Best of 2009

Happy New Year, friends!!!

I'm so excited to be starting off a new year. 2010.

Amazing, huh?

I hope y'all had a wonderful time last night, and wish you the best in 2010.

I'm starting this new year by doing a tiny little recap on last year, for those new to Casa Haus or those who would like to walk with me down Memory Lane.

2009 was an excellent year for us. We had just gotten married in August 2008, so 2009 meant settling down and arranging our little house to make it feel like home. As I started looking through the internet for inspiration, I bumped into the bloggosphere, and man, did that change me (for good, I hope). I suddenly realized I wasn't the only crazy woman thinking about her home and her decoration 24/7. That felt amazing!!!! I actually got to know more people like me, and so I let my obsession loose. House-aholic. Design-aholic. Yay!

However, that wasn't enough, so in early November I decided to start my own blog, the good ol' little Casa Haus. A place meant for you to find good design, inspiration, home decor, and a journal for my adventures making our house our home while doing everything else (you know, work, exercise, housekeeping, kid, you name it). I couln't have started off in a busier time of year, so blogging, my friends, has become one truly wonderful journey.

So, best of 2009.

Since I started blogging in November, my projects so far have revolved around the holidays. I begun by introducing you to our Halloween home.

Those decorations were so fun and easy to make. We loved them!

I showed you the beautiful twirly scarves I had made for the chilly weather. And of course, I posted on the lovely heart too.

Then Christmas time came fast.

I made a pine cone wreath, and got really excited when Centsational Girl featured it.

I made easy snowflake ornaments for our tree.

And a bunch of other last minute decorations.

In the end, our Christmas House looked cute!

And of course, there was time for easy and yummy recipes, too.

The tasty hot punch (in a cappuccino cup).

And the refreshing red wine punch.

And of course, there was time to feature some great interior design inspirations and eye candy.

What an excellent year!

What were your best experiences 2009 left you? What are your expectations for 2010?

Do share!

sharing with Melissa for Best of 2009
and Rhoda at Southern Hospitality.

Christmas House Tour

It's been a busy December, but I finally managed to finish our Chirstmas decor this year. Hurray! It's just a little touches here and there, but I love to see our holiday makeover. It makes me happy.

Welcome to our merry Christmas Home!

On the door, one of the pine cone wreaths I made a few weeks ago.

I loved the way this very wreath looked in the powder room, so I used another one to embelish the space for our guests and us. I also placed some pinecones for a Christmas accent.

In the kitchen, I've added a few sparkles of red and white here and there.

Remeber my ornament display in the basket on top of the microwave?

Now here comes my favorite part of all: our living room.

Our tree is wearing the last minute skirt I made for it.

I love the way my centerpiece turned out.

Especially being soooo easy! I just placed the elements and arranged them to look pretty.

(I changed the candles for these ones I found on sale -2 dollars each! But my previous centerpiece looked also very cute).

Of course I'm also very proud of the way our tree turned out too. I used some ornaments I had bought last Christmas.

But I also used the snowflake ornaments I made earlier this month.

And of course, pinecones!

As a topper, I made a larger snowflake ornament (exact same steps). This time I chose red to give it more contrast.

Eventhough I'm not hosting any dinners this year, I love the way our little Casa Haus looks these holidays. Makes me happy!

Happy Holidays!!!!!

I'm linking up with Rhoda's Home for the Holidays, the Nester's Christmas Tour of Homes, Sarah's Christmas Tree Party, Donna's Christmas Trees Unite Party and Cheri's It's So Very Christmasy.

Last Minute Christmas Decor

Hi there! Are you late for your holiday decorations? Do you think you're missing some sparkles of color at home? Then keep reading!

This Christmas came to me too soon. Don't get me wrong; I LOVE Christmas time of year. It's just that, as a working mom and a somewhat newly wed, time has passed me by so fast I haven't had the time to sit still and do everything I wanted. But then again, who has? The holiday season is one of the busiest of all.

Today I decided to finish my home decorations, and I wasn't planning on spending neither too much time nor money. Wanna take a look?

Easy tree skirt

If you haven't got a tree skirt, there's no need to worry. A simple and effective way to make one is to use any piece of matching fabric you have at home. I used a cheap but lively red piece of cloth I had (I think I bought a yard for 1 dolar!).

This is how our tree looks with its brand new skirt:

Decorating with Glass Ornaments

If you have some spare ornaments around your home, there are plenty of ways to use them besides the tree. Here's what I made:

Lovely basket for my kitchen.

{Don't worry, you don't need to fill it all. Use newspaper to fill the bottom ;) }

Festive centerpiece for my coffe table.

Fill a cookie jar, and you get a beautiful ornament display.

Now, my living room is looking prettier!

So there you have it, a couple of quick and easy ideas for you to try at home.

I'm posting about my tree later on, so stay tuned! ;)

P.S. I'm linking this to Blue Eyed Blessings.
Check for more ideas there!

Crochet Heart (for Scarf)

A cute motif can be an excellent detail to our creations. This crochet heart was the perfect ending for my twirly scarf.

Just as I promised, here are the instructions for the beautiful crochet heart.

I don't remember where I got them from, because it was long ago.

So if you know who they belong to, please let me know and I will link to him or her.

Crochet Heart Instructions

Chain 4, make all stitches in the first chain.

3 trc, 3 dc, chain 1, 1 trc, chain 1, 3 dc, 3 trc, chain 2 slip stitch.

Fasten off. Weave in end. You're done!

Enjoy!

Have you knitted or crochetted something pretty this winter? I would love to see your creations! Do share!

