A week or so ago I ended up at the Urgent Care in town because, as it turned out, I had several tiny chips of wood in my right eye. I felt kind of ridiculous. "Hello doctor, it would seem there is something in my eye." "Sorry lady, but we've got actual sick people here to attend to!" After applying a numbing agent to my eye (that was really weird) he was able to retrieve the little buggers - mostly. I left there with eye drops and an admonition to wear safety goggles when cutting wood and sanding. A few...

Whenever I head into Michael's, I'm sorely tempted by those wooden crates that are stacked neatly at the door - usually on sale. They're even on the shelf at Home Depot now. I love them because they remind me of old fruit crates, minus the labels, that were a charmingly retro piece when I was younger. The trouble is, they look way too pristine as is with their spotless blond wood to have much character. They're just kind of boring, you know? Since Pinterest always has great ideas for how to make new look old and beautiful I did some perusing...

Look at this photo. Isn't it just stunning? This lovely table is absolutely beautiful in such a graceful and exquisite way. Piano keys sweetly nestled just below the crystal clear overlay.  I spotted this on one of my favorite blogs Repurposed for Life - lot's of great upcycling ideas to be found there. However, since I'm on a bit of a table trot these days I came across it and just fell in melodious love. Instructions on building this beauty can be found here: Lovely Piano Table. Somebody make one - please - and send me pics. It might inspire me to...

We're all a little (or a lot) different. And being distinctly unique, we all like something that is personal to our own taste. For instance, some like cream in their coffee, some like it black. But it's still coffee. And as my mother used to say "if everybody liked the same thing, there wouldn't be enough to go around."  Sage advice for most situations wouldn't you say? And because I always listened to my mother (that she was aware of anyway) I like to apply it here at Cottage Northwest as well. Any sign we produce can most definitely be custom...