Tag: cottage (page 1 of 5)

January 15, 2019 / 0 Comments

A Refresh

I took down our Christmas decorations today. I don’t think I’m ever ready to do that. But, it was high time to do it! Now, the cottage feels sparse, but not in a bad way. I don’t mind the clean bleakness of it all. There is something refreshing about the inside of the cottage mimicking the winter environment beyond its walls.

A mini “spring cleaning” session took place this afternoon, with every surface being wiped and scrubbed down, dusted and mopped and vacuumed too. The candles are lit, there are still twinkle lights glowing from little spots here and there and dinner is simmering away on the stove. So, life is good!

April 20, 2018 / 0 Comments

Hello Friday!

We’re in the midst of a mini heatwave in our neck of the woods. The sun is shining, even brighter I think, since all the weekend grocery shopping is done.

There is homemade butterscotch pudding cooling down in the fridge, nestled next to a fresh batch of whipped cream to be dolloped on top of it for dessert. There is chicken soaking in buttermilk to be oven fried for dinner later and served alongside a big salad with homemade ranch dressing and hot rolls smothered in cinnamon honey butter.

There are fresh sheets on the bed, the curtains are blowing in the breeze that is trickling over the windowsill, beach music is playing and the one day we have been waiting for since Monday has finally arrived!

Hello Friday! You look beautiful! Here’s to the weekend, long may it last!

March 28, 2018 / 0 Comments

Countdown

We’re on countdown in the Michie household for school to break up for Easter. One more day to go! So, we’re in the homestretch!

It has been raining here for what seems like forever and a day! The above photo is one I snapped earlier this week on my morning run. I was soaking by the end of it. I looked like I had gone swimming with my clothes on!

I was keeping my fingers crossed for a sunny Easter, but it looks like we’re gonna keep on having rain for days in our neck of the woods.

That’s okay, it will be sunny inside with candles lit, golden and creamy yellow coloured daffodils that have burst into bloom and twinkle lights glowing here and there. We’ll just make our own sunshine!

January 26, 2018 / 0 Comments

Spring Cleaning

The weekend is here at last and I am so happy. The cottage has been topsy turvy with all the goings on of washing machine woes, burst pipes where our kitchen was briefly turned into a tropical paradise complete with a waterfall and a den that looks like a disaster zone because everything has been piled up in it from the kitchen.

But, we have a brand new washing machine, who has become my new best friend! The pipes have been fixed and the holes in the ceiling patched and painted. All of this has given us an opportunity to start our spring cleaning a bit early, which is a good thing. I moved our dresser yesterday and discovered that there wasn’t dust bunnies behind it, but dust elephants! Quite scary! I love deep cleaning and getting everything refreshed.

So, the house is coming back to itself and this weekend we will put everything right again. I picked up some milk yesterday evening on my way home and noticed that the grocery store had flats of pansies out front in all different glorious shades of yellow, orange and plum. So if the weather holds, I’m thinking that some sunshine yellow ones might just jump into my hands this weekend and we can cheer up a few spots in our little street garden.

Here’s to the weekend long may it last!

{Image via Good Housekeeping}

January 24, 2018 / 0 Comments

Back in Business!

Our washing machine decided that for the New Year it was calling it quits! After waiting for a week on a repairman to come, only to be told saving it wasn’t a viable option; we waited another week for a new machine. It arrived today and I’m so excited that I don’t have to haul bags of laundry to the laundromat in rainy weather again.

I’ve got my first load going as I write. The house has a happy hum to it and Mr. Michie won’t have to go to work naked tomorrow. So, it’s a win, win all around.

January 19, 2018 / 0 Comments

Let the Weekend Begin!

The weekend is finally upon us and after this week it is very much deserved. The cottage is clean and tidy for the weekend. We have sunshine today, which like our plants on the windowsill, I’m drinking in as much as possible because the weather forecast says it’s gonna rain for the next five days. It’s cold, but it’s sunny. It was 24°F when I went out for my run this morning. I felt like a popsicle, but the air was so clean and the woods were so quiet.

