Mockingbird Hill Cottage

Mockingbird Hill Cottage

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A Potpourri Post & a Question

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I have a lot to share with you today! And at the end of the post I have a question for you.

Thank you for all the anniversary wishes! We had tea and scones in our favorite tea room and hung around MHC the rest of the day. I’m very grateful for my husband. I waited a long time to find the right guy and he was worth the wait.

Thought I’d share a photo of the kitchen island in it’s repainted, pristine state. All too soon husband will be cooking and Riley will be circling the island endlessly in search of crumbs and it will lose it’s luster.

I had to leave it untouched for 3 days while the Varathane sealer cured. Husband, yesterday: When can I use the island again? Me: Not until tomorrow morning. I love this piece – originally a very dark sideboard found at auction for $60, it has been invaluable to us in our cupboard-deprived kitchen.

My friend Debi of Life in My Studio had a giveaway recently. A friend of hers sent her a box chock full of beautiful trims and she generously chose to share some of the beauty with us. My package arrived the other day.

Isn’t it pretty? Look closer – that is a beautiful flower brooch with a lovely doily tucked behind it.

This will be adorning  my jean jacket. Immediately. Debi, by the way, is extremely talented. If you haven’t visited her, you must. I am continually in awe of her creations.

My goodness! This is just part of the beauty that was in that package. Oh my gosh. Here’s more.

Since I am a relative newcomer to the beauty of trims and lace and ribbon, my collection was rather small. Not anymore! Thank you, Debi. I see these in a pretty jar in my new cabinet in the studio.

My friend Jan of Bessie Mary wrote a post recently about Halloween candy and she mentioned some pumpkin spice malted milkballs. In my comment I wondered if I could find them around my neck of the woods and related a story from my college years: my Mom would send me cartons of malted milkballs (they actually came in milk cartons) because they were my favorite candy. Look what arrived in the mail:

My own beautiful package of pumpkin spice malted milkballs. And I’m here to tell you that they are delicious! Thank you, Jan!

(It strikes me that I really painted the table white so that I had a new staging area for blog photos…)

I have been given awards by two of my blogging friends and have been remiss in posting them. Cory of Pink Dogwood Blossom gave me the Cherry on Top Award and Julia of Julia’s Sew Sweet and Special Occasion Clothing for Children gave me a Beautiful Blogger Award. Thank you both very much. I will post them on my awards page.

Lastly, remember my new cabinet for the studio?

I would love to hear your thoughts on painting or not painting it. Right now, it is a sort of khaki/tan color with blue trim.  I’ve been back and forth on this – it’s not my usual color combination, but maybe that’s a good thing? I’ve thought of giving it a finish like the one I did for our television cabinet:

I added a few layers of paste wax after painting and got a wonderfully aged look. But that may not work with the almost deco look of the cabinet.

What do you think? Paint, no paint, a different color combination?? I’d really love to hear your ideas.

Wedding Photo w/Cast

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Okay…by popular request:

This is the only photo where I deliberately allowed the cast to be visible. Since it was not very attractive, we covered it with a white nylon sock. Somewhat dainty foot on the left, huge prehistoric foot on the right.

And here is one of my favorite photos of us – right after we took our vows.

We each had a little gray hair, but you couldn’t really see it. Now – you can.

12 on 12

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It’s our 12th anniversary today. I like saying it’s the 12th anniversary on the 12th.

12 years ago, wanting desperately to avoid the stress of a big wedding with all the logistics involved, we, with the blessing of our families, married in the small town of Nevada City, California. Don was acting in a one man show there and it was the perfect, charming place in which to marry. Since the traditional day off for the theater is Monday, that was our wedding day. We had 4 witnesses; Don’s brother and his wife, and our married friends who ran the theater. The wedding took place in the beautiful old Victorian Parlor of the National Hotel. I walked down a grand stairway in my wedding dress (found for me by my wonderful sister) and the moment I saw Don I started crying. Don cried. And our friends cried. It was incredibly moving and wondrous. And I remember every detail. I don’t know if I would have if we’d had all the hoopla of a big wedding. We were both ‘present’ in every way.

Did I mention that I had a cast on my left ankle? Oh yes.  Earlier in the summer, I fell down our back steps and broke my ankle.  I had fully planned for the cast to be off by the day of the wedding. But, the orthopedist informed me that my walking cast had to stay on a bit longer.  Tears flowed. I wanted to be a beautiful bride and how could I be that when I had a big old cast on my ankle? Don filled my heart as he has done so many times when he said that the cast would be part of our story. That it made the whole experience richer.

So I walked – carefully – down the stairs, assisted by my sister-in-law.

And it is part of our story.

Happy Anniversary, honey.

Lambs Like to Party

Lambs Like to Party

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