Snowflake Ornaments

I love Christmas trees. The lights. The colors. The smell. The ornaments! Choosing the right ornaments for your tree is a must if you're looking for a matching decor in your home. A lovely Christmas tree isn't necessarily an expensive project. I like to see it as the perfect opportunity to get creative and see what happens.

These days I've been working on something special for our tree. Something that matches my pine cone wreath. So we're talking silver and red. Aren't they yummy colors for Xmas?

Making these ornaments for your own tree is as simple as 1, 2, 3. Ready to learn how?

1. Get the basic ornament at your craft store.

There are generally different options for you to choose.

Mine were 1 dollar each.

2. Paint the ornament (your choice of color).

I chose silver.

3. Spread glue and glitter.

Glitter should be the same color as the paint.

Ok.

I'll admit it. There's a step 4.

4. Hang it and enjoy!

P.S. This is an excellent DIY project to make with kids: it's both easy and fun, a perfect way to get them involved with the holiday decorations.

Hope you have a great day making them with your family!

I'm posting this at

Pennywise Presents at Infarrantly Creative
Holiday Linky Party at The Inspired Room
Show and Tell at Blue Cricket Design
DIY OrnamentParty at Centsational Girl
The DIY Showoff Holiday Highlighs
It's So Very Cheri
DIY Day at A Soft Place to Land

A Little Piece of Heaven

I love Christmas time of year:

happy spirits,

amazing decorations,

joyful songs playing everywhere,

the cold weather...

and hot drinks to keep our bodies warm

(and our houses smelling like Christmas!!!!)

That's when I know Christmas is right around the corner.

The other day, we invited my parents and in-laws over to our house for a little dinner. My mom suggested I made hot punch for our guests. I was shocked! You know, this is my first year as a "housewife", and I'm learning as I go. I don't do great cooking -just regular, easy things- besides, my husband's excellent in that deparment. Make traditional Mexican hot punch, for the very first time, to serve my in-laws? I'd better think twice!

Surprise is I made the most wonderful hot punch (and I'm not kidding, this is what my guests said ;). Credit goes to my mom, for telling me how to do it, and sharing her little secrets.

Now it's my time to share with you! If I could do it, you sure can.

I guess the biggest challenge here is getting all of the ingredients. Depending on where you live, it might be difficult to find all of them.

The beauty of this punch, though, is you can skip the ingredients you can't find.

It will still taste great.

Ingredients

1 cup dried hibiscus

3 or 4 guavas

10 tamarind pods

1 peeled apple

10 crabapples

1/2 lbs peeled sugar cane

(in chunks)

6 prunes

1/2 cup raisins

1/2  cup sugar

2 cinnamon sticks

water

The Secret Recipe

Place the crabapples in a pot with water and bring it to boil.

Turn off heat. Once cool, take off peels.

{tip: don't throw away water}

Put 4 cups of water in another pot and turn heat to high.

Add hibiscus flowers.

Cover the pot.

Meanwhile slice and cut the apple into squares, and quarter guavas.

Once it has boiled, take out the hibiscus flowers.

Add: 3 liters of water.

Put in the rest of the ingredients:

peeled crabapples (with their water),

tamarind pods,

guavas and apple,

prunes and raisins,

chunked sugar cane,

cinnamon sticks,

and sugar.

Let it boil. Once it has boiled, turn heat to low.

Simmer for an hour.

Serve hot.

Enjoy!

{tip: you can also add a little rum}

If you make this in advance, try reheating it in your stove at least 15 minutes before you serve it. This will make your house smell like Christmas, and it will taste like Heaven!

Joining

Holiday Linky Party at The Inspired Room

Show and Tell at Blue Cricket Design

DIY Day at a Soft Place to Land

Pine Cone Wreath

I've had Christmas wreaths on my mind for the last few weeks. They are so lively and welcoming. I knew I wanted to make one for the holidays. Our first Christmas wreath. Exciting!

I didn't want to spend the big bucks on it, though. And I wanted it to be eco-friendly (there's something in me thinking where will things end up when they're no longer used, and it never leaves me alone!). So last weekend I was thinking about it when it finally hit me.

Aren't pine cones lovely?

This project begun with a trip to the park. Well worth it all by itself.

We were hanging out with my husband's family, so everybody helped me pick up pine cones (such a lovely gesture, thanks!).

It was a fine and fun day.

And finally, I was able to work on them yesterday afternoon. I'm excited to share the results with you!!

{My inspiration for this project was Eddie Ross' ornament wreath (if you haven't checked it out, I strongly recommend you to; it's beautiful and easy). }

Supplies:

50 small sized pine cones.

Craft paint (your choice of color).

Wire rings (available at craft supply stores).

A hanger.

A paintbrush.

Hot glue gun.

Ribbons.

How to:

Paint your pine cones (you can go natural too if you wish).

I chose a silver tone for my decorations, so that's what I used to paint them.

I only painted the tips. (I spent a wonderful afternoon with my mom and daughter doing this ;)

{They're lovely just like this.}

Hot glue the wire rings to the top of the pine cone.

Bend the hanger into a circle.

Untwist the end of the hanger and string one pine cone at a time.

Twist the hanger again to close the circle.

Hot glue a ribbon to cover the hook end of the hanger.

Make a simple bow out of color coordinating ribbons.

Hot glue it to the wreath.

Enjoy!

I'm liking this so much, I'm thinking about making a few to give as presents to my family and friends. I seriously can't stop staring at it: my first Xmas wreath!

Best of all: easy on my pocket.

Sharing this with Funky Junk Interiors

The Inspired Room

 

Blue Cricket Design

Mustard Seed Creations furniture feature friday

Infarrantly Creative's pennywise present party.

And Kimba's A Soft Place to Land DIY Party

Finding fabulous frugalicious Friday

Thank you girls for hosting these amazing parties!!!!