the washer was placed wherever there was room in the house,
normally...outside.

Poor washer.

And of course, the dryer was a wonderful human being,

a.k.a "my mom",

who would hang the clothes to dry with big ol' cloth pins.

Our laundry room now resembles a bowling lane, long and skinny.

If I fit in it sideways, no one else does. I call it "cozy".

Let's face it:
it's a dungeon with white walls and
hand-painted leaves that reflect my 90's love for ivy.

What was I thinking.

As I don't like to do laundry, it'll stay like that, possibly forever

(I'd rather wash dishes, clean a toilet, or listen to a Justin Beaver song than do laundry -

ESPECIALLY the part of putting clothes away! - If you like doing that, I already admire you).

Some of us dream with laundry rooms like these....

However, if we don't have room for such fancies,

how about these ingenious ideas to hide the machines

that wonderfully clean and dry our clothes and whites....?

They have inspired me to at least paint over the nasty ivy leaves...

See anything you like?

Stay inspired, loves.

Besos,

Friday Pretties

2012-08-17T11:26:00.002-06:00

I am a lucky, lucky girl!

I live just a few blocks away from Alice Lane Home.

Though I'm much more of a
"I can make a nice lamp base out of that rusted planter" type of person,

I still love really pretty things to mix with my very ~~weird~~ interesting creations.

A few things from a good store, others from the Thrift store,

others are garage sale finds that I convert into something else.

So here are a few things from Alice Lane that I find beautiful:

Plans for the weekend?
1. Finally finish and open my new blog! (I'm almost there!!!)
2. Harvest Day Family dinner on Sunday (pics on my new blog)
3. Farmer's Market shopping on Sat morning
4. Organize, clean, paint, paint, paint.
5. Laugh, smile, dance, sing, be happy to be alive.

Here's to an inspired and wonderful weekend to all of you!

Besos,

The Elegance of Beige

2012-08-16T13:50:00.001-06:00

In my previous post I commented about painting some of my rooms in
Sparkling Sage from Valspar.

Nice, right?

Well...there's a boring side of me you can say.

The walls that won't have the super cool and awesome
Sparkling Sage

will get a dose of two shades...

Dessert Fortress by Valspar...

and two shades lighter of that color which is basically,

yes,

you guessed it...

BEIGE. ...

okay, you can stop yawning now.

But I think it's actually a very nice and cool
(because it has gray undertones) color.

When on the wall, Desert Fortress
and the 2 lighter shades look like this

(depending on the time of the day,

the amount of light in the room and

where that light is coming from - north, south, etc.):

For all the blog friends out there who love beige and
are proud of it, I join your ranks.
:-)

Yay for Beige!

So, are you a fan of beige, indifferent,
or do you fall asleep just
thinking about it?

Much love...

Besos,

Images from: Pinterest, and Myperfectcolor.com

From Tendre Gris to Sparkling Sage

2012-08-14T22:19:00.000-06:00

When people ask me what's my favorite color, my answer always is:

- "Blue and green".

Which shades? Is the next logical follow up.

Most!

And the conversation can then go into my boring recitation

of all the marvelous shades of these two very popular colors.

When it came to painting my home, something I've been postponing

for that last 10 years or so, it was difficult to decide on just one of them.

Until I bought my first issue of Country French Magazine and discovered

the shade that marries my two favorite colors perfectly,

with the addition of my beloved undertone: gray.

It's Tendre Gris.

O la la.

As the magazine article describes it:

"Tendre Gris morphs to green or blue depending on the light and the season."

A thing of beauty.

So there I went checking every store in my area and online.

If I found an actual Tendre Gris it was completely gray when it dried on the wall.

Very dark and cold for my taste.

So after 34 paint samples (yes, that's the actual number),

I finally found a color that works very much like tendre gris, at least for the kind of light

I get in my bedroom and office:

Sparkling Sage (from Valspar).

I could show you the sample I found online, but it is, well, completely grey.

However, when it goes on the wall, it sort of looks like this:

or like this...

and during the afternoon hours or cloudy days, like this...

So at times blue, at times green, always sustained by a soft gray base.
I feel I'm in color heaven.
I see it on the wall. I smile. Yes, color heaven.

So what color is on your walls?
Whatever it is, I hope it matches the color of your dreams.
After all, it's something you look at many hours a day.
Make it beautiful.
:-)

Have a fabulous day.

