For the love of......cloches!

I recently began using cloches around my home to enhance and highlight favorite objects on shelves and tables. They add a great "finished" look to your favorite collections - especially seasonal items that so many of us use for holidays decorating.

I received the new Williams Sonoma catalog this week and instantly fell for these cloches above with the nests in them - perfect for a spring tabletop!

I will be leaving my Forever Cottage for the next week to enjoy some fun in the sun with my spring breakers. And while we had snow flurries last evening when the girls and I left the nail salon in our flip flops (pedi's are a must for where we are headed) - I hope to come home and begin digging in my gardens! I have BIG plans that include lots of heavy lifting and digging. The results will be beautiful, its my favorite time of year. Have a wonderful week.

Happy Spring

May the sun be shining, the birds chirping and flowers budding at your cottage.

Sincerely,

Feathering Your Nest - It's a Tough Job but Somebody has to do it!

Thought I would share some of my adventures in decorating this week.

Feeling inspired by all the great spring images in recent blog posts and the warm temps at my Minnesota cottage, I headed out in search of ways to freshen up my Forever Cottage.

First stop, a mega-fabric-emporium! I had heard this no-frills, hit or miss, inexpensive (cheap) fabric store existed but had not had the need to visit until this week.

Well, I think I spent the first 15 minutes of my visit just walking around in a daze with my mouth wide open. It is hard to know where to even start looking. There were bolts of fabric EVERYWHERE, much of it upholstery and decorator fabric. I had to take pictures to share with all of you.



Would you believe that all I was looking for was white cotton/linen to slipcover my couch? I am not kidding!




I am happy to report I found the perfect white denim for $4.99 a yard! Joe, the slipcover guy will make me a fantastic white slipcover for my living room couch - perfect for spring/summer! There will be no do-it yourself slipcover for me - I am impressed by all of you in blogland who can do it - but I know my limits.

Today, I headed to a small Minnesota town for my favorite monthly occasional sale. Well, the l-o-n-g Minnesota winter and recent warm temps certainly inspired other seekers out too. Here is the crowd, lined up before the doors opened! I was shocked.




Needless to say, there was a crush of women, grabbing for all things chippy, corbels, bunny statues, watering cans ec... All the best "junk" went quick! I was in no mood for this sort of flea-tiquing but was amused by the shenanigans nonetheless! You would have thought they were giving free botox injections!

Happy Friday!

What a wonderfully busy week this has been.

In absence of having any fabulous house/decorating/antiquing pictures to share, I thought I would share this picture of one of our dogs "Zoe". BTW - there is a fabulous table in the background that used to belong to Ki(of Junk Market fame), but that's another story!

For me, our home would not be the same without some animal accessories. Our dogs, Zoe and Isaac are an important part of what makes our active, chaotic home uniquely ours.

Sharing.....

I was recently asked to submit photos of my home to a regional publication for possible publication. Thought I would share some here with all of you....

I'm Going to Farm Chicks, ya'll!

I am so excited! My last trip to the Farm Chicks Antiques Show was about 3 years ago. I really never thought it would be possible to go again now that I don't live in the Pacific Northwest. BUT, due to reasonable airfares and a generous husband, I am going to be there! I am really looking forward to spending time with my good junking friends and seeing some favorite northwest dealers like Barn House and the Queen of Tarte!

New friends are welcome! Anyone else care to be a Farm Chick for the weekend?

For the love of ......brown transferware

I have collected brown transferware for years. It is one of my home's signature items. In the many homes our family has lived in, my brown transferware collection has been displayed on plate racks, in glass cupboards, hung on walls and individual pieces used on tables etc... Since we moved into our current home almost a year ago, my transferware has been hidden in a cupboard in my dining room - I just had not found the right spot/use for it. Until this week.....



I purchased this old mirror a couple weeks ago at a favorite vintage shop. And finally this week, I hung some of my brown transferware platters and plates over the mirror. The rest of the collection resides in the glass front cabinet below the mirror - mixed in with various pieces of ironstone.

In the spirit of the Nester's post about bringing spring into your home - I also used a piece of transferware in the old metal tray I am using in the middle of my dining room table. This great old metal tray along with its "spring-scape" provides some much needed spring-spirit. In Minnesota, inside is the only place you will find any sign of spring - there is still snow on the ground outside!



Have a wonderful weekend everyone!

Blog Neglect

Hello friends in blogland.

Life has been busy - a little thing called, "how stupid was I to chair the school auction this year?" It has totally kept me away from my house and my "baby blog".

Feathering my nest has taken a backseat to auction item procurement (no, chippy french burlapy furniture and junk does not count!), menu planning, picking up invites from the printer and numerous phone calling and emails!

I have enjoyed the few stolen moments I have had to peruse what all of you have been up to...I hope to join you soon. Please keep checking back - my "to do" list is growing and YOU provide me the motivation.