My Mediterranean (Courtyard) Makeover
DIY, house and home, humor

My Mediterranean (Courtyard )Makeover

My Mediterranean (Courtyard) Makeover! I know what you’re thinking. This has zero to do with writing, acting, or new music. And… you’d be correct.

My Mediterranean (Courtyard) Makeover

It’s that time of year again where I shift my attention from that show business thing to some real life things. Enter,  home and garden, and a bit o’ that house-wifery lifestyle. Writers, and artists alike, from time to time, there comes a moment where you need to get out and live life. Whatever that means for you… find it, and do it. For me, it’s been reconnecting with that inner creative from your childhood, making things, creating things that really no one else would see.

As an adult, maybe this includes a failed loaf of bread, or a bad set of shelves made from cardboard, you know, something that had a lot of vision but execution was questionable. For me, that’s a peek into my  homemaking-thuglife.

Ha. Omgosh. *slaps forehead

While I have been constantly filling my cup with  filming and collecting b-roll like a maniac for quite a many months, (holy crap! Maybe two years worth at this point! Oyvey!) …getting situated to edit, organize, blog, pod’, and publish is very tasking, and ohhhh… so time consuming. 

And I tend to talk myself out of it…

Often.

<3 my work but take timely breaks!
<3 my work but take timely breaks!

It’s not that i don’t LOVE my time-honored crafts –    please don’t drag out the soap box – my cherished routines of the feathered penmanship – Oh Geez – the deep, inner thoughts I dare to dream – Nope. – the library’s pages dost thouThat’s it. – a ladder’s step up to a book’s dreamy lyrical hop scotch – What. Does. That… Even. Mean. Stop it.

Okay. Cheerio. The British accent too

*Sighs. 

Today, it was time to fill my cup in another way. My Mediterranean (Courtyard) Makeover! What’s with the cup references?

Hush. I’m trying to be poetic. Well, knock it off and get to the point.

Geez, your pushy this post. *shakes head

Today, I take to my creative unruliness within my bones and while pacing my boring – it is boring – truly boring – gosh, it truly is so boring – boring entryway. It was time to freshen up that space! I’ve been wanting to do something with this area for so long and so much so that last year prior, I began it’s journey from blah to Ah!

Ay there. Don’t forget to mention how boring it was.

First, with that old lady grocery cart. That is the most embarrassing utility cart ever to be put into production; but, ever so useful! It can carry a truckload of groceries from trunk to countertop in one trip and for that… I’ll gladly be coined a retired old maid; if need be! While the rest of you take fifty trips’ on those hauls, I’ll do just the one. Funk you berry much! *curtsy, and a wave

What was that? What. That? That what?

That “funk” thing. Oh! That! Yes, yes… I’ve been working on my vernacular to exclude words of the curse-related and swearing-kind. Ah. Gotcha. Okay then.. whatever, carry on.

Adieu!

The most fun for me during this courtyard makeover had to be hand painting a Greek-inspired textile rug. Is it technically a “textile” rug; since it was painted? Wait. What is a textile? It’s the pattern?

textiles are the material? Or the pattern?

No. It’s the material, I think.

My gosh, does it matter?

I think it matters. People who know what that word actually means; it will definitely matter. Ugh. Just move on from the textile thing. Yes, grand idea. 

 So, moving on without figuring out exactly what textiles are – material? pattern? don’t know – I already knew I didn’t want to spend another dime on buying rugs that just keep getting ruined. (I have Bruno, and the hubby. Between the two, fuhget about it. Dirt. Hair. Textiles. Pick your battles.) Plus, I just love how the Greek Isles harbor so much white and bright Cerulean Blue hues within their landscape.

My Mediterranean (Courtyard) Makeover

Hold on. You know what Cerulean Blue looks like… but still a no, on textile.

Adding a few touches, like whitewashed pots, raised, in multiple sizes placed strategically on/around the floor, the trellis accents on the walls with faux flower boxes to mimic that Mediterranean sidewalk and a few chairs and customized bench accented with those bold blue shades to present tied with a bow. It all came together – while an eternity passed – just one piece at a time. And I wouldn’t have changed the pace nor time it took to do so.

