New Picture Arrangement in My Living Room

 

It has been pouring rain for the last 2 days so I thought I would show you my back wall. The botanical print of a Jack in the Pulpit wildflower in top center is a rather new purchase and I like it there. I had a very large framed antique map there shown in my last photo. It had been there for 20 years and I thought it was time for a change to show more of my paneled wall.

The small oil painting underneath was taken from another room.

Closer view of both artworks.

This is an old photo showing the antique map. The new botanical is hanging on the same picture hook if I ever want to put it back. I don't think I ever will though because I like showcasing my custom woodwork. The first two photos were taken with a newer iPhone camera and the wall color is truer. This older iPhone photo has more of a green tinge. My woodwork is painted with Benjamin Moore Bennington Gray and it's a true putty color. 

April Showers are right on time this. I'm so glad Easter Sunday was a beautiful day and I hope you all enjoyed the day whether or not you celebrated. XO

More Snow on Saturday + Petsitting + Movie Review

It snowed again last night but it was all light fluffy powder instead of the heavy wet type a few days ago. I am pet sitting again for neighbors and Henry was a trooper when we went out when he was ready around 7am. 

 This is the spot he chose for himself on Friday night. I put the little bed that fits in his carrier under him. I like dogs on furniture but not on my furniture 🐾🐾😉 if you know what I mean.

His furry legs were covered in small snowballs that were hard to get off. Next time we go out I will use the hairdryer to melt them. Luckily I had a big towel handy what was recently used to clean up some spilled coffee. I keep one handy on the back of my door to the basement and it's easy to grab in an emergency. The sun is out and the thermometer is above freezing and my car is almost totally melted so I can get out easily if I had to but I don't.

I just watched a great movie on Hulu -- THE LOST KING with Sally Hawkins about the lost grave of King Richard III. It was wonderful and I loved it. It's the perfect movie for the long Presidents' Day weekend. https://www.hulu.com/movie/the-lost-king-d375d155-00b4-45ea-8584-2fbb4826f57a Enjoy!

I liked the way the sun was shining through the geranium leaves in today's last photo. Have a great weekend. xo

Wonderful Framed Hunt Print Thrifted Today

I couldn't be more pleased with this Cecil Aldin framed hunt print. The original is circa 1910 and this is a very nice reproduction printed on heavy thick paperboard and it doesn't require being under glass. This is especially nice for me because glass would be too reflective in my kitchen. I came home and hung it immediately after a gentle cleaning. It's 26" x 14".

I really like the way it looks over my doorway into my living room. The size is perfect too.

I can't wait to see it tomorrow in the morning light. These photos were taken in very late afternoon light on a cloudy day. I saw my first tiny snowflakes today and we might have snow for Sunday.

Cecil Aldin -- The Whip. There is an annual hunt each year near my cottage with foxhounds and riders in red jackets conducted by The Spring Valley Hounds. I wasn't sure where this print would fit but I knew I would find a place for it and I did. Don't you love my $12.00 find? I got a nice sweater too. xo

Here is a Sunday morning photo that shows the hunt print very accurately. It's snowing lightly and the sky is overcast.

I don't think I have ever taken a photo from this angle. Now you see the whole wall that needs artwork with a sporting theme. Finding another Cecil Alden would be nice but that's almost too much to hope for. 

Stay safe if you have to drive in the snow. I am staying put until Mother Nature goes into melting mode. I don't need to go anywhere and I have a pot of soup simmering on the stove. xo

Happy Saturday

I took down a small framed item and replaced it with a blue and white platter.

I like it because it carried out the blue and white theme of my lamp. I found a platter hanger while I was organizing in my attic. Wish I had found it sooner.

I found this on Instagram and it's perfect for my #illustratedquotes hashtag, isn't it? Posted by @susan.steadman here.

I am dressed in my outwork clothes and there is still so much to do before the cold weather sets in. Have a GREAT weekend, everyone. xo

Weekend Photos Missy's House + 4 of My Antique Boxes

When leaving Missy's house earlier in the week, I spotted these mushrooms and bent down to photograph them and got a good picture of her house too. 

