OUR LITTLE LAKE COTTAGE

Hi everyone:)

 

Hope you are all doing fabulous:)

Back in March Don and I decided to buy a little lake house. Since we both own our own businesses, it is not always easy to get away. This little place is only 45 minutes from our home so it is doable. I would like it to be for the entire family handed down from generation to generation. When we went to see it I knew right then and there that it was to be ours. While Don was outside with our realtor Donna, I was inside taking pictures and video so that I could go home and plan my next move. Every night I would lay in bed, pen and pad in hand and draw ideas of what I though would look pretty.

 Most of the cottage is knotty pine and since we had already owned a home a long time ago like that we decided that it must be painted. Family and friends dropped by and helped us with that part. Thank you to all of you sweet people:) We love you! 

 Just look at that pine and this is just the little kitchen. Which by the way is my favorite room in the house. We chose lakey colors. Happy, cheerful watery colors.

 And this is what we came up with!!!!! I had a vision for a black and white floor and our friend Don put it in for us in one day:) LOVE, LOVE, LOVE it!!!! Also LOVE the color of the cabinets that we decided on. Liz and I painted the kitchen and I am just thrilled with it:) While Don and Deg painted the living room.

 The floor is slate and there is even a stone wall in this little fun cottage.  So between that and the pine walls it was way too much texture for me. Hence the painting of the pine.I made the canoe rentals sign and it fit perfect under a little cubby. Of course since you know how I decorate, you already know that since I have taken these photos I have already changed around things. lol I made a little curtain out of burlap to hide the kitchen pail and hung up some pretty doilies in my signature way with clips for curtains. We are going to hang a chandelier if it is high enough. I'm not a big fan of ceiling fans.

 This is the living area that can sleep at least 14 people:) Not quite done with it yet but I wanted to show you what we've done so far. Made curtains for this room out of burlap coffee bean bags with doilies attached. I only wanted valances as to not  hide the beautiful lake. I put together a happy wreath for the great colored door.

 I built this shelf for over the large mirror out of tin, a piece of free wood and some architectural pieces. I have replaced that little bench that needs to be painted with a larger one that needs to be painted:) I do have more photos but they are on my Ipad and by the time I figure out how to load them onto this computer we would be into another season;)

 This is where I paint over looking the lake. It was very choppy the day I took this photo. Since then I have been able to enjoy some time painting here:)

                               Always fresh flowers where ever I am.

                         Our friends Robin and Michael enjoy the lake.

 The lovebirds Nicole and Manny enjoy the sun on the dock. We are going to have the wall rebuilt so stay tuned:)

 Oh yes, ....then there are these three..... dressed in dresses with squirt guns. I will never have to fill them every again!!!!!! I love watching them play. They are truly the joy of my life:)Oooh the stories I can already tell. Ha ha

THE bed

I have been wanting this bed for months. And Don kept saying no, no, no:( One day I came into work and there it was right in front of my shop!!!!!!!THANK YOU, my love! It was a Mothers Day gift! (Oh and speaking of Mother's day gifts, My son bought me a gorgeous knock out rose, a gorgeous pink one and Nicole bought me.....wait for it..... a flight lesson!!!!!!) I am so excited. Maybe I will be buzzing aound your homes:)
And thank you to Julie who owns a fabulous antique shop in our plaza. That is where Don  bought my bed from!!!She kept it a secret and put it in front of the shop.
The guys put it together, I dressed it, made a wreath, hung some pictures and curtains and there you have it!

I really should have waited to show you better photos but I just needed to get back in touch with you all and wanted to share. Anyway, you know I will be changing this place around as much as I do our barn.

Missed you all:)
'Till next time.....................
~Debra xxx

HAPPY EASTER

FROM MY FAMILY TO YOURS, WE HOPE YOU HAVE A BLESSED HAPPY EASTER:)

~Debra XXX

PRETTY BOXES AND A CUTE CHAIR

Hello everyone:)

I think I finally have got this new blogging thing down. Now lets hope they don't change anything else on blogger;)

 I wanted to share with you some of the things we will have in the shop, Maison St. Germain, this week. This very long blue painted box is covered with millinery flowers and a vintage green velvet bow. So pretty.

