Last year after I wrote about our antique and flea market trips, many of you wrote in the comment section and in letters, that you enjoyed reading about our shopping trips and seeing the treasures we found. We’ve been on several shopping adventures since then and I’ve been saving some of my favorite finds to share with you!
Continue reading “Antique & Flea Market Finds”I like adventures, and I’m going to find some.
Louisa May Alcott
..this was wild and beautiful, unlike the beaches of Florida we were accustomed to seeing. We drove down lanes covered with sand, past groves of orange trees in sunny fields, then our pathway would wind back under the shade of trees covered with moss. I was amazed to see beautiful palmetto palms and ferns growing wild everywhere I looked. The writer within me loved the mystic appeal and charm of it all.
Our summer days are always so busy, I never seem to get a chance to write on my blog until the new school year has begun. Today, before I can embrace September and begin writing about all things autumn, I’m writing about our summer. Wanderlust and floating on the lake days…watermelon and homemade ice cream days…lots of red, white, and blue days…hammock and firework days…sandy toes and sunburned nose days. Summer days that were forged in a blaze of heat that faded into sultry evenings and the beautiful blue of twilight would descend upon the lake and the fireflies would flick on, one by one.
Continue reading “Cottage Green on the Lake…Summer Re-Cap 2023”Ah, but after sundown, that’s when those brilliant flirts, the fireflies come out.
Vivian Swift
…the wild iris kept waving and beckoning me to come over. Finally, worn down by their flirting and persistence, I stopped working and went into the cottage greenhouse to fetch my trowel.
Dainty wood violets, wild irises, perky daffodils, fragrant hyacinth’s, azaleas in all shades of pink, creamy white Lady Banks roses, and woodland ferns are making their spring debut at Cottage Green!
Continue reading “Part 2 Spring in the Cottage Greenhouse…DIY Whimsical Spring Arrangements”
It’s almost Halloween, and this week I’m getting ready for our family’s traditional chili fest…always a fun, pumpkin filled evening with lots to eat, and festive treats. Our dinner menu for this special evening is always the same…steamy bowls filled with Chili con Carne served alongside a topping bar, a large salad, and a crockpot filled with delicious Pumpkin Spice Latte. No tricks are allowed, but it’s, “all about the treats” for the grandchildren. There will be Candy Corn Sugar Cookies and Harvest Moon Pies. For the adults, there’s cheesecake covered in a caramel and toffee drizzle, and for toasting, later, there’s Ghost Peep S’mores…all treats worthy of a night reserved for goosebumps and thrills.
Continue reading “Getting Ready for Halloween…DIY “Not So Spooky” Halloween Wreath”
~ by Trenda
It’s that cozy, all things pumpkin, sweater weather, cider sipping time of year…and time to decorate Cottage Green for autumn. Seeing the shadows of autumn sunshine coming through our shutters, while smelling the apple cider fragrance in our diffuser, I was inspired to make a woodland swag. A swag that looked like it was made with treasures found during a walk in an autumn forest…some bittersweet, wild blossoms, red, golden, and orange leaves, pinecones, wild grapes, and hawthorn berries, all weaved into a fir garland and mixed with discarded pheasant feathers and antlers shed from the deer in autumn.
Continue reading “DIY Woodland Swag and Autumn Tablescape”Where the heart is the mind works best.
Louisa May Alcott
“I saw this darling, heart-shaped mirror glimmering and beckoning to me before I even got to the booth where it was hanging, and felt my heart quicken. The antique floral embellishment at the top of the mirror and the sweet, scalloped edges around the heart spoke to me, and told me, “You are taking me home.”
Recently Richard, my dear Huckleberry Friend, and I went on a trip and had a great time stopping at different antique shops and flea markets along the way. Frequently, I am asked (particularly about the wide assortment of items I use to decorate the Cottage Greenhouse) where I find the items I use in decorating. So, today I’m sharing some of the treasures we “two drifters, off to see the world” found on our trip, and what each item cost.
Moon river, wider than a mile I'm crossing you in style some day Oh, dream maker, you heart breaker Wherever you're going, I'm going your way Two drifters, off to see the world There's such a lot of world to see We're after the same rainbow's end Waiting 'round the bend My Huckleberry friend Moon river and me Moon River ~ written by Johnny Mercer and Henry ManciniContinue reading “Antique and Flea Market Finds”
It was a delightful day to be working outside in the Cottage Greenhouse. In my cozy shelter, I was protected from the cool, north wind…surrounded by smells of earth and growing things, soothed with a background of birdsong, and the greenhouse door was opened to the lake beyond.
It was one of those March days when the sun shines hot and the wind blows cold: when it is summer in the light, and winter in the shade.”
Charles Dickens
It was a delightful day to be working outside in the Cottage Greenhouse. In my cozy shelter, I was protected from the cool north wind…surrounded by smells of earth and growing things, soothed with a background of birdsong, and the greenhouse door was opened to the lake beyond.
It was a balmy evening, the perfect evening for the last night of the year and the festivities we had planned…a wiener roast…another Family Corn Hole Tournament with red, white, and blue ribbons with York Peppermint Patties dangling as medals to be awarded and worn around the necks of the 1st and 2nd place winners…watching the fireworks on the lake…and sitting around the fire pit popping campfire popcorn, and making s’mores.
It’s that cozy time of year, again…time for stocking caps and mittens…time for steamy cups of cocoa…and time for sitting around the fire, toasting s’mores!
A white lace table runner against the rugged-y table was striking on the potting table that usually held potting soil, terra cotta planters, and trowels…and Buttered Almond Cookies tucked inside an antique sugar bowl and Gingerbread Thins looked especially festive in a cut glass, pedestaled bowl for our Christmas Tea.
I hope you had a wonderful season of Christmas! Some years ago, Richard and I decided we were going to celebrate the whole month of December and truly relish each part of the season: the beautiful decorations, the holiday music, the tastes and seasonal treats, the divine Christmas-y smells of evergreens, cinnamon, sugar cookies, orange pomanders, and gingerbread…and most important, amidst and amongst it all, we would reflect and ponder each day on God’s gift to us…Jesus.
Continue reading “Christmas in the Greenhouse”
In the laundry room’s transformation from ugly duckling to beautiful swan, Richard covered the walls with tongue and groove, beaded board that he painted a deep sage green to match the walls in the hallway.
Today I am excited to show you our renovation of the smallest room here at Cottage Green on the Lake, the cottage laundry room! Richard transformed this work horse room into such a cute little place, I inwardly sigh with contentment when I open the door.
Continue reading “Cottage Laundry Room Renovation and Easter Giveaway Winners Announced………by Trenda”
