The Apple Street Cottage

It's time to finally share the home improvement project that took me most of the summer to complete.  It wasn't a difficult task, it just took  forever to finish, but more about that later... Behold, the new kitchen backsplash: When we moved in last year, the backsplash was painted white - nothing special.  I knew I wanted to do something, but there are SO many choices.  I finally decided on a stencil and paint because it's not permanent and if I hated it all I needed to do was paint over it!  I chose this stencil... ...and then chose a shade of blue called 'Peaceful River' since blue is my favorite color.  I bought a sample can of paint and had more than enough.  The entire backsplash was painted with a stencil brush.  I know lots of people use a foam roller, but, honestly, in my opinion, there is always bleeding of paint with that method.  That may be part of the reason why this project took all summer.  But, I'll get to tha...

It's been a crazy weather week around here.  We've had temperatures in the 50s, which is normal for this time of year, but then we had a couple of mid- to upper-70s days.  We're now back to cooler temperatures, I guess we'll call it Indian Summer!  How's the weather in your part of the world? When we first bought our current cottage, I shared some pictures of the kitchen.  One suggestion was to remove the shelf above the sink, but now that we've lived here a few months, I'm glad I didn't.  You see, even though this is an old house, it has no built-in shelving that is always great for decorating.  Therefore, I'm happy to have this space in the kitchen that can be changed seasonally.  Let's take a closer look: This space is just above the sink.  Here's the picture from right before we moved in: You can see it on the left. My goal this year is to spend no money on my fall decorating.  So far, I've achieved it, except for purchasin...

Yes, it's finally happening!  After a long search, we have found another house and will be closing soon.  If you've been following you know the funny story that goes along with the selling of the Cottage.  If you missed it, click HERE for the details. I'm not really sure that the new house qualifies as a 'cottage' since it was built in 1890 and has two stories, but as soon as we walked into it, we knew it was the right house for us.  The people we are buying it from did all the hard work - believe me, our shoulders are thanking them - so all that is left is the gardens and decorating.  (Insert 'Happy Dance' here) Would you like a peek? I love the staircase! This is the nook off the dining room. Kitchen Pic #1 Kitchen Pic #2 There are lots of things to do before I ever get to the kitchen, but I need a little help.  You see, I've always wanted white kitchen cabinets (just take a look at my Kitchen Board on Pinterest) but these are...

Yes, I know, I'm supposed to be packing.  I am, but I   can't stand the smell of oven cleaner and the  ovens REALLY needed cleaning before moving out.  Take a look: Yeah, proud housekeeping moment, right? I searched the internet for options and here's what I ended up with: Here's how you do it: Get some vinegar, baking soda, and salt. Mix 1 part vinegar to 2 parts water in a spray bottle. After removing the racks, spray the interior of the oven with the vinegar/water mixture. Then sprinkle it with baking soda and salt.  I didn't measure, I just threw it around!  I'm precise, like that!  😁 Spray it lightly again and close the door for 2 hours.   This is what it looked like: After 2 hours I took my blue plastic scrubbie (sorry, I forgot to take a picture of it) and lightly scrubbed the oven surface.  Believe me, I do mean lightly - I don't scrub anything if I can help it! Remember the fence? The result w...

After the long month of April, I am happy to say I am back, healthy, and things are looking up! Isn't that just the sweetest face? Meet my grandpuppy, Chevy. April started out with me flunking my annual mammogram. Without sharing "too much information", let me say it was 3 1/2 weeks of scheduling, having, and waiting for the results of further tests.  I was a wreck!  Long story short - I am fine!  My public service announcement?  Get your annual mammogram, ladies.  It's an important test! Just a few days after the dust settled, a couple of issues came up at the Cottage.  Meet our new bathroom sink faucet knob: My poor husband went to turn off the hot water and the knob came off in his hand.  Once again, to make a long story short, the stem is shot and we need a new one - not so easy to find with a vintage sink that has a slant where the faucet assembly is located.  We found a handyman who appreciates this bathroom and is helpin...