It's Christmas!

~Sometimes, when I read the posts of other bloggers, I ask myself why my posts often sound hostile. Most of the blogs I frequent are filled with beautiful photos and sentiments, often having to do with the season. Mine are often filled with complaints or strong, opinionated feelings. Sort of makes me wonder about myself.
~Anyway...this post is about Christmas and I've linked into one of my favorite blogs.... www.hookedonhouses.net . I've been decorating the house earlier and earlier each year because we head south right after New Years which necessitates dismantling everything in a hurry. I want to enjoy it all for as long as I can. We've had a primitive twig tree for the past ten years or so. Ours is one of the originals so it has almost as many brown twigs as it has branches. I like that about it. Makes it look rustic and natural. Decorating a twig tree poses a bit of a challenge since ordinary Christmas ornaments and decorations don't really suit it. The other issue for me is that our tree sits in our bay window. Lots of light filters through it during the day posing a problem of making it look excessively bare. For many years, I stuffed the bare spots with dried hydrangeas. Loved the way it looked because the hydrangeas turn a golden brown by Christmas time and the color added to the rustic look. But then I read an article about dried hydrangeas being a fire hazard...they go up like tissue paper! So off with them after reading that. I now use dried Marsh Heather, which for some reason, always seems to have some moisture in it. Also bought some artificial hydrangeas that are a deep burgundy that gives the same illusion of the dried ones except they add a bit of color. Add to that the tiny black felt crows I acquired years ago from I think, The Gingham Goose in Rochester, MA, and our tree looks a bit different from any other. A few years past when I found those new, tiny lights on the thin brown wire online, I was thrilled because they are perfect on our tree since there is so much more brown than green. Now, they sell them in primitive shops so I've been able to add more light over the past couple of years.
~My brother-in-law makes fun of our tree each year in a very loving way. "Did you put up that brown tree yet?" he asks each season. Sometimes, I think I keep it decorated as such just to give him something to crank about. One year, I added gold angel hair and I really liked it but I haven't been able to find it again. Another year, I added plaid wool bows but ended up taking them off because they looked too cute. I think I'll just leave it the way it is.
~On another note, the same brother-in-law who jokes about our tree, gave me a sled several years ago, that he had found in my husband's childhood home when things were being sold and thinned out. It was most likely handmade by hubby's great grandfather. It's one of those things I cherish. I actually never put it away...even during the summer months. It has a home in the aforementioned picture window and our family pictures sit on top of it. At Christmas time, I put it out on the front porch leaning up against the batten door that was one of the first things hubby made for me when we bought this old house.
~Although I've always found the Christmas season to be hectic, there are certain things I love. Decorating and gift wrapping are at the top of my list. If I could just find someone to do the shopping for me, I'd be set.
~Here's wishing all of you in blogland a Happy, Healthy, Merry Christmas and a bright and hopeful New Year.

~Be sure to check out our online store at http://www.apronsgonewild.etsy.com/ for some great gift ideas.

I Hate The Phone

~I hate the phone...

~I think that's why I love my computer so much. I love communicating but I hate talking on the phone..it actually gives me a migraine. Phone calls almost never seem to come at a convenient time; they're always an unexpected interruption. Often, I completely forget what I was doing after someone calls. The caller always calls when it's an opportune time for them...not knowing if it's a good time for you! But it rarely stops them.

~Not so with email. It's completely at the discretion of both the sender and the recipient. You send it when it's convenient and you open it when it's convenient. You can think before you write so you almost always say what you want to say. You can verify info before you answer a question so you're rarely caught off guard. I love email. And Facebook is fun for quick comments to friends and family. If I ever made phone calls to comment on things the way I comment on Facebook I'd be disowned. No interruptions...just a glance at the computer screen now and then.

~I have a few friends who prefer phone calls. I don't understand it. I guess they like to talk. I guess they don't get headaches. I guess they don't mind interruptions.

~Not me. Email me anytime. But call me only when you must.

