Tag: #outdoorliving

Cheers to Summer

“To see the Summer Sky
Is Poetry, though never in a Book it lie –
True Poems flee.”
Emily Dickinson

It sure is hard to say good bye to summer. Business wise, it was one of our best. We truly enjoy our guests, and even though it is our busiest time of the year, we do manage to pack in lots of Berkshire Activities. Our favorite hobby is patio life. A special way to end the day! Candles lit, table set, wine poured, perhaps an evening chiminea to set the tone, Ahhh…. connecting with my favororite people!

I think in order to be an innkeeping couple you have to share a love of of all things home. Tending to our guests, home and garden gives us immense feelings of joy.

One of my morning rituals is to go out and count my morning glories. Hot tea in hand, I walk about the garden and explore what the morning garden offers. Morning glories like cool nights, and the September gardens benefit the most!

The Morning Glories are climbing the roof!

The Morning glory which blooms for an hour differs not at heart from the giant pine, which lives for a thousand years. ~ Allen W. Watts

“Summer should get a speeding ticket.”

Unknown

Herbs and vegetables straight from the garden. Flavorful omlettes and frittata’s ~ what a great way to start the day!

I love prepping for breakfast. Jeff and I have the routine pretty much perfected after 18 years!!

Suddenly, we realize that the summer clock is ticking! It’s time for someone else to tend to the garden, and do the dishes!

“Every person needs to take one day away. A day in which one consciously separates the past from the future. Jobs, family, employers, and friends can exist one day without any one of us, and if our egos permit us to confess, they could exist eternally in our absence. Each person deserves a day away in which no problems are confronted, no solutions searched for. Each of us needs to withdraw from the cares which will not withdraw from us.”

~Maya Angelou

The one thing the Berkshires are missing is the beach!

I don’t mind being a tourist at all, and a gawker. I just walk around.

~ Ann Robinson

I love to check out other peoples gardens and houses!

“How lucky am I to have something that makes saying goodbye so hard.” winnie the pooh

Thank you for comming by my blog today. Come back soon!

#cottageliving #crabtreecottagegarden #enchantedcottage #morningglories #outdoorliving #theberkshires #windowboxes janismonachinadesigns

Creative & Fun Spring Projects at Crabtree

Cozy

: small, comfortable, and warm

: friendly and pleasant

: suggesting or showing a closeness between two people, groups, businesses, etc. : very close

I remember when I first started my B&B, eighteen years ago, searching for a word to describe my B&B. The word cozy kept coming up. I learned in the advertising world that cozy was not a good B&B description. It was overused and too cutesy for some people. Well, there really isn’t a better word, in my humble opinion, to describe my B&B. Yes, this is a gray shingled home, with a picket fence and a cottage garden, some might say cottage-y and even cutesy, but I think the feeling that people feel here is cozy! Come along, I’ll show you how we have been cozying up around here.

THE MASTER’S CHAMBER REVEAL!

Start where you are. Use what you have. Do what you can. Arthur Ashe

It all started with Jeff replacing the tiled ceiling, adding new crown molding and painting the rooom. Then came the new carpet. A shopping trip to Pine Cone Hill, Pottery Barn, Lamps Plus, Country Curtains, Home Goods and our even our own home and…. Tada!

At first I had some white chairs in this space. When my father saw the new room he said it just wasn’t cozy. Imagine that! So in moved the chairs destined for somewhere else in the house! Viola ~ cozy, cozy, cozy. This newer, slightly modern look I was seeking, needed more color. He was spot on!

For the moment these are the only pictures I have of the new Master’s Chamber. It is very difficult to take pictures of rooms without a professional for lighting and wide angles. I have that next project on my list.

Next, came another project for Jeff, the deck. The deck had been such a dissapointment from the get go. The ceder that year had many issues with rotting. Our deck was very close to the ground, held too much moisture and I had chosen a solid stain. Every year it took major sanding, board replacing and painting. Well…. Jeff solved that problem!

Tada!!

The very best part of this low maintenance, gray stained cement patio with its composit railing system is…………

This garden gate!! The railing system didn’t come with an acceptable gate. Pure ugly. Well, that wasn’t going to work.

Creativity is intelligence having fun. Albert Einstein

I remembered going to the Norman Rockwell Museum a few years ago and seeing a hand crafted and artsy gate display on the lawn. It was a vague memory for both of us, but it was very inspiring and whimsical. I wanted Jeff to make one for me at the time, but no gates were needed. The idea was in storage, somewhere deep down it was waiting to be created. We of course needed a fun theme ~ a garden theme! This is what Jeff created!

Are you catching onto one of the themes of this blog yet? Pop over to my facebook page and see who won the Crabtree Employee of the Year!!!

After a long and very cold winter we couldn’t wait to get our pool going. Ugh. This year the lining was in very bad shape. Ought oh! We have realized we are already on borrowed time with this liner. Eighteen years old, and every year we wonder as the cover comes off… with this be that year? Not with Jeff around. Out came the hair drying and lots of muscle! Fixed! Notice his little assistant, Max offering his input.

