Around The Cottage

Things are always changing just slightly around here. I am moving things around, I think I might be obsessed with accessorizing. Seriously! I think it is because we have had most of our furniture forever, so my way of getting a new or fresher look is in shuffling and adding and rearranging the accessories! So here are a few additions and fun things going on around here since Christmas.

The third Friday for the month is one of my favorite days. After our Friday morning friends' meeting, Maureen and I make our monthly pilgrimage to Room with A Past. A I have mentioned many times, I have found so many incredibly fun things in that monthly warehouse sale. Maureen has too.

She and I think (in our humble way) we have the coolest little touches in our homes and so many of them come from this place. One thing I truly love is the prices are so reasonable. Let's just say this treasure hunting is a form of recreation for us...it is pretty cheap, really and truly. We really enjoy it, it keeps us out of trouble and I'd much rather spend a few dollars here than at Target. You can find such unique things.

I adore the lace trim on this lamp shade!

I saw this darling little lamp about two nano seconds after we walked in this morning. I love accent lamps and this one is a treasure. $19.00 and it is looks fantastic on the hearth near the fireplace. Jim paid me the highest complement when I showed it to him. "Hasn't that always been there? It should have been, if it wasn't!" Woohoo...score! Hubbies like this are a rare find too!

I couldn't get the best photo of it because the light is bright but you can get the idea of where I put it anyway. It really adds a point of interest there and makes the room look so cozy~exactly what accent lamps are designed for in the first place. I brought my sunflowers out a little early I know...wishful thinking!


I haven't put my few Valentine's Day things away yet because I pretty much skip St. Patrick's Day and it is a little too soon for Easter. Besides Maureen made me this gorgeous paper Valentine garland for our dining room fireplace and I am enjoying it so much. All these beautiful hearts draping across and just under the mantel looks so pretty. Don't you just love it when a sweet friend gives you something like this? What a treasure!



I finally hung up the sign that Laura made for the bathroom. (Was held up by trying to figure out how to hang it without damaging the front.) I know you cannot really see the sign in this photo but wanted to show its proximity to the fresco. There is a good one below. I had intended to put it over the towel bar near the tub but I wanted to be able to see it easily so put it here in the little alcove for the loo. It is now lightly coated with a dusting of glitter and looks so beautiful with all the fun Italian things in the bathroom. So I pronounce the bathroom 100% done now, at last.

"We Enjoy The Sweet Life"

We loved the white towels in the bathroom during the holidays so I kept them up and just added orange hand towels for a little warmth and color. Here is Angelo my funny little angel with the glass eyes that really feel like they are looking at you! He came from the Hen House in Lafayette.


This angel that does not have a name yet, now hovers over the other glass towel bar near the tub. He reminds me of the Celine Dion recording of Sleep Tight where she sings...Sleep tight, May angels hover over you and spread their wings to keep you safe and warm." Hazie loves that song and likes me to sing it to her. Maybe his name should be Dion!

Call me crazy but...I love stuff like this!

One thing I have been working on is replacing some of the little things I have on my dresser top. Last month I showed you the funky, little decorated bottle I got at Room With a Past, today I picked up these fun hair clips for the mirror on my dresser as well. Mind you, they will never see the light of day in my hair actually, but they are so pretty! The stones are my favorite color and look heavenly on the dresser.

The little three-dimensional, sculpted, white wedding cake is something I will probably not replace because I love it. My sister-in-law, Marilyn and my brother, Gary gave it to us many years ago for an anniversary and the little wedding cake is just beautiful. It is a little reminder to keep the newness of romance alive!

In the same vein of keeping the romance alive
here is a sweet, heart-shaped, embellished wall hanging.
I have it hanging on our bedroom door knob.

I picked up this little candle cup today for a song.
Maybe $5.00. It is mercury glass and apple green
and I got it for this spot in our dining room.