~When I'm not on the computer, I'm usually making aprons. Check us out at

http://www.apronsgonewild.etsy.com/

Please Mr. Sun.....

~Seems I've been neglecting my blog lately. It's just that there's so much to do this time of year. Yard work, fall cleaning, yard work, sewing, yard work. We've had a run of 7 days here on Cape Cod, of wet, rainy, cold, dreary weather. Even once it clears up, the leaf piles will be soaked, the flower beds will be mushy and the pile of cuttings we started before the rain will be a rotten mess.

~Today, I actually raked wet leaves in the rain, just to get some air. I have a chronic need to be outdoors and a week trapped in the house is about all my nerves can take. Oh...I kept busy. I made four new aprons for my online shop (pictured here), refinished the top of the dining room table and coaxed hubby into painting the walls and old wood floor in our little bathroom off the hallway near our bedroom. So the nasty weather week hasn't been wasted.

~But I've had enough of it to last me for a while. Please, Mr. Sun...please come out?

Check us out at http://www.apronsgonewild.etsy.com/

Election Day!

~I'm a nut when it comes to politics. Election day is one of my favorite days no matter what the mood of the country. On this note, I thought it fitting to republish a post I did earlier this year about Politics. Too often, I hear folks say...."I hate politics." Well...not so fast. The political process was set up for a reason. It is up to all of us to exercise our right to vote to keep it in tow and make it work for us. I am perhaps the most cynical person in the world. That cynicism keeps me focused and inquisitive. But I understand the concept of how the system was designed to ebb and flow. The political process can be our friend when we need laws to protect us. It can also be our enemy when it seeks to overreach and stifle our freedoms.
~On this election day, 2010, I've thought it might be a good idea to bring back my post on politics here.

From An Old Floorboard to a Tombstone Cupboard

My thanks to Susan of http://www.betweennapsontheporch.blogspot.com/ for hosting another Metamorphosis Monday and for giving her fellow bloggers a chance to show their stuff!

I sort of put the words metamorphosis and recycle into the same mental category. If I can take an object and turn it into something else rather than dispose of it, I consider it to be recycled...or repurposed as the new generation would say.

My favorite metamorphosis or recycle in our lives is always one that involves the transformation of one of the old, wide, pine floorboards that were taken up from the first floor of our circa 1724 house here on Olde Cape Cod. Would have loved to save them as flooring, but as we all know...water seeks its lowest level. All the flooring on the first floor of our our house was rotted along with the underpinnings. Some of the boards were 23 inches in width...a treasure in my book. We saved what we could and stored the boards in the garage. Over the years, hubby has crafted many things from the nearly 300 year old flooring, but one of my favorites is our pine Tombstone Cupboard. With the exception of the back piece, the entire cupboard is crafted from an old floor board. Hubby drew up his own design based on my requests. I think the result is spectacular...and a very fitting subject for a post at Halloween time since it's called a "Tombstone" cupboard ...get it?

The cupboard provides the perfect home for some of our old pewter pieces. Oddly enough,what I most love about it is the group of holes in the door. The only usable part of the floorboard that was wide enough for a door had holes in it where the floor nails had rotted right through. Hubby didn't want to use it. But eventually I convinced him that the holes actually added character.

We painted our Tombstone Cupboard with Olde Century Colors paint in Greenbriar along with Barn Red on the inside.

It's truly one of my favorite things in our home.


Thought for the day: Welcome the unexpected.... opportunities rarely come in neat predictable packages.


Don't forget to check out our online apron shop at http://www.apronsgonewild.etsy.com/

~Ahhh...Fall. It's always beautiful in New England but especially on
Cape Cod where the sunlight on the water in the morning takes on the look of a gazillion diamonds. Keeping the flower beds and window boxes looking good is a task in the summer with long days of full sun and sparse rainfall. Perfect beach weather but tough on plants.

