I Had To Have It

I have 2 speeds - on and off.

I rarely sit and do nothing.

I had a dentist appointment yesterday and I arrived 25 minutes early. 

I did not want to sit around for 25 minutes.

So, I stopped in at Tuesday Morning, just around the corner from my dentist.

 I promised a group of students that I would teach a bookmaking class and I wanted to pick up some supplies.

I saw a chair and loved the color, but I was good and didn't even take it down off the shelf.

It wasn't expensive.

It was actually cheap.

But, I kept asking myself "do I really need it?"

The answer was no, but I wanted it.

I Had To Have It.

So, after the dentist, I headed right back to Tuesday Morning.

And, I bought the chair.

A little metal chair with amazing patina.

Our little cottage is exactly that - little.

Where should I put the chair?

In the kitchen?

Next to the fireplace holding flowers?

Or decorated for Valentine's Day with the key to my heart?

In the garden?

I chose the most practical spot.

It is sitting next to my workspace and if I sit on the pillow, it is the perfect height.

And, it is the perfect color.

Steve's only question was, "how much?"

I got what I wanted for $29.

I am going back tomorrow to buy its sister.

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I am linked up at

Vintage on a Dime 

The Shabby Creek Cottage

The Busy Bee's

Have a Daily Cup of Mrs. Olson

Creative Cain Cabin

A Delightsome Life

No Minimalist Here

The Dedicated House

Lavender Garden Cottage

A Simple Gesture

I live a small life.

It doesn't take much to make me happy.

Steve made my day.

On his afternoon walk, he saw some seaweed lying on the beach.

 He thought to himself, "that almost looks like a heart."

He shaped it perfectly and took a picture.

After my last class left for the day, I checked my phone and saw an e-mail from Steve titled "heart"

and found this sweet picture from Steve.

A little gesture with a big message.

"We just have one life...keep it simple...be happy & keep others happy." 

anonymous

books...books...books

Last night while Steve made dinner, I made a table runner.

Before I photographed it, I dug out the yellow box from my work space.

 I couldn't use it with 'cards' so first I had to alter it.

there is no meaning to the number 5, it was just sitting on my work table

A scrap of paper and a rub-on number changed the look.

First came the flowers - hard to find in the garden after 2 days of rain...

Then a book...

And another book...

Some hands...

A clock face plate...

And finally my little C tile.  

I set it on the table and added candles.

Looking around the room and into the living room, I was struck by the number of books I saw everywhere I looked...

under tables and on tables.

placed on shelves and stacked on furniture.

I was reminded of our move to this little cottage 15 years ago.

I loved this house from the beginning, but one thing I didn't like back then was the lack of places to put books.

Books are definitely a part of who we are, but it took us time to remove walls and replace furniture so that we had a place for books.

Now,

there are books to fit our life style,

books about decorating and making books.

There are books I made

including a book for people who are staying at our house to watch Dorje.

There are books for reading. but more and more

we are reading books and magazines on these.

Despite our electronic reading,

I know I will continue to decorate using books.

..................................

I started to tell you about my heart table runner

But, as in the saying, "the best laid plans of mice and men...",

my plans went astray.

.............................

I am linked up at

Under the Table and Dreaming

Lavender Garden Cottage

Alderberry Hill

Funky Junk Interiors

Boogieboard Cottage

Twigg Studios

Primp

Six Sisters

The Gingerbread Blog

That's The Way I Like It

Since I began blogging, I take all of my decorating decisions much more seriously.

I was ready to remove New Years from the mantel, but I couldn't decide on a new vignette. 

Lots of different ideas have been bouncing around my brain and today I finally felt like I had it.

First, I had to change the painting over the mantel.

I wanted to use a painting Steve did of a red tulip, but he told me it is going to a show this weekend so I found this painting in the garage.

Fifteen years ago when we moved into our little cottage, we each surprised the other with a little red wagon for Christmas.

This is the wagon Steve bought me - rusted and well used.

 It sat in the front yard planted with flowers until one day, while planting flowers, my trowel went right through the bottom.

Thankfully, Steve painted me a reminder of the little red wagon.

With the painting hung, I just walked around the house looking for anything with hearts.

There is a whole drawer in the attic full of Valentine decorations, but I wanted to use what was already out.

I just made this little framed heart and it was definitely going on the mantel.

I gathered up books with a heart theme.

A favorite Mary Emmerling book,

a little photo album covered with hearts,

and another photo album became the anchor pieces.

The red card with the quilted heart was hiding in my Expedit.

Some hands from my hand collection

were brought into the mix

along with a  bottle opener in the Valentine theme.

A few little hearts

sitting in a basket were chosen for the mantel.

Voila!

Keeping it simple.

Using what I have.

That's the way I like it.

........................................

I'm linked up at

Rooted in Thyme

The Charm of Home

Chic on a Shoestring

French Country Cottage

Jennifer Rizzo

Common Ground

My Romantic Home

No Minimalist Here

Creative Cain Cabin

Have a Daily Cup of Mrs. Olson

Shabby Creek Cottage

The Busy Bees