A Winter Woodland Dinner

We are so fortunate in Idaho to have some of the most spectacular forests

in the United States.  Not far from my home, the forests begin.  There are

majestic mountains, Ponderosa pines, beautiful glacier lakes and many

rivers and streams.

I love it up in the woods, so I have created a winter woodland theme tablescape.

I found these charming dinner plates at one of my favorite shops ~

Forget Me Not Antiques.  It is the Welcome Home pattern by J&G Meakin of

Staffordshire, England.  Such a cozy and welcoming winter scene.

I love these tags too.  I added them to mini grape vine wreaths to use as

napkin rings.

All of these dishes and napkins and accessories will end up in our cabin.

I think we have a plan selected now and David has chatted with a log

broker.  We are very excited and hope to be spending Christmas of 2012 in

our new getaway in the woods.

I am joining ~

Vintage Thingie Thursday

Tablescape Thursday
Show and Tell Friday
Inspiration Friday
Feathered Nest Friday
Vintage Inspiration Friday
Home Sweet Home
Potpourri Friday
and
Farmhouse Friday

Bentley is excited about the new cabin too.  He will have a friend up there.

Joey a cute little Maltese is just a couple of doors away and his Mom and Dad

are good friends of ours.  

Hugs,

Susan and Bentley

Tis the Season for Red

Ah yes ~ here it is the season for red!

Of course y'all know how much I love red ~

so I guess it's always the right season for red around here!

But I can really go wild decorating with red for Christmas!

I'm linking up to Rednesday of course ...

and

Wow Us Wednesday because reds wow me.

An update on Bentley's dental bone:  he buried it out in the yard and

dug it back up and is chewing it now.  I wonder if is still tasty?  He

seems to think so.

Hugs,

Susan and Bentley

The Decorating Ghosts of Christmas Past

One of the wonderful things about having a blog is that you can look at old

seasonal photos from years gone by and remember what you liked about a 

holiday decorating scheme.  

These are a few of my favorites from last year.  This was my Sun Valley

Christmas cloche.  It was fun putting it together for one of Marty's

cloche parties.

This is another one of my favorites.  Love that Christmas card that looks

like a vintage postage stamp!

And this darling little bird is another favorite.  

Now that I have the Christmas boxes down from the attic, I wonder what

I will create this year?  

For more inspiration I am headed over to 

Seasonal Sundays

Show Off Your Cottage Monday
Amaze Me Monday
Masterpiece Monday
Nifty Thrifty Tuesday

and

Table Top Tuesday

Okay Bentley ~ let's gather up all of your Christmas themed

squeak toys and put them in a wagon for your display!

Hugs,

Susan and Bentley

Let the Christmas Decorating Begin!

I hope that everyone had a happy Thanksgiving.  We did!

Last night the kitchen was cleaned up and the china and silver safely

stored in the hutch.  And now ...

One of my favorite days of the year!  No, I'm not fighting the crowds at the mall!

But I am starting to pull out the Christmas decorations.  I have been itching to do

that, but I hold off until the day after Thanksgiving because I love to savor the 

specialness of each holiday!

Of course, I might run over to a few of my favorite antique shops to see if there is

something special to add to this Christmas holiday decorating!  Which reminds me ...

Tomorrow has been designated Small Business Saturday.   Please go visit the

independent shops in your area.  These small shop owners work hard to compete

with the big box stores and they often have such lovely merchandise and are

really happy to deliver great customer service.  Remember Kathleen Kelly's "The

Shop Around the Corner" in the movie "You've Got Mail"?  What a charming

shop that was and it was staffed with really knowledgeable people.

So there's your assignment ~ shop the small independent shops too!

So now that there are lots of leftovers in the fridge, a nip is in the air, and I

am all excited about decorating ~ I will leave you with this.  I have been 

dreaming of decorating my Mom's solarium all in pink and green for Christmas.

She does not know about this yet, so it will be a big surprise for her.  I will be

sharing it all with you each Pink Saturday in December!  In fact, I am headed

over to link this post up to Beverly's Pink Saturday and to visit the other

party goes to see their Christmas decorations!

