Show Off Your Cottage Monday

I've discovered a lovely site where you can "Show Off Your Cottage Monday." The link can be found in my right sidebar. 

I'm always up for something new so I decided to do my first posting on their site.  I have such an eclectic home, but I love the little things that make it all seem to come together ~ well at least well enough for my liking.

At first I just hung three little pictures ~ then I came across an empty frame. Of course I had to find the perfect place for it ~ and walla ~ oops, there it is. I love how it made the small grouping transform to a collective picture. 

What once was a simple cup and saucer soon became a collection after my sister's visit. Upon her return visit she presented me with a little box holding matching cups, saucers and dessert plates that she said were just taking up space in her attic.  I wanted to show them off so I put them in a huge fruit bowl with a few cloth napkins and grapes. They now grace my dining room table for all to enjoy.

It really is worth clicking on the picture to enlarge it. The cups are just beautiful.

Blessings Surround Me

I got up early this morning and as I walked from room to room, I caught myself smiling.  I realized it's the little things in life that make me smile on a daily basis.


I started the day off by baking a rhubarb custard pie with steusel topping. I was pulling it out of the oven just before 8:00 a.m.  Now mind you, that is quite ambitious for the likes of me.

I spotted a deer right out the kitchen window.

I love my collections of glass bottles and cookbooks.

I adore this little teapot my Aunt Gerry snuck into my suitcase when we last visited her, just because she knew I loved it so.

And as you know from prior postings, we like wine. So I displayed a wine bottle surrounded by an ivy draping from a birchbark basket, setting alongside a grape motif plate box.

I recognize my blessings, large and small and will never take them for granted.