Monday, April 26, 2010

Buy or Make Your Own Seed-Bombs

Available from Anthropologie. See how the ones above are made here.

If you want to get down and dirty and make your own, watch this slideshow from The Los Angeles Times showing the step-by-step process of making seed bombs that gardeners-on-the-go can drop into the soil of barren, forlorn spots. I think these are so wonderful. You can be the Johnny Appleseed of wildflowers by throwing these around to beautify the urban landscape. I think I'll throw some around places where I never mow here at the cottage and see what happens.

Here is another pictorial tutorial from Instructables.



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Sunday, April 25, 2010

Tiny Garage Converted To Home For $32,000


I love stories about converting spaces into tiny homes. This article that appeared recently in The New York Times tells about a garage that was converted into a 250 square foot home in Seattle for $32,000. View Slideshow and read Full article. I've always wondered how I'd fare in small quarters. My cottage isn't that big and I struggle all the time keeping things neat. It would be a lot easier if I ditched half my stuff but I'm not ready. This lady was. Interesting, isn't it? Could you live happily ever after in smallness?



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Tree and Barn in Winter

It's raining pretty hard at my house today but at least it's not snow. That kind of precipitation is such a faint memory now. I am too sleepy to look for pictures of rain on my computer so snow it is this morning. Enjoy your day.



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Saturday, April 24, 2010

Entertaining Looks Easy In These Photos


I've always liked these stainless steel islands more than stationary built-ins that have to stay in the same place forever. David Jimenez has cleverly and beautifully arranged this one for a buffet and a bar.



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More Shelves To Love

If these shelves were mine, they would contain mostly antiquarian books. Is there anything better than a wall of shelves from the floor to the ceiling and from side to side? I think not.



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Lake House Extraordinaire

Dibs...I saw this lake house first so it's mine, all mine. But you may come and visit. Photo by Bjorn Wallander



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Stormy Skies Over Tuscany

Brrr...It's a chilly April Saturday here at the cottage. I was going to teleport myself to Tuscany but I see it doesn't look any better there with that stormy sky. Actually, I don't mind the chill because I get my best work done in "San Francisco" weather. Have a great weekend y'all. See you later. Rosemary



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Friday, April 23, 2010

Nice Place For An Organized Desk

I don't know if I could keep my desk neat enough for such a public location but I really like the way this looks. Have a great weekend, Rosemary.



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Woman Builds $20,000 Dog House



What does a $20,000 dog house look like? A lot like a regular house, only smaller and with the scaled-down furniture lower to the ground.



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Wisteria

I mowed my front and back lawns last night and did quite a lot of weeding. I didn't finish until almost 8pm. It was a really good workout and everything looks so nice this morning. My wisteria is starting to bloom too. Mine doesn't touch the house like the beautiful mature vine in the image above. It's so nice in the spring and very fragrant too. One must be very careful that it doesn't take over like it did at Grey Gardens.



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It's A Beautiful Country Morning

It's a beautiful country morning here at the cottage. I can smell my new-mown grass through the open window. My push mower started with the first pull of the string late yesterday after being in the garage all winter. I was so happy. I'll be back later. Have a great Friday, Rosemary.



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Thursday, April 22, 2010

Repurposed Vintage Refrigerator


I love the way the old refurbished refrigerator looks in this cabin, don't you? It's a very sophisticated mix of old and new.



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Happy Earth Day

Happy Earth Day. I love this globe magnified in the water drop.



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Quaker Oatmeal Raisin Cookie Recipe

I've been looking for the original recipe for these cookies for such a long time and finally found it. It used to be printed on the box and hasn't been there for years. These are the best cookies ever. You can add chocolate chips instead of raisins and nuts too if you wish. I'm making these today exactly like the recipe shown below. These were a huge part of my childhood since all the ingredients were always in the pantry. They were mother-approved snacks for my brother and me.

Complete instructions from Quaker Oats.



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A Touch Of Frost Or Is It Sugar?

The frost on these colorful leaves looks like a dusting of sugar, doesn't it. So beautiful. Happy Earth Day.



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