Oh My Dog!

There is a saying that says "In a perfect world, every dog would have a home and every home would have a dog." 

With that said Honeybee Cottage can be declared a true home...We have dogs!

Little Miss. Emma is our youngest family member, a nearly six month old English Bulldog, she joined our family just before Halloween, immediately capturing our hearts. There are many reasons why we all love her, especially me:

Day she came home. 

1) She has had a sweet disposition right from the start. 

Look at all my wrinkles!

2) She likes to snuggle. Utterly sweet & snuggly! 

Loves playing hide & seek under pillows

3) She is an attention grabber..if she wants attention she tugs on my pant leg & growls.

Sleeping in the boys' clean laundry

4) She has No Problem sleeping in or heading back to bed if its just too cold to get out of it yet.

It's cold...so snuggling up to the stove to get warm

 5) She tries to catch snowballs thrown to her. 

Playing in snow for the first time

 6) She likes to snuggle up to me at nap time.

Getting sleepy

 7) She has made quick friends with the stray cat who has adopted us. No longer a stray I guess...

Do you have my toy?

 8) She is extremely smart.

See how I've grown!

9) She snores! 

Really?

 10) She is extremely curious & is fearless.

Yes, I am trouble!

11) She loves taking showers. Yes, showers!

12) She loves going in the car. She hears my car keys & comes running! She practically goes everywhere with me including the office.

13) Did I say that she is sweet & snuggly?

14) She loves people! And is always eager to get a scratch or pat.

15) She loves her food...much like I do! Eating fruit & veggies better than my        10 year old does.

16) The noises that she makes when sleeping, playing or eating will make anyone giggle.

17) She chooses the oddest things to "love"; a rubber duckie is her favorite toy.

18) She makes me smile.

19) She snorts.

20 She is always happy to see me when I have been gone.

 This list is by no way complete. And I am sure that now as she is reaching her "teen stage" of puppyhood that not every action will be as adorable as it is now.    Much like anything worth having there is work involved. I realize that not everyone is a pet lover (or owner) but I have been training Emma to greet people only when prompted but Beware! The pets who inhabit Honeybee Cottage are often found lounging on the nearest sofa or chair.

Wishing you each the perfect home, with the perfect dog.

Missie

Completed Bathroom?

    I received a lovely little note in my inbox yesterday that said "Missie are you okay? I have enjoyed reading your blog so much...it is a delight. Please tell me you are just busy painting the house all white?"
    Well, I have been very busy! Truthfully the real reason is that I have this bathroom that needed finishing touches that I just couldn't see posting about until it was completely & utterly done.
    I won't lie...there are still a few things that I need to do. Repaint the door but to do that I want to take it off lay it flat & actually do it properly. Yes, I said properly! That means I need some half way decent weather so I can take it out into the garage to paint. Currently, it is just waaaay too cold! Not only for the paint but for me to be out in the garage painting. Yes, I admit it I am wussy when it comes to cold! I said I liked the beautiful white of the snow...not that I want to actually live in the cold. Hello!!


     So now with before pictures of my bathroom. Alright, they really aren't true before pictures since they were an "OOPS!" I started to paint & wanted to take pictures of the bathroom for comparison.

 Old vanity repurposed from an old sewing machine cabinet

Valentine's day shower curtain...I know corny but love to decorate for Valentine's Day as much as Christmas.

Dark picture...sorry amateur photographer that I am.

      Really, it was a cute bathroom & these pictures don't do it justice but like I said I had already started clearing it out for painting.

In Progress

      So finally after nearly a week of painting, replacing flooring & the vanity here is the finished product....

LOVE the shower curtain! Yes, it's one that I have had but it looks much prettier now.

Hubby built a new frame & sliding frame to replace the old metal cabinet

Granite counter top & light that moved from my bedroom...makes perfect nightlight.

Can you believe I had this vanity in the garage in a box for 5 years!!

Moved this from my bedroom to use for towel rack. Made from old shed from my grandparents property & antique silver spoons hooks.

Weathered bench from Hubby's grandma.

All three colors in one shot

Repainted trim...It is Tuxedo Black by Valspar

Same light fixture just cleaned up

Another lovely find from Hubby's grandma

A fresh coat of paint is all this needed

Hubby's Grandma's china platter & green vintage glass canisters hold bath necessities.

Vanity cabinet & new flooring

Grey flooring also from my garage!

