The Blank Canvas

We found our house two years ago, and fell in love with it. Brand new house. We knew it was rather small, but apart from that, it was what we were looking for. It was oh so very exciting! Everything seemed perfect.

Not quite. Home builders around here are not very responsible people. I'm not saying it was terrible, but it definitely wasn't what we expected. There were some details (both minor and major) to take care of.

Since we weren't getting married just yet, we decided to place it for rent (wisely adviced by family members).

While we were busy with the wedding preps, a wonderful, small family lived here. We're very thankful at them for taking care of it (and patiently dealing with the issues that kept arousing). Lucky for us, the construction company was around at that time, and somehow managed to solve some of the problems.

Time passed by and the nice family left for some other place. This gave us two months to get our house ready to welcome us, but then again, those couple months were the busiest for us (remember the wedding?). Anyhow, we were at least able to bring in the fridge. And our bed. That was it, that was all we had!

We were also able to paint the whole place white.

Our blank canvas, awaiting.

Two months later we got married, and voilá! The small and not-so-perfect house became our home.

I love the sound of it:

OUR home.

Before we move ahead

This is us.

Rocio and Joaquin.

We make a wonderful team.

This man here makes my dreams come true. Actually, he is my dream come true. I could have never found a better person for me.

We've been married for over a year (same time we moved to this house, our very first house). It's been such a year! We've been basically getting organized with everything: time, household chores, jobs, money, among others (you know it). AND we've been trying to make it all work for our lovely eight-year-old daughter. Our goal list is long, and we love to be together making it happen, one at a time.

After getting settled, I started looking for inspiration to take our little house and tranform it into our refuge. And, as I've said before, you won't believe the tons of inspiration out there (or out here, should I say?). Internet and the bloggosphere have been huge for me. I've got my head filled with ideas, and I've met wonderful people, house-obsessed like me! I really don't know which is better.

Having a blank canvas for a house is, I believe, a great start, and I want to share the whole transformation process with you. Though, I must warn you, this process may take a while (remember time and money are issues here), I promise to make it fun. I also want to share and catalog my finds and inspiration, as well as my daily thoughts and ideas. A journal of some sort, if you wish.

So join me in this chronicle, and let me know what you think. Comments are always welcome!

Eye Candy

Happy Friday!

Here's a little something for you to enjoy.

Living room image by Candice Olson

Have a wonderful and inspiring weekend!

Scarves

I heart scarves. REALLY love them.

Now that the chilly weather seems to finally have arrived to town, these long friends of mine help me feel cozy without adding too much clothes on. I guess I fancy feeling my neck warm.

I want to share with you some really easy-to-do scarves to try this winter. When I say easy I actually mean ridiculously easy. Believe it. I'm a crochet beginner.

I got the inspiration for this scarf last year as I was glancing things at a store. I suddenly saw a beautiful, curly scarf, and thought to myself: "This should be very easy to do. Even for myself". So I tried to figure out how it was actually made. I'm not sure if it was very accurate, but I least I was able to translate it into a beautiful, curly scarf of my own.

I like it! Of course it helps that I love the colors (they even look like the colors on the blog!).

This is how it looks like on:

After realizing I was indeed able to crochet it, I felt like I wanted to make another one for my daughter. I liked red, since she can wear it for school.

I like how it looks like a red rose in bloom. I actually figured how to crochet the little hearts in the ends, to give it a fun twist for her.

Lovely, huh? ( AND it's also very easy)

I love wearing it myself.

Now I do have to apologize for not giving you any tutorials. As I said, I made these last year, when I hadn't met the bloggosphere. I didn't take pictures of the process either.

BUT, I promise I'll tell you how I made them. They're so easy I can remember and explain. Just give me time to sit and write it all down. It's a promise.

Casa Roja: The Red House

Hi friends! Hope you had a wonderful and relaxing weekend. Mine was a pretty busy one, but that's a good thing, for I have goodies to share with you!

I was invited Saturday morning to visit a house, and got the camera rolling. I like calling it Casa Roja, or The Red House (you'll see why in a moment). But before introducing her to you, let me show you where it is located.

Isn't it breathtaking?

This is El Cielo or Heaven, in other words. And it truly is heaven. It's located on top of a hill, next to a forest in Guadalajara's surrounding area. Dreamy, don't you think?

Ok, so off to Casa Roja. Casa Roja's lovely owners are into modern design. They had the wonderful opportunity to work hand in hand with the architect, choosing every detail and finishing touches. But without much further ado, meet The Red House:

You might be wondering where the name came from, but remember: it's not what's on the outside, but in the inside that counts:

This is the lovely and functional, red kitchen.

I know. It got me drooling all over. Notice how everything is organized and in place. Even the apples color coordinate.

The open dining / living room area, with red highlights on the wall and furniture.

Let me give you another look:

A closer look at the living room. Notice the fun details on the coffee table.

Upstairs, the looks are as exquisite. This is the master bedroom. The picture doesn't do justice for the wonderful view from the window.

This is the master bathroom. Please notice me concentrating to get the best shot.

I would so love to take a long bath here.

Actually, that's where I should have stayed all weekend long. In the bathtub. Nothing more.

So what do you think? What did you enjoy the most out of Casa Roja? Or should I say Heaven House?

Before I leave, I'm sharing exciting news. Centsational girl is having a Lisa Leonard jewelry giveaway! Giveaway ends Tuesday November 10th, so you'd better hurry! You tell the wonderful CG I said hi. In case you don't know her, I invite you to visit her blog. She's got great ideas and is just an amazing girl.