My Word For 2016

I"m sitting here in my living room reflecting over the past year and counting down the hours till the New Year. I finally arrived to my Word for 2016 ..... Transcend! May 2016 bring about resurgence out of the chrysalis with fresh wings ready for flight.

Photo Credit : Full Christmas Moon 2015  by Holly 

Christmas Was....

Well hello Monday I am thoroughly exhausted, I think after this post it's nap time. So Christmas was...

Christmas Eve:  My Abuela's  house and then on to my Mother in laws

Christmas Day: Our house in the morning then off to my Dad's

Christmas Day After: My house with my Mom

Sunday: In bed watching movies most of the day

I hope your holidays were Merry & Bright!

From The Land of Sweets

" I thought maybe

 we could make gingerbread houses

 and eat cookie dough...." 

~ ELF ~

~ MERRY CHRISTMAS EVE ~

 From All of Us at Casa Sol Y Luna

Solstice Salutations

Another turn of the wheel has brought us to light overcoming the dark. The rain did not permit us to celebrate outside with a fire, but we did stay cozy inside with music and laughter. Earlier in the week I made Solstice crafts Yule love.....pardon the pun. I know that everyone celebrates different wintertime holidays and I wish you all many blessings of love and light in your sacred ceremonies. I appreciate each and everyone of you in our blogging community and may this New Year bring about our wildest dreams. May it be a "Sweet 16 "indeed.

So onto those earthy goodies to celebrate the Solstice.

~ Pine Smudge Sticks ~

~ Citrus Pomander ~

And the countdown to Christmas continues 3-2-1 it's almost here!

Spicing Up Christmas

I love drying out remnant's of my teas in the kitchen's mini bay window. Cuttings and petals from the outdoors are often added to dry out. It looks like an open apothecary and smells lovely when I wash the dishes. Having a Christmas tree and access to pine put my ingredients to a holiday use. I combined an equal ratio of all dried goods in mason jars. there is no secret quantity or formula to potpourri, use what you have and scents that please you. Just boil low on the stove in a pot of water and enjoy the smell of a Christmas home.

Christmas Tree - O Christmas Tree

 We finally have the tree decorated, all shopping done, and gifts for family wrapped and under the tree. Now it's also officially two weeks of Winter vacation with the kids.........oh what to do? This weeks weather forecast for my neck of the valley is rain all week, which is really great for the drought in California but not so much for doing activities outside. Tuesday is Winter Solstice and I may have to fore go an outdoor fire gathering. I have crafted a few Solstice/Yule/Christmas goodies I will share tomorrow. Chico's ready for this holiday week are you?

Corner View ~ Traditions

One of the Christmas traditions that I carry on from my childhood is  gifting my children a new ornament every year. When they grow up and leave the nest they will have ornaments to decorate their own tree. This makes me sad to know one day the ornaments that adorned the tree all these Christmas's will not be on the tree and the children will be on their own. but such is life.

 

I upgraded these Dollar Store stars with initials made of wire and beads. These are for my nieces and nephews, I have many of them I just photographed a few ornaments. Children will grow out of clothes and toys but hopefully these keepsakes will bring joy each year as they are pulled out to put on the tree.

 A close up of the initial and bead work. I was drawn to the metallic hues and ornate cutouts, they jingle nicely too.

Here are our ornaments ready for the tree, which we still haven't gotten around to decorating yet. The peace sign was fun and easy to make out of wire craft branches. There are so many traditions and yet so little time at the moment that I shared with you a small one. What are some of your traditions?

BOHO Holiday Decor

 This year I went for a real simple and budget friendly decor for my holiday home. Most of my decorations and such were purchased at the Dollar Store & Goodwill. I hope you enjoy our little bit of Christmas at Casa Sol y Luna.

These stockings are new this year. Unfortunately mice had gotten into our storage and lived in the stocking box. I picked up these burlap ones at the Dollar Store and the sparkly initials for 96 cents at Walmart. Chico (my dogson) was upset he did not have one so I must craft him a "C" when I get a chance.

I'm a sucker for pillows and material. When I saw these it screamed BOHO flare to me so this was my main base for decor and color theme. The green sturdy sheer material was actually an Indian Sari that provided me with yards of fabric.

My existing pillows got an upgrade. A long piece of material was wrapped Furoshiki style to create the green pillow. I wrapped a few presents this way too with scarfs, a double gift! A cute ribbon accent for a pillow I made out of a grey lace dress.

