It's "Muggy" Today....

Since several people commented on my iced coffee mug from last Tuesday's post, I thought I'd share my whole mismatched collection! But talk about being a "lazy blogger" - you'll see why as you scroll through the photos...


We're always dropping plates or mugs or whatnot in this house, so it's next to impossible to have a matched set of anything... This is the mug that so many of you commented on...


Luckily for me, "mismatched" is now an acceptable theme for setting a table these days! (Wouldn't it have been even prettier with a beverage inside it?... Like I said... Lazy - but it gets worse...)


These are my big, oversized mugs and I use them all the time! (Perhaps I could have at least changed the placemat for a few of the photos?)...


They're all very inexpensive, purchased at The Christmas Tree Shop... Everyone in the New England area knows that "inexpensive" and "Christmas Tree Shop" are synonyms. (Or set up a different 'prop' rather than just my cherub planter??)


This is a smaller mug... I loved the little feet on this one. (Or even shot from a different angle??)


This one looks like such a delicate watercolor painting. (But no... I just shot from the same angle...)


I must admit, these mugs are a very cheerful sight in the kitchen cupboard... (...on the same placemat...)


A sweet cottage rosebud cup.... (with the same cherub planter...)


Only the mugs were changed! (Bad blogger... naughty blogger... lazy blogger...)


So like I said, it's a muggy day here in New England... (that must be why I was lazy... the muggies got to me...)


... but I'll take these kind of "muggies" any day!


Hey, this one looks naked!!! Okay, it may not be colorful but it's still one of my favorites. I think I have two left out of an original set of four Fantasia mugs that I bought back in the 80's at a Princess House home party.

Bottoms up, everyone!!

Donna

Happy Birthday, Dad!

Update to Comments... Thank you ALL for leaving such precious comments! My dad, who isn't of the computer generation, saw his "birthday blog post" on my computer after supper tonight, and he got the biggest kick out of the fact that people who don't even know him took the time to leave such sweet messages/birthday wishes!! Thank you all - so much - for making his birthday all the more special!!!!! ...Donna


Doesn't he look cute out on the deck last night? The apple doesn't fall far from the tree... Look what he's holding - a peanut for Sammy Squirrel or Chip! He's a regular animal lover, and looks forward to the little critters visiting him when we eat out on the deck every night...


And here is is with the girls a couple of years ago... A mutual admiration society, I'd say!!


And here I am, with mom and dad, many, many years ago!

"Blessed is the person who has earned the love of an old dog."

~ Sidney Jeanne Seward

This is one of the most touching photos I have of my dad... Dad absolutely loved our Mr. O'Malley - and vice versa. They were best buddies. Ever since Mom died about 12 years ago, Dad has come over for dinner most nights. Malley would always plunk himself down next to dad, knowing handouts from him were a sure bet. That, of course, earned Dad "top dog" spot in Malley's eyes... Here is Dad, saying his last goodbye to his buddy, the night before O'Malley had to be put to sleep last September... There are so many emotions attached to this ph0to, but most of all love...


No, they don't make them like you anymore, Dad... You are one in a million and we all love you so much!

Love, Donna

Creative Concealment

What a super idea! Melissa at The Inspired Room shared lots of tips and ideas on how to conceal the "less than flattering" areas of our homes, and she invited readers to share their own "creative concealments." Boy, am I familiar with that process because I've got lots of flaws to hide in my house!!!

We'll start in the family room...


This isn't a bad view... especially when you realize this could be the view....


Yup, this wall - visible from the kitchen, dining room, and family room - was the only wall for the circuit breaker box when we had the family room put on almost 20 years ago; the mirror does double duty, both hiding the ugly breaker box and providing a nice view of the deck from inside the house. (And I thought I was the only one concealing a circuit breaker box until I read Cindy's "creative concealment" blog post the other day!)


Just today we moved mirrors around. The larger mirror that used to hang here is now in the entryway.... But oh, dear, this will never do... Look what I just noticed - the nasty gold hanger/hook on the mirror shows, and it is ugly!



And then I had an "aha" moment....


... I went into my old 'clip earring' stash and found a sweet little flower shaped earring to sit on top of the mirror - right in front of the ugly gold hanger...


Much better!!! Okay, on to the living room....


When we (hubby) made the new fireplace surround (which, in and of itself, hides the ugly beige 80's brick underneath), we (I) didn't take into account one minor detail... the flue knob. Since hubby insisted on cutting a big hole to access it, I had to get creative... So see that little framed painting just above the fireplace screen?


