Dogs Around an AGA Range

What? You want us to move so you can cook on our AGA? Could you come back later? We aren't quite toasty enough yet! via

Elegant Entry

Perfection. No furnishings required. via

Halloween Cats Escaping Ink Bottle

This is a very clever drawing. Black cats and kittens are in high demand with Halloween approaching. via

Dining Room Turned Library

My brother and I always did homework at the dining room table. We used it for board games too and my mother and I used our big table for cutting out the clothes we sewed. It was our "family room". This photo shows the evolution of a dining room that became a library. via

New House Tour on Cape Cod

The wooden box beside the side door is an outside shower enclosure and I love it. This is the wing of a new Cape Cod home and it is lovely. You can see many more photos here including the interior. I would prefer to live in the charming cottage style carriage house/garage. 

Vintage Kitchen Items to Love

Who remembers the endless kitchen towel? This is so much better than a roll of paper towels for wiping your hands. Is it coming back? Let's hope so. I love this table beside the stove instead of a kitchen counter with a marble or granite top. It matches the windowsill too. I love all the vintage things on it; cutting boards, wooden spoons, ball jars with zinc tops and an old porcelain bread box.

Above: To be filed under why didn’t we think of that: beechwood plate rack modeled after hymnal racks in churches. They can also be used for displaying books and other objects. They look amazing mounted in long rows. Both images and resources found here.

My New Haircut

I got a haircut today and I am very pleased. I have been letting my layers grow out. This is a blunt cut with the ends beveled so they turn under naturally. A friend recommended the stylist at Supercuts in Morristown and I will definitely go back. She gave me the precision cut I have longed for but nobody else could pull it off. You know I have to be pleased to pose for a selfie. xo

UPDATE: I just found this adorable post about a little girl and how she feels about her first haircut. Watch. I promise you will love it.

Tricia Foley Style

Tricia Foley's romantic Long Island, New York property, consisting of an 18th century farmhouse and several outbuildings, serves as her personal laboratory, and reflects a style influenced by the simple tenets of Shaker design.

photo by William Abranowicz

Photos in this blog post found here. The article has more photos too.

photo by Marili Forastieri

Foley is best known for her timeless classical style, characterized by clean lines, natural materials, and vintage furnishings, from flea market finds to fine antiques, and a serene palette of cream, ivory, and white.

Burberry Burns Unsold Merchandise

The Burberry store in Mayfair on April 26, 2018 in London, England. Photo: Jack Taylor (Getty Images)

I have been watching/listening almost exclusively to BBC World News America lately and today I learned something shocking about Burberry, a brand I have long admired. "The British luxury retailer Burberry has taken protecting their brand to new extremes, reportedly burning over $33 million in unsold merchandise rather than sell it at discount or donate it." Read more here.
I hate to shop and I am not a fashionista but if I were, this brand would be off my list forever as it takes planned obsolesce to new heights. I am completely stunned, how about you?

1917 Illustration from a Children's Book

Sweetest illustration by Janet Laura Scott 

Verse by John G. Bowman

The book, Happy All Through The Day, was published in 1917. I love the way the girls' room is decorated. I have always loved to study interior design in children's books.

There is a hole through almost every page in the book. It was presented to a boy named George for Christmas in 1924 by his mother. George must have gotten a compass too. He practiced drawing circles on the back cover and the sharp pointed thing made a hole like the one above. I was able to clone it out in the first photo using iPhoto on my Mac.

Beautiful Relaxed Slipcover

I really love the look of this chair with a relaxed-fit slipcover. Maybe it would be easy to make but I'm not sure. The whole setting is quite lovely too. Don't you love the fabric choices for the chair and the pillow? photo found on Pinterest and traced back to here.

Small Kitchen Island On Wheels

One of my friends bought a house over a year ago and she's still working on it. She wanted an island in her kitchen but didn't think she had room. I found this photo last week on Houzz and sent it to her. She loved it and is having her carpenter copy it. She has a small table and chairs for kitchen dining so she doesn't need an island with an overhang for seating.

Kitchens Without A Center Island

I was so excited this morning when I found an article that once appeared in the Wall Street Journal about "Why Kitchen Islands are Ruining America's Kitchens". I went thru this process when I was designing my own cottage kitchen in 2002. My contractor wanted me to put in a breakfast bar and I didn't want one. I don't like them because people can't look one another in the eye when sitting side by side. Please read the article in the link because I think it hits the nail right on the head. The photo above is the author's kitchen. She shows other views in the article.

I measured and measured, put down a cardboard cutout the size of my farm table and it worked perfectly in my cottage as you can see below.

This is my kitchen that was designed around this antique farm table. The bentwood chairs came with my cottage. I have never looked back. xo

DIY Fabric Shoe Bag to Love

I found this photo in a box of magazine clippings I've been saving and I still love. Sorry, there were no instructions. I made a shoe storage bag without a pattern years and years ago. I made it the width and height of my closet door and it was wonderful. My mother ended up with it in her condo in Charlotte before she came to live with me, so it lived a long life. We gave it to one of her friends so it's still being used. If you have some fabric that makes your heart sing (yes, there are such things), this is a great project for you. This one was designed around the width of the clothes hanger. The one I made had metal eyelets across the top for nails and the fabric was folded over several times for reinforcement to hold the weight. The one above illustrates the creative uses you can come up with for your own needs, such as storing and saving seed envelopes. 

I found a youtube video with instructions https://youtu.be/30idKV4qZnk - there is a link within for illustrated step-by-step instructions.