                You know how much I love millinery flowers and they are not easy to find these days.

 Oh my, is this not the cutest little chair ever???? Look at all of that detail! Not only would this be fabulous for a child but it would also be great to hold your favorite books. I just may hang this in the shop and use it as a shelf.

 OK, not the best photo but I am bringing this in  too.  It is a candelabra with crystals. Would be so pretty outside hanging from a porch or a tree. I have them hanging from my arbor.

One of my favorite color greens. Decorated this box with vintage millinery flowers too. Great to hold all of those clickers we all have.

                                            French box with blues and yellows.

                                    It has great compartments inside:)

   This is a larger wooden box with purples and creams... You can store a few favorite books in it or why not put it on the counter or island with vinegars, cooking wines.........

They will all be at the shop on Wednesday. Had so much fun creating them.


ONE MORE THING!!!OUR BARN HOUSE GARDEN IS FEATURED IN THE NEWEST ISSUE OF FLEA MARKET GARDENS!!! SO EXCITING:)

'Till next time................
~Debra xxx

A BIT OF SPRING FOR YOU

 Hello everyone,

Gosh, I have missed you all:)  Who is ready for Spring?????? I know I am. With snow coming tonight, I am even more excited about it.  Thought I would share some Springs photos with you:)

 Even with snow outside my window, I have some Spring inside. Having houseplants is one of my most favorite things. I love the colors and shapes of the flowers and leaves. I use outdoor containers inside to hold them.

            Tall ones, short ones, some blooming, some not. All wonderful.

 St. Francis watching over my pets and plants stands on the back of my pond.

We went to the Philly Flower Show. 

There is a different theme every year.  This years theme was BRITAIN!!!!!.

If you have never been to a show, it is well worth going. The ideas and the smell of flowers along with fabulous vendors are all so much fun.

 We interrupt this blog post with a picture of  TROUBLE! This is Finn. We adopted him in the Fall. I have never had a cat like this in my life. Just look at that face and you can imagine the mischief he gets into. UNBELIEVABLE! HA HA

 Back to spring.....I am doing my Spring cleaning little by little. I added some of my small floral door stops to my kitchen mantle. The flowers are so happy:)

      These are two of my favorite. The pink one is French.

And this is what it looks like all together. Very fresh and happy:)

 OK, back to Philly....Look at the great bike holders they have there.  Aren't they great? We need them here in our little town. People love to bike around here.

 This is one of the amazing cakes that we found in a great bakery near our hotel. Can you imagine a child's birthday party with this cake???WOW

 We went to Philly with our friends Robin and Michael. This is inside of the bakery. All I bought was coffee but the pastries looked yummy!

 Speaking of trouble....yes it's the guys:) Love the blue on this great building.

 This display was soooo gorgeous. I'll bet we can duplicate this look.

OOOH we ate dinner on this huge ship called MOSHULU. It was amazing.

 I am now on the lookout for an old mailbox. I am going to do this is my yard. This was my very favorite idea of the show!!!!! I would plant succulents and herbs on mine and put it near my side door. Even the ground plants and rocks look wonderful. A customer of ours at Maison St. Germain, Pauline, gave me the great idea of putting chicken wire on the top of the mailbox to keep the soil and plants in it. Thank you Pauline:)

     The Flower show was very whimsical. This is one of the cutest displays.

 I love all of the buildings and plantings that the vendors plant. It is amazing how much work goes into this one show. So many ideas that could be done in your own yard at home.

 Just look at the grass and walls that they put in. You would never know it was inside of a building.

    A log home? Oh yes. Look at that fabulous tin roof and those large trees.

Tulips, I wonder if I will ever see mine this year with the snow coming?

                          

                                                               More whimsy.

 OMG, just look at this display! How magical to have urns full of gorgeous huge flowers. Love the ruffled table cloth too.

