Cottage Wishes: 2013

Tuesday, December 31, 2013

Year of Cottage Wishes

When I think of my 2013 year I find that my most favorite posts were one's that brought back my treasured memories of my parents and family adventures. Being close to our family in North Carolina has brought me joy and my friendship with all of you has been life changing.
First, being around my girls is so uplifting, and a blessing to be a part of my grandboys lifes!
Holiday Traditions

Kitchen Greys Brings in my joy of collecting and the stories of my family. My mom was my biggest fan!

Fireplace Redo This came about because of all of you. Sharing your creative projects has given me the courage to try new things. Painting the fireplace was so much fun.

Garden Dreaming The joy of sharing the beauty of Biltmore and the wonderful plants with my grandsons has been wonderful. The birdhouse, well one of my wonderful presents I received from one our blogging ladies.

Beautiful Spaces Traveling around North Carolina and sharing with you all make it fun

Turn Around Watching my girls grow up has been one of my greatest pleasures in life

Beach, Sand and Shells My love of the ocean, sand and shells follows and touches my life daily, the lessons I have learned at the beach are ever lasting

Dreaming and Wishing My growth as mom, wife and friend continues my life journey

Junking The fun I have discovering new finds keeps me full of mystery and joy

I Hope the New Year finds you healthy and joyful. Thank you for sharing your time and life with me,
Di

Sunday, December 29, 2013

Chairs, Chairs, Chairs

I love chairs! When we moved into this house, my husband counted all the chairs and said you have way to many chairs. Since then I have sold a few and given my daughter a few. But I am always on the hunt for beautiful chairs. If I could I would change chairs constantly, wait, hubby says. The above pictures are how the room looked before Christmas.
I want to find Chairs for the Living Room. I needed some help to define what I want for the living room. I went to One Kings Lane to look at their Home Decor Resource Guide @ https://www.onekingslane.com/info/.

Right now I am using these wicker chairs and find they are to small. These are how they looked in the old house.

This is my statement chair, an oversized chair/loveseat in my living room, the grandboys love this chair. This is the chair I need to find companions for.
I wanted a resource to inspire me for purchasing those companion chairs and went to the Home Decor Resource on One Kings Lane to educate me!

I like this Club Chair, Davis Gray and Cream chair, but don't know if I want to go armless. Click on the pictures to go to the site info. Davis Armless Club Chair, Cream/Gray

French Arm Chairs in Muslin fabric

Barkley wingback chair features nail-head trim that beautifully contrasts with its ivory upholstery.

Another pair of vintage wing backs

I do love wing backs, I have a comfy one in my bedroom and love to sit here and read.

In the dining room that borders my living room, I have Windsor Chairs and a Pine Farm Table. With my 1940's corner cabinet, I would love to continue a classic look into the living room.

I do love a classic frame with a feedsack cover. These were mahogany and I painted them with Anne Sloan Paris Grey. They were then covered with feedsacks that I collected.

So, as I continue to search for my perfect chair. I know I will have to shuffle my cute little wicker chairs from my aunt to another area. Comfort will need to come over my cute factor. With grandson's that love to lounge all over the furniture and son-in-laws that need a comfortable place to land, I need to make a good choice this year. I think I have narrowed down my hunt to One Kings Lane. I have defined my style. Now I need to make a choice!
Give me a shout out with your opinions. Di

Linking with:
Twigg Studios
Funky Junk Interiors
Coastal Charm
The Scoop
Savvy Southern Style
From my Front Porch to Yours
Common Ground
French Country Cottage
Shabby Art Boutique
Jennifer Rizzo
Masterpiece Monday

Thursday, December 26, 2013

Holiday Cooking

We made sausage biscuit bites for family and friends this year! Yummy. We made 4 batches and had to sample each tray, needless to say, that was our supper that night. Recipe below*

A great basic recipe, we added cheese, pancetta to some batches.

Always perfect, stacked up! Great to reheat in the oven for breakfast, lunch or dinner!

Part of the fun is finding ways to package them up. Two of my new ironstone finds

My, favorite way of gifting my baked good is containers. I have gotten my best ideas from Martha Stewart and Southern Living

This sweet Whitman's box went to my daughter that to me is a fairy princess!

These are from England and held cookies, I kept these for myself since I have add them for a long time.

I packed these full for my boss.

This one went to my daughter that loves all things French

Here is the recipe: 3/4 pound pork sausage; 2 2/3 cups all-purpose flour; 2 tbsp. sugar; 1 tsp baking powder; 1/2 tsp salt; 1/2 tsp. baking soda; 1/2 cup shortening; 1 pk dry yeast; 1/2 cup shortening; 1 pk. dry yeast; 1/4 cup warm water; 1 cup buttermilk; Melted butter. Cook sausage, crumble, drain and set aside. Combine highlighted 5 ingredients, mixing well. Then cut in shortening. Dissove yeast in water, Add mixture to buttermilk, stir well. Add this to Dry ingredients, mix well and then add sausage. Turn dough out onto lightly floured surface, knead lightly 3 to 4 time. Roll Dough to 1/2" thickness. Cut with a 1 3/4" round cutter. Place biscuits on an ungreased baking sheet. Brush tops with melted butter. Bake @ 425 for 10 min. or until brown. Yields 3 dozen biscuits. Di, Joining these sweet friends

Wednesday, December 25, 2013

Christmas Joy

Merry Christmas Everyone from North Carolina. Yesterday we had small amount of snow flurries. We had a wonderful Christmas Eve celebration with our kids.