Industrial Cottage

The Dec | Jan issue of House Beautiful left me speechless. This magazine has really changed in the last year, love it. This house of Jill Brinson has me inspired , steel windows, bead board ceiling, creamy whites, light wood floors. Love it!
Salvaged shutters for a closet door

{3 photos from House Beautiful}

Let there be light! Tons of it. Must paint my cherry cabinets soon, they are a pain to clean anyway! People call me crazy wanting to paint them, but they are just not me!

I'm dreaming of paint colors........let the work begin soon. Now where is the contractor?

Yoohoo! Eric we're ready. {I think!}

Stay warm, it's definitely grilled cheese and tomato soup weather in these parts, brr.

Here is our favorite homemade tomato soup recipe here.

k

New Treats!

Because you asked for it! Entire bolts of our teeny, tiny burlap twine. 400 yards for blissful endeavors. Pink, cream & red available here.

Happy New Year

 We do wish you a wonderful 2010! May we all accomplish our goals this year.  Tomorrow is organization mania here in the shipment/inventory room. We have officially bitten off more that we can chew. We'll see you after a mini break and meanwhile think of us getting tangled in packing tape! 2010---ready, set, GO!!

k&d

Looking Back

{Picture Ryan Benyi for Country Living}

This is one of our favorite pictures.

Our trademark "petite packages"!

& TA-DA, thank you Country Living for mentioning a product from

our wee little website boutique! We are shipping orders out as fast as we can!

{Photo | Contented Sparrow on flickr}

Creamy colored tent at Country Living Fair with dashes of color here & there. We lined the tent with our trademark scalloped drop cloths . I was desperate to add texture to the boring white tent side walls!  Our favorite "petite merchandise" displayed in our clutter-y, piled high style!

{Photo | Contented Sparrow on flickr}

Details, Details taking buttons and fastening with red bakery twine onto thread

cards. {Darcy' brilliant idea}

We do hope you had  a lovely Christmas! A flurry of presents, Starbucks, shopping the day after, Chinese food {a must after Christmas!}, & being with family. 

k&d

Visions of Sugarplums

{Iced Shortbread "birdies"}

I have a very good friend {she's 23 and hangs out with me, even though I'm 35} she has made this recipe since she was 16. I can't even remember when I was 16. She doesn't bake anything else at Christmas besides this shortbread recipe. I'm following in her footsteps. Easy directions. Easy ingredients. Easy small batch. Easy.Easy.Easy. I'm all about that. Plus they're yummy.

It's Martha Stewart's basic shortbread recipe. I think since it calls for confectioners' sugar instead of granulated makes all the difference. I also add almond flavoring in the dough and the icing---I'm a huge fan of almond flavoring.

For the icing:

3/4 cup of powdered sugar

1-2 teaspoons of almond flavoring

3 or more tablespoons of milk

Icing is slightly runny, I drizzle away over cookies and it sets up.

{The dirty "fluff" is his Snoopy baby----yes, my friends the classic Snoopy}

Luke is now 4 {December 1st} and it's fun seeing Christmas through his eyes. Soon after Thanksgiving he told me to get out the Christmas toys, he then stated---that means Jesus is born. What he meant was to get out the nativity set! Bless his little heart! 

I also love taking pictures of my sleeping kidlets.........

{Snoopy's tail is what he holds while sucking this thumb to go to sleep}

I thought you would want to know that. Just in case.

merrily,

k

Some Cheery Thoughts.........

*thought no. 1*

*thought no. 2*

Some special thoughts to pass on into next year...........may your day be "merry" while you're festooning Christmas all over the place.

k&d

It's a Wrap.........

*Thinking of you wrapping away............

k&d