Merry Christmas To You All!

From my family to yours.....

....we wish you a Christmas filled with all the things that matter most!

peace, love and hugs,

Antique Books, Flowers, and Twine

Has anyone been to Restoration Hardware lately?

I love some things about their new look, like their use of linen,

and reclaimed wood pieces.

I would say over all that the store has lost me.

Even though most of RH's furniture is oversized and over priced,

I still did enjoyed shopping there and there was always something

that was well within my price range.

I loved the quality and the old retro touches they had,

as well as interesting cleaning and kitchen gadgets.

But this last visit was a disappointment.

I did however spy these old antique books with the covers torn off.

The colours of the old pages speak to me, and I really think they'd look beautiful any place

you choose to put them.

But who needs RH to rip the covers off of old books when I can easily do that myself.

I'm sure I can round up a few old books and some string for less than the $29 US price tag.

So I left for home on a mission to tear covers off my old book collection, but of course by the time I got home I had forgotten about the idea it completely.

(So much is going on at home these days that forgetting about creative ideas is easily done.)

Then I came across this post at one of my favorite blogs, My Sweet Savannah, that reminded me of this idea in the nicest way! She adds such a sweet, flea market twist to these old books -

and actually I like hers so much better than the ones at Restoration Hardware.

Aren't they beautiful?

My sister and I split a box of old books that we found while out at a garage sale a few weeks ago.

I got these three sweet books but I couldn't for the life of me bring myself to pull the covers off.

I added a forgotton old flower pin of my grandma's, a little twine, and wha- la!

I think they go beautifully together!

How do you display your old books?

I'm linking up to "Make it 4 Mondays"

at my friend Cindy's blog,

"Cottage Instincts".

Please pop over and visit!

I'm Almost Back!

Tomorrow my baby starts Kindergarten!

(I promise I'm not gonna cry.)

The thought of having the time to finish a thought seems like a luxury to me.

Yes, I LOVE my kids ...

but who could blame me for being excited about having a few hours each day to myself.

After all I will probably be doing laundry and breakfast dishes anyhow.

I hope all your back-to-schools go smoothly!

Talk soon!

If Only My Life Had a Pause Button!

Wondering what I've been doing or where I've been?

We began the month with a year end stage performance and movie premiere!

My husband started a drama and film school for kids and teens a couple of years back.

It's been a big hit in our area - feel free to check it out here if you are interested.

Then we filled up the middle of the month with summer swim club, which includes everyday practices, and for us water polo, diving and swim meets!

My middle son's first swim meet. He did really well and I am very proud!

For my daughter, swim meets are all about hanging out with friends.

(She is an awesome swimmer too!)

I watched a Grumpy Old Troll in the Three Billy Goat's Gruff!

Then ended the month with my youngest son's preschool graduation!

I'm really excited about this - my kids will actually all be at the same school for one year!

Yeah!

Then I made costumes for an Eighties party.

Decorating the school gym!

Organizing a class gift for three teachers.

Got kids to year end picnics and barbeques.

Attended a school BBQ and a movie night.

Not to mention a leaky water heater, van repairs, fundraising......

If you're a Mom you know what I mean - please give yourself a pat on the back and pour yourself a big glass of wine for surviving June!

What now?

I am headed up here....

It's time to get the gear out of the attic! - We're going camping!

And when I get there I'm gonna read this!

Happy summer to you all!

My Simple Homespun Look

I went to our local fabric store and found a lovely little bolt of tea-towel fabric.

It reminds me of the beautiful vintage grain sack table runners

that I see being sold all over the internet for a fortune.

I'm loving the way it looks and it comes with the sides already pre-hemmed.

Check out this find!

Well this find isn't even mine but it's worth blogging about.

My sister got this little old scale at a garage sale for a buck!

Can you believe it?

Some people have all the luck!

I love it!!!

P.S. I think my sister secretly wants a blog,

but for now I am happy to show off her finds as well!

Speaking of Ladders...

Don't you see beautiful old chippy ladders in books, magazines and blogs and just drool?

I do!

For years I've been thinking I'd find the perfect wooden ladder at a garage sale, but sadly I never did.

The day I went to Donna's open house I made a quick stop along the way and found this beauty!

She was just sitting there in the rain with a $10 tag on here amongst a pile of other "junk".

She was mine!

You gotta admit she is sweet - as far as ladders go!

I love the touches of rust, the blue-green paint, and even the tiny bits of pink.

But now what???

I searched the internet for inspiration and came up with this.....

source - a rustic garden

I love the simplicity of the two horizontal ladders.

source - Women's Day

And this - the nicest pot rack I've ever seen.

source - Women's Day

I love this one!

