Arthur Wood & Sons Teapot

I bought a teapot last week from a friend who was downsizing some of her collections.

It's so pretty and different from any that I own.  I think its shape is very feminine.

I'd love to know the name of this pattern and possibly the year it was made. I tried to look up information on it to find out the name but cannot find a good source.  I did read that Arthur Wood & Son closed in 2003 and were bought by another company.  If anyone has any suggestions I'd love to hear them! (I did try Replacements)

I had trouble with photos this morning due to our rainy weather.  This teapot is cheery though, isn't it?

Have a happy weekend!

I'm joining Bernideen's Friends Sharing Tea today.

The Horses In Springtime

These photos are from yesterday.  We had bright sunshine all day!  Today is partly cloudy, we will have strong thunderstorms tomorrow, so the clouds are probably ahead of that.  Either way, we are happy that spring has arrived.

Off to breakfast with Tim, then he goes to inspections and I'll go to co-op with the kids.  Its our last day for the school year, but a long one.  The kids have rehearsal for their concert right after co-op today.  I must remember a snack!

Have a good day friends!

Painted Chair

I'm on a roll!  Lol!  Some weeks I feel I hardly do anything around here and other weeks I get so much done.  

I've had this chair since Tim and I got married in 1988.  It used to be country blue.  Remember the blue and mauve country colors in the 80's?  Those were the colors I used.  

Then when my parents moved to Pennsylvania, I loaned it to her for her mudroom and she painted it green with white dabbed on.  Remember that look from the late 90's?

After I got it back I painted it white with milk paint.  It gets a lot of use so after many years it needed to be painted and I decided to try an Annie Sloan chalk paint color that I bought at my friends' yard sale.  English Yellow.

I still need to wax it.

It's a lovely color, very intense, which is fine for this accent chair.  The beauty of chalk paint is that you can mix the colors to get any shade you want!  This color with white would give you a lovely shade of soft yellow.  

I'm loving it.

What do you think?  Would paint a bold color on an accent chair?  Have you ever used chalk paint?

A Bit Of Spring Cleaning In the Kitchen

We've had some spring cleaning going on here at the cottage. 

Saturday, Sarah washed all the baseboards in the main living areas, and Kyle wiped walls and doors.  

Monday, just Kyle and I were home and so I decided to do a bit of cleaning in the kitchen.  

In the kitchen by the stairs, my little red table was becoming a collecting spot for items that needed to go down to the basement.  It was also holding my plate rack and on the shelf in a basket I had  my Ninja blender and food processor bowls, blades, etc. 

By my kitchen door, and next to the stove is my oak cabinet that houses pantry items.  On top of this I had a soft black basket for bread and chips.  It just never looked nice, and it ended up with lots of napkins in there, as they would blow off of the top of the cabinet every time the kitchen door opened.

Also an area of bother for me is my long counter.  It usually has a computer on it, mail, cups, and all of the drink station items, like the Keurig, my electric kettle, tea basket and other containers of tea and hot chocolate!  

So today, I made some changes.  I moved the red table out to clean behind and underneath it.  While Kyle wiped the table down, I moved the Ninja things to my corner cupboard.  Then I took the basket those items were in and put the chips and bread into it.  It is a firm basket and looks much neater up on top of the oak cabinet.  I also moved the napkins to the top drawer of the cabinet.  

So far, so good!

Then, moved the drink station items and put them on the red table.  I was able to put all the random jars of tea into the soft basket on the shelf underneath the table and it all looks tidy and organized.  

I then put the plate rack on the long counter next to the mug holder and the tea pot and pitcher.

I'm happy with the way it turned out and it functions really well this way, too.

Are you working on spring cleaning projects?  Tell us about it in the comments!

Dreaming Up New Projects

We've lived in our sweet cottage for 15 years.  Over the years we've painted and refreshed some of the spaces but one area has had the same wall color for about 12 years now is the living room and kitchen.  Its a lovely yellow - a Colonial Williamsburg color called 'Palace Chambers Yellow.'  I love it.  I really do.  

But I'm dreaming now of a change.  It started when a friend of ours gave Tim a bunch of tongue and groove boards.  We were going to use them in our stairway as bead board.  The stairway is an unsightly space in our home and needs something!

I've been seeing projects where the walls have had planking done on them, and its got my creative wheels turning.

Have you seen Melissa's small kitchen make-over at The Inspired Room?

This room is amazing!  I love so much about it.  But the planked walls make such a huge impact, don't they?


Joanna Gaines really got this trend going on their show "Fixer Upper."  Here are a few photos I found on Pinterest.

