RJ Treleaven

Happy Tuesday, My Lovelies! Last October, we began our library renovation, and I wanted to share it with you. It took several months to complete all the projects, and I wanted to wait and post when it was done.

This room was our classroom for when I homeschooled our youngest daughter. Since she graduated from college in 2022, we no longer needed it as a classroom. We thought it would be fun to convert the classroom into a library because I have enjoyed reading my entire life, and in a former life, I was an English teacher.

We also worked with The Cottage Supply Company in Chelsea, Alabama, for the design and implementation of our vision (the same company we hired for our kitchen renovation). I wanted the room to have a slight dark academia vibe, with a sprinkling of Victorian curiosity room. I have several treasures from our travels displayed along with art and other collections.

We have base cabinet storage on two walls in the room.

I am happy that I have it because it helps keep seasonal things and book-related items organized.

We also have drawer storage under the window seats. I have mostly throw blankets stored in them.

The painting on the upper left is a cartouche from the Hapsburg Apartments at the Gottweig Abbey in Austria. I painted it from a photo on my iPhone.

The bronze sculpture of a forest nymph belonged to my mother-in-law.

This wall displays a few of my special editions.

My sister-in-law made the window seat cushions from sail material. They shouldn't fade, and they can even be bleached, which is an important quality because I love to drink coffee in the morning and tea in the afternoon.

This wall is perpendicular to the windows. The door on the right leads to the landing, and the door on the left leads to a bathroom.

I painted these gargoyles from photos I took at the Cathedral of St. Peter, Cologne, Germany.

One of my favorite things about the library are the floating shelves by the windows. I like to play with them, and display books, art, and other treasures. The cabinet designer thought of the idea, and I think she did such a nice job with the library's design.

The library at night. The book lights are very bright! It's hard to get a good photo at night.

It's actually hard to get good photos during the day because the library faces south.

I hope you enjoyed the tour! If you have any questions about any of the elements of the room, please leave a comment or email me. I was going to write a list, but it was getting too long!

Until next time...

Blessings!
Ricki Jill

Library Renovation

Tuesday, June 23, 2026

Hello, My Lovelies! Our kitchen renovation is finished.

Well, almost. We are still waiting for our counter-depth refrigerator, but that's okay. I wanted to go ahead and post about it anyway...

We have been working with the Cottage Supply Company, and the decorator who has been helping us has been delightful. She has helped us with the design and implementation of the renovation of our library, kitchen, and primary bathroom. The bathroom should be finished in about six weeks or so.

The inspiration for our kitchen renovation is the kettle in the photo, above. It is from MacKenzie-Child's Wild Rose collection. I love the yellows, browns, and pinks in the pattern, and I think it ties our family room and dining room together since we have an open floor plan.

Our kitchen is on the back of our house, and it overlooks our patio, outdoor kitchen, and fireplace. We extended our upper cabinets to display our MacKenzie-Childs collection.

The limestone and travertine floors are from a previous flood. We used to have hardwoods.

Most kitchen renovations are removing bar height breakfast bars and replacing them with counter height bars. Mr. Bookish prefers bar height counters, so we kept it. It has become harder to find bar height barstools, but we were able to find these at Mackenzie-Childs. Our countertop is distressed walnut.

This large shelving unit is a one of a kind custom piece, and it separates our kitchen from the family room. It holds my cookbooks, a few of my MacKenzie-Childs mixing bowls, and our MacKenzie-Childs mug tree. Finlay is watching from the family room.

Our backsplash tiles are handmade, and have an interesting "motion" to them.

The current trend is to have a backsplash without outlets on them for a cleaner look, especially if the kitchen is open concept. Our designer suggested either installing our outlets under the cabinets or in our Silestone as pop-ups. The pop-ups sounded like a disaster to me, so we went with the under the counter ones.

However, I hate seeing cords, I have cord covers on every hanging light and just about every lamp in our home, so I had to get cord covers for our kettle and toaster because they are always pugged-in.

I really love the color of our kitchen island.

I also love the color of our walls, which have a distinct pink undertone, however you can't really tell from the photos.

Also, our wall colors change throughout the day depending on the light.

We're enjoying our upper cabinetry lighting.

