Movin' Things Around

Being bored does have its advantages, especially when it comes to rearranging things in this little house of ours. So one day last week I putzed around and moved this little green cabinet from the laundry room to the guest room and hung it on the wall.

Some of my favorite pottery pieces share space within the shelf. My most recent finds is the Japan flower pot (top left) and the little yellow squirrel pottery vase (top right).

The squirrel is very similar to this sweet little blue scotty planter that my dear friend, Miss Jean, gave to me awhile back. She bought a pink and blue one, and of course she kept the PINK one for herself. :) You should see her collection of PINK scotty dog pottery pieces!!
I am slowly but surely incorporating more reds into the guest bedroom. I will share more of this with you later. The lampshade is a recent find at Target. One of my favorite fabrics is red ticking stripes, so you can imagine my joy when I found the shade. What do you think of the idea of hanging vintage crocheted pot holders on it? A little texture doesn't hurt a lampshade now does it.

One more day left to enter the giveaway. The latest to sign up is by midnight on 7-31-08 and the winners will be selected and announced some time on 8-1-08.

ta ta for now.....

Fav #5 - Mr ? ~ Don't Forget The Giveaway!!

He prefers to be turned ON and doesn't like turn-offs...
...doesn't mind a little gas...
...he keeps me in stitches...
..and works best when electrified.
He bears a striking resemblance to Mr. Selleck...

don't you think? Meet Mr. Janome. Yup, I have spoken highly about him with you before.
Mr. J. and I don't get to spend as much time together as we would like to, but
we did have some quality time together yesterday. He is a huge help to me and
enables me to get my projects done. I love him!


He assisted me in finishing a custom order tote bag yesterday...

..and awhile back helped to create Matilda. I had to share this picture of the cute little
crocheted dress that I found at an antique store. It makes a darling little apron for little Matilda for now. I know a sweet someone who is making some PRECIOUS little dresses for sale...you should check them out...they are fabulous!


Well, this concludes my list of my five favorite things, but quite honestly there are scads more. My family, however, rates first and foremost. Without them, life would just be plain yogurt. They are the honey, the joy...my loves.



There is still time to enter my 1st blogiversary giveaway. Just leave a comment on that post.

One Whole Year, Already ~ and Favorite #4

It has already been one year since I started this little blog! Time surely flies! I remember thinking, "Goodness gracious, what am I going to write about & will there even be anyone out there who will even care?" Amy, the sweet and generous friend and lady that she is, gave me a "blog intro" and got my name out there in this wonderful blog community. The Cottage Queen herself, Jennifer, also gently nudged me and gave me words of encouragement.

To have a lil' celebration for my blog-a-versary, I have joyfully put together some pressies to give away.

I treated us to some fresh flowers and cookies..... would you like a cookie before I eat them all? :)

Sorry Duhgall and Maggie, no cookies for you but do tell our friends what the giveaway is about, ok? (I am babysitting little Maggie dear!!! We are having fun!)

Well, I thought that I would have two different sets of gifts - one PINK and one RED.

Here are the rules:

1. To win, you need to leave a comment on THIS post only.

2. Just let me know if you would like to enter for the PINK one OR the RED one. If you want to enter for BOTH, just say so.

3. No blog? No problem. If you want to enter you name to win, just email me at sweetcottagedreams1@comcast.net

Be sure to put "giveaway"
in the subject box, otherwise I won't open it.

4. International friends, please enter to win, too!

5. You will have until 7-31-08 to enter. I will draw the names on 8-1-08 and use the random electronic method to pick the winners.

The PINK giveaway:

This is an assortment of pink things....

You will get a shabby chic pink pennant banner (made by me), a vintage amateur painting of pink roses in an aqua vase, a new sweet picture frame and pink polka dot gift cards.
For a description of the pennant banner, you can read it here. Never hang over a crib or an open flame.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The RED giveaway:

This is an assortment of fun red things. You will get two new 50's inspired floursack towels, a new towel holder ring, notecards, a cherry print tote bag and a pillow that I made using a vintage kitchen towel.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I wish I had a gift to send to everyone, but just know that your friendship is held close to my heart! Thank you for words of encouragement, suggestions and sharing your stories with me. I have sat here and laughed and cried and never dreamt of meeting and connecting to so many who share common values and interests. You are all wonderful!!! You all totally rock!!

My hat is off to all of you! Thank you for everything!



Ok, this is not a giveaway, but just my #4 of Favorite Things. I not only love crisp all white towels, but I also enjoy the smell that the Lavender and Vanilla Downy Rinse gives to my clothes.





ta ta for now!

#3 of the Five Of My Favorite Things - Vintage Aprons

I love old vintage aprons and the fabrics they are made of. These old kitchen amenities bring back memories of my Grandmothers and Mother wearing them as they prepared our meals. I am sure each one could tell a heartfelt story if they could. Here is a selection of my red, blue and white ones.
They all hang in my laundry room on an old chippy green paint towel rack.

On the end is a vintage child's apron and next to that is a darling Scotty Dog apron that I purchased from Patricia several years ago. I also spy the cute bag holder that Karen made!!

This sweetie pie is on the other end - love those old Dutch designs!

Wishing you all a wonderful start to a new week. Be sure to stop back by on the 23rd to enter for a drawing that I am having to celebrate my first year of blogging.

ta ta

Number 2 of My Five Favorite Things - The Bagpipes

My last post I shared the first of five of my favorite things, now this is number 2. Bagpipes....

