Cottage Dreamer » My Favorite Things

My son’s Chihuahua Bootsy

Sandra — Sun, 18 Jul 2010 23:24:47 +0000

I “puppy sit” Bootsy during the day while Dave is at work. When he gets here around 10:30 in the morning he’s ready for a nap – which he takes until about 4:00 when we go out for a walk. Then it’s dinner time after which we curl up on the sofa and watch tv until “daddy” gets home.

These are pictures Dave took of him today along with captions of what he imagined Bootsy was thinking.

I take guarding this patio very seriously

I wish it was warm every day

Pardon Me, I heard there were still spots available in the cutest puppy ever contest.

Pink Saturday – Some of my favorite things

Sandra — Sat, 17 Jul 2010 07:36:01 +0000

I want to thank Beverly for featuring Cottage Dreamer this week in her post for Pink Saturday at her blog How Sweet The Sound. I think it’s a wonderful idea to pick several blogs each week to highlight so we can get to know the Pink Saturday participants better.

This week I went through my previous posts and picked out a few of my favorite things to give you and idea of what I like. I suppose my style could be described as “pink, blue, and cream.” I don’t think I could ever become tired of living surrounded by these colors.

To start off, even though it’s not pink, here’s a photo of my son, Dave, and his Chihuahua, Bootsy, who I “puppy sit” each weekday when Dave is at work.

One of my favorite rooms is my bedroom. I’m not quite through decorating it – still have to put up the pictures, but it’s a very pretty pink room and very relaxing.

Many years ago I had a business selling my original dolls. I’ve been slowly getting back into sculpting and hope to have something to show soon. This doll, Allison, is what a few people have said looks like a self-portrait. I tell them, “Maybe in my dreams.” lol She’s about 28″ tall and is made of porcelain. One of the many things I love to do is Heirloom Sewing which I used in creating her costume. Ok, she’s not in pink, but on the umbrella she holds there are pink embroidered flowers.

One thing I love to collect is Angels, mostly Seraphime Angels by Roman and those by Jim Shore. Here’s one of the sets of Seraphime Angels that I’m fortunate to
have in my collection. It’s called Angel Garden. I just love the delicate nature of them and, of course, the blue, pink, and white color scheme.

And lastly, I’m fortunate enough to have been able to collect several pieces of art by Debi Coules. The piece below is one of several boxes I have by her. Thoughout my blog you’ll find more of her creations. I just love the beauty of her paintings and the touch of romance they bring to each room in my home.

Thank you so much for stopping by Cottage Dreamer today. I hope you have a wonderful Pink Saturday and I’d love to hear any comments you’d like to leave.

Sandra

Pink Saturday – Large Seraphim Angels

Sandra — Sat, 10 Jul 2010 12:18:17 +0000

It’s Pink Saturday again at Cottage Dreamer! Thanks to Beverly at How Sweet The Sound for once more hosting this fun day of sharing all things Pink!

Today I wanted to share with you the two beautiful Roman Seraphim Angels that grace my dinning room. Each statue sits on a handpainted cabinet from my favorite artist, Debi Coules. You’ve seen a lot of her creations in other posts. I just love her work and feel very fortunate that I’ve been able to collect so much.

The first angel is Alyssa. She is 27″ tall and was the first large figurine that Roman’s Seraphim Collection produced. She has such a wonderful and peaceful look to her face.

My son has always kidded me that if I buy one more angel figurine they are going to have to declair my condo a cathedral.

The next angel is another large Seraphim from Roman. I’ve forgotten her name and can’t find her online anywhere. Also, she is just too heavy for me to lift up on my own. When my son comes over I’ll have him lift her up and update this post.

The lantern that she holds lights up as she is searching for something – or perhaps guiding the way through dark times. As is usual for Roman Seraphim angels she has a very peaceful expression.

She also sits on a cabinet by Debi Coules.

Also, you might note the wallpaper. I just love it and when I redid my condo a few years ago it was one thing that I did not want changed. It might be close to 25 years old but I just love it.

Have a wonderful Saturday and enjoy all the great blogs featured for Pink Saturday.

Oh, and if you know the name of the angel carrying the lantern, please let me know.

