It’s Time For My Fall Giveaway!

Note:  Because of all of the horrific devastation of hurricane Sandy, I have extended the giveaway date to November 12 instead of November 5.  At this time in everyone's life, I feel that there is so much more attention and energy needed to focus on the real important things in life rather than a giveaway on my blog.   Our thoughts and prayers are extended to all of you who have been in the path of Sandy's wrath and to those families who have endured such hardship in the loss of loved ones and property. 



Peace to all of you...and warm thoughts coming from California.

Well, I do believe that I am a bit behind in blogging these days!  As many of you know, life just gets busy with work and such….however, as promised, I am having a little giveaway to celebrate my five years ( that is 699 posts) of blogging AND MY NEW blog remodel. 

The ever-so-talented and sweet-as-can-be

Keren

(over at Free Pretty Things For You blog)

was given a huge “wish list” of items for my blog remodel job!  These included : a red roofed cottage, a gnome, bluebirds, Scottie dogs, a Union Jack (because of my ancestry) and an American Flag…and lots of pretty flowers.   Keren ran with the design ideas and came up with what is now the updated version of Sweet Cottage Dreams.  Thank you to Keren for her patience and understanding my vision.  There are many blog friends out there who have had Keren design their blogs and I know from speaking with them that they all love her as much as I do!  Keren also has free image giveaways and an amazing artistic eye for all things cute and vintage!  …love you, Miss Keren!

If you recall what I wrote in my

Farmhouse Laundry Room Remodel Post,

 I had bought several items for the remodel over the past year, all of which had a rustic farmhouse vibe.  Because I edited what I really wanted to use in the room, I had leftovers.  Oh darn!  So this is the compilation for the giveaway….

1. small galvanized scoop

2.  old wardrobe brush

3. an old eye glass case from New York

4.  an antique shoe form that is great for holding a ball of twine – and yes, the twine is included.

5.  an antique scale with a wonderful aged patina…..

….and cool writing on the side.

**PLEASE note:  I am sorry, but because of the cost of shipping, I can only offer this to US residents.  I hope that my overseas friends understand.

So here how this all works for a chance to win:

1. Leave a comment on THIS post if you would like to be entered to win.  If you do not have a blog, be sure to leave your email address in the comment section so that I have a way to notify you should your name be chosen.

Pretty simple. 

HOWEVER, if you would like for more chances to win….here is how…and other chances are always cool, right?

Please NOTE: 

for each.

chance.

to win.

leave a NEW comment.

This makes it soooo much easier when it comes to selecting the winner with the random number generator.  If you only leave one comment, that is one entry. 

2.  If you are already a Google Connect Follower or a Linky follower – see all of the smiling faces on my top right sidebar – just let me know and your name will be added for a second chance. 

3.  If you post about the giveaway on your blog, or grab my giveaway button (below) to your blog's sidebar linking back to the giveaway, you will be added again.  Just let me know that you did this, via a new comment.

4.  If you are a NEW Google Connect or Linky follower (as of now), leave me a separate comment letting me know this and your name will be added in again.

I hope that the instructions are clear.  If not, you can email me at sweetcottagedreams1@comcast.net so that I can answer any questions.

I will announce the winner on Monday, November 5th by 7 PM, PST.

Thank you in advance for participating!  See you all back on November 5th! 

…prayers for everyone in the path of hurricane Sandy….may the grace of God be with you.

Hello, My Name Is Becky And.....

I. 

LOVE.

Old.

Books.

Yes, I am a book junky.  My favorite books are the old school books, antique leather books, old prayer books and Bibles…. and the cuter the graphics on the spines, the better.  There is something about books dated from the late 1800’s through the 1940’s that tug at the old heart strings.  From the adorable drawings and graphics to the musty smell of the old paper - old books are one of my favorite things to look for while out shopping.

Throughout the house are stacks of them.  Some hold inquisitive gnomes (below) rest upon some old leather bound books and others are contained within the confines of an antique book holder (above).

They aren’t just for reading, but for decorating with, too.  Not only do they help with layering vignettes, but they add color and dimension, too.

Hooked on books....should have been a librarian!

Smiley Face

Fiona is smiling big today as the weather is nice and cool.  She has that sort of Elvis lip snarl thing going on.  Makes me hum a little Elvis in my head right now.

Love my girl!  She makes me laugh!!

Burlap Pillows

Last week I bought a bolt of burlap and have been busy sewing up pillows and banners for the stores that I sell at.  These are so much fun to make!  My favorite is the LOVE pocket pillow.  Just think how cute it would be with a picture of a bride and groom tucked inside.

Till next time…..

Baked Apples

With cooler temps of fall lingering in the air, my appetite for comfort foods is slowly setting in.  The other morning I decided to give my try at baking up some of the Granny Smith apples that were in the fridge.  A simple topping of some leftover turkey sausages mixed with grated cheddar cheese, a smidge of maple syrup and Dijon mustard and about 2 Tblsp of melted butter – mix it all up and place over the halved apples (seeds and core removed first).  Bake uncovered at 350 degrees for about an hour – or until the apples are nice and soft.  Allow to cool and enjoy.

I found these beautiful bowls at

West Elm

and love them!  They are a perfect color for fall and the quality is very nice.  I think I need to add some more in different colors!

Serving Up Messages

Scrabble tiles are quite the popular bits these days.  They’re everywhere in altered art pieces, scrapbooking, mixed media, and handmade jewelry.  When I see an orphaned game for sale, I always buy it, granted that the price is right.

