April Days

Hello everyone -- I hope you had a good weekend!  It's been a few weeks since I've posted because we have been busy.  We had a nice Easter, and I hope you did, too.  We enjoyed Easter lunch at my in-laws' house, and Hal's maternal uncle was there with us, too.  It was so nice to see everyone.  We had a Honeybaked Ham, creamed corn, green beans, a gelatin salad, rolls, and deviled eggs.  I made a lemon loaf pound cake for dessert, and it seemed to be a big hit.     

   

The Baker's Rack

Hello to you!  Are you having a good week?  I bet you'll have an even better week if you don't listen to the news or read about it online.  Ask me how I know.  😏  Anyway, our week has been fine.  We had our new washer and dryer delivered yesterday, finally -- we ordered it about four or five weeks ago.  Things are kind of crazy right now, though, aren't they?  I think we're going to like these; our other set was having big problems.        I made a few small changes in the kitchen that I want to share with you.  The changes involve the wall with our baker's rack.      

       

Speeding Toward the Holidays

Good morning all.  Is anyone else besides me having a hard time believing Thanksgiving is just a week from Thursday?  Wow!!  For me, 2019 has seemed like a record year for speeding by. I've already started putting out Christmas decorations.  I never thought I'd see the day when I would start my Christmas decorating a week and a half before Thanksgiving.  I felt really guilty about it at first, but now Hal and I are both glad we got an early start this year.  I want to be more organized and hopefully we'll all be able to savor the Christmas holiday more fully.      

A Peek at the New Den Floor

Hello friends!!  Are you having a good week?  As we used to say in the office, "It's Friday's Eve."  😁  I've popped 'round to share a few quick things with you before the weekend is truly here.  My dear hubby will be home Friday through Monday, and we're hoping to get some things done around here.   

  

Favorite Decor and Another Small Renovation

Good morning folks!  The start of a new week, and my head cold is much better -- almost gone, I think.  Let's talk about decor for a bit, shall we?  Have you seen the current Country Living magazine?  The November issue, to be exact.  I have to tell you that this is probably my favorite issue of  Country Living that I've received in a long time.  My sweet mom has gifted me with an annual subscription for several years now, and I do love getting magazines in the mail.       Sorry about these first two pics. -- it's very cloudy here today and the house is dark.   

   

Our Master Bedroom

Happy Friday everyone!  As promised yesterday, I'm back today with a post on our master bedroom.  I've been working on this room for the last few weeks, and I'm ready to have it finished.  I don't have before pictures for you because I just forgot to take them.  At any rate, I'll share again when I've added the finishing touches.        

  

Tour a Southport Coastal Cottage, Part 2

Hi all!  As promised, I'm sharing the rest of this charming cottage in Southport, North Carolina.  I posted Part 1 of the cottage tour Here, and today we'll be seeing the bedrooms and the bathrooms.   

 

Tour a Coastal Cottage in Southport, North Carolina

   Last week, I enjoyed a girls' trip to Southport, N.C., with my mom, my sister, and my niece.  A good time was had by all.  😊  My mom rented a little cottage for three days and wouldn't let us help her pay for any of it.  She said this was a gift to herself, but she generously shared it with us.    So, without further ado -- meet B & K Cottage.  You can find the second part of the cottage tour Here.        

Small Changes in the Living Room

Today, I'm sharing a few recent changes to our living room.  Actually, they're more additions than changes.    

 

Our Fall Family Room

Fall is finally starting to make itself felt here.  We're having a late fall this year, but the signs are there.  The nights are cooler and crisper, it smells like fall outside, high school football is back in town, and front porches are sporting mums and pumpkins.   I've been making some changes in our den recently, and earlier, I promised to share those with you.  Since I'm not quite finished yet, tonight will be just a few sneak peaks at the room as it looks for fall.  

Summer Kitchen

It's officially summer, yes?  Whew, is it hot here!  It's supposed to be in the mid-to-high 90's all week, with high humidity.  Welcome to the south!  At this point, the catch phrase around here becomes, "Hot enough for you?"  After hearing this so many times, no one even bothers to reply.  😜  It's almost like the dead of winter because everyone stays inside, where it's air-conditioned, as much as possible.      Today, I want to share a few pictures of my summer kitchen.  I've made a few little changes in here since the big renovation in 2012, namely a new dishwasher, new replacement windows, and wood floors.  All those things were money well-spent, and we still love our kitchen.  

