The Apple Street Cottage

It's the end of August and so many wonderful things are happening in the garden...like this: Don't you just LOVE fresh produce?  My little garden has been good to us this season and I've been able to freeze some of it to enjoy this winter. My flower gardens are flourishing.  If you remember, the cottage had absolutely no landscaping, so I had a blank slate.  Here are a few glimpses of the flowers: Then my mum from last fall started to bloom: And this showed up: I've been enjoying Summer so much this year that I'm just not ready for Fall yet.  Like it or not, I'm afraid the two seasons are about to collide.   How about you?  Are you ready for Fall or do you want to squeeze out a few more weeks of Summer? Linking to: Merry Monday Table It Amaze Me Monday Make It Pretty Monday Inspire Me Tuesday Grandma Ideas

With the front door painted a bright, cheery yellow, it was time to paint the shutters and give the cottage a new look, until we took them off and discovered this: Yes, my friends, that is rotten wood.  The shutters were original to the house and the only thing holding them together was the paint - MANY layers of paint.  It was time for a new plan.   We could: repair the original shutters - not a viable option. make new wood shutters like the originals - a lot of work. replace the shutters with a vinyl in a similar style..... ...and then we walked across the street and looked at the house.  My husband said, "You know, I kinda like this 'no shutters' look".  I immediately said, "no way!", but then we started to talk about it.   We both agreed if there would be no shutters, the frame around the windows needed some color.  The shutters were going to be a dark blue, but we both agreed the window frames needed a lighter color. After lo...

Everytime I did, I thought, "Man, this thing needs help!" and help it got: I chose a bright, cheery yellow. Here's the "before" shot: If you've been following, you'll remember the rescreening project - which was just the beginning.  You can read that story HERE .  The rest of the door needed some TLC, which is evidenced here: After scraping and sanding... Did I mention the scraping? The driveway was a mess! After finishing the screen door, the main door also needed some attention.  It didn't need a lot of scraping and sanding, but it did need an update - it was white: Not anymore! The transformation is striking, don't you think? From here, we're moving on to the shutters.  My hubby has been painting the house, so stay tuned for the cottage's new look! Have a wonderful week and thanks for stopping by! Linking to: That DIY Party Amaze Me Monday Merry Monday Make It Pretty Mon...

UPDATE: We had a visit from the niece and nephew of the original owners of our house. Tim had seen a lot of the work we've done, but this was the first time his sister had been here since we bought it. When she saw the photo of their aunt & uncle in the dining room she blew them a kiss, turned to me, with tears in her eyes, and said, "Thank you for having them here".  It touched my heart...  Keep in mind, this couple built this house in 1931 and were the only people to live in it previous to us.  Fran lived to be 101 and was loved by all who knew her.  We feel honored to live in their house. I thought I'd share a little bit of history along with a recycled frame. Apparently, there is entirely too much light in the dining room, because it was impossible to get a good shot of this frame and photo - glare everywhere! Meet the original owners of The Cottage: This was the only angle that had very little glare. Here's a close-up of the pic: Me...

It's summer at the Cottage and one of my favorite pastimes is to sit on the front porch enjoying the warm weather with a good book and a glass of iced tea.   Here's the chair that my husband painted white for me: It needed a cushion, so I grabbed an old one and some bargain bin fabric and made one.  You may remember me doing this for the rocker on the side porch.  Check HERE . I had some extra fabric, so I got out a travel pillow that was hiding in the closet and made a pillow, too!  Here's a close-up: The porch tour wouldn't be complete without a peek at the flowers: You may remember this upcycle from a few weeks ago.  If you missed it, check it out HERE . Impatiens in a basket by the door. Geraniums in the apple basket. Morning Glories in hanging baskets. The Summer Porch. I'm in the middle of choosing colors for the front door and shutters. They both need scraping and painting desperately!  I'm thinking yel...

Last week, Kimberley at Seaside Ave nominated me for the Liebster Award.  This award is German in origin and is a great way for bloggers to "pay it forward" and make new friends in Blogland. Thank you so much, Kimberley.  Let's get started on the details: The Official Rules Of The Liebster Award  If you have been nominated for The Liebster Award AND YOU CHOOSE TO ACCEPT IT, write a blog post about the Liebster award in which you: 1. thank the person who nominated you, and post a link to their blog on your blog. 2. display the award on your blog — by including it in your post and/or displaying it using a “widget” or a “gadget”. (Note that the best way to do this is to save the image to your own computer and then upload it to your blog post.) 3. answer 11 questions about yourself, which will be provided to you by the person who nominated you. 4. provide 11 random facts about yourself. 5. nominate 5 – 11 blogs that you feel deserve the award, who h...

For those of you who love antiques/old things, there is that one thing you've always wanted.  For me, it was a card catalog and I wanted to make it into a coffee table.  I've been actively looking for a few years now and I've had no luck.  Either I just can't find one, or when I do, it's REALLY expensive.  My theory is:  "If you can't get it for a good price, it's not worth getting".   A few weeks ago, we had lunch with some friends.  In the course of the conversation, I mentioned that I was looking for a card catalog. My friend looked at me and said, "I have one in the garage, you can have it."  I nearly fell over!  When I saw it, I couldn't believe the shape it was in - take a look: Pretty sweet, huh? I have to admit, the top was dirtier than this picture shows.  My husband had already started cleaning it with some rubbing compound by the time I took these photos.  The little square thing on the top was where a pen ha...