Meet the Competition

Last night, I revealed to you that The Yankee has a new love.

And I thought you might just be interested in a few

of the nitty-gritty details.

But...

in order to fully understand how this pair came to be,

you'll have to travel back in time with me—

to the beginning of this little tale.

Some time ago, darling daughter called to inform me that she had a very special 

surprise for me.  Knowing that I had wanted a Yorkshire Terrier

 since my high school days, she had eagerly accepted the offer to adopt the

six-year-old little ball of fur shown above...

just for me.

However, as it happened, the week that she made this commitment was the

very week I had committed to keep my then-two-year-old granddaughter—

her daughter—for five days.

Needless to say, a frightened little pooch being thrust into a strange environment,

coupled with the boundless energy of a rambunctious two-year-old,

is anything but an ideal situation.

There was only one solution! 

I spent five days keeping  precious granddaughter

occupied, while The Yankee spent that entire time pretty much holding

and consoling the pitiful three and a half pound pooch. 

So...

who do you think my dog bonded with?

From that point on, the two of them have been inseparable.

Whether it's hiking around the woods of our farm, napping on the sofa,

or snacking in the kitchen...

where you find one, you are sure to spot the other.

And where does that leave me?

Replaced...

 by the most adorable, teeny, toy Yorkie!

Meet Mozart—my competition!   ; )

I've Been Replaced!

There is absolutely no denying it. 

The Yankee has a new love!

After all these years...

I now have some real competition for his affections!

He tells me there is nothing to be concerned about...

and that I will always be number one in his life.

But I see the look of mutual adoration in their eyes!

It appears I might just have to learn how to play second fiddle.

I guess it's a good thing I'm musically inclined!   ; )

Happy, Happy Birthday to the Yankee!

Happy 59th, Sweetheart!



Fourteen Days of Love - Day 14 - Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing

 

Happy Valentine's Day!

There may be one or a hundred and one loves in your life. But this day, Valentine's Day, should be dedicated to that special someone who can make your heart sing!

I'm a person who loves easily. By that I mean, caring for and about people seems to come naturally for me. 

And those I love, I love deeply.

I am blessed with two wonderful parents, four very special sisters and their husbands and children, two terrific children of my own, and one super, incredibly cute granddaughter…all of whom I love dearly!

 But the person who can make my heart sing with the greatest passion is my Yankee sweetheart!

Yet, you've most likely realized, from my previous posts, that he and I are two distinctly different personalities, with unique and sometimes ofttimes opposing takes on life.

In many ways, we are the clichéd "odd couple."

image source: www.dvdactive.com/

No…not that odd couple.

We actually more closely resemble the couples portrayed in these magazine ads.

Over the years, the Yankee has summed up who we are as a couple with some very familiar metaphors, and I'll just let you guess whose who in these images.  ; )

Leather & Lace

Fire & Ice

image source: www.ua.com

Oil & Water

image source: AllPosters.com

OK, so you get the idea.

In essence, what I'm attempting to communicate to you is how different the Yankee and I are. Yet, even with all our differences, it works. 

Or should I say we work at it?!

Any relationship takes effort, but a relationship such as ours takes even greater effort...

and commitment. 

That's what we have...a lifetime commitment.

Though there are at times points of disagreement between us, there is one thing the Yankee and I totally agree upon.

There is no one either of us would want to share our lives with more than one another! 

Our love truly is a many-splendored thing!

Now for today's final addition to this week's giveaway—and the finale for the Fourteen Days of Love—this sweet little frame. 

There couldn't be a prettier way to decorate your home than with a photo of that special loved one tucked inside!

Reminder:  Please be sure to publish your

Valentine's post, before you link to the party. And

don't forget to mention the Brambleberry Cottage

in your post.

Remember to leave a comment to be entered in this

week's drawing for the giveaway!

It is so hard to believe, but we've actually made it through fourteen consecutive posts!

Please be sure to link any posts for days 8-14 by 12:01 a.m. PST, February 15th.

Mr. Linky will be closing sometime after that.

1. http://ckaspardlov.blogspot.com/2009/02/why-i-love-him-so-much.html 2. Donna 3. Marilyn

4. Jenn Raley 5. lululiz

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Fourteen Days of Love - Day 1 - How do I love thee?

We demonstrate our love every day to the special people in our lives.

