Sittin' on the Front Porch

It is such a beautiful day here, I thought this post would be fitting! 

We are enjoying our porch so much this year. Too many things to do last year for much porch sitting time. Naturally, it is still a work in progress. Someday I will come across the perfect set of wicker furniture at a great price, that is my dream anyway.

 Mandy had her knitting group over for lunch earlier this week. She decided it would be lovely to enjoy it on the porch. We moved the table from the other side, popped up the leaves and added a few chairs. Perfect! (Until the wicker furniture appear I think this is the look we will have.)

When I do get that wicker furniture, I am thinking of moving the table back to the other side, but leave the leaves up with a few chairs. Just need to decide what color to paint the chairs........

And of course, what cottage porch is complete without a potted geranium?

Happy Summer!

On Living Less

Have you read the story of Carmella and her family at Assortment? When their world fell apart during the recession, they moved into a 665 sq. ft. cabin. Her blog is the chronicle of their life "On Living Less". My mom and I discovered her several months ago and we have savored every word. For us, it is very timely. Though we have not been forced to downsize so dramatically, our living space is about halved from our previous home. And we certainly identify with Carmella on uncertain economics issues and major life changes.

Today, Carmella posted on savoring the small triumphs of life and remembering to find the opportunity in waiting. To realize that our life doesn't have to be perfect, our To-Do list complete or all our dreams come true to be able to enjoy life's opportunities. Even though we may be waiting for an important decision to be made, a better job found, or a house to be completely finished, we can savor perfect moments and find opportunities of enjoyment.

It reminds me of last summer when it was so chaotic. When we were living in an upper apartment with a dorm room sized refrigerator. When every waking moment was spent hurrying to work so we could hurry  home to work on the house. But it didn't matter if we didn't go anywhere or do anything fun. It didn't matter if we didn't have running water or working light switches. That wasn't going to stop us from having our family parties. We would all sit around the table in my half-finished house on an odd assortment of chairs, stools and benches, usually in our sweaty work clothes, and talk and laugh about the next project, the next dream. 

June is Busting Out All Over

 It is so nice to have a bit of warmth again, to feel the sun shining brightly on one's face. I think the plants are appreciating it too. They seem to be all bursting into bloom with extra vigor this year. This is the neighbors lilac bush peeking over the fence next to my garage. 

My sister Mandy and I were so excited to finally dig into the flower beds this year! It doesn't look like much yet, but it is a whole lot better. When I bought the house, there was one bush, that was it. One giant, thorny bush. We made the flower beds deeper and once the little sidewalk to the right of the front door is pulled up, that flower bed can also be deepened.

We put in boxwood, winter creeper, astilbe, and coral bells along with the hydrangeas and pansies already there. 

I am so excited to how well my hydrangeas are doing, (just behind the astilbe) can't wait to see it blooming!

 Along the side of the house we have lily of the valley, which I meticulously pulled up last year. But you wouldn't notice that now, so I have given up the fight and decided there is much better things to do with my time! 

 It's not that I don't like lily of the valley, they just tend to go crazy and take over. But they are growing on me........and the scent is divine!

 Also along the side of the house are Iris, rescued from our sister in law's house before construction began.

 One of our favorites!

These adorable boots were a house warming gift from sister Becky last year. So cute filled with petunias and dahlias!

Color Planning in 1956

 I couldn't pass this up at an antique shop last summer. Color Planning with Sears Harmony House Co-ordinated Colors, copyright 1956. Admittedly, it gave me a good laugh more then any actual decorating advice! 

Are you ready for some "modern" color schemes?

Bathroom Medicine Cabinet

Well, here it is at last! Our bathroom medicine cabinet! I love these old cabinets and knew I needed to find one for my house. When we gutted the bathroom, we discovered a previous owner had removed the original cabinet and placed a mirror over the opening in the wall. So sad.

  Fortunately, it didn't take too much looking on Craig's List to find a lovely cabinet from a 1916 house. I was so excited to see it came with all the original hardware and glass shelves. 

It was the second item I purchased for my house. That is how much I love these cabinets, I knew I needed one right away!

The inside. Loving the glass shelves! They have such a nice vintage feel. And I had to add a little pep with dotty contact paper on the back.

I can't help mentioning these little clear containers from Ikea, the fit perfectly in the cabinet and are so handy!

We also added a towel bar for a hand towel. Up until then we had just been hanging the towel on a nail in the wall opening! 

There are still a few things that need finishing up. Mostly the trim around the door and window and baseboard. Because we don't have trim there is a gap between the wall framing and the door frame, hence the blue tape for added privacy. 

Our other project that we hurried up to finish before company arrived was the linen closet shelves. It is so nice to have storage for the towels and sheets now! We are still in a bit of a quandary as to what we want to do about a closet door. I do have the original door, that will fit, we are just trying to decide if it will make it look smaller with a door or be awkward to access. I am not too sure on just using a curtain either.....

After looking at blogs and pinterest I ran out and bought baskets for the t-paper, washcloths and other goods. It is working out nicely and I love how tidy it is keeping everything! I also found the small white wire baskets and we placed a shelve especially for them. The band aids, aspirin, combs and brushes have a place there now.

It is amazing how much a seemingly small change can make the whole bathroom look different! 

View out my window

Hello Friends! We made it!! My brother got married, I have a new sister-in-law, we had a wonderful visit with the Cousins and all crisis' were diverted! Whew, what a week! I just wanted to let you all know I am back and looking forward to catching you up with our last minute house improvements. 

This the view out my window. I took this last night, it is unbelievable how green green green everything is!

 Same view taken just about three weeks ago. You can just see the little leaves appearing. 

Spring is Amazing!!

Looking out my window to the right. The pink haze in the background is a  flowering crab apple tree. 

I hope everyone has a lovely weekend! On the schedule is a little gardening, I can't wait!

Sweet Violets

These little violets herald summer. Even though we have had huge temperature fluctuation, in typical Wisconsin style, summer is on it's way.

  I couldn't resist taking a few quick photos before the grass, and hence the violets, got mowed.

Things have been absolutely crazy around here! It is "wedding week" as my brother is getting married this weekend. Lots of last minute things to do, cleaning, sewing, floor washing, projects to get done, menus to plan. Time is ticking and soon relatives will arrive and the festivities commence! I will be taking a small break this week and will see you on the other side!

Have a lovely week!