welcome....

Get ready ladies {and gents}, I am going to talk about something really profound today....

PILLOWS!

Have you heard of One Kings Lane?

Well, One Kings Lane is a online retailer of fine home decor,

accessories, art and even furniture......

They offer daily "specials"to registered users - basically an

email arrives in your inbox daily - you may choose to look or choose to delete.

For a long time, I was prone to delete but on a recent summer day,

the email caught my attention when it featured 

Alexandra Ferguson pillows.

Well, 'cause, One Kings Lane had me at 'pillow'....

I snatched up this little one to place on the bench I purchased at the Farm Chicks Show!

Alexandra Ferguson has a website here and even an Etsy store!

I love the snarky, whimsical messages.....like this one below!

The winner of the Junk Bonanza giveaway is Angela!

Please email me at jillbeth@aol.com with your address so I can

get you your Junk Bonanza swag!

Happy Monday!

Giveaway!

Happy Saturday!

I think you all know I am a BIG fan of the Junk Bonanza - really the best flea market/vintage sale in the midwest.  Ki Nassauer puts on a wonderful show that brings together the best vendors for a great three day event!  I was fortunate to be involved with this event the last two years and am disappointed that I will not be there this year - traveling back to the midwest this fall is just not in cards for me - boo!

However, that doesn't mean YOU can't go!  Ki has generously allowed me to giveaway an awesome Junk Bonanza package to one lucky Forever*Cottage reader!

The giveaway includes: 

* 2 VIP tickets, which allow for admission all three days of the event, including the Early Bird on opening day, two hours before the show opens to the general public.

* A Junk Bonanza tote

* A Junk hat from the Junk Revolution store

and

* A copy of the latest Flea Market Style magazine, rolling off the press around the end of August!

The annual Junk Bonanza brings together more than 130 juried vendors of select vintage treasures, junk and antiques! This year's event, Sept. 15-17, returns to Canterbury Park in Shakopee, Minn. 


To enter this giveaway, please leave me a comment telling me about something fun you are doing this weekend.....cause I am nosy that way!  I will choose a winner on Monday, so come on back!

Little things......like a giveaway!

Some little {and not so little} things:

* I got this sign at the beginning of the summer and it sits on a 

shelf in my kitchen next to my sink.  I have taken

it's message to heart this summer and I am grateful....

My blog posts have been sporadic at best, I apologize,

for I was off enjoying the little things this summer -

bliss!

* I have been keeping a secret...... My Minnesota

Forever*Cottage along with a story about my collections

will be featured in the upcoming fall issue of  Flea Market Style magazine!

I can't wait for you all to see it......the magazine should be out 

on in stores very soon - yippee!  I will share the details

of this dream come true experience in an upcoming post.

* Come back on Saturday for a great Junk Bonanza giveaway.....

it's gonna be good!

What sign do you have hanging in your cottage to remind you 

of what's important in life?

Why I love blogging....with kitchen photos....

Prior to moving into our new 'cottage' we did a fair amount of "tweaking"....

I use the very technical term "tweaking" because what we did not involve any sort of gutting 

of nor construction in the spaces we made changes.  Rather our "tweaking" required lots

of paint, gallons and gallons of paint, stain for the floors and new carpet for the upstairs.

By far, the biggest tweak was painting our kitchen cabinets Benjamin Moore's

White Dove.  

And because I am a blogger and a lover of all things vintage, I wrangled with

ideas to make my 7 years young kitchen into the vintage kitchen

of my dreams!

Turns out,  I found kitchen inspiration when visiting my friend and beautiful blogger

Suzanne of Privet & Holly at her home in Minnesota just prior to our move.

Suzanne has a wonderful butler's pantry with plate racks and the kind of open

shelving I knew I could incorporate into my new/vintage kitchen.

My Suzanne-inspired open shelf!

I snapped a photo of Suzanne's butler's pantry shelf with my iPhone and

sent it to my contractor, who already thought I was a bit kooky in the head after

suggesting removing this bank of cabinets altogether and replacing them with open shelving.

{oh, and for the record - I am NOT crazy about the grandma-like corner shelves!}

In the end, we removed the cabinet doors, backed the interior with bead board 

and added the plate racks to the bottom.  For now, the holes for adjusting

the shelves remain but after I decide EXACTLY where

they will stay, I will fill in the holes.

My contractor charged me $200 to customize this cabinet.  I am

thrilled with the results!  Plates are easy and accessible both for use

and to put away after the dishwasher has run (which sits just 

below this cabinet).

Yesterday, Suzanne visited me at our new 'cottage'!  Here we are in a photo

taken in front of my Suzanne-inspired kitchen cabinet!

And while I appreciate blogging for the inspiration I find in the

beautiful images posted daily.......

Blogging ROCKS for the beautiful people it has brought into my life!