NumberNineteen

Easter Table 2018

It's become a tradition for me to come up with a new Easter tablescape every year and share it here. Though I've been absent from the blog, I thought that this would be a good time to come back and share this year's table.

Every year I've got a starting point, whether it's an inspiration photo online or a tablecloth.  This year's starting point is the cabbage plates that I picked up last year.  

I found an April Cornell table runner that I knew would look great with the plates and napkins with the sweetest matching blue edging at Home Goods.  I love April Cornell table linens.  I have several table runners and I love their beautiful designs and quality.  I embroidered the napkins with our monogram to give them a bit of personalization.  

And, of course, flowers.  The one time a year that I do a big arrangement.  Although, I can I do a little flower-related vent?  I always go out, looking for gorgeous magazine worthy flowers in the stores and I can't find them.  Even at the nice grocery stores like Wegmans.  Grocery stores: please stock something besides roses, tulips and hydrangeas -- at least at Easter.  First world, ridiculous issue, without out a doubt.  

It's just going to be the three of us for Easter this year.  Glenn's mother was planning on visiting, but she came down with the flu.  I hope that all of you have a wonderful Easter!

Very Vintage Back to School

Once again, the summer slipped past me and blogging went to the wayside.  It was a good summer, though it felt shorter than usual.  It seemed like I was just starting to relax and then I had to go back to school.  

I've been back to work for about two weeks (the kids first day is this Monday) and I'm starting to look forward to fall.  The light coming through the windows is at a certain fall-ish angle and every so often, we have a cooler day.  I'm starting to think about making stews and casseroles and pumpkin bread.  

I was in a particularly back-to-school/fall-ish spirit this afternoon and pulled together a few things to get the house in the proper mindset.

The dining room table is all ready for studying.

An old globe, ruler, vintage primers and scrabble pieces cover the main subjects.  Yes, I happen to have these things just lying around my house.

Can't forget the kitchen table.  Because who knows when you might need a pencil during breakfast?

 

My next post is likely to be on the first day of school.  My baby is going into 7th grade.  7th grade.  Someone slow down time, please.

Vintage French Seed Packets

Hi all!  As I'm getting settled into summer vacation, it seems like it is rushing by so quickly!  Slow down!  Today I'm sharing a fantastic gift that I received  -- completely original, vintage AND French.

My sister is lucky enough to have a sister-in-law who lives in the south of France (I know, right???). When said sister-in-law had a baby last summer, a visit was in order.  Before she left, I asked her to bring me something wonderful home from France.  She delivered beautifully -- she brought back six vintage seed packets that she found in a Paris flea market.  Even writing "found in a Paris flea market" sounds amazing, right?

They are so beautiful.  I'm in love with the bright illustrations and French text.  She gave me four flower and two vegetable packets.  We hung the framed flower packets in my craft room, at the entrance.

You can see here that there is a short angled wall that serves as sort of an "entrance" into the room.

The vegetable seed packets still have the seeds in them.  Look at those beautiful radishes. 

We placed the vegetables in the kitchen, right beside my aprons. 

She gave them to me last Christmas and I think that they were my favorite gift that I received. 

Living Room Lighten Up

Guys, you know that I cannot let well enough alone.  Take my living room for instance.  I recently decided that it is just too dark for me (for the moment at least).  Too red (for now).

 You know that I love red and love cozy warm colors but recently, I've wanted fresh!  Light!  Pretty! Maybe it's summer or maybe it's all of the English country cottage pictures that I've been enjoying online.  

In any case, I'm not about to replace our couch or deep red rug -- Glenn wouldn't let me anyway because he knows how quickly I change my mind -- but I'm thinking about other ways that I can bring that cottage charm to our living room.  

My idea board for the living room.  I found the quilt on ebay & scored it for a song.  It's in very, very shabby condition but perfect for covering the back of the sofa.  I'm thinking of adding throw pillows covered in Liberty prints and that adorable pastel Union Jack pillow from The Little British Cottage Company.  Decoupage plates would be so pretty on the walls, so I'm thinking about doing a little John Derian copycat.  And finally, ironstone and a few other pottery pieces that I have hanging around.

