Showing posts with label Cottage Style Party. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Cottage Style Party. Show all posts

Tuesday, June 3, 2014

Up close and Personal

Sometimes I  like to just get upclose and personal... whether  inside or out.....  a close up of my  gorgeous pink petunias  greet visitors  by the door...
The blue salvia  flanks my    statuary  on the wall... 
 A precious hand crafted and  painted  butterfly  my mother made  for me about 20 years ago graces  the dining room  arrangement on the sideboard... 
 My  style  is  pretty eclectic and  very    floral as I bring the out doors inside..... especially in spring...
 A mix of  all manner of items  displayed throughout.. like this  small hobnail  vase of violas,   I remember  this vase in my grandma's kitchen window..
 HAHAHA a leftover from March.... a Celtic cross hidden away in a sea of green silk hydrangeas...
 And always a bird or two, to remind me of our little Birdie....

This may be the last  time I will be  using  silk  blues this season, as my  very own hydrangea bush  has many  buds on it this year...   I am so happy about that!!!!! 

I confess that upclose photos today   made sense because the  rooms around  the house  as still in somewhat of a disarray...  Birdie's  play yard is still assembled in the living room,  and  the  dining table is  still  a gathering place for  things  ever sense the girls were here and  it   became the packing headquarters  as  they were prepapring to leave us...  what to   take and what to leave behind....sad to admit,  I dont want to put Birdie's  toys away.... it makes me really feel like Grammy CC  to have  them lying about... BUT  tomorrow is another day and Lynn and I  are determined we are going to get a handle on the house....  well, what I mean is...  there is simply too much clutter.... I  want to  cull out about a ton of stuff for a very important   yard sale  to help fund a young 6 year old's  cancer treatment from our church....praise God the   leukemia is treatable  but  the  chemo is very expensive....  what better time than this to  make a difference in my house   to help make a difference in  this  little boy's life!  







Thursday, January 30, 2014

January Birding

Savvy Southern Style
Tonight I am joining Kim at Savvy Southern Style for Wow Me  Wednesday!

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I have just returned from  Boston   where we visited  with our daughter and granddaughter....   what a blessed  visit..  our lil Birdie is 4 months old this week..  and she is such a  sweetheart..


during our visit we  started the cutest project for Birdie's room...
this
Bird Mobile
mobile is  so appropriate for   her   room and we  wanted to   have  multicolored birds   just as shown....
at first  we thought  we'd like to downsize the pattern
but it was very difficult to turn and to stuff, so  we ditched that and  really liked the origial  size, after all.
So  we shopped and planned    then I set about   teaching  Amanda  various   stitches and   had  a few  sewing lessons  before we  began...








by alternating  bird body fabric with  contrasting   bird bottoms. we  created some  very   cute birdies!


Home and Garden Thursday
Grace at Home
Thursday Favorite Things
Cottage Style Party
The Charm of Home

Sunday, January 12, 2014

Suits me to a Tea


It feels  so  great to have the  Christmas decorations down and put away.... to  start out  the new year, I am thinking  fresh....  and  that makes me think  yellow and blue!
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I see from this photo  from a few years ago, I was in a yellow and  blue mood as well,   but   this year I am changing it up a bit...the challenge  is always,  how I can  make it  really speak to my inner sensibilities!
My sensibilities  this  new year  are  strained from one end of the spectrum to the other....  dealing with death of a parent  on one extreme, and the  birth of my first grandchild on the other...so  it's no telling   how I will  bring yellow  for the   excitement of   new life together with the "blues"  of  loss and  memories....  it is a work in progress...  so   I'll finish  this post   in a few hours!
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The table is set for tomorrow's   mini  brunch    with my  Prayer Sista's

I think it  looks   casually cheerful!



I  really   love the  soft creamery yellow   against the  various blues for January..   it still  recalls the  crispness of  a  winter's day with the  promise of  a Southern  sun  shining through the window panes..

