Tonight's supper...

Pizza is not good. Oh, it's good, but it's not so good for you. Maybe if we also have a nice healthy salad on the side it won't seem so bad :) By the way, I marvel at those of you who post fantastic recipes on your blogs. I would LOVE to eat at your houses every night... This is my recipe contribution (it's about as creative as I get)... I mash up a very ripe avocado and 'whisk' it into the Hidden Valley Ranch salad dressing (the packet variety)... VERY good :)

Donna (whose strong suit is NOT cooking)

Spring has finally sprung!!!

Oh happy days here at the Cottage! We are all soooooo excited because it's the first warm day where we've been able to open up the windows!! Can you all see how excited Spotty is? (Yup, that's his excited look!)... My, oh my, what a wonderful (Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah) day!

Donna

My Love Affair with Window Seats...

"The Cozy Window Seat... One of the most cozy and comfortable additions to the furnishings of a room is a window seat. Every woman in particular delights in these little nooks..." (The New York Times, January 7, 1894)

My love affair with window seats began in 1959 with the very window seat you see pictured above. As a little girl, I used to sit sit there and watch the world go by.

About 3 years ago, while bringing one of my girls back to college, my sister and I drove by our childhood home for old time's sake, and as luck would have it, there was a FOR RENT sign out front! The owner graciously allowed us to go into the empty apartment and reminisce.

Remember the scene in You've Got Mail where Meg Ryan has closed her bookshop, and as she turns to look at the empty room one last time she sees a childhood memory of her mom twirling her around? That's exactly how I felt. When I looked around at those empty rooms I could see my mom sponging Christmas stencils on the back door with glass wax... me playing "hide and seek" in the kitchen with Pete, our parakeet... and the dining room set that my mom loved was once again sitting in the center of this very room... It was such a gift, being allowed to relive those memories 46 years later. To my sister's dismay, the old clawfoot tub was gone, but everything else appeared as though time had stood still for all those years.

Fast forward to the home I live in now and the family room addition we put on when our girls were little. The very first thing I insisted it have was a window seat (well.. the very first thing I insisted on was having the laundry area moved up from the basement, but the second thing was that it have a window seat! (second photo)... And although the decor has changed over the years, the cozy feeling has not... I guess I relate to those women of 1894 in that I, too, "delight in these little nooks."

Donna

My favorite makeover piece (so far!)...

Of all the pieces I've made over, this is my favorite so far. We bought the pie safe at an unfinished furniture store in the 80's. As soon as I got it home I stained it dark brown. Needless to say, it could not escape the white paint when I caught the cottage bug a few years ago. I thought it might look cute if I mounted a mirror on it, so the hunt was on. I found the perfect mirror at a junktique store. It was a simple, round mirror and the base was the perfect size for the pie safe... Best of all, it was marked down to around $22!

I applied wreath appliques to the door panels, a rose garland applique to the mirror base, and painted both pieces creamy white. After lightly sanding a bit along the edges and applying glass knobs... voila! A brand new look for that little old pie safe!

(You can click on any of the photos to see the details better... And as you can tell from the pictures, we've also had hardwood floors installed since starting all these projects!!)

UPDATE: To answer a few questions... Because I never varnished or waxed this piece after staining it, I was able to paint right over the dark brown without sanding. Priming really does help knot holes from showing through (a step I admittedly skip from time to time). The type of appliques I buy have a 'sticky' back that is activated when they are held over boiling water/steam (I use my old tattered frying pan spatter guard for this purpose - and needless to say, I don't use it for food/cooking anymore!)... To sand/distress along edges, if I remember, I'll rub a candle down the edges (before painting), wherever I want the paint to sand off easily after the piece has dried.

Donna

Spring ... where are you??

"I love daisies. They're so friendly. Don't you think that daisies are the friendliest flower?"

Kathleen Kelly [Meg Ryan] to Joe Fox [Tom Hanks] in You've Got Mail

Sunday was a cold, grey, dreary day around here... not at all spring-like. So while at the grocery store, I treated myself to a little pick-me-up bouquet of daisies. Don't they look sweet in the thrift store vase I picked up a few years ago? Their yellow centers look like the sun shining and they immediately cheered up the whole room!

Hoping that wherever you are, you're enjoying beautiful spring weather. But if not, a bouquet of daisies can be bought for a mere pittance at your local grocery store...

Donna

I've been tagged!

Oh my - I've been tagged by Sherry at Edie Marie's Attic to describe my life's motto in a six word meme! (That's hard, Sherry!!) But I think I came up with one that really describes me:

"natural packrat...wannabe minimalist...

forever conflicted"

Donna

You're sure to fall in love with Old Cape Cod...

