Speak Up Save Lives - Show and Tell Monday

This is a different kind of Show and Tell, but I think it's very important and wanted to share it with my readers. This message was posted on the Online Handyman's blog which I follow regularly.

Join Ken McArthur’s Impact Action Team as together we create awareness, education and access to Teen Suicide Prevention Resources and save thousands of lives! Ken McArthur wants to spread a message of hope to teenagers who
don’t think that life is worth living.

I think it’s a great message of hope for anyone and would love to
see all of my readers think about spreading it today.

Here’s Ken’s simple message for for giving hope (and maybe saving
someone’s life!):

G - Greet and meet: talk to others, smile, say hello, ask
someone how they are doing

I - Involve yourself and others: find a cause you can support,
volunteer, pledge resources. Get the people around you
involved, especially if you see someone beginning to
withdraw. Invite them to participate in some activity, to
“get out” of their comfort zone

V - Validate others: tell others that they matter - especially
family members and friends that you tend to see daily but
may take for granted, give genuine compliments

E - Empathize: be a listening ear, take time to be fully
present, don’t try to solve - just acknowledge someone’s
feeling/hurt

To find out more about Ken’s wonderful project with his
Impact Action Team click here.

Please help spread this message today!

Pink Friday - "Stitches in Time"

Please join Cozy Cottage and other participating boutiques at Make Mine Pink for the "Stitches in Time" Pink Friday event, September 26. You will find the most cherished items stitched with time and love. It's been a busy couple of weeks at Cozy Cottage!

I've been getting the walk-in shop ready for Fall opening which will be on Saturdays beginning October 4th. Lots of "new" furniture and other items to look at now. Scroll down to the next post if you would like to take a look at the walk-in shop. I've also added new items to the online shop and to my Little Pink Boutique on Make Mine Pink. The teapot night light and china roses basket are just two of the new items I have added to my website.














HAPPY AUTUMN!

Show and Tell Monday (on Wednesday....lol)

Hi everyone......yep, that's me, a day late and sometimes a dollar short! *smile* My Show and Tell this week is the brick & mortar Cozy Cottage Gifts and Decor located in Paris, Arkansas. Starting in October I'll be open again on Saturdays and I've been busy, busy, busy rearranging furniture and getting things ready for autumn and the upcoming holiday season. Here are a few pictures of what I've done so far.


French teacart all dressed up for autumn.



Glassware in the china cabinet.

Red desk...finally finished....you may remember it from previous blogposts.

This is a really cool art-deco style desk with handpainted vines and birds...one of my favorite pieces. Excuse the tacky price tag on the front (I removed it after the photo and replaced it with a nice, smaller one).


A pretty autumn display of Jewel Tea "Autumn Leaf" dinnerware on the buffet I just finished painting. The lampshade is covered in a toddler skirt but I think it's kinda cute!



This is an authentic Sellers kitchen cabinet. My husband restored it to like-new condition and can hardly bear to part with it. It sits where the faux fireplace used to be in the living room. It is the first thing a customer sees when they walk in the cottage. Hopefully it will ellicit an "Ahhhh....." moment. Where did the fireplace go, you ask? It came home with me where I will set it up in my bedroom once the new carpeting is installed. I'm planning to hole up this winter with my laptop, tv/dvd player and some good books!


Cute little wicker baby buggy....its current passenger is a set of pretty rose pattern dinnerware.



I'll try to get pics of the two bedrooms and bathroom before long.....hope you enjoyed taking a peek at my Show and Tell!

Pink Friday - Cozy Comforts

Wrap yourself in the cozy comforts of home, a steaming cup of cocoa, warm fuzzy slippers, cushy comfy quilts and pillows, then kick back and shop. From the “Cozy Comforts” of your home; we invite you to shop at Cozy Cottage Gifts and Decor and other participating boutiques at Make Mine Pink for our “Shopping with a Twist’ event, Friday, Sept. 19.

Show and Tell Monday

After a long leave of absence from Show and Tell Monday, I'm back! Here are just a couple of things I've been working on lately......

First, this pretty oriental style buffet/dresser


Before





.....and after







And these little mini-books....perfect for sketching, autographs, notes.....






This one is still in the works......

In my spare time I have been totally reorganizing the brick and mortar Cozy Cottage......check back for a new slide show coming soon!

Pink Friday at Make Mine Pink

What could be nicer on a crisp autumn evening than sitting beside the fireplace in your own cozy cottage? Please join Cozy Cottage Gifts and Decor, along with other participating boutiques at Make Mine Pink for "Harvest Home", the theme for this Pink Friday, September 12th.

This beautiful pumpkin teapot is just one of the autumn-inspired lovelies I will be featuring at Cozy Cottage this week. So pour a cup of your favorite coffee or tea, and settle into your favorite comfy chair while you shop from home. Cozy Cottage is only a click away!

~Featured Website~

China Lady is a website just full of wonderful treasures.
The owner, Lee, is a friend of mine from my days of selling on eBay and now has her own site. You really just have to visit her website to see everything she has to offer.....from vintage glass and pottery to wall decor, home decor items, dinnerware.....you name it! I am just dying to purchase that rhinestone pin so if you visit China Lady and see that it is marked SOLD today you'll know that I gave in and it is MINE!

Here are some of the items available right now.

Pay It Forward has ended......

I have three participants now....Janet of Janet's Creative Pillows, Elena of EP Designs, and Vana of Le Papier Studio. I'll be busy getting your "goodies" together this week so please email your mailing address to me at: englishteacher@centurytel.net.

Thanks for participating and don't forget to "Pay It Forward"!

RECIPE OF THE WEEK......and this is a really good one!

~Most Dangerous Cake in the World~ Thanks to my dear sister-in-law Bertha Mae for sharing this recipe with me!

FIVE MINUTE CHOCOLATE MUG CAKE

1 Coffee Mug
4 tablespoons flour(that's plain flour, not self-rising)
4 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons baking cocoa
1 egg
3 tablespoons milk
3 tablespoons oil
3 tablespoons chocolate chips (optional) some nuts (optional)
Small splash of vanilla

Add dry ingredients to mug, and mix well . Add the egg and mix thoroughly.
Pour in the milk and oil and mix well.
Add the chocolate chips (if using) and vanilla, and mix again.
Put your mug in the microwave and cook for 3 minutes on high.
The cake will rise over the top of the mug, but don't be alarmed!

Allow to cool a little, and tip out onto a plate if desired. EAT!
(this can serve 2 if you want to share!)

And why is this the most dangerous cake recipe in the world?
Because now we are all only 5 minutes away from chocolate cake at any time of the day or night!

NOTE: I made this and placed it in an oversized soup mug and cooked for 3 minutes as directed. It was a little drier than I like my cake so next time I will try cooking it for only 2 minutes and see if it is "gooey". I think using the oversize mug may have been the problem though.

Show 'n Tell Monday........better late than never!

Well, here it is Tuesday evening and I'm just now getting my Show and Tell Monday post added! I've been working on furniture lately.....this piece is a round occasional table with a bamboo insert in the bottom. it had a slick finish on it and since I am l-a-z-y, I started out by spray painting the table with off-white paint, then followed up with my favorite "Antique White" satin interior paint. I have one coat on in the picture and will add one or two more coats until it looks just like I want it to.

I'm going to try my hand at mosaic on this table top.....I ordered a beautiful pansy focal for the center and will use the pretty gold fleur-de-lis, periwinkle and light green tiles to fill in the rest of the table top. Sure hope I can do this!