Karla's Cottage – Page 3 – by Karla Nathan

At sea with the Pirates

By Karla Nathan / July 25, 2025

The Disney Wish cruise was a magical weekend, and not nearly long enough. 3 days zip by, and I’m just starting to figure out how to find my cabin when it’s time to leave.

While there was a ton to do, and so many activities that you could never do them all, I have to say the pirate night was the highlight for me.

My kids and I have always been all in for any reason to play dress up. Add in a night of frolicking , dancing, and glee?

Under a rainbow of sparkling lights in the sky?

Surrounded by people I love, family who came from long distances to celebrate together?

Aargh, matey, ye can bet thy barnacles I was ready to dance the night away like a swashbuckling sailor and love every minute of it.

Our kiddos were over 18 except Dewdrop, who seems older than her age, so we joined the party from the upper deck away from the heavy crowds down below us on the dance floor. I’d asked a bartender where the best spot was to view the fireworks and watch the band, and he was right. We hung out together above the fray on the adult deck lounge, as he suggested.

Plenty of seats, and a big open space to dance or just watch the spectacular made me almost glad that I didn’t have tiny grandfairies to tend to. (Almost, not quite, I’ll always miss those sweet, magic years with preschoolers). There is something to be said for traveling with near adults.

I don’t think I’d ever even seen the adult deck before. Let alone watch the serene sunset with a glass of wine while enjoying catching up with family. Which doesn’t mean I was too grown up to abandon my own adult behavior and dance like a kid myself once the band of pirates began rocking out to 80s music.

It’s of course, good to be home again. But my heart might still be at sea for a bit. I’m missing my pirate gang.

Crafting Crowns with Randy

guncles, jewelry, Travel

By Karla Nathan / July 19, 2025

Of course Randy and I made time for hanging in the craft room!

One of our go-tos is making crowns.

Lots of crowns!

Then we have fun playing with them, finding critters around the house and yard to wear the new creations.

Soooo much fun! We never have quite enough time for all the projects we want to get done, but we love the heck out of each we do.

Treasured times in Guncleland

dogs, Food and Drink, guncles, jewelry, Travel

By Karla Nathan / July 16, 2025

We enjoy traveling with our dogs, and there is no better place to take them along than to the Guncles’ house in Jax. They get the full royal treatment there, complete with a throne to rest upon.

They aren't the only ones feeling queenly on this vacation. Randy and Kevin make us all feel special with their pampering.

See how they feed us? Deliciously beautiful!

We’ve been crafting, touring the antique mall they have a spot in, drinking good wine, and playing with pups.

As well as being fed the best meal I think I’ve ever had. Honestly, the red snapper and rosemary honey carrots rank at the top of anything I’ve ever eaten.

The dinner was so perfect that we couldn’t think of erasing it from our taste buds by eating dessert. So, I’m considering having this tart for breakfast instead.

I’d brought fresh peaches from our tree and made this a little differently, with a tiny bit of brown sugar, spices, and some white wine drizzled over the fruit. I think it will be an appropriately decadent breakfast for Guncleland.

The girls are enjoying the trip as much as we are. They travelled well, stopping at dog parks along the way. All are freshly groomed to be their loveliest selves for the adventure, including Honey. We take the doodles into the groomer a couple times a year, with home trim ups as needed, and regular baths in the garden hose.

But not their mama dog, I didn’t even think about getting a haircut for a golden retriever, til I saw one being styled when I picked up the golden doodles from their appointment.

So Honey Bunny got the full treatment, including a furminator brushing. Worth every penny! On the drive here, no clouds of hair were wafting from the backseat and floating up my nose. Who knew you could avoid fluffs of fur like that? And doesn’t she look pretty for going to see the Guncles?

We are heading out to a cruise this weekend, and the dogs are staying behind in the lap of luxury here on Sweet Cherry Lane. I know they will love every minute of it. That’s how we all feel here.

