AGA Decorating.

Every year, we love to put a bit of Christmas in the

kitchen. This is how we decorate our AGA ~ with

our own version of "Elf on the Shelf" ~ all in green.

And a pretty wreath and vintage wine bottle. In the

corner on the counter is a print of a Christmas scene

and I'll add in a tiny wreath on my canisters. Cheery!

Do you decorate your kitchen for the holidays?

~ Chy

More Decorating.

More decorating has been slowly taking

place around the cottage. Little snowman

continue to pop up in various spots. Some

at the front door, some on comfy chairs, a

few on shelves and one on the piano. We

tend to leave our decorations up until mid

February, but I am feeling a bit late this

year with my decor placements. Usually

we're done by now but with my recovery

and so many activities, we're still at it. No

one will know we were a bit late on this.

No one, except all of you. Just our secret!

Are all your decorations out and ready?

~ Chy

Our 2023 Tree.

Isn't it so sweet? So sparkly and giving

me something to gaze at all day long!

~ Chy

Early Decorating.

We're having some beautiful weather and I have a surgery coming up, so we took advantage of another warm afternoon and started to do our outside decorating. Often we do this in October but this year, with the warm, extended Fall, it felt okay to wait a bit longer. Now that Halloween is over, all those decorations came down and up went our wreaths, some garlands on the front veranda and our two tiny trees in front of the door. Our lights stay up all year round but we'll add in our inflatables, more garland and some sweet items to make the entrance warm and inviting to any guests we welcome over the holidays. Looking forward to a lovely season this year and all the new memories that will be created in our little cozy cottage.

                Have you started your decorating yet?

                                      ~ Chy

The Dining Room.

A few shots of our pretty dining room. We're still on

the hunt for the perfect curtains. For now, as we live

in the forest, no curtains are just fine. I think in time,

this room will be welcoming with curtains and a rug.

Do you have a formal dining room?

If you do, is it used often or sometimes?

~ Chy

Blogtober: Day 25.

Decorating the cottage in the Fall is one

of my very favorite seasons to highlight.

Warm colors, childhood memories and

items from the garden or the forest. It's

a look that makes our tiny abode so cozy

and welcoming. Are you ready for Fall?

~ Chy

Decorating.

Excited to finally get our decorating

underway. Tomorrow is rink day and

then in the evening, finishing up the

trees that are set around the cottage.

How is your decorating coming along?

Started or thinking about it or finished?

~ Chy

Blogtober: Day 16.

I decided to try and decorate the fireplace this Fall.

It doesn't get hot at the bottom so it's safe. Love it!

~ Chy

Fall in the Cottage.

We've started decorating the cottage

for Fall and bought a pair of "Spiced

Pumpkin" candles for the mantel. I

love the scent and the very Fall colors.

~ Chy

Tiny Progress.

My vintage cabinet is now ready for

items that will make it homey and filled.

A sweet banner of vintage fabrices,

a framed print of Angels and my teddy.

Between the two cozy chairs are framed

art and needlework to go up on the walls.

A close up of the top shelf. I did move the

banner up a bit after I took the photo so it

didn't hang down so very low. My teddy was

a gift from a child who came through the grief

program and she wanted me to have a soft,

tiny stuffy with a stitched heart with the idea

that I will always remember her, which I do

each time I look at it. Her heart warmed mine

greatly. She will and is doing well. I often

receive gifts and cards from kids. So loved!

That's it for the progress on creating my new

space at hospice for now. I'm not working

this week as it's Spring Break, then Easter,

and I am enjoying a week at home for now.

More updates once I'm back at work. I'm

almost done this space! Have a great week.

~ Chy

'Tis the Season.

More than ever this year, we are excited

to start decorating for Christmas. The

big snow has arrived, our shopping for

gifts is well underway, lists are made

for sending cards and making goodies.

Now we just need the decor! We're off

this week from work and school and in

between a bit of DIY around the house,

we're also bringing up bins from lower

level and the garage. The tree is tucked

away in the window seat and will likely

come out by the weekend. Technically,

it is the year we buy a real tree. We'll

see how Covid #'s are. So much fun!

Are you getting ready to start decorating?

~ Chy

Fall Decorating.

When I decorate for Valentine's Day,

Family Day, St. Patrick's Day, Easter,

Spring and July 1st, it's a pretty simple

process. Inside or outside, it's very fast!

But for Fall, Thanksgiving, Halloween

and Christmas, decorating the cottage,

both inside and out, takes FOREVER!

I really don't mind and quite enjoy the

process. The final outcome is always so

worth it. I hope you like the start of our

Fall Decorating. Just the beginning but

soon it will look like a colorful backdrop.

Do you decorate for Fall?

Have you begun the process?

~ Chy

Filling the Space.

Finally had a few moments the other day to start to fill up the sofa table under the big window in our family room. The banker's lamp was a gift from dh's dad. The lace is from my gramma's stash. The tiny fairy garden on the left was bought at a local greenhouse a few years ago. The green ceramic basket was a thrift store find. It's been part of my Fall mantel, as well as for Christmas. Finally, the plant that I had up in the bookcase I've moved down to the sofa table for more light. In just two days, the leaves are already greener and the tendrils have started to stand tall again. Good move.

Quiet night after a very long and busy work day. Tomorrow we have hockey in the morning with our little guy, a visit to see my mom and then I'm homing the rest of the day and evening at home. I've got a letter to write, some festival work to organize and two books are sitting on the bench waiting to be cracked open! "Becoming" by Michelle Obama and "The Dakota Winters" by Tom Barbash. Both look like great reads. It was chilly today so if it's the same tomorrow, an afternoon warm bath with a good book might be part of my agenda for the day. We'll see how it goes. Wish me luck!

