on monday

I woke up at nine o'clock this morning.

9:00.

Nine in the ayem.

I am discombobulated on so many levels by this turn of events. Usually, I am a wake up at six without an alarm kind of girl, and on a rare day, my alarm wakes me up at seven. This morning, I woke up with a wrinkle in my cheek that I fear may never go away, and an instant axe in the noggin caffeine deprived headache, so it's probably best if we all keep our expectations of this post making any sense at all to a minimum.

I know I've blogged about my kitchen and its remodel before, but two things happened on Monday that have led me to blog about it again today.

First, I pulled something off one of the open top shelves in my kitchen, and a shower of dust bunnies came down with it. It was time. Time to take everything down, wash it all in hot soapy water, wipe down the shelves, and then put it all back and feel good about the cleanliness of my kitchen shelves for at least a week. I remembered that I planned to do this particular project right before the wedding, but along with about 267 other projects that I planned to do right before the wedding, it didn't happen.

Since everything was all bright and shiny and clean, I might as well take a picture or two.

Secondly, again on Monday, (I feel the need to point out the Monday part again, in order to justify my post title), I was digging out my stash of Christmas magazines, and in the process I found an old and extremely tattered issue of Country Living magazine that brought me straight back to our pre-remodel, pre-Montana move days.

It features a kitchen that served as very heavy inspiration for our soon to be new home.



It was fun to look through the pages and see the ways our kitchen turned out to be similar, and also the ways it is different.


Obviously, one major difference is my heavy handed addition of lots of aqua....my favorite color ever.

Ever, ever.

But the pink was a little trickier. If it was not for the fact that I found the pretty pink bowl for a whopping five dollars, I probably wouldn't have even gone there at all.

For a while, I was really hung up on the pink. In my mind, you either go more primary with a color scheme by leaning to the red side, or more pastel by going to the pink side.

But then I took a closer look my two very favorite vintage tablecloths, and noticed that they each had a touch of pink mixed in with red, and as I love these particular tablecloths more than a person should love any sort of fabric object, I decided to follow suit and add a few pink touches here and there, and therefore overcome my pink and red issues once and for all.

(Can someone please fix that sentence/paragraph? I still have a bit of a headache, and therefore am in no condition to cure it of its run-on-ishness.)

In case it's not clear, my first favorite tablecloth is the cherry beauty in the above collage, and my second favorite is this little fella.


Believe it or not, this cloth was a bonus that the seller threw into the package when I purchased another tablecloth on Ebay. Pure craziness.




(Does anyone know what that little aqua chicken is supposed to be? He is about the size of a salt shaker, but has a hole in his back that is filled with some kind of plastery substance. I don't know his purpose, but I love him anyway.)

Almost everything in my kitchen is vintage, but back when we were remodeling, Pottery Barn and Restoration Hardware were really doing some fun reproductions.

Speaking of which....

Dear Restoration Hardware,
What has happened to you?
I don't even know you anymore.
Sadly,
Teresa

The wall phone was a Pottery Barn find. I also have a reproduction desk phone that I love, and while I don't miss all the sales calls since we canceled our home number, I do miss talking on the old school style tellies.

Thanks to Martha, jadeite was also making a big comeback, and everyone from Sears to Linen's and Things, to Marty herself were selling new versions of the old favorite. Butter dishes, batter bowls, ball pitchers and cake stands were a few of the new things I added to my collection of vintage goodies.

It took years and years of antique show hunting to totally outfit my kitchen, and I truly enjoyed every minute of it. I'm still on the lookout for fun tablecloths and dish towels, but other than that, I feel like my little cottage kitchen has totally come into its own, and I love it.

And now I'm off to snuggle up to my Costco sized bottle of Ibuprofin, because I have to go to the grocery store this afternoon and we all know the grocery store on the day before Thanksgiving is its very own headache inducing experience.

Have a truly wonderful Thanksgiving!

christmas 2010 - part one

A text from my oldest yesterday afternoon...."Touchdown in God's Country. I need a lift".

Always one to oblige, I skedaddled to the airport to pick up my son and his adorable girlfriend. Poor things had to get up at one in the ayem to catch a train into New York to get their flight yesterday morning. Amazingly enough, they were up with the rest of us this morning. I was very impressed.


I'm pretty excited to have another girl in the house. I've been outnumbered for the last twenty three years, but for this week at least, the balance of power won't be quite so lopsided.


The infamous red dresser is tucked away in its new home. I'm hoping the fairy lights and the vintage Christmas tree take attention away from the fact that it takes a body builder to get the drawers open. They used to open and close like a dream, but I think the eight coats of paint I put on them had a detrimental effect on their smooth operation.



There are still a few large, blank walls in the guest room, but when in decorating doubt, just add more fairy lights and a couple cute baby pictures of your guest's boyfriend and you're good to go.




