Don't say that BAD word!!

Well, yes. I do live in New England.  And, yes, I have come to expect the unexpected (in terms of weather that is), but come on!!!!  Not that bad word, ALREADY!  Hey, listen, I'm all for frost on the pumpkin at night.  It is, after all, fall. I expect crisp nights and cool days this time of year, but really???  I was just clipping zinnias out of my garden a few days ago, for goodness sakes.  I still have autumn chores to do outside.  And tonight, what to my wondering eyes should appear?   Dare I say that naughty word out loud?  Well I guess so, since it is all over outside!!

                                                                                             SNOW!!!!!

Yup, those are my geraniums under there.

It actually has the nerve to stick to the ground and accumulate!

More than a bit of frost, eh?

Maisy went out, got covered in flakes and pitifully asked to come back in.  She is used to a warm fire in the stove to thaw by in the snowy season.  No fire going tonight pup.  We just started turning on the heat a couple days ago, for heaven's sake!  What kind of a crazy place is this?  I can't remember the last time I saw accumulating snow in my yard in October. 

Good grief Charlie Brown!!!

Quick Pics!

A couple things going on, none overly noteworthy, but each one worthy of a quick pic.

First is my poor, sweet Maisy.  She went out for a big walk with her daddy, and stuck her nose somewhere it did not belong.  Unfortunately this ended up in a spider (or other insect) bite.  I came home from running errands to her swollen face.  She had this happen as a puppy and a young dog, but it has been years since it happened.  Guess she needed a refresher lesson of where not to sniff around.  A dose of Benadryl and a day of rest and she was back to herself, but she looked so pitiful for the day on Saturday.  And yes, her eyes are open in this photo, but the eyebrows were swollen too.  My husband kept telling her that she had a face he didn't think even a mother could love.  Oh so wrong!  This pet owner mama, loved her even more!  Poor puppy!!!!

The last of the zinnias.  Mid October, fall rains, heavy winds and cold nights have just about ended my cutting garden for the season, but not before one last cutting produced a bounty of blossoms.  I intended to give most away, but they looked so pretty all massed together that I decided to hold onto this last gift of the garden and enjoy the blossoms en masse right on my dining room table.  The fall decorations can wait just a little bit longer!

This is a silly one.  Yes it is my lunch.  My hubby was home during the afternoon this week and saw for the first time how I prepare and enjoy my lunch most days.  His words were, "Wow, that is so dainty like.  You need to take a picture and put that on your blog."  So here you go Hon and for all of you to see.  I spoil myself a little each day by preparing my lunch on a petite vintage tray.  I take it to my cozy chair and enjoy a little touch of fun with my food.

Hope you are having a good day.  Thanks for stopping by.

VIntage Chalkboard -n- Hooks for the Hall

Here is a peek at a project I recently completed and sold at the last Antique Marketplace.  Actually, I was excited to see that they both sold in the first minutes of the sale opening.  Laura, the owner of the Spaulding Cooperage, had passed along two defunct curio cabinet shelves.  She happened to mentioned they would make cute chalk boards.  That got me to thinking about an idea of my own with a chalkboard mixed in.  Here is what I came up with.

The shelves have a nice curved top and a nice straight area across the base.  I bought some moulding and painted it cream.  The shelves got a sanding, a coat of primer, a coat of chalkboard paint and lastly, I painted some cream color around the details of the nice curved tops.  A little distressing of the cream edges helped them to blend nicely into the chalkboard area.  I attached the moulding to the bottom straight edge and added several vintage screw-in coat hooks. 

And VOILA, hallway hooks you can label to help with organization.  For a bit more personalization, write family member names over the hooks, or for a bit of French country flair that is popular in so many homes, write out the items in French.  So many possibilities, so few hooks!

The Last Antique Market of the Season

This past weekend we held the final Antique Marketplace at the historic church in Townsend Harbor for the year.  Friday was a super dreary rainy day, but we still had a good turn out.  The weekend weather was crisp and windy with bright blue skies and easily lured the shoppers out and about and  many to our door.  I am happy to say that I did well and even sold my hutch that did not find a new home at the last market.  Here is a peek at my spot for the weekend.

So here is my spot.  I was running short on goodies to sell, so I went through the storage boxes in my house to come up with items to sell.  I have a habit of stashing away goodies to redecorate my house with "some day."   Well, I picked through these boxes and came up with a bunch of good stuff that I could live without.  Actually, I can live without it all, but I did hold back a few favorite items for another "some day."  I was able to fill up my space quite nicely with lots of small stuff, and for me, it is the small stuff that sells the best and adds up to my paycheck.

I made these distressed number plaques with old barn wood and a set of three inch tall stencils.  They would make nice house numbers, I think.  I sold over half of them.

As I said, it's the little things that seem to sell great for me.  Here is a repainted dish bin full of lil goodies, packed and ready to go.

I had these jars for sale for a long time, empty.  Saw this fun idea at Brimfield and decided to try it out.  I snipped vintage sheet music into crinkle strips, filled the jars with them and then tucked ephemera with a common theme into each side like a window.  I had a number and symbols jar, a sewing jar and a bird jar.  Two of the three sold - yeah!!

And last but not least, are these two little recipe holder clipboards I made.  Each is decoupaged with vintage cookbook pages, recipes and graphics and topped with a vintage ribbon.  I think they would make great Christmas gifts for a cook who enjoys a vintage flair in life.  Hey!!!  That sounds like me!!  Guess I'll have to make another for myself!