Celebrating each other

Food and Drink, friends

By Karla Nathan / July 9, 2025

Beth, Angie and I threw ourselves a party.

Their birthdays are only a week apart, while mine is a month earlier. But all are springtime, so meld together nicely as a reason to celebrate with each other.

While I don’t think you ever actually need an excuse to have a party, when I see one, I’ll nab it.

Any chance you get to have an afternoon with friends, especially if you also get wine and chocolate, you should take it.

Add in some cupcakes, lots of laughs, and who cares if it’s a birthday today, a month ago, or no where near one at all.

When I count my blessings, days that my buddies come out to spend an afternoon with me ant the cottage are way up there.

Patriotic art for the 4th

friends

By Karla Nathan / July 4, 2025

Last week, I went to another mosaic art opening.

This one also featured two of my pals, author and artist, Dr. Margie Carr and artist and teacher, Shanna Wagner.

Margie has been making her glass flags with meaningful quotes imbedded and Shan uses her lyrical skills with glass to lure you in with beauty then show you some ugly truths.

I am doubly impressed by both of them, that they create such lovely pieces with so much to say.

And I was impressed with myself for actually getting out of the house and going to not one, but two Art openings in a week. I tend to be a bit of a recluse of an evening. But when I have such talented friends with stunning work, of course I had to make the effort to haul myself out in public to see it.

I’m glad I got out to see the show. Great job, Shan and Margie!

July at Juju on the 4th

Good JuJu

By Karla Nathan / June 30, 2025

Good Juju’s First Friday weekend falls upon the 4th of July holiday.

I have no idea what that will mean to us.

Will we get a bigger crowd Friday morning because people have the day off and want to come in before their festivities begin?

Will we have crowds on Saturday from everyone bringing out of town guests in for something to do?

Or will the walkways be silent because our shoppers are too busy shooting off cherry bombs at picnics to come and see us?

Well, I can guarantee you that we are ready for the big crowds, none of our dealers phoned it in, thinking we would be slow.

The shop is looking good, and we are ready to welcome our guests.

As we always are, each and every month. I’m continuously blown away by the efforts our dealers go to in making fabulous displays that change for each sale.

Only being open 24 days a year can make sales a crapshoot anyway. What if the weather is bad? What if there is a big event or holiday?

But then again, what if our guests say, “Gosh I’m really busy, but I just have to pop into Juju to see what’s new this month, I only have two days to get there!”

Whatever you spend your holiday doing, I wish you a happy 4th!

Mouseproofing!

cottage

By Karla Nathan / June 28, 2025

There might be prettier corners of my cottage, but right now, this “after” pic of our pantry redo is making me pretty dang happy.

This closet sits above the stairway to the basement and is original to the house, over 100 years old. This photo is after ripping out the shelves to mouse proof, bleach, and repaint.

Maybe once or twice a year, I’d get a mouse, take everything out, clean or toss items, set a trap and then restock after catching the culprit. But lately? The critters were nonstop! My theory is that with the foundation repairs we made, the cracks and crevices shifted, leaving more space for intruders to enter from the basement below.

Our solution? Tons of steel wool and expanding foam to seal the space up, then adding a metal cabinet that we got on Amazon.

After the box arrived, we were smart and stood the panels up in the room to make sure our measurements were correct and it would fit under the slanted ceiling. And it did, so we put it together, and brought it into our patched, cleaned, and freshly painted cubby that I’d had to twist and turn and crawl around in to reach the tight corners.

And while we’d made sure the height and width of the metal cabinet would be perfect once installed, we didn’t think about how those numbers would work getting it into the area. See that step Rich’s knee is on? The next one above it was the blockage that caused us to have no way to turn the piece forward.

We could (barely) slide the cabinet into the pantry, but then it was stuck.

