Pumpkin Cottage DIY

When there is no wind,
row.

Portuguese Proverb


Three legged stool
make over. A live affair with
spray paint and any furniture with
legs.

Monday Monday Monday

The most courageous act is still
to think for yourself. Aloud.

                     Coco Chanel

Discardia Weekend Go Go Go

There is nothing like staying at home for real comfort.
                                       
                                                             Jane Austin
Happy weekend dear readers.
Pumpkin Cottage is celebrating Spring Discardia.
This weekend the focus is on tackling the two-car garage
where only one-car can be squeezed in.
The principles of Discardia and ideas from Marie Kondo's
The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up will be used to
direct the art of living with less clutter and more organization.

Ms. Kondo recommends organizing in this order: clothes,
then books, documents, then komono (miscellaneous items)
and finally mementos.

One side of the garage houses tools, of every category,
and the other side a mountain of clutter.
Clutter of the making variety, if you are a maker/crafter
you know exactly of what I speak.  There's a fire pit requiring assembly,
too many clear boxes with one item each, the odd book, and cooking
equipment for occasional use.

The dining area, you see here will also be included in the celebration,
It looks much better than it did here, but still has a ways to go.
With Easter coming its current state is unacceptable.
 
Our tasks will be made lighter by having three dedicated
containers near by: Keep, Toss or Donate. 
Keep items will be stored vertically not in piles. Everything
sitting on end. Consider a drawer of clothing instead of
piling your folded jeans stand them vertically in the drawer.

On Monday, a visit to the donation center and  a dump run
will remove a majority of the unnecessary items.

Here's an idea for all those unused frame.  Hmmm.

Feliz Natal:Merry Christmas

Let there be Peace on Earth.

Happy Happy December

When I met Christ,
I felt that I had swallowed sunshine.

                          E. Stanley Jones

Pumpkin Cottage before she gets
her Christmas dress on.       

Our little family loves the Advent
season and crafting.  You may
play along over at Taheerah Atchia blog.
Click on the little door each day for crafting
and prize winning opportunities.

Pumpkin Cottage Kitty

Rose with her witchy poo stockings.
Cleopatra line liner. 
Betty Davis eyes.
Pink eraser nose, that's from Susan Branch.

There are two means of refuge from the misery
of life - music and cats.
                                           Albert Schweitzer

See what I mean?

I think Pumpkin Cottage deserves an umbrella or
two. 

Crafty Ideas from Road Trips

From here. 

To Pumpkin Cottage

That's Jacob preparing the pipe.

Pipe is placed and ready for display.

Everyone pitches in.

Ta Da....

Salt and Pepper the Flavor of Life

Pumpkin Cottage is a mix of cultures.
A bit of Indo-Dutch, exotic and spicy,
mixed with the soul of the Portuguese.

Windmills represent both cultures.
Although, I am not partial to blue and white,
the traditional colors of both
cultures. It is sprinkled in, too.

Holland International Market, Bellflower, CA.  Full of
tasty treats and Dutch novelty gifts.  Hooray.

See Pico that's where I was born,

Traditional Dutch Delftware.

Tasty tasty...

With a sprinkle of old Mexico.

Exhaustion Sets In

Looking old…should be a boast about experiences
accrued and insights acquired, a triumphant signal 
that you are someone who, beneath that white hair, 
has a card catalog of valuable information.”

 Frances McDormand

Spring.Voorjaar.Primavera

Pumpkin Collage is a multicultural experience.
Language, customs, stories, and food.
A sensory explosion.
Right now the garden is starting its own color, textural
and smell explosion.

Immigrants, no matter how small their
garden, grow herbs, vegetables, and
flowers.  In pots or in the ground we
have to have some of the flavor of home.

The Portuguese like Meyer lemons, figs (figos),  passion
fruit (maracujá), guavas, heirloom tomatoes, grapes (uvas),
rosemary (alecrim), and flat leaf parsley (salça).

Pumpkin Cottage for the Holidays

Where thou art,
that is home.

                  Emily Dickinson

This lovely poinsettia is brightening the garden
here at Pumpkin Cottage.  It came for the
University of California, 
Riverside's Botanic Garden plant sales.

It's a native, similiar to the the poinsettias of Mexico. 
She likes our hot arid summers and cool winter evenings. 

Kitchen Redo

The Pumpkin Cottage gets a sprucing.

 Before.

 

                       

 

Measure twice cut once.

New liner and reorganized. 

Better storage.

Kitty Love at Pumpkin Cottage

There are two types of people
in the world; people who are
passionate about things, and people who've
had their passion punched, beaten, or
whatever out of them.
                                      Kevyn Aucoin

Meet our Rose.  The most beautiful curious kitty
we have ever had.  Mr. Lee is not a kitty person
but Rose has stolen his heart.

Here she is beckoning, Mr. Lee at the kitchen sink.
Please let me in PaPa. 

Garden Love at Pumpkin Cottage

Holly turns and burns.

See little Miss watching from the door.

Welkom to Pumpkin Cottage in June

Words.  Writing. Stitching.
Add embroidery to found vintage linens.
Just add a word or two in your own stitching.
Welkom, is Dutch for Welcome.

See the frame peaking through?  The layered
paint is CeCe Cadwell and the idea came from
Debi's Design.

Pumpkin Cottage is in creative bloom.
Painting frames using tomato cages. 

Holly's black tulip.  Add words.

ABCs sampler design by Alicia Paulson stitched by moi.

Powder Room Refresh

Pumpkin Cottage requires a refresh.
She needs a little sprucing inside and
out.  Progress is slow.

It would be wonderful if everything
were completed prior to the winter
holiday season.

Before:

The lovely ball jar light fixture is from LampGoods.

There is a bit of a romance with faux finishes
here at the cottage.

Holly and I are painting a faux rug.

The rug may need some tweaking.
I had originally wanted to paint tassels and
it may still happen.  The walls are painted
a pale yellow. Ceiling white.

My mother gave me the mirror above the sink.
It was salvaged from her beloved
Hollywood Court cottage
before they were renovated.  

We just found the little shelf.  It's a bit dingy,
may just need a good old fashioned washing.

What's next:

1. Baseboards.
2. Paint clouds on the ceiling.
3. Paint the back of the purple door with
    chalkboard paint. Old school green.
4. Put up the trinkets of the room.