Parade of Homes Tour

Welcome to Home #2 on the Parade of Homes Tour, hosted by A Bowl Full of Lemons. We are very excited to participate in this event.

For those of you new to our home, we graciously welcome you. Here’s a little background on us and our home…

 

My husband Adam and I bought this house, our first home, three years ago. It was run down and pretty much a disaster when we first moved in. You really should see how it used to look to believe it, so please click here!

Everyone refers to our home as Cottage8, simply because this was the 8th house we bid on in a tough, competitive real estate market, and successfully purchased.

If you have any questions about our home, our paint colors, or anything else you’re curious about, chances are I’ve covered just about anything you can throw a stick at with our FAQ’s page.

            LIVING ROOM:

DINING ROOM:

                 KITCHEN: 

      MASTER BEDROOM:  Our beloved fur babies, Chloe (right) and Skylar (left)…

To visit the next house on the tour, my friend Alison’s home, simply click the Enter Home 3 button below…

 

And if you would like to start the tour from the very beginning, Toni’s home, please click the Begin Tour button below…

Thanks again for joining us for this Parade of Homes tour. I hope you enjoyed your stay!

Romantic Prairie Style Giveaway!

I am over the moon excited today! Fifi O’Neill has generously agreed to give away one copy of her new book, Romantic Prairie Style, to one of my lucky readers for our 3rd and final Giveaway here at TOPC. And are you ready for the BEST part? Fifi is going to personally sign it!

I am wholeheartedly grateful to Fifi. She is one of the kindest, most thoughtful people I have had the opportunity to meet on several different occasions. When you visit her blog, right away you can tell she has a warm, genuine heart, but meeting her in person simply takes ones breath away…

When Fifi contacted me to have our house featured in her book, I was delighted that she felt our little Cottage8 had the right look to grace the pages of her new book. You may remember some of the wild n’ crazy behind-the-scene images from the photo shoot when Fifi was here with her crew last year. Click here for a fun look back.

I know it’s a teaser, but here are just a few of the photos of our home that are featured in Romantic Prairie Style. All photos courtesy of Mark Lohman.

 

   

There are many inspiring photographs from some incredible homes collected in this book. One can pour over the photography and beautiful writing for hours upon hours. I am honored to be amongst a talented bunch of homeowners, all with the same shared passion: (in order of appearance) Anne Marie, Angela Reed, Joy Waltmire, Carol Spinski, Caroline Verschoor, Christian McCord, Andrea Dickersons, Tracey Leber, Fifi O’Neill, Lisa Adkins, Maria Carr and Michelle McCauley.

To enter to win a signed copy of Romantic Prairie Style, simply do the following:

1. Leave a comment here on my blog.

2. Leave a comment on Fifi’s blog. 

3. Extra credit question: If you could go on a road trip with one person (dead or alive), who would you choose and where would you go?

This giveaway ends on Friday, April 29th. Lucky winner to be announced here on my blog.

Oh, and before I go, I need to announce the winner of the Spring Basket Giveaway! Betcha thought I forgot. Nope, just been all kinds of busy these past few days! Anyways, the lucky winner is:

Deborah at The Fairfield House. Congratulations! Please contact Laurie to claim your prize.

Who are you and what have you done with my husband?

It’s no secret the past three years of our lives have been dedicated to fixing up our humble abode, also known as Cottage8. We have done things with this house I would have never imagined possible, considering our DIY abilities were pretty much at the changing-light-bulb-skill-level when Adam and I first bought this house.

While Adam is no stranger to using a sledgehammer to bust out dry rotted old kitchen cabinetry, laying flooring, or cutting and installing subway tile, he usually needs to be warmed up to the project first. And the warm up usually involves the promise of a tasty, rewarding meal and possibly a little shameless pleading on my part. Most weekend mornings, I wake up bright eyed and bushy tailed, leaping out of bed in anticipation of doing another house project, while Adam might have other plans, which is likely to involve breakfast or lunch accompanied by a stroll on the beach wearing sandals, and a lazy afternoon spent at the Santa Monica Pier.