It looks very pretty in the sunlight
and also lit at night.
The tall green decanter is also from
Room With A Past from days gone by.

I really like this lady's art work!
Maureen and I run for this booth
every month now to see what is new.

I showed you this last month and it has finally come to rest in our hall way next to the door to the brick patio. Perfect little spot for it. It proves my point that if you love something and it speaks to you, you will find a spot for it, even in a cottage. You just have to take something else down maybe, but if you love it, it can resurface later and be just as much fun the 2nd time around.

Surrounding yourself with people and things you love in your home just makes life so much more enjoyable. And it truly does motivate you to keep things maintained and tidy if you care for what you have and find your own, unique kind of beauty in it. What does you house say about you? It should be a window to your heart and your soul.

Eat Pray Love~On the Italian Culture

I did this post in 2008 before our first trip to Italy. After spending an accumulative 7 weeks there and having kids live there for three years I can clearly see that Luigi Barzini was right on. It will be interesting to see the new movie, Eat Pray, Love in August when it is released.
"I recently read Eat Pray Love in anticipation of our trip to Italy. Elizabeth Gilbert summarizes Luigi Barzini, in his 1964 masterpiece, The Italians, that was written when he'd finally grown tired of foreigners writing about Italy and either loving it or hating it too much. He tried to set the record straight on his own culture. He tried to answer the question of why the Italians have produced the greatest artistic, political, and scientific minds of the ages, but have still never become a world power? Why are they the planet's masters of verbal diplomacy, but still so inept at home government? Why are they so individually valiant, and yet so unsuccessful as an army? How can they be such shrewd merchants on the personal level, yet such insufficient capitalists as a nation?

He said it had much to do with a sad Italian history of corruption by local leaders and exploitation by foreign dominators, all of which has generally led Italians to draw the seemingly accurate conclusion that nobody and nothing in the world can be trusted. Because the world is so corrupted, misspoken, unstable, exaggerated and unfair, one should trust only what one can experience with one's own senses and this makes the senses very strong, in fact they are stronger in Italy, than in all of Europe. This is why, Brazini says, Italians will tolerate hideously incompetent generals, presidents, tyrants, professors, bureaucrats, journalist and captains of industry, but will never tolerate incompetent 'opera singers, conductors, ballerinas, courtesans, actors, film directors, cooks, tailors...' In a world of disorder and disaster and fraud, sometimes only beauty can be trusted. Only artistic excellence is incorruptible. Pleasures cannot be bargained down. And sometimes the meal is the only currency that is real. (This is a thought worth some reflection.)

The Pieta~Michelangleo

To devote yourself to the creation and enjoyment of beauty, then, can be a serious business---not always necessarily a means of escaping reality, but sometimes a means of holding on to the real when everything else is flaking away."

I really found this so interesting and it struck a cord with me that I don't fully understand but I want to ponder. I find some truth in it in relationship to my profession as a decorator, how my senses can be trusted to find the beauty in the chaos. It is all rather worth some serious thought and reflection for me."

Luciano Pavarotti

Decorating a Mantel~Wedding Style

Yesterday was such a fun day. Our friends, Timme and John's son, Alden is getting married in another week in Idaho. So they had a "pre-ception" for them here in CA at their beautiful home last night. It could not have been a more lovely evening! The weather was gorgeous, the dinner delicious and the company outstanding. They had the dinner catered and we dined outside by the pool~ it was heavenly!

Timme asked me to decorate the mantel in her living room with something nice. I was delighted to help out. A mantel is simple enough but I wanted to ask my friend, Maureen, to help me. She, you may remember, use to help me stage homes and she is also a floral designer.

Neither one of us had ever made a live garland we confessed when we sat down to do it! Ah, the pressure...but we decided to give it a go. Actually it was remarkable easy and a lot of fun. The hardest part is keeping it fresh looking for a few hours. We started out tramping through our yard just cutting various greenery and then we brought it all in, layered it and wired the seven foot garland together. The heartier the green the better they held up!


