Mockingbird Hill Cottage

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Comforting & Decluttering

March 1, 2014 at 8:24 am by Claudia

In a seemingly endless series of very cold days with mountains of snow the only thing to be seen outside my windows, I find this to be my favorite thing to wear:

favoriteoutfit

A Boston University sweatshirt that has to be 25 years old and a pair of pajama pants that were passed on to me by my husband. Certainly not high fashion, but tremendously comforting on some level. Old sweatshirts are the best, aren’t they? I have many of them. Some are covered with paint. Some are, ahem, slightly stained. Some, like this one, are in a cheery red that makes me smile and reminds me of my days in Boston. Don gave up these PJ pants because they didn’t fit and were much too small. Lucky me! Perfect for days around the house – a drawstring waist, flannel-y type fabric, and a plaid I would never choose on my own but seems to suit me just fine. Now imagine the sight of me when I go out to get the mail: plaid pants, red sweatshirt, pink down jacket, red & white hat and blue boots. My eyes hurt just thinking about it.

I won’t be featured on a hip fashion blog, that’s for sure. But winter, especially this winter, is about wrapping myself in something comfortable and comforting, whether it is an old blanket, a cozy afghan, a slouchy sweater or sweatshirt, thick socks or, of course, my beloved flannel pajamas. I don’t much care about fashion in the depths of this, I have to say it, depressing winter.

More snow is coming tomorrow into Monday. The jury is still out as to how much. I find I’m sort of numbed to the whole thing, though surely I won’t feel that way when I have to shovel it all. Again.

Winter…you win. You’ve done it. You’ve won this little battle and I quite freely admit it. Now get out of here.

pansies

Like many of you, I have strong political leanings (that I refrain from discussing on this blog) which have led to my being on the receiving end of countless emails from like-minded groups. For a long while I have, depending on my mood and the day, either read those emails and signed petitions, etc., or hit the delete key. This happens many, many, many times during the course of a day.

Yesterday, I didn’t immediately hit delete, instead, I clicked on Unsubscribe. Yes, I did. For each one. I know what’s going on in the world or at least, as much as I want to know. I stay away from the 24 hour cable news networks. I don’t need to be inundated with a constant stream of money raising pleas, petitions to be signed, and dire predictions. I want some peace.

Oh, that felt good.

Then I hit Unsubscribe on a few other non-political emails that tend to hit my inbox on a regular basis and that I never read.

Begone! And they are. It is curiously satisfying. I suppose it’s the equivalent of cleaning out a closet full of clutter, of taking control.

By the way, speaking of eliminating clutter, i.e., in the studio, the pansy print (one of my favorites) has moved from the studio to the bedroom, where I think it goes rather nicely with the D necklace hanger/hook. I have two of these, one a C and one a D (for, you guessed it, Claudia and Don) but I couldn’t find the C when it was time to find a solution for my necklaces, so the D got the job.

And to end this post with a smile, here are my cute-as-pie egg cups in the newly decluttered studio:

eggcupsallinarow

Happy Saturday.

ClaudiaSignature140X93

 

Filed Under: favorite things, snow, studio, winter 52 Comments

Re-Thinking the Studio/Sewing Space

February 6, 2014 at 9:08 am by Claudia

Over a foot of snow on the ground here with more coming on Saturday.

My head is spinning. February, you are a cruel mistress.

Thanks go to our neighbor who, as we were sitting in the house getting ready to tackle shoveling, started to snow blow the entrance to our driveway. You know, that place where all the heavy and impossibly hard to shovel snow plow build up is. What a lifesaver! Then he proceeded to do a bit more of our driveway as we shoveled the top and the paths to the doors and the shed. Even with his help, we were out there about 2 hours. Sore backs all around.

The bed? Oh my heaven. With tired bodies and the aforementioned aching backs, we sank in to that pillow top and slept blissfully.

I’m in love.

I’ve been making a few changes to my studio/sewing space. For quite a while now, I’ve felt it was too cluttered. What I found charming a year or so ago is now just plain too much. So, since we had to move some things to get the bed up the stairs, I used that time to to reconsider what I wanted in that space. I decided to clear everything off the mantel shelf and take everything off the walls. I’d already moved the bookshelf into the bedroom (it’s right next to my side of the bed.) While I was waiting for the new bed, I repainted the mantel shelf in a lighter shade of aqua and moved Mabel out of the way of the incoming mattress, which got me considering a new place for her to live.

studio8

Note snow on skylight. Makes for a rather dim photo shoot.

studio1

I wanted something more striking and graphic on the mantel shelf. One day I had the idea to create a display of some of my favorite egg cups, arranged in a straight line all the way across the shelf.

studio3

They always make me smile and their pastel colors look good on the aqua shelf. They are also a collection, variations of the same thing, and that makes for a more striking display. I bought that fifties-era print several years ago when I was working in San Diego. (I used that frame to display something else for a while but I decided to change it back. I missed it.)

studio4

Hello, cheery, happy egg cups! I’m glad you’ll be right by my side when I’m sewing.

studio11

Since I’ve been editing a bit in every room of the house, I had this pretty, but empty, frame sitting around. That adorable badge says Mockingbird Hill Cottage and I’ve always loved it, so I decided to hang it from the frame. I like it.

studio5

Remember those frames I was painting? There were from the dollar store – made of plastic, black and silver, the usual document type frame. I painted them the same aqua as the shelf and now they display the Studios Magazine and Romantic Homes Magazine features. I don’t know if you remember, but I had these in much larger frames before and they hung over the bookcase, which used to be on this wall. This is much simpler.

studio10

The little vintage spice shelf that holds The Lamb with the Party Hat has been moved to the right side of the sewing machine.

