Starry Night Farm West Chester PA

Starry Night Farm, West Chester PA
Archer and Buchanan Architecture, Ltd.

The Dining Room. All photos by: Jim Graham

The Barn.

The Entrance Hall.

Back View with Pool.

Hand wrought fox form interior door handle. Love it!
More photos here.

Armchair Travel

"Reading is a discount ticket to everywhere." So true. I love this quote. via

Door and Entrance Hall Love

I love the diamond window panes on this front door and the entrance hall, with its nautical hooks, too. via

A few Cottage photos

Tabitha sends best wishes for a Happy Labor Day.

A Tiger Swallowtail feasting on wildflowers.

The wild raspberry leaves are turning colors.

Here's a close view of the back of my cottage showing the shingles. It looks so different from the front because I get the harsh morning sun back there. Most of my original semi-transparent Cabot stain has washed off too. It looks like a haunted house, doesn't it? The painter dropped off my new paint over the weekend. Of course, it's raining today for Labor Day. Hope you have a better forecast wherever you are. I want the rainy season to be over before my exterior decorating begins. See you later.

The Mushroom and The Shoe

Nothing earth shattering to report from the cottage this morning. Just a photo of my shoe and a giant mushroom. It's overcast and will stay that way until Wednesday with showers each day. I want all of the rainy weather to come and be gone by the time my painting job starts in two weeks. The painter is placing the order for paint and primer today. I'm still feeling good about my choices of the products and the contractor. Have a nice weekend and celebration of the end of summer. I always feel that summer drags on and on until Labor Day and then in a flash the rest of the year flies by in an instant.

Myrna Loy Chooses Paint Colors for Dream House

One of my thoughtful blog readers sent me this clip from Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House. It has always been my favorite scene from that delightful movie and I can really appreciate it after my recent "adventures in paint and stain". Enjoy.

Click here if you can't see video above.
Have a great long Labor Day weekend.

Crazy, Determined Cat

I have no idea what's inside this tube, but it must be delicious. It looks exactly like the nozzle on my shop vac. Maybe this is a Repair Cat trying to unclog a stopped up airway. Anyway, it made me laugh. WEEKEND UPDATE: This really is a vacuum cleaner tube -- watch the video here with sound. Found by a reader, thanks!

French Bulldog Pup

Here's a puppy for this morning's cuteness to brighten your whole day. He's adorable, isn't he? I saw my friend Piggy, the little white Frenchie earlier this week and he was glad to see me. Today is called the gateway to the Labor Day weekend. Get an early start if you will be driving and be safe. via

White on White Farmhouse, Revisited

This white on white farmhouse is fabulous:

Even the chickens seem to approve of their humans' white on white coop.

This is the photo that made me do it. I am choosing to paint my own cottage white on white too. It is so classic.

It is perfect inside too.

You can't have too many window seats, can you?

A delightful child's room with wonderful built-in cupboards on either side of the bed and window. The room of sweet dreams, for sure.

More photos here - Wendy Posard and Associates - California

No Bake Millionaire Pie

This looks so good and is like a blast from the past. I have eaten this in my previous life and remember it well. It looks like the perfect dessert for an end-of-summer Labor Day affair, doesn't it? Especially if you love crushed pineapple and pecans and graham crackers. Yum. 

Ingredients for Millionaire Pie
Pie crust:
1 1/2 cups finely ground graham cracker crumbs
1/3 cup white sugar
6 tablespoons butter, melted
Pie Filling:
1 cup powdered sugar
2 TBS salted butter, slightly softened
1/8 tsp vanilla
1/4 cup pasteurized egg product (like egg beaters)
1/2 cup cold heavy cream
1/4 cup powdered sugar
8 oz can crushed pineapple, well drained
1/4 cup chopped pecans

Instructions
Make crust:
Preheat oven to 375.

Mix graham cracker crumbs, sugar, and melted butter until well blended . Press mixture into an 8 or 9 inch pie plate.

Bake for 7 minutes. Let cool completely before filling.