~This time of year, with shorter, cooler days, the flowers seem to thrive. There's color everywhere. Our sedum plants have taken over the front cottage garden and will have to be removed this year.....but in the meantime, we're enjoying the blast of gorgeous color. Sedum is an odd plant. Its blossoms stay green all summer long and look like little bunches of broccoli. Come the end of August, they slowly start to turn; first a soft pink, graduating to the darker mauve color they are now, soon to become a dark russet. I always leave the seed heads on through the winter because even after they dry and turn dark brown, they look beautiful...especially when snow falls and lands on their pretty faces.

~At the moment, we're enjoying the butterflies and bumble bees that seem intoxicated by the
sedum's gifts. It's all good.

~Working on two aprons for a special order. I don't usually accept special orders but these are for a special friend so an exception is being made. It's a whole different ballgame. Not sure why, but it takes me twice as long to do a special order.

~Ordinarily, making an apron or anything else it like painting a picture to me. It's a ride on the imagination train. When I am confined to specifics like color, size, etc., it becomes work! But, as I said, this special order is for a special person, so I'll not complain.

~Be sure to check out our web page at www.apronsgonewild.etsy.com to see what we have to offer.
And enjoy this beautiful time of year.

Our Tuscan Farm Table

~So one evening while having dinner out on the back deck, someone said, "Wouldn't it be nice to have one of those big Tuscan style farm tables for our big family dinners?" Next thing ya know, hubby built one for us. It's nice and big and sturdy so when the little kids come, they can't lean on it and tip it over. Nice and big for lots of people which is what we usually have here during the summer on Old Cape Cod. Made from pressure treated pine, he joined the top pieces with biscuits and glue and then sealed the seams with something or other. He made two holes to accommodate two umbrellas. There was much discussion about the placement of the holes. We all thought they were too far apart. We came close to taking bets it.

~But...as usual, hubby knew what he was doing and the day that six of us carried the big table out to the back deck, the umbrellas fit perfectly. We christened it that night with a family dinner as you can see by the pics. The baked stuffed shrimp and beef tenderloin was our first meal.

~Lots of folks arrived this week for the big, annual Falmouth Road Race. Over 9,000 registered runners. The new table will be perfect because eating is a big part of every road race celebration. This year, we'll be celebrating Tuscan style!

Coming Soon

The making of an outdoor Tuscan Farm table....coming soon.

Summertime on Old Cape Cod

~Summertime. Feet up on the porch. Cold beer in a keg. Hot dogs and burgers on the grill. Simplicity. Laughter. Sun kissed faces. Towels on the line. Flip flops in the entryway. The sound of the screen door slapping shut. Inhale it. Feel it. So pure and good and simple.
~Living on Cape Cod brings a special meaning to summertime. We have little pieces of salt stuck in our screens. We live with the low, drone of the fog horn lulling us to sleep each night. We have a hard time deciding which seafood restaurant to go to on any given night because they are all so good. Today the waters of Vineyard Sound were lapping upon the shore and tiny whitecaps were visible everywhere. Boats were heeling over, beholden to the wind. Tomorrow might be the exact opposite with calm seas and limp sails. It's ever changing. Always a surprise. Always beautiful.

~The beach roses are spent but the honeysuckle is just coming into its own and the sweet fragrance is intoxicating as I ride my bike along the Shining Sea bike path each morning. Being outdoors. Watching runners, bikers and walkers from our perch on the front porch. Passing fresh faces each morning on the bike path. Movement. Energy. Emotion. It's contagious.

~Thank you God, for letting me live here on Old Cape Cod.

