Showing posts with label arts and crafts period. Show all posts
Showing posts with label arts and crafts period. Show all posts

Monday, December 9, 2019

Using what is on hand...


The garden is very dormant this month.
I don't have an opportunity to pick fresh flowers
to bring inside...

There are oodles of these dried limelight hydrangeas outside 
in a lovely faded sepia shade
just right for the arts and crafts hammered copper vase in the dining room.


The fairy lights stay up all year.
I've added some silver stars that I purchased about 10 years ago.


The wreath is from my husband's family.
It was made by a friend of his mom's around 1960
using rhinestone brooches
and 
Christmas tree decorations.


It's dim in the dining room 
so it might be difficult to see the wee Noel sign on the cabinet.


A flock of Ojibwa tamarack duck decoys 
sitting perched upon an arts and crafts copper tray.
The wee battery operated copper lights were purchased several years ago.

I've been toying with the idea of putting up a small tree in the kitchen 
but I think the cats would rip it to shreds !

As you may have gathered we don't over decorate.
It's mostly because of the mischievous felines that reside here with us!

I've still got some baking and shopping to get done for Christmas...
 I am pacing myself to avoid unnecessary stress.

Keeping things simple just feels right.

We received a call from a long time family friend tonight that there has been a death in our circle...
it's been an emotional evening to say the least.

We have spent the past few hours recalling all the memories...
life is to be cherished.

How are your holidays preparations coming along?
Try not to get stressed...

Take Care 

~ Be Well and Be Kind ~

Tuesday, May 21, 2019

Love the "little things" ~ a recipe for contentment.


Reading home decor books, Instagram and magazines inspire me.
I often get frustrated and wonder how I can make our little bungalow look better.

  I actioned a quick and inexpensive DIY fix.

I purchased 3 black metal hooks 
(Mr. HB installed them for me)

I hung up my French Market basket
 gardening hat 
and
  watering can. 

As conscientious stewards 
of a Heritage home
we are required to honour the historic significance 
we do not stray too far from their original architectural design.

With one exception...
The laundry area is painted white 
the basement is dark with very little light 
with only a few small windows.

The bright white walls 
make it much more enjoyable to work in and it feels far less oppressive!


I like to do my ironing while gazing out to the garden.



Looking out and beyond at the foliage and flowers 
while ironing 
feels like a form of meditation.


A handy rolling cart in the space is used for towels.


I fold the laundry on the top of the counter
and
I have a small ironing board that I use for small jobs 
like our linen tea towels and napkins.

Domestic jobs are a necessity.
To make them a wee bit more enjoyable
I have "fluffed" my downstairs "workplace" adding a few accent pieces.
Vintage enamel tins, ceramics, bird sculptures, and trophies...

Work and chores need not be looked upon as "drudgery."

Attitude is key to making these everyday tasks pleasant.
Taking joy in the results of one's labour and effort is so important.

The feeling of accomplishment is felt...
as I stand back
admiring a stack of freshly laundered 
(scented with lavender soap)
neat and tidy crisply ironed tea towels.

It's the "little things" that make our days richer.

How do you add Joy in your daily duties?
Do you have a secret to share that you use to make your daily round feel richer?

On that note, 
I will close this post...

Thank you for taking the time to stop and visit The Humble Bungalow Blog.

~ Be Well and Be Kind ~

Wednesday, October 31, 2018

October in The Humble Bungalow...



BOO!

Snippets from The Humble Bungalow.

October has flown by...it has been a bit of a blur.
Where does the time go?


Copper tray on the buffet...
Ojibwa duck decoys
white mini pumpkins
a dome with a dried allium inside


Vintage
First Nations woven baskets on the shelf above the built in buffet.


Fortnum and Mason baskets
with a
pudding bowl


I love baskets and have quite a few in The Humble Bungalow.
They are handy for storing things and I leave them out on display as I like the rustic natural effect they give to the decor.


Antique basket
First Nations tray on ledge
tarnished vintage silver 


dried hydrangeas in a copper vase


A peek inside the drop front arts and crafts desk


Surprise!
a headless "scarecrow" in our spare lot
someone is into the "Halloween spirit!"


Happy Halloween!

How is your week going?


~ Be Well and Be Kind ~

Tuesday, June 19, 2018

Embracing Wabi-Sabi...

Are you familiar with the japanese art of Wabi-Sabi?

Wikipedia has this explanation...

"In traditional Japanese aesthetics, wabi-sabi (侘寂) is a world view centered on the acceptance of transience and imperfection. The aesthetic is sometimes described as one of beauty that is "imperfect, impermanent, and incomplete".

