cottage

Valentine’s Decor at the Cottage

cottage, holiday decor, We're having a party
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Our Galentine's Day workshop was the best!  What a fun day, with fun ladies.  

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And how nice to have a reason to decorate for Valentine's Day. It is easy for me to overlook this holiday, so a little nudge doesn't hurt.

Plus- CANDY!

The yummiest of decor.

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Speaking of candy, I found some sugar cookie flavored Peeps to give out to each guest.  Since my main workshop is called "Birdsong", I have nicknamed all of my guests, my Peeps. 

I also made hearts from cherry tomatoes and baked individual chicken pot pies with heart shaped puff pastry on top. Which I forgot to photograph, but I'm sure you get the idea.

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My pal and SIL surprised me with this cut velvet scarf, which I used as a runner.  It was just what the table needed.

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While it is still wintery here, and we have snow to prove it, I was ready for my spring time slip covers that are blooming with roses.  I figured that Valentine's Day was a good time to get all rosy and cozy on the sofa.

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And I added handmade hearts gifted to me from some of my favorite artists, Beth Leintz, Lori Oles, and Andrea Singarella to my chandelier.

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Beth asked me if my bathroom was pinker than usual, but the only difference was a hand towel.  Maybe it was just the rosy mood we were all in that made the powder room seem pinker?

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I did add some pink liquid soap too.

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Because if you can't indulge in extra pinkiness at Galentine's, when can you????

 

A Redo for Ryan

cottage, family
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My son, Ryan turned 40 last weekend.  We celebrated by remodeling his apartment on the side of our house.  When he moved in, he was younger, and shall we say….less careful… with his surroundings.  The combo of not cleaning the bathroom enough and our hard, well water left the shower more than slightly, well, hideous.  

He is a different person now, and has taken a lot of pride in the new space, working along with  his brother to gut it and helping me repaint it.  I have a feeling that this room will stay nice now.

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Here is a mid rip out picture, I didn't get a before because those two guys dug right in before I got a chance.

There had been a kitchenette area that Ry never used, and he wanted it out so he could make better use of the space.

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For the resale value of our home, I didn't want to eliminate the plumbing. There might be a use of the sink hookups later on. So, Adam figured out a way to cover them up by building an entertainment center for his brother.

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Ry got a custom built cabinet to house his electronics!

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When we first built the addition, 13 years ago, we went bare bones, cheap as we could.  This time around, we gave it an upgrade because we discovered that you get what you paid for. The vanity was in bad shape and the laminate floor was coming apart.  

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A new floor was put in the living and bedroom areas, and tile was added in the bathroom.

The shower, potty, and vanity were replaced with better quality pieces.  I especially love that sink top! Black quartz with a coppery vein through it.

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Nice!

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I'm so happy with how it all turned out for him, and he can't stop gushing. We are lucky to have a talented handyman, Adam, to do the work for us and in what seemed like no time at all.  It took about a week total, which is pretty impressive.

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Living through a redo like this isn't easy, but when the family chips in to help, it goes quicker than you'd think.  And I loved seeing my boys working together, getting this done.  Well, "working together" most of the time. There were a few arguments that reminded me of the good old days when they were much younger.

It was pretty nice to have the two grand fairies staying here all week while their daddy did the job too.  

With the work done, it seems too quiet around here with no hammering, and kids playing.  I even miss the little spats between the guys. 

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But I do NOT miss this awful shower.  We tried everything under the sun to clean it, but no way.  It had to go!  Thanks to Adam and all of his skills, the place looks great.  And thanks to Ryan for his design choices and good ideas as well as all of the work he did to keep this job rolling.

We came in under budget too!

 

The master bedroom and the hearth room from the holiday home tour, a couple more videos

cottage, holiday decor
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These pillows are $5 each at Walmart!  And had a nice sparkle to them.

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My rose and bluebird paintings get covered up with foam core board and burlap, then I add angel wings for the holidays. The foam core is held in place with a couple of small nails into the frames.

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Everything looks better under glass!  I added a couple of cloches to this display, and used books for different levels.

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This is a pre-lit garland from Kohls that I ended up getting free with good ole Kohls' Cash.  I added dried hydrangeas then rounded up all of my angels.
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The stained glass piece that my friend made fits this lace heart so well that I might leave it up all year. Heck, I've already got a start on holiday mishmash by leaving out the Valentine heart.  I should slap an Easter egg on it and go for it.

 

Scenes from the Holiday Home Tour (a ton of photos)

cottage, holiday decor
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I'd been a little worried about having enough volunteers for the tour, but my friends dropped by to help out.  We also ended up with some Americore kids that needed some public service hours (the tour benefitted the non-profit, Healthcare Access).  So, all bases were covered and there were plenty of helpers.  Instead of them helping an hour then leaving, they stayed all day and we turned it into a party! There was crafting, visiting, and just hanging out going on.

