Cottage dreams

I awoke this morning from a dream I’ve had many times before. It involved a quaint garden, crumbling stone walls and a kitschy interior.

 This cutie is close to the one in my dream. I wonder what lies beyond that adorable cottage door.

This charming look would do until I saw this beauty below, for sale and in my neck of the woods.

 I came across this little gem, for sale just three hours north of my house, on 2 acres and within walking distance to the beach. It was listed for under $80,000. The perfect little project which could become the ultimate summer house. It looked like my dream may come true. I couldn’t dial the phone fast enough but unfortunately it had been sold. My dream will have to stay a dream for now.

xo-jj

My life would be perfect if…

Photo borrowed from myhomeideas.com

So here we are living, dreaming and sharing our experiences with one another. We all have our ups and downs in this quest for a perfect life. Sometimes we know what we want, sometimes we can fill in that blank- if… but sometimes it’s not so clear, you could say, it’s kind of a gray area. 

We could say things like- my life would be perfect if…

I had enough money to live it the way I wanted to,

if I had an awesome body, healthy and beautiful, that will never grow old,

if I  had a great job, that I loved,

If I had the time to do the things I wanted to do and had the  time to spend it with the people I wanted to be with instead of those who just happen to be in the same place at the same time.

Yesterday while driving home from work I listened to an interview with Meaghan Daun the author of  “My life would be perfect if I lived in that house”. It made me think about how I might complete the sentence- my life would be perfect if… but I really couldn’t come up with a viable option or the perfect line and then I thought… what is perfect and is that really what I want?  hmmm…

The following is an excerpt of this book… I like it!

Yesterday, a piece of my house came off in my hands. I don’t mean that metaphorically. I banged the garbage can against an outside wall, and a piece of stucco about the size of a sheet of paper came ever so slightly loose. When I touched it, it fell gently into my palm. It was as if the house were giving me a lock of its hair, or perhaps coughing up phlegm. I was concerned, but it also happened that I was really busy that day. I just couldn’t get into it with the stucco, not right then anyway. Also, I was coming up on my five-year anniversary of owning the house, and if there’s anything I’ve learned in five years, it’s this: if a piece of your house falls off and you don’t know what to do with it, throwing it in the trash and forgetting about it is a perfectly viable option. And it so happened that the trash can was right there. Once upon a time I would have made a beeline to the yellow pages to look up “stucco replacement,” but I’ve come a long way since then.

So has the house. I bought it in 2004, and as I write this, it’s supposedly worth $100,000 less than what I paid for it. By the time you read this, it will probably be worth even less than that. I try not to care because if I cared too much, or even thought about it too much, I’d go insane. I’ve spent enough time here being insane, believe me. I was insane when I bought the place, and I went even more insane afterward. Then again, the whole world was high a few years ago. The whole world, or at least the whole country, was buying real estate and melting it down to liquid form and then injecting it into veins. For my part, it’s tempting to say I succumbed to peer pressure, but it was really much more complicated than that. There is no object of desire quite like a house. Few things in this world are capable of eliciting such urgent, even painful, yearning. Few sentiments are at once as honest and as absurd as the one that moves us to declare: “Life would be perfect if I lived in that house.”

I’m writing this book in homage to that sentiment, which is to say I’m telling the story of a very imperfect life lived among very imperfect houses.

I, too, have had fantasies about the perfect house- a quaint little cottage surrounded by a garden of roses and other aromatic bloomers, the creamy white kitchen is old but still very functional, the wood floors creak with every step I take, but the windows open up to a panoramic view of  the sea. The smell of sea-spray and romantic flowers fills my breath as the breeze gently graces my cheek like the touch of a feather and this house, this view, this experience  makes my life seem,,, well… perfect!

 
My eyes are closed and my head is laying back in my chair, I can feel it- I’m there and it’s perfect…

xo-jj

Got a vintage itch I can’t scratch

I didn’t win the dress. The auction ended with it going for over $87.00, I couldn’t dig that deep. It was gorgeous but I wasn’t even sure it would fit. sigh…

 This time of year always puts me in the mood to go junktiquing, (sp???) I have a few haunts that I like to peruse for treasures.