Here's a closer look so you don't have to squint so much... Well, this is the ugly little secret hidden behind that miniature masterpiece:


{{{shudder}}}....

And finally, the kitchen... When I painted my dark "fake wood" 1980's cabinets a creamy white, I thought it would be nice for one cabinet to have glass or Plexi inserts... I mean, heck, I could keep at least one cabinet neat and tidy, right?... So when we took off all the cabinet doors for painting, I gave hubby the two I wanted 'altered'...

....Well, after hubby cut out the center panels, I realized that this was the cabinet that had the center shelf that looks like an old swayback horse! I suppose we could have gone out and bought another shelf, but I decided to give the kitchen a little "cottage" influence instead...


... so "old swayback" is now hidden behind two fabric panels... Mission accomplished!

I have lots of other concealed 'flaws' but I'll save them for a later post as I've already rambled on too long! Melissa has a link to all the bloggers who have posted their own "creative concealments" so be sure to visit her blog and check them all out!!! There are some great ones!

Donna

Happy Birthday, America!

We, on this continent, should never forget that men first crossed the Atlantic not to find soil for their ploughs,

but to secure liberty for their souls.

~Robert J. McCracken

Where liberty dwells, there is my country.

~Benjamin Franklin

All we have of freedom, all we use or know;

This our fathers bought for us long and long ago.

~Rudyard Kipling, The Old Issue, 1899

From every mountainside, Let Freedom ring.

~Samuel F. Smith, "America"

And I'm proud to be an American,

where at least I know I'm free.

And I won't forget the men who died,

who gave that right to me.

~Lee Greenwood

Happy 4th of July to you all! And a huge thank you to all the brave men and women who serve our country, and for the sacrifices their families make...

Donna

Children's books...

There is no substitute for books in the life of a child.

~ Mary Ellen Chase, 1952

Just look at these treasures I found at Bearly Read books the other day!!

Little Bird (copyright 1964; by Catherine Stahlmann/illustrator Irma Wilde) is so sweet - a little "Junior Elf Book" about a baby bird who discovers everyday joys - he likes greeting the sun best, then eating best, then taking a bath best, then flying best (etc, etc), and then just being a baby bird best!
Wildflowers (copyright 1932; by Jane Harvey/illustrator Irving Lawson) is filled with the prettiest paintings and descriptions of a wide variety of flowers.
Mick The Disobedient Puppy (copyright ~1956; by Noel Barr/illustrator P.B. Hickling) is one of a series of Ladybird books. This book is so beautifully illustrated. The story and illustrations tell of a rambunctious little black poodle and how he went from being thought of as naughty to being thought of as quite the hero!


How could I pass up this 1956 copy of Romper Room Do Bees - A Book of Manners (by Nancy Claster/illustrator Eleanor Dart). After all, I grew up with Miss Jean and always tried to be a Do Bee!
Or this 1961 My Flower Book (by Dorothy Thompson Landis/illustrator Elizabeth Webbe)...The illustrations are just adorable - cottage gardens for sure!

The "Romper Room Manners" book belonged to a little boy named "Bobby D" and this is pretty much the only page that was marked up in the book... a chart where "Mother" could check off if you were a "Do Bee" for specific days and chores. It appears that Bobby D. wanted no part of that chart. I certainly don't think scribbling and coloring over that chart in bright purple crayon made him a "Don't Bee" though.... I prefer to think of him as very creative, and I'm quite certain his mom probably thought so, too!

Now this is a perfect example of a book that makes me go weak in the knees... The Horse That Takes The Milk Around (copyright 1946; by Helen Sterling/illustrator Marjorie Hartwell)...

It is in SUCH good shape except for the normal wear and tear of years and years of being treasured and loved, both for the sweet story and the exceptional illustrations...


This is the back cover of the book... Just look at that mama kitty and her babies following that milk truck on its rounds... This book is done in verse & rhyme, and it follows the milkman and his horse as they get up in the middle of the night to start their deliveries, and ends the next morning when they finally arrive back at the barn...


Just look at that sweet little cottage with its flowerbeds and white picket fence... I just want to move right into this book and live happily ever after! (see what these books do to me??)


And I had to share a few more illustrations from Mick the Disobedient Puppy because they are just so beautiful!


Just look at those robin's egg blue walls, that white painted dresser/mirror, and that peachy pink spread... Even though this book is from the early 50's, it's the same colors that so many of us decorate with today! (Although I have to say that the mom and dad are hardly a representation of what hubby and I look like at bedtime!)


