And the Winner Is......

Debbie!!!! (please confirm email below as I think more than one Debbie entered...) Debbie, you wrote, "Please enter me in your give-away. I love your blog and read it every day." Thank you so much for entering in this little drawing and for coming by to visit daily...I hope you enjoy my personal gift to you! I'll get it mailed out this week!

There was a delightfully large number of people to put their names in for this drawing (unfortunately, some I had to remove because I couldn't find any contact information...I'm sorry). Everyone was assigned a number and to keep things simple, I had a random number generator pull a number "out of the hat" for me. (ugh, I know, not very old-fashion or cottage-like, huh?). Debbie, you were the sixth person to enter the drawing, and guess which number was pulled?



Thanks again to all of you! I hope you are able to win something from one or more of the other great giveaways!

Check Out the Cottage Charm Give Away "Catalog"! - One Day Left!

Our blogwide Cottage Charm Give Away event is winding down and tomorrow is the day we'll all draw to see who the winners are...Yay! If you haven't had time to visit all the give away sites, you might be interested in perusing a little "catalog" (below) of all the give away items being offered. If you see something you like but haven't signed up for as of yet, just click on the item to be taken to the individual site where you'll sign up. Remember, some bloggers are offering multiple items but request that you only sign up once, so be sure you follow their participation rules.

Cottage Charm Give Away Day Drawing Near! + Brick Backsplash Update

Only four days left till May 26th - the day where all of us participating in this cottage themed giveaway will announce the winners of our drawings! There is still time to enter your own giveaway and/or to sign up for all the giveaways being held. I said below that I would add giveaway links to the the list until noon central time on Friday, but I won't be home until late afternoon, so I'm extending the deadline (to be added to the main giveaway list) until 6 pm central time on Friday, May 25th. So check out all the other great cottage charm giveaways being held from now until May 26th! If you want details on participating yourself, click here. I hope you all have had as much fun with this as I have! I will do another "Cottage Charm Give Away" the last week in May next year, too, so mark your calendars - you've got plenty of time to plan, hehe! This has been a blast!

Well, just one more step and I'll be finished with the backsplash. I still need to paint, which I really wanted to do days ago but our weekend was super jam packed with activity. So yesterday was going to be THE day to paint, but I had to first wait until the dishwasher repairman came and went (I didn't want to have a mess pulled out while he was trying to work). So I waited and waited and waited and waited. He never showed. Turns out, he had to cancel our appointment but instead of calling me to let me know, he called hubs work number and left a message. Hubs didn't get the message until late in the day...grrr! Why they called hubs - who is always on the go at work, I don't know. But an entire day was wasted here and by the time I knew the repairman wasn't coming, it was time to cook dinner. *sigh*

The backsplash may already *look* painted but it's not. I overgrouted (rubbed a thin layer of grout over the surface) the bricks to see if I'd like the color and look. If I liked it, I was going to seal it well and leave it "as is", and if the grout started to wear off over time, it would slowly expose more of the brick color. Turns out the color is a little too bright of a white and also, the grout on the surface of the bricks wears off pretty easily - I'm not sure how well a protective finish would work after several scrubbings. So now I think I'll go through with a wet washcloth and wipe down any grout that comes off easily, let it dry, and paint it a creamy white called "Honey Milk". I think I've mentioned it's the same color as the appliances. But from the photo, you can still get an idea of what the backsplash will look like.

I went to Hobby Lobby the other day to get a couple of pretty cast iron off-white brackets to place below the ends of the upper cabinets. There were tons of them back a couple of months ago and I had several in my buggy at that time. But I decided to wait since I wasn't yet ready for them...I was trying to be patient:) Wouldn't you know, when I went on Friday they only had *one* left of the kind that I was looking for. I was very disappointed, but I know something else will come up.


