The Apple Street Cottage

How's the weather in your neck of the woods?  Around here, Mother Nature has been off her meds giving us everything from huge amounts of snow, sub-zero temperatures, sleet, freezing rain ,   pouring rain, and temperatures hovering around 40 degrees. We are now headed for for cold weather again...Is it Spring yet? But, before I go into a rant about how much I hate  dislike winter, let me show you how I saved a little piece of something I loved...   In the original cottage there was a perfectly preserved pink tile bathroom.  There wasn't a chip or crack anywhere.  It was so pristine, that our inspector took pictures of it while doing our inspection for purchase.  He'd never seen anything like it. Here's a little peek: I knew this was one of the things I would miss once it was sold and I also knew there was a box of extra tiles in the attic.  I headed upstairs and as I dug through the box, I discovered a few of the decorative tile pieces ...

It all started with planning.... Planning posts for a blog is something all bloggers do.  I have a system (sort of) for the year that starts with writing down the months of the year on a piece of paper (yes, paper, I'm old-school like that!)  From there, I jot down my ideas for each month, paying attention to seasons and holidays.  These ideas turn into projects that are assigned to dates for posts.  All of this is done in pencil in case something else comes along and an idea and/or project gets  reassigned to a new date.   Since January sneaks up pretty quickly, I turn a lot of attention to that month in the beginning of this process.  This time I had a few thoughts that coincide with a new year...resolutions, word for the year, organization, favorite projects from last year...you get the idea, but none of it was 'jumping out at me'.  Then it hit me like a ton of bricks.  It's time to show everyone what things really look like on a d...

Right now, we are experiencing an arctic blast with temperatures in the single digits and a wind chill below zero.  Have I ever mentioned how much I hate dislike winter?  So, I'm going to share the little table that my husband found last summer ...when it was warm... We were at an estate sale and wandered out to the barn.  I was looking for a side table for our bedroom and wanted something unique.  My husband spied this one: It was pretty humble: The man in the barn said I could have it for $5...What a bargain! I couldn't get my $5 bill out fast enough.  After a good cleaning, there was gluing and clamping, and clamping and gluing!  This was during my tendonitis flare-up and tightening clamps was agony , but I was tired of sitting around doing nothing and my sweet husband helped me out. I removed the door and all of the hardware.  The door got a good sanding and my decoupage technique to make it pretty again. I tried polishin...

Welcome to a new feature that you will be seeing here  on the 10th of  each month .  Let me explain...about a week ago I was invited to join a wonderful group of bloggers for a monthly blog hop called, "Ten on the 10th", where DIY/decor ideas are shared costing $10 or less.  Fun, right? Come along with me as I join this talented group of ladies.  This month's theme is Valentine's Day. Since I only had about a week to come up with my idea and get it done, I used my 'go-to' material:  pallet wood to make a rustic heart.  I started by drawing my pattern and cutting it out with my jig saw. Both pieces were sanded since pallet wood can be quite rough: Next came the red craft paint that was pretty bright: Sorry this is blurry.  That's what happens when your rushing. I toned-down the red with a little antiquing medium: The two pieces were glued together and a strip of wood spanning both of them across the back was screwed...

Happy New Year and welcome back!  I hope your holidays were jolly and you're ready for a new year of projects, ideas, and fun! Did you make any resolutions? Eat less junk food?  Exercise more? Stop procrastinating?  Resolutions are not my thing, but, man, I have a 'to-do' list that's as long as my arm...and I'll be sharing all of it right here.     Since it's a new year and everyone is energized to start some new projects and  get organized,  let me share my start on the laundry/powder room in my 128 year old house.   We buy our laundry detergent in the large economy size and it has always sat on top of the washer and dryer (they're stacked) with the spigot hanging over the edge. The problem was it didn't look nice at all: Time to get started on an easy fix for this eyesore.  I started out with a few simple items: You may remember the contact paper from my medicine cabinet makeover . I also used these: The first st...