I'm back from my quick trip to Cape Cod, which has to be one of the most charming places ever! Thursday was beautiful, Friday was rainy. I didn't get around too much as I had to help a family member for a couple of days, but I did manage to snap some photos (the beach at sunset and a couple of dream houses)! I have a few more pictures, but I'll save them for next time!

(P.S. I tried to find this entire song, Old Cape Cod by Patti Page, which was one of my mom's favorites, but could only find a 30 second sound bite! Oh, well!! 30 seconds is better than not having it at all!)

Donna

The plants have been watered...

... and now I'm heading out for a quick overnight trip. I'll be back soon and might even have some pictures of Olde Cape Cod to share with you!

Donna

To paint or not to paint... that was the question....

Welcome to anyone who hasn't seen this older post!

This is what our fireplace looks like now, several years after the 'makeover.'

This is what it looked like right after the 'makeover.'

And this is what it looked like right before the makeover!

I absolutely love the look of brick walls and fireplaces that have been painted white. My husband? Not so much! So we compromised on the idea of building a cover for our brick fireplace that I could paint white, and I think he did the most fantastic job! I love the way it turned out!




















He basically measured and cut a single sheet of birch plywood to cover the front of the fireplace, even cutting a hole for the flue knob.


















To make things really simple, we purchased decorative trim that was just the right width to cover both sides of the fireplace, and also used decorative trim under the mantel and around the hearth. We then applied some trim to cover the corners, wood puttied all the holes, and painted everything white. I have two king size ruffled pillow shams laying across the brick hearth until we eventually finish that part. Since we only burn candles in the fireplace, the material on the hearth isn't a problem and I've actually grown to like the way they look!



















And to cover the hole for the flue knob, I found the sweetest watercolor painting at a yard sale a few years ago - it's a tiny little masterpiece that's just the perfect size!

Yes, I couldn't be happier with our fireplace makeover, and hubby couldn't be happier that the brick fireplace is perfect intact underneath!

Donna

Thank you, Rue!

Oh my goodness - thank you, Rue! I received such a nice "You Make My Day" award from Rue at Rue's Peanut Butter and Jelly Life. I never expected this as my blog is still in its infancy :) When you visit Rue's blog (it's as sweet as she is) be sure to scroll all the way down to the bottom to see the beautiful photo of she and her husband - and the label on the canning jar - you'll love the meaning behind her blog title!

My understanding is that I should pass this along to ten other blogs that "make my day." The following ladies have made my day by making me feel so welcome in the blogging community. They took the time to comment on one or more of my posts which was just so kind of them! And wait until you see their beautiful blogs! They're what I want to grow up to be in blogland!! So, thank you all for making my day:

1) Rue at Rue's Peanut Butter and Jelly Life (you don't have to feel obligated to hand out ten more of these, Rue... But I wanted you to know how much I appreciate you, so for the record - you make my day :)
2) Cindy at My Romantic Home
3) Heather at Cottage Dreaming
4) Domestic Diva at Our Birch Corner Abode
5) Kelli at Lolly Jane Boutique
6) Linda at Linda's Blue Gate
7) Sherry at Edie Marie's Attic
8) Deborah at Pictures, Pots and Pens
9) Pat at Mille Fiori Favoriti
10) To all the future blogs I hope to see soon from my sweet friend, Jill, and from some of my RMS friends (you know who you are!) I know your blogs will all Make My Day (as you already do, even without blogs!)

Hugs to you all,
Donna

Recycling Old Windows

Does anybody else's car just screech to a halt if there are old windows laying by the roadside? They are just so full of character and charm (and possibly lead paint, too, so be careful - especially if you have little ones!). I've seen people put mirrors in them or paint beautiful designs on them. Here are two that I was lucky enough to snag. It was fun transforming them into a photo frame and a bulletin board. If you aren't lucky enough to find yours along the side of the road, try looking in junktique shops, salvage yards, or on eBay or Craig's list. Happy hunting!

Donna

Vintage Wastebaskets

I have a thing for vintage tin wastebaskets. I found the pink one on eBay several years ago and picked up the green one at a cute little antique shop in Rhode Island. I'm always moving them around and using them for different things. They're so cheerful, and have such a sweet cottage look to them... There are a few other items that I collect, but I'll save that for future posts... (P.S. Can two wastebaskets be considered a collection?)... I'd love to hear what other people collect...

Donna

Opposites can attract!