One final touch....I found these adorable Christmas Paper dolls at The Graphics Fairy.
Check out this site when you have at least four hours to get lost in all manner of vintage clip art goodness.


It looks like our week is off to a good start. Everyone has safely arrived, the kitchen is stocked and I had leftover Peanut Butter Pie for breakfast.


It's Christmas at Meadowbrook Farm.

the guest room

For the first time ever, Meadowbrook Farm will have a wintertime guest.

(Can I just tell you that I giggle a little bit every time I type the words Meadowbrook Farm? It makes me feel a little like Scarlett O'Hara talking about Tara... perhaps a wee bit pretentious, don't you think?)

Moving on.

The guest room is getting a makeover.

I've been in the makeover stage for a little over a year now. Last fall, we upsized from a double bed to a queen and that was pretty much the extent of my progress for about six months. As in, the mattress was leaning against the wall for that six months until I had a houseful of girlfriends visit and then the mattress was placed on the floor along side the old double bed for a charming mattress superstore effect.

I had an idea of what I wanted for bedding, but of course it didn't really exist anywhere but in my mind.

I knew I wanted to go fairly bright and cheery, and I knew I wanted these pillows to be able to do double duty when they weren't holding down the fort on the porch swing.

I finally found some Pottery Barn bedding that was in the right color family, and while I liked it well enough, I didn't love it. In order for it to work for me it needed to be cottaged up a bit.

Enter gingham sheets, vintage pillowcases and the quintessential cottage ingredient, a quilt. Add an old clock and some fit in with the color scheme books and I'm off to a good start.


I still have a long way to go, but having the bed finished gives me a focal point to work from. I have an eye out for architectural items and some form of artwork to bring it all together.


The cute gingham sheets will be swapped out for a set of Costco's fleece sheets so my wintertime guest will stay cozy and warm. Do you have a set of Costco's fleece sheets? If you live in a chilly climate, they will change your life forever.


Oh, and the walls are painted a color called Margarita. While it didn't photograph well at all, the color is perfectly named. In fact, when the sun shines in, you truly feel like you are in a Margarita....all glowy and green and a little bit woozy if I'm perfectly honest. The color may/will need some tweaking down the road, (I'm a chronic re-painter), but for now, Margarita it is.

a four part story

Part One:

I love, love, love old windows.

I collect old windows.

I have quite a few old windows displayed in my home in various and assorted ways.

I have even more old windows living in the barn.


Part Two:

Last year, I found this calendar by Cavallini & Co.


I thought it would be fun to frame the pictures and put them in the greenhouse. It quickly became apparent that the high humidity level would not be kind to any sort of paper product, so the calendar found it's way to a shelf and spent the winter out of sight and out of mind.


Part Three:

Many months ago, while strolling through the archives of one of my very favorite blogging friends, I came upon this post featuring the very clever and fun idea of using an old window as a multi-picture frame. For quite some time, I've had my eye on the frame idea in this picture, but loved the old window idea even better. I filed it away in the fine mesh sieve that is my brain, otherwise known as the great idea graveyard.


Part Four:

About a month ago I came across one of my favorite barn exiled windows, and all of a sudden the stars aligned, the light bulb went on, and a project was born.


I have to say, the majority of my projects never make it to completion, but this one was quick and fun, my favorite kind of project, and I love how it turned out.

I love this combo too, so I'll be on the lookout for another triple window that will fit the bill.


Now, the fact that I don't have a specific spot to hang my new creation is a minor detail that I suppose will have to make for Part Five of this story. And it goes without saying that I am totally ignoring the fact that I spent the winter getting rid of absolutely everything that doesn't have a place in my home.

Totally ignoring that fact.

Totally.

the purge - an update

Last week, I had a reader ask how the purge is going, so I thought I'd give a quick update on my progress.

Back in January, I began the process of sorting through my closets, cupboards and drawers with the goal of getting rid of anything that didn't have a place in my house. Part way into my closet cleaning venture, the devastating earthquake hit Haiti, and I made the decision to give any money I made to disaster relief. If you're new around these parts, you can read the first part of the story here, and part two, here.

Having a cause and the opportunity to do something for people in dire life or death need really helped my resolve. Knowing I could either keep something I would probably never use, or sell it and perhaps make a difference in a hurting persons life, kept me motivated.

I actually made pretty short work of things, and have been, for the most part, done for about six weeks now. I couldn't be happier with the results. Between my local flea market, which took all of my nice but not vintage/antique items, a back alley vintage tablecloth deal, and an antique store in town that took the rest, I was able to make a $2400 donation to Compassion International's Disaster Relief Fund. Yes, you read that right. Two thousand four hundred dollars. I told you I had a lot of good stuff!

