Favorite Apps

I am probably not the most technological savvy person so I have to chuckle to think I am recommending apps to you! However, I do have a few that I use and love. You may already be familiar with them, but if not, here they are:

Waterlogue This app takes any photo and turns it into a watercolor.

You also have the option to do your photo in black and whiteI took this photograph of my daughter, Elisabeth while she was walking in the rain this summer in the mountains.Here’s a Waterlogue image of our rental cabin in Pinetop, in the White Mountains of Arizona. I took the watercolor image and had note cards made which I use as thank you notes for our guests.My next favorite is 1 Second Everyday. I learned about this from Elisabeth, who had a school project using this app. This app allows you to record something for one second every day. So I decided to record the things that I love or those things that make me happy. It’s a video library and there are so many ways you can use it.

1 Second Everyday App

Here is the link to my 1 Second Everyday video.

Next, I have a love/hate relationship with this app. Lose It! app helps with monitoring all your food/nutritional intake plus their website is filled with workouts, recipes and guides to help you lose weight, eat a balanced diet, and get support throughout the process. A dear friend of mine recently lost 40 lbs. and attributes it to this app. We will definitely be using Lose It! after the holidays!

Lastly, my favorite one is Headspace. I have never been one who meditates, but I must say, that this app is really spectacular. The voice behind Headspace is Andy Puddicome and I honestly admit that I’m in love with this man’s voice. It is velvet, warm butter, a soft blanket all rolled into one. The minute I hear it, I instantly relax. As the New York Times says, “Andy Puddicombe is doing for meditation what Jamie Oliver has done for food”. The first 10 sessions are free and then if you are hooked, you can subscribe. I wish I did this more, but I must say that when I turn his voice on in my head, something wonderful kicks in…

Do you have a favorite app? Please share!

Save

Holiday Home Tour

Welcome to our first Holiday Home Tour at Bella Terra! This house was made for holiday decorations. Having a red front door already sets the Chrismas mood!

At the front entry, my husband put up the lighted trees that are situated on both side of the front door. This year’s wreath is a simple one and the plaid ribbon is used throughout the house. I added magnolia leaves and different greens for texture. Plaid ribbon from Costco.

I kept the entry classic with garland up the staircase, beveled fleur-de-lis mirrors on the steps, and I changed out the painting near the petticoat table with a Christmas themed one.

The “teddy bear” tree used to be upstairs outside the children’s bedrooms, however, I thought it would be fun to put it in the corner of the entry as it is scaled appropriately.

In the dining room, the deep mantle over the fireplace is the perfect place for our snow globe collection. Every year, each child gets a snow globe and an ornament until they turn 21. So if you do the math, my son is 21, my daughter is 19 and my youngest is 15. My husband keeps saying, “Enough with the snow globes!!!”. I only put out 20 of them this year but I love how magical they look with the lights under the snow.

The living room mantle is deep like the dining room, and I added garland, white lights, large balls and plaid ribbon. Here’s a “before the tree” picture.

The tree is a real evergreen and my back is still aching from putting on the numerous strings of lights. But the fresh tree smells so good!

When the children were 2 years old, we had a local artist, Virginia Cook, capture their childhood moments in an oil painting. Beneath the paintings, the stockings are hung by the chimney with care…..

For those of you who have been in my kitchen, it never looks this clean!!! Thanks to the magic of photography, all the piles are cropped out! Typically I decorate all the windows, but due to lack of time and energy, the decorations are limited to the pastry rack and around the stove.

Years ago, I decided to hang holiday art and take our regular paintings down during the holidays. Simple posters were framed and then each painted with brushstrokes of gel matte medium (found in an artist supply store) to look like original paintings. Here’s one with Santa cooking in the kitchen!

Between the dining room and kitchen, is the breakfast room. Nutcrackers we’ve collected from our travels are displayed here.

The most lived-in room at Bella Terra is the family room. Since our pets freely roam this room, I decorate with non-breakable holiday pillows and wreaths. For more on this room, see a previous post.

The back porch, with the outdoor heaters, is the place we entertain during the winter months. A vintage tablecloth adds color to the dining area.

The guest cottage gets a simple lighted wreath, as the cottage colors are already festive.

My husband hangs the wreath on the well tower each year. It, too, is lighted and has a festive glow at night. My dog, Cooper, who is huge, looks so diminutive in this picture…

I’m still learning so much about taking photos. Many thanks to professional photographer, Adam Peter , for taking most of the pictures above.

Thank you for visiting and I hope you enjoyed a bit of the holiday here at Bella Terra!

Save

Bring in the holidays!

I am in awe of the people who are able to have their holiday cards arrive the day after Thanksgiving. Seriously. This weekend, we tried to take our family photo for our card since all the children were home. Even though I set up the tripod and the day was overcast, you would think that ONE photo would have come out perfectly….but nooooooooooo. My youngest daughter, Elisabeth kept flying in front of the camera so I have lots of these shots (which I secretly love 🙂 And the dogs would come and go so I have numerous pictures of half a tail, part of a head…

elisabethxmas

You would think that trying to get 5 people to look at the camera, not move, have good posture, keep eyes open, not use the “V” sign over someone’s head, without belly laughing, would be easy….I have a new respect for professional photographers. Also, why do I look so much older in these photos than I feel??? Arggggg.

Since I haven’t even LOOKED at card styles yet, I am truly impressed with those organized souls that pop their cards in the mail the day before Thanksgiving. My hat’s off to you!

Speaking of Thanksgiving, I believe it was the first year that all the food came out of the oven at the same time and arrived at the table hot and delicious. Here is our turkey before it went into the oven.

turkeywbacon

Now it’s off to Christmas holiday decorating. I know there are many ways to celebrate the season. It is a magical time, but it can also be hectic and stressful. So whatever you celebrate, or even if you don’t celebrate, please make extra time to enjoy your fellow man. If we were all a little kinder to each other, our world would be a better place. Don’t you agree?

So, I started the Christmas decorating. It’s fun to pull out items that you haven’t seen for a year and for some reason I am always surprised at what I find. My collection of holiday pillows create an instant seasonal look to the family room, as well as the wreaths that are hung on the interior of each of the windows. My husband placed a grommet in the ribbon and put small cup hooks on each window frame, so hanging the wreaths is a breeze.

wreathribbon

wreathfr

Since the family room is also home to the pets (2 dogs and 2 cats), the holiday decorating is a bit limited-nothing breakable. So with wreaths on all the windows, numerous holiday pillows on the sofa (purchased from Pottery Barn), and a few pieces of Christmas art, I consider this room decorated.

pillowsfr

sofafr

The vintage picture below was a gift from my dear friend, Janie. She is the expert at giving unique and thoughtful gifts. Actually, this is the “Janie corner” because in the background hanging on the wall, are two rooster oil paintings, also done by her….How lucky am I to have such a talented friend!

glittersanta

One room down and many more to go. It takes a good week to decorate Bella Terra, some years I do more than others. If I am organized, I hope to have a holiday home tour for you before too long.

Here’s my very first winter painting! I donated it to a charitable event back in Connecticut. Fortunately, someone liked it and bought it.

I’m off to find holiday cards and at least one decent photo of our brood! Happy Monday!

Save