My furry little helpers...

So last week I shared our little split entryway mirror/gallery wall makeover.

What I didn't share were photos of my buddies, who love to help me out

whenever I'm tweaking things or taking photos.

I snapped this photo of Mr. J through the mirror, as he lay in the hallway watching my every move!

Oh my gosh, he looks so guilty/sad in this photo for some reason. Cheer up, Mr. J!

That's better! Now we have a big toothy grin :)

Here's another pair of eyes watching my every  move.

I see you down there, Baby, even though you do somewhat blend in with the floor!

A few minutes later I found her hiding behind the open door in the entryway.

She loves to pounce out from hiding places to 'surprise' us!

And here's a short video of  Baby putting on a little show for me before I put the camera away.

Now I just need to teach her how to fix the curled up rug once she's done rolling in it!

The leaves are falling at a furious rate around here.

Hope you're all enjoying autumn!

I'm joining Cindy at My Romantic Home for Show & Tell Friday this week!

Donna

Organizing as a result of Empty Nest Syndrome

I've been in a funk lately. Our youngest has left home and we're now official empty nesters. I'm trying to look at the positive side of this situation though (yes, I'm one of those mothers who is not anxious to see their kids go)...
Anyhow, looking at the positive, I realize I've now gained additional space, and in our tiny little split entry "cottage," that is a huge bonus!

When our youngest was about 16, she asked if she could move her bedroom down to the larger front-to-back Family Room in our basement (which also had its own bathroom). She made a cheerful space for herself down there...

... but this is what it looks like now. I utilized what she left behind, the bench, desk, settee, the artwork and the pillows. I know you've all seen the commercials on TV where the parents immediately get out their measuring tapes and giddily plan the hot tub that's going to go into the child's "once upon a time" bedroom. Not me. I had much loftier dreams! Etsy shop storage space and a packing area!

The view toward the fireplace when this was Court's bedroom...Look at handsome old Spotty sitting in the window. How I miss that big guy. He was a love.

And this is it now. Again, I've left her decorations on top of the "storage shelf" mantel and used her little square side table for the TV she left behind. Why spend money decorating when your daughter leaves a ton of great stuff behind? Of course come winter I'll have to move the TV as it's sitting right in front of the faux log fireplace heater (which really helps warm the room during our New England winter months!).

Take a look at this coffee table. We have a 'swap shop' of sorts at our local landfill and I eyed this little baby for two weeks in a row before it dawned on me that it would make the perfect surface for packaging up orders!!

It's adorable! Yeah, it has some bubbling in the finish and raised pieces of wood here and there, but how can you beat free? I love it!

So this is where things get wrapped and boxed. Oh, the vintage glass ashtray that I use as a coaster was also a freebie :)

And I might as well enjoy some of my inventory before it sells. I wish I could keep these three pitchers. I think they look great on the windowsill! (Oh, and did I mention that this room is OFF LIMITS to our darling Baby cat?)

So going back several years, this was the back part of Court's downstairs bedroom, a nice sitting area. These photos were taken before we got rid of the old carpet and updated her light fixtures.

And back to the present - this is what that area looks like now. Definitely not as inviting, but oh-so utilitarian and necessary! As you can see, Court left that awesome old white wardrobe. I might move that upstairs at some point but right now it is still crammed full of her belongings! (She still has a LOT of cleaning out to do! She definitely takes after her [ahem] mom.) Oh, regarding Baby cat? I let her come down here with me the other day because she really wanted to; within 5 minutes she'd jumped into her old window (on the right), then jumped to the top of the wardrobe, and was just about ready to leap to the top of my shelving unit to explore (all kinds of breakables from the Etsy shop are kept loose on the top shelf!) So I scooped her up and sent her on her way!
See the Ikea wardrobe with the curtained door on the right side of the photo? That used to hold all tons of Court's dresses and shirts...

Again, not so exciting or pretty, but I've found that free boxes are my friends when shipping is a regular activity!

I know many of you run Etsy or eBay shops. Have you ever received an order and not been able to locate the item you sold?? Please don't tell me I'm the only one that has happened to!! I am sorry to say it happened to me on a few occasions. (I guess with over 500 items in the vintage shop and 100-200 in the art shop, it was bound to happen at some point.) Most of the time, after I'd spent hours of precious time searching for the item, I'd eventually find it. However, once I never did and I had to cancel the order (of course I've since found the item). Anyhow, with all this extra space I decided it was time to get organized, so everything was brought down to Court's old room and arranged with a plan.  All of the merchandise was inventoried and put into numbered bins. I typed up inventory sheets of what is in each bin and I keep it updated on my computer so when something sells, I know right where to go. Sooooooooo much easier! And I'm happy to say this project is about 95% complete.

Ah, yes. My other box storage station which mostly houses USPS Priority boxes. And again, look at that darling poster of Spotty. We had that made for Court's old dorm room. When she came home from college, she hung it in her room. Unless she ever decides to take it, here it will stay. Such a sweet face. And see the ribbon hanging from the door knob? That was for Baby to play with back when this was Court's bedroom. Even though Baby's not allowed in here now, it's still hanging there. (Note to self: Baby is not allowed in this room, time to remove her 'toy.')

So that's what I've been up to, rearranging and getting organized! And as I look at this photo I see yet another of Baby's toys hanging from the ceiling (much more visible in one of the above photos). She used to jump to the top of Court's Ikea wardrobe and bat at this cat toy. She was/is soooooo spoiled! haha

Okay, lights out. Time to go upstairs to my other job and do some transcribing!!! Hope you all have a great week - it's going to be another HOT one here in New England!!!

I'm linking to Cindy's Show & Tell Friday at the beautiful My Romantic Home.

Donna

Swan Song...