 I don’t really have the time or the money to persue this hobby right now but if I did I’d be on the look out for something like this…

or maybe something like this…

I suddenly have the itch to paint all my wood furniture in a shabby chic kind of  way. But then there’s Mr. Java who hates shabby chic. I can see his head shaking right now, no, no, no.

 

A couple of years ago I talked him into helping me do this to an old dresser that I’d picked up at a garage sale. Not his style but I like it’s cottage charm. It stays in my office, which is very whimsical, well actually it’s a whimsical mess right now It needs an over-haul and a good cleaning.

That’s all for now back to real life. Take care and enjoy your weekend.

xo-jj

Kitschy cool and cottage chic

image borrowed from telegraph.co.uk

This room is calling my name. This combo of cottage cute and collectable treasures speaks to me. I have always wanted a little cottage to decorate in a colorful shabby chic/country charm way. I would love a little cottage by the lake or ocean (even better) just so I could decorate in a  cottagey way. I’m in love!

this image borrowed from farm4.flickr.static

This room doesn’t say cottage but I can’t get over the fifties charm, so cool. My grandmother had the very same table with chairs in  chili pepper red. I could eat here.

image borrowed from web.mawebcenters.com

Oh what can I say… the rich color of the wooden planks, the slip covered furniture, the little pink frig, mint green table and that chandelier, Once again, I’m in love.

image borrowed from img4.myhomeideas.com

Love, love this cottage clean look, breakfast anyone? This room stirs up a hearty appetite for pancakes, eggs and sausage, mmm.

The following images are my shots of the kitschy cottage, by-the-sea, that I called home for one week.

 

This was my breezy living room looking onto a shell covered path to the beach, loved it!

 The perfect little dining nook with a view of the palm trees and screened in porch, complete with tiny geckos soaking up the sun.

 The guest bedroom was so darn cute, it’s a shame we didn’t have anyone to fill it.

I’m feeling a little cottage envy today, perhaps it’s because I’m off to work to help my customers pick out the perfect furniture and acessories for their cottage… sigh

Enjoy your day

xo-jj

Island girl

My bags aren’t packed and I haven’t done a thing to get ready but that won’t stop Mr. Java and I from jumping in the car and heading south shortly after sunrise, tomorrow. In the past I’ve been very organized. I started packing well in advance, even kept a check list. This year is a bit different, more laid back and nonchalant.  Which is totally fitting for the subtropical paradise we’re headed to. Captiva island is a bustling island covered in cottages and tropical foliage. The image above is a view of Laika lane just outside my cottage door. This year we downsized to a smaller place a few steps closer to the beach.  I can’t wait to take a stroll down this shell covered path to the beach. 

I’ll return to Michigan and my blog in about two weeks. Happy Easter and cheers to a beautiful spring!

xo-jj

this image was borrowed from ccambridge.org

The Enchanted Garden

Loved this little cottage of garden treasures.

During our winding drive along hwy 101 to the sea shore in Washington State we passed a sign that said, The painted lady lavender farm. Well of course I was intrigued, to say the least, so I pulled my little car up the stone path toward a most enchanted garden. What a magical place of sweet lavender and secret recipes. A cozy fireplace welcomed us to a little sitting area hidden by lovely flowering vines.  I cut a bouquet of lavender during our tour of edible plants (daylillies, etc). This was like a secret garden of little cottages inhabited by tiny creatures (chickens and other poultry type beasts) The owners were very kind but quite eccentric. They used secret recipes to produce all kinds of jellies and jams.  Sue insisted that my son take a bite of a chanterelle mushroom before we left. She gathered them to use in her special soup the next day. He was convinced that he would experience some heavy hallucinations afterward but luckily that didn’t happen.  hee, he

This photo was borrowed from  Essences of the past on blogger

It was a very interesting and welcomed stop on our long drive that day- spontaneous moments and unexpected stops are the best. We headed back down the hillside toward the seaside town of Illwaco with a fragrant bouquet of lavender in my lap and a jar of sweet strawberry jam in his, still giggling about the interesting sights and conversations we left behind.

xo-jj

Return of the Garden fairy

The garden had been very quiet until just recently when it  exploded with color. The garden girl wasn’t sure what had taken place but it seemed to have happened over night. She decided that maybe she should investigate just a little, so she tiptoed through the garden and looked around. Everything looked to be in order until she heard a faint whisper coming from behind the door of the caretaker cottage. She approached it every so slowly and then pulled back the door. The garden girl gasped….You won’t believe what she saw.

