The Victorian Chicken House

There are some new residents at Hickory Hollow.

11 in all...
10 chickens
and one stray dog
(more about Maggie later)
for now let's talk CHICKENS!!!
Are you ready to see the Victorian chicken house?
She is now ready for the tour!

Doug and Tyler made 10 nesting boxes for the ladies.
I painted them with some left over paint from my bedroom.
That $4 a roll Waverly wallpaper sure is cute!


Remember these little bird needle point pictures?
They look right at home in the cozy hen house above a little wicker shelf.
I am going to keep my eye out for some cute chicken knick knacks.


You couldn't very well have a chicken house without a place to roost could ya?
Doug made this cute little roost out of the handles of broken rakes.


Cute little Mason Jar vintage feeder.


These are our young ladies...believed to be Rhode Island Reds.
The couple that gave them to us, said they may be Bantams, they were free!
These chicks were hatched at our little preschool. They aren't laying quite yet.

They are the sweetest things, they love to be around us.
Probably because they were handled a lot as chicks.
~*~
We do have some hens that are laying,
but they just simply refused to have their picture taken.
They have a slight problem...
called feather loss.
We bought them from the local farmer, where everyone gets their hens from. I called late one evening and they told us to drive on out and get them, it was about 9:30. He plopped them in the pet taxies and sent us on our way. When we got home and got them out, we were stunned! They are they shabbiest, most pitiful lookin' chickens you have ever laid eyes on. Maybe they are molting, I don't know. What I do know is they have already given us 5 beautiful brown eggs.
Hopefully, they will get some new feathers!

See the little egg basket in the corner?
It was Grandma B.'s.

So was this little white enamel chamber pot.


It is now filled with lemon balm and begonias

My little temporary herb garden, garlic chives, oregano, French tarragon, and sage

I purchased this little door knocker years ago!
I had been waiting for the perfect place to put it.
~*~
So what do you think?
So many of you have been anxiously awaiting this transformation from run down play house to Victorian hen house. It really was a lot of fun. I have been teased relentlessly by the locals for wallpapering my hen house, they think I have way too much time on my hands.
You know what I told them...
it is all about priorities!
Ha Ha!!!
~*~
Next time...
Maggies story!
~Jill~

Thrift Store Decor I Adore!

Some days are good days at the local thrift store, some days not so much.
For the past couple of weeks I have had my eye on a couple of items, would put them in my cart, and then take them back out again. Over the weekend, after my visit to Nell Hill's I kicked myself for not buying these things I had found.
~*~
Today the thrift store was open and I was on my way.
I burst through the door,
fingers crossed that my goodies would still be there.
They were still there, thank goodness
and then I found even more treasures...

This antique mirror has been in and out of my cart a half a dozen times in the last month. It was only $1, but it is VERY aged. So over the weekend, I began thinking about this mirror, and how neat it was that it was aged and cracked. It is stamped on the back with a date, June 1919. I adore this mirror!

The next item on my list was a little side chair, spotted last week.
It was $10. I was in a bit of a panic to get back and get this chair.

It wasn't where it was the week before and I thought it had sold,
and then I saw that they had moved it.
I had also had this throw bolster pillow in the cart numerous times and put it back, it was a whopping $1 also.

Some new goodies I found today was this Chinese"ish" dish with lid. I think the colors work so well with my house! It reminds me of Nell Hill style! it was $3.50

How about this gorgeous stone pillar candle holder.
Love it...it was $3!

Boy that sure was fun! Like I said, sometimes you find goodies, sometimes you don't. I was really lucky too, that the things I had found earlier hadn't sold!
~*~
Coming soon...
The chicken house is finished!
But I am not sure if I want to turn it over to the chickens!
I am now thinking I want it to be a potting shed or an English Garden Folly.
I also have some great pictures of Nell Hill's the Store to share!
~Jill~

Nell Hill's Open House ~ Part One

Can you guess where I went on Friday? Can you guess who I met?
Oh my Heavens above, it is me and Mary Carol Garrity author, decorator most fantastic and owner of Nell Hill's!
~*~
It was a summer open house at Nell Hill's and her private home this Friday. Mom, Lindsey and I drove 2 1/2 hours to go visit.

We stopped in at the store first, and then boarded a huge air conditioned tour bus that drove us to her home.
Let me tell you, I was so excited
when I spotted her standing at the top of the stairs to welcome us in.
~*~
Mary Carol, is one super sweet gracious gal.
So warm and welcoming, an absolute doll!
Would you like to see a little bit of what I saw?
~*~
~ Part One ~
A Tour of Mary Carol Garrity's home

Isn't this just beautiful.
I love the columns and the urns full of ferns.


Her beautiful front door.
Do you remember this from her books?
I love the topiaries in the black urns.
(I'm going to paint mine black, too!)
The wire birdcage that decorates the door was for sale in her shops!

To the left of the front door was this beautiful outdoor seating area.
The wicker was painted a dark turquoise and the iron chairs and table were black.
The urn has ivy planted in it and white taper candles.
See the stone riser, they were everywhere, and were for sale in the store for only $14.
Of course, I had to have one of those!

How exquisite are these windows?
You can never have too many moldings can you!

In the foyer, to the left was this little seating nook.
She has used shutters instead of blinds on most of her windows.
Look where she placed this mirror, it is in between two windows!

This is the pretty scene you see when you first walk in the front door.
If you have her books, then you have definitely seen this before.
She has prints everywhere!

This is the living room, and you will probably recognize those butterflies and bookshelves.
She tucks little tables almost anywhere.

The dining room.
The topiaries are in little french pots that were for sale in the store.
Lots of layers and lots of green moss and silver. She elevates everything on pedestals.

The screened in back porch.
You have seen this beautiful painted piece of furniture many times in her books.
See the topiary in the white vase, I bought one just like it!

Another corner of the back porch. Isn't it lovely?

Outdoor refreshment area.
What a beautiful way to ice your beverages.
Gorgeous hanging baskets of ivy and candle chandeliers.

Stepping down from the back porch was the hidden dining room area.
Most of these items were for sale in the shop. Doesn't this just make you want to have a garden party?

An outdoor seating area.
Love the balustrade with the ivy and clematis clambering over it.
An urn with ivy on a little black table.

Walking down the garden path, back to the front of the house.

Getting ready to walk past the garden gate.
I think we all need one of these in the garden.

This was the first stepping stone as you would enter the garden from the front.
How whimsical!
~*~
Hope you enjoyed these pictures.
I sure had fun taking them to share with you.
I have even more to share next week of the store.
Now I am off to wallpaper the chicken coop.
How's that for a tempting ending so you will return for a visit!
~Jill~