So, here is my kitchen (the only things that have changed up is the placement of items on the counters and above the cabinets)

The stairway is right behind this bank of cabinets, and that wall space is the biggest space where we will be planking.  I'm not removing any cabinets at all, at this time, so the planks we should have enough free planks to do the project.  If not Tim says they are available and inexpensive!  Music to my home project loving heart!

The walls and planking are going to be painted white - not sure of the shade of white yet, but we will go with a high quality paint.  This space is the main area of our home and gets plenty of traffic!

The living room, being open to the kitchen is going to be painted white too, and the hallway is going to be the same color!  This will be a huge change for us, but I'm ready for it!  

Now to reality.  Tim's busy season for work is here, and that means weekends for projects.  I think we can get it planked in a day, but the painting will take a few days.  This project may not get accomplished for a while but I'll be sure to keep you up to date when there is any progress.  I'm pretty excited about it!

I also want to share an inspiring blog post with you.  This gal is a military wife and has made over a rental house with paint!  Maggie Overby Studios.

Happy Monday, Friends!

EBAY Has My Comforter!

You can see it here.  It looks like its in good shape, but it's gently used.

So I'm not sure.

Plus, do I want the same thing I've had for 10+ years?

I've been checking out Kohl's online, and Country Curtains.  The Red Buffalo Check is dreamy, but a bit out of my budget at the moment!

Tim and I were just talking and he thinks something different than what we've had would be nice.

So the search continues....

Needed: New Bedding

I bought my comforter set over 10 years ago, and I still love it.

Which is pretty surprising for me - the one who loves to change things up in the house! However the time has come to replace it.  It was worn thin in spots and has actually worn some holes in a few places.

Tim and I still like these colors together - the background on it is a pale gold, and the reverse side of the comforter is solid in the pale gold.  I've been looking for bedding online, and at stores and just haven't seen anything I like yet.

In light of the state of the world, a bedding set it truly 'first world problems' I know, and I hesitated to even post this.  But I was wondering if you have any recommendations for me.  Places you like to shop for bedding, online or in person.  Department stores?  Specialty shops?  

Help a girl, will you?

The Horses Get A Manicure

Yesterday, the farrier came to trim and shape the horses hoofs.  Sandy went first and then Cheyenne.

 Cheyenne is a grey horse normally but it pretty dirty with the snow melting and her rolling in the pasture.  You can tell she still has most of her winter coat, which is good, because in spite of the sunshine and blue skies, it was freezing cold with wind today!

You can really see how dirty she is in this photo.  The Farrier is clipping her hoof.

 And here he is filing the front of the hoof and shaping it.  That half moon white shape on the ground is some hoof trimmings.  The dirt was picked out of her hoofs.

Nearly all the snow is gone now.  Here is the last of it in front of the cottage.

What We've Been Doing

Yesterday, being the first day of spring, we went to Rita's for free frozen ices!  I have had more off plan meals lately and so I didn't want to have one, but I wanted a treat so I made a thin mint shake from this recipe.  Easy and tasty!

We took Kamryn with us, too.

 It was partly sunny but chilly and breezy (can you see my hair flying around?) so we only sat outside for a few minutes!  They finished up their treats in the car!

When we got home we worked on more schoolwork.

Then in the evening, Tim and I went to a Chick-fil-A A-lister party! It was held in the lobby of Sight and Sound Theatres and we got to try out a new soup that will be in the restaurant here later in the year, and see a preview of a few other treats, like the Strawberry Frozen Lemonade and a new sandwich that is going to be amazing.

Mark Cathy from Chick-fil-A was there and spoke.  Tim and I spoke with him afterward and I'm telling you the family that owns Chick-fil-A are genuine and focused on SERVING their customers.

It was a fun night.

Later this week, I'm taking my niece Crystal, her daughter and Kyle to see Jonah, thanks to friends who share free tickets!

Scottish Dancing tonight - the men will be wearing their kilts tonight, and we'll be celebrating St. Patty's Day.

Busy days ahead, with a business seminar on Wednesday evenings that Tim and I are going to go to for five weeks, and then our co-op on Thursday.  I'll need the weekend to recover but its all good stuff!

Please tell me I'm not the only busy one!  What are you all up to?

Spring!

I'm so happy that spring is here!  

We were teased a few weeks ago with super mild temperatures and flower buds on my lilacs.  Then we got, what we like to call, "second winter."  More snow and very cold temperatures!

I'm hopeful that in spite of this late snow that spring flowers are just around the corner.  In the meantime, my niece and great-niece are visiting from Florida and enjoying snow!

Sarah helping Kamryn, in pink, and Miriam, in purple enjoy the snow!

It's all in your perspective!

