I wish you could smell these!

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Last year my gardenia bush had buds but they would all fall off before they bloomed. I haven't done anything differently this year but it seems to be thriving! I think within a few weeks this plant will be covered with blooming flowers. I love the scent but my daughter hates it. I've met a few other people who don't like it either. Do you like the scent of gardenias?

My hydrangea next to it is starting to bloom also and the lilies and roses are close to blooming too. I love June, everything blooms in unison in my little, tiny, pint-size garden.

Look at this book I found!

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I ran into Barnes & Noble last weekend to see if they had the new Romantic Homes magazine yet. They didn't have it but as I was leaving this book caught my eye. I ran over and couldn't believe that it was a bargain priced book for $7.98 (originally $24.95) It is so beautiful!

Here is a cottage on Martha's Vineyard. I probably walked right in front of this one while I was there last summer.

I love this room. What a view!
This picture didn't turn out very well but this room is stunning!

This is one of the more elegant rooms...very pretty.
I really love this room. Look at the valance on the window. I love how it's not put at the very top of the window.
There are different chapters in this book for each different style of cottage decorating. I think this came from the Rustic chapter.
I love the toile wallpaper in the dining room and all the topiary. Oh, and that black and white check floor. I've always wanted a kitchen with that.

Thrift Store Find

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I've been pretty good about cutting down on my spending but sometimes I just have to stop by the thrift store. It usually happens after I'm reading about all the great things other bloggers are finding. That's when I found this. I think it's a chocolate pot? right? It was more than I usually spend at a thrift store, $19.99 but I think it's worth more than that. It' s really beautiful, these pictures do not show the detail as much as I would like.

Awhile back, I ordered a book from the book club I belong to (Home Style Books) and this journal came with it. I've been using it to keep track of all my thrift store purchases. Someday I may start selling on eBay or maybe at the flea market and if I decide to sell some of my things, I'll know how much I paid for them.

Memorial Day

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Hope you are all having a great Memorial Day Weekend. I would like to take this opportunity to thank all the brave men and women that have served to protect our wonderful country.

Inspiration Friday - Cottage Gardens

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I didn't get a chance to scan any magazine pics this week so I found some beautiful cottage gardens on Flickr. Aren't these beautiful? I would love to have any of these!
1. Cottage nestled in the garden, 2. Backyard Color at The Garden Cottage Bed and Breakfast, 3. Rose Covered Cottage, 4. Cottage garden 1, 5. The Gardens, 6. Birdbath and delphinium, 7. Larkpur and Roses, 8. A Summer Day, 9. a 'Sconset cottage, 10. La Fleur de Mer, 11. The Fairytale Cottages of Carmel, 12. Fairys Garden, 13. Giant Zinnias and Hydrangea14. Not available15. Not available16. Not available

Found on eBay

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My mom has a antique baby buggy that she is thinking about selling so I was looking on eBay for something similar to get an idea of it's value. I came across this adorable rabbit buggy. The starting bid is only $49 and shipping is only $20. I can't believe no one has bid for this yet. Click here to see it on eBay.

This is the one my mom is selling so if anyone knows an approximate value, please let me know. The little girl in the buggy is my now 14 year old daughter, Lauren. My mom and I had fun dressing her up in old clothes and taking these pictures.

Victoria Website is up!

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This is my second post today but I just had to share the great news...Victoria has their website up. You can subscribe there. Just click here

Getting ready for Memorial Day

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I have fond memories of my dad putting out the flag for all those flag holidays. I associate the smell of fresh cut grass with the flag...weird, I know. I think my dad would always mow the lawn and then hang the flag.

I don't have a place to hang a flag by my front door. I don't think my landlord would be happy with me drilling into the stucco. So, I just put out my Uncle Sam my dad made me about 10 years ago. I usually put him out for Memorial Day weekend and leave him out there until after Labor Day. Last weekend I took him out of storage and put him in my backyard. He's awaiting his grand entrance to the front this Saturday.

