Mockingbird Hill Cottage — Page 1120 — Mockingbird Hill Cottage

Stop. Look. Breathe It In.

July 24, 2015 at 8:26 am by Claudia

How can it be already be Friday? The weeks go by so quickly! Goodness.

I know I’ve said it before, but this is the absolute best time in the garden. The peak of prettiness. I’m trying to remember to get out there and take lots of photos. It’s so easy to get caught up in all the things that need to be done and, before I know it, the day has gone by and I haven’t really stopped to take it all in.

I’m grateful for moments like the one I just had, when I glanced up and saw our living room and kitchen bathed in shadowy morning light and had a moment of profound gratitude. It was just a split second, but that is enough. Enough to get me rooted and thankful and ready for the rest of the day. And as Don says, when you have a moment like that, try to stay there and expand it as long as possible.

Ahhhh.

7-24 white phlox

The phlox is blooming. And the scent is heavenly.

Don says it reminds him of night-blooming jasmine, which we loved when we were living in San Diego.

When I planted all of this David Phlox, it was white. And it still is, although some of it is now this lovely shade of purple.

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And it has self-seeded and is now springing up all over the big garden bed.

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Masses of flowers: catmint, bee balm, rudbeckia, sedum, day lilies and phlox.

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Hello, Rudbeckia.

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And since the Japanese Beetles seem to be slowing down a bit, a rose.

By the way, I mentioned this the other day, but in case you missed it, it’s possible to buy a single online copy of this month’s American Miniaturist at Pocket Mags. Unless you’re near a miniature/dollhouse/hobby shop, you might not be able to find it.

Here’s the link and a big thank you to the readers who tipped me off about this option.

Happy Friday.

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Dollhouse: Tweaks, Additions & A New Project

July 23, 2015 at 8:54 am by Claudia

Some weeding happened yesterday. Actually, a lot of weeding happened yesterday.

By the time mid-afternoon rolled around, my back was complaining loudly, so I headed back indoors with two packages that came in the mail. One was big (more on that later) and one was on the small side. Both had to do with miniatures.

Am I intriguing you?

7-23 outside macbook

Apparently, Caroline upgraded her laptop. This looks like a 15 inch MacBook Pro.

I have a 13 inch. Seems unfair.

Actually, if you remember, I made a laptop for the studio/office and it was okay for a while. But the scale was off and I knew it and I resolved to replace it eventually.

7-23 inside macbook

I need to fix that keyboard decal. It’s not quite flat. Later today.

Also, the white wrought iron fencing arrived.

7-23 dh with white fence

I carefully removed the black wrought iron and added the white. I like it. But then I sat here and looked at the edge on the right – next to the tower – and realized I was going to have to add another piece or it would drive me nuts.

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That little piece closes the gap between the fence and the tower. Much better. Now I can relax.

Some more views:

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7-23 andanotherview

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7-23 ontheside

It looks crisp and clean. I loved the black wrought iron and miss it, but it clearly didn’t work once I added the hedges. (I saved it, in case I want to use it again.)

And some plants were hung. I ordered two brass plant hangers from miniatures.com (all of these new additions are from that site.)

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A closer look at the plant hanger:

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You’re looking good, rooftop garden!

I wonder what the view is like from the neighbor’s roof?

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A tantalizing peek into Caroline’s rooftop life.

Just like in Rear Window, one of my favorite movies.

The other package was much bigger and heavier.

7-23 Denise's City Cottage box

This is the kit for the HBS (Hobby Builder’s Supply/Miniatures.com) Creatin’ Contest 2015. I’m not really interested in entering the contest, especially since I purchased this late in the game. But I was intrigued by the design and kept going back to the site to look at it.

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Source: Miniatures.com

Isn’t this cool? It reminds me of a Tiny House or a backyard studio. It’s relatively small, which means that this would be a good first build for me. Originally, I was contemplating making it a Tiny House, but then one day I remembered that Don has said, more than a few times, that he’d like his own little miniature house – from a guy’s point of view. Hmmm.

So, I’m going to build and design a space that we can’t afford to build in real life, but so wish we could. This will be Don’s retreat and it will include everything he’d like: a small recording studio, a place for all his guitars, a sofa and chair, music stands, records, turntable, posters on the wall. Maybe a mini refrigerator?

But it will be tasteful. Because I’m decorating it. It will also be fun.

I’m so excited! My goal is to finish it in time for Christmas.

He’s knows I have a top secret project, simply because I had to alert him. I’m going to have to cover it up when I’m not working and will be constantly saying things like “Don’t look!” if he walks by when I am working. There are very few places to hide away in Mockingbird Hill Cottage. I’m thinking I’m going to take the sewing machine out of the sewing table (in my crafty studio area) and use the table as my construction site. I haven’t sewn in quite a while, have no desire to do so, and I’m far more interested and passionate about miniatures/dollhouses right now.

First, I have to put it together. Then I have to figure out how I want to finish the outside. I have some ideas percolating.

I’m very excited about this new challenge!

Happy Thursday.

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Changes: In Flowers, the Cottage, and the Weather

July 22, 2015 at 8:31 am by Claudia

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Hello, gorgeous!

I am fascinated by this hydrangea. I’ve been watching each blossom evolve from an off-white to tinges of pink to a deeper purple to a faded lavender. It really puts on a show.

7-22 hydrangea2

It’s doing well in its current location, which was supposed to be on the outside of the dog corral but, due to winter and our worries about Scout, is now inside the mini dog corral – next to the remembrance rose. There’s a little fence around both plants, basically to keep Scout out of there, and it seems to be working.

Let’s pause for a moment to utter a thank you. The humidity broke overnight. We couldn’t be happier. The windows are open, the front door is open, Don’s making breakfast, Scout is snoozing in the living room.

I might even be able to function today.

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The living room wall sans dollhouse. Lest I be accused of staging a photo, look closely at the desk. Yes, that’s my duster.

The Maxfield Parrish has been moved to this new position and we love it here. It’s much easier to see and it’s not hidden in a darkish corner like…

7-22 DH

the dollhouse is. It’s not all that dark, but it’s very difficult to photograph the outside with the light from the window to its left.

But I like it here in the den because I can see it from my good old blogging chair. That’s a good and a bad thing. I can see it, but that also means I think about it a lot, which means I’m constantly dreaming of new accessories. Which means I have to pull the reins in on my “I want” list.

Moving the desk was a good thing but the whole situation arose out of a need to keep the dollhouse safe when Scout bumped into the dollhouse table. So we still had to move the pottery that was on the desk or it might have suffered the same potential crash-to-the-floor fate.

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The two smaller McCoy vases are now on the bookshelves.

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The large vase has moved to the sideboard.

I promise I am not going to become a blogger that informs you about every item I move from one place to another in the cottage. Lord, no. Just the bigger changes. Since I had written about Scout’s problems and the need to relocate the dollhouse, I thought I’d share the end results with you.

Frankly, I don’t move things around all that often – when it happens, it’s usually out of necessity.

Although I may write a triumphant post when I finally move all the crap off the kitchen table.

Happy Wednesday.

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Stop. Look. Breathe It In.

Dollhouse: Tweaks, Additions & A New Project

Changes: In Flowers, the Cottage, and the Weather

Lambs Like to Party

A Note

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