Sandra

Bootsy!

Sandra — Sun, 04 Jul 2010 03:37:30 +0000

This is my son’s Chihuahua “Bootsy” whom I “puppy-sit” suring the week when Dave is at work. Bootsy is 7 years old and weighs about six pounds. So he’s really not a puppy – but when you’re this small you seem to be a puppy all the time. He’s a real character.

Dave had taken him out front to “do his thing” before they went home from my place. I think Bootsy decided that he’d rather walk. lol

Pink Saturday – A Pretty Pink Box to Cherish

Sandra — Sat, 17 Apr 2010 10:44:06 +0000

A huge Thank You to Bev at How Sweet The Sound for hosting our weekly celebration of all things Pink. Make sure to check out all of the other sites she has listed.

This week I’m sharing another one of the beautiful hand-painted boxes that I purchased from Debi Coules. She paints such beautiful roses and always finds a way to incorporate them into such pretty designs – like this box with “Cherish” on it.

Each week Bev asks us to post a link to another blog that has participated in Pink Saturday. This week I’m suggesting you take a look at Cape Cod Rambling Rose. She creates some of the most beautiful mixed-media journals using vintage laces and images. I think I need one of these to go along with my hand-painted boxes.

Have a wonderful Pink Saturday!

Sandra

Show and Tell – Handpainted Enamelware

Sandra — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 12:18:41 +0000

I began collecting items painted by Debi Coules on eBay. She has now moved on to having her own website (banner lower down in the post.) I just love her roses and have lots of items spread out through my home and will be sharing more of them in the future.

My kitchen bay window has a shelf and right now has a combination of enamelware and two stained glass lamps. Somewhere I’ve got more plates that I’ll probably put on the shelf – but I tend to like the way it looks now. I do have a lace trimmed runner that’s in my “to iron” stack that will go back on the shelf.

Thanks to Cindy at My Romantic Home for hosting Show and Tell Friday. Cindy’s blog is one of the two or three that inspired me to start my own blog.

Hope you enjoyed this look at my “Pink Pretties” from my kitchen.

Romantic Country Magazine just got here

Sandra — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 22:54:02 +0000

I finally got tired of running all over town to find copies of Romantic Home so I decided to finally get a subscription. When I went to sign up there was a “deal” to also get four copies of Romantic Country – so I figured I can’t have too many Romantic magazines, so why not?

As I was going through the Summer 2010 issue I turned a page and stopped in awe. It was over a article called The Poetic Potter – Lark Roderigues. It includes photos of her pottery which is just spectacular. Below is a photo of some of her vases that I found online:

They are absolutely gorgeous and I suddenly thought about what I could get rid of so I could afford a couple pieces. I also regretted getting rid of my kiln from my dollmaking days because I would so like to try to make something like it. But, alas the kiln is long gone.

The article mentions her website, which is www.larkpottery.com and has lots more examples of this beautiful handmade pottery. I then googled her name and found a piece of her work on eBay, though it had been sold. And lastly I found her Etsy shop with a few of her items.

There are so many wonderful things in Romantic Country that it’s going to take me some time to get through all of it. But I as soon as I saw Lark’s work I knew I had to blog about it.

Sandra

Pink Saturday – Heavenly Reflections

Sandra — Sat, 06 Feb 2010 08:17:05 +0000

It’s Pink Saturday again! And as always our Hostess Bev has collected a list of great blogs that want to participate in the celebration of all things Pink. You can find more blogs listed at How Sweet The Sound.

One of my favorite things to collect is Roman’s Seraphim Angels. I was very fortunate to be able to get this collection of angels called Heavenly Reflections. It features five angels surrounding a pool. It sits on a small oval table in my living room.

CLICK FOR LARGER IMAGE

This week I thought I would feature a site that I think a lot of people would like. It’s called Tip Nut and have some great ideas – everything from links to recipes, embroidery designs, household tips, and more. I get their daily newsletter and look forward to seeing what links will be included. There’s more than just the links in the newsletter. As an example, a current Featured article on the front page is something I’ve been doing for awhile and it really has helped me out. It’s about Household Inbox System. A system like this has saved me hours of hunting through my condo for places I’ve put stacks of mail thinking – I’ll get to it later. Well, now I have my “in box” in one place (the office) and Friday is my day to deal with whatever is in the bos – and then get it filed away.