Independence Day

~Here we are...another July 4th on the horizon. The weather couldn't be more
cooperative here on Old Cape Cod. Sunshine, blue sky, fresh, clean air. Gorgeous. While most folks are gearing up for holiday bashes this Independence Day weekend, I'm hanging loose, lying low and eating lean.
A recent visit from my sister and a close friend who both live in Orlando has left me spent. For five days, we ate, shopped, drank and talked. It was wonderful. Like three teenagers goofing off and being giddy. Our little town is the kind of place where you can go from the candy shop to the t-shirt store to the Irish pub all in the blink of an eye....and that's how we spent our little va-ca together. Whether sitting at the Roo Bar eating tapas and drinking Sam Adams Summer Ale
or couched around a small table at Pies a la Mode, eating homemade
gelato and surrounded by pastries to die for, we found a way to quench our thirst and get some retail therapy while fueling the economy of Falmouth with purchases at every stop. From Port Cargo where I found a gorgeous leather-like handbag to The Black Dog where my friend found the perfect tank top to bring home to her dog sitter, to Touche' where my sister found the ideal pair of silver hoop earrings, we hit them all.
~A scenic drive along the shore road one day led us to Woods Hole and the Oceanographic Institute where research of the ocean's bottom is alive and well. No one can leave Woods Hole without visiting the Capt. Kidd where what seems like a 50 ft. long bar reportedly dates back to the civil war days. One of the things I love about living here on Cape Cod is the rich history that is part of its lore. And when someone comes to visit who is curious about that history, it makes it even more fun because each and every inch of this place has a story to tell to anyone who will listen. Sitting on our front porch, looking through the books of Falmouth and thinking of what was once here puts you in a different state of mind. It makes you ponder the grand scheme of things.
~And so, that's how I'll spend this July 4th weekend...sitting on the porch, pondering the rich history of this place; what the men and women who came before us did to keep it safe and whole. Our house dates back to 1724, quite some time before Independence day in 1776. It's come a long way, baby.
~As an aside to this post, I have to share a funny story. My friend who bought the tank top at the Black Dog emailed me the day after she got home. She had left the tank top in the Black Dog gift bag on the table in her family room for her dog sitter as a thank you gift. Black Dog merchandise comes wrapped in white tissue with little black Labradors printed all over. Their gift bags feature a big black lab on the front. Apparently, "Dooley" my friend's sweet, lovable Labradoodle, attacked the bag while she was at work, practically ate the tank top and left the tissue torn in pieces. He didn't like the intrusion of the Black Lab, we are guessing. Dooley never does anything like this so it was quite a surprise for my friend when she came home that day and found the destruction! But this story ends well. When she called the Black Dog to tell them her plight, they cheerfully shipped out a new tank top and didn't even charge her the usual ten dollar shipping charge. I guess they take responsibility for the tortes of their black dogs, even if they are just pictured on a bag!!!


~Haven't been at the sewing machine in a month, but we still have some pretty aprons in stock as well as some summer blouses. Check them out at http://www.apronsgonewild.etsy.com/

The Cape Cod Clothesline

~The Cape Cod Clothesline.

~A fixture on Old Cape Cod. As common as the much adored outdoor shower. A Cape Cod clothes line has a particular style. It's, shall we say, rather crude. Usually two posts, each with a "T" formation on the top and two lengths of rope spanning from one end to the other. A 'must have' on the Cape where wet beach towels and swim suits are a constant. The routine consists of coming back from the beach, hopping into the outdoor shower, rinsing one's self and swim suit off and heading to the clothes line.

~Somehow, we inherit several beach towels here each year. No one owns up to possession which never ceases to amaze me. A good beach towel is not cheap! But we have quite a collection that are unclaimed. I just wash them and put them in the beach towel pile in the shed with the others.

~On occasion, the clothes line is used like any other clothes line. I love to dry our sheets outdoors and if I'm not in a hurry on the day I change the beds, the sheets get to blow in the breeze...love the sweet smell of cotton dried outdoors. I've also used our clothes line to feature aprons for our apronsgonewild.etsy.com online shop. Looks sort of old fashioned, don't you think?

~Hubby has a thing about drying clothes outside. He thinks it's silly when there is a perfectly good electric dryer ready and waiting. He also doesn't like the way it looks. Isn't that a hoot? There are soooooo many things that we disagree on mainly because I don't like the way something looks. But this one is his pet peeve. Odd. Go figure.

~Right now the clothes line is mainly bare. But soon, it will be loaded with towels and swim suits and running gear. We have several runners in the family and their clothes are dripping wet when they get back from a jog. They go right on the line for a bit until they can be brought in to wash.

