Notes from A Cottage Industry

Weekly words to live by.

Weekly words to live by.

My calendar says January, but my local Fred Meyer is experiencing spring fever.

I was stopped dead in my tracks as I put on my mask and walked towards the front door of my neighborhood Freddie's, (A Kroger grocery store for those of you who might not know Freddie's.) when what do my wondering eyes appear, but a very large display rack of primroses and pansies.

For a brief moment, I my heart jumped and a smile flashed across my face. Then, just as quickly, reality hit me that we are not even to the middle of our winter, and these precious blooms belong in California or Florida right now. This is the Pacific Northwest, peeps, and not only do we still have several months of gray rainy days ahead, we dip down to some pretty frosty nights and mornings. (Let us not forget that we just experienced a week of on and off snow days...) 

I couldn't help but stop and capture a picture of this hopeful display that Freddie's was teasing me with as I entered the store for groceries on my list that they may or may not have, due to our current supply chain challenges. 

While it's one season too soon, it's nice to see there is apparently no shortage of four inch annuals, and that made me smile, because, as I remembered the quote, "where flowers bloom, so does hope".

The post where I share a peek at the (Valentine's Day goodies) progress in my new booth space at Camas Antiques.

I shared that I was moving to a smaller booth space at Camas Antiques this month. (Anyway, I think I did...didn't I?) I'm still upstairs, and back on the aisle I was on a couple of years ago. (About now you might be thinking I just like to move, but that's not the case, exactly. I think what it is, is that I just love a fresh new challenge, or project...or not. I dunno.)

Anyway.

It's a kind of jig-saw-puzzle-piece shaped booth, which truly thrills me. (Seriously!) With a small part of the back corner coming out a foot or so, it gives my space a bit more character and interest than a simple rectangle or square, and I love that! It's still very much a work in progress, and I am happy with the way it is evolving.

Football might be over for Seahawk fans, but the playoffs and Superbowl are just around the corner. I've got all of the fun paper goods to make those games more festive, even if I am not a number one fan of either team playing!

Valentines are beginning to pop up in my new booth space as well. (So much more to come...!) Are you into decorating for Valentine's Day, or sending little treats to friends and family for this sweetest holiday? I'm not too much into the decor, but I do love making fun little Valentine prezzies for friends and of course, my grands....

Another thing I love to do leading up to Valentine's Day is baking all kinds of heart shaped treats. Frosted sugar cookies, of course, but also dipped pretzels and little itty bitty cupcakes with heart picks and flags.

Is Valentine's Day a thing for you? Or is it what you consider a "Hallmark Holiday"? (This is how Ralph views it, by the way. I cannot disagree with him entirely, but the die hard romantic in me can't stop myself from baking and creating and gushing over all the sweet sentiments of this day.) I want to know what all you do. If you do decorate (or bake) for Valentine's Day, are you a pink pastel or a red Valentine person? I really do want to know...so, please, share!

Weekly words to live by.

A quote for the first Tuesday in January.

This quote perfectly sums up the little let down I feel after I feel the euphoria and wild energy of looking at my clean Christmas-is-put-away first day of January. After those high-on-life moments of euphoria, the dark gray days of winter coupled with the fact that we do not have another big holiday weekend until Memorial Day at the end of May smacks me in the face and I want nothing more desperately than to stay home and nest, making comfort food for suppers and staying under the covers till waaaay after 8:00 on Saturdays.

This explains why today's post in coming at you in the afternoon, and I am still in my robe. Happy Tuesday, my friends. Stay warm, stay safe, and be nice to everybody you meet!

After the holidays living room and mantel refresh.

BC (Before Covid) I was a girl who always pulled out my Christmas decorations the day after Thanksgiving, complete with Christmas tree scented wax melts burning, and holly jolly holiday music playing all day while I lovingly pulled each item from the crinkled tissue paper in my bins brought in from the shed. Christmas would come, and December 26th I would take everything down, and box it all back up. 

This year I started to put up Christmas decorations the day after Thanksgiving, but it took me about a week to get everything dialed in. Christmas came and went, and I finally took down the holiday trimmings on New Year's Eve. We had freakishly cold weather from Christmas day though the end of the year, and I think the freezing temperature and bit of snow we got put me in a stay-cozy-inside mode. Enjoying the twinkling lights on the tree and the snow falling outside the window from the comfort of the sofa covered up with a blanket throw was just too perfect.

The house always feels so bare when those Christmas accents are put away, and it puts me in a mood to deep clean all the nooks and crannies in the house, particularly in the living and dining room, while I  contemplate what I can do to those areas of the house to kind of bring them back to life. (Do you do that?)

If you've read my blog for any length of time, you know we live in a cozy-sized cottage. (About 1,100 square feet, that I like to think it feels like a warm hug when you walk in the door...) I keep the walls and my main pieces of furniture neutral; white walls, a white slipcovered sectional, creamy painted wooden entertainment unit, and weathered pale buttery yellow wicker chairs around the dining table, so I can add whatever splash of color I choose for any given season or holiday.

I put out touches of red and black for Christmas, and leave these accent pieces (things like quilts and throw pillows and placemats) out until just after Valentine's Day. Once the bottle brush trees and glittered ornaments are gone, I switch to a more subdued, minimal look with whites, creams, reds and black accents.

My fireplace mantel is a primary focus in the living room, and I like to change it up every few weeks or so. I use vintage architectural pieces as a backdrop for my mantel area. I almost always include at least one mirror. I like old mirrors, but I read or heard somewhere more than once that according to feng shui, (which I basically know nothing about...) you should always have a mirror above a fireplace; something about reflecting because the fireplace opening can suck energy or something out....I'm not sure, but I guess it can't hurt.

Old books are a favorite source of color for me, (reds, tans, and creams right now...) and I always look for colorful hardback old books when I am out thrifting. I also collect old alarm clocks. They look great grouped together, or sitting nestled in with other items in a vignette. I do not care if they work or not, and have very nearly all of them set to 11:55 for when I group them for New Year's Eve. I will add pieces from my small heart collection around mid January, and keep that all up until Valentine's Day.

Well, I'm noticing that this turned out to be a rather ramble-y kind of post, but it's another very gray, dark day here, and I may or may not be procrastinating about getting this day going. At any rate, I would love to hear from you! Do you periodically move things around in your home, or put things away for a bit, and bring them back out later? What sorts of things do you like to use in vignettes? 

 

Weekly words to live by.

 

Weekly words to live by.

Aah, the first installment of Weekly Words To Live By for the new year. I chose this because it can be likened to the new year. Last year's challenges (...or the year before that, for that matter.) don't have to define this year's outcome, and I find hope in knowing that. 

Hope you are off to a fantastic start of the new year!

What has 2022 got in store for you?

I took a pretty deep breath as I started to write this post. If I have learned anything from 2020 and 2021, it is that none of us should take anything for granted. I said in a post last week, I'm all about setting new year's resolutions and feeling the potential that the new year offers. This year is no exception, and I pray 2022 is kind to all of us. 

I've got some ideas brewing in my head business-wise, and in my personal life as well, and I am excited to be back to blogging, and sharing those ideas! I'll be taking down the last of my Christmas decorations today (which is a few days late for me!) and that always gets me in a cleaning-and-organizing frenzy. (Well, maybe frenzy is a bit of an exaggeration. More like an inspired state of mind I guess.)

At any rate, I'll be sharing my adventures in organizing as I work my way through the house here in January, among other things. What plans, if any, have you got in your head for 2022?

Happy New Year, my friends. Stay safe, and don't forget to smile.