Oh Yes, I DID Put My Desk In A Closet!

Hi Chickies... Yes, as usual, I'm a day late and a dollar short.





I'm joining Sherry @ No Minimalist Here for her Open House Party.... which started YESTERDAY.


Every time I see Sherry's blog title it reminds me of my home, we don't/can't use the word minimal here.... TINY and packed to the brim....and I make EVERY inch count.


As I've said before.... We live in a planned community and when we built our home there were some choices we could make but many requests were met with "I'm sorry, that is NOT an option"... Oh, how I HATED those words.


But, I was able to add all the plugs, cable outlets, etc. in a closet so I could make it my desk area in my den.


I showed you the finished den HERE..... This little "office" is on the other side of the room.


*Click on any photo to enlarge.*

And, I have this little area packed to the BRIM!

I tried and tried to get a really good shot of this little spot.... but, the room is so tiny I had a hard time getting the whole thing in one picture. I just couldn't far enough away from it. :-)




I actually built this whole little spot myself.....except for the file cabinets.... and I showed you the little desk chair slipcover HERE. What a difference a dropcloth can make. :-)



Oh my yes.... everything is within easy reach. Who says I need a huge desk area? Well, I'd really love to have one, but I'll just do with what we have here..... and be happy with it, right?

There is actually one more shelf above these two.... it has a row of baskets just like the others all lined up and, of course, they are FULL!

I bought a set of file cabinets at Penneys and had the paint mixed, for everything else, to match exactly. I LOVED it. Then, the drawers started drooping.... nothing worse than droopy drawers....and they wouldn't open right, so I bought these @ Pottery Barn. They're so much nicer, but I liked the way the other two snugged up perfectly together. And, these were a different shade of white which meant re-painting everything. Dang it.

Since the curtains for this room were dupioni silk I bought silk to cover the little French bulletin board on the back wall. It's packed full.....NO MINIMALIST HERE! I like having all those lovely pictures around me...and I spend a LOT of time here.......peeking at what other bloggy chickies are up to.


I forgot to turn it on, but I have a little light up under the bottom shelf....and hid the wire behind the bulletin board.

I think this area's about five feet across.... Man, can I stick a LOT of stuff in five feet of space!

So there you have it... The HOME OFFICE... :-) It just cracks me up how cluttered it looks.... but this is real life at the Cottage!



Wish the pictures had been better.....


Have a wonderful day dear girlies. And, don't let the lack of space hold you back!


Too much is never enough.... That's MY motto!



Huggies and Lovies too,


Spencer


xoxox


Also a day late to Savvy Southern Style's Meme... Faded Charm's White Wednesday and We Did It Wednesday .. Is it true?.... Better Late Than Never?

Desktop Or Laptop??

Hi Chickies!


Oh how I LOVE a desk.... I swear, I'd have one in every room if I had the space.


I need space to file all of those important papers.... Speaking of which.... Where the heck does all that stuff come from? It's a full-time job staying on top of the paperwork here at the cottage. :-)

And, it's nearly time to take all our paperwork to the accountant for 2010. YUK.


I have a desktop and my Hubbs has a laptop.... Who knew that we'd both need our own computers? It's just too hard to share, I think....and I need lots of room to spread out and DEC.OR.ATE. :-)


I spend lots of time doing really important things, like blogging.....and the Hubbs spends lots of time doing all those unimportant things like paperwork for the business.... :-)

So............ if you're searching for a great desk for yourveryownself..... pop on over to the CSN office furniture store to see computer desks for home or office!


Don't you just love this one?


Not only can you keep all those papers sorted, but also have space to display some lovelies... That would make that nasty paperwork job so much happier, wouldn't it?

I actually have a built-in desk here at the Cottage........but I'd love this one! Look at all of those drawers... Oh how organized I could be.




It's that time of year, isn't it? Time to sort and clean........oh and do some organizing too.


It's nearly S.P.R.I.N.G......and I know Bloggyville is getting really excited about that.


Have a great day sweeties!



Don't forget to sign up for my giveaway.....


Huggies and Lovies too!


xoxoxoxo


Spence

You Could Call It Cottage Style Estate Sale Heaven!

I've shown all of you little chickies pix from this great estate sale proprietress before, but these are just too yummy not to let you have a peek........Just look at all of these little lovelies! And, to top it off, this gal has wonderful prices. It's quite a long way from where I live and in a busy little
town. Parking is often an issue and, as I've said......that's just not an option for my anymore..(hills, steps........not so good)....so I won't be at this one.

Darn it.

I'll console myself by remembering that my "back stock cupboard" is overflowing and wouldn't hold another item, no matter how happy it would make me to have it! :-)

One of these days I'll share a shot of that 'lil cupboard.

Whew.......not so good.

My sweet Mum actually had a desk EXACTLY like this one. It was cherry, not painted, but the style was identical.

Wouldn't this be the cutest thing painted that lovely very pale Robin's Egg blue? YUM!!

My dear Mum had it filled with teacups. I think about sixteen sets with pretty plates behind them. How very English! It was my grandpa's. My Mum had it everywhere she lived and to me it just said "Mum".... :-)

I would zip right over to this table to buy that lovely pink lacy plate. Isn't it just toooo delish???

And, just look at all those teacups! So, the desk AND all the
teacups to fill it? PERFECT!!! Meant to BE!!

Look at that precious little chocolate pot. I think it's one of the prettiest ones I've ever seen. I see the sugar bowl, but no creamer,but who cares? And, that Robin's Egg blue plate? YUMMMMY! And, look at the candlesticks! Aren't those little cuties?