My Christmas tree skirt is also the same sari material. This V.W. bus is an early gift from my husband, I got the little red bug also (not pictured). Micheal's Craft Store has deep holiday discounts up to 70% right now just check the website for discount items and days, usually a pricey store but we got this tree for $2.99.

 The floral is left over from fall decor around the house. Baubles and reindeer from the Dollar Store. The reindeer's choker is embellishment from the sari. Sprigs from the Christmas tree were placed on shelves and jars along side scented pine cones.

 And here is our lovely Christmas tree, still haven't gotten around to decorating yet but I find beauty in it's simplicity without the ornaments which is the last element to complete the holiday magic. I hope you all have a wonderful weekend. Take time to enjoy the small wonders in these hectic holidays weeks.

Up The Hill We Go

It's Christmas Tree time! Taking a trip up to Apple Hill, Camino, C.A. to cut down a tree was the order of the day. and as the saying goes the best laid plans don't always go that way. Randomness ensued that day.

 If you spy the "Forest Hill Bridge" on your way to Apple Hill you then realize you were supposed to

 take interstate 50 not 80 from Sacramento. Little bit of California Gold for ya this is the tallest bridge in California. So we took the scenic route.

 Coloma had a cute historic town with an awesome camping resort filled with cabins and tepees. Past this was also the Marshall Gold Discovery State Park. and if we were not already on mission to another destination we would of got out and explored.

 What a long scenic drive but we finally made it!  High Hill Ranch  #1 was where we spent most of our day. We perused the arts and crafts booths, photo oped with props. Pony rides were near the beautiful pond were you can fish if you wish. Dogs are allowed at this ranch, but we left Chico at home. After enjoying the scenery it was time to get warmed up and have treats. 

 Woodsong Herbs intoxicating aromas invite you to take a look at all they have to offer. The lavender sachets pulled me in. I purchased a few goods here that will be at the end of the post. I'm a small business supporter today, and it feels great.

 Besides being works of art these soaps smelled so good, we took a while sniffing most of them. I got excited with these booths and am inspired to do my own homespun goods. The atmosphere and down to earth vibe has me wanting to move to Placerville.

 After pleasing our sense of smell it was time to taste! The Fudge Factory Farm # 40 was the next stop. We had hot chocolate and a treat in mind. So many choices. I love the fact that my son photobombed us.

 Fudge is the name of the game here. It was pretty busy so we had to look and move along unless we were ordering. The staff was friendly, shout out to the young man that assisted me, you rock kid! We walked out with hot coco's, chocolate milk, and this caramel apple. Next order of business was to cut down a Christmas tree as promised. And that turned into a dilemma.

 

 I spotted this bug on the walk up to the Christmas Tree farm and had to shoot it. This was just too perfect for my hippie heart. Once we walked further we realized a big Closed sign. This being Apple Hill with many tree farms I was disappointed that all but three were still open for the season. And at a start off rate of 76.00 dollars for a tree forget about it! Our day at Apple Hill ended and back down the Hill we went.

 At the end of the day we ended up getting a tree. Foodmaxx grocery store had the perfect tree sitting right in front when we pulled up. A 6-7 foot Noble Fir for $38.00 score! Our tree smells so good. Time to pull out the lights and ornaments.

Here's the gifts we purchased for our home from our trip. this adventure was a little crazy but was well worth the day spent out in nature with the family. I hope family togetherness is part of your upcoming week. The closer it gets to Christmas the more hectic it gets at Casa Sol Y Luna ( well for me that is).

BOHO Holidays in Red

Tis the season to be Holly and that means decking the halls and furniture in Christmas hues. Check out these beauties I found at the Goodwill $4.00 total! I plan to cover my already existing pillows in a green Sari material also from the Goodwill. When decor is complete I will do a post tour of Casa Sol y Luna Holiday Edition.

Happy BOHO  Holidays !

December Reflections 1.2.3.

{D1} SPARKLE

I love these sparkly reindeer I got from the Dollar Store. Keep an eye out for my Dollar Store Holiday Decor post coming soon.

{D2} HOT DRINK

When the weathers agreeable I like to take a noon tea break and meditation outside.In my cup homemade ginger and cinnamon tea.

 {D3} BEST DAY OF 2015

Any day that I escape to the beautiful beaches in the West Coast is a bliss day. View from China Beach, San Francisco, California.

December Reflections 2015