The Cottage Around the Corner

From me to you....have a wonderful new year!!!

Battling depression...losing some and winning some. It has been really hard to get motivated to do anything. I felt as though all the sunlight had been sucked out of my life.  All the air felt stale...nothing fresh or alive seemed to exist. I felt like a foreigner in the world...like I did not belong.

Then one day, I remembered how I used to read blogs. There are some blogs that are like sunlight in themselves. The ones that always impart a sense of beauty to simple, every day tasks and objects. Blogs like www.deardaisycottage.typepad.com where Kim has the gift of making everything seem more beautiful. Even laundry at her house sounds enjoyable. A simple cup of coffee more delicious in a lovely, bright colored coffee cup.

And if you are looking for delicious food, look no further than www.bunnysovencom.blogspot.com as she has the most wonderful recipes. They will make you feel warm and safe. They nurture you in the way food is meant to nurture you.

Another blog filled with beauty and color would be www.cherryhillcottage.typepad.com, a place of cottage joy. A place of innocence and simplicity. Color is not used sparingly here and I believe that between this blog and Kim's Daisy Cottage, there is no way you can leave without at least cracking a smile.

If you are looking for romantic beauty then you will most certainly enjoy www.bunnyrosecottage.blogspot.com. Amy has a passion for bunnies and anything shabby chic. She recently bought a new home with her love and they are restoring and decorating it. As gifted as she is, I look forward to seeing how it all turns out. Although, I will admit to being jealous.... but then you will be too when you see her sitting room. Did I mention she has ANOTHER sitting room, too? See? I told you that you would be jealous.

There are quite a few other blogs out there that aided me in the time where I felt I was so lost, and I will share them with you every friday. It amazes me how people can find such beauty in what some would call a mundane task. Manuella at www.thepleasuresofhomemaking.blogspot.com always has the most creative and beautiful ways of turning something from an ugly duckling to something that looks like a heirloom treasure. Even cleaning to her becomes beautiful.

So now you know where I have been, what I have been dealing with. You also now know some of the blogs that helped me remember the sunlight and the fresh air breeze, the scent of life. I hope you will also enjoy these as much as I have and will find, or begin to find, the joys in simplicity. May you enjoy the fresh scent of snow, the soft glow of candlelight and the warmth of family and friends. Remember that although you may not find your blog to be deep and meaningful, there are others that will find solace and warmth in the simple lines that you express. Nothing is lost that cannot be found. Nothing is spoken that someone does not hear. The most important thing to remember is that no one is alone.

Why do I love frogs!! Because they eat BUGS!! I strongly dislike bugs. I am arachnophobic, maybe even bugaphobic. I once had my neighbor from across the street come over to my house to kill a flying bug in my house. It was really ugly. And it freaked me out. Sadly, my 8 year old kills bugs for me.

Back to what I was saying... I love frogs. We have TONS of frogs in our yard. And I am looooving them!! I am not having the crazy bug problems I was having last year. In the hot, humid south, there are way too many bugs!! Some of them are pretty (from a distance and under glass stuck with pins to a display), and some are just the ugliest things you have ever seen. Too many sting and too many bite. We are really enjoying the frog invasion this year. They aren't getting in the way or making a mess, we are just enjoying their bug eating proficiencies. They are growing well, and I am just happy as a lark about them. The kids are enjoying catching them and I now have several requests to get little frog statues for the front and backyard. I must admit, I don't think they would have to twist my arm to convince me of that idea!!

So, I am going to watch the frogs in my yard and maybe even take a coupla pictures. I hope you are having a wondiferous week!! Have a very hoppy tuesday!!!!

 

 

This week, I have a lot to do. Alas, I have a fever and I am sick. Will that stop me? Oh no!!

In fact, this morning I "colorfied" my guest bathroom. It was very pale and pastel, which is pretty, but with two boys that are always covered in dirt... it wasn't very user friendly. So I added splashes of red! Red is my favorite color, so that is no surprise. As soon as I can charge my camera, I will post pictures. I also plan on buying some red and white gingham ruffles (if I can find it) and embellishing my towels with it. I am not a good sewer, so I will use fabric glue. I am sure I will have to make more anyway, as my kids have a way of "discoloring" towels.

I am working on my front porch, but that might take a week or two. That is a couple of painting projects. I have to fix a wicker chair (it decided to unravel) and then paint it, the bookshelf and a table I plan on putting out there. I still need hanging plants, but I can't say I have felt motivated to go to the store since I got sick. That reminds me... I still need garbage bags. Oh, well. We have WalMart bags. And 5 healthy kids that can take it out often.

