Keep Smiling

Keep Smiling

Thursday, March 2, 2017

Kitchen Update & A Trip To The Library

We have been doing a little 
updating in our kitchen,
or maybe I should say backdating. 
Why?
Because I want my kitchen to reflect
the vintage age of our little
1905 Cottage :) 

 I had these two shelves in the kitchen.
One on each side of the doorway
that lead into the dining room.  

 Now they are in the dining room
filled with quilts, tablecloths
and tea cups. 

 This is the kitchen now.
Right side of the doorway.

Left side of the doorway.
This small cupboard is not as deep
as the one that was here and it allows me 
more room to open the cupboard 
door that is next to it.  
My Sweet Steve built it to my measurements. 

I also have embroidered three
dish towels this week.
I'm happy with them except for the back . . .
I need to find someone to show me how
to hide my knots better.

I had a dentist appointment on Tuesday,
so while I was in town I visited 
the library and came home with these.

 
Lots of inspiration :)


Well, that's it for this post :)

Thank you all for stopping by. 
I hope that you will take a little time
and leave a comment, I love visitng
with my sweet blogging sisters.

Keep Smiling!

Your blogging sister,
Connie :)

44 comments:

  1. I like what you've done in your kitchen. And those tea towels that you embroidered? Too lovely to use! I don't embroider so know nothing about hiding the threads in the back.

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    1. Good Morning Granny Marigold, thank you for being such a sweet and loyal follower. Our kitchen has old solid wood cabinets that were probably installed in the forties, so I like to keep with that theme. I don't know much about the history of this house, but I like to imagine that sometime in the forties or late thirties, they installed indoor plumbing and remodeled the kitchen with the cabinets that are still in it today. I love this old look and feel, it makes me happy, and I like to think about all the women that cooked here before me. :)

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  2. Hi Connie, I am so envious of all you get done! The embroidered towels are so nice. I wondered if instead of knots if you would do it like cross stitch where you don't knot it but leave a tail and then work the cross stitch over it for a few stitches. I wonder if that would work for embroidery? Your 1905 kitchen is so lovely. I thought I would mention that I do all of my birthday cakes on a cake stand to make them special! I love pedestal pieces. Keep on crafting! I enjoy looking. Working on cross stitch, quilt and knitting dish clothes at my house and planning just what I can fit into my little garden! Decision, decisions! Nancy

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    1. Spring alone is a big time of decisions, but you having a new home would of course double the decisions that you will have to make. Consider it all a wonderful adventure and have fun with it :)

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  3. Hi Connie, I love all of your free-standing cabinets. They look great. The best thing about them is you can move them around and use them in different areas. You always do such a great job decorating.
    I had to go to the dentist this week too. I had a tooth capped (temporary right now) on Monday and it's still bothering me. Had to go back today and get more of it filed down. UGH!
    Your towels turned out great and look so nice in your kitchen.

    Cindy

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    1. Hi Cindy, thanks for your generous praise . . . have fun at the dentist. You know I am one of those few people that actually enjoy going to the dentist. I think it is a time when I know that there is absolutely nothing for me to do . . . so I always get into a deep relaxed mood when I go and just let them do their job. I have often fallen asleep in the chair and had to be woke up, :)

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  4. What a cosy kitchen you are creating.Love those stitching books.love free-form quilts.

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    1. Hi Judy, that one book on quilting has you taking all of your UFO and cutting them up into strips and then sewing them to other scrapes and unfinished pieces. It truly changes the look and makes a very interesting quilt. Maybe you can find it at your library. As for my kitchen, I love it . . . it's vintage and full of history :)

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  5. Your kitchen looks great. I love how you always keep things fresh :) Looks like you're going to be busy stitching with all those library books

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    1. Hi Ann, I love looking through books and on Pinterest for ideas. I actually should be using the library more than I do. It's much more budget friendly than purchasing, LOL. Thank you for your sweet words on my kitchen.

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  6. Love the new changes. Pretty towels too!!

