new year's day and new china hutch

Hello, friends and happy 2023!

As Brian and I do every New Year's Day, we took a hike in the nearby State Park. This year was the first time since we could remember, that there hasn't been snow on the ground. It was cold - 31 degrees F - but no breeze. The clean, crisp air actually felt refreshing instead of brutally cold like it had in previous years.

Since the park is closed on New Year's day, we only passed a couple of people near the walk-in entrance. Otherwise, it was like we had the 2200 acres to ourselves.

We ended up hiking 2-1/2 miles. I learned the hard way that I need another layer of clothing underneath my jeans. It took a long time for my thighs to thaw out!

Those of you who have been here awhile know that my large kitchen wall has looked pretty much like this for several years. We bought the skinny hutch when we were newlyweds from a furniture store in Long Grove, IL. It was perfect for our small townhouse.  We paid $400 for it - a lot of money back then. Now I'll be lucky to get $50 for it. When we moved into this house 32+ years ago, the hutch came with us and first was in the living room, then in the kitchen. It was more of a sentimental piece, but it served its purpose. I also liked the vintage three-tiered cart beside the hutch. It held my Dutch ovens, mixing bowls, and my coffee mug tree. However, the past few years I'd been wanting a larger piece of furniture for this wall to replace the cart and the skinny hutch. I wasn't sure exactly "what", but I had a hunch that I'd know the piece I was looking for when I saw it.

And...here it is! Right after Christmas, I was browsing FB Marketplace and saw this hutch. The woman had already lowered the price by $50. I messaged her and asked if she'd be will to go down another $50. She said yes, if I picked it up that day! Our kind next-door neighbor helped us move the skinny hutch down into our basement (now I need to try and sell it) and this new one into our kitchen.

The vintage tiered cart went into the basement for now too (don't know if I'm going to keep it to use somewhere else or sell it), so I replaced that with a little painted table and ZZ plant. The wall above the plant remained bare, since I didn't have anything in my basement decor stash that would fit in that space. I was running errands a few days ago and first was going to stop in Hobby Lobby to check out what they had, but then decided to try Goodwill first. I haven't been in a Goodwill in probably two years. I tend to stay out of resale shops for the most part now, since I rarely need anything. I've been more focused on donating to resale shops instead of buying from them. Anyhoo, I found this Paris art print and took the chance of it being the right size and looking good in this space. 

Love the detail on the front of the glass. And whoever painted this cabinet did a great job. The woman I bought the cabinet from said this piece was in her house when she moved in.

There's enough room inside to hold all my cookbooks, Dutch ovens, bowls, recipe boxes (they hold old hand-written family recipes), decor items and teas.

The drawer underneath the cabinet holds my dishtowels, pot holders, and extra kitchen decor items. I want to find some pretty paper to line the drawer and organize it a bit better.

Hope the start to the new year is going well for you. Thanks for reading and for your kind comments.
💖

totally random ~ catching up

First and foremost, the 13-year anniversary of my oldest son, Philip's passing was September 25th. When you're a parent, it doesn't matter how many years it's been since your child has died. The pain of that day will never fade. I had a headache and basically moped around the house all that day. I could finally exhale a bit on the 26th. 

I love this photo of Phil with his bedhead, unshaven face, wearing his comfy worn out hoodie. It was Christmas 2008 and he was 20 years old. It was his last Christmas with us. He's checking out his new phone with texting keyboard. Hard to grasp the reality that he's never seen a smartphone like we have now.

Fall is here in full force with a beautiful color change and leaves falling like mad. As I do every year, I'm documenting the color change of the gorgeous maple across the street.

The leaf blower can't keep up anymore. It's like shoveling during a snowstorm.

The patio table got taken apart today, covered with a tarp, and put up against the house. We left the two rockers out for now because we're hoping we can still sit outside on the patio at least a couple more times before the end of the month. We'll see. The weather here in Illinois can fluctuate anywhere between the 30's and 60's during the day. 

The glider finally bit the dust this year. It still works, but is falling apart, as you can see by all the wicker pieces that are falling off. We've had this set over 10 years and it was given to us by friends. I don't know how long they had it, so this set has seen good use. We'll possibly be in the market for a new patio set next spring unless we decide to stick with just the two rocking chairs for now.

Back in June, I wrote a post about stray cats that were hanging around our property. I'll update you about the female (Goldie) and her kitten another time. Spoiler alert: that news is all good but there was a little surprise. 

The feral male, Blanco, is still coming around. He's gotten friendlier towards me, though I still can't get within 10 feet of him. He shows up at my house most every evening for food now. 

Sometimes he doesn't show up 'til late at night and I see him out my front door, waiting patiently for me on my porch. He's such a beautiful kitty. The minute I open the door, he takes off. I then set a bowl of food for him on the porch and he eventually comes back to eat it. Long story short, I've been in contact with the county Trap, Neuter, Release program and I'm hoping to be able to trap him so he can at least get neutered. I'm sure he was the daddy of Goldie's kittens. Who knows how many more he's fathered around here. 

I also purchased an outdoor feral cat "house" from a local shelter this past weekend. Volunteers made them out of used ice chests and lined them with straw. They have a flap door where the cat can go in and out. I read online that it's to be put in more of a hiding spot and put up on bricks or pavers about 6" off the ground so that the "house" doesn't get wet from rain or snow. I hope Blanco ends up using it, especially in the winter. I worry about him.

