Saturday Spotlight: Life Behind the Blogger





Betty from My Irish Cottage Home

 Saturday Spotlight: Life Behind the Blogger is a feature done each Saturday that introduces you to a blogger you may already know or a new blogger for you to get to know. This feature gives you a peak into the personal life of the blogger.  Getting to know the special person behind the beautiful blog.

There is so much talent and inspiration in blogland so enjoy getting to know these talented bloggers each Saturday.


This week I want to introduce you to Betty from My Irish Cottage Home. Betty lives in West Virginia and is going to share her story with all of us.   Please grab your favorite beverage and sit back and get to know Betty.  Then hop over to her blog and say Hi.  










   Hi Everyone, I am Betty from My Irish Cottage Home 

                                                  

I was so thrilled when Kris asked me to be Saturday Spotlight for this week. Thank  you so much Kris for asking me. I love reading everyone else that you have chosen for these posts. The blogging world has grown so much over the years and it is nice meeting new and old bloggers. 

The reason I call my blog My Irish Cottage Home is that one day I would love to visit Ireland and in the mean time I will make our home Irish. I come from along line of Irish Folks on my Grandmothers side. I love collecting things from Ireland and you will find them through out our home.  

I have been blogging for a long time now and have enjoyed it so much. I have shared many things on my blog, such as my love of making all kinds of crafts and doing alot of DIY to our home.  

I have been married to a wonderful and loving Husband for 39 years. We got married just two months after we met and they said it wouldn't last. I guess we got the last laugh. We have a Daughter, Son, five grandchildren. Two grandchildren are in heaven. 

I love to sew, make candles, recycle anything if I can, and bake. I am not a great cook, but everyone loves my cookies and cakes. 

Since I was alittle girl I have always loved aprons and I do wear them when I am in the kitchen, so I had to make me a few to hang in there. 




 I have just been quilting for over a year and I love it. My passion is lap quilts and here is one I did. I love sitting is a chair and having one of these over me.




Hubby and I bought this house seventeen years ago and it was a fixer upper. We do not have much money so we do one project a year. We have just finished redoing our knotty pine kitchen and boy was it hard to paint over. We only have the bathroom to do and that will be done in a couple of years and the house will be finished. Just in time for Hubby to retire and we sell it and move to North Carolina. We are not sure about NC, but talking about it. 

I am sharing a few pics of what you will find on my blog and you are more than welcome to come by and see more. 

Now for the kitchen. Here is a before and after picture of a corner in our kitchen. Alot of hard work. We just finished the laundry room and the kitchen just recently, but we had been working on them for a year and a half. 






    Thanks again Kris for choosing me for your spotlight this week.


Betty
http://myirishcottagehome.blogspot.com

Thank you Betty for sharing your life with all of us.  Have a great week end everyone.
Kris
:)

Sharing Beautiful Relove's

All of us here in Blogland are all about the inspiration and sharing and support.


My bff Diana from Nana Diana Takes A Break son and friend have started making signs to sell on Etsy.  Diana is also doing a give away on her blog for one of these gorgeous signs.  If you would like a chance you can go here.





I loooove these creative and beautiful one of a kind signs that they make from old pieces of wood.

Gotta love when someone re loves an old discarded piece of wood into a new and beautiful piece.


This is one of my personal fave's the boys made.  Ohh how I love my summer flowers and this would be so cute out in my garden.  Love the blue color of this one it just makes everything pop.

How fun is this one!!!!

They will also do a custom sign for you too.  Love all the different colors and textures to this sign.

So if you would like to check out these beautiful signs head over to their Etsy site or Face Book.  For a chance to win one on Diana's blog go here.

Have a great week.  Hope the rain stays away for the trick or treaters this Saturday.  I love to see their sweet costumes when they come to the door.
Happy Halloween
Be sure to come back on Saturday for a special blogger in Spotlight.
Kris
:)

Happy Halloween Week

As we head on down to Saturday and Halloween.  I thought I would share some pictures of my family dressed in their costumes for Halloween.

We will start with the grand dogs!!!

My younger daughter Kim's little Snickers dressed as a "Bee"


Snickers did not like the bee antenna that came with her costume so while my daughter was not looking guess who chewed up her antenna's!!!!!

They  have a costume parade and contest at her doggie day care this week.


These are my older daughter's three dogs.  Since their grandpa Terry is a fire chief and their daddy a firefighter/paramedic we thought it only fitting that they be fire trucks!

Charlie or as we call him "Char Char" is the 9 year old Boston Terrier.  You can almost see little Snickers in front of Charlie.  My daughter was giving out Halloween doggie treats to get them to stay all together in one spot.  Not an easy task with these 4.