The twinkle lights are on and a steaming cup of ginger tea is sitting next to me. The house is quiet except for the soulful sounds of Gladys piping across the living room. Amongst other things there’s been a lot of Gladys Knight & The Pips being played around the house lately. Below are two of my favourites.

Here’s to the weekend, long may it last!

January 17, 2018 / 0 Comments

Life Lately

I’ve tried to write this post 1/2 a dozen times but life lately has put a stop to it. I’ve had things to share, but for now they’re not important.

The cottage is quiet today, I feel quiet today. The only sound is the hum of the oven, baking a fresh loaf of bread. I went for a run this morning in the freezing cold and darkness, but I was rewarded by getting to see the sun rise as I crossed over the train bridge. It’s the little things, right?

It’s very windy here today, but the sunlight keeps coming and going, drifting through the window and is slowly starting to crawl across the wall and towards the mantel. All of Christmas has been tucked away now and the house doesn’t feel so much bare as it does streamlined.

Sitting on the mantel are a pair of strawberry pink candles nestled in the antique milk glass candleholders my parents gave me for Christmas. A clear glass bowl of moss covered grape hyacinths with their shoots poking through the soft green mossy blanket, rests between them.

I love that I can see their creamy white roots running down into the dirt and moss that line the bowl. It’s like getting to watch a science experiment. In front of your eyes Nature grows, in all of Her glory.

The candles are lit and the kettle is on, as I think only copious amounts of tea can warm me up today.

Here’s to Friday, because I’m already ready for it!

SaveSave

January 3, 2018 / 0 Comments

Back to School

The house got a quick “spit and a polish” yesterday. Things were put away and tidied up. Christmas is still up and will remain that way until the weekend. We always keep things up till after Epiphany. To be honest, I normally keep them up a bit longer. But not this year, I will have to be good and put everything away till next Christmas as we have some New Year’s work to be done in the cottage. That’s what happens when a pipe bursts! Luckily the damage appears minimal, but we’ll have to wait and see.

We didn’t sleep a wink last night with “Storm Eleanor”. We had wind gusts of over 70mph. We watched things fly by from our window. I saw a neighbours gutter get ripped off and fly down the street. Garbage cans were rolling down the road like they were in some kind of race and the wind was so hard, it sounded like someone was punching down the door. But our little cottage held her own.

Today was back to school day. I don’t think I was ready. I never am. So here’s to a short work week and here’s to the weekend, may it arrive quicker than I can blink!

{Image FOUND}

December 8, 2017 / 0 Comments

It’s Beginning to…

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas in our little cottage. The candles are lit, the decorations are hung, Christmas music is playing and my little lady’s risengrød is almost ready for the Nisse.

Risengrød is Danish for “rice pudding”. Eating rice pudding as part of your Christmas meal and making a bowl as a gift for your Nisse is a Danish tradition. My friend R.’s sister lives in Denmark and around this time of year we would always talk about leaving out our little bowls of risengrød for the Nisse. I think R. might have been a pixie himself, there was always a twinkle in his eyes.

You want to keep your Nisse happy you see, especially at this time of year, or they’ll play all kinds of little jokes on you. Nisse love to tease! Our Nisse is usually very well behaved, but I know he’s been up to some kind of magic in the cottage lately. I heard laughing the other morning and came down to find that he had been feasting on a bowl of Christmas candy I had set out. A pile of foil wrappers littered the floor and a little trail of chocolate crumbs was leading away from it.

I’ve been very lucky this year because my little lady is making us a big patch of risengrød to put up in the attic for him. I prefer keeping him happy as I don’t want him to get up to too much mischief! ♥

February 21, 2017 / 0 Comments

The Grand Total

Since my last post about reorganising the closets, we’ve given away a whole lot more! The grand total now stands at 10 garbage bags and one large shopping bag worth of clothing, fabric, towels and home accessories. Decluttering is an amazing thing, it frees the space and it frees you. I haven’t missed anything that we have donated. I’m truly enjoying the bits and pieces we decided to keep. I took great pleasure in making a loaf of bread yesterday, on countertops that were practically devoid of clutter. It’s very cathartic and something this little dollhouse and us were desperately in need of.