What are your plans for Sunday?

Will it be a nice, quiet, relaxed day?

~ Chy

Halloween Cookies.

 

Dh decided he needed cookies for when

his buds were coming over for a recording.

Dd, aka mama, is the expert cake baker

and decorator in the house and joined in.

Grandbaby was happy to help out with

decorating once the mama did the icing.

Cookies were a great hit, the night before

Halloween, while they recorded a podcast.

Did you have cookies on Halloween?

Or just chocolate and sweet candy?

~ Chy

Window Scape.

Most people right now are figuring out lovely

table scapes for Thanksgiving. Me? I'm figuring

out vignettes around the house for Fall. How do

you like my little "window scape?" Isn't it sweet?

~ Chy

Christmas Mantel.

A late shot of our Christmas Mantel this year.

I need to add a few taller items on either side.

This year, we're doing a bit of a minimalist

look through the house. Just enough to be

in the spirit of the Season. Enough but not

too much that it's pain later to take it all down.

Are you a bit of a minimalist this year?

Or is your house full of holiday colors?

~ Chy

Festive Carousel.

Has breakfast with my mom the other

day and on the way out, spotted this.

A sweet carousel the staff has put out

with all the other amazing decorations

they have placed. The centre itself is

so beautiful but Christmas is amazing.

~ Chy

Another View.

I'll apologize in advance but between

my IG account, my FB account and my

blog, there will likely be many pictures

of our tree this year. Truthfully, it's not

even decorated yet! But the ornaments

are now laying on a quilt on the floor,

ready to be placed. So here is one more

picture before it's all adorned and amazing.

~ Chy

A New Trend.

We bought our first house back in 1984 and one of the things that endeared us to buy the tiny home was the wallpaper in the nursery.

Over the years, we would decorate with wallpaper in different rooms. It was the trend then. Some rooms, we used a border and other rooms would have wallpaper on all walls. We used it sparingly for enhancing. Then wallpaper stopped being a "thing" and we ended up stripping off any remaining remnants and painting all the walls instead. It was fresh and light and we liked the new trend then. Until now ....

Now, 6 houses later and out in the country, and guess what is making a return? Wallpaper. We won't be putting it through the house as we tend now to ignore trends. But we have one space though that after a lot of thought, we've decided it does need some lovely paper to make it a warm and cozy room to be in. The room? Our main floor 1/2 bath, with 9 foot ceilings and a very loud echo noise. We came up with a plan,  searched and searched for months for the right design and today, we ordered our wallpaper. Best thing ever, as instead of having to order from the U.S., with extra duty, exchange rate and taxes, we were able to order from a local store and today, they had a 50% off sale! Bonus and so worth the wait. Here's what we chose: 

It should be here in 2 weeks and then we can start making this tiny, cold, loud room a warm and cozy spot. I'll be doing some before then after pictures and hope you enjoy the reveal once we're ready to show it off. So excited to add some additional classic touches to our new home. 

Spring Dreaming.

Welcome to the first day of Spring! I love this time of year when the days become longer, the sun brighter and our landscape comes alive with buds, birds and bees. Inside the house, I'm truly anxious to get outside and start our very first vegetable garden. However, here in Canada, it's going to take a while before we can start to "Spring" up our yard. For now, I'm content in decorating the inside of our home, brightening our space, while we wait for the green outside to hurry up. 

Building a new house is not a cheap venture, so we've been very careful and deliberate with our decorating. It takes time to decide where to place furniture, giving space for moving items around to try different configurations. Time to play with the decor we've accumulated over the years. And time to ensure we like what we have, as we have to live with our choices for a very long time. I'm a firm believer in not buying the cheapest piece of furniture or accessories but to invest in good solid items that will last through the years. That being said, it's always fun to add a new piece or two each season. I'm done my Spring cleaning and purging, so now I'm ready to figure out what I have for this bright season and what might be missing. In this month of bright and light, Wayfair asked bloggers to share their tips for Spring decorating and I've decided to join in by showing what I've found for our new home. Sometimes it's hard to determine what would look the best with our current stash so I'm very thankful for sites like Wayfair that not only have a million and one items (my guesstimate of course) to choose from, but they include wonderful articles on the site and a great spot to create your own Dream Board that will help you to find ways to brighten your home for Spring. 

For Spring, we're currently adding lace curtains to all our windows and that has really softened our home's look. Now I'm searching for some great area rugs to create a kinder landing for a feet. Our wood floors are lovely but having a carpet here and there is our next wish. In my board above, I found a wonderful patterned rug that comes in a variety of sizes, including a runner for our hall. The mix of brown and ivory fits so well with our color palette. I also found a light lilac rug that would be amazing in our guest bedroom. And some sweet accessories that are just so "Springy!" A rack with 3 terra cotta pots filled with lavender, a set of 3 bottles with whimsical touches and a vintage themed mirror for our back hall. Love them all! Finally, I chose a light sage colored coverlet set. Our current quilt set on our bed is my favorite of all time but because we have a Cali King, it doesn't hang down as low on the sides as we'd like. A coverlet set underneath would solve this problem and the one I chose above has a beautiful pattern. It would look so finished with the quilt on top, the coverlet in the middle and our lovely ruffled bed skirt down to the ground.

Wayfair always has great sales and now that I have my wish list set, I'll create our budget (frugal as it is) and then I'll be checking back often to see when the items I've chosen will be on sale. Until then, I can "Spring Dream" my wishes while I work with what we currently have. Hop over to Wayfair and put together your own Dream Board to create the light and bright Spring theme you'd like to see in your home. You won't be disappointed in your search. It's fun to look for items that complement your current decor and provide inspiration for your dreams.