Merry Christmas from Forever*Cottage

I just loved this image in the December issue of Country Living and thought I would share it with you today. Tomorrow morning our little family will board an airplane and fly off to Oregon where we will celebrate Christmas with my parents.  I will not be posting until we return in 2011.  Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Ye...

Forever*Cottage Christmas

Well gals, here we are just a few short days away from THE celebration.....and I admit to being a slacker blogger.  Unlike many of you, I have completely failed at documenting the season here at my Forever*Cottage.  I guess I chose to really live in the moment these last couple weeks and not worry so much about the blog post.  But alas, today I bring you "Forever*Cottage Christmas in...

i'm a little bit country........

I confess, lately I have been experiencing a bit of an identity crisis. Deep down, I know I am a city girl but I often dream of being a little bit country..... Driving one of these....a big John Deere! while wearing these, of course.....{duh!}... Creating a comfy nest here...... where i would be making all sorts of delicious-ness in here...... while gazing out my...

we have a winner!

winter, {or what i now like to refer to as "Ugg-ly footwear weather"} has arrived early at my minnesota cottage......and i am not too happy about it.  sure all your southern girls look at these pictures and think how 'festive' and 'seasonal' it all looks.....yea, well come back in april when it still looks like this and let me know what you think! our lake is now safe to walk on and...

....giveaway....

yesterday i visited one of my favorite monthly occasional sales.  i could not help but get in the christmas spirit.....it might have been all the vintage holiday decor, the classic carols being played or the christmas cookies that were plentiful {but of course i had none of those!}..... i bought a bit for me and also decided to buy a bit for you....{er, at least one lucky winner}..... this...

holiday craft from an un-crafty gal......

Don't get me wrong, I love gettin' my glue gun on as much as the next gal...... what I lack in patience, I make up for with desire.....I wish I was more crafty!  I am results, not process, oriented. My friend Jane Hall, owner of Mustard Moon, a crazy good occassional sale shop, is more optimistic than I when it comes to my crafting skills.  When Jane heard I had broken my ankle and may...

Ikat

Always about this time of year I find my mind dreaming of house projects, mostly changes and tweaks I want to make in the new year.    Perhaps it's the weather and the amount of time spent indoors?  Whatever it is, this year I find myself craving more color in my home.  I am not talking crazy color, like a red sofa or anything.  More like a move beyond the linen,...

thankful....

photo from Country Living Lord be with us on this day of thanksgivinghelp us make the most of this life we are livingAs we are about to partake of this boutiful mealLet us not forget the needy and the hunger they feelHelp us to show compassion in all that we doAnd for all our many blessings we say thank you ~Helen Latham Among my many blessings, I count all of you.  Happy Thanksgiving to...

preparations.....

Remember my "bah humbug" post from last week?  I failed to mention that in addition to receiving Christmas cards, I really like the process of creating our family's card.  When I learned that Shutterfly, my go-to source for our family's Christmas card {for at least the last five years}, was giving 50 free cards to bloggers who posted about Shutterfly I said, "shut the front door, where do...

~ Giveaway Alerts!

Head on over to my friend's Joe and Jermonne's Barn House blog to enter a super Barn House Marketplace giveaway! Then head over to my friend Ki Nassauer's Junk Camp blog and enter for a chance to win $100 in her Junk Revolution store! Have a great weeke...

holiday compartments~

Generally, I have discovered that I tend to compartmentalize in my life...finishing one thing before moving on to something else...and I tend to do this naturally and sometimes it works and sometimes it completely backfires and I am left unprepared for something because I have been so busy tending to other tasks....{like that run-on sentence?}.... As for the holidays, my crazy compartmentalizing...

Forever*Cottage Tag Sale....

Welcome to my tag sale!  My broken ankle, while incredibly inconvenient, provided me alot of time in my home and I vowed to be productive {can't say that I was entirely successful at that - unless you count  watching Nate Berkus and the Real Housewives count as "productivity"}.  But I did manage to cleane out closets and purge unwanted items.  I thought  some items were...

~ found

 Found......... at Michael's.......in the dollar bins {do the happy dance}...... p.s. - it snowed this weekend....and still hasn't melted.....winter has officially begun.....NOT too happy about that fact.  Must make hot cocoa in my stylish new mugs.....

{what i'm collecting now}

I may be late to this party but, I am loving the silver and silverplated pieces I have purchased recently.  You can use the small footed bowls for holding lavendar, sea shells, jewelry or whatever your little heart desires.  In my humble opinion, anything looks better in a little silver bowl! My ironstone and brown transferware collections are a great compliment to the silver, if...

An Ideas House to Inspire Your Own Holiday Home

I had a serious case of cabin fever last week after breaking my ankle and literally being forced to stay home and take it easy. In addition to not recommending breaking one's ankle for all the obvious reasons, sitting so long in ones own home can also be harmful, especially to those of us with a serious case of design ADD....oh, the plans I hatched while sitting on my couch!Anyway.....I had planned...