Well, it was a good weekend, but I have to be honest, I am ready for a rest.  My next projects will be for my own home, rather than furniture, etc. to sell.  We have a holiday open house coming up in November, but I am already mostly ready for that.  So it is time to rest a bit, and enjoy... 

Thanks for stopping by.

Furniture Move Around!

I was inspired to make changes in the house lately.  Looking at the same old same old, just gets.....well....same old!  So some change was in order.  Unfortunately, as usual, I am terrible about remembering to take before pictures.  I just get too busy sometimes seeing the big picture in my head and don't pause to remember to see the little pictures, or take them!  Anyhow, this little corner of the family room used to house a trestle table, bench and two chairs to create a place we called the "Nook."  It was used mostly by the children for art projects or homework, occasionally for games and even more occasionally for meals.  With the addition of the desk nook in Heidi's room, the space had become mainly a catch-all for whatever we felt like plopping there.  This chair used to be by my kitchen, as a cozy place to sit down while waiting for cake timers and to visit with the cook.  But what I really wanted in that space was a little table and chairs for us to eat at cozy style.  So the chair moved, the old ottoman was unearthed from the basement and joined it.  And it makes for a cozy "nook" of its own!

The magazines in the magazine rack are all vintage of course!  So fun to read!

A favorite lamp that used to sit on a table next to the chair needed a new home since there is no longer room for it by the chair in the new spot.  I took away a lamp that I didn't have any attachment to, and put this old one in its place.  I think it looks quite nice on its new home on the vintage Bakelite TV turned end table.

Boy, wouldn't it be fun if I could turn it on and watch, "I Love Lucy" and "Leave it to Beaver?"  Oh well, I still like it!  I'll show you the new set up in the kitchen on a later post.  Thanks for stopping by.

Some Finds!

A trip to Concord, MA at the end of September gleaned me a few fun lil trinkets.

Love the old popcorn bags and unused french appothecary lables.

And a trip to a buy-and-sell shop in Stoughton, WI while visiting my sisiter, gleaned me a few more, most of these to sell.

The fabric is from the back of a ratty old quilt I found there.  The fabric is in great shape and altogether there is about 4 yards of 1940's fabric.  Thanks to the quilt being tied and not quilted, it was easy to take apart.  It will be great for something special.  I love the red of the pansies.  Oh so happy!

Downtown Stoughton, WIsconsin

The older part of Stoughton has a sweet downtown area on Main Street, of course!  Love the Mayberry feel of the old buildings.  This is my kind of place.

Even awnings and painted signs instead of neon.

My sister, her two girls and my two girls on a Main Street bench.  Her toddler son, was home with his papa so we had some girl time.  We ate lunch at a fun cafe with a bit of a vintage diner flair, The Koffee Kup, and then enjoyed a little shopping and poking around.  A nice afternoon!

Foggy on the Farm

Monday dawned with a thick haze of fog blanketing the back prairie lands of my sister's farm.  It was stunning to behold.

Forgotten Spaces in the Barn

While they haven't necessarily been forgotten, the spaces under the oldest barn on my sister's farm haven't been regularly used in a long time, at least not by humans.  Enter the realm of the barn cats, and one of my favorite places at Erin's farm.

I covet this old chicken equipment. 

This appears to have once housed either chickens or turkeys, at least during the cold weather.

Yup, it's been a long while since these tools have been put to use, but I kind of like it like this.  This way, they tell a story.  Stand still, close your eyes, breathe in the scent of the earthen floor and listen for the past.  I can hear it, can you?

Our time at Erin's was brief, but well enjoyed.  Family, farm and fun - what more could a girl ask for?

Sweet Spots on the Farm

A few things caught my eye and the lens of my camera as I poked around on my sister's farm.  Thought you might enjoy sharing a peek. 

Much of their 50 acres have been put into a prairie reclamation project with the state, so there is much less corn and much more natural beauty to behold.

There's a hole in the bucket dear Henry, dear Henry...

Love this rusty bucket just standing sentinel at the field gate.

The path through the brush down to the pond.

The prairie is awash with so much fall beauty.

An old non functioning piece of farm equipment functions quite nicely as a planter.

I think this scarecrow has grown weary of standing guard.  What do you think?

Seamus, one of two Chesapeakes, sends his love and a goofy dog grin. 

A visit to the farm in Wisconsin.

Columbus Day weekend was superbly beautiful weather wise both here at home (I'm told) and in Stoughton, Wisconsin where the girls and I ventured by plane for a quick, long weekend visit to my sister and her family.  Erin and her husband, JR, and their three children live on a lovely piece of farmland on the outskirts of town.  And I am the farm girl!!  Well one day I'll have my farm too, but for now I can absorb the farm life when I visit there.

The old farmhouse is getting a new look with a fabulous wrap around porch addition that was being built while we were there.  When it is done, it will add 800 square feet of front porch living.  How sweet it is!

See the super lush green growth in the back of the garden.  That is a huge, very mature asparagus patch to die for!  They eat fresh from the garden to the table asparagus all spring long.  The garden also yields a wide variety of other vegetables.  There are also fruit trees, and both a strawberry patch and raspberry brambles, two of my favorites.

I love this huge old windmill, water pump.

Many barns and outbuildings, all a picturesque red and white.  Just so homey and lovely!

Check back soon for the sweet downtown area and some scenes around the farm that caught my eye.