I thought that I'd enjoy looking back over the year, with the Year in Reveiw posts here at abeachcottage.com and I thought the old Hungarian trunk was pretty much the best thing on this blog this past year…but I'm not so sure now, what I didn't realise as I surfed through my own stuff, stuff created purely and simply and mostly by me, was that I would look back over things and think…errrm….actually.
It. All. Looks. Quite. Nice.
And when I came across the post from the curtain pole I fashioned outta nothing with Mr Teenage Beach Cottage's Male Brain and help, for free, I got a lump in my silly old throat.
And I think, I surprised myself, at how I dressed this doorway to the Sitting Room for a mere four dollars.
And I liked that I did that.
Ireally like that I thought outside the box, eschewed consumerism, used what I have and taught my teenager (or he taught me more like) to get the cogs working in the brain to find a solution…
I like all of that.
And It brought a lump to my throat.
And that people is why I blog.
You may, or may not, have noticed the lack of advertising here, that may well change in the future…for the moment, I don't blog for that…but I have recently been wondering (as the New Year dawns and you tend to ponder things) quite why I sit here in the quiet of the evening or with a coffee in the morning and commence with what has become a virtual chat with lovely virtual friends?
I realised as I looked back at this doorway-dressing-for-a-few-bucks post, that whatever opportunities or perhaps moreover possibilities this little old place of mine may bring, whatever wonderful new friends I prattle on about white paint with, essentially, thrifting old things with a very good friend, interacting with a teenager, painting things white and nesting in this tatty old cottage is what I enjoyand what I will continue to do in 2010 as we further put down roots in Australia and make this place home..
I do hope you'll enjoy the ride
Cheers to 2010, thrifting and our future…teenagers!
and if you want to read the full post about the curtain, the thrifting with a good friend, the bamboo pole, and more photos go here).
Happy New Year, Sarah. There are times I feel like not blogging anymore. But then I am rejuvenated by a project, thought, or feeling that I want to share and it’s so nice to have a place that inspires that within me.
It’s been so great getting to know you and your home in 2009. I look forward to much more in 2010.
dearest sarah,
i am so glad that you blog! i am so glad that i found your blog and that you come into my home everday for a wee visit. i have my speculations that all of us ‘bloggers’ will someday be in therapy for having ‘virtural’ friends….but i do have a huge addiction to the dear friends i have met online. the inspiration you provide us, in my opinion, is better than any magazine. i used to be a big scrapbooker, and now i think i will just print my blog into a book and pass that down to my kids. you should consider the same, as i am sure your son would someday love to hear that he put a ‘good’ lump in your throat.
cheers! to another creative year.
kathi at traybella
I continue to blog without ads, after almost three years. I’ve been approached about ads, several times and I declined. I think it’s a wonderful option for others, but not for me.
When I began my first post of the new year, I wondered if I would continue the old Back Porch in 2010. I decided as long as my little journal makes me happy, then I will continue. If it becomes a chore I will end my blog. That’s been my thought, from the beginning, in 2007.
Back Porch Musings is my hobby. It’s a hobby J participates in, also. So the blog is wonderful for these two elderly folks.
All of those lovely bits of advice, wonderful thrifty scores and your wonderful attitude is why I stop by here every day. It’s so inspiring to see someone who literally makes something out of nothing with such style. I hope you continue to blog for a long time to come!
Gina
Great post. My mom recently asked me why I blog. A good question for an “outsider” because it seems to take so much time, so much thought, so much effort… I can’t imagine not blogging though, it helps me see our home through fresh eyes and is a great outlet for meeting others (like yourself) who are creative and have similar interests as me. It can be overwhelming at times but overall, I love it.
~Michelle
We get up in the mornings (or more succinctly, I do), make my coffee, put some fruit on my cereal, and log on, because we are of “like minds.” We get one another. We enjoy seeing what we can make out of nothing. We are the segment of the population ever so tired of consumerism. And this is our little clubhouse. Where we share our goodies and know we’re not going to be thought of as “strange” when we show something everyone else would just throw to the curb. (And sometimes it was at the curb before we snatched it.) That is why we do what we do.
Brenda
I have enjoyed the ride, and I have no doubt that I will continue to do so! So many of things you mentioned are what inspired me to start my own blog (which I did 3 days ago). Wonderful post.
