Notes from A Cottage Industry

Autumn is in the air!

September first already! Fall is my favorite time of the year.
The crisp, cool nights and mornings, the smell of a big fire going in the fireplace...it's a nesting time for sure.
The inside color palette of my home is done in jewel tones of sage greens, mustard, tomato red, rusty orange and chocolaty browns, so fall decor items like pumpkins, Indian corn and gourds just seem so natural inside and out here.
Now that it is officially September I will be waiting impatiently for the grocery stores to get their annual stock of pumpkins so I can buy a bunch up and start nestling them in to the nooks and crannies of my porch, my back deck, my window boxes and my table scape's. I use faux pumpkins too, since they are light weight and last from year to year. (perfect for window boxes!) Michaels and Wal-Mart always run them on sale.

These pictures are from last fall. The rubber rat was for Halloween. I put bird seed in old mason jars I thrifted and then set in pillar candles for luminaries at night.
In case you can't tell, when it comes to pumpkins in the fall, more is...er, MORE in my book.
I loaded my fountain in the courtyard with pumpkins, moss and grapevine....
                                    

Top this look off with a nice bowl of chowder or chili (with all the fixin's) and fresh home made bread or cornbread to share with someone you love, and you've got heaven right here on earth.

Wedding plans moving right along...

Home from my trip to Portland. HUGE success. So far, this wedding planning stuff has been a breeze.
We found THE wedding gown! I cried in the bridal shop when they put the veil on Lindsey. Then, that made the girls cry. We all got a grip on ourselves and laughed.
We found the gown at  Lena Medoyeff's, a Portland designer that just recently opened a bridal gown shop on 23rd. We got Heather's Maid of Honor dress at Lena's other shop, just across the street and down a block. You can order any dress she makes in any color combination you desire. We're going with the colors in these hydrangeas....Heather's dress is periwinkle, with a kind of chartreuse green ribbon.....it's a yummy color comination!! 

SHE'S getting married...

on May 19th. Yes, The moment I have looked forward to, to help plan, for 26 years. The moment my husband has been dreading for 26 years.
It's an odd feeling. While I am so beyond thrilled and extaticly happy for her, this is the final moment in being forced to accept that your first born is grown.
It's like that scene in the remake of Father of the Bride when Steve Martin looks at his daughter at the dinner table and she reverts (in his mind) back to being about 6 saying "I've met a man, I fell in love, and we're getting maaaaarried".
The fun, fabulous, exciting task of planning the wedding is upon us.
9 months and counting. Heather and I are flying to Portland today to put in some quality wedding planning time for the weekend with Lindsey.  We're going to go see the White House Bed and Breakfast where we are having the wedding and reception. We're going to meet "Lanning" the wedding planner, who I spoke with on the phone, and I envision to be very much like Franck Eggelhoffer in Father of the Bride (without the accent) We are going wedding gown shopping. WEDDING GOWN SHOPPING! Can you believe it?!  Her Daddy can't.

A little Before and After

This watering can is one of the many treasures I got last weekend out junkin'. I collect old watering cans. There are so many styles and sizes, and they look so cute all gathered together on an old bench, or in a row under my old work table/buffet server on my patio.
When I get one that looks too new and shiny, like this one, I usually paint it and sell it, or give it as a gift. 

Here it is, all painted (it's a sage green, then whitewashed, but the photo didn't show it too well, since it was overcast)and decoupaged. Perfect for a centerpiece full of cut flowers, or sitting near some potted petunias on the back deck.
*sigh* It's recycling at it's best.

Home is where the hard drive is....

I was thinking today how times have changed in just a very, very short while. 5 years ago I could barely turn ON a computer, now I have a BLOG for gosh sakes.
I think if my house caught on fire, I'd be grabbing my laptop right after my kids pictures.
These days I have a home office all my own to do my work, and hold my computer, scanner and printer.
I do TRY to keep my office/creative workspace somewhat orderly most of the time.It's a challenge. I am messy by nature.
I have this hutch that holds most everything, (see my printer, my scanner and my PC on the left hand corner?) then a table to work from, and a hutch that holds the remaining creative stuff. (Of course ALL of these pieces are thrifted.)
Wow, who knew becoming a computer geek could look so cozy?