I have four of my antique boxes lined up on my mantel to act as stands for my antique silver trophy cups.

I love the fancy drawer fronts on this one using two types of wood.

This miniature blanket box has a lift top and a single drawer.

The fancy inlay on this one is on all surfaces except the back and the bottom. It has a lift top and opens to a dressing box with mirror and liftout tray with dividers for small items like earrings or cuff links. Could be a gentleman's dressing box too. The box has a lock and the original key. It's my favorite. 

I hope everyone has a great weekend with some relief from the heatwave. It was "only" 81° today and wasn't as humid as it has been.

See you again in a day or so. xo

Project That is Long Overdue

This stand in my bedroom has always been a pain to dust and I have always wanted to sew custom covers for the tops and today I did. This was fun and pretty easy and I have tons of this fabric for curtains should my current ones ever need replacing. Dusting the drawer fronts, legs and sides will be a breeze now and I like the way it looks. Why today? I don't know but the mood just struck me and I ran with it. I wish I had done this sooner but better late than never. Remember dresser scarves? Maybe it's time to bring them back♡ xo

My Latest Thrift Shop Find

I found this large basket last week while thrifting.

The scale is perfect for my farmtable.

It took a while for me to find the perfect spot. I just bought this lovely handmade basket because I liked it. Actually it has resulted in being a catchall for all the junk that is usually spread all over my table and I don't see how I ever lived without this big, deep basket. The $10.00 price was right too🥰

I cleaned it out yesterday after one week and threw out 90% of what had collected. It was mostly grocery store circulars and junk mail. I am thrilled with this great "find" and more thrilled with having a neat table!!!! xo

I don't think this was a commercially made basket but possibly one of a kind. I just found this maker's mark or signature -- JPS

Bathroom Decor at My Cottage

It took a while to get all the perfect things for this wall in my bathroom and I love each and every item. I'm pretty sure I have shown this before but this is a brand new photo. The small oil painting below the shelf is the most recent purchase and that space was blank.

It's a local scene (oil on canvas) after the rolling hills have been cut and the round hay bales have been scattered about. All land owners who have farm assessments must mow their fields prior to August 1st every year and it's lovely. I purchased the painting at a local estate sale last year and I think it's perfect on my gallery wall in my bathroom, don't you? xo

Snow Scene: Tapping the Sugar Maple Trees

This antique oil painting is one of my favorite things and I look at it between my living room windows daily. It cools me in the summer and warms me in the winter. It is signed but I need to take it off the wall and adjust the canvas because it has slipped a bit and the whole signature isn't showing. That's a project for another day. It has a picture light above it so it's not that easy and will I have to move furniture. There is dense fog outside this morning and most of my snow has melted on the driveway with no shoveling on my part at all and that pleases me immensely. Have a great day!

xo

The Best of British Taste

Like this detail? Wait until you see the rest of this Welsh dresser all decked out for a party.

You will see more inside this amazing English house too.

There are a total of TEN (10) photos on one Instagram post @bibableofbritishtaste HERE

bibleofbritishtaste Sunday lunch chez painter and muralist @a_h_dodd , a beautiful muddle of stuff assembled with an artist’s eye, a double row of milk jugs hanging on the dresser, a tented bedroom in Regency stripe, a minute hall hung with linen printed for the House of Lords by Giles Gilbert Scott - and chinoiserie upstairs, all in an old red brick house with a friendly face. Dodd has lately and very justly been featured in BOTH @cabanamagazine and @theworldofinteriors - but I suspect they tidied everything up

I love this beautiful middle of stuff, don't you?

See the Instagram of painter/muralist @a_h_dodd (Alan Dodd) HERE

Enjoy it all.......xo

Recent Photos Inside and Outside

My kitchen table wasn't prepared to be photographed so this is a real life photo. I walked in and was stunned by the way the sun was shining on the apron of my farm table and luckily I had my phone in my hand.

