China Closet or Pantry?

I would need another like this with solid doors for food storage and kitchen items. I would like deeper shelves, please. via

Larder Lust: Best Butler's Pantry

This photo stopped me in my tracks. It is the best larder I have ever seen. Call it a pantry if you must but larder sounds better for such a magnificent room. via

There are no ordinary cats

I like this quote and artwork. via

My Recent Instagram Posts

I have been tagging all of my Instagram posts with the hashtag #contentinacottageblog. Above is a snapshot of my most popular posts. See all of them here. Click here to see my regular Instagram and follow me if you like😊  That would be lovely. Thanks in advance💭 xo

Small Sophistication Churchill Cottage, Birmingham MI

This small home is absolutely gorgeous.

Agreed? I love it too!

I have not been able to find interior pics but found more of the outside here.

A Sun Porch and A House Tour

This is my favorite room.

Forget Club Chairs and Ottomans.

Give me these chaise lounges.

Tour the rest of a lovely home HERE

Enjoy the weekend. xo

The Perfect Pink Camellia

Camellia japonica 'Ave Maria' photo source

I honestly don't think I have ever seen a more perfect flower. Can a perfect pink camellia be a little too perfect, asks Susie Steiner? Read more here: Camellia japonica 'Ave Maria': The perils of pink perfection

Beautiful Home

This is the ultimate in curb appeal.

I love the black door and the Versailles planters.

The bay window is perfection.

Love it all.

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Antique Stone Potting Sink

This is so perfect.

I always end up using my kitchen sink.

I really do have to set up something outside as there is a lot of repotting to do here at the cottage.

Happy gardening.

via

White Patio Furniture

So gorgeous. White furniture on a gray flagstone patio surrounded by green. My favorite combination. via

Lovely Roofline

There is so much to love here, actually everything. The gable-end chimney, the dormer, the roofline with decorations, the small size and the sophistication of it all. It's a winner, for sure. via

Garden Cottage

I adore this little garden cottage with benches, firepit, arbor and the most wonderful raised bed full of flowers and vegetables. It looks almost too small to be a real dwelling but maybe it is. Maybe it's a guest cottage. Anyway, it's adorable and I love it. via

Wonderful View

I wouldn't get any work done at this desk with that wonderful view. I have fierce clouds overhead right now and they are very dark, but moving fast. My phone says there is a 50% chance of rain and it will be over by morning. We'll see. Have a nice evening. It's TV time for me. Have to go watch Antiques Roadshow. xo

photo source

Hammock Love on May Day

Imagine having this yard, so beautifully landscaped, with two perfectly spaced trees just begging for a hammock. This must be paradise. Happy May Day.

The image above is from this book.

Charlotte Moss: Garden Inspirations Hardcover – April 14, 2015 by Charlotte Moss (Author), Barry Friedberg (Foreword), Barbara L. Dixon (Contributor)

Zen Things & My First Gif

Really good advice. I need to work on my indoor cleaning skills. via

I made my first GIF that I really like. It was easy to put it on Instagram but I can't figure out how to put it on my blog. See it HERE. I cannot believe today is the last day of April. It went too fast.

Porches and Pergolas

I found a wonderful article with many different cottage home styles featuring porches and pergolas. I liked each and every one too. Floor plans pictured in quite a few. Click here to read more. Have a great weekend.

This cottage has gardens.

Dark Green Shutters and Door

I have always liked this dark green that looks almost black but have never used it because it is so very popular in my area and I always wanted to be a little different. I like the high gloss paint because it sheds the water so nicely. via

Have a great weekend.

Foggy Morning with Rosemary

I woke up to a really foggy Friday morning. The rosemary plants didn't seem to mind. They are very happy to be outdoors again after a long winter inside. 

Really Great Kitchen

I cannot find anything I don't like here. That sink looks huge and I like that. via

Best Screened Porch w/ Fireplace

Who cares what the house is like? Gimme that porch! via

Winkin, Blinkin, and Nod

Good night, my friends. Have a great evening. via

Adorable Two Family Cottage

This is small, but mighty! I love the shuttered exterior and want to know more about the interior but cannot find more information. via

UPDATE: Click here for interior photos and story. Thanks, ANNE.

