Conquista Agraria

In the past three weeks, we drove out to a little village named Conquista Agraria twice to look at a house that was for sale. The first time, we just drove out to see how long the drive would be, and we were shocked to see horses running free! Larry found a coconut, and I took a picture of the cute landmark sign.

The second time, we met with the gracious homeowners, who showed us around and even took us for a drive to the beach. It’s such a quiet and gorgeous area, but ultimately, it’s just not the right time for us to sell our house and buy another.

Primary Bedroom Makeover

We finally painted our bedroom...well, Larry did! We have lived here for over three years, and I just couldn't make up my mind about how I wanted to paint and decorate. For the longest time, I was convinced I wanted beachy blues. Then I asked ChatGPT for some ideas. I uploaded a photo of our room and the palm tree print I liked. It suggested the wall color and even helped me choose the beige bedspread. It did not suggest the pink sheets, though. That was all me! Ha ha ha!

Before we could paint, we had some cracks in the bedroom repaired. We had been putting that off, but it ended up being a simple one-day job covered under warranty. After that, we spent a few weeks gathering paint, supplies, and decor pieces. Larry did all the hard work by taking the TV off the wall, removing the mirrors, and moving furniture. He even worked around the bed, which turned out to be a bit of a challenge. Once the painting was finished, everything had to go back up. He remounted the TV and even hid the modem behind it, so there are no visible wires. It all turned out beautifully. I absolutely love the soft green walls (Comex Mundi M4-01) paired with the off-white ceiling (Comex Blanco Ostion).

Before

After

Kati's July Crafts

I finished another diamond art piece! I started it back in June and worked on it a little at a time, finally finishing it on July 23rd.  I love how it turned out. The bright colors make me smile!

The only other crafty project I kept up with was my scrap journal.  Admittedly, it is getting harder to find new "scraps" as we buy a lot of the same products each month.  Next month should be a bit easier since I'm travelling to Oregon.

Pool Daze

 Just hanging out at a friends pool yesterday...

Kati's June Crafts

 I attended a craft day with Sandra, Marita, and Rosa, but I didn't make anything.  Everything I attempted to make didn't work out.  Ha ha ha!  It was a hilarious disaster, but a fun afternoon visiting and laughing at my failures. 

I did make some Minnie Mouse wrapping paper for Sandra's Birthday gift.  It wasn't perfect, but still turned out pretty darn cute.

I kept up with my scrap journal which is getting harder.  We use a lot of the same products, so it's difficult finding new scraps to use.  I have been finding a few L. A. or L. A. R. intial scraps for Larry so I used one of those.

Sandra's Birthday

Last night we met up with friends at Costa Hermosa to celebrate Sandra's Birthday.  Jeff, Marita, Marc, Rosa, Larry, and myself got there a little before Todd and Sandra.  It was supposed to be a surprise, but wasn't.  Ha ha ha!  Sandra got a pinata, cake, and some champagne.  We had a lovely dinner with great friends.

 

Pool Party

 Yesterday, we went to Trent and Jo's house for a pool party.  We had a great time and were introduced to Sambuca, a liquor that is blue and tastes like black licorice.  We had pulled pork sandwiches, all sorts of salads, and fruit.  I made pool party Jell-O shots (gummy bears in their pool floaties) for the party too.  We had a fun time, floating the day away!  

Kati's May Crafts

 I had a craft day with Joy and Marita!  We painted wine glasses that turned out pretty cute!  I opted for a floral pattern on one and a sun/heart/dot pattern on the other.

Sandra invited me over for a separate craft day (Marita was there too) where we used balloons to paint canvases.  We put blobs of paint on our canvas and then used the blown up ballon to dot the paint around.  It creates a cool pattern.  I painted a few pieces of cardstock and two canvases.  I added cacti to one of my paintings which was the maximum extent of my painting abilities.  Ha ha ha!

Then Joy, Marita, and I had another craft day where we painted wine bottles and glasses.  I painted a sunset scene on my wine bottle with a small sand dollar detail.  I dotted paint on my wine glass to create flowers.

I also created a dot painting of hanging grapes at Sandra's house with Marita and Rosa.  It's hard to see in pictures, but I painted glitter all over the grapes and vines.  This helped give it some dimension and character.

I saw a cute card on Etsy and decided that I could re-create it!  So I did!  I placed my thumb in olive green paint and placed it on the paper to make olives.  Then I added in the red pits, drew the faces, drew the appendages, wrote 'olive juice', and added some hearts for good measure.  I gave this card to Larry for our anniversary.  

Lastly, I kept up with my scrap journal!  I placed a heart for May 23rd since that is our anniversary.

Our 17th Anniversary

 Last night we had reservations at Azotea for 6:30 p.m., but we left early and went to Harker for drinks and totopos with guacamole, salsa, and pico de gallo.  We walked from Harker to Azotea which wasn't far at all.  Azotea was gorgeous!  We took several pictures, had drinks, and exchanged cards.  We shared a pear/beet salad with feta and a crab cake as an appetizer.  Larry had a creamy rice with shrimp dish as his main course and I had a creamy pasta with mushrooms and bits of roasted steak.  It was delicious!  We both had cheesecake for dessert and they brought out flutes of champagne as an anniversary gift.