Why are there so many songs about rainbows...

... and what's on the other side?

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Probably because they are so beautiful! I've written about the rainbows that dance around our cottage before, but I couldn't help grabbing my camera and capturing them once again to share with you.

The living room prisms throw rainbows...

... in the entryway...

... and on the bird lamp. Both the base...

and the shade.

They also dance down the hallway walls.

The dining room prisms make rainbows dance...

... across the tile backsplash, the white cabinets...

...and the paper towels in the kitchen.

Rainbows decorate the ceiling...

...and the divider windows (right in front of the old cutting board behind the swan above the family room slider).

Rainbows provide a bit of much needed color by the white-on-white-on-white cat/beadboard/recycling center.

And finally, the prisms that hang in front of our family room slider....

...decorate Patience's lampshade hat...

...and the wall behind her....

...while rainbows dance around the girls' baby pictures (hard to believe they're now 21 and 25!)...

...and the family room closets...

I do believe I'll be hanging some prisms in the bedrooms at some point so I can enjoy even more rainbows dancing around the cottage. Can you ever have too many? I don't think so!

I'm linking up to Cindy's Show & Tell Friday at My Romantic Home. Be sure to hop over to see what everyone is sharing this week!

Wishing you all a wonderful weekend, full of sunshine and rainbows!!!

Donna

Splashes of color...

A couple of days ago I showed you the prisms that hang in our windows. The prisms are so pretty in and of themselves, but the rainbows they create are truly spectacular! Here are some that I captured around the house...

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Rainbows dance on the ceiling and upper wall of the dining room...


... inside the family room bookcases...


...across the living room pie safe...



... and down the hallway.

They brighten up the kitchen cabinets...

...and the slipcovered sofa (I love how the scrollwork of a decorative tray cast a shadow across the rainbow).

They appear on lampshades and walls...

...dining room chairs...

...and the living room pie safe.

Even the candleholders that sit in the dining room window cast little rainbows in the bay window.

A houseplant leaf casts a shadow on the hallway wall...

...while rainbows chase each other around the grandmother clock.

And lastly, the living room rocker, decorated with rainbows and the shadows of a lace valance.

The rainbows are especially enjoyable during the long, cold winter here in New England as they definitely brighten up our little cottage!

Donna

Prisms - the rainbow connection...

Several years ago I stumbled upon some heavily discounted ornaments at TJ Maxx in an after-Christmas sale. I'm so glad I purchased several boxes of them.


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They never have been used for their intended purpose (Christmas tree ornaments). Instead, I've hung them in front of the living room, dining room, and family room windows, resulting in a never-ending array of rainbows throughout the year.


Tomorrow, I'll share photos of some of the rainbows I've captured inside the house, but today I wanted to share how beautiful the prisms are in their simplicity...


"We're after the same rainbow's end waitin' round the bend, my Huckleberry friend. " (Johnny Mercer, Moon River)


Spotty, on his favorite pillow in the living room window last summer, under the three prisms....

A little different style prism/ornament hangs in the dining room windows...

The three prisms in this window throw the most incredible rainbows across the kitchen cabinets. I'm so glad I painted the cabinets white because the rainbows are so much more visible than when the cabinets were dark brown.

The three prisms that hang in the dining room window...

"Climb every mountain, ford every stream Follow every rainbow, till you find your dream!" (Oscar Hammerstein II - The Sound of Music)

The prisms that hang in the family room slider match the living room prisms.

"Somewhere over the rainbow Way up high, There's a land that I heard of Once in a lullaby." (Yip Harburg - from The Wizard of Oz)

So today was the Rainbow Connection - the prisms... Tomorrow will be the incredible rainbows these little prisms create! (Or click here to see the rainbows)...

Donna

COMMENT UPDATE: Cadillactaste, I found these prisms at TJ Maxx... They were ornaments that I found after Christmas. I've seen similar ornaments in other stores since then, so check out the Christmas decor sections of stores and I'll bet you find some! They really are awesome!

Christmas Dining: Some things never change...

... and some things change every year.

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(Christmas 2008)
The centerpieces on the table never change; nor do the bay window decorations. But every year I use a different tablecloth, runner, or quilt to give the dining room a different look. This year I'm using a peachy-pink lap quilt over the girls' old repurposed canopy covers. (The quilt was purchased at TJ Maxx several years ago when I first got the cottage bug.)


(Christmas 2007)
Last year I used a vintage inspired tablecloth with cheerful green stripes and red roses.


(Christmas 2006)
In 2006 I used a lap quilt with red roses and a striped, scalloped border. (It was also bought at TJ Maxx the same day I bought the quilt I'm using this year.)


(Christmas 2005)
In 2005 I used a blue table runner (from the Martha Stewart K-Mart collection) over a white tablecloth.


What doesn't ever change are my table centerpieces. I couldn't find a nice cottage-white Christmas tree in my price range several years ago, so I bought an inexpensive grapevine tree and covered it with a satin remnant, some beaded garland, and then placed it on a silver pedestal (from Target) and topped it with a silver sputnik ornament.



These reindeer also make an appearance on the table every year. I purchased them at Target several years ago during an after Christmas sale (don't you just love that place??). I thought they were so neat (I still do!!) - especially the little prisms hanging from their antlers!



This little doll has made an appearance every Christmas since the early 90's. (Does anyone else remember how popular animated figures were back then?) I had to buy her back then because she reminded me so much of my two girls, who when they were little, also had long wavy blond hair...

(See what I mean? These are my real life dolls, now 19 and 23!)

However several years ago, I was faced with a bit of a problem... I still wanted to put the doll out each Christmas, but her little red coat and tartan plaid cap & dress just didn't blend in with our new cottage colors, so it was time for an extreme makeover!!

I found a pale pink infant sleeper at Wal Mart that was the perfect fit! A little dove in her hand, a snowflake hung from her fingertips...

... and voila! I'll be able to use her for another 15 years (or more!)

And last, but not least, this is the little white tree that sits in the dining room bay window. Over the years I've purchased these bird ornaments (mostly from Target)...I love the way they look against the white branches...

Thanks for letting me share the decorations in our little dining room with you... and guess what?

It's almost Christmas!!

Donna