The vintage swan Paint-by-Number that hangs in our dining room is now
 framed within a frame.

 It wasn't always. Although the decorations in the bay window and the table &
hutch vignettes are always changing...

... the swan painting remains a constant.

(Same photo using PicMonkey!)

I'm not sure if I'll leave it like this forever, but for now I'm liking the extra chippy detailing.

My photo software's (contrast) Levels AutoFix really emphasizes the dimension and crackling.

Lots of worn wood underneath the chippy paint...

... and an amazing scrolly medallion on top.

Joining Show & Tell Friday at My Romantic Home.

Wishing you all a lovely weekend!!

Donna

Spring + Sunlight = Happy!

The warm spring sun was shining through the window the other morning and I had to grab my camera!

This time of year is so exciting when you live in a region known for harsh winters 

 (although I have to admit that here in New England, we had a pretty easy time of it this year!)

I set up this spring vignette on a little table that sits in the dining area of our small split entry, using things from other areas of the house.

The birds flanking the nest were 'borrowed' from the mantel.

They're such a pretty 'mottled' shade of robins egg blue (a favorite of mine).

I know they're not robins, but they are guarding the three pale blue eggs in the nest until Mrs. Robin returns.

The nest was originally purchased as an ornament several years ago 
(nests in Christmas trees are considered good luck).
I like to keep it in the house year-round.

I love the quote on this frame, "Humor is mankind's greatest blessing," by Mark Twain. The girls were hamming it up one Christmas morning, trying on their new cloche hats, complete with tags hanging down and stuffing still inside the hats to helped keep their shape.
(It seemed an appropriate photo for this particular frame!)

One of my favorite lampshades with a very spring-like pattern.

The sun was shining through the "faux" plant in this cherub planter.

And now the sun has gone behind some clouds, but that doesn't change the fact that
SPRING has arrived here in New England!

Pop over to Show & Tell Friday at My Romantic Home to visit everyone else participating this week.

Have a beautiful Easter weekend, everyone!

Donna

Hooray for open doors!

It's hard to believe that in mid-March we are throwing open all our windows and doors here in New England...

But as you can see in our "wavy mirror" reflection, it's true!!!

But since this is New England, I know better than to expect these warm temps to last long.

After all, this is what we woke to on April 1st of last year!

I guess it was Mother Nature's April Fool's Day joke on us.

And as BEAUTIFUL as it was, I do not want a repeat performance this year!

Wishing you gentle spring weather wherever you are!

Donna

My Waterloo....

... otherwise known as the entryway into our little split level cottage. What does one do with these small, "neither upstairs nor downstairs" landings that constantly need a stick vac dragged up & down to keep them dirt & dust-bunny free?


I can try to dress it up by throwing a cute vintage tablecloth over the shoe cubbies... and even make everyone put away their shoes from time to time!


I can try to brighten up the area up by painting over the old dark, scuffed woodwork...


..with creamy white paint...


I can remove the old threadbare, stained carpeting from the stairs, but that leaves me with construction grade plywood floors, the perfect recipe for splinters...


...so I can cover them with inexpensive peel & stick floor tiles until I hit the lottery and am able to renovate them with hardwoods... (Silly me thought we could just replace the treads with nice hardwood ones.... Turns out the entire staircase, risers and all, would need to be dismantled and reassembled in order to do so!)

So yes, I can try to do some spiffing and sprucing to the entryway, but I still want to keep the lights off if at all possible, because the one thing that can't be hidden or disguised or made aesthetically pleasing is....


...the pile of coats and hats hanging across the coat rack...


I just hate this area... my Waterloo for sure... the battle I can never win. From September through April everybody seems to wear coats or jackets of some sort, and they all end up here. (how I wish split-level homes had a closet right in the entryway!) I think this fall or winter I'm going to do a major closet reorgnization and see if I can get everyone to bring their coats upstairs to the hallway closet instead of hanging them on the hooks down by the front door... And if that doesn't work, I may suggest everyone start wearing pretty cottage colored coats of pinks and greens and blues, maybe with stripes or florals! (just kidding, hubby.... kind of :)

And speaking of the entryway...


The weather has been so beautiful lately! Not too hot, not too cold... Perfect for leaving doors and windows open. A couple of weeks ago I heard a big CLUNK and looked down to see that Spotty had leaped into the front door, and was now on his hind haunches, peering out...

In the next instant, this handsome boy came calling and Spotty was beside himself. I think Mr. Neighbor Kitty was enjoying taunting poor Spotty (strictly an indoor kitty), whose tail was getting puffier by the minute! Mr. NK finally realized Spotty would not be able to come out to play and went on his way, which made Spotty very happy.

And regarding these last 2 photos - please ignore the scatter rug which was about a week overdue for its trip through the washer... and please ignore the box just laying there in the entryway (containing the floor lamp that went into Amanda's new apartment)... and please ignore the poor bannister that desperately needs to be re-sanded, re-sealed and re-painted... ha ha.. there's a lot to be ignored in this little entryway!!!

Comment Update: Sharon, I have no idea why we were told the stairs needed to be completely reconstructed. When we had the hardwood floors put down 2 years ago we tried to get the contractors to cover the stairs with the matching hardwood at that point, but they said they were not allowed to cover stairs for 'liability' reasons. So I then called two other contractors to get quotes and they both said the stairs would need to be completely reconstructed (which made the quotes way more expensive than we can affford for the time being... Maybe some day post-college tuition! ha ha). I then went to two neighbors who also have splits and have had oak stairs put in over the past few years, and both of them said their contractors had, indeed, rebuilt the stairs, including treads, stringers, risers, etc... I'm so happy for you that yur dad was able to give you wood stairs without all the hassle of having them rebuilt!

Donna