~ Give - Away ~

(Just a little update ( 6/4/09 ) You have until 3pm eastern time on June 5th to enter )
Happy One year anniversary of Blogging to me :) ...I can't believe it's been one year since I found this wonderful world of blogging! What better way to celebrate it , than with all of you incredible bloggers who stop by for visits and offer your friendship and inspiration to me on a weekly basis! I feel so blessed to have found this unique venture into a place that gives me such an outlet for creativity , and to be able to share journeys with all of you too! So ...I'm hosting a give away to show my appreciation and gratitude! Thank you sooooo much , to all of you! I wish I could pop a gift into every one's mail box at once , because each and every person I've met , has somehow touched me in one way or another...

The Give Away consists of: A beautiful basket with an image of art work by Diane Knotts. A pink toile china plate ( yes, lol, I bought two of these knowing I'd be having a give away and kept one for myself ) a Cynthia's Cottage handmade Country Living image sign, Blue and white smaller china plate with red gingham bow for hanging, a sweet Vintage Apron from the 50's, and a handmade table cloth made of linen ( or table scarf ) embroidered in a fabulous red with a hint of black. Size: 33" x 33"....perfectly Vintage too :) All ready to get packaged up and delivered to the lucky winners doorstep!

The only rules for the Give -away are... that you leave a comment and tell me your favorite part about blogging. If you mention the give-away on your blog I'll enter you 2 x. If you do a post on it with a picture from this post, I'll enter you 3 x. Anyone can enter and have a chance to win all the goodies... If you don't have a blog, just be sure to leave your email address in the comment so I can contact you if you win! I'll be drawing the names from the random generator on June 5th! Good luck to everyone!

~ You can click on any picture to get an up close view of each item ~

I hope you all are having a wonderful week! and thanks again for all your sweet comments on my previous post! I am so blessed to be connected to such wonderful woman and such creativity! I've had a busy few weeks, ( computer crashes, work, family , and getting ready for my middle Son's graduation ) but I look so forward to stopping by your blogs and catching up!

Thank you so much for helping to make this first year one fabulously fun , creative and inspirational journey !!

Wishing you luck , and many blessings!

Much Love,

~ Cynthia ~

~ This and That ~

A Little bit of this and a little bit of that... A trip to Home Goods did me well, come to think of it , I never walk out empty handed. Not once. The pink ceramic bowl jumped out at me, lol, so of course I knew it was meant to be :) and such a cutie for $3.99. For that price, I couldn't say No. After all, that's the price of a fancy coffee and it would be all gone now. But this little bowl will be with me for every girls night, every Al fresco dinner party, and anything else I conjure up. And I won't limit it to Olives either, maybe some honey pretzels, some dip, anything ! The table underneath it was $8.99, another little wow that made it home too , and now it lives on my deck :)

Just as I love going to Home Goods, I also love when my Mom sends me up a Goody Box ( as I call them ) from Ga. She always had such special things and now that they've scaled down somewhat I get the hand- me- downs. I love each and every thing she sends, she just knows me that way :) Most things she sends I can remember seeing as a child or remember each party or occasion when she'd use them, but these linens below were a nice surprise! I hadn't remembered these and when she said my Grandmother made them, I was extra happy. I wish I could embroider, but it's not a talent of mine :) It takes too long and I'm an instant gratification girl :) But thankfully, now I can appreciate her talents and love them just the same! They match my decor and I just love the colors, a pop of Red is always something that does my decor good :)

She also sent the blue and white table skirt ( below ) which was custom made about 30 years ago for a guest room and seeing it at home here now , I think it was meant to be as I had been looking to cover the table with a blue and white fabric, so it was perfect timing! Thanks Mom!

~ they are very happy here ~

~ Another bit of this and that ~ A $2.99 plate from Home Goods, I fell in love with the soft pink toile!

Opps, lol, looks like I misplaced a picture, her Goody Box also included these matching napkins!