Besos,

Credits: Pinterest Country French Magazine

Back to Business

2012-05-24T14:50:00.001-06:00

I'M BACK!!!

After what felt like an eternity to me, I'm back to blogging...

I had taken a job that ended up taking over my life.

No time for exercising, going to the movies, or enjoying life, much less for blogging.

I have missed you!!!!

So finally I've changed my work situation so I can enjoy life again.

I can't wait to start visiting your blogs again

and seeing what you all have been up to.

My come back post is about a store
I seem to gravitate towards a lot lately
(maybe their daily ad emails is having an effect on me...hmm...)

It's Joss and Main Their prices can be somewhat high on some items,
but quite reasonable for most of them.

Some examples of the types of items they carry:

this Brimfield-Inspired Apothecary Chest...

...this mother-of-pearl pillow (isn't it gorgeous?)

...this Louis chair....

...this 3 piece fleur-de-lis finial set...(in blue, yay!)

...this shell mosaic mirror...(elegant)

.
..this fleur pendant... (Unique.
I love the industrial look that could really work well with many decor styles)

...or maybe this one is more your taste...

...this very chic room divider...

...or how about this 3 piece Kaho jug set...

or...this Lexington Bombe chest (I love this one!)

They also have stuff for everyday use...
like this re-usable Moroccan style lunch bag...

...or something every girl needs...
a leather briefcase (love the color!)

Hope you go check it out and find something that inspires you.

I am SO HAPPY I am back and I will be visiting you all, my dears!

Happy Thursday!!!!

Besos,

Pantries

2012-01-20T00:17:00.001-07:00

If you´d open my pantry, you´ll probably either:

1. laugh

2. call the producers of the show "Hoarders" and do an intervention on me

3. get knocked over by and buried under the many little plastic containers,
plates, lids, food items, and spices that will inevitably
fall on your head all at once as soon as you open the door.

Yeah. That bad.

If you are in a similar situation or have plans to organize your pantry, look at these.

They are my inspiration for the weekend:

I love the neutral tones on the examples above

and also that the shelves seem very sturdy. Never mind how incredibly spacious they look.

Having so many drawers in a pantry would be a dream come true for me.

Is your pantry organized?

Can you find anything quickly when you need it?

Hopefully, I'm not the only human being that realizes

(when finally organizing the pantry) that I have enough flour to make bread

for the country of Sweden for the next 10 generations.

I keep on buying things I already have because the ones I have,

I can't find. I know they are there. Just not when I need them.

So...guess what my plans are for this weekend? (among other things).

If you have any organizational tips you want to share,

comment away!

Happy Friday, loves!

Besos,

Credits: The Paper Mulberry on Pinterest

L'Ambiance

2012-01-17T17:16:00.005-07:00

It's no secret that I ~~love~~ ~~adore~~ am head over heels

about two beautiful European regions:

Tuscany and Provence.

I love rustic elegance.

It feels so comfy, so homey, cozy, lived in, historical,

inviting, and okay, I can go on and on

(yes, go ahead, you can yawn if you are bored at this point).

Tuscany and Provence remind me of the places

where I grew up in Buenos Aires and also of my European ancestors.

The images below are of L'Ambiance,

a gorgeous, vacation home
located in the 17th Century village of Goult,

in the Luberon region of Provence.

You can actually stay in this place for the not so small sum

of 4,500 Euros per week. Ouch.

And again...ouch.

I wish I could imitate this same style in my home.

For instance, look at this amazing stucco structure around the fireplace:

Calming neutral tones, upholstered chairs, and

an understated stone/tile floor. I'm in love.

Here's another view of that room

where you can see the exposed ceiling beams.

A beautiful stone wall serves as the backdrop

for the wrought iron canopy bed in the master bedroom...

This is a great example of what I mean by rustic elegance:

A neutral palette, tile floors, a graceful ladder-back chair,

a simple window, and an attractive bathtub.

No fuss, no clutter.

No glam, no sparkle.

But for me, this bathroom still shines...

The rest of the home is as inviting, including the outdoor spaces...

And as if the charm in this home

wasn't already enough...it's surrounded by this...

All I have to say is
Vive la Provence!

I now want one of those bathtubs.

Besos,

All images from here