Oh! You know what I’d like to add to My Mediterranean (Courtyard) Makeover? Some bougainvillea. I LOVE those low maintenance, drought-resistant, pretty plants! I’m getting ahead of myself – again. Maybe next go round. *shrugs

Watch the quick transformation for My Mediterranean (Courtyard) Makeover Reel here:

This was just a precious diy project and now it is a lovely space for laughing, enjoy cafes, reading or just an eye-pleasing walk through as guests come to visit our home.

At some point, I have a sneaking suspicion I may throw a little more white paint around and add a few white columns around the space. But, for now, I’ll enjoy what I’ve done thus far; as its so pleasing now to enjoy my reading out on that courtyard patio with an iced, anything.

And, that is right where I want to be!

Enjoy the long form of My Mediterranean (Courtyard) Makeover video transformation here!

healthy and beauty, humor

Hair-tox at the Henna Disco

get bumpin' at the hair-tox in the henna disco

Get out those gloves and shower caps, we’re gonna hair-tox at the henna disco, baby!

The (not-so-new) trend of detoxing your hair, moving out of the mainstream, popular (hair color) crowd and opting into clean, chemical-free real ingredients feels more like your joining an underground conspiracy group rallying to rise up!

organic ingredients protest *wink

*Over organic and natural ingredients… ?

Umm… yes, you heard me. Can you, like… rise up now or something?

*oh geez

*chanting in my head* What do we want? Clean products! When do we want them? Right now!

*alright, enough with the shenanigans

Fine.

So, this summer…

I got serious.

About toxic chemicals… in my beauty routines.

This includes my makeup, skincare, and hair care regimens.

I pride myself on healthy eating, and healthy living. And while I’m stretching myself thin over all these topics – switching out toxicity for the untouched by man variety – you definitely do not have to go all in like me.

I’ve been wayfaring to garden, grow my own organic food, bake my own breads from freshly ground organic wheat berries, exchange harmful cleaning products (*tooting horn)and therefore it wouldn’t be too mind-blowing to think I’d expand this way of back to earth lifestyle to what I’m putting on my skin, hair and face.

*Wow. A lot has changed since you left Los Angeles!

Yup.

The Aha! Moment

While going through this hair detox, I realized something about today’s culture.

A lot of crying about *fill in the blank*, screeching about it, doing nothing about it, or throwing money to faux causes so a soap box speech of posturing can ensue; all while promoting “too big to fail” beauty conglomerates who are literally poisoning us with their synthetic/toxic which often times directly effects our life expectancy, fertility, neurological degeneracy, skin disorders, and the list goes on… it just seemed all too, hmmm, oxymoronic. Or planned…

Ahhh… a cauldron of stupidity. The products are making our hair fall out but here’s another product that’s going to fix it. You can trust us. Now pay up, sucker. *insert eye roll here.

*ooohh, like the firemen who turn out to be arsonists theory

Exactly. We’re paying our good hard earned money on items that are making us sick. Their claims do the opposite of what they promise. Let’s stop getting whamboozled. Oh, and btw, it’s all by design folks. #peopleoverprofits

Don’t worry… I’m putting the soap box away now. *wink

Mostly, bc I need to use it as a step stool to grab the olive oil out of my cabinet.

*shorty

Yup.

The weird ingredients…

sounds about right

It’s in our food, its in the things we put in our bodies, on our bodies and it directly linked to created-in-lab health problems with which we are told to take Big Pharm’s death doses of whatchacalits to fix. Errr… what they broke in the first place.

*pssst. I thought you situated that soap box.

When did we stop reading labels? When did we stop holding companies accountable? Why did we start just believing everything we see & hear without questioning – uh, literally anything – doing our own independent research and trusting the facts we uncover as the basis point? Reconciling facts with the advertisements claims, repetitively (often authoritatively) shoved down our throats. Advertisements are calculated to persuade and manipulate.

