And the winner is.....

... Can you believe I'm a day late announcing my winner? Oh my gosh, with Pink Saturday I completely forgot!!!!!!!!!!!!! Okay, drum roll.......... The winner of my giveaway is........



Di, The Blue Ridge Gal!!!!!!! Congratulations!!!!!!



She is the winner of my giveaway, which was part of the 3rd Annual Cottage Charm Giveaway hosted by Kim of Twice Remembered, One Woman's Cottage Life.

I'll get in touch with you, Di, to make arrangements to mail off the apron of your choice and the other goodies to you!

And thank you to everyone who entered my giveaway... I hope you all have a wonderful weekend!

Donna

A vintage hankie Pink Saturday celebration!

Happy birthday to Beverly at How Sweet the Sound!!! She is celebrating her one year "Pink Saturday" birthday anniversary today and you must visit her blog to join in on all the pink fun! (Not to mention she has the most fabulous pink cake recipe that looks oh-so-good!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)


I have a very special Pink Saturday item to share today... It's a beautiful vintage hankie that I won in a giveaway late last year from sweet Nancy of My Crafty Little Page!


I was able to choose between a kitten or a puppy hankie, and the minute I saw the puppy I knew which one I wanted!


The hankie has a delicate scalloped border and is adorned with pansies. And the puppy reminded me so much of our sweet little Gizzy Girl, who we lost in March of last year.


She had blonde fur, big fluffy ears, and gorgeous brown eyes, just like the puppy on the hankie.


The hankie is the most gorgeous shade of peachy pink....


(I don't know why it looks yellow in this photo!)


I tried it out in several locations...


...before deciding to use it on the white tray that sits on an end table in our living room... I've also toyed with the idea of framing it so I can hang it somehwere.


Here's a photo of little Gizzy on the sofa, right next to where the hankie is sitting. (This was taken in her later years after she'd had one eye removed due to an infection, was blind in her remaining eye, and was getting insulin shots 2x a day... but look at the smile on her little face. She was a happy little troll dog until the day she left us.)


Having this little hankie displayed so prominently...


...is such a sweet reminder of our little angel.

So thank you, Nancy, for this beautiful hankie... And thank you, Beverly, for another great Pink Saturday!!!

Donna

The man purse...

Not every male cat can pull off this look...


... but then again, Spotty isn't just any cat...


Spotty wants no part of a choker (flea collar) or the latest threads (cat clothes)....


...but he is smitten with his new accessory...


...which we lovingly call his man-purse.

The definition of a man purse, according to dictionary.com is: a handbag or purse carried by a male, often in the style of a messenger bag or backpack; urbandictionary.com describes a man purse as: typically distinguishable from a woman's purse by having a tall, narrow, rectangular form-factor, rather than the short and wide shapes more typical of most women's purses.

Nowhere in the description does it say that a man purse can't come in a variety of delicious colors (Spotty's reminds me of a yummy Cath Kidston color palette)...

Truth be told, this was a little travel cosmetic bag that belonged to Amanda. After Amanda's last trip to New York City, Spotty latched onto it and hasn't let go...


He loves to rub his face all over it (as you'll see in the video clip at the end of this post); he also loves to sleep on it or next to it.. Needless to say, Amanda will have to purchase another little cosmetic bag before she travels again because nobody has the heart to take this one away from Spotty! He has really become attached to it, as evidenced by the next photo...

(warning - next photo shows Spotty after last week's surgery... it shows him shaved with his stitches/staples)....

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

Our poor Spotty is making an incredible recovery after having a large tumor removed last week. And as you can see from this photo, our handsome, brave boy sought out his security blanket (i.e., man purse) as soon as he got home... He was drowsy and he wanted to sleep, but first he wanted his man purse. As soon as it was given to him he curled up on top of it and went right to sleep, purring all the while...

We took this little video of him this morning because he was just so adorable, loving his little man purse! (You can even hear him purring... he's such a happy kitty!)...

Wishing you all a great weekend! We're hoping for some good weather (after several days of rain) so we can get some things done in the yard!

Donna

"C" is for cushions and Chips

The new cushions are now on the patio set.... (and let me preface this by saying please excuse the mess - the tables need a good scrubbing from winter storage and the patio is in desperate need of sweeping - yet again!)


My first choice was a nice green and white pattern, but the CTS I was at didn't have four in stock (I need 2 for the loveseat and 2 for the chairs), and since I didn't feel like running around to several stores to find 4 that matched...


... I just went with a very bright blue/green/lavender/white stripe. (At least they match the bright plastic tables I got at Wal Mart several years ago! The little waterfall fountain was also from Wal Mart several years ago. I love sitting down there, having the sound of running water in the background.)


