Everyone Dreams of Cottages - Pink Saturday 3/17/12

Welcome to Beverly's blog for another Pink Saturday, the absolute best blog linky/party on the blogs. To view other participants, visit her.

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What exactly is a home? A cottage? A castle? A home is a place where one lives permanently. A cottage is described as a small simple house, typically one near a lake or beach, but I think it can be anywhere. A castle is a large building of group of buildings fortified against an attack with thick walls, battlements, towers and in many cases a moat. It can also be a magnificent and imposing mansion, especially one that is the home or former home of a member of the nobility and, dare I say, Hollywood people and rich owners of corporations. I have no problem with people having large, expensive homes. None at all.

My definition of home is a safe haven from the stress of the world. A place I can relax, feel safe, and have it warm and inviting. I don't need a big house or even a glamorous house; I just need a place that I know is mine, no matter what the storms in my life are. A house where it protects me from people I don't want to see. Or I can share with friends I feel safe with. A house I can sit in and watch the snow fall quietly while huddled in a warm comforter with a cup of very rich dark cocoa. A place hubby comes home to after a day of teaching a class or taking care of business while I take care of his home and make a delicious dinner for him, for which he is always grateful.

No, no mansion or big house for me. It just wouldn't suit us. We're really simple people. We enjoy each others company before anyone elses. We spend a great deal of time alone, just the two of us.
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I love the small angled solarium on this house, plus a private patio for eating. Privacy is a huge issue for me.

A sweet array of crafts hanging on a line makes a comfy statement in most homes.

I find this very quaint—the stone houses sitting by a stream with small outdoor eating areas and across from a woods. Romantic would be another word for this setting.

How in the world could anyone resist this setting? Lovely.

Your rose- and vine-covered cottage.

I can't remember ever seeing a 2 story cottage so square and small.

Beautiful, but it's too large for me to keep clean and I'm not fond of 2 story homes at my age.

Another rose- and vine-covered cottage. Oooh, squeeeeeal. I'd love this as a studio in my back yard. Hubs says if we did that he'd have to change the sprinkler system, so we know that ain't happenin', right?

While there would be privacy with its seclusion, any boater with binoculars could get a very good look! I'd pass on this one.

Vintage books and cards kept by a lover perhaps.

Cute, but I'd have to give it a coat of white paint. I'm not really into the raw, weathered look of wood much.

We've seen these huge tents around hunting season up in the mountains when we go camping late in the season. Personally, I'd love to have one of these instead of our pop-up camper. More space and more romantic.

For you lovers of cottages by the lake, this is one for you.

I think this is a downtown cottage if you understand what I mean. Most city dwellers don't get out to cottages in the woods. But this owner made her own little space seem like a cottage. I applaud her for her creativity. I think it's adorable.

While lovely, it's a bit dark for my taste.

This one certainly has my name on it! I think it would be perfect for me and hubs.

Or even this one would be acceptable. The roof lines and the colors entice me more than anything else.

I hope you've enjoyed viewing these little cottages. I think they are all exceptional.

Any idiot can face a crisis; it's day to day living that wears you out.
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All images courtesy of Pinterest

Beautiful Cakes and a Rant

What is the revolution, or could it be evolution, with themed parties for the last several years? Weddings, children's birthday parties, baby showers, bridal showers, grooms parties, or any ol' plain party for that matter. I think I've seen them all while searching for cakes.

I'm seeing the most elaborate cakes, decorations and themes I could never even have imagined. Some are just parties for no reason at all with what could only be several hundred dollars spent on the little cherub for whom the party is being given. I'm lucky I can even remember to get a cake for hubs' birthday, if even that! Caroline had a cake on her first birthday but no glittery decorations. Am I missing something here? Is this really for the kid or are the mommies competing to see who can throw the most elaborate Hollywood-type party for a kid who has absolutely no clue what is going on? I'm talking ELABORATE parties, the likes of which I've never seen or truly never even imagined—fantastic cake and cookies and candy and designer lemonades, candy beyond lollipops but handmade gorgeous candies, popcorn in designer holders, pretzels dipped and done up in gorgeous hangers, just beyond my imagination.