I'm looking forward to hydrangea, roses, peonies, iris and more in my garden.

How are things in your 'neck of the woods?'

We had a busy weekend with our guests and a long day at church, since we had a fellowship meal afterward.  The girls had friends over then, we took them home in the evening and my niece and I settled in for a chat, which ended not too long before Tim got up this morning.

To say I'm a tad groggy is an understatement, but it was worth it.  I'll grab a nap in a while and then try to get to bed a bit early this evening.  Tim and I are going to an A-Lister event for Chick-fil-A this evening!  

Simple Decorating

In my first year of blogging, I found another new blogger at The Inspired Room.  Melissa has a home decor blog, and I love the things she shares about making your house YOUR home, and styling your home to suit you and your family.  

She's been writing books the last few years, too, and they are really wonderful.  She has a new book out called, Simple Decorating, and I really love it.

It is a small paperback book with 50 tips to "inspire your home."

When I got my book in the mail, I thought, "This is a wonderful book for a newlywed or a young mom."  The format is laid out so you can read a tip in just a few minutes.  Tips about lighting, rugs, paint, how to decorate on a budget.

This may be my favorite book of hers so far.  I keep it on the table next to the chair I sit in to read.  It's inspiring even for me with many years of home making and creating experience.

I was sent this book by the publisher, but my thoughts are, as always, all my own!

ps - Did you know there was an Inspired Room coloring book?  You can check it out here!

Garden: David Austin Roses

I'm in love

Falstaff Climbing Rose

 Can't you just see this climbing up and over my archway in the front garden?  I can.

Iceberg Climbing Rose

 How about two of this beauty framing a seating area?


How about being able to go out and walk amongst this beauty?  Or clip fresh roses every week?

 The Ancient Mariner

 Claire Austin

 The Queen of Denmark

L.D. Braithwaite

There is so much beauty on David Austin's website that I don't know what I would choose. 

I've been trying to ignore the snow and cold that we have received so near to spring by looking at gardens online.  

Prince Charles' Highgrove House Gardens are beautiful and inspirational.  When he bought the house there were no gardens and not very many trees around the house.  What he's done there is amazing.

Do you garden?  If so,what do you like to grow?

Book Talk

I know many of you were as hopeful as we were about our trip to the bookstore.  However, the sale got going last week, which we didn't know, and there was not much left that we were interested in anyway.

We found a few things, and had a nice chat with the owner.  They were bombarded with shoppers last week!  They are retiring after 20 years of owning the bookstore.

The day was not a complete loss as I got to spend a good portion of the day with my girls, and we were texting with Emma and Isla in SC, so it was like they were all there.  I never take this time for granted.

Several of you mentioned my Gladys Taber books.  I first heard of her from Brenda, I believe, and then also Susan Branch has mentioned her.  I had never heard of her before this, so I was intrigued.  

Imagine my surprise one day to walk into my 'go to' used bookstore and fine a whole section of Gladys Taber books.  I didn't know which ones to buy, so I chose one of all that they had.  They were $3.50 each.  Amazing.

I've not read all of them yet, either.

I got the Bess Streeter Aldrich book there, as well.

How many of you have read Gladys Taber's books?  Which are your favorite?  

What other authors would you recommend?

I also wanted to respond to someone's comment asking if my books are alphabetized.  They are not!  I do put authors together on my shelves and put books in order if they are a series.

How about you?  Do you have a certain way you organize your books?

Breakfast And A Bookstore

Tim and I are headed out to breakfast in a few minutes at our favorite place!  It's cold here today, so we are bundled up, but the sun is shining!

Later, we girls, including Kayleigh, are headed to a used bookstore in York that is closing and selling all its books for .25 cents each!  

Not that we need more books....said NO book lover EVER!

I'll let you know what we find!

Books from my own shelves!

Home Keeping: Flatware Drawer Change

I don't have any before photos of the Rubbermaid blue plastic flatware divider that we had in our kitchen drawer for nearly 30 years.  I came to hate that thing.

I would look on Pinterest at kitchen things and see options for storing and separating flatware 

Source

and fell for this one - 

Source

I mentioned it at times to Tim, but recently was just fed up with the whole flatware drawer (it also houses straws, and odd sized serving pieces of flatware), and threw the blue plastic holder out!

Today, with the snow coming down, Tim took the opportunity to make me dividers for the drawer we have and to make it custom to our needs.

Isn't it great?  I really love it!  Its just what I wanted!


I'm sharing a photo from my bedroom window taken this afternoon after the snow was basically over.  

We didn't get as much as they thought, but that is likely because we had sleet/ice for many hours overnight and this morning.  We never lost power, and have had a cozy, relaxing day.