Mockingbird Hill Cottage

Mockingbird Hill Cottage

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Scenes From The Cottage: The Bedroom

January 22, 2015 at 9:33 am by Claudia

I’d say the “Master” bedroom, but really, let’s be honest here. We have two bedrooms. One functions as a guest bedroom/office/studio. The other is the one we sleep in. So I’m not going to use the somewhat grandiose Master. Come to think of it, Master of what? Of his domain? Of his lands?

And why not Mistress? Or Master and  Mistress?

I’m starting a movement to cease and desist using the term “Master Bedroom” unless you have an estate in the country with servants in the house and serfs working your land.

The bedroom is tucked under the eaves, which makes furniture placement a challenge – to put it mildly. But it’s cozy, that’s for sure.

Corners-bedroom 8

It’s impossible to take a picture of the entire room. I’ve tried.

Those of you who have been following this blog for a while will remember the new California King bed we ordered last year and the delivery saga that ensued. We ended up having to sleep in the full sized bed in the other room for about a month. To say we were in tight quarters is an understatement. But the new bed has been with us almost a year now and we love it. LOVE IT.

Corners-bedroom 2

No, I don’t iron my pillowcases, not even for a photo shoot. I can’t be bothered. I do make my bed every day, though. I cannot handle an unmade bed unless I’m sick.

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A couple of years ago, when Don was away working, I went on a mad painting spree. The furniture in the room had a variety of wood finishes, many of them darkish. We have two small windows in this room, so I decided a creamy white was in order. It looks much better, though I worried it would be a bit feminine for Don. He assured me that he didn’t care because he was only in the bedroom when it was time to sleep.

A practical guy.

The dresser was found on a street in Cambridge when I was living there. Free. My friend and I carried it for about four city blocks and then up four flights of stairs. I’ve had it for about 23 or 24 years. It’s been painted gray, then yellow, and now aqua and cream.

The vintage rocker needs some repair and I plan on attending to that shortly. I love that rocker. I crocheted that throw and made the quilt, as well.

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A vintage tea towel as dresser scarf, assorted jewelry, a silver pillbox from Tiffany’s given to me by my late mentor and his partner, my grandmother’s lamp, my great-grandmother’s tea chest, and a photo of my late brother and me.

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A photo of me when I was teaching at Boston University (oh, to be that young again), some McCoy and Roseville pottery, and Don’s head shot (which I took).

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A pansy print that I bought while working in Owensboro, Kentucky. I love the print and the vintage frame. A D hook from Anthropologie which holds my necklaces (most of which I never wear). D for Don, by the way. I also had the C, but I couldn’t find it when I was putting this up. So the D won.

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I coveted and salivated over this painting for over a year. It was in a shop in San Diego – Vignettes – and as I went back and forth to SD to coach a few shows, I would see it and gaze upon it and then I would walk away because it was too expensive for me.

Finally, I took a picture and sent it to Don, talked it over with him and got his approval, and then drove to Vignettes where Lori, the owner, told me that she had wrapped it up for a customer and was getting ready to put the sale through when the customer changed his mind. All the while, she had been thinking that I was going to be so upset when I saw it was gone.

That clinched it. I bought it. I always knew it would go on this section of the wall that surrounds the chimney.

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Impatiens brought in for the winter.

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Egg cups. And a Christie Repasy print.

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Beautiful Japanese wood block prints on rice paper. These are Don’s. He bought them when he was courting me and living in the company housing provided by the Old Globe. He wanted something to personalize his living space.

On my side of the room:

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Books and lots of ’em. There are books behind books – two layers deep.

The black and white photograph of a rose was taken by my late brother, there’s vintage mirror my mom bought me when I was visiting them in Michigan, another parakeet lamp that I found (!) that needs some rewiring, photos of Winston and Riley and Scout.

The lone wolf print was purchased while we were living in San Diego.

Corners-bedroom 7

My traveling pals: Maggie Rabbit, Wayfrum Holmes, Little Lamb. They’re sitting on a vintage hatbox I found many years ago in the Berkshires. And that’s Home, by Edgar Guest. I found it in a local antique shop last year.

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More books. A bit blurry, but you get the picture. They’re everywhere.

There’s also a cabinet to the left of my dresser that our old behemoth of a television sits on, but I didn’t get a photo of it, though there’s one elsewhere on this blog.