I am so glad for that lump in your throat…it is why I love your blog…it is why I blog…Oh, I do hope you will keep on like you have…keep it simple…white and simple. I’ve been offered the advertizing, but that is not why I blog. I don’t like to visit the blogs that do have advertizing…they are such a distraction…like commercials…and they steal away the beauty, in my opinion. I hope you will keep on…keep on…keep on…doing what you love…and blessing us with your beauty.
i’m so happy you blog…it’s quite inspiring. and i will live vicariously through you as you make your life on the coast of australia. looking forward to 2010.
Happy New Year Sarah! It’s been great getting to know you through your blog this last year!
I blog because I love it too but the money the ads bring in is an added benefit! What I make on my ads goes right back into my home which gives me more to blog about. It’s a personal preference…I know some people do not like ads but to me it would be like throwing away free money…and it’s not just pennies!
Goodmorning Sarah!
I am so glad you blog & prattle(!). You put words & pictures together so well. My mum has often asked me how did I become so imersed in blogging & then one day I showed her you blog post on that hungarian trunk & it moved her to tears & she then said ‘Now I know’!.
Your tatty beach cottage is gorgeous but even more gorgeous are the souls that live within it’s walls.
You offer inspiration to people who have not much money & for those that do, you show them that it’s not the dollar cost that matters but the sheer delight simplicity brings.
Here’s Cheers my friend for another great year of blogging!
Sarah
Hi Sarah
I am another one who loves your blog, it is always inspiring to see what you come up with next! Keep doing what you love and we’ll keep reading about it! As for the advertising, to be honest when I read through my blogs, I never notice it so it wouldn’t bother me one way or the other.
Happy New Year
Cheers
Judy
hello Sarah … I think blogging is the cheapest, most complete form of therapy one could ever hope for
I love to read and be read, I love the conversation and connections and I love knowing there are women like me who want to make the effort to share and learn from each other. I also adore the non judgmental side of blogging and the world wide nature of it …
My best to you for 2010 and as you know we cherish your efforts, best le
Your blog is one of my favorites to visit. I love your writing voice and your photos and your style. Here’s to another lovely year at the Beach Cottage! Cheers!
Sarah, I love your blog because it’s authentically you. I’m glad it gave you a lump in your throat – it means that you were true to whatever drove you to blog to begin with (whether you knew what that whatever was or not).
It happens to be great fun that there are so many of us who can relate to what you like and what you are doing. We come along for the ride and you don’t forget that we are here… but you still “sound” like you are writing for you and we happen to be your lucky friends who get to listen to your thoughts.
This post is so sweet and it’s why I blog too. Hoping you had a great ringing in of the new year! I am still dragging from having way too much fun at the flea market yesterday! I’m looking forward to reading many more of your lovely posts this year!
Cheers stylish beach cottage lady!
xo Mary Jo
Your blog is the first one I came across while surfing the net one day last year, and you have become my inspiration for starting my own blog and in how I decorate my home, I love the beachy feel,stylish and yet casual and relaxed which is how I want my home to feel, not just for my family but to others as well.
Thank you for inspiring me
That curtain is too cute! Your teenager must be proud(in a teenager sort of way when his friends aren’t around) to have help you with this ingenious solution for the curtain rod! I read the old post and loved and agreed with your sentiment about not spending $40 in a yucky store. I think bargains are the reward we deserve for shopping at yucky stores, don’t you?
Although this sounds a little silly as I am typing it, I feel like I know you and have made a new friend because I read your blog daily.
I think it is really nice to be able to look back and reflect on the year that was. Having a blog is like having a diary with pictures… except all our virtual friends are reading our diary as well – LOL. I’m glad you blog Sarah. Thank you for letting us share in your renovation and sea change journey.
Hugs ~ Kerryanne
I started my blog because I wanted “friends” like you. Blogging has opened up my horizons considerably, “talking” to people in other countries and learning new ways to do something has made my life more interesting and more meaningful. I enjoy seeing what you do with very little money, and lots of white paint. I too have a bit of money and lots of paint. I am really glad that you blog, you have added another dimension to my life. Hugs, Cindy S.
everyone loves your blog so we are thrilled you do it!! with or without ads. but the best part is that it is something so meaningful for you, (which is how it is so powerful to us). not to mention the content is the bomb! LOVE YOU! jkj
I must confess I am a ‘newy’ to the virtual world. I have dipped my toe in and now want to jump in!! I found you by accident a few months ago and now I check in 3-5 times a week!