I'm pulling inspiration from You've Got Mail, one of my favorite movie sets of all time:

Last summer I changed it up to reflect my New England seaside experiences.  This year, English country cottage.  Who knows what the following year will bring.... ;)

Artwork Update -- Prints on Linen

I've been feeling the urge to lighten up my living/kitchen area.  It's a pretty large space that flows along the back of the house.  The base of it is light -- creamy walls and white cabinets, but there is a lot of red including a red sofa, and dark counters.  I'm not able to replace the sofa at the moment and the counters are here to stay for the foreseeable future.  So, accents are the way that I'm going to change things up.  

I've had these old prints up since right after we moved in. I mounted them on fabric, which I really like for the extra interest and texture. However, the dark colors feel so heavy to me now. And, I'm done with that rooster.

I made a quick and easy change by re-mounting the prints on ivory linen and switching the rooster out for a bird print.

It's just a little thing, but I feel like it updates that space above the hall opening.  

I really like this sweet bird print.  

If you'd like to do a project like this, it only takes 1/4-1/3 yard of fabric and there are so many wonderful sources for prints online.  

Inspiring Home -- Canary Cottage -- Archer and Buchanan

Every once in awhile, an image comes up on Pinterest because I love it so much.  This photo made me stop in my tracks with the big fireplace, bookcases and stone floor.

It turns out that image is of one of many of the stunning spots in a home called "Canary Cottage", designed by the firm Archer and Buchanan. Let's take a look at the rest of the house, shall we?

The front hall features a beautiful traditional staircase and leads into the living room.  The cosy reading nook in the first picture is just off the living room.

The kitchen features both a huge island with seating as well as a beautiful eating area with a long farm table and built ins.

Another view of the kitchen, showing the butler's pantry and what appears to be a beverage station to the right.  Notice the food pantry with the sliding door to the left of the refrigerator.

The family room is right off of the kitchen.  The only thing that I'm not crazy about is the TV nook.  It seems awkward to me.

Behind the kitchen and family room are the back steps that go to both the upper and lower floors.  I don't know why, but I love the idea of a back staircase.  And, those brick floors!

I couldn't find many pictures of the upper floor, but this marble and tile bathroom!  Notice the shape of the bathtub surround.  The details are outstanding.

The back of the house may be even more lovely than the front.  In the unlikely event that I ever have my own pool, I dream of one like this, that seems to be part of the natural surroundings.

One of the things that astounds me about this house is that it is a new build.  By all appearances, it seems to be an old house that has been lovingly updated with a respect for history.  Browsing the Archer and Buchanan website, I see that most of their designs feel exactly that way, whether the project is a new or old home.  

If you love this house, check out the Archer and Buchanan website for other homes that they have designed.

All photos in this post are from the Archer and Buchanan website.


 

An Anglophile's Space

I thought that I'd take you on a little tour of my special space.  It is called the craft room, but it has become my craft room, yoga room, business center and private space to create and just be.  

I have filled it with my favorite things, bits and bobs that capture my heart or bring back memories.  More and more, those bits are little pieces of England that make my Anglophile heart sing.

Each corner has a bit of England.

This little cabinet holds souvenirs from various trips, including a china phone box from London.  Topping the cabinet are just a few of my pieces of royalty memorabilia.

This shelf shows off the rest of my ever growing collection.

These two books, given to me by a lovely co-worker, are the latest additions to my collection.

Even my inspiration board has a red phone booth.

It's not all about London, as you can see from these prints of English country cottages.  The one on the lower right once had a working thermometer.

In this corner is a vintage British biscuit tin with a seaside village scene.  The English seaside?  Why yes, don't mind if I do!

I'm always finding more bits of England that need a spot in my room.  The ideal, of course, would be to go back to England to pick them up in person....!

 

Easter Tablescape - Pink Easter Tablesetting

I'm finally on spring break! Glory hallelujah! I am so ready for some rest and devoting time to my favorite home things.  First up, creating our Easter table.

I decided to base the entire table around my favorite find from last summer, my pink rose tablecloth.  Remember how I waited and waited at the flea market last year for the booth owner to show up so that I could buy it?  The pink roses are just so pretty that I want to make it the basis of this year's table.