I have unknowingly followed this practice for many years...
finding beauty in the imperfect.

I just didn't know that it actually had a name.

The Globe and Mail published this article on Wabi- Sabi in April.

The following images are just a few things in The Humble Bungalow that are examples of how I embrace the art of Wabi-Sabi.


Vintage McCoy crazed bowl atop a distressed and well used quarter sawn oak arts and crafts trestle table which sits in our kitchen.


I bought this bowl years ago at a church sale...
the crazing is what attracted me to the bowl which was 50 cents!
It is one of my favourite pieces.


A wee vintage ironstone jug
also crazed 
found at a thrift sale.


Tarnished silver 
I like some of our silver polished and some of it wearing a dark cloak of tarnish.


The tarnish does not really detract from the piece.
It adds a patina that speaks to its age.


Original patina on the hand hammered copper arts and crafts tray.


a different and unexpected example of Wabi-Sabi...
soap cube from Marseille France.

Do you embrace Wabi-Sabi?

Please leave a comment to let me know what you have in your home 
that speaks of Wabi-Sabi.

Thank you for stopping by The Humble Bungalow Blog.

~ Be Well and Be Kind ~

Thursday, February 15, 2018

Lightening up...

Have you noticed how the days are getting lighter?
The sun is setting later and we have been fortunate with our weather lately...
as the sun has been out several days this week which lightens up my mood enormously and energizes me...making me more efficent in the home department.


Love the sliver of light shining through the front door 
illuminating the orchids and making shadows dance on the wallpaper.

Bradbury and Bradbury heritage wallpaper in the arts and crafts style
hangs in our entry hall.


Looking towards the hall from the living room of The Humble Bungalow.
You may be able to see the wallpaper border at the top from this angle.

When the sun shines I like to get outdoors for my walks.


Emma Bridgewater has such an imagination...
I bought several of her shopping bags.

One I gave to a friend for a birthday...
it said Take Me To The Shops.
I'd never give this bag to a friend...this one is mine all mine!

I've culled some of my clothes...
again...
when one has a small wardrobe and closet the clothes get worn a LOT 
the fabric of my frequently worn tops tends to pill and look yucky after a couple of seasons.
I wash then inside out and hang them to dry 
but despite the gentle care 
they still develop these nubby bits which I find unsightly...


I've switched up my red lipstick for a pinker shade.

L'Oreal # 580 Pink Peony
It feels lighter on these sunny days.


OOTD
 a long lighter weight shirt by French Dressing
worn with my ponte knit skinny Calvin Klein pants and Chelsea boots.

Has the weather lightened up in your patch of the woods?
Have you been curating your closet?
Whats new with you?

~ Be Well and Be Kind ~

Saturday, February 10, 2018

What a differance a day makes...

This past week of weather has been punctuated with rain and clouds...
and when the sun makes an appearance
we rejoice!


Today was a sunny day with clear blue skies...
a perfect day for walking along the seafront.
There were crowds of people out and about walking
obviously with the same thing in mind.
The views were spactacular...Mount Baker looked like an ice cream sundae.
The frosty white snow stood out against the deeper blue of the sky and it felt so much closer than its far off location in Washington State.

Just before we were leaving for our walk I spied some crocus blooms and had to stop and take a few pictures to share with you. Mr. HB is used to me delaying our departures when a garden flower catches my attention!




Earlier in the week I stopped to capture the Hellebore Blooms






One sunny morning 
the sunlight illuminated Our Humble Bungalow 
bathing it in a warm and cozy glow.

Our arts and crafts bungalow is dark
due to the use of wood in the interior
and the design of the roof overhang and front porch detail.

We rely on many lights and even more lamps during the Fall and Winter.




There is salt spray from the ocean on the windows in our living room
which always surprises me as we are a block away from the ocean.
The gusty winds carry the salt spray and deposit it on anything and everything. 

(I'll be calling our window washer in a few weeks.)

The Massage Therapist worked on my shoulder this week.
 While the session was uncomfortable (painful) 
it was so worth it 
because I have more range of motion and less pain.
I plan to go every week for awhile...
I am starting to feel like a "high maintenance" woman!


We went to the Belfry for the world premiere of Forget About Tomorrow.
I highly recommend this play if you ever get the chance to see it.


In other news 
our lovely DIL and I dined out one weeknight
then we headed to The VV Boutique for a peek.
(aka Value Village)


I found a silk twill scarf with hand rolled edges.
made by Vetter of Switzerland.


The scarf should go well with this top.


