Mockingbird Hill Cottage

Mockingbird Hill Cottage

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A Miniature Lollapalooza of a Day

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Yesterday was a Miniature Lollapalooza of a day. The mail brought 3 packages addressed to yours truly; I was very excited to say the least.

I ordered some plates from Carrie Lavender, who lives in Australia and has an Etsy shop. I chose them because they each had a bird in the design. They’re made of ceramic and are quite lovely – Carrie shipped them very quickly and they arrived here much sooner than I had even begun to hope for.

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(Sorry for the shadows, I took this picture in the late afternoon.)

There is a method to my madness. I knew exactly where I wanted to use them.

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Right here on the wall in the den. I had that visual firmly fixed in my mind and I was determined to see it come to life. The little bird plate in the middle is actually the saucer that goes with that mug on the table (made by Sofia in Spain.) I decided it needed to join the other bird plates.

The owner of Hummingbird Cottage loves birds and collects bird plates. Do you blame her?

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In this shot you can see I’ve since rearranged the placement of the plates. I like this placement better.

Don’t you love the way our little white Christmas tree is reflected in the window?

Don looked at the plates on the wall, then looked at the whole dollhouse and said, “Can we move in? Can we squeeze in there somehow?”

I wish we could.

I also received a package from Judy and one from a faithful reader of this blog, Maryanne. Judy’s contained some lovely sheep (you know I love sheep) and some ornaments and a vintage edition of Shakespeare’s plays (Don can’t keep his hands off it – it’s so lovely) and a couple of items for the dollhouse. Maryanne sent me all sorts of minis; food items for the kitchen, little mini Christmas presents for under the tree, little animals, and a piece or two of furniture – it was a treasure trove! (Maryann, I’m sending you a thank you note in the mail because I don’t have an email address for you.)

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This dry sink came from Maryanne. The drawers and cupboard door open. Isn’t it lovely? The wrapping paper, bows and ribbon came from Judy.

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Adorable with a capital A. I figure the owner will be wrapping things in her craft room, don’t you?

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Judy also sent this mini carton of Egg Nog. Let the holiday celebrations commence!

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And one of the many little minis in Maryanne’s package was this rolling pin. I added that piece of furniture that the mixer and rolling pin are on to the kitchen the other day. The owner simply didn’t have enough counter space and she likes to bake.

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Little packages from Maryanne.

I. Love. My. Dollhouse.

I. Love. Miniatures.

There, I’ve said it.

And I’m so grateful for the wonderful and generous friends who think of me and Hummingbird Cottage. So many items in this dollhouse are from generous friends and, just as in my life-sized cottage, every item has a story to tell. The dollhouse is enriched and made beautiful by those special gifts. One day I will do a post on these treasures and I’ll tell their stories. Thank you, dear friends.

Today’s Holiday Bokeh:

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The little white Christmas tree in the living room. That’s the hydrangea in the foreground.

Happy Thursday.

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She’s Got Moxie

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A couple of years ago, Don came him home with this:

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A wonderful old wooden crate advertising Moxie. We love graphics in this little cottage and it fit right in. It lives in the kitchen and holds Scout’s distilled water, when we remember to buy it.

At the time, we wanted to learn more about Moxie, so we did the whole google thing. Moxie is a carbonated beverage that started out in 1876 as a patent medicine called Moxie Nerve Food. The claim was that it contained an extract from a South American plant and was effective against “paralysis, softening of the brain, nervousness and insomnia” Eventually, soda water was added to the formula and it became Beverage Moxie Nerve Food. It’s fans included Calvin Coolidge, Ted Williams and E. B. White. As a result of a big advertising campaign, the word ‘moxie,’ meaning courage, daring or spirit, eventually entered American speech. A word I love, by the way. (All information is from Wikipedia.)

Moxie is still produced today.

So. The other day when I was looking for my soda crate, I found a tiny shop that had some lovely vintage items and what did I see?

moxie nerve food bottle

A Moxie Nerve Food bottle. It’s very old and quite tall. I’ve never seen one before.

Do I even need to mention that initially, it was the color that drew me in? Of course I don’t.

But I quickly realized I’d hit the jackpot.

moxie nerve food bottle

Oh my goodness. I knew I had to get it. When would I ever see one of these again?

And the color!

So I brought it home and Don, of course, loved it and now it is on display on the shelf under the dollhouse.

moxie nerve food bottle

I could use some nerve food.

And, really, couldn’t we all?

Anyway, I love serendipitous experiences like this one. Pressed for time and on my way to buy a soda crate, I quickly detour into a little shop and bam! I discover the Moxie bottle.

Excuse me, the Moxie Nerve Food bottle.

Gosh, I really love this little find.

Happy Monday.

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Chatting on Tuesday

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It’s a foggy morning here at the cottage. We woke up early, a little too early. But then again, the days are so short at this time of year that we want to grab all the daylight we can. It’s now December 3rd and I have yet to clean up the porch and stow things for the winter. Honestly, I seem to do this later and later every year. The reason? I tend to be a procrastinator about things I don’t want to do. This is one of them. It symbolizes the end of all things green and growing. Since I am about to decorate for Christmas next week, I think I’d better get a move on.

I included this photo because I have a candle burning this morning and you can see the flame reflected in the glass of vintage frame on the wall. And I didn’t have any other photo to share! Goodness, what will I do now that I can’t take endless pictures of the flowers in my garden?

You’ll notice that Scout is not in this photo. Since Don has recently started to get up at the same time as me, her ‘schedule’ has been thrown off. She goes back and forth between us. She settles on the loveseat in the living room where Don is sitting, then she comes into the den and gets in the ‘tunnel’ and, after about 5 minutes, she heads back up to the living room. She’s like the child of divorced parents, shuttling back and forth between houses. I think she’s fed up with both of us. But you know all of that, since she recently absconded with the laptop and wrote a blog post. That girl!

I’m in the midst of Daniel Silva’s newest thriller, The English Girl. He is a wonderful author that I discovered a couple of years ago and, like Lee Child, Deborah Crombie and Louise Penny, I ended up reading all of his books in chronological order. Don’t you just love it when you discover a new author and absolutely have to read all of their books? In order? Such an unexpected pleasure.

I love reading. I remember being a young girl and thinking to myself, “There are so many books to read and so much music to listen to that I will never be able to accomplish it all in my lifetime!” It was thrilling and overwhelming at the same time. While I might not say it quite as dramatically nowadays, I still feel the same way. I wish I had the foresight many years ago to record the name of every book I read and continue it right up to the present. Can you imagine how staggering it would be to see a list of every book you’ve ever read? Oh, darn it, I wish I’d done that!

Finally, a little teaser for you. The Poisoner’s Handbook (which Don filmed in Prague last winter) airs on PBS on January 7th. Just a little over a month away! Don’t worry, I’ll remind you about it. If you click on this link, you’ll see a preview!

We’re very excited.

Oh for heaven’s sake, I keep forgetting to post the winner of a copy of The Alligator Man. Missy, you are the winner. I’ll shoot an email your way.

Happy Tuesday.

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Lambs Like to Party

Lambs Like to Party

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