I bought two beautiful hurricane candle holders, some white sparkly sand and some light yellow candles to blend in with her Tuscan wall treatment. I ♥ her walls, all mottled looking and so Italian! Scrumptious! Look at the detail below.


The bride had selected a dove gray and white as her wedding colors so since there are no gray flowers we were aware of, we decided to complement the room with a little touch of saffron yellow. We also used some little white flowers and some baby's breath pompom thingies ( my highly technical description since I have no clue what they are called) that made up the bouquets for the tables. We grabbed some white lights and a couple rolls of wired, delicate, white ribbon with a little shimmer and this is what we came up with for the party. They seemed pleased and it made a nice focal point being the first thing you saw when you entered the room from the foyer. The fireplace is just fabulous with the granite surround and hearth and the beautiful carved wood detailing.

Most of the evening they had a video
of the bride and groom playing on the
flat screen above the mantel.
For this shot it was music.

Maureen and I had a lot of fun doing it!
We are constantly laughing when we are together...
so it was a win/win for us all!

Whimsical Tablescape

A corner of our family room

I took these photos not long ago to show how I like to do some whimsical things in my home decor. I had this primitive black cat carved out of wood and this cute bird cage. I didn't want to get rid of my primitive cat as it has sentimental value to me but I don't do primitive either. So, what to do???

Recently I closed down the staging aspect of my business. In the process I sold or donated all of my household items and accessories. The little black cat had been sitting down in my warehouse but I just had to hang on to her. But my space is so limited. I also had the little green bird with the upturned tail. I grouped them together in this way with the cat inside the cage and the bird on the outside looking it. It is just a fun way to create a little point of interest in an area with a whimsical tablescape. The non-observant will walk right by but it does put a smile on the face of some, including me.


Accessorizing is so much fun and really sets the tone of the room. If you like a comfy, less formal look try a little whimsy~it works. A little surprise now and then creates fun and an opportunity to take yourself and life a little less seriously.

I Am IN LOVE With This

I'm sorry...This is Flat Out Gorgeous! Woohoo!

I participated in this new meme today and discovered this wonderfully talented lady that made this and explained how she did it here. I love the metallic look, the gems, the rustic embellishments, the glitz...in short everything about it! I love that it is not practical...it is simply beautiful! This is bedazzling at it's finest!

I am on it, thus begins my new sparkly button collection! Stop over and meet Ann. And check out the meme called WooHoo Wednesday! I can see it is going to be a FUN way to celebrate your gratitude!

Welcome to the Cottage

From the Street you see this...

I was asked by a few people to include more outside photos of the house so here you go...


I have always loved the beautiful wrap around porches we see in the design magazines but I am just as happy with our little one. Yesterday after the "cat nap" and cleaning up I decided to fool around with the porch a little. I rescued the wicker chairs from the warehouse and put this together. As you can see our bricks are cracking and separating...a hazard when the ground shifts here in CA. Fortunately our good friends own a masonry company and I have put in a call for a repair soon. So these can be the before pics.

Tic Tac Toe with frogs and dragonflies anyone?

If you come to this door I will know you are a perfect stranger or you really are coming to play tic tac toe. Even though this is the front door we never use it except to come out on the porch. I seriously think we don't even have a key to the door. We and all of our family and friends enter into our backdoor. "Backdoor Friends Are Best," it has been said and in our case it is very true. Here is a photo of the porch we normally use.

After coming up the drive way you can turn left at the bricks to go to the porch I just showed you, or you can go straight to the "backdoor." I guess technically we have two front doors!

I got the cute sign from a shopkeeper
who had a little gift shop called
"No Place Like the Cottage."
I ♥ it!

This is a chair that l like that
I had down in the warehouse.
I would sit on it and look at all the
stuff and figure out a design plan
for each house.
I want to keep it and I haven't a
square inch open anywhere
else so it is on the porch!