I also weeded one of my beds. That was an ordeal. Of course, it was a heat index of 100 degrees when I did it and I couldn't possible stop. I had to get it done. Just blame it on my OCD. I still have another long one to do. It is amazing how quickly weeds grow. Why can't my plants grow like that?!?

My daughters made me a beautiful flower arrangement for the table. I tried to put it there, with a lovely tablecloth, but my 21 month old kept trying to knock it all down. No tablescapes for me, unless it's nap time. Oh well. He is cuter than any china! ;0)

I hope that you are having a productive week. Take it easy and stay out of the heat. I will post a pic of the arrangement my daughters made me a little later. See ya!!

I have been trying to figure out how to do the window treatments in my rooms. For 5 years. Seriously. I am indecisive. I get an idea, can't find the stuff and then get stumped. Get another idea, can't find the stuff and get stumped again. I go back and forth. I think I want it one way, then I see another idea from somewhere else. What is a girl to do? So, I have decided to go the
neutral route. Quite unlike me, but I figure when I find the perfect curtains the shades will match. Here are two ideas I found on this site: http://www.greatinteriordesign.com/tag/cottage-window-design/

I think I am leaning a bit more to the bamboo or matchstick blinds. I love the texture and it might save my house from looking like a McDonald's play area. What can I say? I love color. I want my house to be colorful and happy looking for my kids. Actually, if I could convince Kim over at http://www.deardaisycottage.typepad.com/ to trade houses with me, I wouldn't have to worry about it. Hers is perfect, but I lack the ability to look at things objectively and to know when to stop. I guess that is what makes my home mine. It may not be the best dressed, but I love it anyway. Kim recently made a post about not following "rules" of decorating, and I really took it to heart. If I want fake plants (my kids eat the real ones) then I can. I can paint anything any color I want. It's just paint. So, I will take her advice with my window treatments. I will pick which ever ones appeals most to me, "in style" or not. After all, if we don't call the shots in our own house, what's the point??

We have had so much going on lately. My sister in law recently passed away. She was only 33. It has been so hard to think about decorating a house or finding yard sale jewels. So, I went off the grid. I even deleted my blog. Thank goodness for the undelete button.
I have been suffering from major depressive disorder for some time (years...) and have finally found a medication that appears to be helping. It took a week in the hospital but we did it. I was too depressed to start taking it at home since they can apparently affect you to where you can commit suicide if it isn't the right one. Lucky for me, it was. But I still had to spend a week in the hospital.
So, as you can see.... we have had a crazy amount of stuff going on over at the Cottage Around the Corner. Now that I am feeling better, my yard is a disaster!! And the heat index has been over 100 degrees. And I get sun poisoning. Before, this would have left me feeling overwhelmed as to how to complete this task. Now, I feel better equipped to handle it. Yeah, me!! It may take a while, but I keep seeing these beautiful porches and gardens and yards on blogs. Now that I am feeling better, it makes me feel inspired. Come on, you know how it can get. If you have a not so green thumb and you are reading the blog of a master gardener... you can feel a little overwhelmed. Green with envy even. But I won't do it this time. I will let it inspire me to make my yard, porch and gardens the way I want to. During my depression, I forgot what it is like to truly take pride in your home. The chores are less chores and more of an expression of love to your family. A joy to be a caretaker to the home that your family resides in. I lost all of that. But I got it back!! And I am excited!
I may not post all the time, but I do plan on making the posts more meaningful. At least to me. Hey, it is my blog!! ;0) I also plan on starting to point out the blogs that are inspiring me to do something to my home and for my family. And I plan on removing the followers bar. If no one ever reads this blog, I am ok with that. I will enjoy the bliss of ignorance. I don't want to compete with the big designers blogs. I just want to be me.
So, if you actually read all of this, feel free to drop me a line and let me know what you would be most interested in hearing about. You just might be my inspiration!!

The photo from the top is not my porch, although I wish it was. I found it on landscapeliving.com. If it happens to be your porch, please let me know. I would love to give you credit!!!

Happy Mother's Day! I always look forward to Mother's Day. The kids always make the sweetest cards and, of course, the handprints that I get. Those are so precious.
These beautiful yellow roses are blooming so sweetly in my front yard now... well, they were. When my daughters saw how lovely they were, they made a mysterious disappearance. Thankfully there are quite a few more buds... ;0)
I just wanted to make a moment to tell you that I hope you have a lovely mother's day, even if it is a little late in the day. We have been very busy around here, and I have enjoyed soaking up all the extra loves I get on this very special day. I hope yours was as wonderful, if not better, than mine!! There is no more important job in the world that we can do other than to mould these special people we have been given to teach and, of course, love. Days like today make it even more special... especially when they insist on doing special things for me!!
Happy Mother's Day!!