Don't know what struck me, but I am still in the throws of fall cleaning.
Everything has been moved out of the little hall bathroom, the walls and woodwork cleaned and taped, and made ready to paint...brought the paint home yesterday, and plan to do that first thing this morning!
There were two basket sitting on top of the mirrored cabinet that held, probably every tiny seashell that Poppy and I have ever picked up on the beach. Talk about dust!! Anyhow, carrying the two baskets, plus a few more, outside to wash and let dry in the sun, I remembered my old "Country Living" magazine collection starting from the early 1980's.
Oh my goodness friends, I practically lived for each new issue. A regular feature was, "Simple Country Pleasures" written by Jo Northrop. Jo Northrop grew up on a farm in North Carolina. I remember once she wrote about cleaning and how she carried all the baskets down to the pond to wash them and leave them in the sun to dry.
If only I had a farm and a pond to wash baskets in, and a log cabin in the country! It was the early 80's. I was a secretary, living in a two bedroom apartment with two teenage daughters. Far from any kind of country living.
"Country Living" magazine was full of everything I dreamed about having. They featured log homes and...
I did get the log cabin, with the french doors, and a pond for washing baskets, and in the country.
so...
I'm getting busy now. Thank you for listening again.
Love,
Henny
And your dream came true! I have loved Country Living from the time I discovered it (1979 I think). Gorgeous! Happy painting, Henny!
ReplyDeleteI remember the exact feature in CL that you mentioned. Loved it. It was one of my favorite things to read when the magazine arrived. The country decorating from those days was so darn cozy. It would be a lot of fun to spend a few hours re-visiting your magazine collection. Perhaps that should be in order after the bathroom is painted :).
ReplyDeleteYou just reminded me of my collection of CL in the basement. I, too, looked forward to every issue and dreamed of living in the country. :)
ReplyDeleteI remember "Simple Country Pleasures'. Have fun painting your bathroom. By the looks of it, it may be bigger than my bathroom! :)
ReplyDeleteIsn't it wonderful when our dreams come true. We have paint to paint one of our bathrooms, but we're waiting for some cooler weather to do it.
ReplyDeletemy bathroom is much like that, open door, there's the vanity & right next to it the bath, i don't have the loo in my bathroom so i have a tad more room to turn around in :)) it's getting a make over around xmas time, getting a shower unit of sorts & possibly a corner vanity, not sure at this stage.
ReplyDeleteenjoy your painting, mmm, can't wait til i start here too, they say change is as good as a holiday. be sure to have plenty of ventilation going while you paint!
love the magazine too so many ideas!
thanx for sharing
I'm smiling at your post today Henny, I too have subscribed to Country Living magazine for several decades, and always remember Jo Northrop's column it was always a spirit-lifter for me, and took many of her stories to heart, when decorating my own home. I always wanted a log home, and hope someday I will still be able to fulfill that little dream.
ReplyDeleteHope your painting goes well, can't wait for you to show us your handiwork :)
Hugs,
~Jo
Your dream came true!!!!
ReplyDeleteSo happy for you.
Gentle hugs,
Luna Crone
Sitting here this afternoon feeling a little sorry for myself, I pulled a back muscle yesterday and have been awake since 4 am :( its now 16.13 pm. we have the painters here painting the doors and windows on the outside of house, with doors open its feeling very chilly on the inside of our home. I read this lovely post and feel inspired to make plans to do more organising in our home :) wishing you a lovely weekend! :)
ReplyDeleteThat is a lovely collection of photos, I dream of a log cabin but with simple lines and blues rather than pinks. Trouble is that I would then need another for the sewing and knitting stuff.
ReplyDeleteHenny, you wrote about your bathroom being plain. Would it help the "motel look" if you took some of your wonderful country fabric & sewed borders on your bath towels & a valance at the top of your shower curtain? Happy painting.Sandy in Calif.
ReplyDeleteThank you Sandy. I never think of creative little things like that. That is such a good idea!
DeleteI can't wait to see the bathroom after your done! Everytime I paint it makes me want to completely redecorate that room but that's usually not in the budget. There's just something about fresh paint.... I love those tall drawers you have!
ReplyDeleteOh Bonnie, I am the same way. I want to trash everything in that bathroom and buy new stuff. :( Thank you!
DeleteA fresh coat of paint always makes a room cheerful, even a very small room :) I loved Country Living magazine, more then than now . . . sometimes new and improved is not what it's cracked up to be, LOL. I love that you had a dream that you never gave upon . . . dreams do come true.
ReplyDeleteHave a happy country day.
Connie :)
I've been cleaning too. I love a new fresh coat of paint to jazz up a space.
ReplyDeleteWhat color will your bathroom be? In that small a space you could go with a really interesting, unusual color or you could paint that tall cabinet a bright, wild color! Or you could stencil something above the bathtub enclosure. Oh, so many possibilities!
ReplyDeleteWell I would love a log cabin also but I am not sure that is ever going to happen here. Chicken house suck up all the money around here. Oh well. I love that magazine I use to get it also. Can not wait to see how the paint job turns out.
ReplyDeleteLove you bunches
I had almost twenty years of old Country Living magazines, but when we moved I closed my eyes, gritted my teeth and sent them away. I miss them still. You surely are inspiring me to get to cleanin'!
ReplyDeleteI used to get Country Living too and saved lots of issues for years and years, but did eventually throw them all out.
