Welcome!

[Hillary Black]

Thank you for coming over to our house to see what we've done with the place! We hope you will make new friends, share helpful tips, hear great stories and see inspiring homes. In this tough economy, let's help each other with new ideas -- or share the old tried-and-true ones. The CB Community Board is for you.

For those new to Cottages & Bungalows, the magazine premiered in October 2006. Thanks to overwhelming response, CB quickly became a bi-monthly publication. It features many of the same topics as you'll find on this board.

Cottages & Bungalows is available on newsstands, nationwide and in Canada, bi-monthly and by subscription. Retailers include: Target, WalMart, Lowe's, Barnes & Noble, Borders Books, select grocery and drugstore chains and direct dealers. Visit www.cottagesandbungalowsmag.com for more information.

Thanks for stopping by -- come visit often!

Live well,

Hillary Black
Editor, Cottages & Bungalows


P.S. You may like to visit CB's sister magazines' sites:
www.romantichomes.com and www.victorianhomesmag.com

[Breezy]

Hey hey - I made it in ta da!!! Been reading the Dec/Jan issue and it's really good. Soooo glad this site is up and that we have a great cottage/bungalow magazine to look forward to!:)

[Nikki]

Hi! I was sent over from the Cottage Living forum, which unfortunately is being shut down. This looks like a great forum, and I look forward to chatting with everyone!

I just bought a 1916 craftsman bungalow which I will be fully renovating in order to move in by spring. I currently live in a small 1927 cottage that we have been renovating for the past 5 years.

[Lynzee]

Hi Everyone!

It is so great to be here! :D I, too, came from the Cottage Living forum. Thank you so much for inviting us. I am looking forward to chatting with everyone.

:)
Lynzee

[RoseMary]

I made it! I tried earler today, then I saw on CL where several of you had finally registered, so I came back to try. Maybe we are home!!

R~Mary

[Evelyn]

Hello Everyone!!!

I too am from Cottage Living. I finally was able to register. I am looking forward to getting to know the C&B folks and I also hope to see all the wonderful people from CL here!!!!

Evelyn

[Hillary Black]

Hooray! Thanks for everyone's patience. And a big thanks to Clev (CB's IT guy) and to marvelous Meryl who are checking in on this holiday weekend to make sure we are up and running.

I can already see how much fun this is going to be. Plus you all have so many great ideas.

I'm glad you are enjoying the December issue, too. Yesterday, I was in Von's getting a few items we still needed and I checked the newsstand (I can't help it -- it's a habit now.) There was a woman reading CB! So we chatted and realized how many interests we share -- antiquing, appreciating old homes, etc. I hope she joins us here -- I told her that we had gotten this going. It made my day -- meeting her in person and knowing I might get to meet visitors here, too. Thanks for making this board so interesting!

Enjoy the weekend everyone.

[Lisa S]

Hi everyone! I'm excited to be here too. I think this will be a nice new home for all of us Cottage Living gals.

Hillary, I thumbed through the magazine at Safeway today. It looks beautiful. I didn't want to buy it in case this is the issue that you're sending, but I can tell you, I'm hooked already!

[Whidbey5]

Another poster from Cottage Living, glad to find my way here! I'll look for the magazine while out and about tomorrow.

Thank you for starting this up!

Shelley

[Meryl Schoenbaum]

Welcome to all our wonderful new friends! :)

We're enjoying every minute of getting to know you through your postings. The way you have embraced our forum and made it come alive in its first few days has been so exciting for all of us involved.

Our door is always open, so please come visit often!

Many thanks,
"Mod" Meryl
Managing editor, Cottages & Bungalows

[Zuzu's Garden]

I'm here too (but must hurry to get ready for work)!

Thank you so much, Hillary, for inviting us over. I look forward to spending many happy hours here. It is so exciting to be able to stay connected with old friends from CL, and to be able to make new friends with those who love everything cottage.

There is so much to talk about!

Have a great day everyone!
:)
Zuzu

[RoseMary]

Hi Zu! Glad you made it over. We keep trying to leave messages about where we've gone over on the old forum, but spammers are taking over:mad:.

[Evelyn]

Zuzu.....I happy that you are here!!1

Evelyn

[Breezy]

Hiya Zuzu - glad to see you made it:)

[Lisa S]

Hey Zu! Glad you're here. Now where the heck is Memmey?

