Cottage in the woods

My son recently bought a

weekend home in the 

country

(just outside Canton, Texas)

It's the perfect place for his friends

and family to gather for a little relaxation

It's called

SHADY PINES

As you enter the farm gate and

take the winding road through the woods it
will lead you to the main country house

(that's another blog post)

.......however if you continue down the 

winding dirt road on the ten acre property
you'll come to a charming guest cottage

My daughter, granddaughter, 
and myself have fallen in love
with the cottage and have claimed it 
our special getaway place
(oh and perhaps we'll let other guest stay there too)
So my sweet son has given
us the privilege (and budget)
of furnishing and decorating 
this darling place

We're doing a shabby chic makeover

and this past weekend hubby and I

started the process

(just call us Chip and Joanna

from HGTV fixer upper)

Here's what it looked like when we started

an old table with a radio on top

a pretty teal couch son ordered

and daughter donated a table and chairs

AND HERE'S WHAT IT LOOKED LIKE
WHEN WE FINISHED

The chairs and couch were new purchases

but most everything else was 

re-cycled, re-purposed, and re-designed 

a small corner in the living area

(there is NO TV, but a great old fashioned radio)

The kitchen is at the back of the main room

we decided a tray in the kitchen

to cover your wine and coffee needs

was a must!!

and did I mention that the property came

with a large pot-belly pig named

"PORK CHOP"

so in his honor I did a little pig 
collection over the kitchen sink 

and now before and after pics

of the bedrooms......

Before -Bedroom #One

After

I painted the turquoise table white
and it's now across from the twin beds

Before -Bedroom # Two

After

Wall across from bed

The screened porch will be so fun to shabby up!
(a few rocking chairs and a table and chairs for outside dining)

Daughter and I will continue the 
makeover process over the summer

Until then........

Every Little Birdie says

Stayed tuned for more news
on Pork Chop and Shady Pines

Road trip......

2017 is going to be a year of travel for 

Hubby and I

We have many trips planned

some big, some small

We started off with a road trip

to west Texas

Our first destination 

MARATHON, TEXAS

We stayed at the historic Gage Hotel

in the beautiful courtyard area

We had an amazing dinner at the 12 Gage Restaurant

Marathon was once a thriving stagecoach town.  These days people only come here for one thing....

The Gage Hotel

Good thing it's so fabulous!!

   

Next morning we hit the road 

soaking up more of the beautiful scenery on our way

to Fort Davis

We stopped in Marfa for lunch

Next stop the Limpia Hotel in Ft. Davis
(Can you spot hubby relaxing?)

Our room was so elegant

Such a charming hotel

Next we took a drive in the Davis Mountains

and visited the McDonald Observatory

McDonald Observatory

Morning came and we were ready 
to head down into BIG BEND!

We picked up FM 170 and drove the River Road
which runs along the Rio Grande
It's said to be one of the most scenic drives in the Country

Starting in Presidio, where we took a wrong turn
and almost headed into Mexico!!

We quickly took a U-turn and began our beautiful tour

Then on to Lajitas
where we stopped for lunch at the beautiful golf resort

Continuing our drive we passed through the small town of  Terlingua (Chili Cook off capital)

  We eventually came to the check in station 
and entered Big Bend National Park

No, this is not a postcard, I actually captured this amazing picture with my I-phone!

Destination - Chisos Mountain Lodge

The lodge sit's in the basin of the Chisos Mountains which are the only mountain range totally contained within a National Park

The altitude here reaches above 7,000 feet in some areas

Views from the Lodge

View from our lodge room balcony

Century plant 

The "Window" is a spectacular view from the Lodge

and stunning at sunset

The following day we took a guided tour

and learned so much more about this amazing area

of Texas

Our border
Texas this side of the river
Mexico in the back ground

Santa Elena Canyon

Santa Elena is the most spectacular canyon in the national park, 
formed as the Rio Grande cuts through the 1,200 foot cliffs of Sierra Ponce

We hiked down to the floor of the canyon

Watch for bears!
We did!....... and we saw three bears while hiking in the
area of our lodge!!

Remains of a primitive home in the park 

My favorite desert plant
the ocotillo grows along the Rio Grande

Our guide told us this plant knows when it's going to rain.
Before the rain it will grow tiny leaves along it's spiny canes
to capture the moisture.
When the rain stops it will drop it's leaves until the next rain.


I fell in love with the beautiful plant life in the desert

Agave in bloom

Can you see the pink tint on this cacti

Blooms of the giant dagger yucca
with Casa Grande in the background

Cholla with it's rosy blossoms

As a 6th generation Texan I have a special love and take pride in this great state.  I've traveled over most of it and always thought the hill country was my favorite......that's until I discovered west Texas.

The mountains and the incredible desert with it's varied Eco System have truly captured my heart!

So with a full but somewhat heavy heart 

we made our way out of Big Bend National Park 

and headed to our last stop on our travels

ALPINE

We stayed at the grand, historic hotel- the Holland

Alpine is a quirky little artsy town

We visited the Museum of Big Bend

at Sul Ross State University

What a great place to learn even more about this unique area

Our last evening we had dinner at the Reata Resturant

 just a short walk from our hotel

It was the perfect ending to our road trip to west Texas

Hubby and I love to travel and we will add this adventure

to the memories we've made over 43 years of marriage !

All together we traveled 1,500 + miles on this trip

and loved every moment of it.

Every Little Birdie says

Good bye west Texas and onto our next trip-
...the beach at Rockport, Texas
with my children and granddaughter 
(missing one grand but will see him middle of June
at his graduation from boot camp at Ft. Sill, OK)