Author Archives: Marcia Ren

Cranberry Scones

Hello, Welcome to Marcia’s Cottage by the Sea. ♡ I’m so happy to see you today my friend. ♡ Shall we have a little tea. ♡ It’s early Saturday and I just finished baking up some scones for our weekend guest. I figured they’d be perfect to begin our day… and they go very well with French roasted coffee that my husband is a master of brewing up. The scone recipe is quite customizable, as you can use any type of berry. Ingredients: 2 1/4 cups of flour 1 teaspoon baking powder 1/4 teaspoon baking soda 1 tablespoon sugar A … Read the full blog post

Posted in Coastal Living, Our Cottage | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

A GAL~entine Tea Party

  Hi! Today I’d like to share with you a Tea party I hosted earlier this week. I called it a GAL~entine Tea Party get cozy…this post might take a while❤ I’ve now been living on the Oregon coast for one year, seven months, 14 days, hundreds of minutes, & thousands of seconds not that I’m keeping track  With that said I can say I am definitely becoming more comfortable with this new lifestyle. So recently I decided to throw a GAL~entine tea party on Valentine’s Day. I wanted to bring a few of my new friends together for an afternoon of good food … Read the full blog post

Posted in Garden/Tea Time | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

First Valentines Day on the coast

On Valentine’s Day 12 years ago we moved into “our” first home. That home was located in Riverside, California. We had been married 3 months. Today, on our first Valentines Day on the Oregon coast, we reflect on those intervening years. We trace the path our relationship has traveled through joys, challenges, saying hello to new friendships, and goodbye to others, retirement, relocation, and the adventure of it all. Today we celebrate our relationship, and the deepening of our married love. To add to our Valentine’s celebration we invited our friends to share a meal. My husband Joe made lasagne, … Read the full blog post

Posted in Coastal Living, Our Cottage | 5 Comments

The Unexpected Tourist

“The unexpected moment is always sweetest”~unknown  Hi!  How are you doing?  I hope you had a great week, and that perhaps you’ve planned something interesting, fun, or adventurous for the weekend. maybe something unexpected I recently returned from a get- away. If you are new to my blog welcome!  And if you haven’t visited here for a while there are a few updates. Trip to California , A Women’s Retreat My last stop on this little getaway was a planned day in Portland. 24 hours to explore the hip Portlandia from sunrise till the wee hours of night. I couldn’t think of any better way to end … Read the full blog post

Posted in Coastal Living | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

Letters From Abroad Part 2

  Hi! Just in case you missed last weeks post in SoCal Part 1 this will help you get caught up on my recent travels. I decided to begin today’s post with a question. since I don’t know where else to begin What direction do you want to go this year? Have you given this any thought? Just recently I attended a Women’s Retreat read more finishing up a visit to SoCal and so naturally I’m in a contemplative state of mind. It’s a good thing though. Very good. There are several reasons why I return to this retreat house each year. The most … Read the full blog post

Posted in Coastal Living | 6 Comments

Letters From Abroad Part 1

💌💌💌💌💌💌💌💌💌💌💌💌💌💌💌💌 💌💌💌💌💌💌💌💌💌💌💌💌💌💌💌💌 Hello. ..how’s your week going?  💌💌💌💌💌💌💌💌💌💌💌💌💌💌💌💌 I’ve been doing a little traveling. 💌💌💌💌💌💌💌💌💌💌💌💌💌💌💌💌 💌💌💌💌💌💌💌💌💌💌💌💌💌💌💌💌   Here’s an overview of Part 1 of a two week excursion. 💌💌💌💌💌💌💌💌💌💌💌💌💌💌💌💌 💌💌💌💌💌💌💌💌💌💌💌💌💌💌💌💌 It’s been fun returning to California, and visiting a few of my favorite spots. 💌💌💌💌💌💌💌💌💌💌💌💌💌💌💌💌 💌💌💌💌💌💌💌💌💌💌💌💌💌💌💌💌 It feels like forever since I’ve been here. 💌💌💌💌💌💌💌💌💌💌💌💌💌💌💌💌 💌💌💌💌💌💌💌💌💌💌💌💌💌💌💌💌 With that said, it also felt a little strange to return to a place where I had once lived. so many things change 💌💌💌💌💌💌💌💌💌💌💌💌💌💌💌💌 💌💌💌💌💌💌💌💌💌💌💌💌💌💌💌💌 These visits are a powerful reminder that my home is no longer here, and now somewhere else.  Below are photos of the home … Read the full blog post

Posted in Coastal Living | 4 Comments

Echoes Of Success

  The success of every woman should be the inspiration to another. We should raise each other up. Make sure you’re very Courageous: be strong, be extremely kind, and above all be humble. ~Serena Williams I was inspired by the Rose Parade. The idea that we all need one another to become more of the successes we are. None of us do it alone. With that said, I’ve been in happy land this week as I saw a project come to fruition. I came up with an idea to enclose a small patio area and designed a space. Then with … Read the full blog post

Posted in Coastal Living | 3 Comments

Navigating Into The New Year

  It’s mid~day, mid~week, and close to being mid~month as I sit down and write today’s post. Since our last visit together I’ve built a snowman and seen it melt,  Experienced raindrops come and go pouring down rain  hung the new 2017 calendar🎉 halfway through January already!  and the Christmas decorations have all been tucked away  The rainy weather has provided a perfect backdrop for staying inside and getting organized again. When the sunshine is out, I have to be outside. credited to my SoCal roots (most likely) riding a bike, walking the beach, gardening or running around discovering new wonders on this beautiful coast  … Read the full blog post

Posted in Coastal Living | Tagged , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Seasons of love…♡

Hello, Welcome to Marcia’s Cottage. I’m so happy to see you today my friend. ♡ Shall we have some tea? I would love to chat a while. ☕   I’m wondering how your year has started off?   Has it started the way you thought, hoped for,  longed for? Have there be little changes so far? Changes occur one way or another. Good or bad, happy and sad… Such is life.❤ For myself I’m daily making efforts to be  grateful for EVERYTHING in my life. There are many things that I could improve in. I’m taking little steps.  I’m certainly … Read the full blog post

Posted in Coastal Living | 4 Comments

January 2017

5,4,3,2,1… JANUARY 2017 Today’s post comes with a request. I ask that before the day ends you get up & dance. Go on you can do it. ~Marcia ⛄⛄⛄⛄⛄⛄⛄⛄⛄⛄⛄⛄⛄⛄⛄⛄⛄ As I contemplate the beginning of a new year, I feel excited. I had actually written  another post for today. However, I tossed it when earlier this week it snowed on my sweet, beautiful coast. A rarity I’ve been told. I grabbed this rarity by the horn and decided to write a different post. Somehow the magic of a snowy day reminded me of the preciousness of life. how quickly it comes, is lived, and then goes.  … Read the full blog post

Posted in Coastal Living | 6 Comments