Initially, I wasn't sure if I liked these two pieces paired together... On the one hand you have a vintage, ornate mirror; on the other, the straight, modern lines of a new CD case. However, after painting both pieces creamy white, and purchasing this beautiful robin's egg blue/peachy-pink scarf (from Annie's Attic on ETSY) for the top of the CD case, this pair has kind of grown on me. And my little "button nesting" bird and 1930 photo of my mom seem to be quite happy there... So although these two pieces are as different as night and day, I think it might just be a match made in heaven...

Donna

Our Ms. Gizmo (1992 - March 22, 2008)

The cottage seems empty; our hearts are heavy. We love you... we miss you... till we meet again, our little Gizzy Girl...

"My little dog - a heartbeat at my feet." ~ Edith Wharton

"My goal in life is to become as wonderful as my dog thinks I am." ~ Toby Eileen Green

"I think God will have prepared everything for our perfect happiness. If it takes my dog being there [in Heaven], I believe he'll be there." ~ Rev. Billy Graham

The Enchanted Cottage

I love those words - Enchanted Cottage. The word cottage itself sounds so cozy. No wonder even those of us living in ranches, splits, or capes refer to our homes as cottages.

I remember in the summer of '65, my parents rented a cottage near the ocean on the Mass/NH line. What a magical time and place that was. Perhaps that's when I fell in love with the word cottage...

Or maybe it's because one of my mom's favorite movies was The Enchanted Cottage. My mother, very much a romantic, loved the story of the two lead characters. Without giving anything away, the imdb synopsis reads: Two scarred people are transformed by love while living in a very special cottage.

If you are into the old b&w films of the 40's and 50's, you owe it to yourself to rent it. If you can't find a rental, you can easily locate one to purchase on the Internet. I bought my VHS copy on eBay years ago. They can still be found there. And there are even new DVD releases of this movie that are quite a bit cheaper than the old VHS versions. Enjoy!

Donna

Armoires...

The Rolling Stones once sang, "I see a red door and I want it painted black." Well, my theme song could be, "I see a brown hutch and I want it painted white." Actually, my obsession with painting things white goes way beyond hutches (the more I post, the more apparent that will become!).

This is the small corner TV armoire in our living room. We purchased it in the 80's at an unfinished furniture store. Back then, I stained everything dark brown. (click here for before photos)... A few years ago, when I caught the shabby/cottage bug, this armoire became a prime target!

I primed it, applied some neat appliques (there is such a wide variety to choose from!), painted it creamy white, sanded along some of the edges to lightly distress it, and finished by putting on some nice glass knobs. (More photos below.)

I recently saw a post on a favorite blog that I read daily, where Cindy from My Romantic Home was also doing a transformation on an older dark brown armoire. She decided to paint hers white as well and it came out spectacular!

Donna

Armoire Before & After Photos

Reflections...

This arched mirror hangs on a narrow wall in our family room, facing the sliding glass doors that lead to our deck. In a previous life, it was a dark brown mirror that had long been separated from the bureau it was originally made for. At 28"w x 44"h, it's an impressive size, just what I was looking for. It didn't take long for me to paint it a creamy white and sand it along the edges so a little of its original character peeked through. Depending on where you sit in our dining room, this is what you see when looking into the family room. One day last summer I got my camera out and took a picture of the room and deck, as reflected in the mirror. And now it's a reminder that the warm weather is right around the corner, and that before long we'll once again be enjoying the deck, watching the hummingbirds visit, and eating supper outside each evening... After the long New England winters, I sooo look forward to spring! Wishing you all warm, sunny days...

Donna

Our Galway Girl

This is for you, Mom... our very own Galway Girl with your hair of black and your eyes of blue...

We miss you always, but know you are still with us.

Happy St. Patty's Day to you!

P.S. Yes, I am wearing something green!!

Love you always,

Donna

...you place the flowers in the vase that you bought today...

I have been so inspired by the beautiful blogs I visit regularly that I decided to dive into blogging myself.

I have always loved this song and when I chose it for my blog, it made me think of the flowers that sit in the vase on my dining room table every day. Although fresh flowers come in and out on special occasions, I must admit that for everyday use, I am hooked on the incredibly realistic flowers now available (a far cry from the plastic flowers my poor mom used in the 60's and 70's!).

You may not be able to see the detail, but this is a beautiful crackled vase that I picked up for a song at a local thrift shop. I filled it with cream and white buttons and then arranged some roses in the most beautiful peachy pink color. It's such a cheerful sight when I come down the hallway each morning and see them sitting on the table.

Wishing you a wonderful day,

Donna