Let’s get out of the fray. Turn it all off. Get a glow up by jumping into the party with a Hair-tox at the Henna Disco!

Advertising…

Advertising as a whole is designed to be deceptive. Don’t forget this. The sole purpose of advertising is to manipulate you to buy whatever it is they’re selling. Essentially, to trick you into parting with your wallet and purchase products that are not necessarily good, affordable, or needed. They can push that something’s natural when sadly – they mostly usually are not.

Packaging is also manipulated. If they are not required by law to tell you everything on the packaging, why would they?

*What’s that now

True story.

They deliberately leave out items on labels. They minimize how poisonous ingredients can be by sub-labeling into a category – for example – like inactive ingredients. I’m willing to bet that’s the first time you have heard that one. I implore you to investigate. It’s all a racket. Profits over people.

Still aren’t convinced? Ponder this. Why then, in other countries, are many products that are sold here in the United States also banned in those countries? I recommend giving the documentary Not So Pretty on HBO Max a watch. It’s a three part doc and worth a watch. Maybe it’ll inspire you to cruise down the rabbit hole like it did me. *wink

I digress…

The Hair Detox

So, here we are four months after detoxing my hair. I’m now braving henna color.

But to begin, let’s get in the not-so-way-back machine where I started this hair-tox transition to the henna disco. First, by tossing out all the mainstream products I owned to wash, condition, style, etc. my hair that included any toxic or chemically produced junk.

This was a tough and aggressive move!

So, like The Minimal Mom says, if you can’t make a commitment out the gate, create a “Time Will Tell” bin and tuck it away. This way, you didn’t completely toss anything out and if you have remorse and decide you can’t – in this instance – go sans chemical products… your decision isn’t so fatalistic.

But, I’m a do-or-die kinda girl, an all-in-or-forget-it kinda gal, an all-or-nuthin kinda broad, so my old products saw to their fatal demise.

Oh gotcha, you washed your hair with dirt.

Oh, haha. No.

GOALS: From shampoo to No-Poo

Emric’s Natural Herbal Tea Tree Shampoo. No conditioner during this phase. The first couple weeks, I had mad tingling on my scalp like it was healing my noggin! My hair texture went cray frizzy and matted from the roots to about two inches out. It was like I could literally see the chemicals coming out of my hair! Sure, I had a hilarious new look going on for a hot minute… but, eh, I had fun with it!

After a couple months, it was time to color my locks. I found a henna product from The Henna Guys. (Use my referral code: RITAS10C10)The application was fairly simple and similar to other home color kits. The mixture takes more time to setup, once applied to the hair the blend takes a few hours to develop onto the follicles.But overall, I have been happy with it!

Yes! Let’s dance!

And while I was at it, I decided to give myself a mini spa day. I gave me a mani-pedi, handled some wax business, put in a little tidy time into my surroundings and before I knew it… that three hour timer went off!

I have a ways to go yet before I get to that no-poo shampoo stage. But, as my hair’s been thicker, cleaner, and getting healthier… I’ll keep you posted!

In the meantime. Give your heels a dusting and boogie on over to the hair-tox at the henna disco! Everyone is welcome!

For more on my journey to non-toxicity check out the video here or on Rumble.

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gardening gnome newbie spring summer series returns rita slanina
house and home, How To, humor, self-help

Gnome Gardening Newbie Returns

The gnome gardening newbie returns to the scene of the garden for yet another go! THE GARDENING GNOME NEWBIE DITL DECLUTTER REFRESH

GARDENING GNOME NEWBIE DITL DECLUTTER REFRESH

We’re back for another season of the SPRING SUMMER SERIES FOR 2022! Okay, I’m not a gnome, but I sure as heck feel like one as I roll around in the soil, plucking, planting, kicking up my heels in the dirt! It’s declutter, refresh time and It’s my second year to plan the dirt kicking, plant the seeds and somehow I don’t feel like I’m getting much better at this squash sitting thing. I digress. Let’s DITL!

