Christmas Thrifts.

I love thrifting with my little babe. Felix loves to be strolled and I love taking my time browsing the rows of shelves at our local Savers. When nothing else works, it's usually my solution for a fussy afternoon. 

While on a continuous hunt for vintage glass ornaments and Christmas kitsch, we have scored some pretty holiday thrifts. 

A festive pillow for our couch. The intricate candle holder will be our table's centerpiece.

Candle clip-on ornaments I could not pass up for 99 cents. 

The wooden carousal ornament and the pocket sized 'Twas the night before Christmas will go in Fe's stocking.

I fell in love with that velvet forest green dress, handmade baby blanket, and children's Christmas record. Thrifting for Felix is my absolute favorite. 

Have you thrifted any holiday goodies lately? 

a place to write my thoughts.

"Write what disturbs you, what you fear, what you have not been willing to speak about. Be willing to be split open."

-Natalie Goldberg

(quote source)

i have been on the hunt for a desk. i didn't really have in mind what it would look like but i was sure that i would feel it when i saw it.

My husband surprised me with one he said was "me."

He knows me well. Of course he does.

home is where your husband is.

my little house (i like to call Casa di M) will never look like it could even be remotely included on the selby. you'll find art against walls and a flooded book shelves, a hoarding of knick knacks -- you find that too on the selby but for some reason in my house it looks like clutter. 

at best, an organized mess.

but it's these little (er messy) details that makes it very much me and pieces of memories we've collected that make it very much 'us' (though my husband will tell you he could do with some major downsizing, which believe it or not i have done with our most recent move to el paso).

 our doorway (i have a thing for door knobs and skeleton keys)

 our overflowing bookshelves

i love our mirrored bar in our living room, complete with a sink.

 our fire place mantle-- the first wine bottle is the very first one me and max ever shared; the second one we shared the night we got engaged in our first house together on a mattress on our empty bedroom floor. 

 i have a thing for mirrors... my husband surprised me with the top one for my birthday after i fell in love with it at the art museum's gift shop and the second one reminds me of a carnival mirror-- joel's aunt made it and it's still one of my favorite pieces. You can also see my Butch Anthony original -- a lucky win in a giveaway hosted by my beautiful friend and momma-to-be, Kitty.

 my bathroom counter

our nightside table

a selby home it may never be, but home (our home) it is.

happy things to end the week with.

or playing along with summer b! (who i do so hope to meet in a week in NYC)

(no, those aren't my little legs : image via i-zilla the terrible)

i finally own a pair of hansel from basel tights thanks to a wonderful Iris. she was hosting a 1 for you 1 for me giveaway on her blog for this pair and decided to surprise me with a pair for my birthday. i can't wait to rock them! xo

as i'm writing this, i'm snacking on a handful of Easter colored m&m's. the "Easter Bunny" hopped to our house in the way of my adorable in-laws with the stash above!

and because i've had so much chocolate the last few days and stayed up late watching the NBA playoffs (LET'S GO MAVS!) when i had to be up extra early for work, i'm going to climb under our new quilt and take a nap. Tonight is my next door neighbor and close girlfriend candice's birthday and we're going to celebrate at an outdoor restaurant/wine bar downtown.



other things that made the list:

+ at pilates last night my instructor demanded to know why i missed class on tues.--it's official! i'm a pilates regular. huzzah!

+ i have a small giveaway planned for sunday of an etsy favorite... if you love postcards and vinyl album covers, you don't want to miss it.

dear you, love me xo

( image : design crush )

   

HAPPY FRIDAY LOVIES!!!

our walls.

remember those blank walls? here's our living room walls now:

the top three  art pieces above are originals of my pappa's... my most prized possessions

if you came over to casa di M, you'd know what i believe life should be filled with : art & books.