I am really glad we painted the doors black
to go with the shutters on the house.


I really enjoy decorating with whimsical things.
I don't want our house to feel stuffy or too formal
so I love to put things around like this
lawn jockey. I have been meaning to paint his vest and hat
a different color than green for years. Any suggestions on
a good color? I will be doing it this year.
Some of the shutters have not been put
back up since we had the house painted!
Workin' on it though!

This is a wind chime I found down in the valley
near Yosemite last fall. It is a fun piece and so vintage.
Just right for the cottage.

This is a fun welcome sign. It pivots to..

I love the whimsy of the back side!
I know it's there but you won't ever
see this side if you come over.

These are my hydrangeas from Easter.
They are looking kinda over.
I think the big rains around
Easter took their toll on them!

Well, thanks for stopping by.
I hope you felt welcome because you always are!

P.S. I really like taking pictures of the house because it makes you see things you haven't really noticed before. I realized through these photos that both of our porch lights are too small. The scale is just not right. Do you take photos of your home and analyze them sometimes? It is a good idea. It is so easy to just not notice things otherwise.

China Cabinets and Butler's Pantry Get Fluffed!

A little faux treat I made in my cabinet.
One thing a home stager has is
plenty of faux food!

I think I am really going to enjoy having Jim home more. He is just so happy working out in the yard and he is really overjoyed about closing down our warehouse as he gets all the shelving for his things. He has plans to build a workshop one day and then he'll have plenty of room for his man stuff. Yay! In the meantime he is fixing up an old cottage we have in the back with the shelves and he is excited. In its day it was quite the cute little bunkhouse but now it is on its last leg and ready for a redo. But we are not going there at this point! It will be fine for storage.
Someday I'll have to take you on a guided tour outside on the property. It is a fun place to be.

Jim is such a productive, happy person. He has inspired me to get a lot done this week here at home. We are even having so much fun we canceled our date to the city for tomorrow so we can stay home and keep at it. We (mostly he) have just accomplished so much this week. Spring cleaning is almost done and the stuff in the yard is getting either thrown out or organized after being out there for nearly a year during the construction phase. I feel the burdens lifting as we get things back in order. Yay...I love order. And we have decluttered considerably as well. I got rid of so much junk in my china cabinets.

Honestly, how does it jump in there? I am not kidding I didn't even recognize some of it. Like it reproduces in there or something! I think I'll add some photos of that now that they are all redone. Maybe I'll even give you a peek into my butler's pantry that Jim built for me out of an old coat closet a few years ago.

Here it is. You can barely see it but it
has a glass door on it that is original to the home.
Here you can see our Christmas dishes,
the china we bought when I went back to work
after Laura started school,
and my grandmother's dishes on the bottom.
Click, click for a better view.

This curio cabinet is where we
keep our glasses and stemware.
I love this cabinet because the door is
curved glass.

So they look like this after I purged through them. Yikes. Anyway, at least now they are all dusted and cleaned and orderly again. Because our house is not huge I have to be really careful about keeping things in order or the chaos is crazy making. When it is in order it makes me want to actually have some company over soon. The butler's pantry is very convenient for large gatherings as we don't have to dig through everything to find what we need.

We just don't realize how much stuff can over burden us. I think we all function better with a house of order. I know I can feel the difference, in a physical way, with every little corner than is getting cleaner and refreshed and becoming the way it should be. I never could function in chaos, but the older I get the more I need the order and peace. I love changing the seasons with the decor and just lightening up for the months ahead.

Tomorrow I am attaching the library bookshelves. Ugh, but I know it will look so much better. Why are bookshelves just little junk catchers?

So then, about retirement...I just love the synergy of two~so far, so good~ projecting into the future of twice as much husband and a little less money and all is well ! We have reached that time in life where more time=more wealth in the things money cannot buy. It is a nice place to be, I am liking it a lot already.