Happy Holidays to you and yours from the Corson Cottage

It's been a while since I have blogged....

We have had a great holiday with our friends and family!

Unfortunately I have been a bit under the weather.

I have been having some fairly serious back problems since August that have persisted.

Needless to say it has not left me with much energy left for anything other than work and sleep.

We don't have a laptop, so it has been a bit difficult to find time for blogging lately.

Don't worry..........luckily it has left me tons of time to sift through

 old and new magazines and watch design shows

 to find lots of new decor inspirations. 

As I will be having surgery some time in the coming months it may leave me more time..............

I really enjoy the blogging world and hope to continue my blogging journey.

grey bedroom inspiration

 I know I mentioned that we are working on our master bedroom. 

Unfortunately it is still not quite complete.

So, today I took some time to look for a little more design inspiration.

I happened upon this at Serena and Lily.

I really like these fabrics. 

 I especially love the upholstered bed and the chair.

 Hmm we'll just have to wait and see....

I still have not forgotten my first love from Restoration Hardware.

Carrie

our latest updates

Here are a few of our weekend updates from last weekend's decorating marathon. 

I was so busy working away on our little cottage.  I ran out of time to post. 

So here goes....

Here is the Front Porch reveal. 

(It is my fav!) 

Welcome!

My brother Michael donated this fantastic pillow to the cause.

Remember the old brown pedestal table that I showed you in the before photos post???

I picked it up at one of my favorite flea markets on a recent junkin trip for only $18.

Well I painted it Stealth Jet by Behr in eggshell.  I love it!

I painted the floors an Ultra White by Behr also in eggshell.

Didn't it turn out great!

I actually had these West Elm chairs that were from my apartment living days.

I still have a few finishing touches to add, curtains,stenciled numbers,  etc. 

I will share those once I get them done! 

 For now I totally love the vibe it sets as you enter our home! 

Now to create that same modern cottage living style all through our home.

That's not all!

On Saturday my friend Cathy came over to help work on our bedroom. 

 It's not quit finished yet.  So, I will wait to post pics of this one. 
Thank you so much for all your help Cathy!

On Sunday my brother Michael showed up with paintin clothes and paint in hand!

He was ready to freshen up our dining room. 

Here is the Dining Room before.

I liked the blue, but it was just a little to dark for this room.

Here is the Dining Room after. 

Thanks Michael for all you did!

What do you think? 

Not too bad for one weekend.

Carrie

Finally it's time to work on our fixer upper...

Busy weekend planned here at the Corson Cottage! 

It's time to tackle this bathroom eyesore...

As you can see I could hardly wait to get started.... I started sanding and

almost forgot to take my before shot to share with you.

Next we'll be moving on to the front porch....

So, it's only Friday for now let's start there!  Be back soon....



thanks to house of smiths

I was looking for a few pointers from an experienced blogger. 

So, I emailed Shelley from House of Smiths yesterday to ask for any words of wisdom.

 She was so kind to respond back and give a newbie a few pointers to the world of blogging!

Thanks Shelley!!!  She is so sweet!

Shelley makes vinyl decals too.  Stop by and check out her blog.

vintage grain sacks

Thought I would share with you my newest creations.........

I made these pillows covered in vintage grain sacks and flour and

sugar sacks to sell at market days! 

Unfortunately not a lot of sales at market days...

but I left them at Dwellings hoping to sell them there.

I have to be honest it will not break my heart if they all don't sell! 
I am in love with them!!! 

And what a bargain I only paid $4.50 per sack a total deal!

I must say.....it has been a while since I busted out the sewing machine! 

I even surprised myself a little!

market days

My first weekend as a sidewalk vendor.

Well, I did it!  I set up my mini shop in front of Dwellings for the big Fall Festival. 

I peddled my homemade caramel apples and

grain sack covered pillows and some photography.



The caramel apples were a hit!   (Well of course we had to try a couple!)
Those apples were yummy, if I do say so myself!