Hope that your weekend is ticking along nicely.
Thank you for stopping by The Humble Bungalow Blog.

 ~ Be Well and Be Kind ~

Wednesday, August 30, 2017

Random stuff on Wednesday.


~ The Humble Bungalow ~

The garden out front has many plants and flowers.

Among them are yellow rudbeckia flowers 
a variety of yellow, pink, and red roses.

Limelight hydrangeas
Hostas
grasses
lime kniphofia
lavenders
boxwood 

The deer have been by munching on the Hostas and the Hydrangeas so the new garden help suggested that we try spraying with BOBEX...
it is all natural but is very stinky and it deters the deer from chowing down on the plants that have been treated.



Our tiny entry hall is rather cluttered,
it is where we hang our coats
store our brollies
hats.

Inside the picnic basket are winter woolly scarves and gloves.
No room for a wardrobe and no closets...


This wee area of the living room is where I write cards.
The quartersawn oak arts and crafts desk has many compartments inside 
which I use to store our address book, stamps, pens, and cards. 

We have such a small living area on the main floor...
about 975 square feet so we need to be careful not to collect too much stuff!
In 100 year old +  bungalows, storage was not originally a consideration.

People generally did not have a lot of extra things...
they were living on limited incomes, credit was not available and so people tended to be quite frugal.

Our bedroom closet is really small and we have to renovate that room someday. Mr. HB will redesign our closet and have some built in drawers installed.

We use the downstairs closets for our out of season clothes.


Trying to keep a minimal wardrobe is my goal but every so often I act on impulse and buy something that is usually something that I already have represented in my current wardrobe.

Buying a variation of something that I already own and don't really NEED 
is a waste of money.

This summer I paid attention to 
what I wore regularly 
what did not get worn often 
and 
what never got worn.

3 dresses were worn regularly and two others hung in the closet.
I wore 2 pairs of pants and the same few tops weekly.

The rest languished away...

 Why have something if it is not being used especially when storage is an issue?

The exercise also showed me that the clothes I wore 
were those that made me feel good wearing them
and  coincidentally 
they are the better quality more expensive items in my closet.

With that in mind, I plan to buy fewer things come the Fall and opt for better quality "investment" pieces.
It seems to me to make sense not to waste the space, time and money 
on something mediocre that is not going to be a workhorse in the wardrobe.

Walking scenery...


Clover Point on Dallas Road
the start of my regular 5 km. walking route.


Midway along the route Ross Bay
looking across at The Olympic Mountain Range in Washington State.


Ross Bay and the trees that line the edge of the historic Ross Bay Cemetery.
Walks have been lovely with the sunny warm weather...
breezes have been slight which I appreciate.


Plainsong was a good book...
a slightly different genre than I usually read but it came with high praise from the gal at the bookstore.
I have reserved the second in the series, Eventide,  at the local library.

In other news...
The scale has responded to the no alcohol regime.
I quit the wine habit last Tuesday.


Several readers have emailed me regarding me giving up alcohol.
My new tipple...non alcoholic wine.
It tastes good and has way less calories than real wine and is less expensive.


The information on the bottle 
may be of interest to you. 

I sip a couple of glasses at night, 
one before dinner and one with dinner.


Willows Beach walk
mixing up the walk locations for a variety of scenery.


There is a tearoom near the playground.
Mom and I used to stop in after our walk along the Esplanade.
I have taken tea here several times this summer and I think of her when I sip my cuppa.


My Mulberry knapsack has been getting a lot of wear this summer.
I love to be hands free when walking and it is the perfect size for my prescription glasses, wallet, lipstick, tissues and keys.

I love the colour of the leather and the details.
It is a sturdy bag that should wear well for many years.

Positively Smitten with this bag...
I like the shape, the brown embossed croc finish, and the clasp detail
it is not too big 
so there is no worry that I would be carrying a too heavy bag and injure my shoulder again!
  Plus it is a bonus that it is a cross body bag.

Perhaps I will invest in this one...
it has been ages since I bought a "new" handbag.
The last two have been thrift shop finds.

Back to the garden...


One of the Hostas that the deer have munched!


Thankfully the giant Rudbeckias seem to be safe from the deer.



Are you familiar with books by Kristin Hannah?
Firefly Lane (2008) is a page turner...
Kristin has a large number of books to her credit
and why have I not read her novels before this?
 I have no clue!

Thank you for stopping by The Humble Bungalow Blog
taking time out of your day to read the blog and glance at the pictures.

Hope that you are enjoying these last few days of August.

~ Be Well and Be Kind ~