My Winter Study

Today I finally got a day off. There has been quite a bit going on in my life that has me on the verge of changing my course in a big way. I can't talk about it too much until the end of the year passes; but I'll tell you that I'm in the middle of a major business opportunity. Its been taking up most of my time. So much sadly that I'm not sure that the NaNoWriMo challenge will be completed. Where I am disappointed, I can't let this huge opportunity go by.

 Now that that's out of the way, I used this day to redecorate the office for the Winter. Down with the fall leaves and crows and in with the wreaths and gold. I went crazy at my local dollar store and found all of these amazing garlands! Can you believe I only spent 15 bucks!? I was absolutely ecstatic when I saw the finished result.

The garlands are actually made of two pieces. The pine part was actually thinner then it looks so I folded it in two and lightly weaved it together to make them look fuller. The gold trim is actually spun tinsel to look like rope so it's super lightweight and made it easy to adapt.

The bows are a clearance ribbon that I got from Stats a few years back. I've been saving the pretty velvet ribbon for a special occasion or more masks making, I was happy that I had something like this around to tie in the entire look. Since my office has a Venetian/Old World theme to it, I thought that the bows gave it that perfect classical finishing touch. The dark blue was a perfect contrast to bring in my stormy blue wall and my red closet.

The wreath was an extra garland that I had leftover from all the decorating. So I folded and weaved it together three times to get the circular look. I was about to head out to get a wreath hanger, but Kros was able to hold it just fine since it was so light weight. Doesn't he look snazzy? He reminds me of one of those old fantasy door knockers like in Alice and Wonderland that talk back to you.

An interesting addition is my new Angel that was given to me by the Tea Rose Garden. I love that stoic look she has; almost eerie. She matches Hitchcock, my owl, except she's a porcelain material and not stone. She has that strange affect of eyes that follow you. I like it, especially when the light hits her in the morning and makes her glow.

Stay tune for more super awesome things to come! I can't wait to 'spill the beans' as to some of the things I've been up to.

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Friday Fall Kicks

 As we creep up on Halloween, I did a little bit of decorating. I adore the holiday of Halloween. Its spooky, contemplative, and full of costume fun! Come on now, I work in Theatre, this is the one holiday where what I do is oddly normal. I have a packed weekend ahead of me, to finish up this awesome month of October. I thought I would share with all of you out there my quaint Office that's a decorating WIP.

All of my decor is from a Dollar Store, but aside from the garlands, crows, and sign, this is what my office looks like on a regular basis. It was inspired by my love for Venice and the old world feel. All the pieces have been a growing collection. I'd like to brag that it's the coziest room in the house. I do a good share of reading on the couch, and most of my entries as well as my freelance work are done on the office computer.

Meet Hitchcock, my stone owl. I saved him from Love's garden on this past month. He was sitting sunken in the dirt on the front lawn left by the previous owners. He caught my eye when I visited his house and I was smitten by him. He's all dressed up wearing my mini Witch hat. Looking at that hat makes me miss making costumes every now and then. Perhaps when things clear out after NaNoWriMo I'll go back to it.

Kros has been put on guard duty. I never realized he matched the door until Eugene pointed him out. I think I'll keep him there year round, he's a good reminder of how far we've come. He's a souvenir of our first party we threw together; even then there were traces that we wanted to do Productions. I love him for all of this, even the 'battle scars' he's survived after moving through a dorm, and an apartment, and three houses. He even has a monologue created by Eugene somewhere in the vault...

Finishing touches are a candles in the smell of Citrus Cilantro and Mulberry. It's a nice break from the Pumpkin Everything Invasion and Cinnamon smells that seem to follow you everywhere this time of year

 

  I hope that everyone has a safe Hallo-Weekend planned, filled with goodies and good company!


-Stef

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Out & Abouts: Eaton Canyon

As the weather gets cooler I want to get out more. The whole summer consisted with Love rushing to my house and us dashing to a cafe for some AC and iced tea. You can guess that that got rather dull rather quickly. So when the sticky SoCal heat mellowed out a bit, I've been running a muck outdoors as much as possible. I've also been dreaming about tranquil scenery with my stressful career; rolling hills and sweet strolls through greenery and fresh natural scents.

My puppies were getting cabin fever; it's been almost 3 months without a good run. I've been feeling guilty about it but there's not much you can do when it was constantly 100 degrees outside. I wanted to make it up to them so I made sure to pull out all the stops.

I brought my pups to Eaton Canyon, which is nestled at the foot of the hills of Sierra Madre. I remembered hiking to the giant fountain and back when I was younger, and I never took Love through there. With the fog and light rain, we were guaranteed that there would be no sticky unpleasant sweat and heat to bother us. When we got there I was so surprised at how packed it was! We barely found parking, and when we did we were surrounded by groups of hikers. There was no way that we were going to have a tranquil walk with that crowd, so we opted for the next best thing and took a light stroll near the nature center.

It did the trick! I was welcomed by the sweet smell of wet earth mixed with buckwheat and sage blossoms. That smell is so heavenly to me and marks a huge chuck of my childhood. I enjoyed the sound of wildlife and the light stroll through the picnic areas and little trails. I also got to give the pups a little extra time to stroll about and sniff things without such a big crowd around us.

The trail was short so we took our time, we made sure to take every little route. One thing that was memorable was the Outdoor Classroom which was basically a small amphitheater with a fire pit. We dreamed of using it for outdoor plays in the Spring; something we will definitely look into. The thought of it was an adventure in itself. Love saw his first look at California Quails as they flew over his head and started to run in a line. A little fact is that I LOVE Quails, I think they're one of my most cherished animals. It was so wonderful to hear their little beeping noises again and share it with him.

At the end of the day the pups were completely wiped out and slept early. I hope to bring them out more to outing like this. Next time we'll take the hike to Waterfall for sure! It was just the right bit of tranquility that I needed.

-Stef

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