[rubyslippers]

Hello everyone,

I'm thrilled to be able to post over here. I am truly sad about the Cottage Living forum closing; however, as I glance around and see the proverbial climbing roses and Enblish ivy trailing over the trellis to the Cottages & Bungalows site ... well, I am very happy. I would like to thank the staff of Cottages & Bungalows for taking the initiative to launch this site with such enthusiasm.

Anyway, I am in the process of buying a small cottage. I believe it may actually be a bungalow. Many of us have spent a lot of time definining what is "cottage"; however, I'm not completely sure what actually defines a "bungalow" - - for example, I know terms like "Craftsman" "Victorian" - - I can picture that perfectly. So, it looks like we all have a new angle to examine.

I'll see all of you around our new fireplace later.

Bye!

[rubyslippers]

Hey Lisa, Do you remember mentioning the fact that Memmey was going to be away for Thanksgiving weekend?! We'll find her early in the week. I'm still worried about CheapDiva. She has been quiet for awhile. I'm also worried about Deb. Let's proactively keep trying to find people in the coming days. By the way, it is a relief to see so many "names" I recognize.

Bye again ...

[Breezy]

Hi Rubyslippers - nice to see ya:)

[Lisa S]

I remembered that Mem was gone for the weekend while I was raking leaves. Stuff re-enters the brain at strange times!

I'm worried about our Deb and Diva too. I hope they find us here.

I just reconfigured my thread settings and I feel 100% at home here. Thanks Cottages and Bungalows! I'm off to get a subscription right now.

[Breezy]

Just wanted to say thank you to Hillary, Meryl, Tim and anyone else involved for setting up this forum.

[rubyslippers]

Hey guys ... I keep bopping over to find out who else found us. There is a chance I have a few snail-mail addresses of some of our buddies left over from old swaps. I'll check my saved PM's on the old board. I am still learning some of the new features over here; however, one of the things I would love to be able to do is "copy and paste" pictures into posts.

I am perfectly happy with the attachment options to upload my own home pictures as well as the galleries; however, if I am just showing someone an example of an architectural salvage fireplace, I traditionally like to just plop the picture in the post. I don't really plan on "keeping" that picture because it may be to help someone else decorate.

Just a wish list thing - - if anyone else has that figured out, feel free to let me know.

Also, let's be good about telling everyone if we "changed names" - - like I didn't know who Nikki "was" - - now I do, but you get what I mean. I want to make sure we welcome any and all newcomers if that makes sense.

[memmey]

I'm here!!!! This is gonna be great. We have found a home:D
Now I have to subscribe to the magazine. I can't wait.

[Evelyn]

Memmy,

Good to see you here!

Evelyn

[RoseMary]

Big waves to memmey! So glad you've made it over:)!

[Breezy]

Hey Memmy - ya made it!:)

[Lisa S]

Hello, my friend!

[chyna]

I'm here! Good lord I just keep chasing you all over the internet. :p I've decided that I'm not going to bother with Cooking Light. But I'm also over at Country Living. this one is looking like the winner though. :) And I may just subscribe for the magazine too. We'll see.

[memmey]

Whu who the stinker is here!!!!!NOW we are in business:p

WHAT CAN WE PAINT!!!!

[RoseMary]

Glad to see you, Chyna!

I'm so glad to see more and more of us over here. I do have Deb's snail mail addy, but not her email. I'll send her a card in a day or two if she doesn't show up. What about Cheapdiva?

[Lisa S]

Hi Chyna! It's looking more and more like home.

[Breezy]

Hi Chyna!:)

[Lynzee]

Hi Everyone!

It is so great to see so many familiar names here and to see the new names coming aboard! I think this is definitely the place for us!

:D

Lynz

[SusiesQs]

Hi all!

Memmey sent me a message saying everyone was here now. I'm glad to see you all here :)

Susie

[memmey]

Hey Susie!!! Things are getting better and better. Susie your blog is beautiful. I love looking at the gorgeous photos. Yea!!Susies here!:D:D

[Lynzee]

Hi Susie! Glad you're here! :D

[chyna]

I believe I have Cheapdiva's snail mail addy from when I was supposed to send seeds. Which I still owe her. :o I'm still on the pink kitchen idea gang in case anyone is willing to bite. ;)

[SusiesQs]

HI Memmey! HI Lynzee, Tanya and Lisa~

Thanks a bunch Memmey! I don't have allot of time to post on my blog, but I try! How is the work out coming along? I am starting mine today...we'll see how that goes...

