Books I've loved in 2011

What can I say...I love books.  This year I bought myself a Kindle, but that doesn't mean that I no longer buy used books or get books from the public library...I do.  I try to keep track of what I've read on the site Goodreads.com.  So far I've listed 544 books that I've read - not all this year tho.  When I say I've read all of that author's books, that means I'm anxiously awaiting their next one.  Also, I tend to read mostly mysteries.

Here are some that I loved.
Death Along the Spirit Road
Hoof Prints: More Stories from Proud Spirit
The Horses of Proud Spirit
Cold Wind - I've read all of C.J. Box's books
The Scent of Rain and Lightning
Rain Water
Sarah's Key
The King of Lies
Heaven's Keep - I've read all of Wm. Kent Krueger's books
A Fortunate Life - I was lucky to find this book on a swapping site, otherwise it's very expensive
The Help
Feathers Brush My Heart
The Story Teller - I've read all of Margaret Coel's books
A Maiden's Grave
The Dry Grass of August
A Cold Day in Paradise - I've read all of Steve Hamilton's books
Look Again
The Soldier's Wife
Beyond Reach - I've read all of Karin Slaughter's books
The Misremembered Man

These are just a few of the books that kept me awake at night.  Hope you enjoy some of them too.

Thanks for dropping by...

Sondra

Only 15 Years

We've been in our home for over 15 years and I finally got curtains put up in our family room. No, the single window in the room wasn't totally bare all those years as blinds and a valance with my favorite Waverly fabric (that's followed me from house to house) provided privacy.  On a routine stop at Denver Fabrics, I found the perfect material for my curtains - a red check with a delicate green border.  Loved it so much that I bought what was left on the roll - about 9 yards.  Who know, there may be a chair slipcover in the future.

These were the easiest curtains to make - just used fusible webbing tape and my iron. So much faster and better than lugging the sewing machine out of the fabric cabinet.  And no stray threads to pick up!

To make it even easier, I left the selvage edge so there wasn't any hemming on the sides.  I like the rustic look the edge gives.

Cozy is how I'd describe the room now...just love my new curtains paired with my grandfather's old rocker and my basket of pillows.

They say it's your birthday

Today is the 4th birthday of my grandson, Dylan.  I hope you had a very special day, sweetie.  XOXOXO

supplies - Birthday Bash collab by Memory Scraps 

One of my favorite places is...

Pickity Place, located near Mason, NH. Lunch there features delectable food make with fresh herbs from the herb garden. My daughter, Jen, and I have lunched there several times.

On the property is Grandmother's Cottage, a red Cape Cod cottage that was featured in the 1948 Golden Books edition of Little Red Riding Hood by Elizabeth Orton Jones. Grandmother's bedroom is full of Little Red Riding Hood memorabilia. The grounds of Pickity Place are a photographer's dream - full of building, nooks and crannies, and of course the herb garden itself.

Just thinking of the great food served there makes me hungry. On Amazon I found a cookbook Country Herb Cooking: Four Seasons of Recipes from Pickity Place by Judy Walter that I promptly ordered. Can't wait for it to get here. Here are samples of what's served.

If you're in the New England area, think about visiting this jewel of a place. I'm not connected to Pickity Place in any way, just wanted to share one of my favorite places.

See ya later...
Sondra

Breakfront Beauty

This old breakfront has been in my family for some time.  My mother loved to go to farm auctions - back then, auctions were usually held when a family died off as opposed to these days when foreclosure is usually the reason. (I digress, as usual)

Anyway, Mother bought this old piece and lugged it home, much to my Dad's dismay.  She and I applied a fake golden oak grain finish to the thing probably 50 years ago.  It was in her house until she died nearly 20 years ago when I moved it to Colorado. Its finish wasn't a bad match for oak, but over the years my house filled up with wood finishes and I wanted COLOR.  Just like those in some gorgeous material I found a few years ago and made into drapes.

Enter my passion for Annie Sloan Chalk Paint.  I figured painting the breakfront's inside with Cream and the outside with Versailles over Primer Red would be perfect.  Well, the inside looked great but the Versailles just wasn't quite right.  Next I put Chateau Grey over the front and finished with a mixture of clear and dark wax. Voila - just what I wanted.

Now some of my favorite things reside inside.  I love it!

  

Almost forgot...this label was on the breakfront's back.  Anyone have any information about the company?

Redoux Friday Link Up Party
Miss Mustard Seed Furniture Friday Favorites Linkup
Shades of Amber link party

Vintage

Nate Berkus has a design personality quiz on his website here.  There were no surprises for me...I'm Vintage!

"You like decor that's one of a kind. You're a garage and thrift sale shopper who likes things with some age and you know you’re a vintage personality, you can shop in places with items that have an aged look to create rooms that feel assembled over time. You don’t go to the new modern stores and waste your time buying items that you know you’re not going to love!"