I went with our every day white dishes, set on top of wicker chargers.  I found the pink gingham napkins on ebay and am using our good silver and my grandmother's etched crystal glasses. 

 

Everyone will have a foil wrapped treat set in a little pink cup adorned with Easter bunnies.  How cute are they?  I just nestled the bunnies in paper grass to help them stand up.

I love to have place cards.  I feel like they make everyone feel just a little more special because there is a place set just for them.  I traced and cut out a rabbit silhouette onto white card stock, which I then adhered to a piece of pink card stock that is printed with each name in calligraphy font.

My favorite part of the Easter table is always the flowers.  I wanted to keep it simple this year, in keeping with the cottage-y feel of the floral tablecloth and gingham napkins, so I chose to use mason jars as vases.  

I chose pink carnations accented by charmelia.  In the past, I wasn't a fan of carnations, but they are really growing on me and I love how they look with this table setting.

I think that this is my favorite Easter table yet!  For more Easter table setting ideas, see my tables from the past few years:

2016 Yellow & White Table

2015 Blue & White Table

I'm linking up to these parties:

Wow Us Wednesdays

Project Inspired

Share It One More Time

Celebrate Your Story

Stone Patio Inspiration

On the top of my to dos this week is to have some companies come out to our house for quotations for the addition of a patio to our backyard.  Of course my mind is swirling with ideas for what I want it to look like.  I've had enough time to think about it -- we've had doors to nowhere off our kitchen since we moved in almost 6 years ago!  Grad school loans are now paid off and the time has come to move forward with finishing our outdoor space.

I've looked (and looked) all over Pinterest and Google and I think that I've narrowed it down to either flagstone or bluestone as my top choices.

Flagstone was my original choice, mostly because I'm more familiar with it.  I found some stunning examples of flagstone work done in my area:

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Bluestone is choice that I discovered while searching for ideas.  I love the subtle variations in color and smoothness of the stone.

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Another option is slate. I couldn't find too many pictures of slate patios, but I love this covered one:

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I'm really leaning towards natural stone, but we have to see where the estimates come in.  I've found one example of stamped concrete that may work, if done right.

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The main two features that we are looking for are a round stone firepit and a stone wall, to give us some privacy.  We are going to go with a woodburning firepit.  We really love the crackle and smell of a real wood fire.

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I'm so excited to finally be moving forward with this project.  I'm going to schedule the estimates this week, but I don't know if anyone will actually be able to come out, because they are forecasting snow for the first time this winter!  I'll keep you all updated with our plans as we move forward!

Guest Bedroom Reveal - New England Coastal Cottage Inspired Bedroom

Our guest room is finally finished!

To refresh your memory, the before:

From another angle, the after:

You may remember that this room was inspired by our visit to Cape Cod.  Our rental cottage featured simple but cozy pieces, vintage touches and airy colors.  I wanted to evoke that open window, salty air freshness of our cottage bedroom.

The first step was the board and batten. I knew that it would add just the right cottage feel to the room. I showed Glenn what I wanted and he figured it all out on paper.  Days of work later, I'm in love with it! The architectural detail that it adds makes it look like an entirely different room.  It has exactly the New England cottage vibe that I was going for. 

I chose a simple white quilt and shams but added color with the throw pillows and wall prints. I found the vintage bird prints at Lucketts years ago, knowing that they would go into the guest room but not knowing what else I wanted. I made the pillows from gingham and the most adorable print from Moda.  In person, it reminds me of old flowered sheets from the 60s or 70s.

In the Cape Cod cottage, the master bedroom had simple white curtains that blew in the breeze.  I found these beautiful simple dotted swiss curtains at Country Curtains that reminded me of those curtains.  I love the scalloped edges and the quality from Country Curtains never disappoints.

These alabaster lamps, found at a thrift shop, are the perfect vintage touch.

This tiny tray with lovely words rests on one of the nightstands.

Vintage embroidered pillowcases for guests to rest their weary heads.

Each side has a different design.

One last look, with Grandma Fleming's cathedral window quilt draped over the bed.

I hope that you have enjoyed the tour of our newly finished guest room.  We've had several visitors since its completion and I've been so happy to provide them with a peaceful and pretty home away from home.

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