In answer to your questions ~ yes Bentley had turkey yesterday!  He's 

napping right now but he will soon be helping me (watching me) bring the

Christmas decorations down from the attic.

Hugs,

Susan and Bentley

Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving from my cottage to yours!

Love,

Susan and Bentley

Phone Home

I have made it easy for you to phone home ~ that is to take Ash Tree Cottage

with you on your mobile phone.  I have created an app.  

Ash Tree Cottage Mobile Phone App

Now you will be able to keep up with all of the adventures of Susan and

Bentley where ever you may be.

And be sure to stay in touch with Kim for great decorating tips and more
at her weekly party Wow Us Wednesday!

Bentley ~ send everyone a big kiss!!!

Hugs,

Susan and Bentley

It's All in the Details

What makes your home uniquely yours?  Have you ever walked into 

someone's home and had the feeling that the owners purchased every little

detail from a popular store?  A house that has been so depersonalized that

it does not look like a home?  

As a designer, I have seen it before.  I once had a client who did not think

that the members of her family were very attractive, so she thought that she

should keep the photos of the models who came in the picture frames she purchased

because they were so much more attractive than her family members.

How sad is that?

As we fluff our cottages this week and in the coming weeks getting ready to

welcome family and friends, let's remember to keep the "home" in our cottages.

Let's let our personalities shine through.  It's what makes each of us

unique and special!

I am off to visit Marty who gives us all great inspiration to

feather our nests.

Bentley ~ are you still napping?  Actually that's a good thing so that the

squirrels can peacefully eat the squash that I put out for them without

being disturbed.

Hugs,

Susan and Bentley

Hey Love ~ Let's Go for a Hike!

Hey lovie ~ let's go for a hike!

Oh ~ I don't know it's cold out there.  Just look at that popcorn snow!

No worries ~ we can bring provisions to stay warm and toasty.

Come on ~ it will be fun!

Okay ~ you talked me into it!

After the hike I will warm up by the fire and visit

Seasonal Sundays

Come on Bentley ~ let's find a sweater for you so that we all

can take a hike up in the foothills.  I think it snowed up there last night!

Hugs,

Susan and Bentley

Romancing the Thanksgiving Table

If you long to set your Thanksgiving table in a very romantic, shabby chic

style, then head to your local thrift, consignment and antique shops.

Your will find the most charming of platters and pitchers.

Dessert plates and little sauce dishes.

Sweet and stylish stemware of all sizes and shapes.

Amazingly pretty but inexpensive silver serving pieces.

And wonderful serving dishes too.  Such soft and pretty patterns that

somehow all work together ~ so don't be afraid to mix and match.

For more romantic ideas to decorate your home lets go visit ~

Show and Tell Friday
Feathered Nest Friday
Vintage Inspiration Friday
Home Sweet Home
Potpourri Friday
and
Pink Saturday

Okay Bentley ~ I'll be finished posting in just a minute and
then we can play!

Hugs,
Susan and Bentley

Getting Ready for Thanksgiving

It's hard to believe that Thanksgiving is almost a week away, but it is.

It's truly one of my favorite holidays.   I am taking a short vacation and am really

enjoying getting ready for the big feast.  I'm playing around with centerpiece ideas

for the table.  Polishing silver, getting the crystal ready and just having so much

fun playing house.

I have decided to go with a rustic look with a touch of elegance too.

I love combining vintage well loved family heirlooms with some newer 

pieces too.  

This pearl handled flatware is from David's Mom.  She purchased it

years ago from Carl Forslund in Michigan.  I think she would

have been happy to know that we are treasuring it now.  

So now I am back to fluffing the cottage and planning my menu and

visiting with you!

I am linking to ~

Open House Party

Tablescape Thursday

Vintage Thingie Thursday

Bentley ~ I just love being home with you!

Hugs,

Susan and Bentley

Cozy Cottage Elements

I want to thank all of you who come to visit me.  I have not been very good about 

returning the favor, and I do apologize.  Life has been very hectic around my

cottage for the last several weeks.  My Mom was ill several times, my hubby

David was too and then my Mother-in-Law passed away.  