On a sunny day like today, the bedroom is filled with a lovely, rosy glow. And though I’d love more wall space, instead of the half-walls, there is something wonderful about being tucked under the eaves in an attic bedroom.

Any questions? Feel free to ask in the comments section.

Happy Thursday.

ClaudiaSignature140X93

 

Filed Under: bedroom, decorating, DIY, Don, Edgar Guest, egg cups 56 Comments

Scenes From The Cottage: The Kitchen

January 21, 2015 at 9:33 am by Claudia

The kitchen was what clinched the deal for Don. Not that it has a lot of bells and whistles. Not that it is full of stainless steel appliances and cupboards galore and granite or butcher block countertops. Nope. It has too few cupboards and mismatched appliances. It has tile countertops that I’d love to replace.

But because it was added on to this little cottage many, many years ago, it has a slanted ceiling that is much higher than the ceiling in the living room. It slopes down from the wall it shares with the living room to the wall that faces the back forty. Since Don does a lot of the cooking and he’s over 6′4″ tall, he fell in love with the space. And we both fell for the windows that are on all three sides of the room.

I’ll try to note things you might want to know below each photo, because there are a lot of photos.

Corners-kitchen 12

The view from the living room. The island was made from an old sideboard. McCoy Pottery is scattered throughout the room. That’s Scout’s dog food under the island. The lampshade was recovered in some of the fabric from my stash. The Vernor’s crate is one of my very favorite things.

Corners-kitchen 1

As Is. A well organized message center? Decidedly not. Photos of family on the refrigerator.

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The table was originally finished in a very dark stain, so I painted it. I got it from my friend Heidi’s shop for $75. It has two leaves, as well, though I think we’ve only used them once. The chairs have been gathered here and there. The one with its back to the camera was found for $5. It’s vintage and was made by Thonet.

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Pretty cups. Bottle rack from World Market. The little tray was decoupaged by my friend Tina. She also gave us that beautiful aqua pitcher.

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Riley’s Dish Garden, in honor of our dearly missed boy.

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The pantry. I bought that canister (part of a set) when we were driving across the country on the way to our new home in the Northeast. The horseshoe is Don’s.

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The kitchen cabinet was found in a little shop on the other side of the river – we had a very, very, very small kitchen in our rental and we desperately needed the storage space. I changed out the stainless steel knobs to some pretty glass pulls. It’s full of McCoy, Fiesta, vintage china, Emma Bridgewater, transferware. I made the light hanging over the table from an old lamp shade base which I covered with old doilies. The red cloth-covered cord came as part of a kit. I also made the chalkboard and the hanger for Don’s Jumping Jack collection. You’re welcome to pull on one as you come in or out the door.

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Fiesta and McCoy.

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The sign is one of my favorite things – made by Paula of Castle and Cottage Signs. Isn’t it lovely? More McCoy, as well.

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I found this sign, which is not vintage, through my friend Heidi. I loved the colors and it was the perfect size to hang over the entrance to the living room.

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The funky paper towel holder made from an old chain display rack.

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The bench by the kitchen door. We bought it right after we moved in here. We store a lot of tools inside the bench. Dog towels; both on and under the bench. In the winter, hats and gloves.

And the view from the kitchen into the living room and den:

Corners-kitchen 13

Corners-kitchen 14

There you have it. As Is. The way we live. There’s always clutter on the kitchen table, notes and lists on the island, pottery everywhere (I don’t know what I’d do without it.)

Cheerful clutter, I call it. A sleek kitchen is clearly not for us. I admire them. I marvel at the space and the counters free of clutter. I dream of matching appliances and butcher block countertops. And a dishwasher that works.

But cheerful, funky, and colorful is really our style. The pottery has been gathered and collected over the years. The table and chairs pieced together over the last almost ten years. The chalkboard was made from part of the trim that originally came on the sideboard (which I found at auction for $60). The lamp was a solution to a kitchen with recessed lighting, which I like, but let’s face it, there are times when some mood lighting is in order. We came up with the paper towel holder not long after we moved here and bid on the chain display at a local auction. We brought it home and soon I had a vision of dowels and paper towels. (Hey, that rhymes.) It’s one of our favorite things. The island was something I dreamed up to give us more storage and counter space. We can’t imagine life in the kitchen without it.

If you’re interested, there are more photos of the island and the chalkboard and the hanging light and information as to how I made them elsewhere on the blog.

Any questions? Ask away in the comments!

Happy Wednesday.