~I don't think I could live without our clothes line. I love to air out the many quilts we have on all the beds. And it's the perfect place to hang something white that needs natural bleaching from the sun. It's a very serviceable object, indeed.

~So I say....happy air drying and happy summer!

~Oh...and while I'm at it, I couldn't miss the chance to show you the job I did on our slate path to the back shed. I actually cut out all the grass around the stones with a steak knife! It had grown so heavy that it was covering almost all of the steps. You could hardly see them. Now, there's a clear pathway.

~Be sure to check us out at www.apronsgonewild.etsy.com

YARD SALE SATURDAY

~It is said that a test of a person's character is how they deal with adversity (or lost luggage). Well...I'd like to add that it's how they deal with a massive rain storm in the middle of a yard sale. That's what happened this weekend when our youngest daughter, who lives just around the corner from us, attempted to have a yard sale on her front lawn.
~An awful lot of work goes into properly preparing for a good yard sale. Everything should be priced. Buyers don't like having to ask "how much" each and every thing is. Stuff should be clean and well displayed. It's better to put furniture pieces right out on the lawn rather than ask folks to come inside. All this and more had been done over a two week period. She was well prepared.

~I got up early this Saturday morning to bop over to help only to find that she already had everything out and ready to go by 6:30am. I was impressed. While she showered, I had my coffee and sat relaxed on the front lawn waiting for customers. Several nice folks stopped by around 8am and we sold a few things. But then I heard it...the long, low rumble of thunder.
Hmm...Should we panic? Would it just pass overhead? How much risk was it to just leave everything out?
~Instinct sent me back home to grab some tarps. By the time I returned, the raindrops were starting to fall. We hurriedly covered everything and hoped for the best. But this thunder storm was not to be denied. I swear I've never seen such a downpour. The ground quickly filled up with deep puddles. The bottoms of the wood bunk beds were sitting in water. The dust ruffle on the upholstered armless chair was wet two inches up from the bottom. The tarps began to blow off and all the clothing and stuffed animals began to get soaked. What to do? What to do?
~We began bringing it all inside. However, most of it was already soaked. Books, CDs, games, throw pillows, quilts, dresses, shirts, sweatshirts. All of it soaked. The living room became a storage locker. Not only was stuff piled all over but it was all wet. It was cause for tears.
~But...no tears were shed. Just a lot of talk about a disaster. I think if it had been my effort over the past two weeks, I would have just sat down and cried. But not our daughter. She worked even harder and succeeded in getting all of it indoors and off the lawn. I was impressed.
~Later, after we had dried almost everything off, she said..."I guess I'll just have it next weekend."

~Huh? What? You're going to go through this all over again? Hmm...Well...I guess, maybe. In any event, she definitely passed the character test this morning!

Home Again...

~Home Sweet Home...