 

 

It was the sweetest little fairy enjoying a break from her garden chores. The garden girl may have upset her because as soon as the fairy noticed an intruder, she flew off quick as a bird.

 

Oh no, will she come back to take care of the garden?  I assured the garden girl that these Fairies are shy but they never neglect their duties or pass up a cute little garden cottage to live in.  This garden fairy will be back when she’s over her fright.

 

It wasn’t long before she was back at her duties. No wonder the garden is doing so well. This little fairy has been very busy and as it turns out she isn’t so shy after all. She and the garden girl made friends right away.

 

The garden girl would never have guessed that she’d have so much help tending her plants. Garden fairies are cute, cuddly and very good at their jobs; they don’t require much: just a little caretaker cottage, a few flowers and a lot of love will do the trick.

 

So there you have it, this garden girl’s secret little cottage is finally revealed and of course the best part is the little caretaker who dwells in the garden and keeps everything just so.

Enjoy this beautiful spring day.

xo-jj

The Island Girl and her travel treasures

The Island girl is back from her beautiful seaside adventure. It was a truly inspiring trip. The island and the people were lovely. The above picture is Laika lane. It’s absolutely gorgeous and my cottage was located midway down this lane toward the beach. My morning jaunt to the sand was filled with an intoxicating scent of flowers and ripening bananas.

The trip inspired me to start a line of Island Girl Bohemian blends. I am still working on the perfect concoction to capture the subtle essence of a woman’s perfume mingled with a fresh sea breeze. The mixture isn’t quite right just yet but I have a bottle all ready for our grand prize winner. As promised I have put your names into my magic little cap and pulled out a lucky soul to try out a bohemian blend . Before I reveal the winner, I’ll reveal the contents of the treasure that will be waiting on the winner’s door step. It is a little diffuser set that I put together with a citrus oil blend, a few tiny shells and tumbled sea glass. The bottle is dressed up with a tiny tropical umbrella, vintage beads and ribbons.  I picked up a couple other little surprises like dangerous bath salts and washed up sea treasures, while on the island that will be included in the package. I’m a little tight for time today but I will post a picture of the Travel treasure along with the winning name tomorrow.  Have a great day and don’t forget to check back tomorrow for the big reveal.

xo-jj

My Dreams and 100th Post

This is my 100th post and I wanted it to be special in some way. So, I decided to share my dreams with you. I have always been a curious girl with my head in the clouds as I explore every inch of my life.  My passions change with the wind and I want to experience it all. I have big dreams that are floating  just over head. But I sometimes lack the discipline to make my dreams a reality. I always believed that I would do something extraordinary with my life and I’m still waiting for that moment.

I left my job in the medical field a year ago and embarked on a journey to find my creative roots and plant them firmly. I started out with a vengeance but I have to say my batteries are wearing down a bit. I started this blog to serve as a platform for my novel “The Sofa Diary”. It is still a work in progress and I have been off my game a bit since the holidays.  I’m sure I’ll put my game face back on very soon. The last chapter of the book will be all about this sight and the amazing stories that have been posted here. I can’t wait to finish the book and share it with all of you.

Okay on to my dreams as promised.  *I wish to be published and profit from that venture.  *I wish to buy a cute little cottage near the warm beaches of the gulf of mexico.  *I wish to have time to share this paradise with my friends and family. * Last on my list is to live happily to the age of 100 with the ones I love close by. Is that too much to ask? I don’t think so.

Share your dreams with me no matter how big or small. After all this site is all about sharing, secrets, passions, dreams and stories. So throw one out there, Junie wants to hear what you have to say.

Thank you for being a part of my 100 posts and for sharing in my dreams.

jj