I have been trying to balance all of my obligations, and frankly, blog reading

just took a back seat.  Now things seem to be settling down to a more

normal pattern and I will be happily following and commenting on all of

the great and creative blogs I love so much.

So until then, here are a couple of mosaics I have put together to bring the "cozy" 

feeling back into my little cottage and to share than coziness with you.

What a great group of friends I have made and I thank you from the bottom

of my heart!

I am linking up to ~

Blue Monday

Mosaic Monday

Show Off Your Cottage Monday

Bentley ~ your Auntie Robin flew over Idaho today on her way to

visit her daughter Taylor in Washington State.  Did you remember to look

up and send her a kiss?

Big Hugs,

Susan and Bentley

A Pink Surprise!

Hurry over to my Momma's other blog

Ash Tree Cottage Minis

for a Pink Surprise!

Momma told me to link up to

Pink Saturday

Love and Kisses,

Bentley

xxoo

Cabin Dreams

David and I have been dreaming of the cabin we want to build on the lot we bought

back in September.  I have been gathering up things I want to put in the cabin before

it's even built.  I know ~ it's the cart before the horse.

These Ralph Lauren tartan plates are for the cabin and so are the birch bark 

candles.  It seems like every time I go into a thrift or consignment shop I find

something that would be perfect for up north.

We are going to have to decide on a plan soon, because we need to submit it to

the home owner's association for approval, then start pulling permits and also

get our logs ordered from the mill.  Thankfully we live in logging country, so

we can have our pick of logs.  

We already know that we want post and beam construction, open concept and a

big stone fireplace as well as a wood stove.  However, when we start altering

plans, we are a bit like Cary Grant and Myrna Loy in Mr Blandings Builds His

Dream House.  It's he wants, she wants, but we have a budget and it's not

a huge one.  

Primarily I want it to be cozy and charming and filled with vintage decor.  A real

vintage camp style place that our friends and family will love to visit.  A place for the

skis, snowboards, snowshoes and fly fishing gear.  A table where we can play Scrabble

and put jigsaw puzzles on days when we are snowed in.  

A dinner bell out on the back porch that we can ring when dinners ready and a 

martini flag that we can fly when it's time for cocktails.

It won't be spring until we will be able to break ground, but until then I will

be gathering up vintage items to turn our cabin into a cozy nest.

I am linking up to

Tablescape Thursday

Vintage Thingie Thursday

Show and Tell Friday

Home Sweet Home

Bentley ~ I see you brought out your moose.  You are anxious to go up

north too.

Hugs,

Susan and Bentley

Wowsa Reds!

I am starting to think about my plans for Thanksgiving dinner.  I found these 

adorable red silicone utensils at my local co-op the other day.

I  just could not pass them up because they are so cute and red!  Look at 

that sweet little whisk ~ I love it.

Back to Thanksgiving dinner.  Last year everyone loved the turkey, the yam

casserole, the roasted Brussel sprouts and the cranberry sauce.

The stuffing ~ not so much.

If any of you have a great stuffing recipe that your family and friends all love,

please, please let me know.  

What's this???  A Christmas spatula ~ I thought I said no Christmas

decorations until after Thanksgiving!

I am linking to 

Rednesday
Wow Us Wednesday

Bentley ~ you liked my stuffing last year didn't you?

Hugs,
Susan and Bentley

Hanging on to Autumn

Have you noticed all of the Christmas decorations in the stores?

In some stores they were up before Halloween.  

I am a traditionalist however, and as much as I love Christmas, I refuse

to put up any decorations for my favorite holiday until the day after

Thanksgiving.  Therefore I am showing you my autumnal cloche on the

entry table.  I'm hanging on to Autumn and enjoying each minute.

How about you?  

Life goes by fast enough.  Let's not speed it up!

I am happy to be joining Marty for

Table Top Tuesday

Bentley ~ let's not pull out any of your Christmas squeak toys until 

after Thanksgiving.  Okay?

Hugs,

Susan and Bentley