Mockingbird Hill Cottage

Mockingbird Hill Cottage

What Makes a House Feel Like a Happy Place?

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On Thursday, a guy from our cable company came out to check our modem. When he entered the kitchen, he stopped and said, “This is a happy place. The place feels happy. I can tell – this is a happy house.”

I was surprised and delighted. He visits a whole lot of houses and he gets an instant impression when he walks in the door. I forgot about that conversation until I read my friend Jen’s post about her happy house. That got me thinking about it again.

When we first walked into this house with our realtor 7 years ago, we were struck by how light it felt. I don’t mean just the quality of light, though that was wonderful. I mean a lightness of being. So many houses we had toured felt heavy and weighed down. Maybe it was the decoration or lack thereof. Maybe it was the personalities that lived in the house. Maybe both. But this house was different.

Since I believe that home is refuge, a safe place, a nest, I decorate with that in mind. I want to enhance that light feeling. Cozy, welcoming, vintage, slightly and not-so-slightly worn objects abound. Everything has a story. Color is everywhere. I don’t do any of this with a huge plan in mind. I just decorate with what I have. With what I love. Don and I have gathered together the things we love. They are an essential part of this house, this home. Nothing cost very much. Nothing was curated (a word I am fast getting tired of.)

We have been under a great deal of stress lately. We’ve had our share of sorrow. So when a visitor says, “This is a happy place” I feel very grateful. Grateful that this house exudes that feeling of happiness even when things are tough. That this gentleman felt happy and relaxed as soon as he entered our kitchen. That we have created a happy home here at Mockingbird Hill Cottage.

This house makes me happy. I’m sure glad it makes others happy, too.

When you walk into a house, what is it about it that makes it feel like a happy place to you? Please share!

Happy Sunday. (I used the word ‘happy’ 12 times in this post.)

A Favorite Thing Saturday #2

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It’s time for A Favorite Thing, week number 2! Thank so much to everyone who participated last week – I loved reading your posts and hearing your stories. Every week, I will randomly pick a few highlights of the week before. Last week, we saw this darling chair from  Carolynn at Chenille Cottage. She’s had it since 1975 and she recently made a new red toile cover for it. I love red. I love toile.

Isn’t it adorable?

Sally Ann Magundy shared a ceramic donkey that belonged to her mother, along with a wonderful photo of her mother, brother and some friends in Tijuana.

Sally’s mother always kept stray buttons in that basket and Sally would play with them as a child.

And Donna, of  An Enchanted Cottage, shared the surprise she found when sorting through her late father’s things. He had stopped wearing his wedding band many years before after witnessing someone catch his ring on something and get injured. Much to her surprise, she found her father’s wedding band in a tin box – inscribed with her parents’ initials, the date they got married and the word, love.

Priceless.

This week, my contribution is simple. All of you who read this blog know that we lost our beloved dog, Riley, almost 3 weeks ago. During this time of heartbreak, we are so grateful that we still have our girl, Scout. She’s 13 ½, slowing down a bit, but still feisty as ever. Seeing this face every day keeps me going.

I just took this the other day. How can I cry when I see that smiling face?

Now, it’s time for you to share a favorite thing of yours!

You can link up any time from this evening through Sunday night. Make sure you put in the URL of your post. If you’re unsure how to do that, just click on your post title after you’ve published it and copy the information in your browser address window. Come on over, paste the URL info into your link info and there you go! If you have any questions about it, drop me an email and I’ll help you out. (When you copy your post URL into the link, make sure that http:// only appears once, otherwise the link won’t work.) Also, please link back to this blog on your post. That way those that read your post and are interested in reading more can do so.

One of my concerns about link parties is that the very reason for them has somewhat gone by the wayside. They’ve become so big and there are so many of them that many bloggers don’t take the time to visit other blogs. They are a way to meet new bloggers and share with each other and the only way to do that is to visit each other. So, please, take some time to visit everyone over the next few days. No rush. Stop by, introduce yourself, and leave a comment. It’s the neighborly thing to do.

Have fun everyone!



Along Came a Spider

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It was early evening yesterday when I went out to check on the zinnias and sunflowers. Timing is everything. So is the light. Because the light was just right, I saw a huge web, attached to a couple of zinnias and the purple hyacinth bean vine. And I saw this magnificent creature, spinning silk around her prey.

The prey is a stink bug, I think.

Do you see those markings?

She is at least 4 inches long, including her legs. I think her body is about an inch long. Very big spider. I was in awe. She may be the most beautiful spider I’ve ever seen.

Of course, after taking about 40 pictures, I ran inside to google ‘black and yellow spider.’ A photo, not unlike mine, immediately came up. Her name? Argiope Autantia  commonly known as the black and yellow garden spider, or the writing spider, or corn spider. According to Wikipedia, that dense center area of the web is called a stabilimentum. Some think it acts as camouflage, which is what I was thinking. She stayed very close to this area of the web. Others think it might attract prey. Each night, she will consume the circular interior part of the web  and then rebuild it the next morning with fresh silk. That stink bug was injected with venom and then the spider wrapped it in cocoon of silk, which is where I came in.

You, dear readers, may not like spiders. I don’t mind them at all. But even if you don’t particularly like them, you have to admit this is a beauty. I was so fortunate to see her, in just the right light. My little camera came through for me. Thanks little Canon bridge camera!

I went out this morning. Sure enough, she rebuilt the center:

I feel like we’re buddies now.

Don’t forget, our weekly party starts tonight. I’ll have the post up and ready for you to link at 8:00 pm EST.

Oh goodness. I forgot to draw a winner for the book giveaway. It’s Lynn! Congratulations, Lynn. I’ll drop you an email.

Happy Friday.

Lambs Like to Party

Lambs Like to Party

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