    Connie do you know if Blue Cottage blog changed her name? I can't access her blog anymore. :(

    Enjoy your kitchen. Janie

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    1. Hi Janie, I'm glad that you asked about her blog, because I am having the same problem. I don't think that she has change or quit, I think that she has hit a wall and will have to figure out how to get out of it. If I find that I can get back in, you'll be the first to know. Keep trying :) She's a sweet young women that really wants to have a blog. She had a lot of questions for me when she started . . . but there are a lot of things that can go wrong. I had some trouble at first, too.

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    2. Thanks Connie, Hope she gets back.

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  7. Your kitchen is quite charming, Connie, with all your fabulous touches, including your exquisitely embroidered cloths! Thank you so much for your visit - I am making a slow recovery and will get there in the end! So looking forward to the rest of my goodies to arrive and to have the strength to start playing with them!

    Shoshi xx

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    1. Shoshi, It is wonderful knowing that you are on the mend . . . never give up and keep doing the things you enjoy :)

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  8. Your kitchen looks lovely with all the vintage things in it.
    Aren't libraries great. I'd be lost with out one.

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    1. It's a little bit scary because devices are causing libraries to close in some parts of our country. More and more people are getting their books electronically, and I am to blame there, too. I enjoy reading on my kindle, but I still love instructional books in printed from. Have you seen the mini roadside libraries?

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  9. Absolutely ADORE what you are doing! I have some vintage pieces and love decorating in that style. Your embroidery pieces are awesome, and the furniture...it's all wonderful! What a great post!

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    1. Oh my goodness, thank you . . . it sounds like we are both lovers of vintage :)

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  10. Connie, everything looks so pretty! I love the colours & signs you used to decorate! So cozy & inviting!

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    1. Thank you Christine, I love decorating with vintage, it just gives me that homey cozy feeling that to me is what home is all about :)

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  11. Oh Connie I SO love your vintage kitchen and the changes you've made! All of the pops of red make it so retro looking and with the white on the cabinets and the little towells and thing stacked on top (that are reds of course)... it just all looks so neat and cozy and warm. Your embroidery is amazing and beautiful. I used to embroider when I was in my teens and 20's (and a couple of things in my 30's) but kind of quit doing it when the quilting took over. I really like the look of the old-fashioned pictures on those darling towells with the red stripes. Those library books look like so much fun... HOURS of projects I'm sure! My library doesn't seem to have many sewing, quilting or embroidery books. I think I've checked all of them out already. I do love the library and it's all free! I will buy a book now and then from Amazon, a "used" one, but they always come looking like a brand new book. I don't mind a gently used and loved book. That Colorful Quilts-Fanciful Stitches book looks like a fun one to browse and dream on. Have fun in your Art Barn this weekend. and oh.. I'm absolutely PHOBIC about the dentist and hate it! Usually have to have the nitrous oxide to relax me so I don't have a panic attack! eeeewwwww hugs.. Marilyn

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    1. Hi Marilyn, thanks for the sweet note . . . I love reading your comments and getting to know you better. Sorry to hear that you have such a hard time at the dentist. The sun is out this morning and it looks like a great day for melting away the remainder of our snow . . . I hope so, it will be nice to have it gone :)

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  12. Hello Connie. I love your sweet little kitchen. The tea towels are so sweet. I love to embroider but my knots always show on the back so I can't give you any hints. Your cabinets are wonderful. I've wanted to paint our kitchen white, but can't quite get Hubby on board.
    Blessings,
    Betsy

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    1. I painted all of my walls white a couple of weeks ago. My Steve didn't like the idea either and said that it would be boring, but I decided that it's my kitchen so I did it anyway. Now, he loves how much brighter it is. My plan is to slowing paint my bottom cabinets (under the sink and the island) white also, right now they are turquoise. I've always admired solid white kitchens. I don't know about your husband, but mine has a hard time visualizing a project before it is done. There are very few things in our 41 years that he hasn't loved after he sees it completed.

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  13. I too love vintage and your kitchen is darling! I came over from Betsy at "the Simple Life of a Queen". Your embroidery is just precious and I actually have a few of those towels stashed away waiting to be embroidered. Your home is so cozy and that is just the type of decorating I love! Great job!