Welcome Friends

A guest room needs to be a haven. A room that says "we're glad your here, relax and stay a while".
This is one of the guest suites in my house.  (we are empty nesters with FAR to large of a home - 5 bedrooms Plus a library and bonus room) It was daughter Heather's room for a few months after we moved here, the summer before she left for college.
Since then, she stays here when she visits (or just comes down from the Lake to do laundry) and it is the room I put my guests in.
It has it's own bathroom, which makes it nice too.
I just love the colors, and the mix- match look of this room. Of course it was ALL done with flea market treasures,and reinvented pieces of furniture because that's my style.
Dresser, mirror, end tables etc...all thrifted finds from yard sales and what not. Painted the stuff up myself, and added a few new knobs here and there....Bedding, Target of course! It's all about creating a welcome, warm and fuzzy feeling.
You can't see it in this picture, but there is a GIANT mocha easy chair (very pottery barn looking) in the bay window- just perfect for sitting and taking a half hour to read, or think.
I once caught my uncle's wife in the middle of the day, while visiting, just laying on top of the bed. I asked if she was alright, and she said she just found the room so comfy that she wanted to take a break and take it all in....That made my day.

Reno's Annual Motherlode of Junkin'

Well, today was the day we wait for all summer, EACH summer here in the biggest little city. Heck, we plan our vacations around this event. No, not our  Hot August Nights hot rod event, not the Annual Rib Cook-Off, not even our 4th of July firework shows...The. Hidden. Valley. Neighborhood. Yard. Sales.
For many years now, my junkin' buddy Pam and I have ventured out just as the sun is just peaking over the mountains to head on over, cold hard cash in our pockets, to the largest grouping of yard sales in one area of town. No need to scour the newspaper mapping out a route. It's all there in one really, really large neighborhood. The sale date is ALWAYS mid August, and early birds DO get the worms for sure.
This year we had a couple of friends join us. (note* This is not always advised- amatures can slow you down. They sometimes linger far too long looking at something that clearly IS junk, and don't have the fine art of haggleing down to a science.) On the other hand, it's nice to get a second or third opinion on an item sometimes. Also having 4 extra eyeballs casing a spot as you do a "drive by" can be adventagous. Another thing-When you bring friends along, they have to ride in the back seat, so, when you stop the truck, you've gotta jump out fast and not close the front door of the truck till the person in back gets out and closes their door, or it could get ugly.
The key to shopping at a large neighborhood wide type of sale thing is to be early and drive slowly. There are people walking and pulling out in their cars in front of you then entire way.
We met up with our friend Rae at Mickey D's at 6:20  (yes, I mean A.M.) and she piled into my truck. Pam always rides shotgun and navigates, since I was born without a sense of direction. She can spot when and where to turn for a good sale before we are even to the corner every time. (Kind of like Radar on the old M*A*S*H* series, but way cuter) Our friend Sarah joined our posse an hour later. (Here is a picture of Sarah, Rae and Pam loading the truck with our diamonds in the rough...)
The trip was a complete success, with my truck loaded beyond full inside and out. Chairs, a dining table, pictures, a mirror, end tables, stools, duck decoys, cystal lamps and a stained glass door I am going to hang horizontally from the high ceiling in the new shop when I get it. I tried to take a picture of my stash in the garage, but I just couldn't fit it ALL into the picture!
My personal favorite find was a monogrammed (with a "B" for Buxton!) sugar and creamer that I stole for $5.   The sugar bowl has no lid, but no matter. I am gonna use it to hold Q-Tips in the master bath.
Rae was thrilled to purchase a new "party beverage cooler"  for $25. Sure, it LOOKS like a large animal feed trough, (which Rae says costs about $100 usually) but with a family the size of Rae's it's a party beverage cooler. 
We got Crispy Creme donuts at one house, and then an hour later lucked out (oh, about 8:30 a.m.) to find some nice folks in a cultisack full of sales selling hot dogs, hot off the grill, WITH a drink for $1.50...10:00 a.m. we were back at Mickey D's spitting up the treasures and I headed to my little shop ...I gotta tell ya, life just doesn't get any better than this.

Lucky Charms

Look what was waiting for me today in my mailbox after work!!!!!
Yippee Skippy, it's my wonderful order (all the way from Australia) from my new friend Cathy!!
I love the cotton ribbon that says vintage. I will use it to tie tags on my vintage silverware, teacups and punch cups at the shop.
The "heal" charm is for my daughter Lindsey, who is a CRU nurse.
Ooooh, I just love them all. I am going to sell them in my little shop, and post them on my website as well.
See the Little charm at the bottom? It's the one she made from the scanned picture I sent her. That's what is so neat. You can send her ANY picture of good quality and she can make you a charm. I think I am going to do this for my daughters and my mom at Christmas. I think they will make truly heartfelt gifts.

Color combo dilemma ...

