Cottage Progress

Before

After
The weather finally cooperated with us and we finished painting the deck and the trim...my deck looks twice as big as it used to. Now I have to decide what color to paint the door, and look for an old, gingerbready screen. I need to paint the bottom lattice under the deck, but I think that may wait till next year...and I need to plant in front of it, lots of color is needed...and I need to make cushions for the wicker....my list never seems to end, but this was instant gratification for me after living with the 70's deck and trim up until now. My neighbors love it, and I love it! So, what would you plant in front of the deck? Zone 5, full sun faces east.

And don't forget, Bingo going on at Make Mine Pink Just register for the public forum, and join in on the fun, gorgeous gifts being donated for each game by the boutiques!

Happy Memorial Day!

Where have I been? Working on the cottage makeover! Almost there, but not quite, tons of weeding weeding and more weeding, painting, painting and more painting. Some of the flowers are beginning, finally! Mine is a new garden, so I must be patient, I guess. Here are a few..





And look what scared the bejeebers outta me while I was minding my business, weeding in a corner by our house and garage...I saw a movement and jumped about 10 feet. I'm thinking there will be babies soon.......



Kinda like these...lousy pic cause I ran with the camera, but the channel is full of little families like this...I just love it!



Now I really wanted to introduce you all to Debbie, my friend, with her new shop at Make Mine Pink and her new website and blog..lots of cute goodies there so be sure to stop by to see her at

ShabbyCozyCottage, or visit her blog at ShabbyCozyCottage Blog

I am soooo very behind on blogging, as well as just about everything else in my life...so tonight I will try to catch up.

I received my Spring Swap, it was so beautiful...mine will never compare. Problem, I picked it up on the way to the store, my son was driving...I opened it in the car, we shopped all day and all night, he dropped me off, and its still in his car..so I can't post pics till he comes over again, which probably won't be till mid week..but I will as soon as he comes over. Sarah, if you are out there, I cannot find your email address, please contact me!

Secondly, remember this post?My House and What I want it to look like?

Well, read my last line, the disclaimer, carefully....I inserted a disclaimer that if my wanna be house belonged to someone, I apologize and could they come help? Well guess what...it belongs to someone...and she stumbled on my blog...LOL...She has the cutest house and the cutest blog, you must go see it! KattzCottage...LOL...its even a smally cyberspace blog world, who woulda thunk?

Ok....now....remember I keep reminding you of the Pink Diamond Contest at Make Mine Pink???? Well, you have to go find the diamonds,
cause the prizes are just gorgeous! Or, if you are out and about, we are all wearing one of these! Spot the Make Mine Pink member wearing her pin, and you are automatically entered into the drawing, but you must talk to her so she can get your information!

If you lost the link...go !Here to Make Mine Pink for the Diamond details!

And last....but definitely not least....

Make Mine Pink on Ebay!






You must join us for the most 'shabulous' pink auction on eBay!

All of the items being offered are generously being provided for sale by the boutique owners at Make Mine Pink for our Pink Diamond auction event!
From handmade, hand sewn, handpainted, and embroidered, to vintage,antique, gift certificates, and of course, PINK, we offer you a wide range of Shabby cottage chic, romantic, elegant, gorgeously handpainted, handsewn, and treasured vintage collectibles! Be sure to put us on your watchlist as we will be listing all weekend!

Visit the Make Mine Pink Auctions!

P.S. I have been tagged twice to post 7 weird things about me...LOL....guess that means I have to come up with 14....shouldn't be hard....stay tuned...till tomorrow!

Lots of News

First of all, Happy May Day!

Next, a reminder, the Pink Diamond Contest has begun at Make Mine Pink! You gotta go find the diamonds, or find one of us Make Mine Pink members wearing the MMP pin to be entered into the drawing....the winner each month gets a sweet pink prize, and an entry into the October drawing for a real Pink Diamond Pendant necklace...ya gotta go!


And last...this is what I am working on...and oh, my body is paying for it. I took out all these ugly dogwood bushes that I hate behind the deck, and my plans are to paint the deck and trim a cottage white and get rid of this horrids 70's color scheme this weekend....1st is what I started with and 2nd photo is my mockup of what it should look like!