Have a wonderful Pink Saturday!

Sandra

Pink Saturday – New Collectable and Giveaway Winner

Sandra — Sat, 23 Jan 2010 14:10:52 +0000

The winner of my giveaway from a few weeks ago is Tina from Beansie Babbles! Congratulations. The package will be in the mail to you soon.

This week I received the Spring part of a collection from Jim Shore that I got from one of his appearances on QVC. I love his work and the way he incorporates quilt patterns into his sculptures. I think that this egg is just adorable. There are two very tiny bulbs in the diorama section – that don’t show up in the photos – that illuminates it. The bunnies are so cute and so is the quilt pattern on the back of the diorama. The other two in the collection that I’ve received are a pumpkin with pilgrims in it and a star with a nativity scene in it. I’ve forgotten what the Summer selection is so in a couple of months when I receive the next installment it will be a surprise.

Bev has asked us to feature another Pink Saturday blog each week. This week I’ve selected a blog that is filled with some fantastic crafts. The blog is Glitter and Roses by Ginger – and she’s even having a giveaway this week. Make sure to check out her blog.

Lastly, thank you for the many kind wishes for my son. He’s now back to work and is doing very well. He even went on a job interview yesterday. The contract with the current company is over and now he’s looking for something permanent. My hope is that he gets the job that’s right for him. Fortunately, he’s in IT and has a lot of great experience so he should be able to find something good soon.

Have a wonderful Pink Saturday and thank you so much for all the great comments – they mean a lot.

Sandra

Special Pink Saturday – Christmas Traditions

Sandra — Sat, 19 Dec 2009 12:40:21 +0000

This is the third Saturday that we have a theme for our Pink Saturday thanks to Bev at How Sweet The Sound. This week we are recalling a Holiday or Christmas tradition.

Each year for about the last fifteen years my son and I have gone out on Christmas Eve to see the decorations around town. We used to go out and guess at where to go. Now our local paper provides a list of homes that have great decorations and breaks it up into north and south sides of town. This makes things a lot easier. Plus, my son is a techno-geek so likes programming all the addresses into his GPS. We tune the car radio to one of the Chicago FM stations that plays Christmas songs and take off on our adventure – with Bootsy (Dave’s Chihuahua) cuddled in a blanket on my lap.

Here’s some pictures that show off our town:

Naperville’s downtown lights create a beautiful canopy.

We haven’t found another house that is decorated as extravagantly as any other in town. There are always a dozen or so cars parked around this giant display. We always get a laugh at the house next door. Their one decoration is a large arrow made up of white lights pointing toward this festival of lights.

This is one of several Trolley’s that give tours of Naperville. At Christmas they take folks around at night for an hour tour of the best decorated homes in town. Several times we’ve run across the Trolley on Christmas Eve and have found a few houses to add to our own tour.

Another wonderful house with a fantastic light displays. It’s always one of our “must sees.”

Now, in keeping with the Pink Saturday idea, I thought I’d show off a new tradition for my home – 4 foot trees. Rather than one big tree that I never seem to get set up – mostly because I don’t like bugging my son to do it and he does work hard. So, now that I’ve got one tree set up in my bedroom, I realized how much I like these smaller trees – even got three more this year at JoAnn’s for fantastic savings. But they will have to wait for next year to be put up – but oh what fun I’ll have through the year search for “treasures” for next years theme trees.

A pretty pink tutu graces my Pink Themed Tree.

My pretty pink ballerina dancing on my White Christmas Tree

My ballerina and beautiful painted rose ornament.

I’ve had this ornament for a long time. She’s a Joan Walsh Anglund angel.

Handpainted rose ornament by Debi Coules.

The entire four foot white tree that sits in the corner of my bedroom. My bedroom has such a wonderful glow to it.

And lastly, there’s my ceramic nativity that I made about thirty years ago. Just one of my five nativity sets.

Thank you for sharing an old and a new tradition with me this year. Merry Christmas and a very Happy New Year to everyone!