I did find these cute nursery rhyme prints at Kirkland's Home. I thought they were Kate Greenaway prints (she was a childrens book illustrator in the mid 1800's - I collect her books!) but turns out the artist is someone else who lived during the same time. I was sure fooled! I love them though I don't have a nursery to put them in:) These may even end up in the dining room one of these days as they look really nice with the red and green and off-white. Whimsical to say the least! (click photos to enlarge)








Oh! And by the way...the countertop really does look so much better to me now that the backsplash is in! It doesn't seem as dark as it seemed at first - thanks for the encouragement to wait until everything is in place before deciding that I don't like it!

Front Porch "Garden Dresser" Photos

I'm really not sure what the technical name for indoor pieces of furniture used for outdoor gardening purposes, but I shall call mine my "Garden Dresser". Or maybe my "Dresser Garden"? At any rate, I have moved it into place and have begun adorning her with fresh floral goodness. I still need to order knobs from Ebay and I do have my eyes on some vintage glass ones. I thought that until I ordered them, I would make do with some little metal ones we had lying about the house. I even painted them white to match the dresser, but when I tried to attach them, only one would screw in properly. Seems I need longer screws for the others.


Here is a before photo. I found the dresser for a mere $25 at a roadside junk store!



And here she is now with a couple of coats of primer and a couple of coats of white exterior paint (just try to imagine the glass knobs for the top drawers, lol)....Click to enlarge photos.


The plants are new and look a bit sparse right now, but the verbena and vinca will grow tall and thick (I'll have to remove that little watering can in the basket, for sure!), and hopefully the ivy will thicken quickly, too. The flowers/ivy in the drawer are actually planted in a basket. I placed the basket in the drawer and covered it all in dry moss to make it look as if the drawer was the planter. I just remove the moss and the basket when I need to water to avoid water damage to the drawer.



I felt like the dresser needed a "mirror" above it so I took a frame that I had and painted it white. I'm not sure if I like the color as much as I thought I would...it blends in with the white lattice too much, I think. But it does make a pretty frame for the clematis:) I wired the frame to the lattice so the wind doesn't blow it over. I would *love* to figure out a way to have ivy growing just in the center of the frame, but I'm not sure how I would go about watering the ivy as it would be potted and sitting right on the dresser. I would want to move it to water it...hmmm.



You can't see it in this photo really well, but the red folded matelasse quilt on the bottom I found at Goodwill the other day for $9.99! It's in perfect condition, and is 100% cotton. I can't believe I found it in red! The apple basket and the wooden tray are Goodwill finds as well.



I'm currently reading this scrumptious old book called Elizabeth and her German Garden. I found out about it here at Brocante Home and couldn't wait to order it. There are modern editions, but I just longed to have an antique copy. This one was printed in 1901 and I love to imagine all the hands that held it before mine:)



I gave the old wooden handle of my gardening trowel a facelift by painting it red. Now it's functional and beautiful:)





The tall, ivy topiary behind the red chair is another Goodwill find. It is artificial so I won't be leaving it out on the porch, but it gives me an idea on how I may be able to fill in that space in the future. Oh, and the big white bowl is filled with birdseed! Hubs said I'm going to have a porch full of bird poop now but I want to experiment to see if that will be the case. I'll be playing with this arrangement, taking away from and adding to, all summer. It probably won't look the same from one day to the next:)



What next in my crazy gardening adventures? I would love to have a garden tub! Corey from Tongue in Cheek graciously allowed me to borrow this photo of her mothers red tub. Love it! I've been on the lookout for inexpensive or free old tubs for weeks now and almost had one a couple of weeks ago...but scheduling a good pickup arrangement was a nightmare for us that particular weekend so I told the owner to pass it on to the next person that wants it. Another one will come along...and the last thing I need right now is another project, hehe.



Speaking of projects, my fingertips have healed, gloves and grout have been purchased, and I'm ready to finish grouting the last 25% of the brick backsplash. Now if only hubs would remember to move the stove before he leaves for work (*hint hint*) :)

Oh, and speaking of hints, hehe - keep checking in on the Cottage Charm Give Away post for new giveaways between now and May 25th. May 26th is the big day where we announce the winners! Feel free to join up - there is still time!