But, there are certain days set aside during the year—such as birthdays, anniversaries, Valentine's Day—when we can exhibit our love and devotion in unique and fun ways—

ways that make that particular day stand out when compared to the other 364.

Each year, I spend the weeks leading up to Valentine's Day trying to choose an unusual, fun way to express my heart to my beloved Yankee.

Shall I share a few of those past gestures of my affections with you?

Let me take you back to the very beginning—before he and I were even married. 

Remember those fun paper chains we used to make when we were kids?

One particular year, I made a very special, rather long chain—100 links—for the Yankee.

What made it special? On the inside of each paper link, I hand wrote a specific reason why I love him.

Each day—for the ninety-nine days leading up to that special one—he tore off a link and read my sentiment. 

I had taken those ninety-nine expressions of my heart and shuffled them in a basket,

drawing at random to make the chain.

Even I didn't know which one he would be reading

on which day—except for the last link, which I had purposely chosen to be read on the final day.

Each morning, he would read my words of love and then call me to let me know which one he had opened that day.

It was a fun way to share our hearts long distance for one hundred days!

Photo Credit: Doreen Frost of Vermont Harvest Folk Art

The Yankee attended a small Bible college for a few years—in the early years of our marriage.

During that time, I only saw him on weekends.

One of those years, I paid him a surprise visit at school on Valentine's Day.

www.balloonmoments.co.uk/

I had purchased a bouquet of red Mylar heart balloons—one for every year we had been married.

After drafting one of the Yankee's fellow students into service to deliver the balloons, I hid to watch his reaction. 

To make this an even more memorable occasion, I waited until the entire faculty and student body was assembled in the cafeteria for lunch for the bouquet to be delivered to him.

Being a predominantly male student body, the noise level of that large cafeteria during lunchtime was usually quite intense.

But, when the Yankee's schoolmate entered the room with those balloons, you could hear a pin drop. 

All eyes watched intently as that shiny bouquet was delivered to its intended recipient—my sweetheart.

That occasion was so memorable that it was the talk around campus for weeks—among students and faculty!  ; )

They say the way to a man's heart is through his stomach.

That couldn't be more true for my guy.  He especially likes gourmet items—all the more, if they're sweet. 

Over the years, I have found wonderful specialty treats—at incredibly low prices—at stores like T.J. Maxx, Marshalls, and Ross…

and, conveniently enough, there is usually a very large selection of these items that goes on clearance right after Christmas.

On more than one occasion, I've gathered an assortment of gourmet goodies and placed them in a decorative basket as a surprise for my Yankee.

And guess who gets to keep the pretty basket? ; )

My honey has quite a sweet tooth—especially for dark chocolate.

Thankfully, discount stores—like those I mentioned above—provide a wonderful variety of quality sweets.

 You can choose to buy those packaged for Valentine's Day, or be frugal—like me—and purchase from the clearance section. 

The Yankee has received quite an assortment of dark chocolates over the years. And…he has even shared them with me!

Could that be why the gift of chocolates has been duplicated a few times?!

 

I'll share one final fun Valentine's gift idea with you.

Have you ever used conversation hearts as miniature love notes?

One year, I bought a bag of the larger hearts and strategically placed them throughout the house and car, for the Yankee to find. 

I matched the saying with the location where it was placed.

Throughout the day, he would find those tiny messages and be reminded of my love.

Just one note of caution here: count the hearts and make a list of where you leave them.

Otherwise, there may be a very sticky surprise in your future!

Now…can you say Chocolate Mint Bliss?

Today I will be adding a delicious bag of Ghirardelli chocolates to the giveaway assortment.

So…what are the special ways you show your love on Valentine's Day?

Reminder:  Please be sure to publish your

Valentine's post, before you link to the party. And
don't forget to mention the Brambleberry Cottage
in your post.  

Don't forget to leave a comment 
to be entered in this week's drawing for the giveaway!

1. bj 2. Jenn Raley 3. Donna 4. Meghan

5. Marilyn 6. Ann-Tin and Sparkle 7. Tammy- Chocolate 8. anat

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Meet The Yankee

When I shared with hubby that I was
contemplating periodically adding posts of our family life,
he was concerned that people might find that type of post boring. 