NOTE: I HATE this new auto save that blogger now has. I was trying to delete an extra space between my paragraphs and I deleted the whole paragraph and 3 photos by mistake. Then blogger auto saved that and I lost my original draft. Ughhhh, I was mad!

Crystal Candlesticks

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My brother is 13 years older than me. I don't really remember much about growing up with him except for a few things. Like the time when I was 4 or 5 and he got mad at me and threw me over his shoulder and marched up to my bedroom and threw me on my bed so hard that the canopy fell down on top of me. I also remember him killing a snake in our backyard with a shovel. I only see my brother every Thanksgiving but hear about what is going on with him through my mom. We aren't very close and I think it has to do with being 13 years apart in age. Anyway, my brother gave me these candlesticks for Christmas when I was in my early twenties. I remember my mom telling me quietly in the kitchen that they may not be my style (which they weren't) but to save them and some day I will really appreciate them. My mom is always right. I love these candlesticks now and the fact that they were a gift from my brother makes them very special. I'm so glad I listened to my mom.

Note: The first picture looks a little bizarre. I'm not sure if you can tell, but the blue window frame is actually a mirror so it's reflecting the chandelier and the plates I have on the opposite wall.

Basil Pesto

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Yesterday afternoon, after all my chores were done, I finally had time to sit down and take a break and read through some magazines. It was a beautiful day so I was relaxing on my patio looking through the May issue of Country Living. I saw a recipe for homemade pesto. It called for 3 cups of basil. I looked over at my basil plant(above) and figured I had enough to make it. There is something so satisfying about growing things and turning them into wonderful dishes to serve my family. I would have loved to put this on pasta but I'm doing the low-carb thing right now so I can lose some weight. Instead I pounded out some chicken breasts and spread the pesto on them, and then put some goat cheese on top of that and rolled them up and baked them. Wow, unbelievably good. My daughter loved it too. After I was almost finished eating I realized I could have mixed a little pesto with some cream to drizzle on top. Oh well, next time.

Here's the pesto recipe just in case you don't have the magazine. If you have it, it's on page 150.

Pulse 3 cups of basil leaves with 1/2 cup olive oil, 1/4 cup pine nuts, 2 small cloves garlic and 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese in food processor until finely chopped. Sprinkle in 1/2 teaspoon sea salt, 1/4 teaspoon fresh ground pepper, and process until smooth. Store in refrigerator for one week or frozen for three months.

Inspiration Friday - ME Outdoor Companion

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I've had this Mary Englebreit Outdoor Companion book for about 10 years and I still go back and look at it regularly. Sorry the pictures are so bad. It's hard for me to scan books so I just took pictures of the pages.

I love this patio table made out of a big bird house with a glass top.

And this birdbath made out of terra cotta pots turned upside down with a large saucer on top. Each pot is painted differently.

This is a cute house in Carmel, CA. If you ever come to Northern California, you must visit Carmel. It is so beautiful. There are so many cute cottages. I would live there if I could but the little, tiny cottages cost millions of dollars!

I love this gate. As I was putting this picture on here I remembered that I did an Inspiration Friday awhile back with this same type of gate.

I love the patio with the moss around the pavers (or whatever you call those things.)

I love the look of ferns and foxgloves together. Very cottagey! (spell-check says that's not a real word, but we know it is).

I used to have some pet doves. I always wanted a cage like this for them. Love this!

I love the plants trailing down the fence in the back. I would love to sit out here with all of you, enjoying a glass of some great California wine and some wonderful appetizers.

I would love to have a potting area like this! I love the pea-gravel on the ground. When I was little I used to go to the garden nursery with my parents. They had an old soda machine there, the type with the glass bottles that you pull out of the slots. I always used to get an orange soda and walk through the nursery paths, which all had pea-gravel. Funny, the weird things I remember from my childhood. Every time I see pea-gravel or drink an orange soda it just takes me back...

So many unfinished things...

