The Apple Street Cottage

It's been a rainy week around here with LOTS of humidity...I feel like I live in Florida, but, we managed to do a few outdoor activities before the rain hit, and in-between thunderstorms.  So, here's a little 'This 'n That'. A friend had to have an emergency appendectomy, so, when I went to visit her, I brought her this beautiful sunflower plant.  When I first laid eyes on it, it made me smile...it made her smile, too! We went to a local Cheese Festival.  It was a hot, humid day, but we had fun sampling wine and cheese, and listening to local musicians.  This sign made me laugh! This is my husband's sense of humor at work.  If you recall the landscaping we've been doing , along with the 'goodies' we've uncovered.  That's where this came from.  The extra dirt has been thrown in a pile where the real vegetable garden will go next year.  He thought the stone 'finished-off' the look.  No reaction from the neighbors yet! I ...

We have been so fortunate to have some perfect summer weather - low to average humidity with temperatures in the low 80's...just perfect for a little DIY on something that was trash! Let me show you the little stepladder I found in a trash heap.  That's right, I have no shame...and I'm so glad, because I love how it came out! Here's how I found it: Dirty and rickety are the best words to describe it.  Someone tried to stabilize it with nails.  Needless to say, it didn't work! It had cuts, dings, and paint drips all over it, and it was FREE!   Time to make it pretty.  The first step was to wash it with good ol' soap and water. After its bath, the only thing I did to prep it was to hammer those nails back in so they weren't a 'catching' hazard.  Since it will never be used as a ladder, I wasn't worried about stabilizing it, and I wanted to be able to fold it up again when it gets put away f or the winter. I grabbed some le...

Welcome back!  We've been very busy with lots of little projects around the cottage, but one big one - that is still in progress, is some landscaping.  It all started along the fence, where I could see evidence of a garden long ago.  There was some concrete edging, but no plants whatsoever, just weeds.  So I got to work: Not bad when you consider this whole section looked like this when I started: There were lots of weeds, rocks, a few patio blocks, junk, and a few treasures from a child: I just love how old places leave things behind and tell you a story! While I was busy tearing out weeds and uncovering treasures, I noticed that the patio blocks at the bottom of the porch steps extended further than originally thought, so I got out my weed-killing spray to make uncovering them a bit easier.  Notice the brown grass: Yes, instead of about 6 feet of patio block, we had about 12! The section from the porch railing, all the way to the right,...

I was so happy to find a nice, large linen closet in the new house, but I wasn't happy to find that the shelves were made of rough plywood.  The simple solution? Peel & Stick floor tiles.  Off I went to the local builders supply store for a box of tiles that cost about $20. Here's what the closet looked like before starting this project...keep in mind these are photos taken inside a closet! After wiping them down, I started laying the tile in front, mostly because I didn't want any 'piecing' to show and, seriously, who looks in the back of your closets/cabinets?? Then it was time to measure and cut a piece to fit in the back: In the interest of full-disclosure, I have to tell you that my husband did most of the measuring and cutting.  He's faster than I am and we were still moving in! As you can see, on the right, we only needed part of a tile, so we measured the width and cut the tiles with a utility knife. Notice there's cardboa...