Unfortunately we got rained to the back porch of the store on Saturday,

 luckily Sunday was a beautiful fall day.  It was a busy weekend!

Here is some of the great fall shopping available at Dwellings!

Happy Fall!

Carrie

fall market days

This weekend is Fall Market Days in LeClaire, Iowa!

So, I know I mentioned this before............my brother owns a

 home decor and furnishings store in LeClaire called Dwellings. 

This is Dwellings! 

My favorite store(and yes I am totally biased!) But it really is a great store!

Stop by if your in the neighborhood it is directly off of Interstate 80 on the Iowa/Illinois border.

I will be helping out at Dwelling this weekend! 

Michael and I are having extra fall festivities on the sidewalk in front of the store

 Friday, Saturday and Sunday! 

Pumpkins, gourds, caramel apples, fall treats, handmade items for sale!

sweet dreams of linen

I was checking out all my favorite websites this morning...................

I am really obsessed with the Belgian Linen Provence Stripe bedding collection in Fog at Restoration Hardware.  I continuously am going back to check it out!  It is so subtle and so NICE!  It is exactly what I have been searching for....................  It would be perfect to redo our bedroom!!! 

What do you think???  Dreamy isn't it!

Picture perfect picnic

As I said, yesterday was our anniversary! 

Happy One Year Anniversary Travis!!!  Love you!

We spent a mellow day together.  I packed a picnic lunch to surprise my guy! 

We went back to where it all it began.......

lunch on the levee on the riverfront where we were married one year ago.

Notice I picked fresh hydrangeas from our yard!

I just love them!!! And still in full bloom too!

I can't believe it's been a year!

Well, I have been a bit under the weather so, our fixer upper hasn't gotten much fixin lately. 

But, I thought I would share our reason to celebrate with you.............

This weekend my handsome hubby and I are celebrating our

 First Year Anniversary! 

We actually were married on 9.12.09 on the Mississippi Riverfront in LeClaire, our home town.  It was truely the best day of our lives!  It was a beautiful day!  The wedding and reception were casual and elegant, simply perfect! I thought I would share some of our wedding photos with you.

We are very lucky to have so many talented people in our lives.  We have wonderful memories to remember this weekend and forever! 

My big brother Michael (he owns Dwellings in LeClaire - you will hear more about Dwellings I promise) anyway.........he and I planned most of the details along with my Mom and of course Travis (who really just said okay to most of my ideas, notice I did not say all of my ideas!) And it truely would not have been the same without  spectacular florists in the fam as well!  My Mom's best friends (Marge and Jean from Freckle Farm) did our floral!  Did I mention how handy it is to be married to a carpenter?  Travis made the picnic style table and benches for our wedding party to sit at. 

All of the photos were taken by Tiffany Weaver!  Candid and fresh! 

Carrie

Welcome to The Corson Cottage

Hello all!

We are the Corsons.

My name is Carrie Corson and my handy husband is Travis Corson. My husband and I are both from the same small old rivertown in Iowa. We grew up in LeClaire, Iowa. We come from the belief that hard work and perseverance will accomplish all things.

This is our blog The Corson Cottage.

I have been inspired to blog about the ups and downs of updating our fixer upper. This is our first home. While we have lived here for two years, it is still in need of a bit of TLC. I hope that you will join us through this process as we begin to make our memories for our future. Hopefully this blog will give us something to look back on years from now and appreciate how far we have come. If I can inspire someone else along the way, as those that have inspired me, all the better!

By day I am a Legal Associate for a corporate Law Department. By night I am a wife to my beloved husband and mother to our lil dog Lucy. By starting this blog it will give me the opportunity to have a creative outlet. I love to decorate our cottage style bungalow on a budget. Travis is a contractor/carpenter/builder. He started his own business, TC Construction, two years ago and is still going strong. He stays very busy. Which leaves me with my weekends to dable in decor. If you are still reading, Thank You! Please stop back often to check out our updates.

"Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you’ve imagined." Henry David Thoreau

Coming soon................