These Are The Good Old Days!

We went for a vacation to Doc Holiday cottage recently with some of our family members. Before everyone arrived I walked through to take some updated pictures since I recently fluffed the cottage with new pillows, etc. My eye landed on this window art by the late Leonard Miller that designer Jane Coslick commissioned as a gift to us when we completed work on our first Tybee cottage, Coral Cottage.

The sentiment on the window speaks of special places. Special moments in time. As I studied it I realized that our family was getting ready to create some special moments together and now, weeks later, they are cherished memories. 

Our family has been going to Tybee Island (Savannah, Georgia's beach) for four generations! We have a rogue's gallery of pictures at Doc Holiday cottage. There are photos of our grandparents...

Husband's grandparents on top right and my grandmother on bottom right with me and my sisters.

Photos of my husband and I as children with our parents...

Top row: My parents, me and my mom, me with my two sisters

Bottom picture: My husband, about 1 year old, with his parents by the pier

Then there are wonderful pictures of our family--our four kids and their beautiful families.

There's even a picture of our very first stay at Doc Holiday in which some of the grandchildren were packed up and excited for a day on the beach! We stopped for a quick photo to commemorate the occasion...

There are more grandchildren now--even one more to come in September. The oldest boy in the photo above just got his driver's license! Time certainly doesn't stand still! Those were the good old days--but these are the good old days too.

Tybee vacation 2019

Our family takes sandcastle building very seriously.

This is a reminder to all of us--especially to me.... Make great memories with your loved ones! Make them as often as possible. Plan for them in the future. One day they will be treasures that we can enjoy whenever we want just by remembering.

This photo of us with Jordan, Sarah, and grand puppy, Rafael  was taken at The Sassy Seagull, our other cottage that is just down the street from Doc Holiday.

Ready to make your own magical "good old days"? Need a place to make them happen? There are still a few summer weeks left for rentals at our cottages, Doc Holiday and Sassy Seagull. You can find available weeks here:

Doc Holiday cottage information available at  https://www.tybeecottages.com/booking/doc-holiday-cottage-at-304-second-avenue/1008-76786

Sassy Seagull cottage information available at

https://www.tybeecottages.com/booking/sassy-seagull-at-809-second-avenue/1008-133756

From Trash to Treasure--and I Do Mean Treasure!

Leonard Miller, sign painter extraordinaire, paid a call on The Coral Cottage several weeks ago to paint her name sign. 

Source for pictures in this post:  Jane Coslick

While Leonard was working, our designer, Jane Coslick asked him to paint a little surprise for us.  When the windows were replaced at the cottage she saved them and Leonard painted our surprise on one of them--the ultimate trash to treasure project!

And I do mean treasure!

Didn't Leonard do a good job?  Thanks Jane!  We love it!

Ta Daaa!

It is so gratifying to take a house from this (sort of like a lady without her makeup on):

To this:

Then finally shutters and the sign were added--even the crew working on the house from Horton Remodeling cheered!  Ta Daaaa!!

Source: janecoslick.blogspot.com

I feel like cheering too!  I'm going to enjoy this little triumph for a few days and then it will be time to call in my brother, Bill Griffin, a Savannah landscape architect to create a beautiful setting for the house.  Stay tuned!

It Must Be A Sign!

The Coral Cottage is getting all gussied up with shutters and a beautiful new sign.  Last week Leonard Miller paid a visit to the CC to create a sign for her.  I blogged about Leonard last week in this post.  Here he is--paint buckets in hand ready to get down to work.

Jane Coslick (who provided all these pictures--to see her blog click here)  also has him working on a surprise for us--here he is at work on it--can't wait to see it all finished. I love surprises!

Leonard has painted many cottage name signs at Tybee.  To see some other examples of his work click here.  He is so talented at lettering--doing everything freehand!  And now drum roll please....May I present.....

It's going to look like such a happy cottage!

Someone Who's Artsy Smartsy

I promised you a peek at the Coral Cottage with the shutters hung.  Here is one with just the pair on the left hung.  It was such a sunny, warm day that the picture looks a little faded--sorry but it was lovely to enjoy a day in the 80's at the end of October!

I'm saving the other pictures until after I introduce you to the handiwork of Leonard Miller, an artist who is renowned at Tybee Island for making beautiful signs for many of the cottages.  Here are a few examples from other cottages with thanks to Jane Coslick for allowing me to use her images:

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You can see more of Jane's projects here and here.

 I first became acquainted with Leonard's art when I saw it painted on the dining room wall at a different cottage.  Here is that painting of the Tybee lighthouse:

Recently Leonard paid a call on The Coral Cottage to create a sign for her.  It turned out so well!  We've hung it on the front of the cottage and it looks great!   I'll show it to you soon!