Cottage Life Words to Live By

I love words. For as long as I can remember, I've used words even as part of our decor at home. While we lived in an apartment when our kids were wee ones, I would stencil words on the walls at various locations throughout our home. Above the toybox was the word Imagine. By our bathroom mirror was the word Smile. Above the beds, Rest, in our living room - Relax, and above the girls' potty chair, I posted the word Wish (mainly for my own benefit...it should have been the word PRAY, lol!).

I also collect well-worded quotes. One day, I'd love to make a giant collage of quotes to frame and hang in the bathroom for...er...reading material. For now, however, I'll have to be satisfied with sharing my favorite quotes right here at my virtual abode. You'll notice that at the end of every entry, there will be a random quote for your reading enjoyment. I really enjoyed picking them out and will continue to add new ones as I find them.

If you have any favorite quotes related to home, family, children, food, pets, gardens, attitudes, love, friendship, etc., (which are all things I personally associate with cottage life!), please send them to me and I'll post them in my rotating list of quotes. I'd really appreciate you sharing them with me and I hope that you enjoy the ones I'll be sharing with you when you each time you visit:)

Along these same lines, if you're interested in adding words to your own walls, check out this great site called WallWords . They specialize in pre-pasted and pre-spaced transfer letters for painted walls, wallpaper, windows, mirrors, furniture and metal. You can choose from their quotes and words or custom order your own. There are many fonts and colors to choose from, too. My favorite font is "Handlettering":)

Just click on either of the two photos I've posted here to see more creative ways in which to use Wall Words. By the way, I really love the idea of framing a word or quote with a flea market or yards sale frame. How neat is that!

From the company owner Carrol Caldwell(taken from the About Us page):

"I've always loved the written word.
Almost more than the meaning, I love the shape and grace of text. How wonderful that the same word can look so different but means the same thing in one font to the next. Words become symbols and a form of art. Expressive phrases allow you to share with others inspiring, thought-provoking humorous or reflective sentiments. Words convey your intellect, your philosophy, and can even serve as a window to your soul."

I couldn't agree more, Carrol!

So check out Wall Words and don't forget to email me your favorite quotes! Have a great weekend, everyone!

Blah, Yay, and more Goodwill Goodness

Ugh. I wish I had some exciting entry with dramatic photos to share. I don't, but I at least want to check in and say hello to everyone. Today would have been a perfect day for me to get tons of work done because my little one stayed with a friend all day. I've had this day planned for about three weeks now so I could specifically work on the cabinets without distraction. BUT, and there's always a but, my fibromyalgia got the best of me today. I ended up on the couch or in bed most of the day while I got further behind on the dishes, laundry, and remodel work. Generally, I don't have as many problems with chronic pain like I once did, but sometimes - especially when there is a change in the weather like a rain front moving through, a change in temperature, etc, my body rebels.

On a happy and totally non-house related note, Lindsay, my kindergartener, brought home the results of a year end computerized reading test she took. I can't help but to be proud that she's reading on a third grade reading level:) I'm so glad that she enjoys reading as much as she does.

Do you all know that you can shop Goodwill online? You can actually bid on items like you would on Ebay.

"Shopgoodwill.com is the newest Goodwill store offering a wide array of antiques and collectibles pulled from Goodwill’s vast inventory of donated goods. From unique one-of- a kind items to estate pieces, the depth of resources is enormous. Revenues from auction sales fund education, job training and job placement programs for people with disabilities and other disadvantages."

Among many other things, they have some really cool antiques available....Check out Shop Goodwill!

Cabinet Progress - Basecoat On

More progress has been made with the kitchen cabinets:) All of them have been given their first coat of basecoat, inside and out. Though the outside of the cabinets won't need anymore basecoat, the insides will still need another coat or two. I'll be working on that today.

I came across a good photo that shows what our kitchen looked like before our remodel began - before the french doors and windows and before any trim or paint was added to the cabinets. It will be interesting to see what the final after photo will look like in comparison...

This Weeks Thrifty Finds / Cottage Treasures

I had the day to myself last Friday so I decided to do a little Goodwill Hunting. I got there just as they were unloading a few carts of stuff right of the truck, so I found some great little cottage worthy items:)


This is a framed print that I just love. I'm very picky when it comes to art I buy (which explains why I don't have much framed art). I know I must really love a piece when I try to walk away from it but can't...it keeps drawing me back, which was the case with this piece. I love the tranquility and peacefulness in this print and can just imagine myself on that little canoe out in the water:) The artist is Gene Pelham who was known for his magazine cover illustrations, especially the "Saturday Evening Post". I also like this print because it has all the colors I'm using in our house...reds, greens, yellows, and a touch of blue. The frame is solid wood...very heavy. I'm not sure how old it is. I paid 19.99 for it.


Wooden candlesticks...The two taller ones were $1.99 each. They still had their original price stickers on them - one for $25 and the other for $15! I plan on painting the smaller pair of candlesticks. They were just .50.


This next find reminds me of a small apocathary chest. It's solid wood and very heavy. I want to paint it and replace the plastic knobs. I paid $9.99 for it...


Here's a little wooden shelf that I bought for 2.99...Nothing fancy but it's nice and solid and simple.



I love natural looking baskets and have been collecting them for a few months now. I found these two identical baskets and snatched them right up They didn't have a price sticker on them so I don't know how much I paid for them. I have them filled with ivy now and they're sitting on my living room window sill.


I found these brand new decorative bottles - $1.99 for the smaller one and $2.99 for the larger one. I've always wanted a couple of these for the kitchen.



