Inside (Studio Office continues) and Outside (Bird News!)...

Inside things are pretty much the same...

 I still have a long way to go with the office. I lined up a lot of my religious decor to see the colors. I want to pick a rug that goes with the the pieces I'm planning to use on the walls.

(photo altered with film grain filter)

 Today I cut a lot of stringy tendrils from the Wandering Jew plant I got at the Woodstock, NY yard sale last fall. I stuck them in a vase of water. With any luck they'll root and I can start another plant.

I put some of the smaller cuttings in this hanging rooter that I've had for nearly 20 years.

And of course I perched a few of my 'weighted' parakeets on the rooter as well.

In addition to the 'vintage Catholic' decor I'll be using in my studio office, I'm beginning to see another theme emerge! You might remember this antique parakeet lamp I shared with you in a previous post. Claudia (Mockingbird Hill Cottage), knowing how much I loved her parakeet lamp, was instrumental in helping me get this sweet lamp from New York to Massachusetts!

My Nana LOVED her Pete the Parakeets, and memories of being at her beautiful home in the 50's are so vivid. It's no wonder I want to create vignettes and such that remind me of her.
Here are just a few 1950's photos of my beautiful Nana with her Pete's and my sister and I. 

No. 1 is Nana and me with Pete overhead; 

No. 2 is Nana with Pete (cage door wide open & a big bowl of water in front for Pete to bathe in; 

No. 3 is my sister and I with Pete (I'm the big sister on the right), and...

No. 4 is my Nana holding up my sister when she was very young to see Pet close up. 

(Oh how I wish I had that bird cage and the table it stood on in some of the photos!)

Since I don't, I did the next best thing and got a vintage cage of my own to set in the family room, right next to an almost identical table that once belonged to my Mom (with the small table covering).

And, of course, the cage is complete with a (faux) parakeet and a canary!

Now speaking of birds, there is a lot going on outside.

The bluebirds have most definitely claimed the birdhouse as their own.

Mama and Papa spent quite a bit of time making their nest.

... and it appears that Mama is now in the box almost constantly, which makes me think she has laid her eggs. And Papa is never far away.

Quite exciting indeed!

On another note, when I looked out the window this morning...

... I spied a burst of brilliant orange...

... which can only mean one thing...

The Baltimore Orioles have arrived after a long winter's absence.

Of course our little robin friends also have brilliant red/orange breasts, but these boys have been around since February/March and are much more common than the Baltimore Orioles.

And last, but certainly not least, we've had our first hummingbirds arrive! A female was at the feeders last night and a male was at them today. They were not on the feeders when I took these photos, but take a look at the sweet mourning doves in the background. One is on the bench in front of the window and the other is on the large flat rock on the ground in front of the bench.

Spring arriving has been such a blessing after the long hard winter.

I hope you all have a wonderful week.

I'm joining Brenda at Cozy Little House for Tweak It Tuesday
and Cindy at My Romantic Home for Show & Tell Friday.

Donna

Blue and green...

A lovely color combination that has worked its way into both our garden and our home...

In the garden:


An ordinary trip to the grocery store turned into gasps of 'ooooh' and 'aaaaah' when I spotted the beautiful hydrangea bushes being offered for sale in the produce/floral area.


How boring to spend my money on chicken and rice and such when I could bring home one of these instead!!


After all, the family could sit on the deck and eat cereal or sandwiches while gazing upon these beautiful blossoms, right? A great trade-off, if you ask me!

There was a wide selection to choose from... some pink, some blue, and some a combination of blue and green, which is what I chose... It's still sitting on the deck, waiting for me to decide the perfect place to plant it.

I wish I could keep it in a container on the deck year 'round, but #1, it wouldn't survive our New England winters if it was just in a pot, and #2, bringing it inside isn't an option since it grows to a height and width of 5 feet (a tad too big for any of our little rooms!)

In the home:

You've met Pete before (he's the green parakeet on the left)...

...but here is our newest addition, Re-Pete...

Pete is vintage whereas Re-Pete is new, but they haven't let their huge age difference keep them from becoming best of friends.

The pair of them provided me with another opportunity to work in that blue and green color combination that I love so much!! (The three main colors that I keep repeating in our little cottage - because I love them all so much - are blue, green, and peachy-pink!!)