Frank is the yellow lab and is 4 years old.

Bruce is the Great Dane and he is just under 2 years old.
I refer to Bruce as the walking couch or their pet horse.  He is 7'2" when he stands on his hind legs and weighs about 148lbs.  He is a big boy but such a lover.
Libby our dog is going as a basset hound for trick or treating!!!!  Yep she lives everyday thinking she is a person and not a dog, so she agreed to being a basset hound for Halloween!!!  Only for one day though!!!


This is my granddaughter Abby when we went to Boo At The Zoo last week end.  The kids wear their costumes to the zoo and they have all kinds of fun activities for them.
I did not get any other pictures of her in her costume that day.  I got so wrapped up in all the fun I forgot to get more pictures.  Bad grandma!!!

Abby's costume is Mal from the Disney show Decedents.  Very popular show and costume this year.

Have a great week and a safe and Happy Halloween on Saturday.  I will be featuring a fun blogger in Saturday's Halloween Spotlight so be sure to check back for that.
Have a great week.
Kris
:)


Saturday Spotlight: Life Behind the Blogger



Joanne from Sea Glass Cottage

 Saturday Spotlight: Life Behind the Blogger is a feature done each Saturday that introduces you to a blogger you may already know or a new blogger for you to get to know. This feature gives you a peak into the personal life of the blogger.  Getting to know the special person behind the beautiful blog.

There is so much talent and inspiration in blogland so enjoy getting to know these talented bloggers each Saturday.




Hi Everyone.  Happy Saturday this week I have a wonderful and sweet southern blogger for you to meet.  You will love getting to know  Joanne from Sea Glass Cottage and seeing her beautiful coastal home and style.  Be sure to hop over and say Hi on her beautiful blog.






Hello, everyone! My name is Joanne from Sea Glass Cottage blog, and I am thrilled to be invited to tell you a little about myself. Thank you so much, Kris, and it is an honor to be here at Junk Chic Cottage! (Don't you all secretly wish you could spend an afternoon at her house and just "oooooh" and "aaaah" at all her beautiful creations?!)

I was born and raised in one of the most colorful cities in the world.....New Orleans. We love living here where every day we find something to celebrate! Food, music, culture, architecture, festivals, the French Quarter, Mardi Gras, football....you name it, there's always something fun to do or a place to visit.


This is our home in a suburb of New Orleans, and I have had fun doing some remodeling and decorating since we moved into this house about ten years ago. 


This is my wonderful and supportive husband as we celebrated an anniversary at Antoine's restaurant in the French Quarter. (He's the one who said, "Sure, if that's what you want!" when I mentioned it was my lifelong dream to have a house on the beach.)




And these are my two precious squirts who have grown up on me despite my best efforts to keep them babies. 




And Buddy, our Cavalier King Charles, is a typical New Orleans dog -- always ready for a party. (Hey, what happens at Mardi Gras stays at Mardi Gras!)




My husband and I recently began a whole new chapter in our lives....we are empty nesters. I know there are many positives that come with the freedom of having your children away, but it's still a little fresh and I'm here to say it's a big change for me. Clean bathrooms? No clothes on their bedroom floor? What's up with that? I miss them. 

My son is now away at college near us, and if it's Saturday night, you will find us at the LSU games cheering on the Tigers (back in the day, my husband played football here). My son is in the drumline of the marching band, so we get two for one entertainment -- football AND the joy of watching him play his music!






And our sweet girl is following her dream and has recently moved to New York to finish college and pursue a career in the technical side of theatre.


A few years ago, I became interested in the world of blogging and actually had a book blog. I reviewed books for some publishing companies, virtual book tours, and even met some authors personally who sent me their book before the publishing date for my review. I traveled to a few conventions around the country, meeting other book bloggers and authors, and it was so interesting! I met some of my favorite authors such as Diana Gabaldon, Susanna Kearsley, Ciji Ware, Karen White, and Lauren Willig, just to name a few, and I still keep in touch with some authors and meet up with them when they come to New Orleans on book tours.
Now, my blogging days revolve around the new adventure in our life -- our beach house on the beautiful Gulf in Gulf Shores. Sea Glass Cottage is a very comfortable, beach-style cottage just steps away  from the white sands and warm waters of the Gulf. It's a completely new style of decorating for me and I am enjoying soaking up all the coastal/cottage inspiration in local shops, pinterest boards, and other bloggers. 

