The cabin is a special place.  On the drive up, it is truly amazing, how we feel the weight of the world lifting and peace settling in.  Once there, with the beauty that surrounds and the sound of the rushing creeks, it is always such a calm and relaxing place to be.

Inside the cabin, there is a small window of time when the sunlight streams in.  A little in the morning and a bit in late afternoon.  I love those times as the sun dances through the lace covered windows, it is brighter and the extra warmth...especially in the winter.  But mostly it's a bit dark inside, so on comes the lamp light, oil lamps and the flicker of candles.  This was taken in the morning, just as the sun was coming in the front windows.

Guest Room Progress

The guest room, turned office, is being turned back to a guest room again.

I want this room to feel warm and cozy, so I'm adding colonial farmhouse style furnishings and accessories.  There's been a lot of progress since I shared the Guest Room Sneak Peek with you;
the cupboard is finished and a few new finds have been added too!

Ironstone Find and Hydrangea

It's always fun spending the day with a good friend,

strolling through antique shops,

and enjoying lunch at a quaint small town diner.

Such was the day when I came across my newest find, this ironstone soup tureen with ladle.

Roo Dishes

In the keeping room is a cupboard with my collection of California Provincial by Metlox-Poppytrail.

Some pieces were given to us by my mother-in-law when we were first married and I fell in love with the pattern.  Roosters, right up my alley!

Ironstone - Get It While You Can

Have you ever found yourself in this situation?

Your strolling through a shop,

the type that has those one of a kind treasures that are so fun to find.

You stumble upon an amazing piece,

just what you've been searching for,

and it's calling YOUR name.

So you move in a little closer,

remembering other pieces you've found that were similar
but too damaged
or
the price too high
but this one is looking good so far.
As you peer in even closer your heart begins to race a little
and
you begin thinking that this one may be the perfect piece.

You reach out,
touch it,

picking it up to look it over real good.

I mean real, real good; the top, sides, bottom, every which way you can!

You are so excited,

it's practically perfect,

the price is amazing!

AND
THEN
that old saying begins going round and round in your head,

"You better get it while you can, better get it while you can!"

You know right then with the condition so good and the amazing price,
that you should grab it up,

head straight way to the register,

and take that treasure home with you!

BUT...

you start to doubt,

begin to hem and haw,

ask yourself over and over, "should I, or shouldn't I?"

AND THEN...

you put it down,

walk away,

you look back,
several times you look back,

but keep walking away,

AND THEN...
you can't shake the decision as you drive home,

once home you can't get it out of your head,

you've been looking for pieces like this for your collection,
and this piece isn't damaged like the others,
and the price is right!

SO THEN...

you head back to the shop,

rush up to the front door like your pants are on fire,

locate the isle,

find the booth,

look on the shelf

and

it's

GONE!

Have you ever been there?

Me too!

And I vowed that from that point on I would trust my gut
and never let that happen again!

BUT...

right

before

Christmas

I

found this ironstone beauty,
no chips or cracks,
perfect condition,
the price was AMAZING,
and I walked away.

In the Kitchen and Keeping Room...

We have finally settled in.

Well you know how that goes, settled for now.  I'm always changing things up!

The day after Thanksgiving is usually when we head to the tree lot for our Christmas tree and the house decorating is about finished by the Sunday after.  I haven't been able to stick to that schedule this year due to the renovation.

So before I start bringing in Christmas, which will hopefully be today (yippee!), I wanted to share how we've settled in!

I was so hoping this would turn out to be a cozy space, and it has.

We really enjoy watching the early morning sun coming into the kitchen and keeping room as we eat our breakfast...

Before Christmas...

I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving, we sure did.

Thanksgiving and Christmas, this is the best time of year isn't it!

The Pine Kitchen Cupboard

I've been filling the cupboards in the new kitchen

and the one made of pine is pretty much finished...