SKYWATCH FRIDAY

Today, I'm participating in a new (for me!) event, called Skywatch Friday.
http://skyley.blogspot.com

My photo is a sunset over Mobile Bay, on the Alabama Gulf Coast. We have particularly vivid sunsets during the Fall months.

COTTAGE MONDAY

http://betweennapsontheporch.blogspot.com

http://houseinroses.blogspot.com

http://fadedcharmcottage.blogspot.com

I'm finally back with a cottage makeover update. Although, some days seem like "one step forward, two steps back", I know I've actually made great strides in not-quite three months. I can't honestly say that I have even one room that is complete, but maybe you would like to see some before-and-after---or should I say---in-progress pictures. So here goes!

Today, we're looking at the dining room.

 

New windows and a new door

I started out with my antique table, but the gate leg design made it somewhat impractical for comfortable dining. So, I've relocated it in favor of a rectangular pine table. Not as interesting, but it's more functional for chowing down.

Amazingly, one of the few walls in the house that would accommodate this hutch was the very wall that I wanted to use it on. What luck!

 

A chandelier!

 

There was never one here before. With the very low (7-1/2 foot) ceilings, chandeliers can be problematic. I'm only 5'2", but some people are taller than that! Since this hangs over the center of the table, it works! It's very simple and was also very budget-friendly, but I think it fits with the cottage-look.

I have to admit...I'm really happy with the way this hutch looks!

 The dining room steps down into the den. 

(More on that room coming soon.)

I decided to start out by painting the majority of the rooms a rather un-inspired off-white.  I felt that that would freshen and lighten the cottage and give me a blank slate to build on. I will definitely add color as time goes by. I'm shopping for a rug to go under the table. Also, would you add cushions to the chairs, or do you like the look of the woven straw seats? What about an accent color on the chair rail? Ladies, I welcome your opinions and suggestions, so bring 'em on!

"WHEN PIGS FLY" FOR BLUE MONDAY

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I've always loved the expression "when pigs fly...". So, when I saw this cute little guy at an arts and crafts show, I knew he had to come home with me. He's spent time at the beach house and the city house, since his color works so well at both places. As you can see, he's made out of sheet metal and other "found" pieces of junk.

I love his curly little pig tail made out of nuts and bolts.




 Each year, in March, Fairhope, Alabama is host to one of the largest arts and crafts shows in the country. Downtown streets are closed off and filled with several hundred vendors. The offerings range from ticky-tacky to beautiful fine arts. If you can't find something to buy here, you just aren't an arts and crafts person!

WISTERIA AND WILDFLOWERS AND AZALEAS... OH MY!

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Thank you to Susan and Heidi for these fun events each week!

The Earth laughs in flowers.
-Ralph Waldo Emerson-

Where flowers bloom, so does hope.
-Lady Bird Johnson-

Flowers are the sweetest things God ever made, and forgot to put a soul into.

-Henry Beecher-


Let us dance in the sun, wearing wildflowers in our hair.
-Susan Polis Shutz-

Happiness often sneaks in through a door you didn’t know you left open.
-John Barrymore-


Nothing is worth more than this day.
-Johann Wolfgang von Goethe-

It is only possible to live happily ever after on a day to day basis.
-Margaret Bonnano-


Flowers were all photographed on the Alabama Gulf Coast.

MARDI GRAS MADNESS

Right smack in the middle of Valentine's weekend, we can't forget about Mardi Gras! Many people don't realize that the first Mardi Gras celebrations in the United States were not in New Orleans, but in Mobile, Alabama , in the 1700s, while still under French rule. Today, all the small towns around the Mobile Bay area have their own Krewes who put on parades each year. Thousands of people line the streets for these "family-friendly" parades, and they're great fun. We have a second home in Fairhope, Alabama, which has many parades during the season. My husband, son and son-in-law are members of a Krewe and get to ride on a float every year. They say it's the closest they'll ever come to being rock stars, as they ride through the streets, throwing beads, toys and Moon Pies. My pictures aren't great. But, hopefully, they'll give you some idea of the color and pageantry and fun of a small-town Mardi Gras celebration.

Son, son-in-law, husband


"Hey mister, throw me some beads!"