I love the way you write, your pictures, your ethos and I guess I can relate to a lot of what you write. Its also my escapism
Please continue…perhaps you can help those less talented on how to blog?!? how do you come up with your ideas, your projects, etc?!?
Hello sweet Sarah – Happy New Year! I too am so glad you blog. Over the last year I have really enjoyed stopping by for visits to see what all you’re up to. I’ve been inspired many times by the things you repurpose. I look forward to see what you’ve managed to find laying on the side of the road, taken home and made over into something beautiful.
I love your $4 curtain treatment above the door! So pretty and such a nice touch.
I can well understand the query as to why we blog sometimes.
I am so inspired by people out there and I love the window into people’s lives. I am often motivated to do something more here as a result.
I stop by every day and not one day do I regret it. I know I don’t comment a lot, but I truly get inspiration from you and your blog! So here’s wishing you the best in 2010 from all of us at Lookiloos.
Dear Sarah Happy New Year to you too.I found your blog this past fall and have checked in every day since. Thank you for coming into my home each day and sharing your cottage,ideas and your love of white with me. I will continue to follow you into 2010 and beyond…watching you transform your finds with white paint.
From my little bungalow to your little cottage…safe travels and all the best in the new year.
G'day! I'm Sarah, I live in a tatty old cottage, near the sea in Australia with a battered old deck & a big old fig tree out the back...stripped wooden floors, old sash windows & a jumble of vintage furniture. [Read More …]
Well G’day Beach Cottage ladies. Of course some of you guessed correctly, no flies on Beach Cottage gals are there? A Summer House window dressing, beach vintage style. One that I got very wrong. I’ll keep this short and sweet The vintage crochet patchwork curtain? Love. Pure love. But, put it this [...]
G'day ladies, let's have a Too Easy Beach Cottage recipe yeah? The original place for Too Easy Recipes on the web ;-)
So, after my last salad went down a storm in my inbox, that's here if you missed it, I had to do this one seeing as I make it most weeks.
There is a problem with this salad and kiddos though...it looks, well, it looks, kinda yucky...but once they try it, they'll ask if and when they are next having it....at least that's what happens in this ratty old cottage...but I must interject here that my kiddos are 'good eaters'? ...they didn't get a choice in that ;-)
Now, stop, don't start running and hitting that next on your blog reading list, pulses are your best friend in the Too Easy Dump & Go kitchen for the busy mum, or busy anyone for that matter...that reminds me I must blog the garlic canneloni Go To for when you forgot to do dinner, feel like a bath but have three ravenous young Beach Cottage Kiddos on your hands...another day.
I am almost embarrassed to tell you how easy this is, we have it so much that I always have a couple, make that six, cans of lentils around and a jar of goat's cheese in the fridge...the great thing about this is that it's all too easy to get ready in just a few minutes, but it looks, tastes and seems like you did oh so very much more than that.
You can obviously too change it up a bit depending on what you have to hand in your kitchen, and I must say that is how I settled on this version...because one day when I made it I didn't have enough Parsley in the garden and so I chucked in some basil too, and liked the Summer feel it added.
I think of this as being a rather posh salad, not sure why, because it couldn't really be further from the truth...the great thing is that it works so well for an average run of the mill day, (when I did this for this blog post, it was a hot Sydney Sunday and I did it just simply to go with Rosemary & Garlic stuffed pork, you can see that pork here),
...but just as easily it works on a regular old Wednesday night when you have lost all enthusiasm for rustling up yet another meal, or indeed on Saturday night, when your friends are on their way over for dinner and you my friend, are in your new vintage inspired clawfoot bathtub (that's me in a few weeks time, k?) without any clothes on, a tipple and no idea what to cook for dinner...
I have a complicated and ever-changing relationship with goat's cheese...it never fails me in its performance and it never fails to impress me (you can find out a bit more on what I like in food here if you like) and I kinda collect it...because it's very easy to collect and has a fairly long fridge-life, I love trying out different ones and there's not many things I love more than goat's cheese on sourdough...but I think the best thing about it is not thinking about it exclusively in the toast/salad department...I've stuffed it in chicken and all sorts of things as a last minute and it's been fab.
