i (heart) handmade in the u.s.a.

I have decided to start my "cottage registry". I didn't have a fancy bridezillas wedding so I never had a bridal registry. My cottage registry is my "too late to the game" registry effort. The other difference with this registry is that I don't expect anyone to pay attention to my list or purchase anything for me. With that said, perhaps this is really the start of a glorified shopping list.

Dodge Station Pottery is rustic and modern all at once. I love it. I love the soft colors (of my selection, they offer so much more), the soft edges, the kind of handmade look. Nothing fancy or too cutey patooty. Just lovely.

homes that represent how much i like housekeeping

1. tumbleweedhouses.com
These are the cutest little houses. I couldn't live in the same size house as Jay, the founder of Tumbleweed Tiny Houses, 89 square feet. Yeah...there are limits to my wish to live in a "cottage". I saw him on Oprah and his bathroom is some sort of a compost bucket. To each their own but "my own" bathroom doesn't involve any sort of bucket. With that said the home plans go up to 837 sq. feet, a completely doable size. Look how cute the house is. So sweet. I don't know that I need to live in the middle of a pasture. But perhaps a vacant corner in Pasadena, near Old Town......





2. tinytexashouses.com
These are salvage buildings - 99% pure salvage, that means that everything from the doors, floors, windows, lumber, porch posts, glass, door hardware and even the siding has been saved and re-used to create these houses. The houses are also (often) fit with antique cast iron, claw foot bathtubs. I think these houses are really cute, as long as you are a fan of the rustic look.



3. loftcube.net
I highly encourage a visit to this website. The loft cubes are designed for people who live a nomadic lifestyle. The cubes, themselves can be moved with a helicopter or crane to the rooftops of existing buildings. Can you imagine the view? Moving from city to city. London. Paris. New York. Different vacation locations. I think the moving/transportation costs would be quite prohibitive. But a genius idea.

reduce my carbon tire print

It would be a great thing if I was able to bicycle to work instead of driving. But my drive to work is 45 minutes long - without traffic and on a freeway. I have a little hatchback that gets great gas mileage and has 8 airbags. It is the best possible, eco-friendly car for driving in California, on freeways full of monster SUVs, with two adult size children and a "baby rhino" husband. If I lived closer to work, I'd like to think that I would walk or bicycle to work. (Notice I said that "I'd like to think".) It is part of my Mayberry dream to bike around and wave to all the town, where everyone knows my name. (My dream neighborhood would be a hybrid of Mayberry from the "Andy Griffith Show" and the bar from "Cheers" - without the drunks but with the personalities.)

Urban Outfitters has a new site, Republic Bike, where you can custom design and buy (within their guidelines) a bike they will build for $399. It's a bit pricey and best suited for Mayberry.

The folding bikes that are supposed to be ideal for college students and commmuters have been priced anywhere from just under $1,000 to more than $5,000. At those prices people could buy a car. But, I found a folding bike for under $200 - $159 to be exact. Pretty reasonable I think. Now if I can attach a motor to it, so I don't have to actually exercise we might be on to something. An environmentally friendly motor, of course.

chaising sleep

This isn't at my house but I think I will add it to my imaginary cottage's blueprints. The concrete chaise lounge can be hosed off easily and made really comfortable with cushions from any home improvement store. I imagine a moderately sized shade tree planted at the head of my chaise and I will also plant jasmine and lavender around the edges. So relaxing. This is genius in it's simplicity, I don't know why these aren't more common.

Fly By Night

I have had my eye on this table lamp for a couple of years.  I really love the chandelier version of this lamp but it is too expensive. (even beyond my expert level rationalization and reasoning abilities)  I wouldn't dare buy the less expensive table lamp until my children are out of the house and their educations paid in full.  Perhaps I should save the lamp for my imaginary/dream cottage. 

Night Owl

I love owls for a few reasons:  

-They have an intense stare and are birds of prey - mean and bossy.  

-They are symbols of wisdom and knowledge.  

-I like Friend Owl's tree house from Winnie the Pooh. 

-There some really cute things made in their likeness. I don't want to have an owl themed home with owl towels and blankets or even worse stuffed animals.  It would be the ridiculous adult version of a baby's cartoon character themed nursery.  But a few owls sprinkled here and there wouldn't be bad. 

At first I thought that this lamp might be pushing it, but when I saw it in it's natural surroundings I thought it was fine.  Still dorky but not totally ridiculous. It might be the perfect bedside lamp for my imaginary cottage.  

Old Time Bitterness and Sarcasm

I love Mark Twain.  "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" and "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer", that I was required to read in middle school, aren't my most favorite books.  They are certainly very good books but his short stories and satirical works are more my speed. Sadly, I think most Americans think that he only wrote two books before he went off to sit on his porch, drink bourbon and yell at passersby.  (Sadly, his political and charitable works aren't widely acknowledged either.)  

His guide to living, & Bible commentary are worth more than a glance. In addition to his crazy hair, he regularly cusses and uses the word "ain't" in his writing - that's just fun.  There are websites dedicated to him along with a whole world of quotes that can be emailed daily (my junk mailbox isn't nearly full enough).  

Here are a few gems: 

"Do not put off till tomorrow what can be put off till the day after tomorrow just as well." (My life's core philosophy.)

"It is better to give than receive - especially advice."

"Noise proves nothing.  Often a hen who has merely laid an egg cackles as if she has laid an asteroid." (Don't we all have hens in our lives?)

"Suppose you were an idiot.  And suppose you were a member of Congress.  But I repeat myself. " (Apparently some things don't change.)

There is a Center for Mark Twain Studies at Elmira College, I admittedly don't know if a center whose purpose is to research Mark Twain is really necessary.  However, the college has his study cottage, where he wrote portions of Huck Finn, Tom Sawyer and other numerous works, on their campus.   It is about the cutest little building ever.  I think that we all need a study with a comfy chair and all the things that we love inside.  To truly be a relaxing environment and keep the pests out, a coded entry and retinal scan should be required for entry. (You know the "pests" that I am talking about.)

I think that I will Netflix the Ken Burn's documentary about him (or maybe buy it and donate it to our school) and have my kids read some of his works this summer.  They will grumble at first but his humor will suck them in. 

photo source

Gardens & Geese

I am in the middle of really nerdy television viewing on PBS.  "P. Allen Smith's Garden Home" to be exact.  I fancy myself a gardener but I have a few requirements before I go out to the garden.  

#1 - It must be warm but not too hot and definitely not cold.  A moderate 75 degrees is fine.  

#2 - Nothing can be wet.  Slightly damp is fine.  

#3 - It should be a bright and sunny day but not too sunny.  I don't want to squint or damage my odd beige/yellow toned skin.

From my three very minor rules you can see that I am an avid gardener.  Nature and I are one.  I am Mother Nature.

Anyhow, P. Allen Smith is giving a tour of his garden home which includes a pond. He has the most  beautiful geese.  They are called Sebastopol geese and are completely white with long, curly feathers.  Very Swan Princess.   

I have decided my little dream cottage should have two of these geese. Of course having geese is contingent on their very special ability not to poop.  This final requirement is obviously not based in reality, which is why the geese reside at my dream cottage.