ReplyDeleteI still look at an issue once in while from the library.
New paint is always fun
ReplyDeleteA lot of what you dreamed of came true!
ReplyDeleteKeeping a house in good condition takes lots of effort. Painting has to be done from time to time and then you can change colours.
ReplyDeleteI remember Jo Northrop's inspiring articles! I used to get the Country Living magazines handed down to me and didn't I enjoy sitting and admiring everything. Then I got a subscription to Victoria magazine and that's when I began collecting a few antiques.
ReplyDeleteI wonder if you got your bathroom painted today. Once it's done everything looks fresh and new.
You got your dream log cabin and pond! I used to have baskets of shells, but got rid of them several years ago when I realized that I never even noticed them any more. I also love rocks and have picked up way too many of those. I finally took most of them outside and put them in a pile at the edge of the flower bed at the end of the front porch. Now anyone who comes or goes by the front door, including me, will see them. And I don't have to worry about them being dusty. I kept a few small extra pretty ones like one with amethyst crystals on my kitchen window sill in front of the sink. It's hard to give up on things we've had for years. My next thing to get rid of, once I can make myself do it, is cookbooks. I never use more than a handful any more and I have 3 shelves full. I'd free up a lot of space doing that and my bookcase would look a lot better. I guess I mainly hate getting rid of them because I sure spent a lot of money over the years on those books. I either use the same old recipes or look on line for new ones any more and print them off. If I open a cookbook I can sit for waaay too long looking through it. I love them like you love your magazines. I look forward to seeing your freshly painted bathroom. You didn't tell us what color you got. Inquiring minds what to know!
ReplyDeleteHey Peg. Oh we have a rock collection too, and arrowheads, and old record albums...all collecting dust! I love what you did with your rocks. That is a good idea. Our old records are like your cookbooks. We just hate to get rid of them. I did once list my whole collection of Country Living magazines on Craigslist, but got no response. The color of the bathroom!! I am so disgusted. The walls in that bathroom look beige and I have never painted them beige. It is the lighting in a log cabin. I wanted a bright white paint with just a tiny hint of pink. A tiny hint! Well I found it. So, I've painted all around the door frames, mirror, etc., and guess what color I've got! Lavender!I will probably do a post on how colors turn out in this log home!! :) Thank you Peg.
DeleteThe type of light bulb you use as well as the color/tinting/etching of the glass shade can change the appearance of color. Maybe it's not your paint at fault, but the effects of the lighting. If you've got anything at all that's the pale, pale pink you wanted, you can take it to Home Depot and probably other stores where they have machines to analyze it and reproduce it exactly. We did that when we needed to touch up some old paint and they matched it perfectly. I hope you like what you ended up with, even if it's not what you had planned.
DeleteIt is just wonderful to be living the dream, your log cabin is stunning.
ReplyDeleteSometimes dreams really do come true. Hoping your painting goes well. Henny, if you have a Home Depot around, you might try their "Daylight" light bulbs. Lowe's has them too. If you get the LED they will last a long time and save you money even tho they cost a little more. The daylight bulbs make it look more like natural sunlight. Good luck...waiting for some pictures even if it's lavender.
ReplyDeleteIt's funny, I think your bathroom is just fine as is. It's very clean and cozy. But if you paint it, it will be fine too. Don't worry, I'm sure you will make it just as inviting. The color isn't as important as the housekeeping. Phil, Eagle Bend, MN.
ReplyDeleteIt's funny, I think your bathroom is just fine as is. It's very clean and cozy. But if you paint it, it will be fine too. Don't worry, I'm sure you will make it just as inviting. The color isn't as important as the housekeeping. Phil, Eagle Bend, MN.
ReplyDeleteThank you very much!
DeletePaul's bathroom is the same size and he just had a good laugh at Poppy's "back out to turn round"! So true. We had to move the paper holder so he could sit on the commode.
ReplyDeleteI admire all your cleaning and painting. It's still too hot here for me to get motivated. I eagerly awaited Country Living for many years, too. Just got rid of all my back issue when I moved to SC. I don't think the new ones are as interesting.
Hi dear friend, Thank you for the warm welcome back to blogging. I had stacks and stacks of this magazine and I practically memorized them! So happy your dreams came true - you live in a beautiful place! I look forward to see after pics of your bathroom. Hope the painting won't make you to sore. God bless. xo
ReplyDeleteOh! That was me! I loved those magazines.
ReplyDeleteThey began my hoarding career! 😉
I did keep them for many years, but made myself let them go in the end.
I loved Jo!
I wanted to live like her!
Part of me still does!
I never got my log house like you did, but am still living in my almost 100 yr. old aging, like me, too quickly little house!
Thank you so much for posting!
You brought a smile to my face, and good memories to my mind!
Many blessings!
Your bathroom will be very fun with a new, pretty coat of paint! Isn't it wonderful to have gotten your dream from long ago? I remember Country Living. Oh my! I had so many issues, packed in boxes, and my poor husband had to haul them around when we moved from house to house. I think finally I threw them out because I knew I'd never get around to them again. But I did love them too! i did keep my old Victorias though :)
ReplyDeleteHappy Autumn! I do love the look of your blog - love that banner up there!
Hi, I wish they made Country Living like they use too. I am not as pleased with the magazine of today. Love that you saved the magazines.
ReplyDelete