I never got my snowmen out for the holidays,
so  this handsome fellow  will keep us smiling  ! 
The blue transferware patterns  have been my last one to  start  adding to my collection,  probably, because they seem to be  so  prevalent, at least around here...  so  my collection is rather limited...I   love   searching  through   antique and consignment shops  looking for  various   items  ...  mix and match suits me to a tea!  This first plate, Im not   so   enticed by  for its story  is  pretty one-dimensional.. 
Most of the rest  are  English   countryside themes... 
I   was  fortunate to find a  set of 3  of these   in my favorite consignment shop last winter. 
But this is my favorite... I always   am drawn  to the castle patterns  first and foremost! 
I have now collected   the black, red, and blue....  but my available storage limits me to these three without a doubt!


So  now in the morning all I will have to do is  bake my Impossible Quiche and  perk the coffee, steep the tea, and  look forward to sharing with  my very best friends! 


I am  sharing on Seasonal Sundays..



A Return to Loveliness@ A Delightsome Life

Martha’s Favorites @ Martha’s Favorites



Tea Time Tuesday @ Rose Chintz Cottage



Teacup Tuesday @ Artful Affirmations




Friends Sharing Tea @ Bernideen's Tea Time Blog

Share Your Cup Thursday@ http://jannolson.blogspot.com

Cottage Style Linky Party@ http://lavendergardencottage.blogspot.com

Tuesday, September 10, 2013

Zillow Proves it can be Done!


Don't you  love to peruse the internet for  helpful     sources  for improving  the home...

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 photo July2012118.jpgMy mind set  this autumn besides  thinking of  getting   the pumpkins and   colored garlands   out of storage,  is   to think of   a  general  reordering of  the household.... possibly because  more and more I am thinking on what  we need to do to this house ready to make it   sellable... don't get me wrong.. I love this house,  but   I dont like   the stairs...and so many of my  friends   are   moving into patio homes....   which have   a certain allure for me...but     to   make  any kind of move requires a  major   paring back....   and organization....
 hard to believe that I have been through   the  curio cabinet   several times lately trying to  scale  back....
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One of several hutches    demonstrates   my   weakness for    china...   and   as seen here,   rooms   filled   with too much  "stuff"!
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My house is looking  just  like  grandma's and since Im   almost   a new grandma,   Im thinking   chances are if I dont start  in to   shedding   a  bit of stuff     the house  will really   begin to look like a hoarder's home without much provocation!  I get my inspiration to   de-clutter  from looking at  homes for sale on "Zillow"  ..... love that site,   but  I sure do have  my work cut for me!

     
I dont know... seems almost   nigh unto impossible to me!!
A Return to Loveliness at A Delightsome Life
Make it Pretty Monday at The Dedicated House
Cottage Style Party @ Lavender Garden Cottage
Open House Party at No Minimalist Here
Favorite Things Thursday at Katherine’s Corner
Home Sweet Home at The Charm of Home on T
hursday

Tuesday, August 20, 2013

On Old fashioned Gal

Oh, me!  have you ever  almost finished   a  really  great post  and  you  hit  a keystroke and it all  disappears.....!  Very disheartening... I  dont know  that I can retrieve it from  my  memory   much less  this computer's  !I know it started out with...
Good Morning!..  Well, it was morning, then!
 here goes,  again!
During the  few weeks I've been unable to blog,  I  have spent   some   time   processing   and  several revelations have come to me  about  myself.   I  guess they could be summed up   to  say, i truly am  an old fogey, ..oops, I mean,  an old-fashioned gal!
  Now  I  do  enjoy  HGTV  as much or more than  many folks,   but this  idea that  to sell a house,  one must  remove  all  personal   marks  of the home and   neutralize  it  stuns me....   I mean,    I become fairly paralyzed to think that someday I  have to do that if I  dare to think of selling   ...   and we do  need to downsize, and  move onto one level....  I actually have my eye on  a  sweetest patio home....and yes, I do need to  get rid of a ton of stuff....   but  how?
Ok,   I do   visit Zillow frequently!   And  there is  the living proof  that it  is and can be done....  I am  convinced   people     rent  a storage unit to  de-clutter their  home for showing....
  I mean, I am not   a minimalist, and  have no  intention of  becoming one...call me old-fashioned, but I love my stuff.   it represents  our lives together!
I mean,    I think in layers....
   layers of   flavor in my  food,  and layers of   dimension in my decorating!


