Cottage Kitchen

I thought I should post some pictures of my little ole home, so that you could get a feel of me.

I am starting with the heart of the home...the kitchen.

Not that the appliances, save the microwave, get that much attention.

But some how it is the hub.

This is one of the two cow paintings in my kitchen.

I have mad cow love.

Actually, I love just about anything that could be found on a farm.

I love this mug. I found it at a local junk store for a dime.

Yes, I did say a dime!

My canisters that sit on the island.

And yes, I did drink the wine that went to all of those corks.

I am just proud that it is only a little more than half full, and not overflowing!

watering the teachers "Spring is Sprung" gift in the farm sink.

I do not think I got any good shots of the counter tops,

but they are concrete.

The color is called Guinness

because if you look at it one way it looks black,

and from a different angle it looks brown.

Kinda like the beer.

I absolutely love them.

The Juice-O-Ma-tic

Love the old chippy look and the industrial feel.

Old Fashioned candy in Ball jars on the bar.

The front of the piece of furniture that I use in the kitchen for my island.

So unusual and unexpected, and has loads of storage to boot!

Close ups of the labels for my apothecary canisters.

This window looks into the sun room.

Our little milking stool that the

"Baby Bradley"

uses to get the goods from the cabinets.

Notice my chevron pattern floor cloth.

One of my extremely talented friends made that for me in exchange for a little table.

Better shot of my island.

I smile every time I look at it.

My dogs bowls.

Rough is the one napping in the chair and Ready is the one getting a drink.

Together they are Rough and Ready,

and let me tell you they are two Walker Coon Hounds that live up to their names!

Love my old metal yard stick.

I collect old scales.

I am using these two for my cookbooks.

I use the cookbooks to support the dust that they collect.

My most favorite of all favorites.

An old chippy, rusty, industrial scale.

So, there ya' go. A little bit of me. More to come...

Silhouettes

So, the latest of the lates of my obsessive obsessions

just happens to come in the form of a silhouette.

I am wanting to use these all over my house!

These can be left hanging forever, and have a classic appeal

vs.

the senior picture left hanging even when said senior is now 46 with a high schooler of her own.

(just not the same affect)

Love them in groupings,

love them alone.

Love them in frames,

or directly on the wall.

My mind is racing with ideas to use them in entertaining!

I want to have a garden party just to use them.

And if you know me, you know I probably will.

Sorry to the hubby.

Remember the little mention that I collect vintage jewelry?

Well, I think getting me a couple of these to layer would actually be saving money.

Ya' know, two for one!

Again, sorry to the hubby.

A modern twist.

Aahhh, but the classic. Perfection.

This is actually making me drool. Actually!

I am so hopelessly obsessed with the silhouette

that even the logo for one of my shoppes Little LuLu's is a child's silhouette.

I know, being obsessive is not always a good thing, but I only pick out the good things to be obsessed about, so ya' know, it makes it all good.

Mad Hatting it...

So, my daughter had a Slumber Party to celebrate her 10th birthday.

Part of the party included going to see the new Alice in Wonderland movie in 3-D.

Did I mention the seven 10 year olds?

Did I mention the slumber party part?

After seeing this movie and recovering from a slumber party that lasted until 4am

I am thinking how wonderful it would be to have

my very own pet pot belly pig to use as a foot rest for my aching feet whenever I please.

And wondering if I should have had more of a Queen of Hearts attitude to the group of 10 year olds that kept me up until 4am, or if the White Queens attitude was indeed the correct approach.

I should have known to be more prepared for the battle that is called Slumber Party. Which, by the way, is so poorly named. It should have been called an anti-slumber party! But all the girls had lovely and colorful personalities making it fun for all and all for fun!

I wouldn't have changed a thing.

Even though I did have "activities" planned that never happened like,

making bracelets, nail art, and decorating sugar cookies until they all looked like tye-dye. I would like to say the next morning when the girls were picked up that I looked like Anne Hathaway, but unfortunately after only 3 hours of sleep, I looked more like....

Well, you know. The Mad Hatter!

Literally!

Mad eyes with a hat on!

Delirium.

Are you a WHALE or a MERMAID?

I posted this in March of 2010

when I had like 3 followers. 

I thought it was so good that I wanted to post it again.

Not to mention a very fitting way to begin a weekend....

Are you a WHALE or a MERMAID?

Recently in a large city in France,

a picture of a young, thin, tan woman appeared in the window of a gym

It said, "This summer, do you want to be a mermaid or a whale?"

A middle aged woman

whose physical characteristics did not match those of the woman on the poster,

responded publicly to the question posted by the gym...

To Whom it may concern,

Whales are always surrounded by friends

(dolphins, sea lions, curious humans.)

They have an active sex life,

get pregnant and have adorable baby whales.

They have a wonderful time with dolphins stuffing themselves with shrimp.

They play and swim the seas, seeing wonderful places like

Patagonia, the Bering Sea, and the Coral reefs of Polynesia.

Whales are wonderful singers

and have even recorded CD's.

They are incredible creatures

and virtually have no natural predators other than humans.

They are loved, protected, and admires by almost everyone in the world.

Mermaids don't exist.

If they did exist

they would be lining up outside the offices

of Argentinean psychoanalysis due to identity crisis.

Fish or Human?

They don't have a sex life

because they kill men who get close to them,

not to mention how could they have sex?

Just look at them...where is IT?

Therefore, they don't have kids either.

Not to mention, who wants to get close to a girl who smells like a fish store?

The choice is perfectly clear to me:

I want to be a whale.

P.S. We are in an age when media puts into our heads

The idea that only skinny people are beautiful,

but I prefer to enjoy an ice cream with my kids,

a good dinner with a man who makes me shiver,

and a piece of chocolate cake with my friends.

With time, we gain weight

because we accumulate so much information and wisdom

in our heads that when there is no more room,

it distributes out to the rest of our bodies.

So, we aren't heavy.

We are enormously cultured, educated and happy.

Beginning today, when I look at my butt in the mirror I will think,

"Good grief, look how smart I am!"

Thank you Elizabeth for this wonderful perspective!

The best things in life ARE free!

Who says that the best things in life aren't free?

Well, not me!

Check out these cool give-aways from these cool blogs:

From vintage junky, a pillow that I absolutely adore.

In fact, I ordered it this morning from her on Etsy before it became a give-away.

But, one more sure wouldn't hurt.

She also has a OOAK pitcher to give.

From a Beach Cottage,

a subscription to Australia's County Living magazine.

I looked into subscribing to this magazine a couple of weeks ago, but to receive it in the states was nearly $200, so needless to say, my heart had to go on wanting. Until possibly now!

Just so we are clear, I am sharing this give-away with you all that I have been longing for, so if one of you wins it, be prepared to share. And I do mean without all the fabulous pages torn out for filing away as a must do someday! Oh yeah, I know ALL about that! Two more of my favorite giveaways: What is funny about this one is, don't you remember needing to jot something down so badly, and no paper in sight. Not to mention a pen. Or when you so desperately need to get rid of that old gum, but your momma taught you better than to just spit it out! Well, how excited would you have been to stumble onto one of these at just the right time?

...and what a great promotion!

Free air guitars....

Watch out Tom Cruise, I am picking mine up tomorrow.

Economy, you affect me not!

For I am getting all my good stuff free!

Happy Thursday, ya'll!