Notes from A Cottage Industry

One..two.....three!

Today is a big day. Bouncing baby boy number three (Grand babe number five!) will be arriving here around noon today, by scheduled C-section.

What were the odds I'd be able to find matching PJ's in toddler and infant sizes? (and so soft and cute too!)

Say a little prayer that he arrives safely and his Mama does fine,if you're so inclined.

(Oh, you know I will be sharing updates later today!)

Sunday driver.

We did a lot of driving last weekend, in my Rock n' Roll Buddy's classic car. Well, okay, technically I was a passenger, riding shotgun, for a good portion of both days. We rode, singing long to old Beatles and Supremes tunes blairing on the CD player, enjoying the weather and the scenery.

You know, everytime I think I have seen all the cool fun places there are here in the Pacific Northwest, I discover a new spot.
Saturday was spent in the quaint little town of McMinville, Oregon (Boasting a population of just over 32,000)for their annual "Drag The Gut" car cruise event.

3rd Avenue, in the heart of McMinville, was off the charts on the cute-o-meter. Hanging baskets of flowers everywhere...
...and some of the most wonderful shops and eateries. My favorite shop was a fabric store witht he most creative quilt display I think I have ever seen. They painted paper covered dry cleaner hangers to look like quilt pieces...and all in patriotic red, white and blue!
Of course, all of the classic cars, cruising the street were a lot of fun to look at too.
We drove up and down the street for a bit, then parked and watched the cars from the sidewalk, with the rest of the town until way after 10:00 pm. Sunday we drove further to the coast to Lincoln City, Oregon, for another classic car show, and finally made our way home Sunday evening.

Good, good, times.

 

What a difference a fresh new color makes....

I do not have a green thumb. I do not know much about flowers, other than what colors I like.

What I do have is a desire to decorate.

Everything.

And, so I see the outside of our home very much the same way that I see the inside of our home. It's the outer part of our nest. And, as such, it needs to feel like welcoming, and  inviting, and cozy, and happy.

Like us.

We decided the house was in need of a new coat of paint outside, so we drove around the area until we found a home we both liked with a roof the same color as ours. I knocke on the door, and met the nicest gal, who was oh-so-flattered that we liked her house colors, especially since they had paid someone to select them!

She happily shared the paint recipes and we headed to the paint store. The gal also shared with me that a carpenter had added some new details to her home, and we ended up calling him in as well, to add some architectural details to the entry, windows and around the large garage door. What a nice difference!

Here was the front porch in the Before days, at the beginning of summer...
and now.. What happened when we painted was that the outside lights,and the trim suddenly popped out. The front doors suddenly became the focal point, everything looked warm and welcome.

Happy.

Weekly Words To Live By...

If you want to be happy, then be.

A, b, c, d, e, f, g......

Last weekend before the baby shower, I ran upstairs to the new nursery and quickly hung a set of homemade, decopauged alphabet letters on the wall(with my sweet-little-one-and-only-grand daughter helping me!) so the shower guests could get the entire visual of the nursery. I still need to teak the letter placement a bit...we were trying for a random flow of the letters, but I think the spacing looks a bit off still...
Since they have opted to not find out what they are expecting, my daughter kept the nursery colors gender neutral.
The crib was a hand-me-over from a friend at th hospital and was originally black. (Isn't the red just darling?) A charming brown gingham and patchwork theme make the room cozy and sweet, (See the precious quilt? Handmade by none other than the Sewing Queen, as wella as the curtains!) with a teddy bear collection starting to grow...
...perfect for a baby girl or a boy!

A shower for the Mama-to-Bee.

We had a baby shower this past weekend for one of my daughters. They have opted to not find out the sex of their baby until he or she arrives, and so we decided to go with a bee theme.
It was a Sunday Brunch, and the weather cooperated!
...with juices in my thrifted carafs...
and those yummy mini-cinammon rolls... There were some darling presents...

Here are a few more fun shots from the shower...

Oh, I can hardly wait for these grandbabies to get here!

Weekly Words To Live By...

Enjoy the little things in life, for one day you will realize they were the big things.

Weekly Words To Live By...

Most smiles are started by another smile.

A charming tablescape for a summer brunch.

One of my daughters was hosting a brunch this past weekend and I couldn't wait to get busy crafting when she asked me for some help with her tablescape.

She wanted simple and casual, but vintage and charming at the same time. I was happy to oblige.

I began with a printed quote (You know how I love to do that!) I made on my computer and placed it in my vintage sign holder. I added a little detail of some red ginham ribbon and an old key that I found in a drawer.
(How cute is that little eensy weensy red wooden chair? It was a GoodWill find not long ago....)I made simple number tags printed on manila folder paper for the tall flutes that were used to serve a yummy concoction of orange juice, club soda and cream...(Think of drinking a creamsicle!)
and coordinating tags for the place settings, only this time the numbers were spelled out.
We plopped some tiny pansies into sweet little thrifted peat pots that I have been hanging on to for some time...
...and then placed them at each place setting as well. The end result (which took us less than twenty minuted to create and assemble!) was exactly the look we were after.
Oh, I just love it when I can take ordinary items from around the house and put them together to make an extraordinary vignette, don't you?

Weekly Words To Live By...

We said good bye to a friend today.

I am reminded once again that we all need to make the most of each day given to us, and to say I love you far more often.

 

You touched many more lives than you ever knew, Joe, and you will be missed.

A quick trip to Camas Antiques.

Even when I pop in for a speedy-15-minute-run-through, this place ALWAYS inspires me.

I feel a strong urge to run home and tweak things....to nest....to make things more homey...
I can't describe it, exactly. All I know is that I love the teeny-tiny details that make the ordinary...extraordinary....this place just never fails to make my heart happy.

Do you have a place like this in your town?

One last look at the Company Picnic.

Ikea is a dream store for the oddest little things...like these fabulous easels we found for under fifteen bucks...how can you beat that?