Elegant Formal Living Room

This elegant living room filled with fine art,  period antiques, antiquarian books, and oriental rugs still looks quite comfortable and cozy.

  Estate Home-Living Room: Solaris Inc.

Cottage Garden

This is what I call an authentic Gardener's Cottage. Aren't the plantings beautiful? I love the simplicity of the cottage as a backdrop. via

Small Fenced Garden to Love

This is a very nice design that would work for me. I found it on Houzz. This could easily be a DIY project. I am digging up my herbs and bringing in my house plants to winter over this week. Last year I almost waiting until it was too late. xo

Cottage with Fall Decor

Scenes like this are just around the corner though the cottages might not be this charming. This time of day, when the inside lights go on, is my favorite. via

Socks for My Ironing Board in Attic

Don't laugh. I made a long stocking and two little socks for the legs of the ironing board in my attic. I used remnants from an old Fair Isle sweater vest that had holes in it. I tried leaving my ironing board up all the time but it was in the way. Leaning it against the wall was leaving marks that I was able to remove with the Mr. Clean Magic Eraser. Yesterday, I got the bright idea to make covers for the three legs. I made a stocking for the long leg and was able to turn the fabric inside out to hide the seams. The other two legs were too narrow so the seams of the short socks are on the outside, trimmed closely. It was a quick project with wonderful results. A friend gave me this sign since everybody always asks my advice for some reason. They know how grounded I am and they see the wise choices I have made for myself. I have it hanging here when the ironing board isn't being used. 

Here is another view of my attic workroom. The flat file is full of antique prints. I am still working up here and will post other views soon. We are having fall weather all week with no sun until Saturday. I need to bring in my house plants before it gets any cooler. It is noontime and the temperature is only 61° outside. I melted all last with the central air running night and day so I am not complaining about the abrupt weather change. I know we will have some more warmer days before fall sets in for good. I'm going to put the cover on my outside air conditioning unit though. I refuse to use it again until next year. Have a good Monday. xo

Please Don't Mail This

I have seen the photo on the right many times and have even blogged it in the past. The one on the left is new to me. I am glad to know the astonishing history behind both. via Google Images

RBG Movie on CNN Tonight 9/09/18

I know I must sound like a broken record to keep repeating the fact that this movie is being repeated TONIGHT on CNN. Set your DVR or sit down and watch after you find out what time it's playing in your area. I live 35 minutes from NYC and it is being repeated twice at my cottage at 8PM and 10PM. I have heard it's only on once, at 9PM, in other areas. (Thanks again Vickie H.)

So many of you missed it two weeks ago. I have been putting little blurbs in various places on my blog to remind you. In case you missed all of them, here it is again.

See the Official Movie Trailer here. Enjoy ! ! !

Old Barn Becomes A Modern Farmhouse

Photo by Northworks Architects + Planners
Click here and use the arrows for the complete tour. It is amazing. I hope your heatwave is over and you are enjoying the cooler weather. It is giving me the energy to complete some of the ongoing projects around my cottage. See you later. Enjoy your weekend. xo

Playroom Under The Stairs

Photo by Suburban Renewal Inc You are never too young to have a room of your own, are you?

UPDATE: The RBG movie is being repeated on Sunday 9/9/18 on CNN. Check your guide for times in your area. In my area (New York Metropolitan) it is being rebroadcast twice. At 8PM and 10PM. This information comes from Vickie H and it's on in her area at 9PM. Click here to view my original blog post about this movie. Many of you missed it but will have another chance to see it this Sunday night on CNN.

Gallery Wall in My Spare Room

I can almost declare this room finished. I still have to take out the screen and scrub it and clean the window inside and out. This is not easy. It is not a tilt window and I have to get out a ladder to do the outside. I have virtually torn this room apart, bit by bit. I got a new mattress for my bedroom months ago and took off my old Tempurpedic mattress. The foam mattress on my antique rope bed in my dressing room/guest room was rock hard and I had been wanting to replace it for ages but it was a custom size. It was a full size in width but 4" shorter in length. I knew the Tempurpedic could be cut down but I didn't have an electric knife. This week I decided to search Youtube for instructions and I found you could use a regular knife. The old mattress had been stored under this antique bed and the room was a mess. SO I decided to switch the mattresses. I easily cut down the one on the floor, took off the rock hard mattress and switched them. After I put on the mattress pad and fitted sheet, it was perfect and ever so much more comfortable. Success! Now I have a mattress that is virtually brand new standing up in my kitchen. Will I ever get the whole house together at the same time? I doubt it. Anyway, back to the photo above. I have cupboards under my built in bookcase and I could never open the door on the left side and was missing out on some excellent storage for pajamas and such. I had an armless leather chair there before with a small stack of leather suitcases on it. It was too bothersome to move to get in the cupboard so it was virtually empty inside.

I decided to move the chair to the other side of the bed and arrange some  artwork on the wall for interest. I like it. Here is another view of this room featuring the draperies I remade for the two front windows. LOOK HERE. Will I ever finish getting things just the way I want them?

See you later. xo

The Ultimate Country House

Plain and simple with one shade tree and a path cut through the field to the garden. This would be a nice place to grow up with plenty of fond memories to look back on. via

Portrait of a Chicken Pot Pie

This pie is simple and to the point. Don't you love the chicken cutout. Chicken Pot Pie is one of my favorite things to eat in cold weather. It is still boiling hot here at my cottage but I've been working through it and getting stuff done. School buses are back on the road and fall is just around the corner. xo