Not sure if I have mentioned that I love color. Well, color and texture. OK, color, texture, and print. Oh ya, and I am…kind of..obsessive about color and texture and print.
This picture shows the FABULOUS fabric (a heavy type linen actually- I don’t sew a lick, but that’s what it feels like to me) that I chose for my eeensy weensy shop’s curtains and cash wrap table skirt.
Well, now I have the opportunity to MOVE to a larger space right next door (be still my heart!) that is a whopping 134 square feet (remember, I am currently at the said 94 square feet which actually MEASURES 64 square feet inside) and I would OF COURSE have to repaint and add my signature touches to the spot!
I would want to keep my fabulous curtains (my mom the seamstress wiz sewed them after all…) but I wouldn’t want the new shop to be painted exactly the same color as the one I am in. (The shops look like little cottages and homes, and it would be like painting my home exactly like my next door neighbors!!!) so I am debating, and fretting, and pondering about WHAT colors to choose.   (see the side wall of the neighboring shop to the left of my quaint space?) I mean, if the color is wrong, the feel, the mood will be wrong...oh, it could be a disaster.
The larger shop has old weathered brick below the windows, (charming and dear) and I would  want to accent this. Here is a picture of the store as it looks now     (Look close and you'll see the side wall of my current shop to the far right) See that darling dutch door? ( I know it's a bit hard, since her lights were off and bulk of the front of the shop AND the door is currently painted black-- WAAAAY to dark for me!) Check out the roofing- I would weather and rust out the all too new and shiny looking copper roofing and add green moss here and there in the cracks (creases?) and add one of my signature bird nests with a bird tucked near the side of the triangular gable area. Oh ya, the roof would have to look as old and charming as the brick.    I also would love to put a cream decal across the bottom 8 inches or so of each window saying something like” Shabby Chick, English Cottage" and then "Country French, Garden” in some cool font like fifth avenue (are you following me here?) Sorry, I got a bit off track—
My dilemma is WHAT color for the BODY of the cottage (the front barely has any body showing, but the side does) and what color trims? I am of the mind that I must have a minimum of 3 colors on the shop. I was thinking of going with the light- with faded wheat-ey cream (kind of a linen color actually) for the body, with the lighter sage as trim- very shabby but sophsticated…but would pulling the peachy color be better, or is that oh so 90’s looking?
One reason I am obsessing is that IF I take the spot (I will decide this week) I need to paint an all new sign for out front, which, conveniently, I already have. Ipicked up an oval piece of plywood at a yard sale for 50 cents (score!) and I am DYING to paint it up. This oval can then hang in the peak of the gable (where the Pearl Diver’s Sign now hangs…) Here I am digressing and obsessing again…I think I may go to the scrap book store today at lunch with my fabric and play with colored sheets of paper. You know, the guys at Home Depot can match a piece of scrapbook paper with their computer…then again, maybe I just need to stay where I am at. Maybe less IS more? Sheesh, life is complicated.

the Heart of the Home

I love nesting. Making my home a haven. Whatever you want to call it. I work outside my home full time, and have my little shop open each Saturday, so free time to nest is at a premium these days.
When my kidlets were growing up, I did the cooking- mostly. I also was a baking fiend. I LIVED to bake really. (I even used to do wedding cakes for an income to be a stay at home mom)
Now that we are empty nesters (going on 3 years now since the baby left home!WHERE does the time go?) Tim does 90% of the cooking…ok, 99% of the cooking.
Now, my passion lies more in table set ups, invites to dinner parties, and an occasional dessert or appetizer. I also am infatuated with making my kitchen, in all its entirety, look welcoming and warm (has anyone else read Alexadra Stoddard’s “Living a Beautiful Life”?) and inviting. (Actually, I am obsessed with making all the nooks and crannies in my home welcoming and warm)
About 2 years ago, I took an entire snowy  Saturday morning and wallpapered my pantry. It’s not the biggest pantry, but it’s decent in size.
The wallpaper really livened it up, and made it part of the kitchen, not just a closet with a pocket door.
Tim of course thought I had lost my mind, but once it was done, he had to admit he liked it.
It’s funny how a spare ½ roll of wallpaper and a free morning can turn into something that makes you smile each time you pull the oatmeal out the pantry.

Comforts of home

My Mom just popped by the shop with 5 to-die-for-fabulous pillows she just completed.Talk about yummy!  All of them are feather pillows, EVEN the neck bolster. Things like pillows warm up a room. They add texture, and create that welcome home feeling...and with FEATHER stuffing, the whole feeling is magnified I think somehow.
We picked out the fabrics a couple of weeks ago on a Sunday afternoon shopping trip. We got a nice variety of prints- all soothing colors that just make you feel all warm and fuzzy inside. 
I am currently in love with this wonderful shade of robins egg blue-green, and so I did up this dresser/buffet piece to coordinate with the pillow fabrics. The mocha check fabric couldn't be more perfect with the floral...oh, it's all just so de-lish! If you're here in Reno, you really should come by and take a peek...

