Winter Storm Nemo

New Jersey fared better with winter storm

 "Nemo" than we did with hurricane Sandy.  

After a full day and night of snow,  the sun came out 

and the roads were able to dry out for the most part.  

Perfect for a cozy few days indoors.  

I think the honeybees would agree.....

Field Trip~Leesburg, VA

Each year, my aunt stops at our house for a visit on her drive down from Vermont to Virginia to see family.  This year, I decided to leave the kids with my husband for a few days and hitch a ride with her.  How could I resist the chance to spend a day antiquing in Leesburg, Virginia?  I had a list of shops I was dying to check out thanks to some of the inspiring blogs I follow.  My friend,  Mary Alice of the beautiful blog Chateau Chic also gave me a list of shops to visit in her hometown. 

photo credit: Such Pretty Things

My first stop was The Old Lucketts Store.  Just inside the front door, I was treated to a real life encounter with the dealer space I admire each day on the inspiring blog Miss Mustard Seed.  Marian is one of the many dealers at Lucketts and I was thrilled to see her finds (and Milk Paint) in person.  It was surreal to be in the space that I look at online each day as I drink my morning coffee.  I love Marian's can do attitude and her eye for decorating.  If she was a rock star, I would have to admit to being one of her groupie's.  If I had run into her, I'm sure I would have acted like a silly star-struck kid! 

I checked out all the vendors in the building and couldn't resist this bowl and linen runner.  The bowl is very weathered, but the blue goes perfectly in my living room

 and is a tricky color to find.

photo credit: On A Whim

Next I headed to On A Whim right down the road.  Hard to miss.  The shop looks just like photos I have seen posted by blogger friends.  Such fun finds in this shop.  All so well displayed and reasonably priced.  I found a few things...

My house has a large entryway with a brick fireplace and I am always on the hunt for black accessories for the mantel.  These black onyx candle holders are perfect.

And this guy was begging me to take him home.  Not an old find, but fit right in with the vintage vibe of the shop.  A perfect birthday gift for my friend who is an Anthropologie fan.  The rest of my day was spent in downtown Leesburg touring a handful of antique shops and grabbing a yummy lunch.  Definitely worth the trip and, thanks to blogland,

 I didn't miss a thing.

Truly Local Honey

This Summer I shared a few photos of my favorite farm stand right down the road from where we vacationed in Massachusetts.  Beyond the yummy tomatoes and sweet corn, what captured my heart was the fact that it was an honor stand.  Such a good old fashioned treat to visit each day while on vacation.  We found a handful of honor stands while vacationing this summer and they all charmed me.

But, I must admit, I have a new favorite.  It is this adorable honor stand my husband and son built a few weeks ago to sell their homegrown honey.  They have brought a little of that old fashioned charm we enjoyed so much this summer, back to New Jersey.  Lemonade stands are a common sight on our street, but a honey stand is not something you usually come across in a residential neighborhood!

The neighbors have enjoyed watching our bees this past year 

and have all been anxious to get a taste.

They are my son's best customers.

And I will say, everyone has been "honorable" so far.  Everytime 

a jar or two disappears, my son finds money in the cigar box.  

Needless to say, everyone is quite charmed by his little honor stand. 

  

1,000 Wishes

Our oldest daughter turned 16 this summer.  Born with multiple disabilities and an ever growing list of challenges, she greets every day with a smile and has never asked us for anything.  She can't communicate, but we have learned that she is happiest when she is surrounded by family and friends.  Her birthday was a week long celebration of grandparents and friends dropping in to help her celebrate. 

My husband had ordered a box of wish lanterns and we launched them in the evenings whenever we had guests.  Everyone had a chance to make a special wish. 

We are a superstitious group and the adults didn't reveal our wishes, but I'm sure many of them were for Samantha's continued health and happiness.  My 6 year old daughter must have heard the story about the genie in the bottle, because she told us that she wished Samantha could have 1,000 more wishes.  Maybe that is what the rest of us 

were hoping for as well..... 