My house is cozily decorated for fall and it'll stay that way til the end of November. You can see Clementine curled up on the throw on the sofa. She's is still hanging in there, though she's now in stage 4 of chronic kidney disease. She's showing more signs of decline with UTIs about once a month and now constipation (which is due to dehyrdration, even though we give her subcutaneous fluids). But she still eats all her food, uses the litter box, grooms herself, interacts with us, and plays with her toys. 

Little touches of autumn decor in the living room and "fauxyer"...

and in the kitchen...

Spent a day antiquing last weekend during the 2022 Midwest Shop Hop. Fun to look around, but only a couple of small things came home with me.

Surprise, it wasn't these cats!

It was almost this mirror, which I initially thought would look above my nightstand. But after taking measurements and also realizing it wouldn't go with the modern prints above our bed, I passed.

It wasn't this lovely chandelier either, as I have nowhere to hang it.

If I had a grandchild, I might've purchased this 1970's dollhouse. I had one just like it when I was growing up. I still have the plastic furniture that came with the dollhouse!

Sorry for the bad quality photo - I had to close the blinds on the kitchen door because the sunlight was so bright. See the two vintage wood pieces in the doorway? That's what I bought. I'm not sure I like these pieces here. I was trying to add some interest to the boring builder grade opening from the living room into the kitchen. No big deal if I decide to move them: they're attached to the wall with Command strips.

Here's where I tried the pieces at first. Big nope.

That's it in a nutshell. More I could talk about, but this post is already too long. Life is busy and it's hard to keep up with blogging sometimes. Other times, I'm simply not in the mood to post. Thanks for sticking with me.

💓

happy march ~ small joys

Hello and happy March! I don't know about you, but I'm glad to see February go. Not only because Monkey passed away in February (three weeks ago today 😢), but winters here in northeast Illinois last "forever". Seeing the calendar turn to March at least gives me a little hope. I know it's still technically winter and we could easily have more snow storms, but at least there will be some warmer days here and there. Just the fact that it stays light until almost 6 pm now lifts my spirits.

Small joys...

Plants make me happy! If I can't garden outside right now, I can add to my house plant collection. We have a new, women-owned plant shop in our town and they had a plant sale a few weeks ago. Of course, I had to go and check out the shop. Not only are the owners friendly and helpful, but their shop has so many cool plants, plus they've expanded to include lovely, unique gift items. Three plants came home with me. First up is this pretty striped plant called Parallel Peperomia. It's a perennial that's native to South America. 

This large plant is my favorite and the one I splurged on. It's a Hoya Carnosa Krimson Queen. It's native to Thailand, India and China but is also found growing in the wild in the Philippines, New Guinea, Polynesia and Australia. I love the pink leaves!

It would make a beautiful hanging plant in front of the window, but I have a hanging iron chandelier to the right of this window over the dresser (not shown), so the plant wouldn't look good hanging in this particular spot. I had Brian hold it up for me so I could get a visual.

The third plant I bought is commonly known as a snake plant. There's a good deal of varieties: this one is a Sansevieria Laurentii. One thing I like about this plant is that it basically survives on neglect. It doesn't need a lot of light and requires little water.

In the kitchen, I changed the artwork on the wall to one of a brighter, colorful canvas (thrifted a few years ago) instead of my son's large photography print. I love Tim's photography, but the photo was in neutral tones and I was wanting lighter and brighter in the kitchen. I moved the photo print into the living room.

I found a short, neutral, lightweight runner for the kitchen table on Amazon. It's hard to find a short runner. Standard runners are 72" long, which is much too long for my small kitchen table. Sorry for the dimmer photos, but I took these late in the day.

I've always tried to look for small joys in my home and it feels even more important now, with what's going on in Ukraine. Our homes should be our place of comfort and safety. To see these families fleeing for their lives is heartbreaking and beyond comprehension.

What small joys are you finding or bringing into your home right now?

christmas in the kitchen

It's now a mad dash to Christmas day. As usual, I haven't wrapped any presents yet (I hate wrapping, so I procrastinate) and I'm just beginning my baking. I'm not too concerned about that though, because I'm only making two types of Christmas cookies this year. I make cookie gift boxes for three neighbors, and the rest of the cookies will be put out on Christmas Eve when we have some people over.

I'm behind in basically everything right now, not just Christmas stuff. I had a medical problem come out of the blue last weekend and I ended up in the ER. It was scary and very painful...but I'm on the mend now. On one of the days where I couldn't do anything due to being in so much pain, I said to Brian, "I just want my boring regular life back!" Oh, how we take our little lives, such as they are, for granted. Until we're sidelined. 

Enough of that. Onto Christmas decor in my kitchen.

Yes, please! And I'll even take some snow on Christmas.

A collection of Christmas glasses and a Marshall Field's crock in the cubby, and a trio of Santa mugs above the stove...

Pretty red glasses that glow in the sunshine alongside a grouping of Christmas plates...

One of the views in my kitchen...

Didn't do much to my china cabinet...a few pieces of decor here and there.

Collection of Christmas mugs. The two red and white King Arthur mugs are new. I took advantage of a sale plus free shipping while I had a chance. The mugs came with a container of their hot chocolate, which I haven't tried yet.

Another view in my kitchen, looking into the living room. That's Clementine on the heat vent.

This medley of vintage wood Santa bells is one of my Christmas favorites. I found these in a vintage shop several years ago. The Bailey's cups were found at Goodwill many years back.

Are you all done with Christmas prep? 

Would you like to join me in a glass of Merlot? 😉💓