Small Meadow Press

I love to get packages in the mail, and just look what came today! I ordered some lovely cards and a journal from Lesley . I like to have cards on hand, to put with a bottle of wine for  a hostess gift, or just a note to a friend...whatever. The journal is just wonderful- it's the vintage style school journal with a picture on the front and a black and white striped ribbon attached to use as a book mark...charming.
She sent me an added surprise too. See the charming banner? It reads “Lend me a heart repleat with thankfulness”. I love it. I must find the perfect place to hang it. Lesley is one of the amazing women from the Bliss Guild.
(Thanks Lesley, I love it all!)

Meet Vince

I thought I'd introduce you to a family member. He's our first born Grand-dog (we have 4 Grand-dogs, and 1 pup of our own. Guess you'd say we're dog people alright.)
This is Vincent Van Gough.He prefers  Vince or Vinnie, and knows he is in deep trouble when someone calls him Vincent.
He’s pictured here in his Hawaiian shirt (our daughter had a Luau) and for the record, he is not thrilled with being dressed, as he prefers to go “au naturel”.   
Vince is a Choodle (a chuahua -Poodle mix) and he weighs in at about 6 pounds soaking wet.
Vince was born and has lived his entire life in Portland Oregon with our daughter Lindsey, who is a CRU nurse at St. Vincent's Hospital. Vince spends his days chasing tennis balls and lounging pretty much any place he pleases, and leads a fabulous life (other than the fact that Lindsey insists on putting him in an occasional Hawaiian shirt, or fall sweater) He's so ugly till he's cute, and he knows it...here is Vince getting tired of having his picture taken so many times.   *sigh* It's rough being so danged cute.

My favorite room in my house

Do you have a favorite room in your home? I mean, a room that just makes you smile? I do. It's my laundry Room. We bought our home 7 years ago, and it was sold "As is".....which basically meant it had great bones, but no one had loved it before.
There was lots to fix up, not the least of which was the laundry room. Oh WHAT a Laundry room! As we were quickly approaching empty nester-hood, we buy a house with the grand Pooh-Bah of Laundry Rooms.
I came from my last home, which had the washer and dryer in the hallway, across from the guest bath on the way to the garage- (not even in an actual room mind you) to a 10 by 10 room with hook up for a washer and 2 dryers (did we want gas, or electric?) AND a refrigerator...and a pantry style closet and cupboards galore.
The room was in bad shape- ripped vinyl flooring, a tiny light in the ceiling....yippie! I got to pick out new flooring and paint. Burnt tomato red walls with a fabulous border of apples and birds against a black background. New washer, dryer and fridge...and black and white checkered flooring. Oh, and a chandelier, and hey, this was BEFORE they got so popular. I had to buy a brass one and paint it black. My husband thought I was nuts, but he let me do it.
I began a collection of vintage picnic baskets (the best kept secret on earth for storage- I also use them for storing fabric in my office!!!!!) and I also began collecting vintage washboards (not as easy to find real cool, oh-so-different ones, so it's a bit of a challenge..) and I have so much room in this laundry room that I keep the ironing board set up at all times. I don't know about you, but dragging out the ironing board, the iron, the hangers, the starch...that's more than HALF the battle.  I painted a sign above my washer and dryer that says one of my favorite quotes- "Nothing is worth more than this day".
I get a little sense of contentment and satisfaction each time I enter this dear room.
I tell you, it changed my entire outlook on laundry AND ironing (yes, I am a person that still irons, and I very nearly enjoy doing it these days- maybe because I discovered the wonderful smelling orange linen water to put in my iron, and the fact that there are only 2 of us here now to iron for...) and it is one of my favorite parts of homekeeping.

Toots

That's what my Dad called me when I was little.

  Not"toots" like what a train does, but, "Toots" as in "Toostie Roll", because my legs were so chubby that's what they looked like....hmmm, after knowing this, it's maybe not the most flattering  term of endearment.
This is one of my favorite pictures of myself. I am 3. Life was simple back then.Chubby thighs were considered adorable. You didn't know what a bad hair day was. I get a warm feeling that comes over me each time I look at this photo.
I am holding my much loved teddy bear, which I still have, tucked away in a hope chest some 47 years later.  My mother made my dear little dress, (see the cute rick rack at the neckline? You just can't BUY that kind of detail anymore)  as she made all of my clothes when I was young.
This actualy was a color slide. That's the only kind of pictures my Dad liked to take back then. He said they were "clearer" photos, but of course, then we could only SEE them once in a blue moon, on a Saturday night, when Mom set up the screen, and Dad ran the projector. We sat on the floor in the dark with homemade popcorn looking at slides. Aah... Fun times.
About 15 years ago, my mom took all the slides and had them printed into photos. I scanned this one and made it black and white, and that's how I love to look at it.
I am actually sending this photo to a special new friend named Cathy in Austrailia. She makes the most wonderful charms from old photos and such. She also does custom work, which is what she is doing for me, along with an order for my shop.
Thanks in advance Cathy. Now I'll be able to have a memory right round my neck, reminding me of when life was simpler.