The three tiered mosaic plant stand table was also purchased at Christmas Tree Shop several years ago.


This is the patio last year and the cushion set that I loved and was so sorry to have had to toss...


The cushions had green and white seashells on a blue background, and I wish they'd lasted forever!! Even though they were stored in the shed during the winter months, they still got stained and moldy from the occasions where they would get damp in the summer rains (even under the tent cover)... The weather resistant cushions are all $25 and up (at least the ones I've seen), but eventually I may have to break down and go that route so they'll last (rather than the less expensive ones from CTS).

Here's a favorite picture of mine... Hubby feeding one of our Chips out on the patio last year.

And this is me feeding one of our Chips a couple of weeks ago...

The Chips come running whenever they hear or see me working out in the garden because they know I keep peanut treats in my pockets... (excuse the dirty fingernails!)

I love to plant and dig in the dirt without garden gloves. I know I should wear them, and I occasionally do, but I really love the feel of planting and potting with my bare hands. And when I'm done, I set the hose on JET spray and boy, does that gets rid of all the dirt underneath my nails until I go into the house to actually wash my hands with soap and water!

Wishing you all a summer full of your favorite treats!!!!

Donna

The patio is almost done....

... but unfortunately, the patio cushions we've used for the past several years had to be tossed (which is too bad, because I really liked them!). So I'm off to The Christmas Tree Shop to see if I can find new ones and I thought you'd like to join me!

Many times it's hit or miss at The Christmas Tree Shop...

...but if you're in the market for some new mugs, there's a good selection right now...

Most of the mugs in our house are from CTS... I prefer to buy a variety of "mix and match" styles and patterns....

... that way, it doesn't matter if one or two get broken along the way... I always have a "full set" of coordinated mugs...

Since we're in this department, let's see what else they have... These little teapots are really cute...

Got milk? I've had a cow creamer similar to these for as long as I can remember (so long that I don't even remember where I got it, but Japan is embossed on the bottom of it)...

Lots of assorted pottery to choose from on these shelves...

If you use just plain white dishes in your home (which I do), it's always easy to pick up filler pieces in this section...

And just look at all these pieces for entertaining and serving!

Oooh - cute chenille/floral rugs!! I think little scatter rugs add so much cottage charm!

Does anybody buy CD's (or CD cabinets) anymore? I know I do, but both of my girls buy/download their music from the Internet... I'm so old school. I went kicking and screaming from LP's/albums/45's to 8-tracks to cassette tapes to CD's - and that's where I'm stopping. Yes, I have music on my blog that I sometimes play in the background of my office, but I'm still a bona-fide CD buyer. And the same goes for books. Whether it comes from a store or the library, I love the feel of a book in my hands and the actual experience of turning the pages. So for all the benefits (and I know there are many), I think it's safe to say I'll probably never get one of those little computerized reading/book gadgets. (Of course I'm also old enough to know that I should never say never!)

Mmm ... such pretty pale blue wicker planters... This might be a nice color to paint the yard sale wicker planter I brought home last week...

I love baskets. I wish I had room for the white bench in my front entry... (alas, in my small split level entryway, there would never be enough room)...

... but I do have a lot of other organizational projects to tackle where baskets could definitely be utilized...

... and right now, CTS is loaded with all colors and fabrics. They even have sweet little Nantucket styled baskets...

And speaking of Nantucket, does anyone feel like decorating with a beach/cottage decor? You might want to check out these shell garlands, shell 'trees,' or sea bird decoys...

Or how about some sea shell accent pieces or bowls?

These seashell wreaths were gorgeous!!! And there are loads of starfish sizes to choose from!

How about a seashell hurricane lamp to set the mood?

... or a nightstand for your cottage bedroom, complete with a "cottage by the sea" design...

Speaking of bedrooms, I love these striped "quilts in a tote"... After you've spread your quilt across the bed or sofa, you have a cute little tote to bring shopping with you!


If you're not into stripes, they had some beautiful florals and Hawaiian themed quilts and shams...

How cute would those quilts be in a bedroom or sunroom with some white wicker furniture?

I think I see some leftover egg wreaths from Easter!
The faux lavender wreath I have on my garden gate came from CTS a couple of years ago.

It has held up amazingly well over the past several years, especially when you consider that it stays outside during the hot, humid New England summers....

... and the bitter cold, snowy New England winters....

I was thinking another one might be nice on the reverse side of the gate...

Well I'm so glad you joined me on my trip to The Christmas Tree Shop.... Okay, now what did I come for? Oh, right! Cushions for the patio set!! (Have you ever gone to the store for one specific item only to get home without that one item? Please tell me I'm not the only one that happens to!)... But I did remember the cushions and I'll show them to you in my next post...

Donna