But let's get down to the nitty gritty of this super salad that makes you look like an angel who has been on her knees all day scrubbing the front step when really you are in the digital world and spent most of ...
G'day Beach Cottage ladies, howdy, howdy howdy today for a Beach Cottage Too Easy recipe.
If you like cake, cream, sugar and chocolate, make this.
This is, rather than a recipe, a putting it together...as you know I am no dessert maker, but, I do make quite a few sweet things, because, somehow I have ended up with kiddos, who in their roles as offspring, believe that part of the deal, is that not only do I feed them a home-cooked meal with a few homegrown ingredients in there, yes, they also believe that dessert and not the kind that comes out of a packet is included too in this All-Inclusive Deal they call Parenthood.
So, this, for sure, is no culinary masterpiece, but if you are looking for something that is so very easy, dump-able, uses everyday ingredients and at the same time makes you look like you spent hours pulling things together plus tastes good....well, then this is for you.
Best though, you don't make this for yourself, if you have spent the most part of your week sitting on your derriere reading blogs...this my friend ain't low in the calories department...if, however, you are treating yourself to a delight in a mason jar, this is so for you.
I first had a version of this when at dinner back in Old Blighty with a girl, I once, in another life, caught the train up from our village to London with...she was a funny thing really...I am not quite sure how we got on...she was kinda prissy and a bit bothered by too much...I would run to the train flustered, having got up late, and she would have a spreadsheet on the train times, if you know what I mean.
Anyway, a few years later when we both had bambinos, I bumped into her again and we met up for playdates and dinner sometimes....this particular night, after a lovely meal she served up little bowls of creamy, cakey fruity stuff topped off with chocolate flake...it was delicious!
She didn't serve hers in little jars like this, hers were in a champagne glass and not quite so layered as these ones, plus she used tinned fruit not fresh or frozen.
Years later when said offspring kept requesting dessert, one day I wangled together somehow these from what was around in the fridge and they've been with us ever since.
Most likely, if you ever come here for dinner, and shock horror, you dont' bring the dessert with you, this, if you are lucky, will be what you will get.
Throw it all together, sprinkle a lil bit of chocolate on the top and the blog reading past-time you so rudely left in order to make this, is my friend, your oyster.
Beach Cottage Too Easy Layered Raspberry, Cream & Sponge Dessert
1 small maderia or butter cake or a pack of cupcakes (or of course make your own)
1/2 cup whipping cream
1/2 cup cream cheese
1/4 cup sugar
8 tbsp fruit
1 x chocolate Flake or chocolate bar for grating
1. beat the cream cheese until it is soft
2. whip the cream until soft peaks form
3. combine & add the sugar through
4. cut your cake into portions
& layer into the bottom of your jar
5. add a tablespoon of fruit
6. layer on top the cream combo
7. repeat
8. grate chocolate or Flake on top
*Beach Cottage Recipe Notes : this is just a guide really, you can use any cream that you have on hand...I have made this with clotted cream (don't even go there unless you want to seriously get these babies on your thighs), with double cream and I have even, in desperate times squirted in that, ...
G'day Beach Cottage ladies, well I thought it was time for some blogging tips here today, alongside a few nice flowers and shells ;-)
I was recently part of a blogger discussion group over at Kidspot and a couple of hours later had a few questions from girls who couldn't make it to the live chat, one was on my Facebook page and one via email, the Facebook one I will deal with in another Real Girl Blogging Tips post...the email one asked me what essentials do I think every blog needs?
Well I have been around here for a while now doing the blogging thing, so I should know this, yeah and I mused this on my walk by the sea this morning I thought well what do you only need?
...I think it is really very easy when blogging, whether or not you are blogging up there in the lofty heights of the Super Bloggers or you are just dipping your toe in the water, to get side-tracked by 101 million different things that are 'essential' to your blog and if you are someone like me who actually gets a thrill from reading blogging tips then you are in an even worse place because you will find yourself literally buzzing with these essential things to add/do/implement on your blog.
However, walking along, gulping down that brisk sea air today (no sunshine & clouds) I thought you actually don't need any of that professional blogging stuff to be successful...but there are a few things that are pretty much crucial ...and once I started to think about it I got it down to about 5 - these are the only things that you need to concentrate on...once you have read through take a look at some of the big girl's blogs...you'll see that actually they don't have bundles of stuff on their blogs...but they do have all of these...