This is probably a weed of some sort but the bright green color wass beautiful on a drab overcast day.

A new branch is forming on the blue spruce near my bedroom.

This wall near one of my French doors was photographed last night on "night mode" and doctored a little with Snapseed.

Have a great weekend.

xo 

My Pantry - Wide View and A Detail

Tara Dillard must be a mindreader. Her comment in yesterday's post requested a photo or two of my pantry as she described hers. I had been experimenting with the wide angle lens on my camera phone and it worked to get the front window (with tin cat) and the rear window overlooking my red barn both in one photo. I have a bucket bench under the rear window and the lower shelves are filled with appliances that won't fit anywhere in my kitchen cabinets. My Instant Pot, Panini Press, Steam Iron and my KitchenAid stand mixer are just a few items. I keep seldom used things there too. This room was a small screened-in porch conversion for me and I continue to love it more each day. I pay my bills at the desk and stool under the "cat" window on my laptop (not shown). Paperwork is in the files shown in right corner. More shelves below for receipts, etc.

I should have tried to neaten my stack of pans to the left of the cookbooks but didn't. The wide shelves continue to the left of the pans with more bakeware in metal and glass. The hanging "onion" light fixture with amber glass was a garage sale find and it couldn't be more perfect.

Have a great Saturday.

More Missy photos tomorrow.

Maybe some birds too.

Click photos to enlarge.

xo

Ceiling detail, the center is one flat board. The boards leading up to the center are on an angle. Quick photo to answer Lisa D.'s question.

This pitcher is my newest addition to the shelf. I bought it along with my curtain rods at the Firehouse Flea Market in September and never mentioned it.

Pam loves my drafting table desk area. Here is my old 2019 post showing this area of my "office" in greater detail:

https://contentinacottage.blogspot.com/2019/02/my-home-office-in-pantry-rearranged.html

https://contentinacottage.blogspot.com/2010/08/desk-under-window-in-my-pantry.html

Both of these links show better photos of the drafting table desk in my pantry.

Sunday afternoon

I have been going in and out my back door too many times to count today wearing just a sweater. When I went out on my balcony at 3:30 to take this photo because I liked the light I was shocked at how cold it was. Guess the weather people weren't kidding when they said it was going down into the 30s tonight and next week as low as 22°. Brrr🥶 but I'm ready. All the outside faucets are drained and turned off. 

This photo is right out of my phone with no editing at all. The trees out back are completely bare now as you can see.

Late Sunday afternoon in my living room. I like the reflection of a lamp next to my sofa on my flat screen tv. Enjoy your Sunday evening.

xo

Today's Photos Around & In My Cottage

After 2 days of rain I get a lovely Saturday like this.

These are the logs from the tree stump with the weathervane.

The puffball is decaying and a spotted lanternfly is eating it.

More leaves (yawn).

One of the miniature portraits on my nook wall.

Here's another one.

I took this photo minutes before this post.

I am still playing around with camera settings.

I never tire of trying to get things just right.

I never get discouraged either.

Now for a story. I went into my favorite charity shop to benefit my local hospital on Thursday and tried on a necklace marked $25.00. It was pretty and I really didn't need something to wear once a year at the office Christmas party but I noticed a really insignificant maker's mark on the back. I could make out a Script Letter E. I was standing next to the volunteers' room and asked one of the ladies if she could decipher the hallmark and she invited me in. Another lady heard me say "E" and she said she hoped it wasn't Elizabeth Locke because it would be grossly underpriced. The other lady took a photo of it and uploaded it to Google Images and it came up as a genuine piece of Elizabeth Locke designer costume jewelry priced at $575.00. This designer makes gold jewelry too but this was in her costume line. I immediately told the ladies they could reprice it and I would relinquish it so the hospital could get some serious money from someone who would appreciate it. They were thrilled and I was happy I made a discovery for them. If I hadn't asked and purchased it for myself I never would have known. It would have just lived in the drawer with all the other jewelry I don't wear. 

Isn't this a great story?

xo