Kitty Deschanel | Food, Wine, and Travel Adventures in an Airstream Basecamp

We've come a long way from the barren, post-construction wasteland of dirt we had a few years ago. Actually, it was even worse than it sounds. Dirt had to be hauled in and it was full of thorny weeds that spread everywhere. We've (okay, just my husband and his tractor) worked hard and our yard looks better than it ever has. Sexy Nerd is a landscaping pro! You know, in addition to being a beer brewer, Corvette restorer, woodworker, grill master, mechanical engineer, and installer of tile, wallpaper murals , and little cuts of wood that I insist he glue to our ceiling (photo below). I think I'll keep him around. Our Sandia Park, NM garden improves every year. I can't wait to see what everything looks like in 2023! Surprisingly, our plants have only had a minor impact on our water usage. Through supplementation with rain barrels, choosing native and drought-tolerant plants, and by locating plants so that they are out of the sun during the hottest parts of the day, our wate...

Here are more design ideas from the Summit County Parade of Homes . Enjoy! 1. Windows that go all the way down to the countertop (or countertops/desks/tables that come all the way up to the bottom of the window) look amazing. Stretching the window wall to wall is even better. Update: When building our dream home in the NM mountains, our builder explained that this does cost a bit more, as it requires very specific framing to make sure everything lines up perfectly. 2. Frame square cubbies right into the drywall for a modern bookcase. When we build our dream home next year, I'd like to do something similar but with wood on the bottom of each shelf. Or stone. Or maybe a bright, fun color painted onto the back of each cubby - a different one in each square.  Our poor builder doesn't know what he's gotten himself into. 3. For maximum impact, you need many, MANY pendant lights. 4. Have a little nook/hallway? Don't just leave it plain and boring. A lit...

10 Most Popular Home Posts  If you only read 10 interior design posts on my site, make it these: 1.  Stucco, Tile, and Maybe a Roof. Oh, and a Tractor! 2. Luxury Home Tour in Santa Fe, NM 3. Party Ideas from Your Antisocial Hostess With the Mostest 4. Kitchen and Dining Room Remodel - Before & After 5. 3 Bathroom Styles, 1 House 6. 6 Ways to Get Luxury Lighting on a Budget 7. Our $5,000 Master Bathroom Remodel 8. The Great Wallpaper Mural (In)Decision 9. 15 Decorating Ideas from the Summit County Parade of Homes 10.  Hilariously Bad Real Estate Photos - What NOT To Do When Selling Your House Decorating Ideas From Our New Home We love living in the New Mexico mountains. 1. White Kitchen with Brick Backsplash 2. Fun Powder Room in Spring 3. Rustic Holiday Decor 4. Kitchen with White Cabinets and Red Brick 5. Hallway Bathroom Reveal - Reclaimed Alligator Juniper Vanity 6. Overbudget? LOL 7. 3 Bathroom Styles, 1 House  (Rustic, ...

Sexy Nerd is building us a new kitchen island. Boring! Have I mentioned it's also a beautiful air hockey table? If I can think it up, he can build it. We're a good team. Especially because I hate to get my hands dirty or do any sort of physical labor. My grandma says I've always been a pampered pup. Thank goodness for my Sexy Nerd! Unique Kitchen Island: Air Hockey Table Does it look like real walnut? He is VERY patient - this project requires 2,120 tiny, perfectly spaced holes. Each hole for the air hockey table really is teensie. To me, they look like they might be too small, so of course I asked Sexy Nerd, What if the holes are too small? "I'll go back and redrill each of them a little bigger." VERY patient indeed. Hang in there, Sexy Nerd. Only 2,090 of these too-small holes to go!

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays, bloggy friends! We spent Christmas with my parents this year, drinking Costco eggnog (delicious) and playing Mexican Train Dominoes. We didn't even bother to decorate our house, lazy folks that we are. Actually, I did put out a holiday hand towel. Does that count? (Totally counts.) Christmas (2020)  It's unusual for SN and I to spend a New Mexico Christmas at home, all alone. As much as I'd like to say we made the most of it, celebrating another COVID holiday with just the two of us seemed a bit...old?  Repetitive? Pointless? We had our tinsel in a tangle. At first, it seemed like Christmas was just going to be like any other day. Another boring quarantine breakfast followed by another boring quarantine lunch. But then... We were visited by Santa's reindeer! What do you mean that's just a normal deer outside our window? It's clearly Blitzen. Tiny tots with their eyes all aglow,  Olive and Bernadette were consumed by holiday m...