So here are my top things that your blog must have
1. About Page
There are all sorts of About Pages out there, and if you search on it there are many different tips and ideas for what to have on yours
Whatever blogging platform you use, adding an About Me Page is easy, quick and simple and will do everything to grow your blog.
I like a long-ish About Page, I am inherently nosy and I like to know a bit more about the person but at the least you should have on it your name and where you are located. I also think a photo is good too...over the last year or so I think this has become more important in blogging - if you are hesitant about that as I was, you can try using sunglasses or a behind shot until you get comfortable.
There is nothing worse than stumbling upon a new blog and going to find out more to only be faced with a piddly little one liner About Me Page...well there is something worse, not having one at all!
2. Contact Page
The chances are someone, somewhere will want to contact you and you will be surprised what lands in your inbox once you put yourself out there on the world wide web with a blog.
Many bloggers also use this page to include details for PR's/brands that may want to contact them and some bloggers put their stats on there too.
A short, to the point and simple Contact Page works really well...whenever I have wanted to contact another blogger I am often very busy and have limited time so I don't want to hang around sifting through information looking for an email address, so concise and clear ...
G'day lovely Beach Cottage lovelies.
So, yeah, so on a roll people, so on a roll.
I feel kinda home accessory wired right now.
I am always telling people, if anyone ever listens, that blogging is all about passion, not that sort of passion, but about passion that makes one tick.
Things like this make me tick tick boom.
I love finding things that suit my budget and let me treat my home but look amazing too.
So without further adieu I introduce you, ladies of the beach, to the blue vintage glasses that I have been stroking for about a week or two now...
These glasses are from a little boutique I sometimes happen upon, this boutique sells also pet accessories, carpet cleaner, bras and compost...it's quite unique though.
And, thanks to my friend Marnie (she blogs over here, go take a look at her praying position, interesting), who just so happens to be one day having me over for a lil' Greek dinner, has let me in on the fact that we call Kmart....The KMart...with an accent ....as in 'I love The KMart'...just like her MIL does. Oh yeah. Love that.
So I have had my eye on reproduction vintage glass blue wine glasses and being trying to find real true vintage blue glasses for like ever.
Oh yes I have spied them in Frenchy boutiques, I have lusted after them in stores that I shouldn't even enter and I have put them back pretty quickly in those shops with the hand-written price tags. C'mon, you know the ones.
And, though all of the above have tempted me, muchly, really, even with my wardrobe stashing skills I just thought that, actually, I'd rather be saving that casherooni for our next trip overseas..
Hello The KMart.
Tick Tick Boom
Vintage style blue wine glasses.
Do not come to my old place and think you might pick up one of these and smile with pleasure at their handblown quality, their weight, and be secretly jealous that my wine glasses cost more than your car...friend, that would not happen...these do not feel like that...indeed these in a funny way reminded me of my baby girl, she was a tiny little thing, with stick legs, the tinsssssssiest ankles and wrists you ever did see, she slept sideways in her cot wedged in between rolled up blankets and would only settle attached to Mr Beach Cottage or I or a (dirty) pj top of mine scrunched up under her nose...the first few times I picked her up to cuddle, being used to Honeymoon Baby who weighed in at 9lbs at birth and has never really stopped growing, I nearly threw her little bird-cum-rat down covered body over my shoulder.
These glasses are like that...be careful or you might lose your wine down the front of your shirt.
But oh baby, we are not talking picking up here, we are not talking quality, we are not talking house accessory snobbery.
Beach Cottage ladies, we are talking aesthetics.
And this is what I need in my cottage.
Blue vintage style glass, paired with coastal / nautical / beach stuff on my deck.
It's The KMart.
Tune in tomorrow, tomorrow, I have more budget foofing for your home, or maybe it will be the dress that wraps me up in supermarket-chic and makes me feel like me again.
Good Day to you my friends, wanna come hang out on my deck, talk house accessories, The KMart and drink some wine from blue glasses?
Sarah
Happy New Year, Sarah. There are times I feel like not blogging anymore. But then I am rejuvenated by a project, thought, or feeling that I want to share and it’s so nice to have a place that inspires that within me.