The storyteller in me   comes out when I  put  a  vignette  together...
  Items  that  remind me of  my   family,   times as a child on the farm,    heirlooms that  passed on to me,   these   all   become   such a part of   my  decorating schemes,  I  can't imagine disconnecting  from    treasures  that   have  contributed to making  our  house a home, and    that   carry with them  such   living   memories....
Yes,   I love to layer,  


 but now to the problem at hand...
  I didnt   grow up  in the Depression  but my family did  and  somehow the genes to keep everything    passed on to me!
Take this painting ,  for example,    well,  go ahead... take it!...
Because I dont know   what to do with it...  My mother loved it, and it hung over her  sofa....   It  is   lovely , but it certainly doesnt   go   here... in the least...  I   really need to   disconnect  from  pieces  that  dont   speak  anything except....  how  my mother loved it....

Note that the tall   flower  arrangement will be going to Boston soon when the baby arrives.. That was used in Amanda's shower and will  look  great in the nursery!  And the  fairy items will be incorporated into  a  fairy   village  this   fall  outside....   so   I will reclaim this space  soon... YAYAYAYAYAY!
  
 But   let's  turn to the dining  table in the sun room...
Now the blue and white   makes the room  seem   cool, and  with the humidity returning,   this   tablescape is in no hurry to    be changed...

But what I really love about it is the planter.
Not just the planter  but my wonderful   new   philodendron...
 An  old-fashioned   kind of   indoor plant...  so  forgiving....  I dont think I  could   kill this  plant if I tried... as I have all the other newer  varieties I've used in this planter... I love it   so much  I think I  should name him...  he is so handsome and healthy....  perhaps  Hugh, (  loved Les Mes)  so much....
   and  oh, how Id love to see    Hugh just take off and   spiral  his tendrils  up the wall and over the  sashes and  consume the  sun room....  just like philodendrons  used to do   back in the day!

Nothing minimal about that, I daresay!
Yes,  IM   just old-fashioned, and I say,   so what..  it is who I am, and  I have no desire to change....Will  I   try to   do what Amanda  tells me to do...."Mom, take  a bag around  the house everyday and  put   something in it   to take  to the Goodwill...  I guarantee, Mom,  after a while,  you'll forget all about it!"
Yes,  I do that  about  once every other month>..  And I  know, I  should try to  do that  at least  once every other week.....  because,  after going through all of  mom's   clutter, I do not wish that on Amanda!  Just  writing this  again   has  made me  feel a bit  motivated....   I think it  is a God thing that I was   made to   recreate this post because the   ending is rather different and  much more   appropriate....So  let me  go  find a nice  large   sturdy bag and  get to   house shopping  for   my next   delivery  to   the   Good will! For someone   may be truly needing   something  I just dont  anymore!
A Return to Loveliness at A Delightsome Life
Make it Pretty Monday at The Dedicated House
Inspire Me Tuesday at A Stroll Thru Life on Tuesday
Cottage Style Party @ Lavender Garden Cottage
Open House Party at No Minimalist Here
Favorite Things Thursday at Katherine’s Corner
Home Sweet Home at The Charm of Home on T
hursday

