Have I mentioned that I love PINK?
All shades...from soft and sweet ...to softer and sweeter...

I imagine you've noticed...and with all the talk of going
GREEN...I decided to show you how that translates into our
lives here at Rose Water Cottage.

I had acquired this little vanity stool...minus its vanity...
at the local antique mall near our former home.



It had obviously seen better days...



Deciding it was time to breathe new life into this sorrowful
piece...I began to take it apart.

Upon investigation...I, at first, counted four layers of fabric...


But as I looked further, I discovered a fifth layer...the original fabric...a shiny satin...

Somewhere along the way...no one wanted shimmer anymore,
and it wound up with the dull gold fabric.

Well...it is now a resident of Rose Water Cottage...and *pretty* was calling its name.
After all, it is the stool I use at my little table in the kitchen that once belonged to my Aunt Marguerite...one of my daddy's older sisters...he and she, the only remaining siblings of six.
The table once sat in her little white farmhouse, by the kitchen window. Every morning, she sat there and drank her coffee and watched the birds on the feeders. I think of her every time I sit and look out my new little kitchen window...watching the robins and cardinals early in the mornings...
She's a girly-girl like me...even in her late eighties..

I began by painting the stool white...my other favorite color for the kitchen...



I decided, as I was sitting in the middle of the kitchen floor...stool atop a flattened piece of cardboard...
that it is each generation's job to strip down what was painted ...or paint what has been stripped down.


If we never changed it up...we would stagnate as a society...right?

So another coat...just for good measure....

Now for the covering....
I chose a pretty tea towel that fit perfectly over the padded cushion.

I tacked it down with tiny tacks, and then I reattached it by using the
big screws at each corner of the stool.


Isn't it precious with the little pink throw pillow...another inexpensive find at the same antique mall...


It now does justice to Aunt Marguerite's table...


Cottage kitchen seating...


I sat in this rocker Sunday afternoon, holding baby Sophia, as Kyleigh and Colin huddled around us, nibbling cherries and grapes while husband cooked lunch. Then Kyleigh kneeled atop the stool at the table helping me put together a blueberry pie for dessert.  Making memories in Grammy's kitchen...

Bringing life to things old and forgotten...

Loving old china teacups and teapots....


Appreciating gifts from friends and family who believe in repurposing, as well...

The gift of a door knob... turned photo holder.. and a set of old keys ...pretty-ed up with new ribbon...
looking lovely on Grandma Effie's table... (along with a copy of her favorite childhood book Girl of the Limberlost...and a book of poetry she and my mother shared on a retreat to Ridgecrest when Mother was a girl...


Thank you again, to Lisa..and Alfie the poodle...at The Pickled Hutch...treasured are these gifts.

From sweet Sister-in-Law, who makes the sweetest treats for Miss Eliza...gifted me with the most precious Rose basket ...painted and decoupaged, lined and trimmed with ribbon... by her hands... and filled with tea for the teapot, and a sweet note...  These things mean so much when they are crafted with love....




And since I am sharing things which are pink and rose-y... I had to try the Tasha Tudor receipt for Becky's Birthday Cake...as I had just found a small, vintage bundt pan at the Country Charm Antique mall down the street... more of the *GREEN* ...


I drizzled Rose Water Icing over the sweet little cake, and embellished it with a couple of roses from the garden.

Along with the tiny tin cake pan, I was tickled to find a repurposed chenille bedspread, pink and white, made into curtains...perfect for the cubby in the bath, used to tuck away the ironing board....



..hung with clips from Home Depot, on a simple tension rod...easy, easy.....


Feeling awfully clever, I moved on to the shower curtain dilemma...
I had found a pale pink *it'll do till I find something I like better* curtain and hooks with white porcelain knobs...a sweet vintage touch...
Then...as I was rummaging through my table linens...I came across a square white linen tablecloth, edged with delicate tatting.  That little light bulb floating above my head, went off... and this is what I came up with....


A pretty white dasmask/linen shower curtain...lined with pink...


The hooks were purchased at Bed, Bath and Beyond...


So this is how we turn GREEN into PINK...
at Rose Water Cottage.

It feels good ...to recycle, repurpose, re-do, re-use...
Find a sweet little project, salvage something forgotten, and breathe new life...give it new purpose.