I am so excited. I learned how to knit and crochet recently and I am a crocheting fiend right now! I have made 3 scarves- one for myself and the other 2 as Christmas gifts. I am making 85% of my gifts this year. I am also making birdhouses as gifts and artwork- mainly plant and bird prints. I'll try to post pics of the scarves later on on here since I can't put them on my blog since my sister and mil read my blog.

We have not picked up a tree yet. If we do it will be very small. We're really really trying to stay within a budget this year -- :o so frustrating!

Hope everyone is doing well!

Susie

[Breezy]

Nice to see ya Susie:)

[Lisa S]

Hi Miss Suzie! Glad you're here too.

[RoseMary]

Hi Susie:)!

[rubyslippers]

Well this just feels like a big reunion over here now doesn't it? Hi everyone.

I am still looking for Deb, CheapDiva, and Gigi - - I checked my old PM box and I do not have CheapDiva's snail mail. So, Tanya, please double check. I'll rifle through some cards I have ... I may have tucked something away from a swap with her information.

Anyway, it is really nice to see everyone. I like visiting Cooking Light; however, the site is HUGE ... and you all never really came over in droves ... so, it makes me happy to see all of you here.

Bye all!

[memmey]

I have Diva and Deb's address and we can go get GiGi at her blog site. I'll go post her right now. I can find Maria and Deb somehwere here.

[memmey]

I emailed Cheapdiva, Thriftshop ( Jenn) and GiGi. I hope they find us. Now where is Deb???

[memmey]

Where are they? Greenoak, Chapter Two, Wannbehomemaker and hey where is LadyBug. Didn't she get a new home and it wasn't cottage style. She should come back we don't care if it is not cottage.

[Gigi]

Hi everyone! This looks like a wonderful forum to visit~ and I see some familar names (dear friends from CL) too!

I'm from the East- we have a country home & home on the water along the Eastern shore- this new home we would LOVE to turn into a cottage-right now it's a sweet little brick rambler yelling to be "cottagized"....

Looking forward to getting to know everyone and hearing their stories.

[RoseMary]

Hi Gigi!

I think wannabehomemaker is registered over at cooking light. I'll see if I can PM her over there.

I hope ladybug finds us!

[Evelyn]

Hi to Chyna-Gigi-SuzieQ!!

Chyna....I think the pink kitchen would be fabulous.

Evelyn

[Breezy]

Hi Gigi - nice to see ya!:)

[Jennie Nash]

Thanks for the invitation to check out your new forums. They're very fun! I will come back and visit often :)

BTW, an advanced reading copy of my *new* novel will be winging its way to you shortly. It's not about a quirky old house like The Last Beach Bungalow was, but it's about living a creative life, which may appeal to your readers.

Cheers,
Jennie Nash

[RoseMary]

Hi Jennie. Your new novels sounds like something a lot of us would enjoy!

[Lynzee]

Hi Jennie. Welcome.

Your novel sounds interesting!

[Breezy]

Hi Jennie - nice to meet you:)

[chyna]

I found CheapDiva's email address by sheer accident so emailed her to. I suspect Deb is still out in the woods clearing brush or whatever else they get her out there doing and just hasn't checked in lately. Hopefully we can catch her before CL goes down!

[rubyslippers]

I am looking for a certain type of Christmas tree to put in my new cottage. She knows trees inside out - - uggh - - where is she! Anyway, Tanya, did I see that you had her information? Anyway, HELLO ALL ... it has been a long week, but just clicking through this Welcome thread has made me so darn happy. Seriously, I am just ecstatic to see everyone.

Funny, I used to take our little crowd for granted before ... I know we'll make new friends as this site grows, but right now, I'm just ecstatic by the familiar names. I was wondering about Ladybug as well ... isn't she in school ... she has been away awhile.

Anyway, let me tell you all about the kind of tree I am searching for this year. I want a "real" Christmas tree; however, I will "cut-it" if that makes sense. Anyway, I am looking for the kind of tree with lots of spaces between the branches. They are in most of the pictures from when my Dad was growing up, but I can't find one. They aren't Charlie-Brown scraggly little things. They are nice and stately, but they give you room to hange the ornaments. Inquiring minds want to know!