For now, the little collection of tiles are wrangled together in an old brown transferware bowl.  They are kickin’ it with some old cow tags and the silver plate spoon – the spoon is for scooping out tiles, but looks kind of “fallish” as well.

Harvest is the word of the day.  Who knows what surprises I might have once my son finds the bowl of tiles.  Next time there might be something hilarious spelled out, but hopefully something sweet, like "I love you".

 

 

Around The House This Friday Morn’

Rise and shine, shake off the sleepies out of the head and pour that first cup of coffee.  Ahhh…nice hot French Roast, my favorite.  So with camera in hand, eyes still a bit blurry, I just snapped some photos of the way the house feels first thing in the morning.  It’s as though the house is waking up right along with me. 

I want to share the pieces that I won from Alison’s giveaway that she had over the summer.   The next three pictures include those items:  the ironstone gravy bowl, white pitcher and the small wicker covered bottle.  Needless to say, I was extremely excited to have opened up the box from Alison!  Thank you again, Alison!!!  See how perfectly each piece fits right in?

Today the light coming in is filtered as there are high clouds in the sky.  Mellow tones play against each room.   Light reflects on glass fronts, against mirrors…..

….and lands on some objects as if shining a spot light on them for the moment.

I love morning time!  And I love fall! 

Where did that cup of coffee go to?

See ya!

Our Farmhouse Laundry Room Makeover

For quite sometime I have been planning in my head how I wanted to remodel our 1980’s laundry room in our home. 
The quest:  a farmhouse looking laundry room with white bead board on the walls, an industrial sink,
open shelving and a textured ceiling – and accessorized with vintage items.

For about a year I collected vintage bits and bobs
 that were found whilst out perusing flea markets, estate sales and antique stores. 
Some items ended up not being used because I wanted more of a minimal look,
so these will be placed elsewhere in the house –
and some will be given away here on the blog. 
More to follow at the end of this post.

Old galvanized scoops, mason jars, a laundry room sign (that was made by my friend Marcia), and a
funky metal corner
 shelf with lots of chippy paint will find their spot in the room.

Everything purchased was done on a budget
and the IVORY soap box was a score
for $10.00 at a flea market.  It will
sit next to the sink and hold laundry soap, towels, etc.

One of my favorite finds were a pair of
these rusty metal light fixtures that
were a great find at an estate
sale over the summer.  Ready for the price? 
 Just $4.00 each!  LOVE that! 
And the black metal shelf brackets –
including the small amounts of rust on
them – were just $2.00 each.

Here’s the fun part – the homely reveal. 
See the missing door…the doors were starting to fall off – a sign? 
 Yes!  Time to pretty up the room
that I spend a lot of time in.

Below is the finished room with floor
to ceiling bead board, a hand
textured ceiling and open
 shelving that I absolutely am loving.

I didn’t get a picture of the original sink
and laminate as my husband
was quick to rip it out and work on
the plumbing for our new stainless steel sink. 
  I searched for months for a good
industrial sink and found the Griffin
 scullery sink at Home Depot.  It is HUGE! 
The sink stands on four legs, which
 makes the room appear larger, too.  The antique
 mirror over the sink was a recent find for $22.00 – just what I was looking for with the black shabby frame.

You can really see the before and
after of the ceiling…

before…..

..and after! 

 I  love the look of the light fixture (below) against the
 textured ceiling!  The paint that I used on the
bead board is Extra White by Sherwin Williams. 
 I used a darker white on the ceiling called Weathered White,
 also by Sherwin Williams.  The Weathered White
has a bit of gray in it and looks so
 pretty next to the bright white and the rusty light fixture. 
I did use a clear matte spray on the light
 fixture and the shelf brackets. 
It just helps seal the rust and gives a nice patina
to the old metal.

Here’s the corner shelf adorned with some fun
vintage collections.  An old trophy filled
 with 6-inch advertising rulers, old scoops,
and old clock, mason jar, a stain removal pamphlet
 and some ironstone pitchers.

One of my favorite pieces is the Watkins
salesman box that was snapped up at
The Alameda Flea market for $25.00.  Next to it are early turn of the century postage scales that
were a find for $25.00 and $35.00.

Skat hand soap?  Had to laugh when I
found that and new it would be a great
addition to the vignettes and add a pop of color as well.

 

Our friend, Don, applied all of the bead board,
textured the ceiling and hung up the shelving
 for us.  He also gave us the old fence board for the shelves. 
 I really like the rustic feel of the raw wood – so farmhouse looking! 

For now I just tacked up an antique tablecloth
 in the window but will soon be making
 some curtains for the window.

Thanks for stopping by!  Be sure to come back
 in a few days for a vintage farmhouse giveaway to celebrate
 (a wee bit late) my five years of blogging,
 my new blog redo and the completion of our remodeling!

I am linking up today with Kim's Wow Us Wednesdays at Savvy Southern Style Blog. 
Be sure to stop by and say HI to Kim
and be inspired by all of the wonderful WOW’s
being shared for the week.


10-5-12:  Today I am linking up with Claudia for her Favorite Things post!  Please stop by and visit my friend from New York if you haven't already done so.  I know I've had this post up for several days, but really, besides my new laminate flooring, this room is now one of my favorite rooms in our home.  A long desired dream that is now reality.  And yes, it is much nicer to do laundry in here now.  Don't ask my why, maybe because it feels lighter, brighter and more open.


Happy Weekend!!