 

Christmas in the Dining Room

Hello dear readers.  The eve of Christmas is such a special time.  I'm sorry I've been absent here, but my dad had to be hospitalized again week before last.  He was there five days this time, and we're all thankful he can be home with us for Christmas.  I know some of you are missing loved ones this year -- some are spending first Christmases without a spouse, parent, etc.  I hope you will find comfort in the Christmas story more than ever this year.

I'm still decorating and haven't wrapped a single present, yet here I sit, typing away.  😉  Our dining room feels very Christmasy this year, so I'm sharing some pics with you.

Autumn Into Christmas

Fall came late in our area, and so we still have some color left on the trees.  We admired the late autumn foliage on our way to my parents' house the day after Thanksgiving.  Though it still feels like fall, it's time to move on to Christmas preparations.  We're planning to put our tree in the stand this afternoon and put the lights and garland on.

Before we do that, however, I want to show you the living room and foyer (very minimally) decorated for fall.  After today, it will be a bit topsy-turvy while I'm in the midst of putting out Christmas decs.

The Fall Den

Hello everyone!  I'm trying really hard to get some "photo shoots" of the various rooms in the house while it's still technically Fall.  I told my husband that in a few weeks, I'll be seeing posts about Christmas and Christmas home tours in blog land.  Here are some fall pics for you before we all have to start thinking about Christmas.

The Curio Cabinet

I like to think that I have a mind of my own, in decorating as well as other things.  But one of the fun parts of blogging is that I do sometimes get wonderful ideas that really click with my own style; I  love that other bloggers share their ideas with the rest of us.

I mentioned Laura Ingalls Gunn at "Decor To Adore" a few weeks ago when I wrote a post about some of my favorite bloggers.  I wrote that I love Laura's decorating style, and when she posted about curio cabinets a few weeks ago and told us the history behind curio cabinets, or cabinet of curiosities, as they were originally called, this post really resonated with me.  Laura then shared her own "cabinet of curiosities" Here, and after seeing it, I was on a mission.  I immediately went into our living room and started putting together my own curio cabinet.  I didn't have to buy a thing for it; everything was collected from throughout our house.  Thanks for the inspiration, Laura -- I hope you don't mind my copycatting!  :)

The Kitchen at Christmas

I'm pretty sure these will be the last Christmas pictures I make you suffer through share with you this year.  ;)  I hardly ever show my kitchen decorated for Christmas, so here goes.

Autumn Mantel

Hello my friends!  I got my fall mantel finished, and hubby was kind enough to take pictures for me last night.  Believe me, I've tried taking pictures of this mantel on several occasions with very sad results.  ;)  This is the WORST SPOT to take pictures because it gets no direct light.  Hal uses something similar to a softbox to reflect his flash, but he has to get everything just so because of the light reflecting off the picture above the mantel.

New Curtains

Happy Friday everyone!  I hope you've all had a good week.

I want to give you a quick glimpse of the new curtains I purchased for our guest bedroom.  It seems I just keep working on this room, don't I?  ;)  I really am almost done until the time when we can get it repainted.  At that point, I'll have the wallpaper (and the corkboard between the windows) removed, but for now, I'm close to being done.

Tartan Parade

Happy Monday everyone!  Have you seen Alison's blog, The Polohouse?  I enjoy reading her posts because she decorates her home in English country style, and I'm a big fan of English country.  :)  Alison is having a "Tartan Parade" on her blog today, and I decided to join in.  I haven't been participating in link parties for the last few months because life has just been too hectic, but a party featuring tartan plaids was hard for me to resist.

I love tartan plaid -- both in my wardrobe and in our home.  We have bits of tartan scattered throughout the house, so I'll share some here (I apologize to my readers who've seen these before).

Tweaking the Guest Bedroom

Happy Labor Day everyone!  I think most of us consider this the official end of summer, although here in the south, we'll have several more hot days before summer's truly over.

You may remember when I posted our guest room reveal back in April of this year.  I mentioned that we'd be getting a vanity/dressing table that was part of the bedroom suite, and I showed you the dressing table in this post.  After cleaning, polishing with beeswax and orange oil, and touching up nicks, chips, and scratches, I can finally show you the dressing table.  This is as good as it will look without paying a professional to completely re-finish it.  We think it turned out pretty well.