Every best wish to all, and to all a good night.

Bye.

[Lisa S]

Hi Jennie ~ good to meet you. Your book sounds intriguing. When will it be out?

Miss Ruby ~ are you thinking of a Noble Fir? We buy two trees; one is a Noble to display my old fashioned ornaments. I love them because they have some space between the branches. Google a Noble Fir image and you'll be able to tell if that's the tree you want.

[Gigi]

I can tell this forum is going to be a wonderful place to visit and meet new friends.

I see some old friends from CL and all of them are so warm and friendly. It will be a wonderful "family" to belong to.;)

[rubyslippers]

Hello Lisa,

I googled Noble Firs, I also looked at Cannaan (sp?) & Bracted Balsam Trees ... I nerdily investigated and entire Christmas tree forestry site. I believe some Noble Firs look EXACTLY like what I am looking for ... so, I think you hit the nail-on-the-head. Howevever, they appear to be "at home" in your neck-of-the-woods. I imagine there are tree farms specializing in shipping things to your home; however, that may be a little more $$$ than I wanted to spend this Christmas. Thanks for the rapid feedback. I am thrilled you could picture what I was talking about.

Thanks, as always ...

Rubyslippers

[Lisa S]

I love that phrase in A Christmas Story when the guy at the tree lot says "Dems Balsams" when responding to the mom saying "Are those the trees that drop all their needles?".

I wish I could send you a tree from here. Good luck!

[memmey]

I got a email from Maria( diva) and she has gotten a new job and is really busy now but she is coming here soon. I want her to get to tell about her job and not ruin the surprize but she got an interesting one. I would love to have it.
She's is coming she said and said sweet things about us.
I miss her dead on wit :p

[WannaBHomemaker]

Looks like we CL gals have found our new home! Thanks Hillary and "Mod" Meryl for your invitaiton and welcomes! I'm looking forward to continue keeping in touch with everyone here!

[Breezy]

Hi WannaB - nice to see you:)

[WannaBHomemaker]

Hello to you to Linn! Merry Christmas!

[memmey]

WanB yea !!! Good to see you. Isn't this great. :)

[Lynzee]

Hi WannaB! Glad you are here!

[RachelB]

First thing, thank you, Hillary, for being on the ball and getting this message board up so quickly! It seems to be very easy to navigate.

Second, I came here from Cottage Living. I had never been on the boards before and was just looking for more information about the magazine's demise, but when I saw what a caring group of people were there and they were also heartbroken about the magazine, I thought to myself, "Hey, this looks like the kind of community I would like to be involved in!"

I don't currently have a subscription to C&B, but I have looked through them at my dad's house and I seem to remember a series of articles about Storybook Cottages. I think that they even told about some that you could rent and stay the night in. I will have to go grab a copy at Target to catch up on what they are doing at C&B.

What I liked about Cottage Living magazine was something that they quoted several times "life just right". That is the kind of lifestyle that I subscribe to. Not too much, or too little, but just right. Like Goldilocks, I want that perfect balance of beauty and cozyness and relationships and food and all the things that make a house a home and that make life worth living.

I look forward to hanging out here and getting to share with this new community!

[Lynzee]

Hi Rachel!

I am from a rural community in the Heart of Dixie.

Welcome! :)

[cheapdiva]

TA DA!!! Here I am! Couldn't let all my CL friends be here without me! Can't wait to spend some time here and get to know you all!

cheapdiva aka Maria

[RoseMary]

Hi Maria!!! So glad you are finally here:D!

[Lisa S]

'Bout time honey! I'm glad you're here.

[memmey]

FINALLY!!!!!! Ok spill the beans. How is the new job??How was Christmas? How is your family? Catch us up please:D:D

[Breezy]

Hey Maria ~ nice to see you again! :)

[Lynzee]

Hi Maria! Glad you made it!

[flomarie]

Hi Everyone,

I am new to the board, so I am not sure how it works. It is really nice to meet everyone. I just love c&b. It is a great magazine.
Flomarie

[Lisa S]

Welcome FloMarie. You'll find visiting here is like falling off a log. But more fun.