~Well...the time finally came. We headed back home last weekend. Weather on the space coast was still beautiful, but we could feel the heat looming. Once we had to close the doors and windows and run the noisy air conditioning, we were outa there! Packing up, cleaning, all that stuff was exhausting. Not sure what's wrong with us that we cart so much stuff back and forth every year.
~This trip we only stopped one night before we hit hubby's sister's house in NY. It was a long drive the first day. No stopping here and there like we usually do. Not sure why, but that is what we decided.
~The space coast skies were active this winter. We saw 4 or 5 launches including two shuttles. It's heartening to see how many folks still line the beaches, even in the middle of the night, to see the space center do its thing. This year was special because it's the end of the shuttle program. A lot of mixed feelings about that. But...I won't get political.
~I decided to sew up one more apron before we leave. It's called Chocolate and Teal (pictured here) and has just a touch of old fashioned cotton at the bib and pocket edges. Check out the details at http://www.apronsgonewild.etsy.com/
~As I began the task of packing up and cleaning before we left, I couldn't help but think about how different people live differently. I have a few friends whose homes are always "company ready." Anyone can walk in at any time unexpectedly and their abodes look just as they do when they're expecting guests. Nothing is ever out of place. There's never anything lying around to give an indication as to what they've been doing. It's a mystery to me. These friends are not idle folks who do nothing all day long. Nor are they people who can be seen fussing around, cleaning all the time. Matter of fact, I've never seen any of them cleaning, sweeping, wiping, etc. On the other hand, I have a damp cloth permanently attached to my hand all the time. And there's always a bottle of Windex in sight at our house 24/7. I just don't get it.
~Neither hubby or I are particularly fussy but I'm more interested in things being neat and clean than he is. At least in the so called, "public rooms" that someone stopping by on short notice would likely see. I try to keep things in order and dust free for the most part. But when I look at our bedroom and private bath area, I feel as though we are living in a college dormitory. Towels hanging on hooks, hair dryer hanging over a mirror, shampoos and hair products out in the open on the dresser. Hubby always has his allergy spray, Rolaids and eye drops out in broad daylight on his night stand. I always have tissues and a back scratcher lying on mine. There are often newly ironed clothes hanging on hangers over the bedroom door. I hate putting them in the closet for fear my nice ironing job will be for naught when they get squished in between all the other clothes. The bottom of our closet has piles of shoes in no particular order. And hubby's baseball caps surround the window that looks out onto our back yard. If that doesn't say 'college dorm', I don't know what does.
~Our TV area off the kitchen looks nice now that it's been remodeled. But the little coffee table in front of the sofa always sports a coffee cup, a pen and paper, a napkin left over from breakfast or lunch, and a few magazines in no particular order. The pillows on the sofa and chair are always smushed and flattened speaking loud and clear about the recent occupant. The tv remotes can be found just about anywhere; all depends on who used them and for what. Our living room stays pretty neat. That is, unless one of us decides to go in there and read or make a phone call. Then the quilted throw on the sofa gets pulled off one way or the other. Those pillows get smushed too and the coffee table ends up with an empty dish of nut remnants. And where there are nuts, there is always a glass...empty probably, but in full view.
~I'm not stupid. I realize that the mere act of living creates upheaval. And...I don't want to be one of those people who is constantly worrying about things being perfect. But I just don't understand how the folks who have achieved constant order do it! I know that it's partly a matter of putting things away on the spot. We are very guilty of the "I'll do it later" mentality But still...you'd think that "everyone" would leave some evidence lying around here and there. Not so with some of our closest friends. It's like magic. Maybe it is magic?

I think I'll dwell on that for a while.

~Be sure to check out our online shop at www.apronsgonewild.etsy.com to check out the details of Chocolate and Teal.

~We have some really interesting aprons this year with unusual trims and patterns. Once we get settled back here at the Cape, I hope to add more tops and blouses to our Tops Gone Wild line.

Mother's Day

~Mother's Day 2010.

~Mother, Mom, mommy, mum, mumsy...whatever you call her, she's the same. She's the woman who gave you life here on earth. Some mothers are nearly perfect specimens and reflect beautifully on the name. Some fall short, leaving tattered remnants of themselves buried deep within their offspring. A mother's influence on her child impacts that life more strongly than any other. The bond is deep. The ties that bind are strong. There is no other like it.
~Dads play a stronger role these days in their children's upbringing. That's a good thing. But no one can fill the shoes of a mom. No one can feel their child's pain or burst with pride at their child's success like Mom. Empathy is what separates Moms from all others. When you can feel what another human being feels as if it is happening to yourself, then you know what it is to be a Mom.
~God bless Moms on this Mother's Day.

Politics!

~Politics!

~My children recoil in fear. My friends turn their heads the other way and grimace. My husband cowers in his recliner, lowering the brim on his baseball cap so as not to meet my eyes. This is the reaction when I start talking about politics.