This is "the old lady" who came to tea one day, and who didn't particularly care for dogs. It's so true, how animals will make a beeline right to the people who fear them or don't care for them!! I personally think they're always trying to win them over!


Now this is not an old book at all, but it is by one of my favorite author/illustrators, Tomie dePaola. Nana Upstairs & Nana Downstairs (text copyright 1973; illustration copyright 1998) is absolutely the sweetest story about Tomie's real life nana and great nana... It's in brand new condition, hardcover, dust jacket and it's a signed 1st edition - for only $6!!
My oldest daughter LOVED Tomie's books when she was little. We read them all the time. She wrote to him when she was in elementary school, and she received back the loveliest hand-written note from him along with a signed photograph. I had always loved him/his books before that, but I totally loved him with a mom's heart from that day on (and that's strong love!) because it made her feel so special that he wrote back to her! (Which I'm sure had no bearing on the fact that she majored in illustration and minored in literature...) [... or did it?]


Yes, used children's books tug at my heartstrings in so many ways... the wonderful stories, the illustrations that make me want to live within the pages... and, as you see above, the sweet inscriptions or scrawled names that are so often found on the inside cover pages. I often wonder how these books got separated from their owners...

The Horse That Takes the Milk Around has an inscription that reads: To "Denny" from "Mummy" and Daddy - Easter 1947...

My Flower Book is inscribed: To Kristen from Grammy 1971... It is scrawled in such childlike penmanship that it makes me wonder if Kristen herself wrote it so she would always remember that her Grammy gave it to her, and when...

The name Adam is written in beautiful penmanship on the top corner of Little Bird. I think Adam's mom probably wrote his name in this lovely little book... Perhaps he reminded her of Little Bird, so excited about the simple joys of ordinary days...

And look at Bobby D., who so carefully centered and wrote his name in the "This Little Golden Book belongs to" section on the inside cover of his Romper Room Do Bees - A Book of Manners... See, he was definitely a Do Bee!

So Denny, Kristen, Adam, and Bobby D... rest assured that your childhood books have found a new home where they will be loved and treasured, just as you loved and treasured them so many years ago...

Books, to the reading child, are so much more than books -- they are dreams and knowledge, they are a future, and a past.

~ Esther Meynell (1940)

Donna

Bearly Read Books...

"Lord! when you sell a man a book you don't sell just twelve ounces of paper and ink and glue - you sell him a whole new life..."

~ Christopher Morley

If you're a book lover who happens to find yourself traveling down Boston Post Road (Rte. 20) through Sudbury, MA, be sure to stop in at Bearly Read Books.

"The smallest bookstore still contains more ideas of worth than have been presented in the entire history of television."

~ Andrew Ross

"Reading in a comfy chair is just like a little vacation."

(Read to your Bunny)

...and this is where we spent a good chunk of time this past Saturday afternoon. Just look at the cozy reading nook where you can leisurely look through the books before deciding if you want to purchase them or not...

Bears are clearly the mascots for "Bearly Read Books."

"When you read a book as a child, it becomes a part of your identity in a way that no other reading in your whole life does."

(Kathleen Kelly/Meg Ryan - You've Got Mail)

This is my favorite section of the shop... the children's books. Shelves upon shelves of the most incredibly illustrated children's books (my weakness). I found a few beautiful editions of "The Night Before Christmas" to add to my collection, and I'll write more about those come December... but tomorrow I'll share some of the other books I fell in love with (and therefore brought home with me!!!)

"I would be most content if my children grew up to be the kind of people who think decorating consists mostly of building enough bookshelves."

~Anna Quindlen

I just love that little shops like this still exist (sigh)... They are good for my heart and soul!~

Donna

Guilty pleasures....

There is nothing more relaxing than a balmy summer evening, sitting out on the deck and flipping through my latest magazines...


Last night at Target I picked up the latest issues of Romantic Country, Romantic Homes, and Garden Gate (as well as some AA batteries and cat food, but they're not as pretty to photograph or as interesting to write about!)...


I spread one of my old vintage tablecloths over the patio table, put my sweet basil (for the smell) and impatiens (for the color) on the center of the table...


...and made a cup of iced coffee in one of my favorite oversized mugs.... Now it's time to sit down and pore over these inspiring magazines. So relaxing... So simple... such guilty (not!) pleasures...

Donna