The haunting and mysterious sound of the bagpipes reaches deep into my soul and spirit. Perhaps the familiar sounds knock at my heart because of my Irish and Scottish ancestry - as if maybe somewhere back in time a great relative stood on the Highlands and boldly played his pipes for the brave who defended their Country.
A bagpipe is a very complex instrument with many parts and pieces. To be a good bagpiper, it takes a lot of practice, practice, practice....and a lot of AIR!!!!! Now add in the other factors of fingering the chanter, blowing into the bag, squeezing the bag, keeping the drones in tune, keeping in tune with the others in the band - and then memorizing all of the songs - AND add in the marching and keeping in step! Oh my!!!

I started taking bagpipe lessons five years ago and learned three songs on my practice chanter. The Pipe Major told me that if I learned three songs, then I could move on to getting a set of bagpipes. For many reasons, I stopped taking private lessons and set my chanter aside. To this day, it rests in a drawer and calls to me every so often to pick it up again - which I sadly do and try to remember the tunes I learned. Someday I am going to pursue it again...
This is a practice chanter. You can actually by a CD and book and teach yourself. It isn't hard, it just takes a lot of WIND from the depths of your lungs, and I mean alot of WIND!! I also learned that in the beginning, you will discover you have muscles in your face that you did not know about.

As I have shared before, our little Scotty Dog, Duhgall, was born on St. Patrick's Day. For his first birthday we had a "dog party" and our friend, Jared, played his bagpipes for an hour. It was wonderful! Jared has quick fingers and played beautifully AND told us the story behind the songs. The picture above is of Duhgall giving Jared a kiss for playing on his birthday!!~~
Jared is an award winning bagpiper and belongs to a local pipeband.
For more information on pipebands, you can click here.

I also found a wonderful site called Cops In Kilts. This is a pipeband from the Chicago Police Department. The site gives you the history of bagpipes and some other wonderful links. The New York City Police Department also has a beautiful site. I remember watching hundreds and hundreds of pipers play tribute to those killed in 9-11. Each time I watched them march and play, I cried and could not stop crying.

On a lighter "note,".....
Q: What does a bagpiper where under their kilt?
A: Their socks!

arrrrrrrrrr!!!!!! That is hilarious!!!!!!!!!!!

I would like to thank Anna for giving me this wonderful award!! Anna is new to our blogging world, so give her a little visit! She has an adorable blog called The Rusty Cottage! Love the name!! Anna, I am honored and thank you so very much for sharing this with me. Now in the "blog tradition" we are to share this with other bloggers. It is so difficult to just pick 7, so I am giving this to all of you! Each blog is brilliant and I love them all!

Happy Day!!

1 of My Five Favorite Things

You all know Kathy? Well, sweet Miss Kathy tagged me the other day with the MEME: List 5 of your favorite things. What I decided to do is to have 5 individual posts to tell a story about my 5 favorite things. Today's post is about one of my favorite places to shop.

Like farm fresh produce? I do!

Like antiques and collectibles? Me, too!

Want to know a great place to go for a "one stop shop" for both?

Some of you locals (huh Jean?) will recognize this place. It is called

The Barn and is located at

25015 Hwy 120

Escalon, CA. 95320

209-838-7417

The Barn is owned and operated by Tom and Denise, who have lovingly spruced this awesome old barn up and opened their big barn doors up right before Christmas of 2007. Tom and Denise are as sweet as pie and just so easy to talk to and we just feel like we have known them for a lifetime! Denise is also an Interior Designer and has wonderful antiques and decorating accessories spread throughout.

Ok, come along.....let's go for a walk.

A lovely set of chairs that have a nice rustic patina (they are new).
Love this old "All" soap pail! Anyone remember these?

Ok, I told you there were some wonderful old pieces - with a few new ones tucked in here and there - so walk over here....

An old plate rack that looks great against the rustic interior walls of the barn.
Stacked suitcases remind me of Kim's travel room. She has the old vintage ones stacked on top of an armoire.
A wonderful old pine sleigh bed.
A beautiful window silhouette.
I L-O-V-E this old pine hutch! Check out the carved birds at the top and the detailed cornice piece. They just don't make 'em like they used to.

This white piece is a fabulous Eastlake dresser that Denise recently painted white and is ordering the old tear-drop handles to add to the drawers. ...I am in love with this one!!!....
Great old chrome dinette piece with that awesome aqua and yellow mix.
Darling drop leaf table...
...and cute vignettes of sweet things for sale.
My favorite pictures are the vintage ones of children. These two are sweet!
The one of the little boy is dated 1909.

Love this arrangement of a ceramic chicken/chicks that is displayed in a vintage gym locker basket. I can think of several blog friends who would like these!! You all know who you are!
One of Tom and Denise's customers made this banner for them.

Ok, I mentioned you can buy fresh produce, but there are also assortments of dried nuts. Our Central Valley is well known for having an abundance of almond orchards.
Was-up? Some hot Wasabi peas!!
Plump juicy cherries. They are some of the best I have ever had, too.
When it is hot outside, I mosey over for something cold to whet my whistle!

Here is Lily, the adopted Dove. Denise said that when they were working on the place, Lily flew inside one day. Denise gently placed her back outside, but determined Lily flew back in. So home it is for the little Lily girl. She is very social and gets plently of attention from the customers. Now she just needs a Leopold to keep her company!

Ok, more looking around for us....

Wonderful old ironing boards - and look, there is one for the kids!!!

Who does this remind you of? I know someone who loves vintage camping trailers!
If I had room in my kitchen, this old table would be home with me. Hmmm...or maybe it would be perfect in a living room.....hmmmmmmmm......
You want to know another reason that The Barn is on my list of five favorite things? Yup, cause Tom and Denise invite the little Duhgall P. in for a visit. They even have a water dish outside for their thirsty four legged friends.

If ever in this neck of the woods, stop by and say hello to two of the sweetest Barn owners I've ever known, well second to my uncle who owned a dairy. :0)

Happy Trails...