I still have a handful of things, some of my nicest things, that I'm not quite sure what to do with. I've been tossing around the Ebay idea, or maybe trying to sell them here on the blog, but so far, I haven't come up with a plan. I'll keep you posted and let you know when the perfect solution presents itself.

Now, because I can't do a post without pictures, here are some I came across while cleaning off my hard drive.

I have always had a love for miniature donkey's. We had one living down the road years ago, and much to my children's dismay, we had to stop and talk to him every single time we passed by. As in roll down the window, stop the car, and ask him about his day. He was the cutest thing ever, and one day I will have one for my very own. His name will be Donkey, and he will be kept company by my pot belly pig, Petunia. I very well may need a miniature goat or two as well. We'll see.

Anyway, while visiting my sister a few years ago, she took us to visit a newly born baby miniature donkey....can you even imagine the cuteness? Amazingly enough, the baby donkey quickly took a back seat to a very friendly llama (or alpaca, I can't remember which,) (those of you who know, please set me straight,) named Olivia.

Olivia made a bee-line for my youngest and was very, very determined to give him a smooch.


He fought it for a while, but after a serious stare down....


.....he gave in.


Best friends forever.

pillow pals

I always love getting packages in the mail. Last week it was my seed order. The week before, shoes from Piperlime. This week brought a package that's a little different though, because there's a fun story to go with the newly arrived loot.

A while back, I shared how I discovered the Etsy shop Vintage Home, and consequently started collecting vintage tablecloths with the misguided plan to make my own version of the beautiful pillows found there. You can read more about it here.
Shortly after writing that post, Amy, the shop owner, happened upon my blog. It's a small cyber world we live in. Surprised to see her very own self on a perfect strangers blog, she left me a comment, and we started an email friendship.

A few weeks later, as I was sorting through things I wanted to get rid of during the purge, I thought I'd see if Amy was by chance interested in some of my tablecloths. I had long since decided I was not a pillow maker in the making, so some of my linens needed to find a new home. Amy was interested, and a deal was struck. Awesome writer that she is, Amy tells the story from her perspective on her blog, Into Vintage.


Part of that deal involved Amy making a set of pillows I can finally, a couple years after first discovering her shop, call my very own. It's the circle of life, vintage linen edition.

Right in the midst of our emailing design ideas back and forth, Amy posted this collage on her blog, showing some of her previous projects.


I love every single thing in this photo, so it was extremely easy to give Amy a few (okay, maybe more than a few - quit laughing, Amy) suggestions of what I was looking for. All that was left was to just sit back and wait for my dream pillows to make an appearance on my doorstep.

Yesterday was the day.

Each pillow cover arrived with it's own sachet in a bow tied package. Always a good sign of what's to come.


Each has it's own adorable Vintage Home tag.


And each, as requested, coordinates color wise, but is not matchy-matchy.


Amy even used some of my favorite blue chenille to make the cute pillow backs.


As luck would have it, Amy is having a giveaway for one of her wonderful vintage tablecloth table runners. It's a beauty, so if you're in a colorful, vintagey state of mind, hop on over to her blog and take a peek.

Thank you Amy, for helping me realize my vintage tablecloth pillow dreams. Thank you also, for not being offended by my extremely lame and very short-lived plans to shamelessly copy your one of a kind, beautiful and original work. Imitation is the highest form of flattery, right? I love my pillows, and can't wait for that first warm porch swing day, when they will take up their rightful place at last.

on the cheap

Wish you were here....


Wish I was there, too!


When our two older boys left home, it was time for our youngest to move into the coveted big bedroom.

From very early days, his goal in life was to be a waiter in Hawaii and live in a hotel. And climb palm trees.


As his parents, we were totally supportive of this plan. His father, because he would need to visit his son for extended periods of time in the winter. And me - because it sounds a tad bit safer than rescuing people lost at sea in wild storms like his oldest brother, or ridding the world of terrorists like his middle brother. (Job descriptions may or may not be highly dramatized - mama's a little neurotic.)


Back to the actual point of this post, Junior has always had a Hawaiian theme for his room decor. His old room was Pottery Barn Kids, but he had outgrown that and was ready for something more teen appropriate. He had received a Hawaiian calendar each year for Christmas, so we decided to make a wall collage of the pictures.


That wall collage grew and grew, and soon went around his entire room.


It was sometime after the new year, when calendars were on clearance, so I went to one of the online calendar stores and purchased every one I found.

The possibilities are endless. A favorite sport, animal or destination. There seems to be a calendar for almost everything, even vampires, and the online place I shopped had calendars from years past for dirt cheap.

It was very fun, very easy and a very inexpensive way to give a room a makeover.

