Bird Nest Cottage

A weekend project for my men...

 

Nicholas is here for the weekend and if I can get him to stop playing games, he and his Papa are going to build something for his Mom and me.

I saw something similar to this when Penny and I shopped in Hendersonville this week.  Ours won't be antiques but they'll be made with lots of love.

 

They are each going to use these screen door trim pieces and 2 pieces of poplar that I bought.

 

I don't know when they'll finish these but I'll be posting them when they are finished. 

Can you guess what they're making?

Thanks for reading,

Gretchen

A real cooking kitchen...

 

I believe my Mother used to keep mail in this wooden box in her kitchen.

 

We love to keep our oil and vinegar handy for cooking.

Thanks for reading.

Gretchen

A day in Hendersonville, NC with Penny

 

I met Penny of The Comforts of Home and Lavenderhill Studiofor a day in Hendersonville.

We spent about 2 hours in this store.  If I hadn't been with Penny I would have gotten lost.......a lot.  It was huge.

 

The restaurant where we had lunch was called the Never Blu Restaurant.  They had delicious sandwiches, soup and salads.

 

We had lunch right next to some "Red Hat" ladies.

 

Hendersonville is famous for its art and this is a mosaic bear from several years ago that is in one of the squares.  It was fun to be with a mosaic artist who can show you all the quality of the work.

 

Look at the adorable pockets on the back of his overalls.

We continued on to visit several more antique shops.  Up stairs, down stairs, up stairs, down stairs.  Penny's in great shape.  I need that knee replacement badly.  Several times I looked at canes and thought seriously about buying one.

Thanks for reading,

Gretchen

A new dog...

 

No Mr. Bird Nest hasn't gone crazy and let me get a real dog.  (I wish!)  I was out antiquing today and this was what I came home with.

 

Tomorrow I'll tell you where I was and who I spent the day with.

Thanks for reading.

Gretchen

New pillows for chairs...

 

Well, these are the pillows I made from the Waverly fabric I bought at Pottery Place.  I think they'll be very comfy to prop my knee on.

 

I tried to reverse the fabric to give it a little change.

 

I've still got fabric left over and my plan for part of what is left, is to make little pillows and blankets for Chloe and Lauren's dolls.

Thanks for reading,

Gretchen

Succulents the easy way...

 

I found these two little succulents at Pier 1 yesterday.  They had been $5.00 each but were down to $1.98 each.

 

I wish I could grow plants all winter like my friend Brenda Kula at  http://viewfromthepines.wordpress.com/  but I don't have the weather she does.  Also, there is no window in this bathroom so it is impossible to grow anything.

 

I already had the little white box on the wall and the little carriers for the plants fit perfectly.

 

Don't the plants look real? 

Thanks for reading,

Gretchen

T

Our own Jackie Chan...

 

Carson, who just turned five, has begun Tae Kwon Do classes.

 

His Dad, Chris, has been studying Wing Chun for about 9 years, so I should have known Carson would follow along.  After this picture I was recruited to hem the pants of his uniform.

Carson seems to have his eyes on his cute instructor, if I'm not mistaken.

Thanks for reading,

Getchen

New pillows...

 

Mr. Bird Nest had the day off today and wanted to go to Fresh Market this morning.  He wanted to get a pork roast to cook on Sunday and some filet migon for Saturday night.  It's a wonderful grocery store and since it's not close to our house, we usually splurge when we go there.

Since he was in such a non-thrifty mood (a rarity at our house) I mentioned that I would like to stop at The Pottery Place if he had time.  I got these two pieces of Waverly fabric (2 yds. of the plaid and 4 1/2 yds. of the flowered.

 

I already had these pillow forms.  I need to make a few pillows for my back and my knee for after my surgery. 

 

I should be able to make some fun combinations with these fabrics that will work in either of the bedrooms or office/den.

Thanks for reading,

Gretchen

An rainy afternoon with Earl Grey...

 

No, I haven't left Mr. Bird Nest for another man, I'm just enjoying my favorite tea and a great old book.

 

At least Spring must be on the way.  I made a trip out yesterday and saw daffodils.  It's so much fun this time of year when something new is  blooming almost every day.

 

Thanks for reading,

Gretchen

Gardener's Diary...

 

I always think in the spring that I will start to look through the Burpee catalog and make my yard plans for the summer.

 

My major plan for this year is to buy, paint white and place 2 cedar Adirondack chairs and a table by the maple tree to the left of our house.

Thanks for reading,

Gretchen