And lastly, here is a beautiful, large...chamber pot. I only just last night learned what it is...and only AFTER I declared that it was a soup tureen on the HGTV decorating forums. How embarassing... Anyway, I guess I have to take it out of my cupboards now, lol!

I've added all these finds to my Thrifty Finds / Cottage Treasures photo gallery.

Have a good day, everyone!

Photos of Hardwired Undercabinet Kitchen Lighting and Primed Cabinets

Yeah, I know there isn't anything too exciting about photos of primed cabinets, but...they are my proof that my hands haven't been idle.

What I'm most excited about regarding this series of photos is the new hardwired undercabinet halogen lighting Jeff installed a while back. Thanks, Greg at Petch House, for inspiring us to do this project. I've explained before how we did it but I've never posted the photos of the finished project. I actually took these photos to show our newly double primed cabinets with the crown moulding hubs installed at the top, but I decided to flip the undercabinet light switch to also show you all what the lights look like. It's amazing the difference the halogen lighting makes...sometimes we find ourselves working in the kitchen with only the undercabinet lights on!

But first...I want to show you what our kitchen looked like when I dumped all the cabinet contents out in order to prep and prime the cabinets. We lived like this for about a week until hubs brought in an old armoire from the garage to temporarily keep in the kitchen to hold our stuff. WARNING: The following photo isn't pretty and should serve as a warning to any of you who may be contemplating painting your own kitchen cabinets...Click to enlarge (if you dare).



Ok...AFTER the mess is cleaned up and all the cabinets primed and the lights turned on, the photos are a little easier on the eyes. I apologize in advance for the myriads of nearly identical photos, but I'm just so garsh darn proud of the lights hubs installed. When we get the new countertops and backsplash installed, they'll look even better:)

Here is what the lights under the cabinets look like...see the light in it's recessed goodness? I think I still need another (fourth!) coat of red paint under there. Darn red paint!


Now on to what the lights look like turned on in the middle of the day. Maybe sometime I'll take some evening pictures.













Have a great Monday, everyone!

Photos of My "Wallpaper" Shelf Paper / Liner

A couple of months ago, I posted about the wallpaper that I ordered to use as shelf paper / liner for our cottage kitchen cabinets. I am pleased to finally share photos of what the paper looks like installed. I cut the wallpaper to fit the shelves, soaked it in water as I would if I were applying it to the walls, and then just applied it to the shelves. I made sure all the air bubbles were out and then let the paper dry for a couple of days before applying three coats of matte finish polyurethane. Here are the results: (Click photos to enlarge)

MIA

I've been missing in action lately...mostly because I have photos to post but can't yet post them. Our thingamajig (cardreader?) is broken and I can't upload my photos so I think until we replace it, I'll have to have a friend burn them onto a disk (Oooooh, Jason!!!!!)

All of our cabinets are primed inside and out now (two coats of primer!) and hubs will caulk them this weekend. Next week, I'll begin adding color...Homestead Resort Parlor Taupe on the inside and Cherry red on the outside.

Our kitchen was turned upside down with all the priming going on (as future pictures will show). Last weekend, hubs brought in an armoire from the garage where we are temporarily storing our food and dishes. Now instead of CHAOS we have ORGANIZED CHAOS:)

Southland Historic Preservation - Interesting Website

I wish I had time to post more but I need to go slave away work on my kitchen cabinets. But I wanted to share a website/organization with you. It's called the Southland Historic Presevation. They combine two of my passions, my love for photography and old homes. On the main page, you'll see a few before and after photos of some neat old houses. When you visit their site, be sure to to click on the link in their menu that says "Lost Houses". I don't know about you, but it's so sad to see photos of beautiful old homes that were purposesly or accidentally destroyed.

From the SHP About page:

Since its founding in 1996, SHP's primary activity has been to photograph endangered farm and plantation houses across the rural Southern countryside. The total number of buildings included in this documentary work exceed 800 historic structures throughout 200 counties, in ten states. In addition to recording these images, SHP also realizes the importance of conversing with owners of dormant and endangered properties and discussing with them strategies and alternatives to safeguard these valued, yet fleeting historic resources. Southland Historic Preservation would also like to take this opportunity to express a sincere thank you to the hundreds of property owners whose cooperation and "Southern hospitality", has afforded us the opportunity to record many of the region's noteworthy endangered farmhouses, slave quarters, mills, and churches over the past decade.

First Lawn Mow of the Year

On Saturday, hubs and I got out and did some *much* needed yardwork - mowing, weeding, etc. The two of us mowed the yard for the first time this year and boy did it need it! I'm so glad we did, too, because we've had a some pretty heavy rain Sunday.

Today, someone is coming to dig up my irises in my side garden. (I can hear my mother saying "WHAT!!!" right now...she loves irises and if she didn't live across the country, I'd give them to her).I found someone in our local Freecycle group who was looking for anyone that was thinning out their flower beds and needed good homes for all the extra bulbs. I have *tons* of bulbs. I don't like so many of them and hate to spend so much time trying to keep them thinned out and looking nice. I just don't have time now since we're trying to get the inside of the place put back together. I have other plans for our side garden, too (I want it to be a cottage style garden, of course!). For now, I want to plant lots of colorful impatiens that will grow like crazy and fill up the bed and last all spring and summer. In time, I'll do more, but the impatiens seem like a simple landscaping solution this year. But first, I have to make room...or, I should say someone else is coming to make room:)

While my irises are being dug up, I will be inside cleaning and priming the rest of our upper cabinets. Jeff added the rest of the crown moulding to the cabinets a couple of Saturdays ago while I was busy getting some spring cleaning done. But now it's time for me to paint, paint, paint again. I will be *so* glad when these cabinets are done!