What do you think?

      So there you have it....the completed bathroom. I say complete but PLEASE realize once you come to my house it may be slightly different. I am sure I will tweak a few things.

It has begun...

In my last few posts I told you about the epiphany I had while undoing the Christmas decor & the lovely snowfall we had..

The one where I wanted to coat the entire house in a coat of white...

Well...

You know this is a much bigger undertaking than it actually sounded.

But...

I've started.

Thanks to my sweet friends who left comments saying they loved my house the way it was.

But I can't leave well enough alone...

I have painted the main bathroom.

And since we have a lovely vanity with sink sitting in the garage all boxed up for...do I dare say?
5 years! Yes, five years! We decided it should finally come in.

Well, that means the previous floor doesn't match. So out with the old & in with the new.

Back soon with before and after photos of bathroom and then to start on the kitchen!

Dreaming of a White ...Everything!

       My style has always been I love this, I love that, ooh, I LOVE & WANT that! Throw it all together & it will work. For the most part, I believe it always has. Honeybee Cottage (along with our previous homes) has been a constantly evolving, changing... almost living thing. I have used my ingenuity, creativity & love of a great vintage "treasures" to decorate.

        With my recent confession of dreaming in white I have shocked, dumbfounded & totally confused my family & friends. They seem to associate white with sterile, bland, stiff, stuffy & well, just plain boring! "White is everything you are not!" exclaimed one of my closest friends. Hubby's comment was "You're just not feeling well...go lay down & it will pass." What is it that they see that I don't?

         White is easy, breezy, light, airy, elegant, classic & anything but boring. Don't we all love White weddings? White picket fences? 

The iconic White picket fence 

      White can be cozy:

White can be colorful:

White can be Dreamy:

I think the people that think of white as cold do so because they believe a white room must be neat & uniform, void of color. I don't own anything boring. I would like to see the pieces that I value, cherish & love stand out in the room. Plus, I  use lots of fluffy cushions, honey colored oak antiques, vintage items & distressed finishes — so my belief is that I  will get that easy breezy feeling, but with warmth. 

Besides, it's just paint! 

I will be sure to take before, during & after photos of this transformation.

Color, Color Everywhere

  Honeybee Cottage overflows with color. Color not only feeds the eye but has both physiological & psychological components. There are some people that give little thought to the way a room color influences their mood...I, on the other hand, know better & have been known to change the paint in a room because it doesn't invoke in me the "feeling" that I am looking for.
     I love sage green...had the perfect green. I couldn't wait to use it. I painted my main bathroom this lovely green. I liked it. It didn't scare me a bit...but for some reason while soaking in a nice warm bubble bath, I began to think of painting it. Wouldn't be so bad if I hadn't come to this realization within a week of painting it! 

Benjamin Moore~ Seedling (AF-450)

     So off to the paint store I went. My bathroom became "Crushed Berries". I have had it this vibrant shade for a couple years now. Adore it!     
    The colors I have chosen for the walls of Honeybee Cottage are reminiscent of food: Death by Chocolate in the living room, Cafe' Latte in the t.v room, Raspberry Truffle in the dining room, Crushed Berries in main bathroom, Blueberry in the kitchen, Persimmon on my mud porch. These are all colors that I love...risky,daring, energetic & emotional, which is why I am sure that I adore them & chose them. They each evoked something in me. Hunger?
     For years, scientists & others have found evidence suggested that different color palettes could evoke different emotions, effectively programming our minds each time we enter a space. Which is why restaurants, health facilities all use different schemes.  

    Recently, with my oldest daughter's departure to college, I decided that hubby & I needed to take back the large downstairs bedroom & our youngest daughter should into the smaller room we had. This flip flop of rooms is not completely unusual at Honeybee Cottage. It has been pointed out by many that rearranging furniture may be my true hobby.
       So that meant that the Tiffany blue walls that my daughter's enjoyed, no matter how lovely did not match my bedding. Paint being cheaper than new bedding meant new paint! I haven't tired of the Gunmetal Grey that hubby & I had in our room. I have actually used it for years. In our previous home, all of the walls were this elegant grey. Now just to budget for it & find the time. 
       I knew I wasn't about to do it during December with Christmas. January proved to be busier than anticipated now it's February. Time to get busy. 
        Except....I have been dreaming of WHITE!?!?!

  How will this dream end?