And I moved Mabel into the bedroom, where she remains, ready and waiting for a sewing session. The little table she was on just took up too much room in what is already a very small space. That’s the same reason I moved the bookcase. I wanted to make it easier for Don and I, especially Don, to maneuver around that corner.

Oh drat. I forgot about the Claudia program I just framed in the shadow box. I wonder if it should be part of this space?

I promise more photos when there’s light streaming in through that skylight.

Don leaves tomorrow. We’re already very sad but grateful, of course, that he has work. There will be two lonely girls here at MHC.

Don’t miss the chance to win a $1000 Target Gift Card. Visit my post on the new Cartwheel App.

Happy Thursday.

ClaudiaSignature140X93

Filed Under: bedroom, decorating, Don, snow, studio 42 Comments

Framed

January 31, 2014 at 9:04 am by Claudia

montywithprint

I’ve been moving a few things around, due, I’m sure, to being stuck in my own particular mattress vortex. There’s a whole heck of a lot I can’t do until that mattress is delivered and the old mattress is taken away. Which will be on Tuesday, by the way.

Since things are in a state of flux here, I have to give myself little projects to complete or I would go mad. The other day I painted some dollar store frames that I’m going to use in my studio. The studio that is to be rethought and decluttered, when I can get to it. Which will be after the mattress is delivered. Do you see how it all works? I also painted the mantel shelf that goes in the studio a paler aqua. I wanted to tone things down a bit.

Yesterday I cleaned out the closet in our spare bedroom that is, for want of a better word, my craft closet. Wait. Why not a better word? How about my All Things Creative Closet? I like that much better. Anyway, I sorted everything out, filled a trash bag with things I didn’t need and put a pile together to take to the Salvation Army.

Very satisfying.

Remember our trip the other day (which resulted in the red shoes) to Michael’s for some frames? Here’s what we framed:

costumerendering

This is a costume rendering done for a play Don did at the Old Globe many years ago. The costume designer, a wonderful guy who is sadly no longer with us, gave it to Don on opening night. It was in a plastic slip case and Don decided it should be framed because he wanted to honor it, as well as see it right here in the den every day. We really love it. Now it’s sitting on the music cabinet in the den, which is why that print in the top photo has moved to its new position behind Monty.

And we also found this shadow box frame for my vintage program for the Broadway play, Claudia.

claudiashadowbox

Excuse the glare. This program was sitting on the shelf in my studio and, foolishly, I didn’t do anything to protect it from the sun streaming through the skylight. The color had faded quite a bit. Don’s the one who found the shadow box, which works well with the thickness of the program. I stuck the bride and groom cake topper in there on a whim. This might go back in the studio. Or it might stay downstairs. I’m not sure yet.

By the way, the framing process for the costume rendering was a bit of a saga. We wanted an inexpensive frame, so we ended up buying one that already had a matted black and white photo in it, thinking we would simply change out the print for the rendering.

Not quite.

The back had been sealed and stapled and it took forever to pry up the little doohickeys that held the matted print inside the frame. I used a screwdriver. I used a knife. I used pliers. Then we had to get the print out of the frame, which wasn’t easy. When we finally got it out, we realized we had nothing left to serve as the backing for the rendering. I thought of the foam board that I use sometimes for Etsy photos (and since I don’t have anything in my Etsy shop I figured I could cut it up) and brought it downstairs. Then I grabbed my exacto knife and cut and cut and cut – a long and tedious process – until we finally got the foam board to fit the frame. I also have to add a hanger, which is why it’s propped against the wall in the photo.

Though I do like that look. I try to have at least one framed piece propped against a wall in each room. It adds a sort of casual look that I’m really drawn to.

Lest we forget, here’s the view into the den from the living room:

mattressintheden

As you can see, I can’t even see the framed rendering, which is on that cabinet to the right, when I’m sitting in my chair. The danged mattress is blocking it.

Happy Friday.

ClaudiaSignature140X93

Filed Under: decorating, Don, studio 44 Comments

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Welcome!

Welcome!

I live in a little cottage in the country with my husband. It's a sweet place, sheltered by old trees and surrounded by gardens. The inside is full of the things we love. I love to write, I love my camera, I love creating, I love gardening. My decorating style is eclectic; full of vintage and a bit of whimsy.

I've worked in the theater for more years than I can count. I'm currently a voice, speech, dialect and text coach freelancing on Broadway, off Broadway, and in regional theater.

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