Linking with:

Rooted in Thyme

Time Travel Thursday

Polka Dot Pretties

Fridays Unfolded at Stuff & Nonsense

Two Yellow Birds Decor

Inspiration Friday at the Picket Fence

Grace st Home at Imparting Grace

Potpourri Friday at 2805

 

Simple Summer Fun

While on vacation, we've been enjoying playing board games at night.  Some friends came to visit and introduced us to Bananagrams.  It has quickly become a new family favorite. It is very similar to Scrabble, but without a game board and it moves along quickly.  It's a great after dinner game and my 6 year old has even been using the letter tiles to work on her spelling during the day.  But, I couldn't resist sharing these pictures of our second favorite game this summer-good old fashioned checkers.

We discovered this homemade checkerboard painted on

 the outdoor picnic table and it has kept us busy.

  

So simple and charming.

Linking With:

Kathe with a E

A Taste of Summer....Part 2

I came across another honor stand down the road from our vacation house

 and couldn't resist stopping.  This adorable wagon looks like it has weathered 

quite a few summers selling homegrown flowers and tomatoes! 

A Taste of Summer

It is back to school time for a number of people around the country, but we don't go back until after Labor Day, so I am trying to keep my head firmly planted in vacation mode.  In case you are trying to do the same, I wanted to share a peek at this local farm stand that says to me summer is still in full swing.  This honor stand is about a mile from our vacation home and we visit it daily.  It's old fashioned charm could be on the pages of Country Living magazine and I think that it is rare to find an "honor stand"

 at the end of a driveway these days.

Having lived in New Jersey for the past ten years, I will always support the argument that Jersey tomatoes are the best, but this local Massachusetts corn is tops.  It is super sweet.

And fresh picked flowers just within reach.  This honor stand is one of my fondest summer memories and one of the many reasons I am happy that my summer is still in full swing.

Also linking with: Potpourri Friday

Happy Easter~Vintage Inspired Wreath

Happy Easter!

Everyone has been sharing amazing Easter projects and inspiration for weeks, but I couldn't resist showing off this one last vintage inspired project.  My friend Linda texted me this photo of her neighbor's beautiful wreath and I immediately needed to know the details.  Her neighbor, Susan, has been collecting bits and pieces of Easter decor for many years (I think she said 20!) and tossing them into a big zip lock bag.  Susan finally decided to make them all into something and this is what she came up with.  An amazing collection of memorabilia (the card in the center was given to her as a child) put together so beautifully.  This is a wonderful idea to keep on your wish list for next year and now is the perfect time to scoop up Easter trinkets at the craft and consignment shops and start assembling your stash.  

Assembly Line Crafting

Last week I had one of those weeks where all the stuff I needed to get done (the dreaded "to do" list) beat out all the things I would rather have been doing.  I committed to tackling most of my "to do" list, but knew that if I kept a little time for being creative, I would be more productive in general.  I needed a simple project that wouldn't require too much of my attention.  I took my own advice and printed out the pattern from my mini bottle apron tutorial and got to work.

This project was the perfect creativity quick fix that I could stop and start as needed while tackling my "to do" list each day.  And I found the repetitive "assembly line" nature of making multiple mini aprons to be very relaxing.  So, that's what I did.........

 If only I had had a few friends around to help me......

Vintage Inspired Child's Apron ~It's Laundry Time!

       I have been working on the design for a new vintage inspired child's apron for my etsy shop and have had so much fun with this one.  A huge fan of the embroidered bluebird motifs used on linens in the 1930's and 40's, I have always wanted to work a pair of adorable bluebirds into one of my aprons.  I have also wanted to expand beyond cooking themed aprons and pay tribute to the washday aprons of the past.  After all, the original inspiration for my aprons was a 1930's clothespin apron.  What better way to pay tribute to this traditional style than with a washday apron for today's aspiring housekeeper.  And, if it inspires my little princess to help with the laundry-all the better!