In doing a tiny bit of research on the cost of cakes, I found that they can be priced from $17 a slice to $200 a slice! Can you believe paying that much money for one cake? So if you're having 250 people, which I'm guessing is a close to average number for a middle class wedding, you'd maybe be paying $3,400 to $50,000 for a cake? Beyond insane in my book.

For Love Bunny and me, we've stopped going to most weddings and receptions as most of the couples have gotten a divorce within a few years. That's even in the Mormon community. What's up with that? We've gotten invitations to weddings that we've never even met the kids. I think they just scatter the invitations around for gifts. Well, I'm old enough now that I don't have to do anything I don't want to because I don't care what other people think. That's the advantage of obtaining senior status. ;-)

Rant over. Now, on with showing you some gorgeous cakes.

This one is French looking.

Is this chandelier divine or what?

This is actually a tiered cake that looks like it has tiered cakes. Very clever. However, it is not the prettiest of cakes; it looks more like a silo on a farm.

Cute decorated bottles in a very vintage container.

A ruffled cake which is one of my favorites.

Sweet decorations for a luncheon. I'm getting ideas for one I'm having soon.

Cute for a kid's party.

Neat storage idea for bathroom items.

This is a crêpe cake. One of my favorite desserts is crêpes stuffed with blueberries and whipped cream.

I would call this cake Nutcracker Suite Cake.

Oh, yeah, my idea of a great craft room!

I tried to see if a local bakery would make some like this but they said they would be cost prohibitive. I didn't care about price but they seemed reluctant to take on the job.

Can you even imagine having these in your garage to store items, much less somewhere in your home? Darling idea for a cottage.

Is this a sweet sweet shop or not? I'd love to visit it but I have no clue where it is; however, you can rest assured it isn't in Idaho!

My all-time favorite cake—coconut. Actually, my favorite dessert is coconut pie. Just love coconut!

And this actually is a cake. I don't know how they did it!


And this apple basket cake.

We all are lusting for this look in our cottages.
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In Hollywood a marriage is a success if it outlasts milk.

I'm thinking age is a very high price to pay for maturity now that I've got it. ;-)

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Room Eye Candy

I'm just going to relax today and not tell you a story, just let you peruse the photos I've collected for your enjoyment. Wait, wait, wait...I just thought of something I've been wanting to mention to you bloggers.

A while back someone asked me about the dimensions of my blog because I could fit in wider photos. I have an iMac with a 21" screen so it's big but someday I'm hoping to get a 27" iMac. ;-) Yeah, right, like that'll happen.

Anyway, because I like large screens and a lot of room for my pictures I went into the template and made it the maximum width I could possibly do. Do not try this if you're not familiar with templates; you could screw the whole thing up.

Oh, if I could only get my space to look this good. Sigh.

Hanging a pretty blouse in a window is a very creative idea. This looks like a living room but also a studio with the bolts of fabric resting in the corner. Could it be a small apartment somewhere doing double duty?

Magnificent in white with a touch of beige.

So much eye candy it's giving me a sugar high! I love this vignette.

And this one, too.

And this very simple nostalgic one also.

Don't you just wish?! ;-)

And for lovers of quilts. I'm especially drawn to lavender and pink ones but my granddaughter's favorite color is purple and variations of that color. She would love this one.

Can we say caauuute her?! Look at all that red punctuating that darling island in that darling kitchen.

I especially noticed how this homeowner worked these gorgeous fabrics into her living room wall decor. I find it absolutely stunning what she has done. Inexpensive and very innovative, not to mention the teapot/teacup lamp.

Elegance and...

Sentimentality

A work of art is above all an adventure of the mind.
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