Storybook Cottage

Creating a Storybook Garden Fantasy

Hi again everyone!

The Storybook Cottage garden elves have been busy

these past few months creating a new garden at our family's vacation home

much like what you might imagine finding in one of your

children's storybooks.

 I shared awhile back how the garden

that had been planted last year had had the drip irrigation shut off

for most of the summer.  

Click  here to read all about what happened to our summer garden.

The garden has been replanted

and new walkways have been added by the back of the house.

The water is now on once again.  

Come along and enjoy our new Storybook garden and watch our garden elves play!

Garden elves have weathered-beach-rock-love and constantly are looking for ways to add them to their garden style creations.

 

I see here that the Storybook garden elves need to get going

on this stretch of the walkway

and plant creeping thyme

to fill in the gaps

...soon

they whisper as I ask when?

The elves have been very patient with me

as I have with them

with all of my dozens of concerns for this new garden

but still...

I wait....

until next time when we visit

  :-)))

 our little piece of the forest by the sea.

For now this little guy is in charge...Hugs 

Leave a comment...I'd love to hear from you.....

I Heart Annie Sloan Chalk Paint

Hello Everyone.......

I'm at the "Big Brown House" this week.

Trying to come up with some new decor ideas for this home.

I've had a super horrible case of bloggers block all week

not be confused with writer's block

but it is similar.

I needed a "blogger-break-through"

and Annie Sloan Chalk Paint came to the rescue.

I am not a DIY'er..not at all.  

But after reading all about Annie Sloan Chalk Paint everywhere in Blog World,

I got the courage to get bold.  

The directions stated no need to prime or sand.  

Just open the can

 stir, apply, let it dry, next a coat of clear wax and good to go.  

Another nice feature no fumes.

 Purrr-fect ....

I've had this sofa table for ten years

and it no longer got up to greet me when I would return home.

It wasn't old or beat up

and my oldtime New England thriftyness

fought me all the way

to put "paint on wood what a

HORROR!!!!

Here it is wearing one coat of Louis Blue and one coat of clear wax. 

I now have my eye

on other pieces of furniture needing a face lift.  

Until next time hugs.....

 

Today I'm joining with the following blog Parties...

Home Sweet Home

Inspiration Friday

Frugal Friday

Thanks for stopping by today to visit :-)))

 

 

 

Happy Halloween Everyone!!!!

Are you ready for some Halloween fun?

Daniel, Alexis and the rest of us

at Storybook Cottage

wish

all of you a fun and safe Hallows Eve......

hugs....

Thanks for stopping by today....

Scarecrow and Harvest Festival Fall Fun

Today I'm joining with Tracie and friends at the Fishtail Cottage

Fall Decor Party!!!

This past weekend our family  packed our

minivan and spent the weekend in Cambria, CA for their annual

Scarecrow and Harvest Festival.

We were greeted by the

Cambria High School *Scary* Marching Band

as we entered the

west village on Main Street.  

We met Miss Tourist

along the way in front of the Cambria Chamber of Commerce.

Looks like she has a good start on her

Christmas shopping!

This over-sized crow may have something *scary* to crow about...

But this one can carry a note......

Here is a representation of *Scarecrow* from the 1939 film.

Anybody remember the name of this film?  

Hint...his friends were Dorothy, Tin Man , and the Cowardly Lion.

 *Scarecrow* gardener from Cambria Nursery

Sunny *Scarecrow* 

The following *Scarecrows* are of a different sort.  

They are not what most folks would describe as  traditional *scarecrows*

Some could be labeled whimsical, others historical, fictional, exotic, touristic or realistic.

They all added to the wonderful spirit of the Harvest Festival. 

 

Cambria Dentists

Check out the drill!!!

The local Skin Care specialist...

Local teens with tourist....

My husband John with ???  Can you guess???

Exotic, by *Victoria's Last Resort*

Meet Lady Gowa....

*Scary* Knitter

Candy man...yum

Fictional characters...

Harry Potter, Rubeus Hagrid, and Hedwig the owl 

*Scary habits* first place winner along with Daniel, Alexis , and John.

Touristic....Meet Thelma and Louise...

Farmer

 

Cat Lady..check out the fingers....

Lawn Mower Man, *I'd Rather be golfing* 

Everywhere we turned there was always another character to photo.  

There were so many more.  

Cambria is a small beach community large in creativity and community spirit.  

The Scarecrow and Harvest Festival 2011 ends at the end of October.

There is still time and if not this year, next time 2012!

Thank you Cambria for all the fun:-)))  

Thanks for stopping by my blog today................Leave a comment tell me what you think about all of this.

 

 

Loving Fall weather...How About You?

Saying goodbye

to the summer heat in Southern California has never been a problem

for anyone with garden love.  

 

I came close to the same feeling

this past summer with the the Storybook Cottage garden.

It has the advantage of a perfect location...