[Breezy]

Hi Flomarie - nice to meet you!:)

[RoseMary]

Welcome Flomarie! Jump right in and tell us about yourself:)

[Gigi]

This certainly does look like not only a wonderful place to visit, but to meet new friends with some interesting a wonderful insights of the world of cottages & bungalows...


Looking forward to meeting everyone.

[cheapdiva]

ooohhh it is SO good to be here!! I just did my last post at CL - kinda like closing the door for the last time in a house you lived in for years and have sold. Very sad.
BUT - thank goodness we have found a new home and have each other. I miss you all terribly! My resolution for 2009 is to honor my friendships by working harder at them. It is so easy to let life take over and not remember to find time to keep in touch with people important in our lives. To all of my CL buds (you know who you are!) and to the new friends we'll meet here - I promise to stay in touch.

Mem - I sent you an email yesterday but will get you all caught up here. I started a new job in November as the general manager for two art museums that are in historic homes in Milwaukee, WI. It has been a very hectic two months, but in a great way. The job is wonderful and I am busy, busy, busy. I have been putting in long hours and finishing up with some private clients (formerly owned a business management company and promised a couple of clients to finish up 2008 for them). Many days in November and Decemer I put in 14 hours. Just finished up financials for one client today - that leaves just one more.

My holidays were wonderful and hope all of you had great holidays. Since selling our home 4+ years ago to my daughter and her family, she has hosted the holidays. All 4 kids and significant others were there. My two youngest sons lost their jobs the end of November but seem to be okay. We stopped exchanging gifts two years ago and adopt a family instead. Good thing, because Tom and Patrick (the younger two) can't afford to exchange gifts. And really, that's okay. Every year we all realize just how lucky we are to have such a big, wonderful family. Kids, grandkids and extended familly. It's just terrific to be surrounded by everyone.

Okay, I need to go figure out who is here and check this site out. I am thrilled to have found you all!!

And a special thanks to C&B for giving us a new home! You'll find the ladies from CL offer great ideas, suggestions, compassion and caring for their "buds" and appreciate any magazine that offers us a place to call "home". THANKS!!

[Lynzee]

Welcome, Flomarie! It's nice to meet you!

I don't even go back to the CL site anymore, Maria. It's too depressing. It's just so sad to think that something that brought me so much joy will no longer be. :(

I'm just so glad that everyone from CL is finding us so that we're all still together and meeting many more new friends. :)

[chyna]

Oh good you finally got some time to check in with us. :) Do keep checkign in and if you think of anyone we've missed by all means tell them to get over here. :p

Flomarie

Welcome, jump right in with whatever you can come up with. Even if it is to tease one of us about our paint addictions. :rolleyes:

[shabbychick]

Thanks for the welcome. I'm new to this site, having come from the Cottage Living site. I wasn't an active contributor over there, but I adored the magazine and the website. It's nice to have an alternative place to meet other cottage enthusiasts. I've been living in a small townhouse condo for four years and fixing it up, learning a lot about how and when to do something by yourself...and when not! I'm going to enjoy getting to know people here and finding a new cottage magazine to subscribe to! Thanks for providing this forum.

[Breezy]

Hi shabbychick & welcome!:)

[RoseMary]

Hello shabbychick~welcome to the forum! I'm looking forward to getting to know you, too:).

[LindaLK]

Good Morning Everyone, :)


Welcome to the group Shabby Chic, nice to have you here. And welcome to those of you that I might have missed. I am having problems staying logged on. It is so darn cold and windy here, that may be part of the problem???


Have a good day today. Those of you like me that live in the frozen tundra, keep warm. :p



Hugs,
Linda :)

[Lynzee]

Welcome shabbychick! :)

[singlespeed]

Hello. I guess I just sort of stumbled across your forums here, never even knew there was a Cottages and Bungalow magazine really! But then again I can be oblivious to things around me sometimes.

I love all things bungalow basically, it has style and character that is lacking in a lot of houses today. I tend to lean towards smaller houses and hope to be able to get another one soon. We have a small house, 700 sq. ft. that we have on the opposite side of the country right now that we are trying to sell. If we can do that, we will be taking on another small one where we are now, Raleigh NC. I always look for the most run down house on the block, the one with a blue tarp on the roof is just right as far as I'm concerned.