Simple, bright, functional, fun, and junky... what more could you ask for?

source - networx

I even love these metal ladders... though they wouldn't work in my house.

source - Decorating Junk Market Style - you should read this one!

(Excuse the horrible photo, I photographed a page in a book.)

Look how the ladder is mounted onto the wall, and on each rung there is a shelf made from vintage heat vent covers. So clever!

So with all my new found inspiration

I dusted off the old ladder and brought her into my house.

First I propped her up right here...

Not bad.

I tried to add a few nicknacks but the rungs need to be level for that!

So I moved her to here.....

Well a beautiful ladder like this one would look good anywhere but

this wasn't doing it for me either...

So I moved it again.

If I can't balance nicknacks, maybe hanging things is the way to go.

I dug out some retro bedding that I love and ....

although I like this to look at... I really would have to completely redo our bedroom...

this was just too much of a new direction!

So I plopped her here and I am quite happy with the simplicity of this.

I'm sure she's just happy to be inside!

I'm linking up with Donna's Saturday Night Special Ladder themed party.

Care to join?

Catch of the Day

Today's fishing expedition was successful indeed!

It was one of those days where I was not too hopeful about what might be out there and almost considered not going out... so glad I did!

Here's what I found.....

A bunch of vintage doorknobs (I've wanted to find some for a long time!)

I've been on the hunt for some old books to decorate with and found these!

I am so excited about these little gems.

They are children's school books some as old as 1836!!!

My favorite is called, "Arithmetic for the Slate"!

The best part is they were $2!!!!!

Can you have enough crocks?

I searching for a carboy ever since the Pottery Barn Catalouge came out with them for $256 US. I knew I could do better - I found this baby for $5!

And this wicker chair will most likely end up in my bedroom somewhere.

perhaps with a new coat of paint and maybe even

a granny square throw slung over the side....

we'll see.

Did you get any good finds this weekend?

A Fun Mother's Day Word Gift

My eight year old came home from school and told me about a fun website called

www.wordle.net

He made a fun word collage out of Pokeman names in computer class.

I immediately thought it would be fun to use this sight to make my mom something for

Mother's Day with all the words I could use to describe her.

It was super easy to do and you can play around with the colour and fonts as well.

Here is what I came up with.....

I think I will use it for a Mother's Day card but this could be fun to use in so many ways!

(A little tip my boy told me - the more times you type a word the larger it will appear. So less important words type once, more important words type two or three times. Good luck creating!)

Hidden Treasures of May

Lilies of the Valley are one of my favorite flowers.

For some reason or other I had forgotten that my ten year old flower-loving daughter

had planted these during her Flower Fairy phase.

Luckily today I noticed a dainty little white bell peeking out from behind it's big green leaves.

Almost missed these little treasures this year as this was all that was left for us to enjoy.

Looking forward to seeing you next year!

Collecting for my Someday Cottage

I don't know why but I am always drawn to Granny squares! Whenever I see a granny square throw at the thrift store I always pick it up and walk around with it for the duration of my browsing and then somehow I talk myself out of bringing it home.

Well today I finally bought one and a lovely little white vintage-ish chenille bedspread too!

A cheerful, homey pair.

And I'm loving the look of them!

I have no idea where I will put these two beauties, but if I ever get my cottage I'll be ready!

Have I Missed the Mark?

Well it all started innocently enough.....

I was just flipping through the PB catalogue and saw this....

and this...

So I thought to myself,

"I should look on craigslist and see if anyone has any old wine making bottles."

So I checked craigslist, and sure enough right down the road someone did!

I made the arrangements to check them out and came back with this....

I sent this photo to my sister at work.

I was all excited about my great find.

Then my phone rings, it's my sister......

"Cath, why did you send me a photo of your recycling?"

Clearly she doesn't get me!!

I spend the afternoon cleaning them out,

then I display them proudly on my big old dresser!

Is anyone thinking this is a few too many!

(And this is only a few of them.)

My husband did!

His first comment was,

"What's with all the bottles?"

He doesn't get me either!

So now I've whittled it down to this.....

and this...

Ever get the feeling that you've missed the mark?

This dresser needs something and it's so darn huge!

Maybe a funky old chippy mirror perched above it?

Obviously, I need some candles, and a few flowers and some help.

Any suggestions?

Please excuse the laundry hanging out of the bottom drawer.....

Oops, How'd I miss that?

By the way, if you are looking to collect a few old bottles of your own try using the word

"demijohn" or "carboy" in your search.

(Wine making terms for large bottle and larger bottle!)

Or you could just e-mail me, I think I have a few to spare!