Central Coast California...

ocean daytime breezes,  

cool nights.  

Soooo..... what is all this fuss about?

Gardens need water!!!  

Our water was turned off by our gardeners for weeks.  

The plants along the sidewalk are on a drip system.  

The rest of the garden is composed of tall pines and oaks native to the area. 

Not a lot of water is needed but they do need a little:-(((

We visit the Storybook Cottage on an average of every 4 to 6 weeks. 

 What only weeks before

had been a magazine cover garden ready for any fundraising tour ....

We arrived to

a sweet little cottage in the woods now surrounded by

 dead and dying plants!!!!@#@#@#

Soo...easy solution right...no wrong.  

When we turned the drips on,

we noticed that it had been turned off due to a broken pipe.

The broken pipe is now fixed and

I've been promised replacements at no cost to me:-)))

Keeping my fingers crossed....

 

 Time to tell you about something fun!

We will visit the Storybook Cottage

this weekend

for Cambria's annual 

Scarecrow Festival.  

You can click here for more info on this festival.  

I'll return with lots of wonderful photos and

I'm sure my garden will greet me with a-not-so-thirsty smile:-)))

Hugs and Happy October.....

Leave a comment...I'd love to hear your garden story;-)))

Today I'm joining Tracie and friends at the Fall Decor Party.

A Quick Trip and Until Next Time

Happy Thursday Everyone!

On Tuesday, I was able to join my sister-in-law, Jane,

and her family for their weekly Tuesday Family Night.  

All it took was a little flying time and one car rental

to transport my husband and myself to this

wonderful weekly family event.

 

John and Jane

I'm keeping my promise to Jamie about being careful with which photos I post.

I love the family photos that Jane had hanging in her kitchen.

I did catch you here Jamie:-)))

 

John, Beckie, and Scott

Just look at this!!!!  Yum, Yum

Until next time..

thanks for the wonderful evening

Jane and family

...hugs and more hugs...

Leave a comment...I'd love to hear from you:-)))

 

Part II Copenhagen Colors

Hi Everyone!!!!

Sorry to have stayed away so long 

from Storybook Cottage blog.

I've been writing this post in my head for the past week

and decided that the best way to take you along on our trip would be via

all the colors of Copenhagen.

OK lets get going:-)))

Not long ago this was an area only the brave would walk at night.

Today the colorful houses of Nyhavn found along the canals of Copenhagen are

lined with restaurants and people everywhere enjoying the day.

 

Pretty Nyhavn

Are you ready to paint your house yellow yet?

Can't seem to stop taking photos of yellow houses.  

Ok not yellow however this

little restaurant boasted the best pizza in Copenhagen.

What did I think?  Good but not as good as Italy.

Daniel at 20 years in Copenhagen with pizza.

Daniel at 12 enjoying pizza in Rome.  

Isn't this the most beautiful pizza ever!!!!  

Did you ever wish you could roll back time?

Sometimes I wish I could!

The interior of this pizza restaurant impressed me because of the rustic simpicity.

I love the combination of industrial metal chairs paired with reclaimed wood for the

tables along with the snow white walls. The deal with nordic decor has always been

about simplicity but here it is paired with new + something old = rustic decor...

I'm in love with this look!!!!

 

Ok ...I pick pink.

You can't visit Copenhagen without walking to the neighborhood called Christiania.

Christiania is a state within a state.  

Christiania had been an abandoned military base and it declared its independence in

the 70"s and has run itself a separate country ever since.

At Pusher street, yes Pusher Street no photographs allowed.

Much is tolerated in Denmark.  

 
As we entered Christiania I dared take only two photos.  

Love the wall art it was everywhere..

I wonder what ever happened to

the artist who

painted this picture.

Leaving Christiania met this sad dog waiting for his owner to finish up with his hair cut.

He made me miss our dog.  

The tough part always when we travel is leaving Jennie behind. 

 

Something else very noticeable in Copenhagen was that everywhere

and I mean almost everywhere flowers

spilled into the streets 

 for sale.

Would I go back?

Yes, and if you ever get a chance Copenhagen will not disappoint you.

Today I'm joining in the link party with my friends at

WOW Us Wednesday . 

Hugs,

Leave a comment...I'd love to hear from you:-)))

A good trip Part I

The pleasure of seeing

how people live in a foreign city

  took me away from home last week.  (I didn't argue:-))) 

Daniel (son) and I were lucky to be able to travel with John (my husband) to

his meeting  in Copenhagen, Denmark.

These are some photos of what we saw on our trip.

This was our view from our hotel window.  The night life on this street went on all night.  Copenhagen likes to party! 

Simple but cozy room...

From our hotel we walked to Tivoli Gardens. 

Tivoli Gardens is one of the first amusement parks in the world. 

Who is this man? 

This is not Walt Disney but this is a statue of the man who created

Tivoli. It is said that Tivoli was the inspiration for Disneyland.

