Mockingbird Hill Cottage — Page 1591 — Mockingbird Hill Cottage

A Mini Re-do and a Garden Surprise

October 25, 2011 at 10:07 am by Claudia

The unfinished cabinet in the above photo has undergone a transformation. It now looks like this:

I would like a real-sized one for my home. This transformation, of course, is much easier and much less time consuming.

Just as in real life, I had to move the furniture around for my photo shoot. And yes, I did a little staging. I originally had many more pieces of pottery on the shelves, but as any good stager would, I pared back so that you could see the wallpaper that covers the area behind the shelves. It’s the same pattern I used in the room.

I love it.

Is there just too much blue in the house? I can’t help it. I’m so drawn to those colors. Case in point: look at my header. I’ll try my best to mix it up in other parts of the house.

A dash of garden surprise:

I’ve been discovering these little patches of impatiens in our little patio area where we have them planted in big barrels. They’ve reseeded. That’s never happened before. How lovely to come across this little autumn surprise.

I hope the first frost holds off for a few weeks.

Changing, Playing & Cleaning Up

October 24, 2011 at 10:42 am by Claudia

Doesn’t Fall seem to be a time for nesting? For changing things around, cleaning things up? My theory is that memories of “back-to-school-new-shoes-new-notebooks-and-pencils” are bred in our bones and once that cooler air hits, we want to renew and start fresh. That, and a need to nest in preparation for the coming Winter.

I’m definitely feeling it. Unfortunately, I’m not feeling it for the cottage. I’m feeling it for the dollhouse and this blog.

The blog has changed a bit lately, as you no doubt have noticed. A new header, a new background and now… a new font. Like an idiot, I stayed up until the wee hours last night because I suddenly got the urge to play with fonts. Lately, I’ve been wanting a cleaner, fresher looking blog and all these changes are being made with that in mind. Brenda will be happy – she had trouble reading the Papyrus font I’ve been using. We good-naturedly (spell check doesn’t like my word choice) argued about it. What do you think? Is this new font clear enough for you?

While Don was working late last night, I was watching the World Series and playing with the dollhouse. Two chairs have been painted and added to the kitchen.

This bookcase/armoire was a gift from Rizzi. I’m going to paint it a pale, pale aqua and put wallpaper backing behind the shelves.

Honestly, I was like a little girl last night. I pulled out my box of furniture and accessories and played house. I don’t have very much at the moment and I have a wish list a mile long, but it was such fun. (I love the way the sunlight pours into the room.)

I’d share the other things I did this weekend with you, but do you really want to see the enormous pile of tree limbs (courtesy of Hurricane Irene) that I dragged one by one into the woods?

Or the window air conditioners that were finally taken out of their summer homes and stored in the shed?

I thought not.

Unofficial Bed Maker vs Non-Bed Maker poll results:

Bed Makers: 29
Non-Bed Makers: 5
Hit-and-Miss: 6

Have a great Monday.

Okay, now I’ve changed the font again. This time to Century Gothic. I’m not sure which one I like better!

Now you will officially think I’m insane. I’ve changed it back to my original ‘new’ font.

A New Cozy Little House

October 23, 2011 at 4:23 pm by Claudia

This post is dedicated to my dear friend, Brenda. Her blog, Cozy Little House, is very popular and many of you reading this post know her well. If you don’t, trot on over and make her acquaintance. Brenda and I have been close friends for a couple of years now. Do you want to know the story behind the beginnings of our friendship?

Like many blogging friendships, ours was first confined to leaving comments on each other’s blog. I liked her blog and I liked her style. She’d leave a comment on my blog, I’d leave a comment on her blog. I had noticed that we were both readers of another blog. I’d often see Brenda’s comment when I was leaving mine. This particular blogger had some health issues. To protect her privacy, I don’t want to go into more detail than that. One evening, I read a post by this blogger that greatly concerned me. It worried me enough that I felt compelled to reach out to someone else who also read the blog. I emailed Brenda, introduced myself officially, and expressed my concern. By that time, she had also read the post and shared my concern. We each wrote to the woman in question and in the process, Brenda and I exchanged telephone numbers. We also spoke to this woman (now becoming a friend) on the phone several times over the course of a couple of months. To make a long story short, eventually she decided to stop blogging, cut off all contact and we had no idea what happened to her. We still don’t. We were worried about her and tried to contact her via email and phone calls but it became clear that, in the midst of coping with her illness, she had cut her ties to the blogging world. We had to respect that. In the meantime, our friendship had grown. And it keeps growing.

Brenda has gone through a tough time lately. Her marriage has ended and she is moving from East Texas to Tulsa, Oklahoma. A new start. I couldn’t be happier for her. Through all the adversity, even when everything seemed hopeless, she has kept her sense of humor – even through the tears.

Here is the new Cozy Little House. The movers are coming today – Sunday – and Brenda departs for Tulsa tomorrow. Her daughter (a realtor) and her husband have been instrumental in helping Brenda find her new haven. They have simply been extraordinary.

Leaving any place you have lived for a number of years is always emotional. Leaving a marriage is also emotional, even when you are grateful for your new-found freedom. Life is complicated that way. But look what’s waiting! A new home, a new life, daughters and grandchildren nearby, independence and the chance to start anew.

I know I’ll visit Brenda one day in Tulsa. I can’t wait.

Bon voyage, my friend. You deserve every happiness.

A Mini Re-do and a Garden Surprise

Changing, Playing & Cleaning Up

A New Cozy Little House

Lambs Like to Party

A Note

Archives