~It's always been this way yet it's something I don't understand. The nature of politics runs our lives. Political decisions are behind all the rules and behind most of our laws. You can get married, go to war and vote when you're eighteen but you can't have a beer at your wedding because of political decisions. You can drive when you're sixteen, but you can't have your friends in the car until your seventeen because of a political decision. In some states, you can talk on a cell phone while driving but in other states you can't because of...you guessed it...a political decision. On some roads you can drive 70mph but on others you can only go 55 because a group of politicians got together and looked at the facts and made a decision. The folks who make the rules in our towns, counties, states and federal government are all politicians. If we learn to hate politics, we have no hope of steering those decisions in our favored direction. The politicians will run roughshod over us. Kids grow up hating politics. Yet, they whine about the restrictions set upon them by politicians.

~Most of my friends and family members complain about certain laws and rules. Yet, they shrivel up when the subject comes up in a discussion. Or they groan and sigh and say, "I don't want to talk about it." Well...if you don't talk about it, you'll never figure out a way to take action on those things you are complaining about. Our young people today get their political news from the comedy network on shows like The Daley Show or The Colbert Report where it's hard to tell what's serious and what's not. I love satire, but it has to be coupled with real information. Unfortunately, there's no balance in our media.
~I think most folks hate politics because they dislike politicians. We all believe they are in it for the power trip and not for us. It's hard not to generalize when we see so many politicians disappointing us in both the personal arena as well as the public one. But our system is set up so that we elect these people to represent us and hopefully to do things for the general welfare of the public. It doesn't always work out that way. But if we don't stay tuned in and engaged, we hand over the reins. If we do that we can't complain about the outcome. If we "don't want to talk about it," then we don't want to know what's going on. We are content to let the daily talking heads on the morning shows tell us what's what. Too often, their so-called "news" is couched in their own political beliefs so we don't get the whole story.
~We all need to do a little research on our own. Information is abundant today. If you have a computer you can research anything and confirm its accuracy with a little more research. Armed with some facts, you'll eventually want to share them, discuss them, argue them. And when someone starts talking about politics, you'll jump at the chance to join in.
~In the meantime, check us out at www.apronsgonewild.etsy.com
~No politics there!

The "C Word"

The "C Word"

~"Charm." A five letter word that says it all when it comes to home decorating. It's the big "C" each and every time that will get a buyer to take a second look and often sign on the dotted line. Any four walls, no matter how humble, can elicit charm. Often, it's as simple as the way the light comes into a room...or a corner fireplace that just grabs you.
~When I joined Susan on Metamorphosis Monday at http://www.betweennapsontheporch.blogspot.com/ a couple of weeks ago, I wrote about the long awaited kitchen remodel in our early 18th century home on Cape Cod. But, I forgot to mention the "C Word" and include one of my favorite parts...the charming breadbox that hubby made it for me. It was my Christmas present the year we finished the kitchen. It's made of pine boards leftover from the bookcase and cabinet he built to house all his hardcovers and our new flat screen tv. I love it because it's unique and it's big and it adds a bit of old fashioned charm to our kitchen countertop. The saltbox design looks perfect with the style of our kitchen and its size affords us room for not only bread, but all sorts of other things like chips, crackers and even candy. I especially love it during the summer when the grandchildren are all around. I keep lots of goodies in there for them. Everything stays fresh and out of sight but handy.
~The box has an old fashioned design with an easy lift-top lid and sits right on top of our counter next to the sink. We chose an olde Century Colors paint color that coordinates with the rest of the kitchen but doesn't match exactly. I always feel that in "old house decor" things shouldn't match to perfection. Rather they should look like collections of this and that...or things put together over a period of time. That's the charm factor.
~Our Cape Cod daughter gave us the little tin star in the photo for Christmas that year. I just hung it on the breadbox for a moment and seem to have left it there ever since. I like the way it looks.
~Oh...and another fun thing to tell you. If you're not already familiar with them, there are several Internet sites now that let you make a magazine cover out of your photos. It's just for fun but you can use them in clever ways like gift giving, card making, etc. I made a cover from our breadbox picture using http://www.magmypic.com/.

~Hope you'll leave me a comment to let me know you were here.

~Thanks to Susan at http://www.betweennapsontheporch.blogspot.com/ for hosting Metamorphisis Monday. :)