We also like the pretty shades on our French door and window.

The biggest change in our kitchen you can't see. Every base cabinet has a pull-out. It has changed my life! If several of you are interested, I can post about it. Let me know in comments!

Resources

Concept and Design: Cottage Supply Company

Shades: Shutterbug Blinds and Shades

Backsplash tiles: Tiles of Ezra Zellige tile in oat

Paint: Benjamin Moore

Walls: Vintage Taupe
Kitchen Island: Gobi Desert
Cabinetry and Trim: Dove White

Cabinet Pullouts: Rev-A-Shelf

Accessories: MacKenzie-Childs Mocha Check and Wild Rose White Collections

Until next time...

Blessings!
Ricki Jill

Kitchen Renovation

Tuesday, June 16, 2026

Happy Tuesday, Friends! How is your summer going so far? I hope that you are enjoying sunny weather somewhere with your family and friends.

Today I'm sharing my Tablescape for America 250 as part of a summer tablescape blog hop party with fifteen other bloggers hosted by Sweet Rita from the Panoply blog.

But before I get started, I must announce the winner of the darling MacKenzie-Childs tote bag giveaway from our most recent Tales of the Traveling Tote blog party held on May 15th:

Congratulations to Kim from the Exquisitely Unremarkable Blog! You're our winner!

Thank-you, Rita, for hosting! You always do such a wonderful job with these hops!

I created a table that's All-American as apple pie. Literally! Our breakfast room table is set for dessert featuring pie dessert plates, Americana elements, and MacKenzie-Childs collectibles. I chose this theme because I am so thankful to be an American, and as we celebrate 250 years of the greatest experiment in human history, I pray that we can save and strengthen our Constitutional Republic.

For those of you who are following me, we recently had our kitchen remodeled, and we have definitely pared-down a lot of stuff, including many sets of china and dinnerware. I have not let go of any of our MacKenzie-Childs or table linens: I have collected both for almost forty years. I will continue to collect both, so don't be disappointed if you see the same MacKenzie-Childs elements on my tablescapes because I will bring in new and different via linens, floral/plant arrangements, and new MacKenzie-Childs pretties.

I hung these little garlands in our window. I purchased the ribbon one on Etsy from @KathyJacobson.

Americana elements are featured on the table in the linens and the baseball.

The napkin rings, another Etsy find, are made from a favorite American invention, old blue jeans.

The vintage wine cups are from France. I wanted one element on the table to be French, to honor their help in our War for Independence.

I like the MacKenzie-Childs collectors' mugs from last year, and June's patriotic mug is one of my favorites. I have featured four of the collectors' mugs on this tablescape.

Platestack

Here are the four dessert pie plates.

I matched them to flat-rimmed MacKenzie-Childs dinner plates; I used them as chargers.

Our dessert will include apple pie, of course, as well as coffee, tea, and dessert wine.

This vase is my latest MacKenzie-Childs acquisition.

This year MacKenzie-Childs is offering collectible vases monthly, and the stars vase is June's vase.

I had to add the pretty sunflowers to enhance the yellow stars on the vase.

Resources:

Placemats: Williamstown Home

All other table linens and scatter stars: Pier1

Ribbon banner and napkin rings: Etsy

Pie dessert plates: Mary Lake-Thompson

Wine cups: Vintage

All other ceramics on table: MacKenzie-Childs

Flatware: Horchow

Flowers: Trader Joe's

Panoply - Happy 250th Birthday, America!

Home is Where the Boat Is - Oh My Stars & Stripes

Hyacinths for the Soul - Celebrate With a Patriotic Heart

Olla-Podrida - Night of the Iguana Tablescape

Everyday Living - America is 250: Let's Celebrate!

Me and My Captain - Belmont Stakes, The Last Race of Triple Crown

The Cats Whiskerz - A Gardener's Tablescape

Pandora's Box - Summer Patriotic Tablescape and Kitchen Cart

Life and Linda - A Whimsical Elegant Pastel Summer Table

The Bookish Dilettante - Tablescape for America 250

My Thrift Store Addiction - Summer Serenity in the Garden: Elegant Breakfast For One

Corner of Plaid and Paisley - Celebrating America's Favorite Pastime

Thrifting Wonderland - Searching for Summer: A Thrifted Tablescape

Red Cottage Chronicles - From Antiquing to Dinner: A Simple Summer Gathering with Friends

Dinner at Eight - A Casual Summer Table Inspired by Island Daydreams

Mantel and Table - Blue and White Tablescape - How to Enjoy a Beautiful Summer

Until next time...