BRUNO

Bruno the puppy has more gnome-like qualities though as he goobers mischief as soon as my back is turned! So, with high humidity, soon-to-be lazy days ahead this fine Summer, and loads of videos and television watching in my future, I thought it was time to hit ya with the first installment of how my garden started this year, how I prepped and planned it!  So… let’s…..

GET SEEDS & GET GROWING!

A FEW LESSONS LEARNED IN R2

Ah… the monsoons are back, and the garden is a’growin’!

  • ITS NEVER TOO LATE! If you haven’t gotten your seeds for your garden and aren’t getting it growing; you are NOT missing out! But, don’t continue to sleep on it, y’all! There is still plenty of time to get outside and throw down some seeds! I was binging some vids the past couple days on what seeds to put out in your garden in July for you slackers that will produce a harvest that you can still rave about to your friends as though your a gardening savant!

CORN, RADISHES, BEETS, BEANS, CAULIFLOWER, SQUASH

  • FIND YOUR ZONE! I find it’s best to check the farmer’s almanac to find out what ZONE you are in first to make sure but the veggies mentioned above should fare well regardless. I’m in zone 8a, which means, I get humid heat & snow in the winter. But I also average a 200 day growing season… what luck!! Woo! However, what works in fall/winter does NOT necessarily work in spring/summer. But it’s fun to just try and see how it goes. That’s literally half the fun of gardening.
  • DON’T TAKE GARDENING TOO SERIOUSLY! It WILL drive you nuts. Just enjoy the journey. For real. Some plants will make it and some won’t. That was probably my biggest hurdle last year. I was so frustrated but this year, I realized, it’s a learning process and until you toss down the seeds and see what happens… just for the fun of seeing what happens… that’s when you will get it.
  • BUY SEEDS FROM YOUR LOCAL FARMGIRL, HOMESTEADER, FARMER’S MARKET. Another lesson I learned from last year is that all the seeds bought commercially are pretty much one size fits all. They come from the same place, no matter where you have bought them. While – in theory – this sounds fantastic, it’s not always practical in application. Sure, you’ll harvest something but when I started buying from the farm girl in my town who literally has been doing this her whole life, my gardening took off! For roses, I did buy from Jacksons & Perkins, and they have fared quite well. My grapevines from Gurney’s, were a 50/50, one made it/one didn’t. I purchased some seeds from Lowe’s online and some are doing great and others were buttkiss.

The upswing in homesteading, growing one’s own food, or learning how to just rock a great herb container in the windowsill has skyrocketed in all our homes. A lot of peeps are now thinking – Holy Poo! – what if this no-grocery store thing – goes down again? How will we eat? An economic collapse bc of a tyrannical government is feeling less conspiracy and more probable these days! How do we handle it if something this cray cray goes down?

*uh oh.. impending tangent ahead?

No lol ..but my interest in this topic is deep.

Circling back… *wink

oh thank goodness.

Early Fall Season Deals! Save up to $30◊ off our Fees on Flights Use Coupon EFALL30.

PLAN. PLANT. DECLUTTER. REFRESH.

broccoli leaves gardening rita slanina GARDENING GNOME NEWBIE DITL DECLUTTER REFRESH
Broccoli leaves are just as tasty & useful as the florets themselves!

This is my second year gardening and believe me, when I say, I used to believe I could keep a plant alive to save my life  and now I am harvesting my own greens for salads everyday… it’s awesome to know that anyone can learn to do this! ANYONE!

So… show us!

Geesh , so impatient. Check out the fun on my DITL on how I got organized this year, what I planted and my blunders! THE GARDENING GNOME NEWBIE DITL DECLUTTER REFRESH! Hopefully this full 20 minute video on Rumble will inspire you but if you’re short on time cruise down to the shortened version!

FULL 20 MINUTE VIDEO ON RUMBLE BELOW

OR CHECK OUT SHORT VIDEO ON YOUTUBE HERE:

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