Spooky Owls

Hey there, it’s been a while!  I have been super swamped with work and haven’t had any time to log onto this little blog of mine.  But as it is the week of Halloween, I figured I should take the next few days to share the Halloween decor around the house!  There is a lot of Fall decor up, too, but since it will be here for the majority of November, I’ve still got time to share.  🙂

I love this little vignette — a pretty pedestal urn filled with moss, branches, and spooky little owls attached to the branches with black ties.  Really simple and really fun.  🙂

xoxo, Maria

Going Batty

Happy Friday!  Isn’t Friday the best day of the week?  I’m looking forward to spending a lot of time with my husband this weekend, as he starts a new job on Monday that will create a crazy schedule for him in the coming months.  I am so thrilled for him — after months of searching for a position in the emergency medical field, we were very blessed with an opportunity that came upon him for an EMT job with a local ambulance company.  So this weekend, we are celebrating him, and I couldn’t be happier for him.

I wanted to show you a couple of photos of the Halloween decorations around the house for today’s post.  We’ve got creepy spiders in the foyer and flying bats in the kitchen.  🙂  Just enough spook factor, but really, these are adorable.

My pup posed for the picture, too.  🙂  I will share more Halloween decor as the weeks progress — I’m sure you can spot a couple of vignettes and such in the second photo.

Those spiders in the entryway totally freaked me out when I first came through the door and they had been put up on a night last week.  For a second I thought they were real amongst the shadows and the dark! Imagine my surprise when I got closer and realized that (thankfully!) they were only plastic.

These little decorations can be found at Target — of course.  What doesn’t Target have?  (I couldn’t find the spiders online, but they should have them in the store).

Have a great weekend, everyone!

xoxo, Maria

Pairing High and Low: Part Two

Hey there, happy Wednesday!  This week is flying by.  I posted a couple of weeks ago Part One of my Pairing High and Low series.  This is an easy topic and a fun one to master — pairing high and low furnishing to make everything appear to be luxurious and high-end.  Today we’re going to look at my in-laws’ kitchen.  As you know, most all of these posts (as well as any other home-related posts) will be of my in-laws’ house because we are living here.  But their house doesn’t disappoint, so here we go!

So.  The kitchen.

For this post, I’m really concentrating on the items displayed atop the cabinets.

A few pieces are from a trip that they took to Italy, and then the rest is filled in with finds from HomeGoods.  And there you have it!

A Few High-End Pieces + Several Lower-End Pieces = An Overall High-End Look — for everything above those cabinets.  Everything looks substantial and expensive.

What do you think?  Can you tell the difference?

xoxo, Maria

Dinner Party

A week or so ago, Greyson and I had my best friend Taylor and her boyfriend Chris over for dinner.  It was so fun!  We kept the menu simple, starting with Caprese bites — mozzarella, grape tomatoes, and basil skewered onto toothpicks; and a French baguette, sliced and broiled, with good European butter, sliced radishes, and sea salt on top.   For dinner we had pasta and red sauce with shaved Parmesan.  I know, I am a culinary genius, lol.

I wanted a moody black and red theme for the table setting, so that’s what I did!  Simple, layered table settings are my favorite.  You seriously can’t mess it up — just add layer upon layer of a color theme that you like and it will look intentional and lovely.

Aren’t the little glass balls cute?

If you’re looking for a great blog to read, don’t miss Taylor’s!  She blogs at Luminous Balloon.

xo, maria

Moving

I don’t think moving tops anyone’s Favorite Things to Do list, and I’m no exception.

However, that being said, my husband and I are very grateful.  We have two incredibly loving and supporting families, and we are currently in the midst of a move to his parents’ house where we will stay for the next several months in order to save up for a home of our own.  We aren’t planning on being here for more than a year, but we will be saving-saving-saving until we can purchase instead of continuing the endless cycle of renting.  We’re so thankful and so glad that we’re doing this.

My in-laws’ home is beautiful, which makes the transition easy to say the least.  Most of our things are being stored where they can, but for now we are taking up one of the guest rooms in the house and a closet or two.  Just wanted to check into this little blog of mine and let all of my readers (aka mom and maybe dad, lol) know that I am still here, writing.

xo, maria

Spring Patio Update

Yesterday I was in the mood to do some Spring Cleaning, so I thought I would start with the patio, where dust and leaves were taking over what little space we have out there.  We live on the second story of an apartment complex, and though we have great coverage from trees, they also shed all over the place.  During the warmer months we’re pretty good about vacuuming out there once a week or so, but since it’s been cold for the last few months, it had gotten a little neglected.  I also wiped down our furniture — with all of the Arizona desert dust, things can get a little cakey.  I threw away some plants that had died out there (how sad is that?), and potted my little Trader Joe’s violets in a cream-colored urn.  I also added some pillows to our chairs, though I will have to bring those in once monsoon season begins.  And I set up a little chair in the corner so that I can read and relax with Kuma while the weather is still nice.

Just a few simple updates, and this space is all ready for Spring.  And me?  I will happily spend all the time I can out there while weather still permits.  Only a handful of weeks until it may just be a little unbearable!

Maria