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Happy New Years 2012!

 

We the people who reside at the Cottage on Cullen St.  will be celebrating quietly with a nice steak dinner and bubbly apple cider, maybe a bit of Champagne and lighting off some poppers at midnight!  

Wishing everyone a HAPPY, HEALTHY and Prosperous 2012!  Cheers!

What I read in 2011 and The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and cookies!

I'm not a big reader..I do however LOVE to read a good book.  I encourage my girls to read, one loves to read and the other it is like pulling teeth.  I remember being like that when was her age.  My parents weren't big readers so maybe that has something to do with it. But as an adult I love to make the time to read.  I read a whole lot of magazines, do they count? I think not.  Anywho....The NESTER is having a Book List Linky Party and I'm always into finding out what other people like to read or  what they recommend.  I have a couple of girlfriends that are always reading and one passes me on her books.  So without further ado here is the books I read in 2011.

This is what currently is on my nightstand....some to be read and others I've read.

1.  Still Alice by Lisa Genova

    I really enjoyed this book.  My Mother has Alzheimer's so it was     interesting to have the patients point of view represented in this book.

2. Lips Unsealed by Belinda Carlisle

    As a GoGo fan, yes I'm an 80's girl, I can remember my Punk Rock     boyfriend taking  me to see them at The Whiskey, a Gogo {Hollywood} in     1981. I enjoyed book I found it interesting that she had a 30 year drug     problem and her husband never knew for the longest time.

3. The Secret Lives of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd

    This was a great read!  Now my youngest is reading it, she is really loving it.      After reading it I had to rent the movie.  I loved both!

4.  The Help by Kathryn Stockett

    My friend Pam recommended this book and I loved it.  What a great     interesting, enjoyable book to read.  I love books about the south, I have     family in Alabama, maybe that is why.  My in laws live near the Gulf and my     Dad was from Arkansas.  I hope to see the movie now that I have read the     book.

5.  Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert

    I liked the book, it was not a favorite but it was good.  I also saw the movie     and I thought it was pretty good.  A good read.

6. Waterside Cottages by Barbara Jacksier and photos by Dan Mayers

    The one and only decorating book I read this year.  I've been busy     decorating for the new house and since this is a beachy look book it fit in     with the Cottage on Cullen St. style decor.  I loved the photos, Dan did an         amazing job and I follow Barbara's blog too, check the sidebar.  

Currently I'm reading The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, my friend Renee raved about this whole series and I hear from several people the movie is really, really good.  So my goal this Winter break is to finish the book.  

I know I've been a postin' foo...but I was working like crazy in December and the computer went down for good so we had to get a new one, {we got a laptop} and I'm playing around with the posts because it wasn't letting my pictures upload but I think I have it figured out now. Sorry for the

B    I     G        S    P    A   C      E     S    between words, it doesn't show up like that in my box when I'm composing the post...

So what do you my readers recommend to read in 2012?  I'd love for you to leave your picks in the comments area! Please with cheeries on top...

These cookies are by Bake at 350 , check out her website...I love the cottage cookies, she is quite the cookie artist.

 

 

the glow around the cottage

Glowing at night our Rustic Snowman Tree, the girls decorated the whole tree themselves I did not adjust a thing....

and with the flash on...I wish I could get a good pictures of Christmas Trees without the flash.  I don't know what the trick is...perhaps a new camera is in order.  

The mantle all lit up at night....

the Snow Village all aglow.....

The dining room with our candles glowing.

The front porch.  As you can see we have been pulling plants out and getting ready to relandscape.  By this coming summer we should have a brand new front yard.  That is the plan....

Opening Gifts 2011

Kenzie opening her Hollister Sadie Perfume which was on the list...

Madison opening up the gift of a new Cell phone, she didn't have it on her list but she washed hers about a month ago...so Mr. Incredible thought she should get one for Christmas.

Oh yes!  Gifts from PB Teen are always a welcome sight. Madison got the Lulu quilt, it goes perfect in her room.  Kenzie got The French Bulldog lamp..so very cute and...

a French Bulldog print to go in her room. She wants to do a "dog themed" room but it hasn't been easy to find "doggie" decor type items. Can you tell she is into dogs?  What gave it away, her pants?   Lots and lots of Owls out there...so very popular now.  So if you know of any cute comforters or any other "doggie" related decor leave a comment. 

Mr. Incredible got something he had on his list from Santa...a remote controlled helicopter.  You would of thunk he was 10 years old again he was so excited and I got my Punk Rocker Boots...yep....

yep I'll be wearing my black floral Dr. Martens as soon as I get the chance...they fit perfect....and you might catch me at a the next X concert sporting my new boots! 

Our first Christmas Mantle in the Cottage

Here is the Holiday Mantle, everything is stuff I already had on hand except the stockings. Not as coastal as I was hoping for....much more sparkly.

but there are some elements...I wanted more shells and sea-stars but over the past few years the dog would steal them and eat them so I'm in need of getting some replacements.

Here is one of the new stockings we got from Bella Inspirations, you might of remembered last years.

Here is mine, a bit of rustic ruffly elegance.

We have burnt through all the wood {see empty mop bucket} because it has been so cold here in SoCal but today it is soooo very beautiful and in the mid 70's..not feeling so Christmasy but I'm loving it, So Cal Baby.

Our "adapted" wreath got a bit of the coastal christmas going on..I had only 3 starfish left after "sneaky pete" got hold of them. The wreath is your standard pine wreath with juniper and pine cones, I added the white ribbon, 2 pencil seastars, 1 knobby one. Kohl's had a 70% off in the Holiday department so I got the blue jingle bell with burlap bow and a Victorian Cafe for the Snow Village .

The beautiful white Poinsettia was only $1.99 at Trader Joes, I got another one inside and one with red edges. I'll be putting up a post of the living/dining room tomorrow. I don't think I showed you the new front door light I got from Lowe's, I think it is perfect for our house and it was only 20 bucks! I think we need to get another for the side kitchen door.

I'm sorry i've been MIA but we had to get a new computer the other one went kaput last Tuesday and to replace it would of been another 200 bucks to fix so we got a new laptop but it has not been as easy to post on typepad as before.........so I'm figuring it out. Hope you and yours have had a wonderful Christmas, I got to get that Ham in the oven and potatoes on the stove.

Going a bit Coastal Christmas...

                                                               From Coastal Living

                                                           Image from Pinterest

                                                         Image from Pinterest

                                                          Image from Pinterest

                                                       Image from Coastal Living

                                                        Image from Coastal Living

 

It is no surprise that this year since moving into The Cottage on Cullen St.  we will have a much more Coastal Christmas theme going on.  The Cottage has dark brown shingles, very much like you might find on a Cottage in Martha's Vineyard.  So I'll be adapting the decor I've been using for years to reflect the Cottage decor for Christmas.  We won't be going 100% all out, that can get a bit expensive.  So I thought I would show you some inspirational photos I've been "pinning" onto my boards and saving in my files. I really like that small abalone wreath in the last photo, I may attempt making one of those this year for the front door.