Country Cottage Kitchen | Like

I like the use of a real antique table instead of a built-in kitchen island. Love the sink and cabinet paint color.*

Modern Farmhouse built around ruins in Scotland

In Scotland, a Modern Farmhouse Rises From Ruins. A house on the tiny Isle of Coll was built on the remains of one abandoned 150 years earlier. The home is on one of a group of islands known as the Inner Hebrides that has a population of about 200. Constructed on sand, it was abandoned in the mid-1800s when large cracks began to appear in the structure. View the New York Times Slideshow. Read the related article "Warm Respect for a Scottish Ruin"

Dangerously Simple Cookies

Not only are these peanut butter cookies delicious, but they are impossibly easy to make. Simply combine 1 cup of sugar, 1 cup of peanut butter, and one egg. Mix the three (yes three!) ingredients thoroughly and roll into small balls on a cookie sheet. Flatten the balls with the tines of a fork (old-school style) and sprinkle with Fleur de Sel (sea salt). Bake at 350 degrees for 8 - 10 minutes.

I'm off to the kitchen to mix up those three ingredients and have cookies for my afternoon snack. Yum.

Here are the ones I made. One rack is already gone and there is one more to go. They were quick, easy, and delicious. I used chunky peanut butter. Recommend!

Royal Wedding Gloves

Mother's Day Gift Idea ~ Available here.

Mariner's Compass Template

I've always wanted to do a painted floor with a mariner's compass design in the center. I've been saving this template to use as my guide. See the painted floor I did in my old kitchen.

Pre-Mother's Day Zebra Smooch

Only three shopping days left to find something special to give your mom for Mother's Day on Sunday. Mine is very easy to please as long as it's c-h-o-c-o-l-a-t-e. 

Spectacular Flower and Plant Patterns

Giant Lobelia, Photographed by George F. Mobley

The leaves of a giant lobelia plant, photographed on Mount Kilimanjaro's Shira Plateau in Tanzania, spiral around the center. See a wonderful slideshow from National Geographic with more Plant and Flower Patterns. Click on the thumbnails instead of using the arrow buttons.

Galvanized Planter Love

I have always loved galvanized tubs, watering cans, and buckets. A neighbor lady who was moving to Boston recently gave me a watering can with a long spout just like the one on the lower right. It had been left outside with water in it and had frozen so it doesn't sit flat. But the bottom hasn't blown out so it doesn't leak. I am going to pound the bottom gently and see if I can fix it. It's a style I don't have and I was so pleased to acquire it. I have no idea what those large items are. Garbage cans? Storage bins? Don't they all look great as planters?