Really Nice Entrance and More

I like what I see here. It looks like a happy house. via

Charming Service Door

The simple geometry of this charming service door at the David Peden house by Harrie T. Lindeberg is just one example of the work of this great architect of the 20th century. I love it. That's creeping fig climbing the walls, not recommended for a wooden structure but fine for brick. Found on Instagram

Wonderful Pantry with Ladder

How wonderful is this pantry? via

Unusual House Pet in Diapers

This photo caught me by surprise and I suppose you weren't expecting a lamb either, were you? via

Have a great weekend!

Nantucket Painting by Ana Cogden 1920

Nantucket. painting by Anna Congden circa 1920s
via

New House, Looks Old

Very nice, indeed. An architectural firm in Birmingham, Alabama built this charming English stucco home. See more exterior photos here.

English Cottage and Gardens

Everyone has gardening on the brain this time of year and these are very inspiring. via

Delightful Shingled Beach Cottage with Porches

I love this small cottage. It's just the right size.

Found on Instagram @betterhomesandgardens

A Plant Table + A Great Bathroom Sink

This would be a great place to work on your plants and photograph them for the Internet. via

Just look at that sink! It's like a small bathtub and would be so handy in so many ways. It looks vintage and I'll bet it is. So Nice! via

Floral Alphabet

Say it with flowers.

via

Ferne Park House

Ferne House is a country house in the parish of Donhead St Andrew in Wiltshire, England. There has been a settlement on the site since 1225 AD. The current house, known as Ferne Park and the third to occupy the site, was designed by architect Quinlan Terry in 2001. The estate grounds straddle both Donhead St Andrew and Berwick St John parishes.
text from Wikipedia I had no idea this was a new house!!! Image source

Wisdom of the Rolling Stones

So very true.

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Bunny Sipping Tea

So cute. Powering up for Easter. via

1903 Easter Cover PUCK Magazine

PUCK MAGAZINE: 1903 Easter Cover. The Easter Bunny with a basket of decorated eggs and a careless girl gathering them in her apron. Chromolithograph by L.M. Glackens, 1903.

Library of Congress Digital Collection

Walk-In Pantry

This kitchen looks nice but the pantry is awesome! via

Wise Advise from a Farmer's Wife

Wise Advice from a Farmer’s Wife

Whenever you return a borrowed pie pan, make sure it’s got a warm pie in it.

Invite lots of folks to supper. You can always add more water to the soup.

There’s no such thing as woman’s work on a farm. There’s just work.

Make home a happy place for the children. Everybody returns to their happy place.

Always keep a small light on in the kitchen window at night.

If your man gets his truck stuck in the field, don’t go in after him. Throw him a rope and pull him out with the tractor.

Keep the kerosene lamp away from the the milk cow’s leg.

It’s a whole lot easier to get breakfast from a chicken than a pig.

Always pat the chickens when you take their eggs.

It’s easy to clean an empty house, but hard to live in one.

All children spill milk. Learn to smile and wipe it up.

Homemade’s always better'n store bought.

A tongue’s like a knife. The sharper it is the deeper it cuts.

A good neighbor always knows when to visit and when to leave.

A city dog wants to run out the door, but a country dog stays on the porch ‘cause he’s not fenced-in.

Always light birthday candles from the middle outward.

Nothin’ gets the frustrations out better'n splittn’ wood.

The longer dress hem, the more trusting the husband.

Enjoy doing your children’s laundry. Some day they’ll be gone.

You’ll never catch a runnin’ chicken but if you throw seed around the back door you’ll have a skillet full by supper.

Biscuits brown better with a little butter brushed on 'em.

Check your shoelaces before runnin’ to help somebody.

Visit old people who can’t get out. Some day you’ll be one.

The softer you talk, the closer folks’ll listen.

The colder the outhouse, the warmer the bed.

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Pansy Perfection

Do you love pansies as much as I do?

I must buy some this week!

Enjoy your Sunday.

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Mass Planting of Crocuses

I photographed these crocuses at my office on Wednesday after viewing some houses. I think they were probably beaten down by the torrential rain we had all day on Thursday. I hope they survived. I worked outside today and it felt so good. We had nippy weather requiring a wool scarf around my neck, just the kind of day I needed for hard work. Enjoy the rest of the weekend. xo