Tuesday, July 9, 2013

Back to Basic Living


It  has been   rather   good to put the  red, white, and blue away and get back to basics...
It all started with my  birthday yesterday...
  I  received  some   wonderful  gifts...
This book  is one  our   Bible  teacher has  been  quoting from   now for several weeks...
I  can't wait to   get into it... Im definitely taking it on my train trip....  later this month!
Another great read   I got was 
I am  reading this book aloud to my husband each morning..   we  are  so inpsired  by   Eric Metaxas' writing!
Some   personal items and  delicious food followed...   but this next item I,  also, love....
My friend   walked into  the    consignment shop and  just  said, "Lord,  Show me what Carolyn would like."
This gorgeous brass pitcher made in Italy....  
which I added to   this   arrangement
I felt  so   amazed  a month ago   when  the Lord led me to this  painting.. one Im pretty sure most  folks  would  bypass in a hurry,  but   I love it........  what cant be seen  in this photo very well,  is that in the far background  on the right is the shadow of St. George slaying the dragon.... I love the  spiritual  connotation of this...
for  our battle is in the spirit realm....our weapons  are  spirit, as well!
Notice how the   delicate   yet intricate  shape of the   new pitcher   mimics the   graceful lines of the one in the photo....  I  love it!
I turn now   180 degrees and  capture the  dining table...
Time to  hail   teatime.... 

My dear cousin, Pam,  is   coming   for a wee visit  this evening,  as   several of my mom's sisters  are gathering to   visit with  her, dad and us  tomorrow  for luncheon.......
I want to take  advantage of  Pam's visit  to   enjoy a bit of teatime together...  
   so I found this  wonderful low carb  dessert  to try 
for this evening...paired  with  a nice  green tea  fruited  cooler....   yum!


Summer To Autumn Peach Galette
in Diana's Recipe Book


Servings: 8

Comments:
Top each slice with a dollap of Lite or Fat-Free Non-Dairy Whipped Topping, and indulge in this lovely summer to autumn galette.


Ingredients:
1/2 of a 15-ounce package folded refrigerated unbaked
piecrust (1 crust)
1/4 cup granulated sugar
4 teaspoons all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
3 cups peeled and sliced peaches
(1 1/2 pounds)
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 large egg, beaten
1 tablespoon water

Instructions:
Let the pie crust stand at room temperature according to package
directions; unfold. Line a large baking sheet with foil and lightly flour.
Place pastry on the prepared baking sheet and roll to a 14 x 11-inc oval.

In a large mixing bowl stir together granulated sugar, flour, and
nutmeg. Stir in peaches and lemon juice. Spoon peach mixture onto
pastry, leaving a 2-inch border.

Fold pastry border up and over peaches, folding edges gently as needed. Combine egg and water.Brush egg mixture onto the top and sides of the crust. Bake in a 375 degree F. oven for 40 to 45 minutes or until the crust is golden. If necessary, cover top crust with foil for the last 10 to 15 minutes of baking to prevent overbrowning. Cool for 30 minutes on the baking sheet. Makes 8 servings.

Tip: You can substitute nectarines, plums, or other summer fruit for the peaches, if desired.

source

This week Im sharing here....

Blue Monday @ Smiling Sally
A Return to Loveliness at A Delightsome Life
Make it Pretty Monday at The Dedicated House
Tea Time Tuesday at Rose Chintz Cottage
Tea Cup Tuesday~ Artful Affirmations
Tea Cup Tuesday ~Martha’s Favorites
Tuesday Cuppa Tea~ Antiques and Teacups
Friends Sharing Tea ~ Open House @Bernideen’s Teatime Blog
Inspire Me Tuesday at A Stroll Thru Life on Tuesday
Cottage Style Party @ Lavender Garden Cottage
Open House Party at No Minimalist Here
Favorite Things Thursday at Katherine’s Corner
Home Sweet Home at The Charm of Home on T
hursday

Friday's Fave 5

Hosted by  Susanne!                                         Does time seem to be flying by? I am getting so I cannot keep up... sos I am doi...