Prepare Filling:

Cream 1 cup powdered sugar and 2 TBS butter on medium speed of electric mixer until fluffy. Add egg product and vanilla and continue beating on medium speed until light and fluffy. Spread into prepared pie crust and chill for a couple of hours until firm.

Place a metal mixing bowl and your mixer whisk attachment in your freezer for about 5 minutes.

Add heavy cream and 1/4 cup powdered sugar and beat on high speed until a stiff whipped cream is formed. Carefully fold in pecans and pineapple and spread over pie.

Chill until firm and serve.

Recipe and image source. 

My Cottage Before the New Paint Job Begins

This photo was taken 2 years ago. The curved bare tree on the left is the one that smashed on my house during Hurricane Sandy. When my house was painted in 2003, the front and sides matched. Now the shingles have faded, mildewed, and most of the color has washed away with some remnants of the semi-transparent Cabot oil stain remaining. The wooden front boards were painted with latex in a Cabot color called Milkweed.

The black mildew on the front is not apparent in this old photo. I had the house power washed once and this photo might have been following that job. All of the weeds around the birdbath were replaced with wood chips, my spring project this year. I'm so glad I did it and it still looks fantastic.

Winter view of the front.

Fallen tree after Sandy. No real damage to the back of the cottage...just scratched singles. The back gets the harsh morning sun and all of the stain has washed away and the shingles have weathered a dark gray. The bottom is a dark gray stucco applied over the foundation.

A good front view. I think the white paint with white trim and white shingles will look very nice with my brick walls and chimney and slate-blend asphalt roof shingles. Shutters will be black or dark green.

My barn garage with upstairs storage loft is red vinyl but the wood trim needs a good paint job. Look carefully under the roof overhang and you'll see the mildew.

I am exhausted from all of my agony in making a painting decision. You really do have to be your own general contractor to get a good job. It's sort of like the lion tamer at the circus coordinating all of the animals so they don't trample each other. This week alone, I've had a refrigerator repair man, an electrician and a painter and it's only Wednesday. I still have to call my plumber for some drippy faucets and furnace service before the winter. Sometimes I think home ownership is extremely overrated. Does anyone know of a retirement village with individual Airstream trailers? Sign me up, please.

I can't wait for BROADCHURCH, episode 4 tonight on BBC America. It will help take my mind off home repair issues. See you in the morning

Lily Pad Pond

I photographed this water garden last week on a real estate showing. Unfortunately, I didn't see or hear any bullfrogs. The house had a screened-in porch and I'm sure the owners enjoyed sitting out there listening to them croak on hot summer nights. my iPhone photo

I can't even tell you how weary I am of researching products for my upcoming house painting project. I have come to the conclusion that there is no such thing as a good waterborne stain. I think I'm just going to have my clapboards and shingles and trim painted white. Sherwin Williams is having an end-of-summer sale with 30% off thru September 2nd. I am just going to bite the bullet and paint everything with their thick white paint that goes on like buttermilk. It's called Duration. Case closed, fingers in ears, la la la la la. Can't hear you.

Gorgeous Shingled Cottage on the Water

I have someone coming over at 6:00pm to give me an estimate. He's painting a cottage around the corner and constructing a Chippendale railing on the front porch. I stopped and talked to him and got good vibes. I am so excited. photo source

Delightful Cottage Style Shingled Home

This is lovely too. Benjamin Moore HC-111 with cream trim.

Back view. Shutters only on gable ends. Photo tour of the exterior of this Long Island home HERE.

Sand colored shingles

This is beautiful too. So many choices. via

White on White Cottage

Don't you love the decorative shingle patterns on the gables? This is so lovely and the dog on the porch completes the picture perfectly. via

Pile of Sleeping Black Puppies

Good night, everyone. See you in the morning. via

Great house

I am absolutely blurry eyed from looking at paint colors, solid stain colors, going from place to place to check availability, etc. The description of the color the people who built this house give is they used a very dark brown/black solid stain. I love the way it has weathered. WANT, but cannot find. Will not stop until I do. I am tempted by Dragon's Breath by Benjamin Moore. Must go and look tomorrow. Cool name! via

Sea Foam with Starfish

Fall is in the air, but it's still summer. Enjoy it while you can. via