On my blog, I mostly talk about coastal style, beach cottage decor, vintage style, and other topics related to living in a beach community. You probably won't find too many recipes, as usually my cooking efforts wind up looking like an episode of I Love Lucy! But I invite everyone to visit, even if your style is not coastal, as I love all styles of home decorating-- farmhouse, traditional, shabby chic, country, cottage, modern -- it's all good and we can all learn from each other!

Thanks again, Kris, for introducing me to your lovely readers, and I look forward to making some new friends at Sea Glass Cottage! The front door is always open, and if you're wearing flip flops, you're overdressed!


Thank you Joanne for letting me feature you here today.  I love your life style with coastal living.  Ahhhhhh!!! Have a great week end everyone.
Kris
:)

Fall Front Porch After The First Frost

Happy New Week.

Even with us getting frost this week end some of the flowers are really trying to stay on.

I did lose my sweet potato vines to the frost and cold.

It was a sad good bye to these sweet vines.  


I also took down the Cottage Nest flower box for the winter.


I moved this fall spray over the brick where the cottage nest flower box was hanging on the brick.


I added a Harvest Blessings sign to my wreath.

I got these $10 mums at Walmart to add to the white urns to keep some real flowers going for fall.  They replaced the sweet potato vines I lost to the frost.
My winter housing for the birds is ready to welcome in a new family for the long winter's stay.

It makes for a nice winter shelter for the birds that stay with us here in Illinois for the winter months.  Hey if I were a bird and could fly I would be sooooo heading south and not staying here!!! Just sayin!!!  The ones that brave the winters need shelter too.  So this little house is there for them.

Angel bird bath got a touch of fall.

Even the Terry's fire truck out by the For Sale sign got some fall decor too.

These summer flowers made it through the first frost so I am letting them stay for a while.  Too pretty to pull out just yet.


These Ivy Geraniums just make me smile.  They love the heat and dryness of summer and now that we had our first frost and chilly temps they want to hang on!!!!  Amazing display of color still.   They are fighting so hard not to leave I just could not bring myself to get rid of them.


The deck boxes  want to hang on.  Still with blooms.


My knock out roses still have lots of unopened blooms.  They are loving the sun filled days.

Here at Junk Chic Cottage we still have a few summer hold overs to mix with fall.
I am enjoying that these plants are hearty and just do not want to let go.
We here in Illinois all know what is coming, the S word!!! ughhh!!! so as long as these beauties want to hang on I am more than happy to continue watering and caring for them.

Hope you are having a mild fall where you are.  The leaves are changing here in the last week.  Soooo pretty.
Have a great rest of the week and be sure to come back for Spotlight on Saturday.  I have a great blogger for you to get to know better.
Kris
:)

Extraordinary Christmas Tree Inspiration

Just a little FYI.  I got the inspiration pictures below from BHG website for their magazine feature on different trees.  They did not have link backs to sources or I would have listed them.  Some of the trees have been watermarked so at least that was good to know which blogger they came from.





I know, I know we have not even gotten through Halloween yet but my decor fun starts with planning out my Christmas Decor.

So today I thought I would post about some Extraordinary Christmas Trees and traditional tree alternatives I found on Pinterest.

If you cannot wrap your head around Christmas decor just yet than it is totally ok to move away quickly from this post!!!!!!!!

Those of you that are starting to think about your holiday decor ideas, please enjoy!

Just a fun alternative to a traditional Christmas Tree.

How about a ladder alternative Christmas Tree.

Creative and Fun

Very simple and different from traditional.

Old green boxes, books, and containers up against a mirror for the illusion of a tree.

Sweet and pretty.

Vintage ornaments shaped into a tree on the wall.

How cute is this tree made to look like a snowman.

Another super cute snowman Christmas tree.  Love the skates for his feet.
Repurposed wood made into a tree.

Book Tree with vintage light bulbs.

Very unique satin pillow tree.

Unique gift box tree.

Is this not super cute and fun.  Love the tutu on the Boston.

How about a sheet with a picture of a tree hung.

Drift wood and shells made into a cute tree to see her post on this please visit here.

Book pages piled into a tree shape in this flower pot.

Nordic version of a Christmas tree.

Sparkles and shinny new with old.

Pretty tulle tree.  Love the vintage silver serving tray this is in.

Old pieces of wood.

Another unique way to make books into a Christmas tree.

Loved this using wine bottles for a tree.



For those of you that stuck around to see all the fun alternatives and extraordinary tree inspiration today in my post, hope you enjoyed the sampling.

I will have a post up soon on different and unique Christmas Tree bases.  I will also show you some of my past Christmas trees and what unique bases I used for them.


Have a wonderful start to the new week ahead.
Kris
:)

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