Hello Ladies! Well, that big yellow bus came and took my busy life away for a bit, lol... With the kids back in school it's time to catch up on my blogging and visiting again. I see by all your updates and new posts, that I've missed a lot, but I intend to catch up quick :) I hope you all had a wonderful last few weeks of summer! It's nesting time here at the Cottage. A few posts ago I showed you some pieces I worked on for my bedroom make-over, while it's still going slow, the painting is done and my fabrics and inspiration quilts have led me to a few more pics to show you... I had a yellow/gold Tuscan bedroom before, if you scroll down the bottom of my side bar ( pretty far, lol ) you'll see the "before", not bad , but kinda dark for me... So the Bedroom is now pale blue and soft greens, soft reds, rose, and lots of white lace and eyelet , mixed with creams too... I love mixing white and cream, it makes it all blend so well.... These are the walls below, very soft and light for a change.....ps: That's my Christening gown in the middle :)
The end table on the left is currently black, but give me a free weekend soon and it will be Cream with white trim, lol... The piece over my headboard is a shelf I got years ago and I just adore it, I think I cut it off in the picture, but when the room is all done, I'm going to take a wide shot of it all.
I put Hydrangeas and all my children's baby cups on it to sweeten it up :)
The 3 quilts on the bed are what inspired me to pick my colors, I love all the pale colors with pops of a deeper red in the roses...It's hard to tell in the pics, but the red is actually stronger in person.
I bought this lamp for my daughter a few years back, but stole it back when she "modernized" her bedroom to a "teen" room :) I just adore milk glass and hobnail lamps!
I replaced the heavy curtains that were gold silk and added fresh white lace, so when the breeze comes in, they blow so pretty and light...The detail in the lace is so pretty, if you click the picture it will expand and you can see :) I had this dresser from my Grandfather and it was dark and dreary with old wooden knobs, so I striped it and let the natural wood color come through with a clear varnish on top. I love mixing painted furniture with natural honey toned woods in the same space. It gives it a bit more warmth...
The bed skirt is new too, a really soft linen in a pale blue, I wish it was 1" longer though, so I might add a lace trim to the bottom :)
This wall is so simple, but I think that's what I like about it, But I do plan on adding black and white photos above that peg strip, I think just 3 of the kids, but again, it's gotta wait till another free day :) I hope you enjoyed my little tour, I will certainly take more as it's completed.
Now on to one more thing for the week, this isn't related to my room at all, but instead a new obsession of mine and I wanted to know if you feel the same :) Recipe Boxes?? I don't know about you, but with Fall coming my heart will inevitably go back to cooking! But I have one problem, while I LOVE my cookbooks, a recent gift I gave my best friend is calling me back to the times of recipes on cards and all in one place ...A "Recipe Box"....I'm thinking I could spend an entire day ( yeah right, lol ) and sit down with every recipe I want to cook and every recipe written on loose leaf paper or index cards stuffed into the cookbooks I have and transfer them all to a sweet little recipe box :) ? Do you have one? any tips on a fast way to do it, lol? Here are just a few I have, but I want them on nice card stock now with a matching cottage pattern, I can't seem to find the "perfect" recipe box or cards, so if any of you know of an online shop or a place I can get them, let me know. I'd so appreciate it! I like the card at the bottom of this post, but maybe something a little more "kitchen cottage"??
I have a feeling it's quite an undertaking, but I think I'd love to pull out one box every day, see old , new,and handed down recipes right in one place. 
My new little obsession actually started last week with my best friends Birthday present ( below ) ...She asked that I give her all my recipes that she had enjoyed at my home and could they please be in a recipe box so she could add some of her own and have the collection. But yikes, lol, then she asked me to decoupage it too, but I couldn't find a box the perfect size to fit the pretty recipe cards I had bought for her, soooooo, I ended up buying the box they sold separately but coordinated with the cards and added a few decoupaged things on it to fit her style.... It's got a pattern that was perfect for her kitchen. So off it went in a gift bag and as I handed it to her, I joked that I wanted to do one for myself. Only problem is, I want the colors to match my own kitchen, lol, I have yet to find one in Cornflower blue, red cherries , or anything like that. When I do, I will feel complete :) lolHere is Dori's recipe box : Happy Birthday sweetie :)
Now I just need one too! :)
Well, I've shared an obsession and my Bedroom re-do, now I can't wait to go see what you all have been sharing!! Thanks so much for stopping in girls! Your comments and friendship mean everything to me!
Hugs and Gratitude always!~ Cynthia ~