That's all for now...It's late and my-new-bought-in-February dishwasher decided to stop working properly today so we have a sinkful of dishes to wash, not to mention the dishes that are in the dishwasher. The repairman can't get here until MONDAY. Joy. Perhaps hubs will move the stove and do the dishes?

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"Cottage Charm Give Away" Participant List - To Be Updated until May 25th

1) Midwest Neurotica
2) Rags to Riches
3) Hearth and Home
4) Like Merchant Ships
5) Hidden Haven Homestead
6) Niesz Vintage Home
7) Ivy and Lace Cottage
8) One Woman's Cottage Life
9) Home Made Simplicity
10) Nonie Mae's Shabby Shack
11) My Indulgences
12) Princess Nimble-Thimble
13) Bella-Enchanted
14) Mother and Child
15) Trinkets and Treasures
16) Casa Amada
17) Ric Rac
18) From the Pines
19) Little Penpen
20) Artistic Creations
21) Karla's Cottage
22) The Bunnies' Bungalow
23) Serious Mumbo Jumbo
24) Ancient One's Place
25) Coasting Along
26) Cottage Magpie
27) Petit Pois
28) Life at Number 17
29) Lallee's Cottage
30) Creativity in Progress
31) Digi Scribbles
32) Day in the Life
33) Pretty Petals
34) Paintin Patti
35) I♥Upstate
36) Simply Me
37)Honeysuckle Lane
38) Nestled in the Singing Woods
39) Painter of the Past
40) A Day in the Country with Farmer Di

Cottage Charm Giveaway Updates This Week

Only 9 Days Left To Post Your Cottage Charm Give away!

(**I will be adding new giveaways to this entry as participants join this week...keep checking back for updates and don't forget to check out the complete list of giveaways as well. Thanks, everyone - the list is getting longer each day!**)

We've had a few more to come onboard with their Cottage Charm Giveaways this week...Check them out!

1) Midwest Neurotica
2) Rags to Riches
3) Hearth and Home
4) Like Merchant Ships
5) Hidden Haven Homestead
6) Niesz Vintage Home
7) Ivy and Lace Cottage
8) One Woman's Cottage Life
9) Home Made Simplicity
10) Nonie Mae's Shabby Shack
11) My Indulgences
12) Princess Nimble-Thimble
13) Bella-Enchanted
14) Mother and Child
15) Trinkets and Treasures
16) Casa Amada
17) Ric Rac
18) From the Pines
19) Little Penpen
20) Artistic Creations
21) Karla's Cottage
22) The Bunnies' Bungalow
23) Serious Mumbo Jumbo
24) Ancient One's Place
25) Coasting Along
26) Cottage Magpie
27) Petit Pois
28) Life at Number 17
29) Lallee's Cottage
30) Creativity in Progress
31) Digi Scribbles
32) Day in the Life
33) Pretty Petals
34) Paintin Patti
35) I♥Upstate
36) Simply Me
37)Honeysuckle Lane
38) Nestled in the Singing Woods
39) Painter of the Past
40) A Day in the Country with Farmer Di

To view everyone that is offering a cottage giveaway from now until May 26th, check out the complete participant list if you haven't already. And of course, if you are interested in having your own Cottage Charm giveaway, here are the details.

In backsplash news, I am 3/4 of the way finished with the grouting. I ran out of grout...grrr!!! I was having a really hard time getting the grout in between the bricks with the float and resorted to using my bare fingers - which I do NOT recommend! The skin on the tips of half my fingers is rubbed completely off (due to scraping them against the edges of the brick) and just typing right now hurts like everything. Don't laugh, but I didn't even shower today because the thought of washing my hair is enough to send me into a fetal position. Why didn't I use rubber gloves!!!??? But the backsplash looks great so far! I will finish when my skin heals a bit...

Brick Backsplash for Cottage Kitchen - Step One Completed!