Having my pals there sure made the day extra special for me.

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Any day that you get to laugh with your friends is the best kind of day.

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Twinkle decided to be the greeter. She is always a good helper too.

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Having my entire house clean at the same time was the hardest part of the event.

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Especially with a husband and kids around. I had the kids' rooms cleaned and ready ahead of time, then the girls asked to come over to stay.  I told Sugarwings she could sleep overnight before the tour if she promised to be invisible like a fairy and not leave a trace behind. She took that as a challenge and slept on top of her bed with a blanket so I didn't have to remake the bed.  She took a lot of pride in being an invisible fairy and keeping  her room perfect.

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Both girls were pretty cute about helping with their rooms. They fixed up their doll house and decorated a bottle brush tree to put in it and added a Santa and sleigh to the rooftop.

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My whole family went through some displacement and discomfort getting ready and I appreciate their efforts. None of us could find anything, since I'd hidden every day objects in cabinets and closets.

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Usually, a cup of pens, a notepad, and reading glasses sit on this piece of furniture, but things like that were tucked out of sight for a couple of days.

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And I had the table set for a pretend dinner party, which made morning coffee time not quite as comfy as usual. The grand fairies had breakfast at their craft table, my husband and I shoved plates out of the way at the dining table.  And we went out for dinner on Saturday night!!

It was the perfect excuse not to cook.

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But this was only for two days, and while it might not have been as convenient as normal to live in the cottage, that wasn't a big deal and was worth the effort. My family deserves a big thank you for putting up with all of the hoo-ha.

As do my friends for spending the day with me and helping with the guests.

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A friend came by to take photos to shop around to magazines while everything was cleaned up, and I hope that they turned out okay, because home tour set up is different than a magazine shoot.  Having a bare floor and no coffee table is ideal with 400 people walking through the home, but for a magazine article, I'd have cluttered it up a bit. But I'm sure that the photographer understood angles and got shots that made it feel less bare.  I wasn't able to help her, and she was grabbing shots when the light was good and between rushes of guests.

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I might have already posted some of these pics, but thought I'd just throw them all in here. So, I'll leave you with the rest of the shots I got that day-

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(ps-  A $5 poinsettia plant and some evergreens picked from the yard make great cut flower arrangements! I was able to make quite a few for that $5  investment)

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Home Sweet Home

cottage, dogs
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We had the BEST Thanksgiving ever, in Mexico.  Instead of the typical days shopping and cooking, I ate fresh fish on the beach, while watching the waves.

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Although, I have to admit, it was hard to be away from family.   We missed the dogs and the kids a lot.

But when I started to feel sad, I'd sip my cold drink, give the hammock a little swing, and look up at the palm trees.  I might have missed them all, but I'm no idiot.  I knew I'd see them soon, and I was enjoying every minute of the trip!

Still, it is nice to be back with the loved ones.

A kinda redo

bird song art event, cottage
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Fall decor 054

My vintage chandelier quit on me and had to be replaced or redone.  Replacing was quicker and easier.

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Ta Dah!  Here is the brand new one.  Foofed up with the vintage shades, and old crystals, with floral wallpaper wrapped around the tube part that holds the bulb, it does a good job pretending to be old.

The only way I'd notice that it was replaced was by the excellent bright light I now have to work by at the sink.

And I've got one more item crossed off of the big list that needs to be done before my guests arrive in November to attend A Snowbird's Song. 

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And I am not the only one thinking ahead to the party.  Jeanie Hatch made gifts for the Tweet Bags and sent them in these cute, stamped packages. 

I love that stamp.  Serendipitous, huh?

Thanks, Jeanie!

 

Painting smoke detectors

cottage, paintings
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When we added the new room last year, and had an electrician around, I had him do some updates here and there in the rest of the house. One was replacing smoke detectors.  This one was white when installed and I ignored it for a year, much like the one up high in the 15' peak of the space we built.

I don't know why I didn't fix it right away. It is such a simple thing to do.

The trick is to not paint very heavily. I use a chip brush dipped into my paint, then wiped off slightly to have a dry brush effect.  Lightly, lightly, with barely any paint on the brush, I daintily add a little color to the detector.

Then let it dry, and do it again, slowly building up tint.  But not clogging or blocking anything.

I can promise you that the appliance still works, because when I burn cookies, it screams at me, even with a coat of paint on it!

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And it almost disappears on the wall now.

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The new slipcover, is actually a duvet cover.  It is too big so is tucked under the cushion, but not in a very tidy way.   I still love it with the soft tones of my vintage fabric pillows.

 And since I'd washed the previous slipcover on the steam setting of the washing machine (oops!) I needed a quick replacement and had no time to sew.

Hopefully, everyone will be gazing at the new and improved smoke detector and not even notice the messy job I did.

HAHA!

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