Fashion Icon: Burberry Trench Coat

As Hillcrest Cottage accomplishes the daunting task of de-cluttering, I thought it would be interesting to share some of the awesome items I will be "sharing" with who's ever dead Presidents speak the loudest to me. As I have written previously, too much of my emotions are attached to physical objects. Letting go is difficult.

But... with my eyes fixed resolutely upon the acquisition of a new bicycle, I forge ahead with the task at hand.

This Spring fashion season is full of trench coats. Riding this fashion wave, I predict that, come Fall, if you don't have a trench, then... well... just stay at home.

And... in the world of trench coats, everyone knows there is but one name:

Burberry of London.

Take a look at this awesome fashion statement. It also comes with a button-off wool lining for cold weather.

Adorable dog not included.

Burberry is so much more than a coat... it's a lifestyle. When out-and-about in a Burberry, it is always double the fun!

Look at the fantastically awesome antique wood crate purchased yesterday at my neighborhood Hillcrest Junk Company (click here to see). I attached it to the rear of my grocery- store- run Purple Cruiser. Until my new one arrives, this bike will have to suffice.

This beautiful model looks classically stunning in the timeless Burberry sporting the button-on wool collar.

Wow.

London has come to Hillcrest Cottage.

Clutter

Cleaning out my art studio was a good thing...

a very good thing.

Look at this nice, tidy bookshelf!

But... cleaning out my art studio led to the hallway

which led to my bedroom which led to my bathroom which took me back to the hallway...

and re-cluttered my art studio.

Help! There is no where to which I can shuffle the clutter.

I am stuck until I clean out my basement, garage, and attic.

Wow.

Why I am enslaved to clutter brings out all the quirkiness in me. And, since I am such a do-it-yourself type person, I had to analyze myself:

1. I fear I will throw out something I will want or need later... to use in life or as a creative project.

2. I have emotional attachments to physical objects. I feel like I am throwing away my childhood, my children's childhoods... or worse... my grandmother.

"Oh," asks Myself, " the same grandmother who hated clutter and was famous for throwing out everything she no longer needed?"

"Yes, " I replied to myself, " the same one who threw out all my mother's dolls without consulting her and who gave the yard man the really awesome antique train set with which I loved playing?"

"Yep. That's the one," Me added.

3. "Mom, you hold onto the past too much," observed wise college son.

Okay... so, I my fears of the future make me I hold too tightly to the past.

4. I am the obligatory family historian and curator. I can not remove myself from this role lest the family history should die.

6. I could sell this stuff and make some money.

Concluding my session with Me, Myself, and I, it came down to this question:

Does the daily "real" benefit of de-cluttering OUTWEIGH the things which "might" be done with the clutter?

YES!!!

But, it is still not easy to let go.

Here's the re-cluttered art studio... except, now I am preparing for a sale mid-April:

Hillcrest Cottage's Art & Oddities (Really... cool... stuff).

Will I really do something with these t-shirts?

Harry Potter fans... Do you recognize this?

A piece of art which I just framed and it looks great! It will be a part of the upcoming show along with a Boy Scout hat from the 1920's, a turquoise-colored metal oar, and whatever else I discover in my effort to de-clutter Hillcrest Cottage.

And... I did re-purpose some things I have been planning on re-purposing like this incredible needle-pointed rose (needle-pointed by my grandmother).

Love it!

It will be a very happy edition to someone's home.

P.S. When I sell the needle-pointed rose I will NOT be selling my grandmother with it...

I am sharing her.

Hillcrest Cottage Etsy Shop Newbies

Quick look at some new Etsy Shop arrivals....

Lots of refrigerator magnets, and here are two designs:






LOVE! LOVE! LOVE! New Knapsack Designs:




French-Inspired Quilted Fabric... Small and Cute:


This is wool but is so soft to the touch:


Feels like a pair of your favorite jeans... wait... it is!


This design is available in several flea market frames:


Gearing up for another show in April... new things should be appearing with regularity at:

( Click here:) HillcrestCottage.Etsy.Com

Hillcrest Cottage Snow & Golden Thievery

Here's an equation for you: My "Global Warming Celebration" bike ride in sunny 75 degrees + one week later arrival of the heaviest snow we have had in years = "Welcome to Arkansas".

No Birds Bathing Today!

Hillcrest Cottage Garden

Yesterday, my confinement celebration included pairing clean socks which had been overflowing from the 'unmatched sock box' for... uhhhh... several months. It's a good feeling to know all of Hillcrest Cottage's sock partners have been reunited!

Today's work-out will include a very enthusiastic vacuuming... then a walk in the snow. It's beautiful and sunny, and Mac is tagged to be the "favored dog" who will accompany me.

Mac the Labradoodle and Beautiful Lucy the Doodle-less love snow more than anything. The ice clings to Mac's curly fur, turning her into an ice ball. Lucy romps wildly, loving it when I sweep lots of snow into her face.

With Lucy it is always "the wilder the better."

The Golden Retriever book I had borrowed from the library stated that " If Goldens were people, they would be kleptomaniacs."

So true.

Gloves and socks are a temptation to great for Lucy to resist.

Example of Lucy's Hand-i-Work

Last evening Lucy ate several fingers of a blue glove.

Lucy's Late -Night Blue Glove Fun

I will leave you with the following image and all the possibilities that Hillcrest Cottage can anticipate.

Snowbound Lucy Plotting Her Next Theft