Next came the new fence. Another story of wood that was eighteen years old!

As you can see lots of Spring projects are completed and we are looking quite fresh around here in our cozy cottage.

Here are some spring scenes from the garden.

These next garden photo’s are from my neighbors Sandy’s house. She has a very English style garden that always inspires me.

Respond to every call that excites your spirit. Rumi

Thank you for coming by my blog today.

#crabtreecottagegarden #homerenovation #outdoorliving janismonachinadesigns keenanconstruction

Spring Projects & Updates

“Spring is the time of plans and projects.” – Leo Tolstoy, Ann Karenina

Max says, “please stop winter now!” I have promised him no matter what we are not going to put on his coat or his booties again, until next winter. I hope the weather will cooperate because there isn’t a more disappointed face than when Max has to sport his booties!

We have so many exciting spring projects ahead of us. We can’t wait until our summer guests arrive to see all of the makeovers we have done! Soon after the holidays we undertook our living room! It had been on the list for the last few winters, but it was such a daunting task that we always seemed to avoid it. The “look” was begining to feel very dated, and we finally had enough!

~ Living Room Before ~

After ~ Herb Garden Green ~ Viola!

Max loves this spot!

I almost repainted the living room the same color because of these labor intensive booksheves. We had a painter paint the living room, but we tackeled the shelves ourselves! We had a limited window of opportunity for the painter and had to juggle weekend guests without disrupting our entire house with all of these books and nicknacks! We took the opportunity to clean, sort and downsize our chachki collections! We are loving the simplicity and freshness so much. We have decided to wait before we hang any pictures.

I think upolstering this loveseat made my livingroom complete. It sometimes costs more to upholster furniture than buy new, but I would have never found a piece with this much character or personality in any funiture shop. It was worth the investment to us to re-do such a unique piece. Personality Plus ~ that’s what it says!

Now the stained glass piece stands out more which was an unexpected bonus because of the green. This piece belonged to Saint George’s Church right here on Franklin St. It was removed to make a handicap accessible ramp. One Sunday afternoon there was an auction in the park and Jeff was the highest bidder! What we were going to do with this gem was not the question – Jeff wanted it and that was that! When asked what he was going to do with it he responded, “I’m sure I’ll find something.” Within a minute of arriving home, he knew that this doorway would be the perfect place. Without a moments hesitation he was measuring, and to his surprise it fit perfectly. He only had to box it in. It is always a topic of conversation as to where it came from. We fell in love with the colors, especially the blue. It seams more artful than religious to us, and we also respect it’s historical character.

Now of course we had to include the hall with our living room plan. Here it is before ~ Gold

After! This time we used Forest Hills Green. A bit brighter incoporating the room, but keeping it seperate too. Will anyone notice? Probably not, but I happen to be obsessed/passionate about color, and it makes me happy!

Now onto The Master’s Chamber! This room has also been on that list. Dated and ready for a makeover ~ here we go! Before ~

~ During ~ Jeff has a full schedule with his own work, plus this on his time off. I think he may win employee of the year award again! I think a man with a tool belt on is one of the most impressive sights, don’t you?

Rugs are scheduled to be installed soon, so the clock is ticking! Jeff will also be re-tiling the bathroom floor. We will have a facebook reveal and blog when we finish. It is very exciting because this is the most extensive of all the makeovers. I am so excited to share this with my repeat guests. I do hesitate to share it on my blog because I hate to take away the surprise when they arrive to their room remodeled. Some of my repeats have already booked for summer so maybe they won’t see this post.

Setting goals is the first step in turning the inisible into the visible. – Tony Robbins

This work has to be done before the real spring arrives! There are garden projects waiting in the wings too! When we finish up inside, we have lots of outside plans too! Maybe by then the iceburgs will have melted and we can get down to business!

We have a deck to rip off, and a patio to create to replace it! Here it is all lovely looking in the summer. Beneth it lurks the not so lovely rotted wood. Another job for dear old Jeff! Here is the before in the summer.

A rotting fence to replace too! This photo doesn’t show the peeling rotted wood of today!

It was such a pleasure to sink one’s hands into the warm earth, to feel at one’s fingertips the possibilities of the new season.” – Kate Morton, The Forgotten Garden

Of course, we have been eating well. During March I served these scones to our guests. Instead of Irish Soda Bread, Irish Soda Bread Scones. Pop over to my facebook page and get the recipe. Simple, delicous and very Irish!

I also have a couple of other surprises up my sleeve to share with my repeat guests, or perhaps intrique a future guest who might happen upon my blog.

Thank you for coming by my blog today.

#colorbenjaminmoore #custombookshelves #jeffkeenan #outdoorliving Crabtree Cottage Renovations home and garden janismonachinadesigns keenanconstruction

Janis Monachina

Tag: #outdoorliving

Cheers to Summer

Creative & Fun Spring Projects at Crabtree

Spring Projects & Updates

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