The orange room

For a long, long time, I’ve been wanting to make a boho garland… you know the ones—you tie strips of fabric on a string and tie and tie and tie and there you go…

But I haven’t had the time to make one… then, some time ago, to our local mall came a new boho store and I went crazy the other day looking at all the pretty things they got there.  When I discovered the super long super pretty boho strings made out of beautiful pieces of fabric on a string of beads, I almost screamed out of joy.  Ahhh, and the boho clothing they have!  And scarves and beautiful rocks and beautiful boho jewelry… the store is called “Earth Bound”, and I left carrying with me an extra-long extra beautiful garland to put above our extra-large low bed in our gypsy room… I added some fake greenery on top of it and I’m loving it all!

That same day, I also went to Ross and bought two of these lamps… they look so bohemian and chic at the same time. I love that the top part is see-through and the light that shines through is so pure and bright. The base part is sturdy marble.

Since I was in one of my decorating moods, I also rearranged the art on walls, added more plants to the room and then on Sunday I found these lovely velvet pillows at Target and almost die again… they had been reduced and they are huge and soft and they’re my favorite color too!  They’re so, so pretty!

They look so perfect and pretty in our gypsy room…

Another week went by, and this weekend I kept adding more pretty things to my pretty gypsy room.  This is an excuse, I know, but you know how it goes, you spend your days in an office on your 10-hour job the entire week, then comes the weekend and what can you do on cold gloomy rainy foggy nasty winter days when you can’t work on your garden or can’t go to the park and so on?  Well, you go shopping of course.

This Friday, I visited a craft store… one of my favorite places ever to shop! It’s called the Craft Warehouse, and they have so so many pretty things… way better than Hobby Lobby I can tell you that!  Oh I wanted to take the entire store with me.  It felt so springy and outdoorsy there with all the litter birds and frogs, fountains, flowers and lights… all sorts of magical lights!  My love for gardens and gardening came alive and it rekindled in a second as I strolled halls after halls of beautiful things.

I came home with a beautiful string of tiny lights, branches with little fairy lights in it and green branches and fake greenery you name it...

I changed the throw to a black and white one

OK, that's it for now! Ummm, I'm wondering what I'll do next.  One thing I can tell you is that birds are everywhere these days, and two Sundays ago was the day when the Robins returned home. It always happens every year around this time—the entire neighborhood gets inundated by them, and in your yard, they are everywhere hopping around or flying from tree to tree by the dozens. I have also started working on the garden… slow, very slow and not for long.  But I’m already getting excited by the prospect of spring and flowers and lovely warmth.

Are you seeing any signs of spring where you live? Enjoy each moment my friend!

Our first gypsy trip of the year

Some people around here were saying that it was going to warm up this weekend, and thus, we got ready and droved our gypsy home on wheels all the way to the desert….

It wasn’t.  It wasn’t warm at all.  In fact, it was colder than normal, colder even than those few days at the end of January when the sun came out—strong, and rubicund, and warmed up the earth for a few hours, permeating it with a new joy.  

Cold, and so windy it was, that we were not even able to open the awning of our gypsy caravan for fear that it could blow away.  We stayed inside all day long Friday; reading and writing and doing this and that...  

In the afternoon, I worked on adding new tiles to my little kitchen...

It turned out so beautiful... and better that my first time trying, when I used flooring tiles... remember?

I loved these black and white tiles so much, but they were too thick and heavy and they didn't stick too well to the walls, they were always falling off... so I removed them.

We cooked our meals inside this time—we usually never cook inside, because we like to keep our gypsy home free of stinky smells and such, and only cook our early breakfast of toasts and coffee inside, but this time we had to keep away from strong winds, and cooked all of our meals inside. 

 

Then, I sat down to rest... and daydream...  

Our gypsy caravan felt so cozy and warm inside... 

I really didn't care how windy or cold it was outside

Ollie the owl kept me very warm and cozy at night... and the Fisherman too.