He reminded me that one of the major themes I had decided to cover in this blog
was the blending of two entirely different decorating styles.
And...did I really want to confuse the issue with too much information?
 
That was a brief conversation we shared just before he left for work—
one I pondered throughout the day.

Image Souce: Incandescent light bulb (no labels).svg; YassineMrabet

Then a light bulb went off in this Southern noggin of mine. 

Hey...wait a minute! 
Women will make up the majority of the readers of this blog...and WE LIKE DETAILS!

Since The Yankee is a major player in this whole decorating challenge
here at the cottage, I'm giving him the honor of being the first to be introduced to you all.

I know, I know.  Real Southerners are suppose to say y'all, right?

He's a very hands-on kinda guy and can do

just about anything with respect to a home. 

I tell people all the time,

"He can build a house from the ground up

and design and construct all the cabinetry and furniture needed to fill it!" 

This is a bathroom cabinet he built

from scratch for our old house. 

I had found an inspiration picture in a

decorating magazine and asked if he would build it for me—

when we remodeled that particular bathroom.

Of course, I had my own ideas about some of the alterations

that were necessary to make the design EXACTLY what I wanted.  After all,

the style of the cabinet had to be just so in order to complement

all the other elements I had chosen for that room.

So, as I showed him the picture, I asked in the sweetest voice I could muster—that's

 a Southern thing—"Honey, instead of the door and

drawer trim shown in the picture, would you make it like that

(pointing to an old cabinet outside his workshop)?"

"And would you mind making it a bit longer? 

Oh, and I would really like it to be constructed of solid maple...

with a warmer colored stain."

The end result...TOTAL PERFECTION!

When we remodeled the kitchen of that same house,

I desperately wanted an island—something there had

not been room for prior to the remodeling. 

We discussed the features I most desired: 

drawers that pulled out from both sides, open shelving on both ends, black paint

with a distressed finish, and the feature I desired most...

a checkered top.

Bless his heart!  He painted every single square

 of that top individually—just for me! 

Thanks again, Honey!

XOXOXO

Now would you mind indulging me a bit further,

as I brag on him a little more?

This is a piece he designed and built for the den of our old house. 

I'm using it here at the cottage—temporarily—until he can find the time

to finish building our kitchen cabinets.

  Umm, exactly how much longer will that be, Dear?!!

And he also made this cute little bench—with a top constructed

from one-hundred-year-old barn wood and old cut nails.

By now, I'm sure it has become obvious that that home
was decorated in a country primitive style—which suited
The Yankee's New England tastes quite well.

Now let's move on to the style that I prefer
and some of the projects we've worked on since moving to the cottage, several years ago.

 

We pulled some old beaded boards out of a Victorian house in our little town—one

being torn down to make room for a parking lot. We repurposed the boards

 for lots of projects like these cute storage boxes.

Hmm...

Are you up for a tease?  Good!  The next four images are actually only partial images.
 I will share these pretties in their entirety in future posts.

Sorry!  You'll just have to come back!



This transformation started out with an antique vanity
from the 1920s or 30s—well past its prime.

With The Yankee's ingenuity,

it was given new life. 

Hint:  What once was one, now two has become.

The Victorian beauty below was in much need of a face-lift,

though she still had wonderful curves in all the right places. 

The Yankee performed his magic to give her

a more youthful appearance—

while maintaining the character that time had graced her with.

And you won't believe the incredible

 transformation of this tired old buffet from the 30s. 

Many would have given it its last rights and put it to rest on the spot—

but not The Yankee. 

He lives for this type of challenge!

You can get the full scoop on this particular piece on Monday—

when I link to a few other bloggers' hosted events. 

I told you you were in for a tease!

Hopefully, by this point, you've begun to recognize the challenges I face,

while attempting to blend our two distinctly different decorating styles—

my "ABOUT ME" gives a few other clues.  

Now, please don't let the introductory photo of my Yankee sweetheart fool you

 into thinking he's a softy.  He is very much a man's man!

You know the type...

loves fishing, camping out in freezing temperatures—

outfitted with nothing more than extreme-cold gear—enjoys hunting...

Need proof?

That's him standing in one of the fields of our little farm...

holding two Canebrake rattlesnakes that made the fatal mistake

of venturing a tad to close to the cottage.

I have to admit, at times like those,

I REALLY appreciate our differences!!!   ; )