Flowers everywhere..very beautiful!

  restaurants around every corner....yum

 rides

and more rides.

Our hotel was located in the old city center.

We seldom took a taxi if we had time to spare. 

This is not like a Victoria Gardens or even like an Old Town Pasadena shopping experience. 

Pedestrians rule!  

This made the window shopping and people watching so much more enjoyable.   

Loving this photo:-))  We picked up a canal tour here.  More about this tour to come...

 

Cafe love

and loving these house colors too...

Everywhere there was a place to rest. 

Due to the maritime climate

the weather could change from sunny warm

to cloudy and cool

along with rain all in the same hour. 

The outdoor cafes hung blankets on the backs of chairs,

some chairs came with pillows for sore backs, and

heaters for tables were also available. 

Sweet...

I like the shape of this building. 

Shrink it down to cookie box size and how cute.

Again no cars..notice the bikes...

What came as a huge surprise to me was that bikes would be left everywhere and

without locks!!!!

John and I can't figure this one out. 

Here if it is not tied down goodbye. 

This was refreshing to see.

Ike's more bikes....

This is the end of Part I  more to come soon about this trip.  Hugs..

Leave a comment....I'd love to hear from you:-)))

 

Copenhagen Late Summer Visit:-)))

Hi Everyone,
Just wanted to check in and say hello from Copenhagen, Denmark. I'm here with John and Daniel. John is working just a little and Daniel and I are enjoying beautiful Copenhagen a lot! This is a walking city so if walking is your thing and sightseeing this is the place for you. English is spoken here by everyone making touring easier. My only warning always be aware of bike lanes. This is a city full of bikers also lots of cute babies and for the guys beautiful young ladies. People watching is so much fun in a European city. I love to see how people dress and also enjoy how restaurants and hotels are styled. Looks like leather boots and jackets, skinny jeans, leggings, tights, and neck scarves are the look in clothing. Neutrals are everywhere not to exclude black. I've seen lots of black on black attire. The sweetest sight was a beautiful young mom bicycling with baby bike carrier ( we have nothing like it here) baby present. She was wearing short pencil skirt, heels, and beautiful leather jacket! I would have never dared in heavy traffic!!! This is coming from a person who nearly lost a few toes yesterday by way of a bike!

I'm looking forward to sharing more stories
and our photos of Copenhagen soon...hugs :-)))Maryjane

A Moment in Time at Storybook Cottage

The Storybook Cottage

was filled with love and laughter for our Family

Summer Reunion last week. 

However as in most moments in time, it all ended to soon. 

So until next time,

here is a little synopsis of our week together and some

of the many sweet moments that we shared. 

This is a photo of my daughter, Christina

along with her daughter, Emilie, and Gigi Love

my daughter, Kathleen's dog. 

Gigi has a passion for digging up rocks and carrying them home.

This is Bob,

Christina's husband shooting,

my son John Michael,

while my daughter, Kathleen and my husband, John, enjoyed one of many yummy dinners.

Ike and Jennie waited for a few crumbs to fall.

It may have seemed that time stood still

until meals were eaten however we saved some time to visit the many vineyards

in the area.

This photo is of some of us being silly on our wine tasting tour. 

We were visiting the Changala Winery

located in Paso Robles. 

Wine making is an art and

the fun of visiting the small wineries

is the joy of participating in the

vintner's creation and no two wines taste the same.

 

We stopped along the way to enjoy God's beautiful creations also.

Once back at the Storybook Cottage,

it was time to roll out tasty treats of another kind. 

Cake anyone? 

This is a photo of my son Daniel on the left and my nephew, Nick. 

Alexis turn around and show your pretty face!!! 

When we hit the streets for a nightly walk, I'm sure

heads would turn to watch our army march by their homes. 

The rest of my family army follows behind me.

The beach town of Cayucos is a fun destination. 

It is a throw back to the 50's. 

Very little has changed in this little California beach community. 

This is Alexis and Daniel posing with Captain Jack.

 Maddie, I think this hat fits you!

Still hanging out on the beach

at Cayucos, grand-kids Ryan and Emilie along with Gigi.

When not at the beach, we also celebrated birthdays!!!! 

Oliver turned 34 while visiting and next it was my turn. 

I'm told 60 is the new 40. 

Umm not a bad thought!

Thank you everyone who wished me a happy birthday on Facebook on the 27th:-)))

You made my day....

When not celebrating birthdays, we played games. 

I loved watching the kids interact in this way. 

So many, many photos

 were taken

 I found it difficult to pick out a few

and write this little story

of our family's 2011 summer reunion.

It was a beautiful moment in time and with the help of

 hundreds of photos to help me remember it will last much longer.

 

 Something to say about John Michael.....Thank you everyone for your prayers and kind words of concern. 

John Michael is at his home  and is also back at work since our return from the Storybook Cottage.

Hugs....

Leave a comment...I'd love to hear from you...