And just in case you need reminding on this fine Monday morning, Island Boy says....

the purge.....part two

So, the sorting continues. I'm in a ruthless frame of mind.

For anyone popping in for the first time, read this to hear about my little hoarding problem. It's not a big problem, just a little one. Not the "save every candy wrapper" kind of hoarding problem, but it's a problem just the same, and I'm extremely motivated to deal with it now.

Here are a few more goodies that have never found a place in my home.




These things all look like they should fit perfectly, but you all know how it is when something just doesn't work. These things just don't work. I love pink, but too much in my house makes it feel like a baby nursery. And as I don't currently have a baby, there ya go.

Chenille. This is one of two bedspreads I have.....I still haven't decided about the other one, but this one's going for sure.


And chenille cuts for pillows. We all know how the pillow thing turned out.


Tole.


One of my boys had a very cool vintage baseball room when he was young.


I don't remember where this came from, but isn't it the coolest thing for my home office? Only, I don't have a home office. And never will.


Lots of bits of china that aren't displayed in the cabinet, and I know will never be pulled out even on the very rare occasion that I set the table with my vintage china.


I have four different piles going. Ebay/Etsy, a local antique store, the flea market, and a charity garage sale. Things too large to ship will stay local.

I've never sold anything, and I'm always intimidated by things I know nothing about. I'm leaning toward Ebay over Etsy, mainly because I want a definite ending date and an auction will serve that purpose, and also because I would find it quite difficult to actually set prices. I think I'll start fairly low and see where things go from there.

Every penny I make is going to Compassion International's Disaster Relief Fund. I cannot possibly say anything about Haiti that could speak louder or better than the images we are all seeing on TV. They speak for themselves.

If you have a desire to give, and have not yet found the right place, you can read about Compassion's financial integrity here.

Haiti Earthquake

I'm getting closer, but it's probably going to be February before I'm ready to start selling.

If you have any Ebay selling tips, I'd love to hear them.....if you need any Ebay buying tips, I'm your girl!

to purge or not to purge

That is the question.

I have a lot on my plate this coming year. More than I've had in a long time. It is all good and exciting stuff, but real life (laundry, dinner, groceries, garden, clutter) tends to get away from me pretty quickly without a lot of discipline of my time.

Before things get into full swing, I really want to get my house under control. For me, that means closets organized, every room deep cleaned - ceiling fans, blinds, cobwebs, light fixtures, etc. I live on a dirt road, and things can get pretty dusty. Lots of deep cleaning to be done.

My hope is to take one or two rooms each week, including closets, and gut, spruce, sort, and replace what I want to keep.

Lather, rinse, repeat.

I never thought the bathroom would be my favorite thing to clean!

So, cleaning and organizing closets is not necessarily fun, but it's pretty standard fare.

The next part is where my dilemma lies.

I have boxes, drawers and cupboards full of stuff.

Good stuff.

Things that haven't really found a spot in my house, but I still love anyway.

Things that aren't doing anybody any good at all hidden in a closet.

I will never live in a house larger than this house. If there's no place for it here now, there probably never will be.

So, do I Ebay it all? Will I regret getting rid of it?

I'm kind of feeling that the time has come to purge.

Here is a sampling of what I've discovered hidden away.

I had great plans for the linens. Pillows, lampshades and such. It's not going to happen.


And don't get me started on vintage tablecloths. This post should have been titled binge and purge, as there was some serious over indulgence that took place here. Ridiculousness, wrapped in insanity. Granted this took years, and granted, I only buy them cheap, but still.

Keep in mind, I have many tablecloths that I use regularly, or display. These are some of the dark recess dwellers.

Have you ever visited the Etsy shop Vintage Home? I discovered her shop quite a while ago and loved the tablecloth pillows she made. So, I decided to collect tablecloths and make my own. Poor choice. I can sew, but not particularly well, and not without a certain amount of frustration. Her work is beautiful, and I would now have pillows for my front porch if I had just bought the ones I loved from her eons ago!


If you're impressed, I understand.

If you're appalled, I understand.

I am both at the same time.

Hankies....oh, the hankies.


Some framed and never put on the walls.


Some in a box never to see the light of day.


Wouldn't this one be so pretty for a bride to have as her "something blue". Perhaps one of my future daughters-in-law? See, I can rationalize saving almost anything.


This apron is a treasure from one of the few times I exercised restraint. My mother in law had access to boxes and boxes of linens from an estate. This was one of about twenty adorable aprons.


It's been in a box since last April when I got it.

By next week, I should have made it to the china buffet....lots of goodies there. And then the kitchen cupboards. Oh boy.

So, what's your hoard/purge philosophy?

And what if a potential purge item was a gift?

I think I'm finally convinced that my treasures will have a happier life at someone else's house. Someone who will let them see the light of day.

To be continued.....