~ More this and that ~ Home Goods dish towel... If it has a Cherry, It's coming home with me :)

~ I adore the rick- rack too! ~

A visit to my friend Amy's house led me to this chicken butter dish (below) from Italy, I just loved it so much I had to take a picture of it. I told her if it's missing one day, It was me :) If anyone ever sees one like this , I'll send you a bonus surprise as a finders fee ! :) I just LOVE it ! And btw, Amy , if you're reading this, you better put it away when I come over, you just never know what I'll take home with me, I carry a big purse :) lol

I hope you all enjoy a wonderful week ahead! Thank you so much for all your comments on my Suburban Cottage, you are so sweet and I read each and every comment and think you are all the best!!

Now that I finished those window boxes, it's back to the deck and patio for some finishing touches for the warm season ahead! The Country Living photo below has me inspired!

~ Have a Beautiful week ahead Ladies!! ~

Love and appreciation!

~ Cynthia ~

~ The Suburban Cottage ~

Thank you all so much for your sweet comments and ideas on my last post! I was having a window box dilemma, lol. I guess that's a good dilemma to have in the scheme of life though, so I didn't worry too much that I'd find something to work on my windows :) I couldn't decide between Iron and wood :) And above all else, I also couldn't think about buying the custom ones or even ready made ones at that hefty $100 ( each ) price tag either. Soooooo, lol, what do you do when you can't find something? Design them yourself... How hard can it be to make a box?? lol, well, that's how every idea starts, then there's reality :) After a few cus words and many revisions, I came up with a look. And now they are done, yippee! and for two of them, the total was $22.00, not bad! You'll have to excuse the small foliage in them for now, that is something only God will control, the flowers are small, but I'm excited to see the annuals I selected at least double or triple in size soon! As you can see below, I went with Wood :) I didn't think I should attempt "Iron forging" last weekend , that seemed out of my realm of capabilities, lol...


Yes, it was just a box, but then the small moldings and a bit of lattice helped customize them further, what do you think? Not bad, huh?
I've been asked more than a few times, what kind of house do I live in? Well, it's not a Cottage in the woods, nor a Farm House, nor a Mansion, it's just an average Suburban split level home on a pretty street filled with kids, nice neighbors and good friends. I think what you do with your abode is what gives it character, after all, they are all just boxes too, and with them, we add moldings, plantings, secret little spots of pretty, pathways, gardens and dress them up to suit our style and desires. So they start out pretty much like the window boxes, ready to be finished and loved. To grow into something more. Hopefully like my flower boxes will too, lol. If you click on the photo below and make it bigger, you can see my 2 dogs, Sierra at the Door, and up in the window is Holly, lol.... Watching Melanie get on the school bus and Mom taking pictures :)


Here's a little picture tour of my Cottage, gardens and all...you can click on the pics to make them bigger if you like! Some are from last year , as you can see the blooms are" late summer", lol... But the one above was from this week. I'd like the next project to be adding Slate to the steps above, I already have it picked out, I think it will make the steps look so much better.

The mosaic below shows one of my favorite spots besides my upper deck ( the one with the 2 Adirondack chairs and fire pit ). It's one of those little nooks in my backyard that if that fireplace could talk, it would write a book. lol. It's a favorite spot for Girl Chat , and it's also seen many S'mores fall into it too :)

I hope you all enjoyed a few pics of Home for me, before you leave, grab some appetizers and a glass of ice tea too! ( they are almost all gone, so hurry, lol )That's my favorite thing to do in my Yard, entertain and mingle with family and friends, that's what really makes a house a Home, or lol, .....a Cottage....whatever your fancy :)


I hope you all enjoyed a wonderful Mother's Day last weekend!.... and Thanks so much for stopping by! Blessings for a wonderful week ahead and a gorgeous weekend too!

Love and Appreciation,

~ Cynthia ~

~ The Spring Pantry of Goodies ~

What a busy Spring it's been! Hello sweeties! I've been busy as a bee, and while we've had a fairly wet Spring so far, things seem to be popping up everywhere! Green, Green, Green! Now a little Sunshine would be nice to make all the flowers bright and happy. I'm excited for the transition into Summer too! A few things have caught my fancy and what better place to share them than here. That fabulous Picnic basket above is from a site I just adore: Canning Pantry. If you're new to canning and preserving, or even if you're a seasoned expert, you will just love their goods and the site is so full of informative tips on getting it all just right! My Berry bushes are looking so good this year, so while the rain has been a lot, I know the bounty is right around the corner!