On Saturday morning after breakfast we put on our big coats and went for our usual walk in the desert all the way down to the sundial.  We were surprised to find how much the landscape had changed during the winter months.  Winter had totally changed the topography of the desert in so many ways. The many silvery and glossy leave plants were all gone and much of the sagebrush had been moved or shifted by intense winds, leaving some areas of the desert emptied or naked, while others, such as the trails people usually take were completely covered, to the point that we almost lost of tracks... you could see the tumbleweeds awkwardly moving throughout the desert floor like some sad souls.  The desert, it is so strange, and lovely. 

Plants and more plants

I hear the garden calling my name—there’s so much to do out there… yet, I’m so not ready for any of it.  My little creative soul keeps wanting to create something and the only thing I can think of is adding more plants to my already plant saturated home… so I’m been doing that.

I’m also dreaming with making one or two terrariums… or a candle holder or a pinecone store or a small garden in a glass.  Whatever you can call it! 

I particularly like this idea...

There are many kinds of plants to pick from, that work very nicely with terrariums and sometimes, even using fake greens to create you inside garden can add charm and a natural feel to your rooms…  

I have been experimenting with a water garden, which consists of adding water to a pretty thrift store bought jar and placing your cuttings in it…

First, I bought a few things from the dollar store to embellish my jars—small river rocks, some colored stones, the ones you use for plants, cacti and succulents bedding and things like that.  I also bought two containers of the clear water beads vase fillers… they are like gel water pearls, and they come in an assortment of colors… I just liked the clear ones.  These things float and are perfect for floral decorations.  And that’s it!

Later, I decorated an old silver tray by placing a piece of wrapping paper on it and look at how pretty everything looks now!  To the tray I also added a string of pinecones, my peace rock, some fake pearls and I’m so loving this! Oh and I’m thinking I also need to add some fairy lights for a warm ambient at night… what do you all think?

Cozy winter nights

The snow-moistened February garden seems to be whispering, “remember me”? And, “do I know you?” 

Indeed, winter has kept me away from the garden; trapped on its icy grip for far too long.  But winter still stretches wide and unkind over my little world, and things have changed in my life. I can barely hear the garden’s voice calling my name any longer, and the desire to work outside has diminished.  My enthusiasm had lost its fire too.  

When spring comes around and the tips of branches and shrubs will fatten up again with new life, I’m sure my heart will again hear the voices of Nature that winter have silenced inside me.  And perhaps… perhaps I will still find the time after my regular job to work the soil and do all the work that the garden is already begging of me?  

In the meantime, I keep busy inside.   I love the upstairs in the winter time.  It is a cozy, warmer little nest where both of us, the Fisherman and I find our own special little delights for a few hours before going to bed for another day—the Fisherman go his theater room to watch his movies and I to my gypsy room where I have my own TV too.  

We get home around 6pm, dark and cold and after making something for dinner we go straight to or ‘second’ home—the upstairs part of the house.  We've been sleeping in the guest room throughout all winter, which I love... it is a cozy little room, and I love it...

...but the bed in this room is a queen size and I don't know if you've noticed, but when you grow older and 'wiser' you have to have your king side bed.  So, last weekend, we decided to make another bedroom in our upstairs home... this one with a king size bed in it!  Thus, my little gypsy room became another bedroom… we bought a king size mattress, a bed frame and went to work.  Remember my beautiful gallery wall and Frida collection? 

We took everything down, filled every hole and retouched the walls with paint... we took the couch and chair downstairs and rearrange things around to give space to our new king size bed!

A boho styled low bed, a mandala for a frame, some of the art set on floors and just a few favorites on the walls..

 

Plants, of course.  I really want to bring some of the big ones from downstairs, but then I will miss them downstairs, so I guess I'll need to buy more...

I really love how everything turned out.  This bedroom is now my favorite room in the entire house.. it is so cozy and the bed so very comfortable and I love to watch tv from this nest, and then wait for the Fisherman to join... 

 Need more fairy lights for sure

Happy winter nights!