...and that's just our living room.

happy things to end the week with.

my husband bringing me starbucks this morning (genius coffee sign from one of my fave etsy's Very Fine House)

 getting lost in a new book (lovies, thanks for the book recommendations!)

date night : Blue Valentine 

amazing realistic acting ... i can't even express that enough. a realness that's refreshing and heartbreaking; some parts made me uncomfortable and teary-eyed because i had felt that way before. (i love how well my husband knows me and how his hand found mine in said parts of the film... i fell in love with him all over again)

finally getting around to hanging up art in casa di M including this candelabra in our bedroom {photos of our walls coming soon!}

smart purchase for me who adores sending love letters the old fashioned way : custom wood handle address stamp from Note Trunk. 

my excitement over my new friend Sarah who's also a jewelry making goddess : Sadie Designs -- another smart purchase will be jewelry shopping this weekend at her etsy shop. As a valentines day thank-you, she's holding a percentage off deal **details here** I have my eye on this gorgeous pastel and gold plated crystal druzy necklace. i believe every girl should spoil herself with a vday pressie because let's face it, we're all deserving of a treat!

sarah also made me feel like a rockstar today! <3

finding this baby photo of me and marianne on one of our birthday's. I love how my Momma (who made our big bird cake by the way!) is spoon feeding us directly from the cake, no bowls necessary. I also love my older sister's glasses. (look how i can't get enough of it and am using my hands to put it in my mouth faster! some things never change...) the countdown to mine and twinkie's 27th begins... our birthday is March 7th!

Happy Friday lovies!!! i hope you had lotsa little things that made you happy this week. xo

let there be light.

did i ever show you my collection of night lights?

 there's my rooster one in the kitchen (my kitchen decor that started as an inside joke with my husband)

 my sweet teapot one with rabbits...

but the last one i found on a thrifting adventure steals the cake.

jesus is my light. literally.

 i love this night light! husband spotted it and laughed. i thought it was kitsch & had to have it.

 reminds me of april {check out her latest thrifting finds and you'll see why}

new home : blank canvas.

many of you darlings have asked to see our new place. here's some photos i took when we were moving in. 

it's a 3 bedroom 2 bath duplex (separated by our lovely neighbors who are also newlyweds! by our garage) on the west part of El Paso. we're kind of in love with it and i'm anxious to make it home. 

and if you're ever in El Paso, you are welcome at Casa di M!

 wrought iron gated pathway to our front door entry way

fireplace in the living room / sliding doors leading to backyard

 across from the sliding doors is a bar (with a sink!) and mirrored shelves

 our master bedroom ( i love the arched window )

 at the far end of master bedroom is our sink and to the left of the long mirror is my little walk in closet! i love it. across from that is the bathroom. i also love the little sky lights throughout the house, like the one above the mirror by the sink.

the master bedroom's tiled shower (big enough for two!) 

 the front door has an intercom system by the doorbell with one of the speakers in the master bedroom

 the two other rooms look like this, with windows and mirrored closet doors

 this is an ugly photo without the doors that are in place now but there's the pantry and where our washer/dryer goes. since it's a duplex, i love how there's so much storage space.

looking from our backyard. at night you can see all the city lights... magical! in the dining room (not pictured) there's a big bay window that you can slide the windows open -- the landlord intended that incase you have parties-- you can use the wide ledge by the window as a serving area.


we're 95 percent moved in --- still needing to hang up art and today we should FINALLY have a working stove/oven (so i can put your delicious recipes to use!) and new dishwasher--which is why there's no photos of our kitchen area.

thanks for "coming over!"

fancy.

electricity is on at our new casa... but not the gas and it's absolutely freezing! good thing i have sweaters i bought on mine and danielle's last thrifting excursion and my Dolce Vita lip gloss by NARS (i love the shade!!! and smooth feeling of fancy lip gloss) thanks to sweet Claire {one of the christmas gifts she spoiled me with}!

this perfect lip gloss was actually inspired by the 1960 Fellini film. i love that and my girl claire for the most perfect gift! {true story: when i met claire, i couldn't stop staring at her flawless skin. besides the fact that she's oh-my-gosh pretty, her skin was so smooth! -unlike mine- she shared her secret with me: Airflash Spray Foundation by Dior. i'm more of your drug store make-up girl but i should have known with claire's shoe style, she's fancier. Now thanks to her, i am too!}

i've gone two days without a shower and since our move we've been living in a motel without a fridge or microwave so that's 10 + days where my diet has consisted of only the greasiest of fast foods... ugh! i can feel i've easily gained 10 pounds. the lip gloss makes me feel prettier.

but hopefully hopefully tonight everything will be FINALLY settled and we'll spend our first night in our new home... in fact, gas man AND cable guy just got here! hurray!!!

thank-you for all your support, well wishes, lovely comments & patience! i can't wait to be back to regular blogging/reading xoxo


how have YOU been? any exciting news i've missed out on? i'd love to hear! tell me in the comments or link to your blog post please!