It’s been so great getting to know you and your home in 2009. I look forward to much more in 2010.
dearest sarah,
i am so glad that you blog! i am so glad that i found your blog and that you come into my home everday for a wee visit. i have my speculations that all of us ‘bloggers’ will someday be in therapy for having ‘virtural’ friends….but i do have a huge addiction to the dear friends i have met online. the inspiration you provide us, in my opinion, is better than any magazine. i used to be a big scrapbooker, and now i think i will just print my blog into a book and pass that down to my kids. you should consider the same, as i am sure your son would someday love to hear that he put a ‘good’ lump in your throat.
cheers! to another creative year.
kathi at traybella
Thanks for blogging and inspiring us (from the warmth of Oz instead of the winter wonderland the UK continues to be ….. more snow!)
Happy New Year Sarah!
Beautiful post!
I continue to blog without ads, after almost three years. I’ve been approached about ads, several times and I declined. I think it’s a wonderful option for others, but not for me.
When I began my first post of the new year, I wondered if I would continue the old Back Porch in 2010. I decided as long as my little journal makes me happy, then I will continue. If it becomes a chore I will end my blog. That’s been my thought, from the beginning, in 2007.
Back Porch Musings is my hobby. It’s a hobby J participates in, also. So the blog is wonderful for these two elderly folks.
I hope you continue. I love coming here!
All of those lovely bits of advice, wonderful thrifty scores and your wonderful attitude is why I stop by here every day. It’s so inspiring to see someone who literally makes something out of nothing with such style. I hope you continue to blog for a long time to come!
Gina
Great post. My mom recently asked me why I blog. A good question for an “outsider” because it seems to take so much time, so much thought, so much effort… I can’t imagine not blogging though, it helps me see our home through fresh eyes and is a great outlet for meeting others (like yourself) who are creative and have similar interests as me. It can be overwhelming at times but overall, I love it.
~Michelle
We get up in the mornings (or more succinctly, I do), make my coffee, put some fruit on my cereal, and log on, because we are of “like minds.” We get one another. We enjoy seeing what we can make out of nothing. We are the segment of the population ever so tired of consumerism. And this is our little clubhouse. Where we share our goodies and know we’re not going to be thought of as “strange” when we show something everyone else would just throw to the curb. (And sometimes it was at the curb before we snatched it.) That is why we do what we do.
Brenda
I have enjoyed the ride, and I have no doubt that I will continue to do so! So many of things you mentioned are what inspired me to start my own blog (which I did 3 days ago). Wonderful post.
I am so glad for that lump in your throat…it is why I love your blog…it is why I blog…Oh, I do hope you will keep on like you have…keep it simple…white and simple. I’ve been offered the advertizing, but that is not why I blog. I don’t like to visit the blogs that do have advertizing…they are such a distraction…like commercials…and they steal away the beauty, in my opinion. I hope you will keep on…keep on…keep on…doing what you love…and blessing us with your beauty.
i’m so happy you blog…it’s quite inspiring. and i will live vicariously through you as you make your life on the coast of australia. looking forward to 2010.
Happy New Year Sarah! It’s been great getting to know you through your blog this last year!
I blog because I love it too but the money the ads bring in is an added benefit! What I make on my ads goes right back into my home which gives me more to blog about. It’s a personal preference…I know some people do not like ads but to me it would be like throwing away free money…and it’s not just pennies!
Goodmorning Sarah!
I am so glad you blog & prattle(!). You put words & pictures together so well. My mum has often asked me how did I become so imersed in blogging & then one day I showed her you blog post on that hungarian trunk & it moved her to tears & she then said ‘Now I know’!.
Your tatty beach cottage is gorgeous but even more gorgeous are the souls that live within it’s walls.
You offer inspiration to people who have not much money & for those that do, you show them that it’s not the dollar cost that matters but the sheer delight simplicity brings.
Here’s Cheers my friend for another great year of blogging!
Sarah
Hi Sarah
I am another one who loves your blog, it is always inspiring to see what you come up with next! Keep doing what you love and we’ll keep reading about it! As for the advertising, to be honest when I read through my blogs, I never notice it so it wouldn’t bother me one way or the other.
Happy New Year
Cheers
Judy
hello Sarah … I think blogging is the cheapest, most complete form of therapy one could ever hope for
I love to read and be read, I love the conversation and connections and I love knowing there are women like me who want to make the effort to share and learn from each other. I also adore the non judgmental side of blogging and the world wide nature of it …
My best to you for 2010 and as you know we cherish your efforts, best le
ps tell me about the white stone pile in the RH front of this pic ta le
Your blog is one of my favorites to visit. I love your writing voice and your photos and your style. Here’s to another lovely year at the Beach Cottage! Cheers!