If I ever finish that, there will be a very colorful flower bed in front of it...so, wish me luck!

Its Here, its really here! Its spring!

Finally, a wonderful, warm spring day!
Here is hubby fishing...







And Nick...cast and all


I have no idea why the grass died in that spot...will have to work on that!

I cannot wait to start planting more hydrangeas...I think I killed last years...I love green, but I need some color....and I may sneak in a few more roses while I'm at it...nothing blooming in back yet, but the front is coming alive..but I didn't get pics before my battery died...

I also received my Spring swap already! It was wonderful! I also didn't get pics of that yet before the battery died....will post them tomorrow!

Who Am I?

Who am I? I'm so confused? I just cannot decide and stick to one look I want. I love it all, shabby, cottage, paris, beach cottage, romantic. This is so hard...I wonder what you call a combo of them all? I don't know where I'm going with my decor, maybe all of the above...I should coin a name for it...how about...confused?

I absolutely love the Paris look!


I absolutely love the cottage look!



I absolutely love the romantic look!



I absolutely love the Beach Cottage look!

Maybe I should just stop buying magazines???? It all gives me a headache!

A few little projects............

I was in a bit of a funk all day, have a horrible head cold and could not concentrate on listing...the littlest thing was irritating me...went to take the dogs outside, we always use the plastic grocery bags to pick up the mess. I keep them in a cabinet in the laundry room, opened the door to grab a bag, and they all fell out all over the floor...again. Makes me crazy! So, I made this..........

Then, feeling a little bit better since at least I had accomplished something...decided it was time to get some more items on my website and ebay...went into my office, took one look at my shabby (not in a good way shabby) desk chair and decided I would make this...........

Can you tell I had this old bedsheet that I don't use anymore?
At least I feel like I accomplished something today...and now I'm scouring the house looking for what else could use a makeover...which is just about everything!

Getting Organized

I've stumbled upon a blog that is all about organization, I am intrigued. Organization is not one of my finer points. Not sure why, when I worked as a manager, I was able to organize and multitask quite easily, but it does not work here at home! My boys are grown and on their own, I now work full time from home, yet still, my organization skills are lacking. I start one thing, something distracts me, I start another, and before you know it, I have a million half finished things going on. This site is so inspiring, I'm going for it. Check it out here if you are needing help as well...

http://orgjunkie.blogspot.com/


She is definitely going on my favorites list, and may become my idol!
So, I listed my Saturday Habits on the sidebar, and here is my first menu plan monday, although I started late in the game!

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Monday - Pick up sandwiches since 24 is on and I can have no interruptions!

Tuesday - Chicken Soup with dumplings

Wednesday - Broiled Fish, salad, asparagus

Thursday - Broiled Steak, Sauteed spinach, salad

Friday - Sandwich at the auction

Saturday - Restaurant after Church

Sunday - Roast beef, mashed potatoes, steamed brocoli, salad

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Now, I want you all to know that I was up until 4am giving digital scrapping a try...didn't work...I don't know what I am doing wrong, but Adobe Photoshop Elements and I are not getting along, I cannot figure out how to digital scrap, even after reading some tutorials! This is the template I purchased, but I cannot seem to make it work!

I'll try again tonight, and please, someone, make me give it up at a decent hour!

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I also downloaded the video "The Secret" after watching a few minutes of it on Google. This sounds powerful, and if Oprah recommends it, it must be for real. Tonight after "24" hubby and I are watching "The Secret." I'll let you know what I think!

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Last, someone asked me about the lamp in the background of this picture. It is falling apart, but I am putting it back together and this will be a keeper! The shade that came with it was horrendous, so out that has gone already, and I am on the hunt for the perfect shade. Any suggestions?

Elegance Victorian Style and I'm Going Crazy!

Now this is how to live, just look at this antique boudoir or bedroom chair I found at auction this past weekend! A celery green damask upholstery, a feminine round seat with a gorgeous butterfly back! These legs are original to the piece which is late victorian!

