Recent Instagram Photos

My Instagram @contentinacottage

I have been trying to drink more water and I like drinking out of glass. This French Limonade stoppered bottle holds almost 4 cups. I try to drink at least two of them during the day. Last night, I noticed lots of bubbles had formed inside for some reason even though it was tap water.

Strong morning shadows on my kitchen wall. I love the radiator key projected on the wall.

Long afternoon shadows from the kitchen window on the gable end.

A vintage handmade clothespin apron from Scotland. I love the embroidered heather.

This is a closeup of the writing on my water bottle. Happy Friday, it's almost the weekend!

A Watercolor for My Real Estate Listing

One of today's comments suggested that I make watercolor portraits of the houses I sell as gifts and I will. The photo above is Piggy's house and it's for sale. I posted this watercolor portrait on the MLS as the primary listing photo yesterday. I have the regular photo there too. I can't wait to see if it generates any appointments. I feel like a broken record because I've talked about nothing else lately. Anyway, I wanted you to see this.

I also sent two watercolors to my buyers of their new house and they loved having them on their phones so they could show it off. I plan to make notecards for myself of my own cottage and I will print and frame one too. Now if I just had a robot to vacuum my house while I am playing on the computer, my life would be perfect!!!! 

xo - see you later.

Sundown at the Cottage

I haven't walked Webster down to the back of the property for several days. It has been too cold. We both miss our long walks but I'm being extra careful with him since his breakdown a couple of weeks ago. He doesn't seem to mind too much. I had my real estate closing yesterday and it went smoothly. I'm glad the nail biting is over and I can relax for a while. I've always loved January for its laziness, but this one has been very busy for me.

Paper Crane - Fishing

I love this clever animated gif.

via

More Watercolors for You

A watercolor of my cottage. I took the photo on the very first day I got an iPhone back in October 2011. Click here to see the photograph.

American Robin ~ Click here to see the photograph I took in back in April 2011. Did you download the Waterlogue app yet? I love it and can't stop playing with it!

Great Door and Overhang

Such a beautiful entrance. Love the paved walkway too. Simple and elegant. via

A pile of leaves - transformed

Tell me when to stop boring you with my photo transformations. Here is an old pic of some leaves with a touch of frost.

Here is the watercolor version using my new app. It's really bring out my inner artist.

I took an iPhone photo of my Wolfhound doorstop today and made two watercolors using the Waterlogue App. It was $2.99 and I love it. Believe me when I say it's as easy as pie to use. Really. It gives you 15 preset choices and you can click on each one until you find one you like. Then you can add a border and if you don't like it, you can remove it. You can also make watercolor darker. It's very simple. Click on the link above to see some beautiful examples. I love that you can do everything directly on your iPhone. I haven't tried it on my iPad yet but I'm sure that will be fabulous too.

Plain

Watercolor #1

Watercolor #2

Photo from an old blog post.

It's still snowing like crazy and it looks like about 12" so far. It's light and fluffy and easy to shovel. I had to go out in it today but my customer picked me up. I had to open a house so we could do a walk thru before a closing tomorrow. I hope I can dig myself out in time to pick up my commission check. It's in the afternoon, so I'm not too worried. Be safe and warm. xo

Watercoloring with My iPhone

This "watercolor" was done with an iPhone App called Waterlogue.

This is the photo I used for the watercolor transformation. It's fun to play around while it's snowing outside today.

DIY Organic Blended Strawberry Yogurt

This is the most delicious and economical way to eat all organic blended fruit yogurt if you don't mind mixing it yourself. My huge jar of Organic Strawberry Spread from Costco seems to be lasting forever. The Organic plain European Style yogurt from Trader Joe's contains 4 cups. My parfait glass holds about 3/4 cup so I get at least 5 servings of yogurt. I think it is $2.99. The cost for the strawberry spread is $6.59 and it really tastes homemade. It's a "loose" spread and blends easily. You can adjust the amount of flavoring to add according to your taste buds. One Tablespoon has 40 calories. I put a bigger blob than usual for this post. The amount I usually use probably has only 20 calories. I use a long handled iced tea spoon as my measure and mixing spoon. I eat the yogurt with it too and it's really delicious. This method is good for the environment too. The Kirkland product comes in a glass jar. One Trader Joe's tub equals quite a few individual yogurt cups. I like to make a small serving in a teacup if I just want a taste of something good.

PS--Regular strawberries are in the dirty dozen, the 12 most contaminated foods in the food chain. Yuck. Any time you can find organic strawberries, you should jump at the chance.

Martin Luther King Quotes + Music Video

Click Here to Play this Inspiring Video

Created by @hrcultureclub on Instagram

Sunday Night TV

via

This moving image is very hypnotic, isn't it? I stated awake last night for all of Sherlock but turned the TV off before watching all of the behind the scenes part. I loved it. I want to watch it again on my iPad or computer so I can read the text messages, notes on small scraps of paper, and the other "type" on the screen. My flatscreen in my bedroom isn't very big and I miss out on anything that has to be read. FYI, Watson's fiancé is Martin Freeman's real-life partner. How nice! I thought she looked familiar and just found out she played Isobel Brown, one of the bridesmaids in Doc Martin 2007. I like her and think she's a great addition to the cast, don't you?

Webster in the Morning Sun

Deep in thought, as usual. Webster is sacked out for the night right now and I am almost ready to settle down myself in my freshly-made clean bed and get ready for a great night of TV. Goodnight all. Enjoy your evening too.

Preview of Tonight

Add a fire in the fireplace and this will be me tonight as I watch Sherlock. I am not a sports fan and I'm so happy PBS will not be interrupting the one program I've been waiting for so anxiously. Of course, I will be watching Downton Abbey before the new season of my favorite detectives. I HOPE I can stay awake until midnight for the 2-hour premier. Will your household be with me or the Super Bowl? 

The Feeling You Get When You Travel

Here's another great quote about travel. via

The snow stopped this morning and it turned out to be a very nice day. Have a great weekend. See you tomorrow.

Perfect Kitchen Window

I love it all, the window, the sink, the marble countertop and windowsill, the subway tile backsplash, the faucet, and the view. Did I forget anything? via

Today's Snow Looks Serious

Wow. What a difference from yesterday. This snow could be a big problem if it continues to come down as fast and furiously as it is now. I got a few staples from the market yesterday so I don't care. The sky is getting brighter and it's very pretty swirling down. Snow Day at The Cottage.

Morning Walk with Webster

Webster and I enjoyed some sun and mild temperatures this morning when we went for a walk. It was nice to see the sun, however briefly, because tomorrow might bring light snow. We'll see. Have a great long weekend if you have Monday off.

Antiquarian Map of British Isles 1807

A large folio hand-colored map of the British Isles in my living room.

Published in London July 1, 1807 for John Cary, Engraver and Mapseller.

This view attempts to show the large size. I framed it myself. It's one of the first things I put on my walls when I moved in the cottage over 10 years ago and I still love it. There is a small inset map of the Shetland Isles. I have no idea why I love old maps so much because I have the worst internal compass ever. I love the GPS feature on my phone and use it all the time with turn by turn voice directions and I usually have to use it to find my way back home too. Are you a good map reader?