Well you can imagine my excitement and surprise when I got an email from Adam, discussing his thoughts on our chalkboard wall project and our TV room, simultaneously, in the same email. What’s this, he’s thinking about IKEA book cabinets without any coercion? And he’s coming up with organizational ideas? And hey, when the heck did he sign up for IKEA’s mailing list anyway??

Adam’s email: “Did you see the IKEA email ad? I kind of like those square book cabinets. Before we painted the chalkboard I actually could have seen one of these on that wall with stuff on top and books in them. Or if the TV room was bigger, have two along the side wall.”

Gotta love that handsome man of mine!

Let’s just say he scored major brownie points on that one. And looking back, here’s just a few of the pretty terrific things he’s done for me us these past several years…

Babe, you’re the greatest!

Okay, now it’s time to announce the name of the winner of the Belle Jardiniere Pillow Giveaway from French Charmed:

Karen from Design the Journey, congratulations! Please contact Chelle to claim your prize.

If your name was not announced, don’t fret because there’s still time to enter the Spring Basket Giveaway from Bella Inspirations. Plus I’m going to be hosting Giveaway #3 here in just a few days, and this one promises to knock your socks off, trust me on this. Don’t forget to check back for it!

PS: Please forgive the dated photo (isn’t it amazing how things change in just a year and a half?) Anyway, the gal that bought this floral loveseat from me has decided she needs to sell it, so I thought I’d help her out by mentioning it here on my blog. She is asking $2400. If you are interested in purchasing it please call her directly at (512) 218-1232. Her name is Patricia. This loveseat is located in Fontana, CA and it MUST be picked up from that location. PICK UP ONLY. Shipping or delivery is not being offered.

Spring Basket Giveaway from Bella Inspirations

We really appreciate all your feedback on our new dining room wall. Thank you! And I’m super happy to know that my ladder actually says “ladder” and not “scale”. We are still giggling over that one!

Remember I mentioned earlier that I was hosting 3 giveaways? Welcome to Giveaway #2!

(Giveaway #1 is still going, so if you haven’t signed up for it yet, here you go).

My friend Laurie has one of the biggest, kindest hearts I have ever met. She’s created the runners and pillows you’ve seen here at Cottage8.

Uber talented indeed, Laurie owns the online shop Bella Inspirations, where she creates beautiful custom items. “As my mom tells me, I was born with the creative gene” Laurie recalls. “I was not yet 5 years old when I created little model rooms inside of shoeboxes. I wallpapered or painted the "walls" with magazine cutouts, made curtains from fabric scraps, and created furniture from tiny cardboard boxes”. Ever since, Laurie has passionately renovated three of her homes. Of the homes Laurie has designed for others, a few of her favorites include a small 1935 cottage in Sherman Oaks CA, a beach house in Ventura CA, and an expansive home in Westlake Village CA. Each one, as with others, presented totally different challenges along with typical budget concerns. “I go beyond selecting fabrics and paint colors. What I hope to achieve for each of my clients is to make their interiors unique to them. I incorporate pieces with soul - either vintage or antique items you won't see everywhere, as well as items I personally design with my clients in mind”.

Onto the giveaway, shall we? Laurie is giving away to one of my readers this adorable French-Inspired Spring Basket! Please note: the farm eggs are not included!

The basket is lined with pussy willows and green moss…

Crinkly paper grass…

And french ribbons with a piece of vintage jewelry…

     

To enter to win this beautiful Spring Basket, simply do the following:

1. Leave a comment here on my blog.

2. Leave a comment on Laurie’s blog. Comments make her day!

3. Extra credit question: What is the kindest thing that someone has ever done for you?

This giveaway ends on Monday, April 18th. Lucky winner to be announced here on my blog.

Good luck my friends!