Sarah, I love your blog because it’s authentically you. I’m glad it gave you a lump in your throat – it means that you were true to whatever drove you to blog to begin with (whether you knew what that whatever was or not).
It happens to be great fun that there are so many of us who can relate to what you like and what you are doing. We come along for the ride and you don’t forget that we are here… but you still “sound” like you are writing for you and we happen to be your lucky friends who get to listen to your thoughts.
Happy New Year!
Ah, Sarah….your blog continues to be one of my very favorite. No matter WHY you do it. Just keep doing it~
Happy New Year~
Carol
This post is so sweet and it’s why I blog too. Hoping you had a great ringing in of the new year! I am still dragging from having way too much fun at the flea market yesterday! I’m looking forward to reading many more of your lovely posts this year!
Cheers stylish beach cottage lady!
xo Mary Jo
Sweet post…I love blogging, too.
Advertise if you like…altho it’s not for me, I see nothing wrong with it.
Have a happy and wonderful week…
Hi Sarah,
Your blog is the first one I came across while surfing the net one day last year, and you have become my inspiration for starting my own blog and in how I decorate my home, I love the beachy feel,stylish and yet casual and relaxed which is how I want my home to feel, not just for my family but to others as well.
Thank you for inspiring me
Lee
That curtain is too cute! Your teenager must be proud(in a teenager sort of way when his friends aren’t around) to have help you with this ingenious solution for the curtain rod! I read the old post and loved and agreed with your sentiment about not spending $40 in a yucky store. I think bargains are the reward we deserve for shopping at yucky stores, don’t you?
Although this sounds a little silly as I am typing it, I feel like I know you and have made a new friend because I read your blog daily.
I think it is really nice to be able to look back and reflect on the year that was. Having a blog is like having a diary with pictures… except all our virtual friends are reading our diary as well – LOL. I’m glad you blog Sarah. Thank you for letting us share in your renovation and sea change journey.
Hugs ~ Kerryanne
I started my blog because I wanted “friends” like you. Blogging has opened up my horizons considerably, “talking” to people in other countries and learning new ways to do something has made my life more interesting and more meaningful. I enjoy seeing what you do with very little money, and lots of white paint. I too have a bit of money and lots of paint. I am really glad that you blog, you have added another dimension to my life. Hugs, Cindy S.
everyone loves your blog so we are thrilled you do it!! with or without ads. but the best part is that it is something so meaningful for you, (which is how it is so powerful to us). not to mention the content is the bomb! LOVE YOU! jkj
Happy New Year!
I must confess I am a ‘newy’ to the virtual world. I have dipped my toe in and now want to jump in!! I found you by accident a few months ago and now I check in 3-5 times a week!
I love the way you write, your pictures, your ethos and I guess I can relate to a lot of what you write. Its also my escapism
Please continue…perhaps you can help those less talented on how to blog?!? how do you come up with your ideas, your projects, etc?!?
lol, M x
Hello sweet Sarah – Happy New Year! I too am so glad you blog. Over the last year I have really enjoyed stopping by for visits to see what all you’re up to. I’ve been inspired many times by the things you repurpose. I look forward to see what you’ve managed to find laying on the side of the road, taken home and made over into something beautiful.
I love your $4 curtain treatment above the door! So pretty and such a nice touch.
Blessings,
Marie
I can well understand the query as to why we blog sometimes.
I am so inspired by people out there and I love the window into people’s lives. I am often motivated to do something more here as a result.
It’s posts just like these that makes us ALL happy you blog. Cheers to you in 2010 !
I stop by every day and not one day do I regret it. I know I don’t comment a lot, but I truly get inspiration from you and your blog! So here’s wishing you the best in 2010 from all of us at Lookiloos.
?much love desiree
Dear Sarah Happy New Year to you too.I found your blog this past fall and have checked in every day since. Thank you for coming into my home each day and sharing your cottage,ideas and your love of white with me. I will continue to follow you into 2010 and beyond…watching you transform your finds with white paint.
From my little bungalow to your little cottage…safe travels and all the best in the new year.