I was driving in an urban area across the river last week, when I saw a sign at a newer shopping center: Hobby Lobby and The Christmas Tree Shops. I let out a little squeal and quickly changed lanes in order to make the turn into the entrance. Some background information is in order: We haven’t had any Hobby Lobbys this far north. Fellow bloggers mention Hobby Lobby all the time. We have Michael’s, which is very good, but no Hobby Lobby. That is, until October apparently, when this one opened. The woman I spoke to at the check-out said it was the first one in the Northeast. By the way, I didn’t buy much this time out, but it is amazing.

My good friend, Donna of An Enchanted Cottage, talks about The Christmas Tree Shops all the time. Previously, I have encountered some that were rather far from here, but this new store is very convenient to my country home. I went in looking for a lampshade for my birthday vintage parakeet lamp (and got one) but then I saw this:

You might remember I have been looking for a bookcase for my upstairs hallway? Looking and looking for a vintage bookcase that wasn’t too tall, too wide, but was just right? Oh, and I didn’t want to pay an arm and a leg for one. I was unsuccessful. Then I saw this sweet, cottagey bookcase. Okay, it is made of particle board…but who cares when it is so gosh darn cute? It was very inexpensive, so I snapped it up and brought it home. When I arrived, Don was out and I thought I would have it put together in about 20 minutes – well before he got back. Things went swimmingly; I screwed the bottom to one of the sides using the pre-drilled holes.

I grabbed the next side piece to screw it to the bottom and realized something was wrong. The manufacturer had given me two left sides, instead of a left and a right. It was late in the day on Wednesday, the next day was Thanksgiving and I didn’t want to turn around and take it back. Determined to make it work, I spent the next 2 hours cursing as I measured and tried to drill new holes that would make a left side into its opposite – a right side. With particle board. Much time elapsed, with me sitting in the midst of bookcase parts, screws, measuring tape and screwdrivers. Sometimes I am just too stubborn for my own good. My husband came home in the middle of all this and gave me a “What is she up to now?” look. Miraculously, I somehow pulled it all together.

Because the backing of these types of bookcases is basically thick cardboard and we see the back of the bookcase coming up the stairs, I used a little Mod Podge and added some neat scrapbook paper I bought when I was in San Diego.

And now I have a home for a small portion of my books – these are mostly theater books.

I added a few things to the top of the bookshelf to personalize it a bit.

That’s my sister and me – taken a few years ago. And yes, that is a cow’s nose you see in the upper left hand corner of the photo – we were in a local restaurant that had a mural on the wall. And the cow was part of the mural. It looks like he’s watching us.

A cake plate with a serving of Betty’s pincushions. They look good enough to eat, don’t they? I have now officially declared the upstairs hallway to be my studio. It may be small, but it is all mine…okay, I let my husband and dogs walk through it, but it is mine.

My next big project, in the spring, will be constructing some built-in bookcases for the den. I am determined to do it. Our many books need a home and I need to see them. Oh, and I have to paint all the walls, but somehow that isn’t as exciting.