I only wish my boudoir deserved a beauty such as this! Those were the days, fine living and elegance was of the utmost importance, as it should be! Brand new in my shoppe this week!

http://www.lilcottageshoppe.com

Now, for the crazy part! This little business of mine has completely taken over my little 4 room cottage and 1 car garage. I have tried every form of organization to keep it all in place, but it is impossible. Right now, my tiny laundry room is being used as a packing station, but its getting very hard to open the wash machine to do laundry. The garage is full, I have a huge dining set in there that I need to photo and get listed on ebay. Then there are about 30 boxes of items from an estate I bought out, not to mention 3 cabinets of fabric...I was really going to put handmade items on my site this winter, but I cannot make my way to the fabric cabinets!

There are no less than 6 chandeliers I was making over before the big chill hit here, and now I can't stand to be in the garage for more than a second or so...the house is too small to spray paint in, or it will be all over my new kitchen! The only extra bedroom we have currently serves as my office, the closet is packed, I have 2 armoires packed, another cabinet, my desk, under the bed, everywhere!

I could take it no more, so...I rented a storage facility to house my finds until I can refurbish them. Its only a few blocks away, so I can run over there often. Now, should it house the "waiting to be made into treasures?" Or should it house the "its on my website or ebay, leave it there till it sells?" Or should it house only the large furniture?

I really must sit down and think this through, before I go positively looney!

My New Kitchen at Last!

In case you didn't know, we have been remodeling our tiny little cottage. Starting with the kitchen. It had a half wall separating it from the dining/living area, and I tried 3 tables in there..nothing worked. I liked the white cabinets, and the budget would not allow a total teardown and start over, so down came the wall, up came 3 layers of yukky linoleoum, only to find that horrid old asphalt tile. The rest of the house has laminate floors, so we continued that into the kitchen. Next a new wall oven. Then, off came the old ugly green laminate countertops and the stainless steel sink that was only 6 inches deep, and every time I turned on the water, it splashed all over the counter, my windows and my curtains. The time finally came to do the measurements for the counter, the company came out, and before they left, checked to make suure the new sink I bought would fit....well guess what? No way..my cabinets are homemade and not the standard size. I wanted an undermount sink, and that required 2 inches at the front edge to make sure the granite would stay intact. Well this sink was too big...no biggie, go exchange it and get another, right? Wrong.....that sink was 22" from front to back, I needed no more than 19" from front to back.....no such thing...unless I wanted to put a plastic rv sink in...sheesh! So 5 weeks went by with no sink, no counters, no cooktop...we searched, and searched and searched. As you all know I am an ebay addict, and lo and behold....the perfect size sink on ebay...limited edition from Germany! The price was 139.00....35.00 shipping...I couldn't believe it! I nabbed it right away, and rescheduled the granite counter install. I wanted a white based granite, and found the perfect one at Home Depot...called "Antique Bianco." Of course, the one I picked turned out to be the most expensive...oh well...I saved on the sink, didn't I? Anyway, we had ordered 2 base cabinets, which had to be custom made since you cannot get the door style on our cabinets anymore.... hubby put those together to make the base for our island....I'm torn....I may still paint them white to match the cabinets, but will live with it awhile first. Then I decided I needed another cabinet in a corner off our kitchen, it was just a dead space and I could use more storage. So...we custom ordered a cabinet made for that corner. While waiting for our granite install, I found my faucet on ebay, in an oiled bronze. Now we had to change all the hinges and knobs to match. Well, that was 22 knobs and 44 hinges...yikes...that would be expensive...so...back to ebay...found them .99 each...they matched the sink perfectly! So that is what we have been doing for the past 6 months! We still have to take out the ceiling fan and install the chandelier...but we are taking a well deserved break, and besides, we really don't want to climb into that attic with the blown in insulation just yet! :)

Finally, installation day arrives! The counter is in, the sink is in, the cooktop is in! I can cook again! But wait, Christmas is next week....oh, dear, I really cut it close! Anyway, here is the before and after, hubby even put up an old mantle I had in the garage...I love that! What do you think of the Roman Shades I made??

In the before, you can hardly see it, its behind my son and dog, and after....makes me very happy...still small, but oh, so much more efficient!