So this happened. Rich had to rip out the step I’d spent so much time sealing up and painting, then we easily swung the cabinet around and set it into place. Once it fit, I went to work refilling gaps, and touching up the paint. A lot of the old wood was either dinged up, or had come apart at my perfectly patched seams when he used his crow bar to pull the step out.

But hey, I think the efforts will be worth it. The area is a clean, tidy fortress now.

Talented friends

collections, friends

By Karla Nathan / June 24, 2025

My friend, Shanna, started sharing her mosaic studio and supplies with friends a few years back and it has grown into full fledged club with a large group of members who come together and chat while we create.

Typically, each does an individual project on their own, but sometimes there is a technique they learn together like this “flying carpet” type piece that Lynn has in the show.

I don’t go as much as I’d like, there are often other things going on and I don’t get to join in weekly. And when I do, I sometimes bring another sort of project and treat it as a craft day, since I’m not exactly a mosaic artist. I’ve done a few pieces, but didn’t really have anything I wanted to enter into the show. So I went to support the group and enjoy the art. They were kind to include me in the photos and speeches.

In a roundabout way, I was part of the show. Shan used my painting and Kim Brook’s ceramic flowers as part of a collaboration in this creation. I love the mix of textures with the broken plates, buttons, and glass.

This work from Melissa has an interesting mix too, with the millefiori glass and the idea of using the grout itself as a design element, not just a filler.

And Margie’s? She has incorporated that flying carpet trick to craft a waving flag and added a meaningful quote in alphabet beads. I just love all of her work.

After seeing pieces in various stages of completion, it was striking to see a roomful of finished, professional art on display. I often take the gatherings for granted, as just an opportunity to hang out with friends and get a few hours of creative time. But this group show reminds me of the talent I’m surrounded by and I was properly impressed by what they have all done.

A big change with little effort

antiques/junking, cottage, redos

By Karla Nathan / June 20, 2025

The guest bath redo was pretty quickly done.

And pretty cheaply done, too. I moved stuff around from other rooms, shopped from my storage area, ordered some better curtain rods (I’d been using a tension rod, and switched to a set of swing bars for the over curtains) then repainted.

Although, paint is no longer the “cheap fix” it once was. Geez, the cost of a gallon has soared, hasn’t it? Honestly, I think I could’ve gotten by with a quart, it’s a small room. But I was erring on the side of caution. No one wants to get down to those last few drops in the can and not be quite finished.

The sink table was previously white, I brushed on and wiped off a dark umber glaze, then added some antique gold highlights to the detail. The large built in cabinet was white too. To change it up but not be too matchy with the vanity, I watered down some of the softer brown wall paint to do the same treatment. It’s a subtle difference.

The white iron piece was once black before I had painted it white in an earlier redo. For this new change, I used a spritz of gold spray paint over the metal, so it left a hint of color.

The center mirror was a lucky find at a garage sale, just the day before I had planned to start the project. I think its moodiness is exactly what the space needed. It wouldn’t have been the same without it.

My sister recently gave me our mom’s rose patterned mirror and it’s ideal here.

At first, I was going to repaint this mirror I’d redone years ago. Instead, I simply added a touch of gold to it. And the tiny cake stand? It was from a flea market and was already embellished with metallic paint.

Years ago, I used to paint a lot of ceiling tins with roses. This one’s faded tones matches the space nicely.

The shades are similar to this old postcard I put into this velvet frame.

This postcard is taped inside a glass lid that used to be on a box.

The pinks of this tiny painting I’ve done might be a little too bright but I still like it.

I really like all of it! And am so pleased by how quickly and smoothly it all went. I’m enjoying the big changes in this little room.

A celebration

celebrations

By Karla Nathan / June 16, 2025

Rich turned 65 and we celebrated with some friends. He’d been out of town, and I hung a collection of banners up to greet him when he got home.

We have one more, possibly two, dinner parties coming up, so those festive banners are staying up a while. I’m enjoying having my morning coffee under them every day.