The bricks are in! I almost waited until tomorrow to take more photos after the stove was moved back into place, but I'm so excited, hehe, that I had to share. Step one of the backsplash project is complete! Click for a larger photo...Just ignore the stove in the middle of the kitchen! By Friday I hope to grout and then next week, I can paint the bricks. I'll be painting them a bisque color - about the same color as the sink and other appliances. The actual color is called "Honey Milk". After painting them, I'm going to take a stiff wire brush or heavy sandpaper and distress the paint a bit as I want to try to retain the "old brick" look. I haven't decided yet if I will use glaze or not - we'll see. Hubs really likes the brick and says it turned out better than he expected. He also said he wouldn't mind not painting the bricks, but I think they would compete with the red cabinets if left unpainted, plus they are rather dark.

Today was such a long day and am I zapped! Thank you for all of your comments below. I appreciate hearing from all of you and will respond intelligently when my brain cells have had time to repair, lol!

I especially want to thank Kim (ScraptomyLou) for featuring my blog on the very inspirational "Today's Creative Blog" ! What an honor to be counted in among all the creative people blogged about there. You should bookmark this site and check it out daily! Thank you, again, Kim!

Have you checked out who has joined the Cottage Charm Giveaway in the last seven days? Be sure to check them out and sign up for whatever strikes your fancy!

11) My Indulgences
12) Princess Nimble-Thimble
13) Bella-Enchanted
14) Mother and Child
15) Trinkets and Treasures
16) Casa Amada

To view everyone that is offering a cottage giveaway from now until May 26th, check out the complete participant list if you haven't already. And of course, if you are interested in having your own Cottage Charm giveaway, here are the details.

Before I retire for the night, I must share with you a little gem I found on the clearance table at the bookstore. Apparently this title, The Country Diary of an Edwardian Lady was also a movie and if it's half as charming as the book, I'd love to see it! The book is an actual nature diary written in 1906 by a woman named Edith Holden. The diary is written in her handwriting and is also filled to the brim with her beautiful watercolors. Each page is just so sweet:)

"Written in 1906, as a record of the stunning natural world around her, Edith Holden’s diary captures the innocence of the Edwardian age. In her own hand and accompanied with her beautiful and delicately observed watercolours, this book revels in the passing of the seasons..."


"For 70 years, her enchanting journal lay undiscovered--until 1977, when it was first published with great success (as any bookseller will recall). Now, it is back in print, ours to treasure once again. All the charm and beauty of the original remains intact in this facsimile, with Holden's carefully handwritten entries: favorite poems, personal thoughts, observations of the wildlife she saw in her native Warwickshire; and remarks on her travels throughout England and Scotland. On every page, her exquisitely rendered paintings--executed with a naturalist's eye for detail and an artist's sensitivity and skill--capture birds perched on branches, their mouths open in song; a tiny shrew mouse, sniffing the air; delicate butterflies and slithering snakes; fluttering leaves; and an array of flowers, from pink foxgloves and trailing roses to yellow water lilies. And, each spellbinding picture reflects her deep love of nature. Surely a beloved classic for a new generation of book buyers. ~Amazon editorial review"

It seems there are a couple of different versions of this book - one with "yellowed" paper, or at least paper made to look old and with different book covers. I'm not sure which is which is which, but I'm sure happy to have the copy I picked up today!

Brick Paver Backsplash Installation - It's Time!

I've been anticipating our brick paver backsplash project forever and I'm excited that the day has finally arrived that I'll get to see this idea come to fruition! Today someone is coming to do the install - but just the installation of the bricks. I'll be in charge of grouting and then painting them for just the right "old painted brick" look. I picked up the pavers at Lowes today and didn't notice the following on the box until I got home...Pretty nifty! I'll post photos as soon as I can!


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There is officially less than a month left before the Cottage Charm giveaway ends, but still plenty of time to sign up for mine and other giveaways if you haven't already. Or if you are interested in having your own Cottage Charm giveaway, here are the details. There are several of us so far with new participants joining daily! Check out who joined in the last couple of days!