Better Than A Sale.....

During the month of July, Aunt May's Cottage is offering FREE SHIPPING for every purchase you make! (limited to continental US postage only and non-sale items)

June's Cottage Window

Every month I try to put a different vignette in the display window at the cottage. I have a few on-line friends that have seen this window and have encouraged me to post it every month. If my blogger friends like it too, I'll continue to share this each month. This is the window done for the month of June.

The photo was taken at night as the reflection on the window during the day overshadows the inside of the window.

In July, I'll put some red, white and blue and a few really sparkly items in there....stay tuned.

Click to enlarge so you can see everything in there. It's pretty full!!

Oh, You Beautiful Doll.....

Some of Aunt May's Cottage listings this week...



























Just look at this face.....

And this face!!!

The costumes on both of these beautiful dolls are impeccably detailed!! They have all of the last century underclothes, too. The pantaloons and slips have lace on them and the camisoles have tiny pearl buttons, more lace and ribbons.

I just LOVE these beautiful porcelain dolls from Jan Hollebrands!

Do you have a favorite collectable doll?

I've been tagged....

...by Stephanie of Angelic Accents. She's such a sweetie and a lovely friend!

It's a "Getting To Know You" tag and here's how it works....... I need to answer five questions and pass this on to five friends. Steph's questions are:

Where have you traveled? In my career, I did a lot of traveling to the mid-America states and I've visited nearly every state on the East Coast and California. I've also been to Canada a couple of times.

Where would you like to live? I'm very happy living in Michigan except during the winter. Ideally, I think Tennessee would be perfect for weather year around. I don't mind a little cold; It's the snow and ice, I don't like much.

What is your decorating style? I love the Victorian style! The furniture, the window dressings, the wall hangings, the fabrics, the lace, the linens, the clothes, the romance and the gentler times of that era are deep in my very soul. I prefer to tweak it a bit to lighten the colors and lessen the displayed collections. Living in a 160 year old home and researching it's roots, I've found that many styles of that time period appeal to me. I also like the Old World style of the French, English and Italian influences. I really like all styles except "Mid-Century Yuck" and "Modern Simplicity".

How many times have you been married? Three times. The first two were practice.

Favorite color? Depends upon my mood, but I always like Old Rose.

What is your proudest accomplishment? Raising four children.

What would we be absolutely shocked to learn about you? Most people don't know that I sing with a Gospel Quartet, and have for almost 30 years. The shocking part is that I am barely 5 feet tall and sing in a true Bass voice.

OK, I tag . . . . . . .

Ele, Dolly, Lillian, Susan, Judy

You can use the same questions or make up some new ones if you'd rather.

I just realized that Stephanie passed on more than five questions to me.

Hey, Steph.......

Guess What I Bought......

This Victorian Settee!!

Hubby and I went antiquing over the Memorial Day weekend and found this lovely in an out of the way antique mall. Much to my surprise, it was on SALE (one of my favorite words)! I put on the please-please-I’ll-eat-all-my-broccoli face to hubby and he said “OK, we’ll go get the truck”

I must say, in all honesty, that I have wanted one of these for over 30 years. They have been either the cost of my first born child or in less than repairable condition.

Now, the dilemma…..where to put it??? Anyone who buys something new for their home either has a spot already picked or has to remodel the entire house to accommodate that “find” that they can’t live without. My problem was the latter.

I decided that the parlor, which had been done in a maritime theme because Hubby is retired Navy, needed a change. Soooooo...............out with the Eastlake Parlor set, out with the models of boats and ships, out with the big boat wheel, out with the maritime oil paintings and nets and buoys and IN with the new settee.

We aren’t done with this room yet. I need a new carpet in a lighter color. I need to put up the crown molding and paint some kind of a border on the ceiling. I’ll need to make new draperies in several layers. We’ll need to put shelves in the old window opening to make a book case. Hubby will need to move the wiring box to the center of the room, get a medallion and hang the new crystal chandelier.

I only need one more thing: A center table befitting a room of this splendor. And, I’ll probably be hunting another 30 years for that!

This is the antique pump organ I purchased at an estate sale for $100.00. It's solid walnut.

I always have a bouquet drying on the fireplace. This one is roses from Mother's Day. Hey, there's Fraidy Cat!!

Need a bigger mirror over the mantle.....
Here's where the built-in bookcase goes.......
The door to the front foyer......

And look in the doorway at how thick our walls are. Almost 20"!! That all needs trim.
Thanks for joining me on a little tour of our 1848 home's front parlor. Stay tuned for the improvements to complete it.