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The part about me that I hate the most is that I don't finish things. I know I've shown you projects here that I have finished but the truth is for every project I complete there are probably 5 more that I have started and not finished. I get really excited about new projects and then somewhere along the way I lose the enthusiasm I once had. Knitting is a perfect example of this. I learned to knit when I was young. I think I must have been about 5 the first time my mom taught me. It wasn't until I was in my 20s that I really learned how to make a sweater. I had a goal when I was in my early 20s to knit an Irish knit sweater and I did! It's a button down sweater with pockets. I still have it, although back then I didn't know that you can't wash wool in warm water so it felted a little bit. I can't believe I still have something I knit at 23 years old! I started these two projects a couple years ago. They are both almost finished but not quite.

Along with unfinished needlepoint, counted cross stitch, embroidery, and crochet projects there is drawing. I would love to be an artist. If I was granted three wishes that would be one of them. I admire people like Susan Branch, Christie Repasy and Gail McComack and I would love to be like them.

A few years ago, during an ALL DAY meeting at work I was REALLY bored so I started doodling. I drew a topiary on a small notepad with ball point pen. Everyone sitting around me was really impressed but not more than I was...I didn't even know I could draw. I went directly after work to Michaels and bought some water color pencils. The first photo below is my very first drawing. The second photo of the heart topiary seems to be a favorite of everyone I've shown my drawing to. My dad has really encouraged me to take drawing lessons but I haven't. I've tried to draw other things but it seems like topiaries are the only thing I can draw. (I'm not very good at the perspective thing so my urns are a little off)

Like knitting I go back to drawing every once in awhile but can't seem to focus enough to get really good. I'm so impressed with people that really know what they are good at and can stay focused and love it for their lifetime. Maybe I just haven't found what it is I should be doing yet???

Thrift Store Finds and a Gift

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I have to stop going to the thrift stores so often. Although I don't spend much I am feeling the pinch from rising gas prices (I just paid $3.45 a gallon), my $100/month rent increase, and the rising prices of just about everything lately. My sewing machine is waiting to be picked up and that's $150 that I just can't seem to pull out my budget right now. Anyway, I found these things a couple weeks ago before I realized I needed to curb my spending.

The border on this platter above is yellow and pink. I wish you could see the detail better. I tried to take a close up of the flowers but it came out blurry. I have it hanging in my bedroom.

This platter has very cute pink roses. Sorry, this one came out really blurry. (I was rushing to get these pictures taken last night before American Idol came on.) It has a cute scalloped edge. I think this one is made is Austria, if I remember correctly. There is more and more pink slipping into my blue and white home!

I needed a silver tray for my silver tea set and when I saw this one, I almost didn't buy it because it was so tarnished I couldn't tell what shape it was in. Now that I polished it, I think it's a newer piece. It says Oneida on the back. I think I paid $5.99 for this. I think a lot of people get silver as wedding presents and as soon as it tarnishes they get rid of it. I actually like polishing silver, there's something satisfying in seeing that transformation.


I've always wanted a set of these fish dishes. My daughter and I love green salads with shrimp for dinner in the summer and I thought these would be great for that. There is one large platter and 6 salad dishes. This was $6.99 for the set.

This is not a thrift store find. This was a gift from Denise of Shabby Cottage Boutique. She sent it along with the cottage sign I bought from her. It's from France and it can be used either as a belt buckle, pendant, or pin. this picture does not do it justice at all. It's much more sparklier (I know that's not a word) in person.

Claire Murray

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This is another one of my favorite magazines. I have every issue (it only comes out every two months.) The photography in this magazine if unbelievable!

Claire Murray is based in Nantucket and has shops mostly in New England along with a few other eastern locations. I visited her shop in Martha's Vineyard last summer when I was there and it was beautiful. She's known mostly for her hand hooked rugs, but she also has needlepoint and cross stitch kits available. She also has some beautiful birdhouses, pillows, dinnerware, apparel, etc. on her website. Here are some of my favorites:

I love her needlepoint rabbit pillows.
This bedroom reminds me of mine!

You can visit her website at http://www.clairemurray.com