Cast of Characters

Welcome back! I thought it might be helpful if I introduce the key players in this little production.

We’re a pretty new, blended family. My husband, eldani, and I married in 2011. Eldani stepped into the father role for the man-child, Zac. We count two cats, Smokey and Red, and one senior dog, Trey, as part of the immediate family.

I’m the design lover. These others are just lucky (or unlucky) enough to be caught up in my madness. I’m finally embracing the fact that design must be a part of my life in a major way, and I’m grateful that these guys are willing to go along for the ride.

Eldani is originally from Argentina, and he influenced the name of this space. Hermosa means beautiful, and a beautiful home is exactly what everyone deserves — and what I strive to provide for my family. It’s also my desire to help others create the same for themselves.

While Eldani worked in construction for quite a few years, his passion has always been engineering. (I’ve always been envious of people who intrinsically know what they’re meant to do.) While he will complete a lot of work on our fixer upper, it’s not what he prefers to do. But it’s a very cost-effective option for us.

Zac is a witty, handsome (yes, I’m biased) 19-year-old man-child. I know he won’t appreciate being included here, so he won’t be mentioned often.

And that leaves the comic relief — Smokey, Red and poor Trey (comic relief by default). Cats are so funny to me. Leave me alone; pay attention to me — all at once. You’ll hear a lot about these three.

At any rate, our family has experienced some growing pains. But becoming a family has actually been pretty easy. There were definitely some bumps along the way, and there will be more undoubtedly. We wouldn’t have it any other way.