dollhouse — Page 64

My Version of a Fall Home Tour & Some Treasures

October 7, 2016 at 9:11 am by Claudia

My fall home tour:

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These views are what I see when I look outside. And it will get even better in the next week or two. So I don’t feel the need to decorate inside.

I love seeing how others decorate for fall, don’t get me wrong, but our little cottage is small and surface space is limited, so putting together little bits of fall decor inside looks too busy and takes away from the spectacularness right outside our windows.

We are fortunate to live in the Northeast, so all this beauty is free. Oh we do pay a price: lots of raking!

Barbara sent us a box which arrived at out post office box the other day. There are some presents for Little Z that will go nicely with his dollhouse. I won’t share them here because I want to keep them secret for now.

Don got a present:

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Two more book in the Hardy Boys series. He was so excited! There’s also a guitar pin and a wonderful old postcard of a cowboy.

I got some socks with Van Gogh’s Starry Night as the pattern. I love them.

And these:

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Two more Petite Princess finds; the chair and the dresser. I love these dressers, as you know, and I will most assuredly use this one in another dollhouse. And this chair is fabulous! The gorgeous pitcher (just like a vintage Hall pitcher) was made by artisan Janice Crawley. Isn’t it beautiful?

Thank you, Barbara! You made our day!

And for slice of reality, this is the way my office looks right now:

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There’s stuff everywhere. It’s starting to drive me nuts. Barbara included some mini wallpaper, so what you see on the work table are lots of books and weights that I’ve placed on the wallpaper in order to flatten it.

I’m starting to sort through piles of things throughout the house, so what did I do? I moved some of them upstairs to the office. And I still haven’t sorted through them.

Ay, me!

But today is for more raking and gutter clearing. What fun.

All of you who live in the area of Florida threatened by the hurricane, please take care. Evacuate if you haven’t already. We’re sending prayers to all of you. xoxo

Happy Friday.

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Moonflowers, Miniatures and My Dad

September 28, 2016 at 8:32 am by Claudia

Our local guy who takes care of our oil burner and our plumbing stopped by yesterday to look at our well pump, which has been coming on when we use water (that’s normal) and then continuing to stay on for an hour (that’s not normal). He tweaked some settings and it’s better now, but eventually, we’ll have to replace it.

And by the way, the water table in our neck of the woods is low. It’s been very dry around here and last winter was virtually devoid of snow. If you have a well, that is not happy news. We have four days of rain coming up, but what we really need – and I can’t believe I’m saying this – is lots of snow this winter. Suddenly I’m cheering for snow.

Anyway, while I was going up and down the outside stairs to the basement, I noticed something. As I ventured closer to the moonflower vine, I saw this:

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What the heck? A moonflower had opened overnight! This flower had been torn by the rain that was falling overnight, but look! I’m thrilled. The scent is wonderful. I had been watching this vine like a hawk, and had convinced myself that I wouldn’t see any moonflowers this year.

On closer examination:

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Hello!

There’s more, including a few tiny buds that I didn’t photograph.

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So last night, I kept going outside during commercial breaks to see if a flower had opened.

No, not yet. Maybe tonight?

My Squint Box arrived yesterday. This month’s theme is Petite Boîte – Little Box.

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A decoupaged wood serving tray, a bouquet of roses, a cheeseburger and fries, a caramel apple, a lovely enamel water pitcher, and a signed and numbered print by miniaturist Mad Missy. Let me show you the print more clearly:

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I really love it and think it would work perfectly in a contemporary room setting.

Today is my dad’s birthday. He would have been 93. It’s the first birthday where I can’t call him on the phone to wish him a Happy Birthday. And next month is the first anniversary of his death.

Missing him. Happy Birthday, Dad.

Happy Wednesday.

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Wooden Furniture for Little Z

September 24, 2016 at 9:47 am by Claudia

Since that horrible dream left me feeling rather melancholy yesterday, I took control and sought refuge in photography. I find that if I can get outside and take photos, I see the world differently. I see my own situation differently. I captured lots of lovely images yesterday which I will be sharing with you over the next several days, including a treasure trove of birds at the birdbath. Goodness, they were active!

Also contributing to my mood change was a package that arrived in the mail for Little Z’s dollhouse. As you know, I’ve been contemplating what furniture – and it needed to be sturdy wooden furniture – to buy. Z is five years old, smart as a whip, and as determined as can be. He also walks with canes because of his disability and is working on using both hands equally. I wanted the furniture to be effortless for him, nothing that can break.

One day, I searched on Etsy and found this shop: upperairs. It’s David DiBenedetto’s shop and he handcrafts this dollhouse furniture. It was reasonably priced and was just what I wanted. And I love to support small businesses.

I was thrilled when I opened the package.

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It’s as if it were designed by IKEA for this house.

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The living room. Sofa, chair, fireplace, table, grandfather clock and television. I laughed out loud when I saw what was playing on the television! That’s Z’s favorite. He loves, loves, loves Mickey.

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Kitchen: None of the doors open. Did you notice the faucet? It’s a cup hook. The table might be a bit too tall, I’ll have to think about that one.

Just like the kitchen in my dollhouse – the hardest room to photograph.

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Bathroom.

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Bedroom.

Don thinks I should leave the furniture unpainted because it goes so well with the house. I must confess, I’m not sure what to do. I am planning on making some cushions for the furniture and the bed.

Do I paint the furniture? Do I leave it as is until he decides what he wants? Do I put temporary wallpaper up that he could pull down if he wants to?

Meredith says that either way would be great, but she suspects I’d have more fun painting the furniture.

I’m going to think about it for a day or two and then I have to make a decision.

This furniture is so well made and it’s sturdy. Z can handle it, knock it around, move it in and out of the house without any worries about breakage. I want him to be able to do whatever he wants with the house.

Your thoughts?

I have one bird photo to share with you today – I saw this guy looking for food at the entrance to the big corral:

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What a beauty!

Happy Saturday.

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My Version of a Fall Home Tour & Some Treasures

Moonflowers, Miniatures and My Dad

Wooden Furniture for Little Z

Lambs Like to Party

A Note

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