ClaudiaSignature140X93

 

 

Filed Under: decorating, DIY, Don, kitchen, kitchen island, McCoy pottery 64 Comments

Book Review: Cain and Abe by James Grippando

January 20, 2015 at 9:02 am by Claudia

Cane and Abe

Today I am reviewing Cane and Abe by James Grippando for TLC Book Tours. As always, I am provided with a copy of the book in exchange for my honest review.

About the book (from the publisher): Unbelievable was the word for her. Samantha Vine was unbelievably beautiful. It was unbelievable that she’d married me. It was even more unbelievable that she was gone…

Samantha died too soon. Abe Beckham’s new wife has helped him through the loss, but some say it was a step back for Abe to marry Angelina, a love from his past. Abe doesn’t want to hear it, and he’s even managed to remain a star prosecutor at the Miami State Attorney’s Office through his ups and downs.

Then everything goes wrong. A woman’s body is discovered dumped in the Everglades, and Abe is called upon to monitor the investigation. The FBI is tracking a killer in South Florida they call “Cutter” because his brutal methods hark back to Florida’s dark past, when machete-wielding men cut sugarcane by hand in the blazing sun.

When Angelina goes missing, the respected attorney finds himself under fire. Suspicion surrounds him. His closet friends, family, professional colleagues, and the media no longer trust his motives. Was Angelina right? Was their marriage not what they’d hoped for because he loved Samantha too much? Or was there another woman…and a husband with a dark side that simply wanted his new wife gone?

My review: The blurb above doesn’t really paint an accurate picture of what this book is about. There is a new wife, and a deceased wife, yes. And the second wife does go missing. But the mystery surrounding the serial killer, the FBI agent who doggedly pursues both the serial killer and Abe, the methods used in the ongoing investigation, both by Abe and the FBI, are a more accurate reflection of the bulk of the plot of Cain and Abe.

Here is my problem with the book. For much of the story, I was fairly engrossed in the plot, in the history of sugarcane cutting in South Florida, the battle between Abe and the FBI Agent who seemed to have Abe in her sights, in the author’s clear understanding of the law and the way prosecutors work. It was fairly compelling. Some things, like the disappearance of Angelina, the second wife, I didn’t take all that seriously because that particular plot device didn’t seem to ring true, given what I had read so far.

Then, right toward the end of the book, Grippando threw in a plot twist that made absolutely no sense to me. It was gratuitous, almost as if he lost his way toward the end of the novel and decided to go for something else. And another twist, right at the end of the novel, caused me to curse out loud. Ask my husband. I was not a happy camper.

I felt like I had been duped and not in a good way and I don’t like that. Listen: every novel, every mystery involves manipulation; manipulation of the plot, of the clues, of the characters – all done to further suspense. I get it. I usually love it. But it has to make sense. It has to be supported by everything the author has put in place. All that we’ve learned about a character or characters has to lead to a conclusion that makes sense based on what we’ve learned throughout the course of the novel. If the author hasn’t done enough to support that plot twist, that new realization, it all falls flat.

Hey, I love being shocked and surprised just as much as the next person. But only if I can go back through the novel and see all the little clues that perhaps I missed or didn’t realize were that important at the time, but all of which, in the end, made the plot twist make sense.

I’m calling this the “Gone Girl Syndrome.” It’s calculated. It’s been called daring. I am not a fan of Gone Girl. I’ve written about it here on this blog. I am not a fan of the purely calculated, and in the end, heartless plot device. It isn’t clever. It just leaves me very ticked off, and I feel like I’ve wasted hours and hours that I’ll never get back.

Clever solely for the sake of clever has no lasting appeal. It has no heart.

Anyway, if you liked Gone Girl, you might very well enjoy this novel. Grippando writes well. Unfortunately, the final pages of Cain and Abe  left me feeling very unsatisfied. Up until then? I liked it.

James Grippando

About the author: James Grippando is a New York Times  bestselling author whose novels are enjoyed worldwide in twenty-six languages. Grippando was a trial lawyer for twelve years before the publication of his first novel in 1994 (The Pardon) and he is now counsel at one of the nation’s leading law firms. He lives and writes in South Florida.

If you are interested in exploring this mystery, leave a comment on this post and you will be entered to win a copy of Cain and Abe. I’ll pick a winner on Friday evening.

New post up on Just Let Me Finish This Page.

Happy Tuesday.

ClaudiaSignature140X93

 

Filed Under: TLC Book Review 17 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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