A Little Southern Beach Cottage...

...would be a lot fun right about now... a tall icy drink, palm trees swaying in the breeze, the screened-in sleeping porch, laughter and dogs barking in the distance... these are the things of the endless summers of my childhood. Although our cottage wasn't quite this adorable, it was the real thing... wooden cottage on stilts set back in the dunes in the palmettos at Indian Pass Beach on the Gulf Coast, with a wooden walkway leading to the front screened porch. With the sun hot overhead, as children we were not allowed outside between 10 am and 3 pm, so my four brothers and I played endless games of monopoly and cards, built forts and put on plays and art shows.

Those summer vacations are now more a state of mind than anything else. Wanna come play?

colorful vintage beach pails

pale seafoam breadboard walls trimmed in

white are the quintessential beach look

simple shelves made from found beach wood

cooling blues and whites among the mossy beach oaks

Fifi Flowers painted this very cottage; you can

buy this at her etsy shop here!

painted floor screened porch with colorful rattan furniture

is charming; the porch ceiling is painted blue to scare

away the spirits... of course!

the adorable cottage above is

one of the Mermaid Cottages on

Tybee Island, Georgia, near
Savannah where my dear
cousin Claire lives and

my mother was born

halfway between

Saint Vincent Island

and Cape San Blas

lies Indian Pass Beach

where we spent long

summer vacations

the incomparable white powdery sand of my

childhood summers on the Gulf Coast

St. George Island

***

Thanks for visiting!..... Kit

Celebrate Independence Your Way {Très Americaine!}

yes, you can make this double-layered American Flag Quilt yourself!

I have been (irrationally) in love with Alabama Chanin for years (irrational because the clothing is un peu trop ingenue for moi, and I'm not a needle and thread type!). Natalie Chanin originally hooked me with her one-off chandeliers crafted from found wood, wire, feathers, stones, bones; and her charming chair seat covers, tablecloths, for the elegant, rustic handmade touch for the home. Uniquely designed and handmade at her atelier in Florence, Alabama from natural cottons, linens, dyes and materials, her things are definitely in the "you won't see this anywhere else" category!

I'm thinking these DIY flowers could be perfect for the

fall farm dinner I am designing

fabric you ink yourself then make into a little summer dress!

(pickles not included!)

Now she has created a series of DIY projects of the most unique, touchingly hand made, sweet and rustic-chic kind. I'm not one for mail-order kits, but these are quite another story!

Celebrate your independence from buying readymade, and get over to Alabama Chanin DIY for these fabulous sewing, stenciling and beading projects...many are perfect for the home, some are great for simple skirts and scarves, and all will help you spend some old fashioned productive time as the summer days lengthen long into evening. You won't have to do these by candlelight!

Then brag to us here...or put your creations on etsy! I can guarantee a visit to Alabama Chanin will leave you inspired, and maybe even inspire a daughter or son to put down the iPad/iPhone/iPod for a few precious minutes and take that first handmade stitch towards creating something with their own two hands! La route d'independence!

medallion boudoir pillow with backstitch reverse applique

spiral applique and beaded camisole dress

bandana kit comes painted, stenciled and ready to sew;

do you know someone going through chemo who might adore this?

sampler quilt comes stenciled and ready to sew

I love this rooster and rose tablecloth...would someone just make

that one for me, please?

***

Alabama Chanin

BOOKS

just above are some fabulous books you can find at

Alabama Chanin's online store, or Amazon

HAPPY FOURTH OF JULY!

Midsummer in the Forest

She had always wanted a home of her own, a sweet sanctuary she could furnish with lovingly chosen things that didn't cost the earth. She wanted to create a small visual feast just for herself and to have things exactly how she wanted. So she found an old hunting cabin deep in the forest and transformed it into her little haven:

once a neglected old hunting hut, now

transformed with Victoriana and white paint

she made every square inch count, from the

bookshelves under the eaves to the

wire-front cupboards

a downy sleeping loft under the rafters

the simplest of arrangements: foliage from the

forest tucked into clear glass containers of all kinds

those raspberry colored mud boots could not be

more charming on the little front porch

see the enchanting story of how she used salvaged, found

things to create her tiny Victorian cottage in the Catskills on

a shoestring..it's a fascinating story!

The New York Times

perhaps a midsummer's celebration

in the forest? what shall we

choose for dessert?

apricot ice cream with

nut crust?

violette cassis ice cream?

petits choux?

berry meringue tarts with mint?

rhubarb sables with strawberries

and orange?

recipes here at Marie Claire Maison

(in French, you'll have to get

Bardot in Blue to translate them, she just finished school

in Paris last month!!)