Blessings!

Ricki Jill

Tablescape for America 250

Tuesday, June 9, 2026

Hello, My Lovelies! On today's What I'm Reading Wednesday post I'm sharing Fearfully and Wonderfully Broken: Fighting for Faith When You're Falling Apart by Sydney Anne Bennett.

When asked to participate in this book tour I must admit that I was intrigued by the title. We are all familiar with the Bible verse about being "fearfully and wonderfully made," but broken?

About Fearfully and Wonderfully Broken: Fighting for Faith When You’re Falling Apart

• Publisher: Thomas Nelson (April 28, 2026)

• Paperback: 240 pages

Are you battling chronic struggles—whether physical, mental, emotional, relational, or social? Are they eating away at your faith? Sydney Anne Bennett has been there.

She knows what it is to live in a body that is unraveling, a world that doesn’t understand, and a church that doesn’t always know what to say. With compassion, wit, and quiet strength, Sydney invites you to remember that some of life’s fiercest battles are fought flat on your back—and not one of them is wasted.

In Fearfully and Wonderfully Broken, Sydney shares her story of becoming disabled just two weeks after her honeymoon and learning to live with Functional Neurological Disorder (FND)—a condition that disrupts the brain’s ability to send correct signals to the body, resulting in daily seizures, mobility loss, and chronic pain.

Learning to live with this disability, as well as the loss and pain that comes with it, has been one of her greatest struggles as well as the way in which God is building her strength. But Sydney doesn’t just talk about disability—she lives with it, coaches on it, and laughs through it, inviting her readers to join her journey. Fearfully and Wonderfully Broken aims to:

discover practical strategies for coping with chronic struggles and limitations;
make peace with questions and embrace the daily fight for faith;
uncover strength in weakness and dignity in dependence; and
receive heartfelt hope and encouragement to keep going—even when healing doesn’t come.

Sydney will be your unafraid guide through whatever valley you are walking through, normalizing doubt and the daily fight for faith, and recognizing the presence of God there.

About the author

Sydney Anne Bennett is a writer, disability advocate, and speaker who helps people struggling with chronic illness and pain find confidence and hope again—while pointing them to Jesus.

Two weeks after her honeymoon, Sydney became disabled and was later diagnosed with Functional Neurological Disorder (FND), a condition that disrupts the brain’s ability to send correct signals to the body. She experiences daily seizures, chronic pain, and mobility loss—and often uses a wheelchair.

In 2022, Sydney began sharing her story on Instagram as a way of processing grief, faith, and the strange in-between of being both young and disabled. Today, she encourages a global audience of over 300,000 people with honesty, humor, and hope that leans hard on Jesus.

She lives in Idaho with her husband, Colton, their sweet daughters, Hadassah and Felicity.

My Thoughts

This book is primarily a memoir about Sydney's sudden onslaught of FND and how the chronic illness has affected her faith. Sydney went from perfectly healthy to having seizures and not being in control of her movements. These things happened shortly before her wedding and before she became an upperclassman in college. See does an excellent job of describing her crisis of faith, how she struggled to find the words to pray. Her practical ideas about making peace with questions and embracing the daily fight for faith are perhaps the most helpful because God doesn't always answer our questions. There are many lessons about dependence on God that we can learn from Sydney, and just because one doesn't suffer from a disability like her doesn't mean we shouldn't be as dependent on God as she is.

But what has really made an impact on me while reading the book and learning about Sydney is how, in spite of her disability, she has become an advocate for those with disabilities. Instead of dwelling on herself and wallowing in self-pity, Sydney has become an advocate, encourager, and minister to thousands of people around the world.

We can all learn from her example.

I have been encouraged and inspired by reading this book, and I think it would do the same for you, too.

Disclosure: I received a paperback copy of Fearfully and Wonderfully Broken from the publisher via TLC Book Tours in exchange for a fair and honest review.