I am a carpenter by trade, so I do all my own work basically. So maybe I will be able to add something to the discussions. I have been in the trades for 19 years.

So I'm glad to be here, thanks!

[LindaLK]

Good Morning Singlespeed, :)


Welcome to the group. There are several people here that have bungalows. Oh you shouldn`t have told us that you are a carpenter. The questions will flow like wine. :D


Like you, I love the fixer~uppers, and can envision what they would look like when finished. Hubby just :rolleyes: rolls those eyes at me. LOL! I am an artist, so I can see what others can`t.

Have fun, jump right in to the threads.
Have a great day!



Hugs,
Linda :)

[chyna]

Linda is right, you are asking for it now! I already have my question in mind as we speak.:p

[Lisa S]

Welcome! We'll try not to abuse your talents too much!

[Lynzee]

Welcome, singlespeed! Glad you joined us! :)

[Breezy]

Hey singlespeed - glad to meet you!:)

[RoseMary]

Hi singlespeed~nice to have you on the forum:).

[Deb D]

Kim (ChapterTwo) sent me a note saying you all have moved to this forum. I was at the CL forum for awhile, the disappeared. I confess I have been cheating on all of you by spending time at another forum. There are just not enough hours in the day, especially in the summer! But I do think of my CL friends and wonder what you are up to. So I'm glad Kim didn't give up on me, and wanted to say hi to you all.

I still have my little house here on the east side of the Cascades. Last summer I built some new storage in the kitchen, and redid my bedroom in the fall. I designed and made a built-in closet and chest of drawers. Had I known the time commitment, I probably wouldn't have done it! Also painted the walls, and am much happier with the color. I HAVE to get a new roof this year--the New Year's Day Storm was the leakiest one yet.

I've already started some seeds for this year's garden. I will be planting more vegetables and flowers, can never have enough!

Also started a blog. I think it will be linked to my posts here.

I will bookmark this site and I promise to drop in often. And sorry I was away for so long...I feel bad about it.

[rubyslippers]

Thank goodness ... I have a new house and I am going to NEED you. Will you please PM me your e-mail address. You can ask the girls because I have been a wreck wondering where my gardening guru is as of late. Thanks for dropping in to visit. Whew - - I feel better.

Jenny

[Lisa S]

Deb ~ I must confess, I was worried about you! I'm glad you're safe and sound and I hope you pop by more often.

[ChapterTwo]

Yesssssssssssssssss!!

Hi Deb,

I'm so glad you received my note...and welcome! :D

I think we're all in the same boat - never enough time to do the things we want to do.

GREAT to see you, Deb and I'm looking forward to seeing your blog.

Kim

[Breezy]

Hi Deb ~ glad you're ok & nice to see you again!:)

[RoseMary]

Hi Deb~I'm so glad you are here!! We've all been missing you:). We've been talking gardening off and on and wishing you were here to give us some tips!

It sounds like you've been busy with your little house! It's amazing how long most projects can take, isn't it?

Welcome!!!!

[Gigi]

Hi Deb! Soooo glad ChapterTwo led your way to this new forum...

Hope all is well---did you mention you built a closet and drawers???? Oh my--you are talented---

[Evelyn]

Deb good to see you made your way over here. You have been missed!

Evelyn

[memmey]

WHAT!!!!!! We have looking and looking for you.
NOW it is complete. You can go anywhere in cyber space you want but promise you will come here and let us hear about you.
We missed you!!!!!:p

[Evelyn]

Welcome singlespeed!!

Evelyn

[Lynzee]

Welcome, Deb! So glad to see you here!

[Zuzu's Garden]

Deb,

Don't feel bad about being away for awhile. Life gets busy. We are all just so happy to hear from you again.

Zuzu

[chyna]

Glad you found your way to us. I was getting those bad images that you had a tree fall on your head, caught in an avalanche or in a forest fire. How is that for a guilt trip? :D

[Deb D]

Nope, no disastrous adventures...just lots of little ones. Currently I am dealing with being an aging forestry technician. My tendons are not growing old gracefully, and I am healing up from various stress injuries. I have to work harder to stay in shape and not overdo it, as well as find a gentler job.

I've been making valentines like crazy.

I really want to hear about everybody's dogs and gardens! I am off to start a thread.