Speaking of Berries, I was surfing the Internet for some new Summer recipes and came upon this wonderful site, I just love the visuals and the Inspiration I get from how they entertain! Blackberry Farm is just simply Beautiful! Not to mention they have the most amazing Farm/Spa vacation packages too, I won't be getting there any time soon, lol, but a girl can dream! Look at this dreamy blueberry tart below, yummy!

Just to get Inspired I ordered this wonderful book from the Joy of Cooking. Again, Even if you're new to the idea of Canning, or if it's something you do every year, you will love this book! I'm so excited to get my copy, it is normally over and around $100+ , but I found it on Amazon for a quarter of that!
On to a few more projects and goodies :) ...I know you all are like me, and just adore Country Living magazine! Well, I keep almost every copy I get, and once in awhile, I take them out by the stack and glance through them all over again. Some of the issues are so beautiful that I wish I could frame all the images and decorate a wall with them. While I like that idea, lol, I would have no wall space left then :) So I took a few of my favorite issues this weekend and created Wall Signs using just my Favorites, then distressed the edges, added a bit of glass glitter and made a few pieces of wall art. Now I can see my favorite issues on my Kitchen wall every day! You gotta love decoupage, what another great way to "preserve" :)


~ The one I made this weekend came from the April issue of Country Living, a favorite for sure! ~

~ another view ~

~ Just a little bit of glitter too ~ hehe

Ok , so I'm sure place mats can be elegant and fancy or made from 100 year old hand made lace, and even beautiful silk from the Orient. BUT they can be fun too! I just got these from my sweet friend Bekah! As most of you know, I adore farm images. I have my coveted rooster collection, cream ware, and a few cows here and there too. But these take the cake . I smile when I see them :) Lol, My teenagers tell me I've gone a bit too far, but a little extra kitchen art is fun now and then !

~ A little more kitchen Cow ~
( the little cow on the shelf below is actually about 60 years old, it was a gift from Mom )

I have been so busy this month, that I barely had any time to re-stock my Pantry shelves ( as I call them, lol ) in my little shop, but I have a few things left before I bring in some new items. This Sign below is perfect for that Cottage Kitchen, so head on over to the Cottage Shop if you'd like a little gift for Mom or yourself! Wow, I can't believe Mothers Day is this weekend! How time flies!

I also came upon a another site I wanted to share with you, it's really a treat for all you Farm Chic loving collectors , I am in love with the clock below ( lemonade ) and just adore these bottles too!

They have such wonderful things and I know you'll love a peek too!
~ Farmhouse Wares ~

Well, its back outside for me now, The house just got finished being painted a Cottage Grey with Country White shutters, so my next chore is to find some fabulous Window Boxes! ( Pics to come soon! )I've found a few nice boxes so far, but if anyone has a great link for some, I'd love the tip!

Besides my Window Boxes and some other projects, I'm determined to create a more softer , elegant, but yet Country Cozy patio too! So getting some flowing curtains and a few decorative accessories to make "girls night on the patio" cozier, is another fun chore ahead! I was so inspired by the photo below, so we'll see how close I can come to it :)

I have a few windows that the picture above doesn't have, so while I'm doing window boxes for the front of the house, I think these below would look great on the back of the house. I'm also looking into the wrought iron ones , so I haven't decided yet :) But what a pretty Spring grouping of flowers!

I hope you all are having fun getting your homes ready for this pretty season too! I can't wait to see what you've all been up to! I'm heading off for some more blog surfing later today, because before I know it, the Sun will be shinning again and calling my name :)


I hope you all are having a wonderful week! Thanks so much for stopping by!

~ Enjoy your Sunshine and Blessings ~

Big Hugs!!

~ Cynthia ~