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    1. Hello and welcome to my blog! I see that you are following and it made my little old heart skip a beat. It sounds like we have a lot in common. When I'm finished replying to my lovely blogging sisters; I'll be over to check out your blog :) Thanks for the sweet words of encouragement, I love making new friends:)

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  14. It is all looking great, with your hubby's handy work and your beautiful embroidery towels, love the pie with the bird and the apples. I love looking through the crafting books at the library, and it looks like you found some good ones, enjoy, I bet you will get great inspirations.

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    1. Hi Connie and Good Morning! I have been enjoying these books and relaxing with them as Steve watches his TV programs. You know, I would have to live to be 300 years old in order to do all the things that I would like to try, LOL. It is fun to look through books and Pinterest and see all the creative adventure that people are taking. You are so nice and always spread positive encouraging sunshine whenever you visit. Thanks :)

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  15. Connie, I love your sweet vintage kitchen! It's fun to move things around a little. Love the cute towels you've embroidered! I know you'll be busy whipping up something new you see in one of those books. :)
    hugs,
    Jann

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    1. Hi Jann, it's certainly fun to relax with a good crafting or stitching book. There is always new things to learn and this old dog, loves learning new tricks, LOL :)

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  16. That looks really nice, connie, and your embroidery definitely reflects the vintage time frame.

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    1. Good Morning Dolly, thank you, I always enjoy reading your comments :)

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  17. I love the little touches of nostalgia that you brought into your kitchen. It's very retro without being cluttered. The red really pops against the white. So many nice details, but the embroidered tea towels and the redwork on the set of three are really sweet. Nice use of your cabinets too! Have a great weekend :)
    Wendy

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    1. Hi Wendy, thanks for stopping by . . . Our little kitchen is a happy place to prepare meals and when I use my old mixing bowls and objects inherited from some of the women in our family, it gives me a warm nostalgic feeling. It's just my style, you see I'm vintage, too LOL

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  18. Connie, I'd say you've successfully made your kitchen into the vintage style you envisioned. It looks great! I have to say, too, that you are very fast at embroidery. Completing those three projects in a week is amazing. xo

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    1. Hi Nancy, it's been fun working in the kitchen and bringing it back to it's original vintage charm. Someone remodeled it in the seventies, and the seventies just doesn't work with a home built in 1905. Slowly but surely I'm taking it back to a more comfortable era :) You inspired me to start embroidery again and I have to thank you for that . . . I'm finding it very relaxing :)

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  19. Your kitchen is so cozy and welcoming! I would love to see all your treasures in person. That milk bottle sign caught my eye right away. I'm sure you made it!

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    1. I did make that sign, thank you . . . I'm happy that you like it. It was one that I made about four or five years ago and had hanging in the kitchen of our other home before we moved here :)

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  20. I love the way your kitchen looks! I could be quite happy there. Love the three dishtowels that you embroidered this week, too! I can hardly wait to see what you come up with as you go through the books you brought home from the library on Tuesday. Have a wonderful weekend, Connie.

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    1. Hi Dianna, I am enjoying going through these books . . . they're eye candy for the soul. I love learning new techniques and being inspired my creative people . . . books are great for doing that. I am delighted that you like my simple little kitchen, it suits me to a tea . . . nothing fancy, just homey :)

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  21. My dear Connie - I have just seen your lovely comments on my blog, thank you so much. I needed to take a break from blogging, but I will be back very soon. It is so lovely of you to care. I have been doing a bit of back reading on your blog and the cottage and garden are looking beautiful. I hope you and your family are all well. Take care and will speak soon. With love from your blogging pal from across the pond xxxx

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    1. Good Morning Fran (well, it's morning here) I am delighted to hear from you . . . when I was a little girl I used to sing a song that said, "Make new friends but keep the old, for one is silver and the other is gold" You are one of my first blogging friends . . . you are "Gold" and it is wonderful to have you visit. I do hope that everything is fine with your family and that barge living is better than you ever dreamed it would be :)

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  22. Love all your old things. Pop of red really sets things off.

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