Small House Love

People thought we were crazy when we downsized to a little cottage, but I have always had a thing for little, unique houses.

The other day, Steve was headed to the grocery store and I said I would join him if we could drive down one of my favorite streets so I could take pictures.

Brent Street is the street I take when I am going to the doctor and I always marvel at the "cuteness" of nearly every house on the street.

I am in love with all the arched windows of this little cottage.

The roof line of this sweet little yellow cottage has some similarities to our house and might well have been built by the same builder.

The fencing, the color combination and the stone path are all wonderful.

Spanish style houses are prominent in our area and I love the arched window and interesting door of this cottage.

I have never lived in a house with a tile roof despite my love of the look.

Red tile roof, white house, green door - how can you go wrong?

I love the queen palm in the front yard and the golden yellow color of this Spanish style.

I love the scalloped edging around the window of this house.

You can tell by the power lines that this is an older neighborhood and the lines have not been moved underground yet.

My friend who lives on the street tells me my timing was off and I should have taken the photos when the gardens were in full bloom.

I love the little arched floral stained glass windows on either side of the door.

Our friend Natalie lives in this lovely blue and white cottage.

I love the brick paths and porch.

All the primary colors are out in force in this picture with the yellow house against the blue sky.

A guardian angel looks over the garden.

A red door - perfect.

What a difference a little paint and gardening can do for curb appeal.

Each of these cottages which are 2 or 3 bedroom and less than 1500 square feet would sell for about $600,000.

What are house prices like in your area?

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You can find me at

French Country Cottage - Feathered Nest Friday

Lavender Garden Cottage - Cottage Style Link Party

My Romantic Home - Show and Tell Friday

The Dedicated House - Anything Blue Friday

The Last Days of Summer

As a former student and teacher, September has always meant school and heat.

I remember my mother taking my sister and me to Bullocks in Pasadena every August to purchase our back to school clothes - pleated wool skirts and sweater sets.

But, it was always too hot to wear our new outfits until mid October.

Last school year, I remember calling Steve on the first day of school and asking him to please buy me a fan "NOW"!

But, this September is different.

It is hot, the beach is perfect and my uniform of shorts and t-shirts is just right for the weather.

While Steve was on his run, I set the table outside.

I bought sunflowers at Trader Joe's today

and they looked perfect on the table.

A handmade pitcher (a reminder of a fun vacation in Taos) held the sunflowers along with a bit of a greenery from the garden.

I bought the tablecloth years ago at World Market planning to recover a chair seat with it, but the chair went to live at my sister's house before I got around to recovering the seat.

 I chose the silverware pattern when I was 8 years old and made the ruffled napkins last summer.

My newest dishes have not been used yet and they looked great on the blue and yellow tablecloth.

It was a perfect summer evening to be outdoors.

The direction we were facing at dinner made us realize what a jungle we have going on in the back corner - hopefully we can get Victor to come to our rescue to trim everything back.

Lulu was not impressed with the table setting and once the table was cleared, she couldn't wait for her walk on the beach.

Walking with Lulu in each morning and each evening is doubling our enjoyment of these last days of summer.

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I am joining these fun parties

Savvy Southern Style - Wow Us Wednesdays

Elizabeth and Co. - Be Inspired

Lavender Garden Cottage - Cottage Style Party

A Slight Change of Color

I have never loved the shade of yellow - Annie Sloan Chalk Paint, Arles - on my bench.

I love the shade of yellow, but not against our Benjamin Moore Provence walls.

The bench has been in several rooms and sported several colors, but when I moved it to the foot of our now pastel bedroom - yuck!

I went to the local unfinished furniture store to look for milk paint yesterday, but they are no longer selling the powder you mix yourself.

All they had left were mustard ( similar to the Arles) and pumpkin, but I have read enough fearless bloggers that I knew I could add white to lighten the mustard color and I couldn't beat the price of $2 for milk paint.

It is just a slight change of color and when JP comes by this week I am sure he won't even notice the difference.

But, a slight change of color makes a huge difference to me.

I saw this cute little wagon at DIY Beautify and thought it would make a cute container for fall decor.

I had plenty of yellow paint left over so I updated an old "Americana" wagon.

For now, it is just holding colorful pool balls I found at TJ Maxx, but soon it will hold fall leaves and if I can find the time, a cute graphic on the side.

And now, I need to do some reading up on dog training after watching Lulu take the phone off the hook and then grab Steve's iPhone and prance through the house.

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You can find me at these fun parties

Be Different Act Normal - Show and Tell Saturday

Boogieboard Cottage - Masterpiece Monday

I Caved

It is finally summer on our little part of the California coast - warm sunny days on the beach - and I have held out against putting up fall decor.

But, I was looking at tons of blogs yesterday morning (I get the 5:30 a.m. shift with Little Lulu) and visited aka Design.

via

I looked at a tutorial on how to make these little Cinderella pumpkins and thought they were so cute and definitely within my skill range.

I gathered supplies, attached Lulu's leash to a tether so she could roam around the garage while I worked and looked about for round containers for templates.

I was surprised at how tiny the pumpkin from the yellow and red bowl turned out and even how small the pumpkin from the big hat box turned out.

Once they were finished, I had to decide where to put them - not ready to change the mantel yet.

Judith at Botanic Bleu commented on my alphabet tablecloth recently and I thought it would be perfect for a fall table.

I finally found a use for a Tic-Tac-Toe board I bought at Big Lots on an after 4th of July sale.

With my table set for fall, I was motivated to add more fall color to the room so I put some dried hydrangeas in a metal pail.

And headed out to Jo-Ann's to look for more fall decor.

I have totally caved in and am decorating for fall even though our walks

are just beginning to look like summer days.

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If you get a chance, Brenda at Cozy Little House has an amazing Giveaway going on.

I shouldn't tell you about it, because I have been wanting a set of Pfaltzgraff Pistoulet dishes for years and I want to win the Giveaway.

Kohl's carries the Pistoulet series of dishes based on the book Secrets of Pistoulet - also a favorite of mine.

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You can find me at these fun parties

Common Ground - Be Inspired

Stone Gable - Tutorials, Tips and Tidbits

From My Front Porch To Yours - Treasure Hunt Thursday

Have a Daily Cup of Mrs. Olson - Share Your Cup Thursday

Shabby Creek Cottage - Transformation Thursday

No Minimalist Here -  Open House Blog Party

The Jenny Evolution - Friday Flash Blog

Style Sisters -  Centerpiece Wednesday