Gigantic wooden Dutch shoes full of tulips. Did I tell you how heavenly this show smelled. Hhhhhmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

Hope I brought a little Spring to you tonight. Now that I think I have figured out how to use my new computer with the new Windows, I will be able to finally get back to blogging. I have been reading all of your posts and always enjoy the inspiration you share.

I have so much to share with you and get caught up.

Love to you all:)
~Debra xxx

Newtown, CT

By now you probably have all heard about the horrible murders of the  innocent, precious children and adults here in CT. Newtown is about 25 minutes from our little town. It is a sweet little town with wonderful people. I will never understand why someone would kill babies, most shot more than once, and staff at the grammar school. He had to have been mentally ill and evil. I am really at loss of words for this tragedy. But I have been praying for them and their families and friends to be able to heal after this. I don't know that I would ever be able to.
That has got to be the hardest thing these people will ever have to do in their entire lives.


I had the girls over my house while Nicole was at the shop and she texted me to hug the girls extra hard for her. I hugged and kissed them, told them that I loved them then put them into the truck and brought them straight to Nicole. She needed them to be with her and I understood. I think that everyone has hugged their children a little longer in the past few days. Along with the little children being murdered there were also heroes that were  as well. They gave their own lives to save others.

I have a lot of feelings about the whole sad situation, guns, responsibilities, taking God out of our schools etc.........But I don't feel this is the place to get political. What I do know is that prayers are something that we can all do (if you pray),  If you don't maybe now wouldn't
hurt to start. That is what I will be doing until I hear that I am needed to help in some other way.

Hug your loved ones extra. Life is so beautiful but so unsure. Tell them you love them.

'Till next time...
~Debra xxx

A VINTAGE CHRISTMAS

Hello everyone:)

As promised, here are some photos from our shop MAISON ST. GERMAIN. We have been decorating for Christmas. Yes, already;) This way we can enjoy the shop and when it is time to decorate our own homes we won't be stressed. We are even playing Christmas music. At home I don't decorate until the day after Thanksgiving. But in retail it is different. I don't really mind though. Christmas is such a beautiful holiday. The meaning of Christmas and all of the decorating that goes along with it makes me smile all season:) I can  never have enough of the Christmas spirit.

 Our shop may be small but it is big on personality! It is jam packed with vintage items and vintage Christmas. We have hundreds of ornaments, some vintage some hand made. All gorgeous. Something for every ones budget too:) The ornaments above are hand beaded from the seventies. Each one is amazing and unique. No two are alike. We loved putting up this vintage silver tree on a cornflower painted vintage chair and covering it with this fabulous collection.

 These one of a kind fabulous glittery red skaters came from Patrice of Sentimentally Me. Patrice turns everything she touches into pure gorgeousness!

                             Lots of little 'FOREVER TREES' from MAISON ST. GERMAIN. Some sit in vintage cups, others in vintage creamers. Always unique and festive.

 OK, who doesn't love a pink tree? Nicole decorated this tree with about 100 vintage ornaments. It came out so pretty you really need to see it in person.

 Of course our dress forms are dressed for the season as angels. This one has paper pattern flowers attached to her tutu.

 When you come into the shop, expect to spend a bit of time in here. You have to look up and down and under because we have to be creative about displaying things and work with the space we have. But that is half the fun. I know that when I go into a shop I enjoy just relaxing and looking for that favorite treasure to bring home. The thrill of the hunt:)

        The 'girls' all dressed for Christmas will welcome you as you enter the shop.

                                  Pretty pink hand beaded ornament.

                        Trees, decorations and candy mold Santas.

                                                         Sheet music ornaments

                                                     Gorgeous sugar wreaths.

                                                       Trims and pretty boxes

                                                        Doesn't this look fun!

                                              We have unique wreaths too.

     Look at all of the work that went into this one ornament.

                                          Will you be having a Vintage Christmas this year too?

"Till next time.........................
~Debra xxx and Nicole