You can click on any picture if you'd like.....bigger shots?? You know you will! :-)

Well, darn it....I had a picture of the most beautiful quilt but just deleted it. I still can't figure out how to add another picture without it going on top? How the heck do you do that?

I'm still learning all this techie stuff!


This is a Becky Metala sale.....if you're close to Kirkland, Washington you may want to check it out! I think I'll still be sleeping... ;-)

Thanks, chickies for coming by!

I love your visits!

Hugs and blessings,
Spencer

Show and Tell Friday. A New Bargain For Bellamere Cottage!

I have looked for a chair for this little desk for a zillion years, without success.

I had a VERY early appointment on Wednesday and got finished much faster than I anticipated........well, DANG......what am I going to do with 1/2 hour until my next stop? Hmmmmmmmmm............well, will 'ya just look at that nice little 'ol Value Village over there????????

I was looking at two adorable little kitchen chairs for SEVEN dollars each and trying to figure out if there was anywhere in my little cottage where I could possible stick them in..........when...........I spotted this little find. The desk is rather low, so finding a chair that sits low enough was the problem.

$19.99??????? REALLY. It WILL be mine! Now it's going to have a beauty make-over. I'll strip the paint off the legs and make it a slipcover. Oh, how I love a slipcover. I've made quite a few of them now. It's amazing how easily they change the look. I looked for fabric yesterday with no luck, so I'll be on a quest to find the perfect thing.

What a great price! I'd much rather buy a used piece that I can re-do myself than buying something brand new. Sometimes, though, you need to look for quite awhile before the perfect piece presents itself. We just bought the new chair for the den, but we rarely buy brand new pieces. Had I been able to find something old to slipcover I'd have been much happier........and would have had much more moolah!



Now, don't forget to go see all the other great girls on Show and Tell Friday!

Thank you so much, Kelli for hosting! I'd add her little button, but I'm a miserable failure at techie stuff and mess it up every time.

www.kellishouse.blogspot.com




Have a wonderful day and do come back tomorrow. I actually will be here for my first Pink Saturday!


Blessings!
Spencer

PS.........you can click on any photo for a bigger shot! :-)

Now THIS Is A FAB.U.LOUS Find!! I HEART The Goodwill

Who would think you could actually find a perfectly perfect little secretary at the GOODWILL??

Well.............



This is the little, bitty secretary we found at the Goodwill for TWENTY-ONE dollars! It is so adorable. It's only about four feet high and very shallow.

My daughter and I decided we needed a bit of a thrifty adventure so we headed into Seattle to check out the big stores there.

I spotted this little beauty from afar and thought of all the places I could use it here in the little cottage.

I called my girl over to peek and she instantly gave me the "OH Mommy....you wouldn't buy that when I NEED it, would you" look.........that will suck the energy out of any Momma's heart.

So, naturally we loaded it up and it went to her house.............I was going to buy a fabulous, vintage chair for my front porch, but it wouldn't fit in my truck with the secretary as well.........I can find a chair anytime, right???.............I STILL can't say "no" to my girl.



Hope you had a wonderful Friday and wishing you a terrific weekend.......



Warmly, Spencer

Well, isn't this disappointing news..........Illuminations (that fabulous candle store) is going out of business. That is just too sad. Their Stargazer Lily candle is my very favorite. It's PINK AND it smells yummy. They're having great sales, so if you're in need of a candle supply, now is the time to stock up. Good News/Bad News! :-(

My daughter (Dodi.........that's like DOE DI...........not Dotty....).......and I went to the cemetery the other day to see my Mum's flowers. My dad is buried right next to her...........there were ten dice on his headstone? How strange is that? I cannot figure out who would have put them there and why?? My Mum's headstone is there now too. It makes it seem real now. I still have a flash about twenty times a day when I think "I'm going to go call my Mum"........I miss her so much.

The BIG antique show is this weekend. Dodi and I are going. Who knows what cute little trinket I may find? I LOVE the THRILL OF THE HUNT.......that's why I love thrifting so much. You just never know what fabulous things you may find. Often when we go I'll zip past a booth, just perusing, my daughter going in behind me.........she ALWAYS comes out waving some wonderful find! Oh.......that is soooooooooo frustrating. We have the same taste and collect nearly the same things so it's always a quest to see who can get to the Good Stuff first! A couple of weeks ago we were at the Goodwill........I was buying this darling large wicker chair for my porch and when we went to the back area to pay for it was the MOST adorable little English oak secretary desk. It has a bow top and is ever so tiny. Well, my house is tiny.........tiny desk.............It will be mine! YIPPEEEE........And there stands my darling daughter who earlier that day had lost $150..........I felt so sad for her.........."yes, my dear daughter.......you can have the desk".........in perfect condition.......so darling.........and here's the best part.............TWENTY ONE DOLLARS! How can that be? I'll get a snap of it soon and post the little cutie. And, that meant that I couldn't get the wicker chair because I couldn't fit both of them in my car.........darn it!

Today I'll finish cleaning. I'm going to go see my little grandson this evening. He's having trouble with another boy at school. He told his mom the other day that 'Joe' was his Nemesis! He's EIGHT! Too darn smart.

Hope you have a wonderful day. I'm going to enjoy my cleaning......ok, so I'm not going to enjoy the process, but I'll enjoy the finished product!

Warm Blessings.....
Spencer