My Girl's Pillow

My girl hooked this rug ummm I think maybe about 6 years ago. She worked at it so very carefully and diligently. I told her when she finished maybe we should make it into a pillow. Well I put it off for far too long for fear my sewing wouldn't do her beautiful rug justice.

Finally, while helping her clean her room one day and seeing it just lying there, I decided it was time. A local seamstress came to my mind. So my girl chose the fabric for the back from my stash, which I think was a lovely choice. We took it to the seamstress and ohh I think it turned out beautiful!

Winter Arrangement

Ready for the Day

this brisk, very cold day.

Bathroom Redo

This is the upstairs bathroom when we bought the cottage.

This is the same bathroom after we redid it.

We had the bathroom gutted including the bathtub, cabinets and sinks and started completely over.  I would love to have put pedestal sinks in but they just weren't practical considering the girls use this bathroom. So we had the cabinets custom built. I wanted them to look like an antique vanity.

I really wanted to buy one of the old historical homes downtown. Doc B on the other hand hates old houses. I look at them and see charm. He looks at them and sees at lot of work and money.

So we compromised and got this sort of old house. I'm afraid it's a little more of a fixer upper than Doc B had planned on. I made the curtain myself using fabric from my fabric stash.

I used the mirrors that were in the original bathroom and painted them. I am really pleased with how they came out. I saved money by not buying new mirrors but then used the money I saved to buy the very expensive Annie Sloan paint and the wax and brushes that go with it ;)

 I found the light fixtures on eBay. They came from an estate sale. I think they might be my favorite thing in the whole redo.

I got the shower curtain, bath mat, and the girl's towels from Garnet Hill. No money saving here!

This cabinet over the commode is just a cheapy from JCPenney. You can even see that the knobs are uneven. I guess you get what you pay for. The vintage commode seat cover was another find on eBay.

 

 

This Week in My Kitchen

Linking up with Heather at

http://beautythatmoves.typepad.com/beauty_that_moves/2014/05/th.html

Capturing my love of whole foods, combined with the activity of a bustling kitchen.

A weekly collection of photos from the center of my home. 

 

Pretty much everyday at the cottage there is a salad for lunch and now with fresh greens :)

 

 

First squash of the season.

 

 

I actually made real potato salad. I usually make it with cauliflower instead of potatoes. So it was a real treat especially with fresh green onions from the garden.

 

 

My daughter has been wanting to do a juice fasting, so I joined her.

 

 

 

 

My other daughter made these almond flour chocolate chip cookie bars. They made juice fasting very difficult!

 

 

My only peony so far.

 

 

These horsemint grows wild.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Just One More

Not sure why I thought I needed one more antique. I will have to say though that this marble top table is just what was needed between these 2 chairs.

 
Doc B agreed which is a definite confirmation since he usually is not too excited about my purchases :)

Trying again...

 Well I haven't blogged since mid December. We were so blessed to have all of our children home for Christmas. It was a joyful chaotic busy time :) but then life at our house usually is! It was so good to have them all here. We have one son doing an oral surgery residency 9 hours away. The
other son is in the military. So we felt especially blessed that they could be here not only at the same time, but also at Christmas.

 Then about the time the girls went back to school, we had workmen here for about 2 months. So I was always picking things out, paint colors, faucets, light fixtures, tile, etc. It was all I could do to keep up with them. Then I found out that our wonderful little school will close its doors at least temporarily and actually probably permanently. So I spent spring trying to get all the things done that had been put off for another day knowing that the time had come since for ohh about the next 7 years or so I will be homeschooling!
 I have also been working on these:
I finally finished up this needlepoint chair cover. It is now in the hands of the upholsterer.
.

I started my first ever quilt.

Santa

My mother bought this Santa in 1957 from the Coca Cola Company. She let me have him quite a few years ago.

 

 

 

He hangs out with these guys every year at this time.

 

 

 

 

 

 

High Chair

With our first 3 children, we used a hand-me-down Jenny Lind high chair.Through the years, it had to be painted several times. After the 3rd child outgrew it, I gave it away or maybe I gave it back to my sister-in-law?? Actually I was pretty glad to get rid of it with all the constant chipping of paint, although it was a classic! Then we brought our first little home from China and I wished I had the old classic back. Instead, I bought the cheapest thing Wal Mart had. It served its purpose through the then two littles and then came grandchildren. Slowly but surely the plastic cover started tearing.

 When we moved to the cottage, I decided it was time to get rid of it.

I put it through 3 garage sales and it didn't sell. When sweet Peach came to visit this fall, I pulled it out of the storage space. The best I could do at that point was to put a towel in the seat.

I decided I needed to reinstate it or get a lovely antique one. While I certainly would choose an antique high chair over the old plastic thing, the antique ones really don't work well. The littles slide down and if your not careful slide out, or climb out when they get a little older.
So what was left of the old pad, I used as a pattern to make a new one.

 

Since I lined it with quilting cotton, I'm quilting it now so the lining won't bunch up when I wash it.

 

A few more rows and I will be all ready for this sweet girl's visit at Christmas. I can't wait!

Errands

Doc B rarely runs errands for me. Last time he did, he brought these home...and they weren't even on the list. Maybe I should send him more often :)