Wishing you all a lovely weekend!! I hope to get some flowers in the ground, if the weather cooperates!!

Donna

Birdcage Deja Vu....

(click any photos to enlarge)

This birdcage sits on top of the TV armoire in our living room. It may look familiar to you....


...because I showed you photos of it last year...


... when I found it (along with these two vintage frames) while junktiquing in New Hampshire.

The cage is flanked by the reproduction Staffordshire dogs that I got for Amanda last year...

They seem quite happy to be protecting it (although from what, I don't know!)

(mid 1950's... Nana lifting up my sister so she could see Pete the parakeet in his cage)

If you've ever read some of my older posts, you know I love vintage children's books... So you can imagine how excited I was when I happened across this copyright 1954 "Parakeet Peter" book (with the 29 cent price stamped on the front cover!)

It's just perfect! (This is exactly how my mom, sister, and I would hold our Pete's while teaching them to talk)...

We had a ladder and bell just like the ones pictured here...

And a few posts ago, I showed you a photo of my Nana's Pete with his bowl of water sitting in front of his cage, just like in this picture... Deja vu indeed!

Yup... We even had a mirror for our Pete...

Such sweet memories this book brought back!!!

Donna

Mini Bird Cage... #4

This is something of a make-shift corner in our dining area, with all kinds of things sitting on top of each other!! (See all the rainbows from my window prisms?)


(click any photos to enlarge)
I've had this mini bird cage for so long that I don't even remember where I bought it! It sits on top of a little mirrored cabinet which, in turn, sits on top of our little jelly cupboard.


I thought these parakeets were life-sized when I ordered them on-line a year or two ago. When I got them I was disappointed because they were so teensy weensy. But then I realized they were the perfect size for this little cage...


So little green Pete sits on the right hand side of the cage...



...while little blue Pete sits on the left...

And here's my beautiful Nana posing with her handsome Pete back in the 1950's. She absolutely loved her parakeet(s). In many of the photos I have of her with a bird, the cage door is wide open so her Pete could come out if he wanted. In the photo above, you can see that the cage door is open and she has put a little bowl of water in front of Pete's cage for him to bathe in. The writing on the back of several photos tell how Pete loved to bathe in these little water filled bowls that Nana put out for him...

I have a table very similar to the one pictured above that belonged to my mom. Some day I'll post about it. But just the other night I saw tables almost identical to this one at Target, except they were black and my Nana's was green.

By the way, I'm going to try to post my 'one-year blog anniversary' giveaway items on Saturday, so be sure to check back then, especially if you like birdies!!!

Donna

For the love of Pete...

Meet Pete. We owned several parakeets throughout my childhood years and all, but one, were named Pete (why the long succession of Pete's was interrupted by a single "Bambi" escapes me right now...) In any case, it seemed fitting that I name this little guy Pete...


My Nana also loved parakeets, so they were very much a part of my childhood, way back in the 50's. I'm very nostalgic about that era and I love to decorate our little cottage with things that remind me of that innocent time.


So when I found this little Lefton China parakeet for $3 at a vintage shop, he made his way home with me. I have no idea if $3 is a good price or not. I'm not into 'antique' values. Apparently there was a minor 'glue/repair' job on this little guy (although I'll be darned if I can find it) so it lowered his value a bit. In any case, I thought $3 was a more than fair price to bring home this little piece of nostalgia...

This was Pete's former home. These photos were actually taken last September. If you ever find yourself in downtown Clinton, MA, definitely pop into Viviana's Vintage.

You never know what you will find... New things are always coming and going....

...like these round framed florals...

All kinds of jewelry, including vintage clip-on earrings...

How about this kids' pink kitchen set?

There are lots of vintage clothes to check out...

...and many unique, one-of-a-kind items...

Anyhow, I thought I'd share photos of Pete with you because I worked him into a kitchen counter vignette that incorporates Sally, my vintage cat planter from the Salvation Army (yesterday's post). Hopefully I'll be ready to share pictures of them both tomorrow!

P.S. Sally has had her bath, so the 'grunge' look is gone - she looks mahvelous!!!

Donna

P.S. It's 1:54 PM as I'm updating this... I just looked at my little sidebar Weather Widget and we are in the middle of a HEAT WAVE here in New England - it's a balmy 61 degrees (with some pretty fierce winds, I might add!)