Just a little more work on fabric choices and then my happy pie and cupcakes apron will have a new companion in my etsy shop!

Do you have any fun projects you are working on?

Stepping Outside my Comfort Zone

Sometimes the most unexpected thing can spark a collection and in the case of my strawberries, it was their vibrant red color and the need to step out of my comfort zone.  I'm a product of Laura Ashley's well-deserved popularity in the 80's and 90's and my decorating (and clothing) had pretty much been dominated by little floral prints and soothing pastel tones for many years.  Graduating college in 1987, my first apartment was decorated with what I could afford from the Laura Ashley Home store in my neighborhood.  I coveted the bolts of ditsy floral fabrics and learned to sew out of necessity so I could make curtains and pillows when the fabrics went on sale.  Flash forward many years, and I realized my color choices in decorating were still the comfort zone choices of my younger days and that I needed to challenge myself to bring new colors into my home.  

I found this red ceramic strawberry pitcher at an antique shop in Atlanta and my new passion for red and strawberries began.  A nice jolt of color, but it still mixed well with the softer, pastel tones I had.

I have even been able to find strawberries when searching for vintage linens.  And did you guess my new favorite color combination is red and blue?  

Have you done anything to step outside your decorating comfort zone lately?

I (Heart) Blanket Stitch

I had hoped for a productive Sunday.  We had finally gotten our first real snowfall and it was the perfect day to play with the kids and sneak in a little crafting.  I got out my sewing machine, my fabric stash and my crafting "to do" list and then.......... nothing.  I started, I stopped, I changed my mind and moved onto another project, I got distracted, I played with the kids........  Nothing really came together all day.

And then after the kids went to bed and my husband was happily watching the Giants game, I went upstairs to my cozy little corner chair and decided to add some blanket stitch to an appliqué.  And I felt productive and relaxed and peaceful.  

  And as the Giants went into overtime, I stitched and stitched and stitched and even patched my daughter's jeans because I wasn't ready to call it a night. 

Check out my giveaway!

 

My Word of the Year~2011 & 2012~Create

 I have enjoyed reading the many blog posts out there about choosing a word of the year for inspiration and motivation in 2012.  It is a welcome new take on the good old fashioned challenge of making (and keeping) New Year's resolutions.  It also encourages us to look within ourselves to figure out exactly what it will take to create positive change in our own individual lives.  "Get organized, eat less, exercise more, take time to give back" are on just about everyones list and almost too generic and overwhelming to create lasting change.  I didn't "pick" a word last year but, as I look back on 2011, I realize my word was "create" and it came out of a process of renewal and change in my life that was long overdue.

As I settled into my 40's, I felt that something was "missing" in my life and couldn't quite put my finger on it.  Life was full with my kids, family, friends and an accumulation of volunteer commitments I had found over the years to keep me busy.  I had found the "me" time that mothers are told to hold onto so we can keep the balance in our lives.  My volunteering was my "me" time and was very rewarding.  Organizing events and raising my hand to do the jobs no one else finds appealing come easily to me and I enjoy being busy.  But, I really needed to slow down and evaluate if I was really fulfilled by my "me" time, or just keeping busy.

I was working on projects that required creative thinking, but I really missed the good old fashioned art of creating with your mind AND your hands.  I realized that, as a creative person, I needed to make more time in my life for actually creating in order to be happy.  For years, I  had spent time in craft and fabric stores, admired projects in magazines and online, yet never made the time to create anything of my own.  The years passed quickly, and the extent of my creative time had evolved into knitting on vacations and making my kids Halloween costumes.  In the Fall of 2011 I made a conscious decision to make more creative time for myself.  I cleared space, got my sewing machine out of the closet and made time to create.

 I surrounded myself with the things I had accumulated over the years like vintage linens, pages ripped from magazines and craft supplies.  And then I made stuff!  It was fun, challenging (nothing ever turns out the way you want it the first time) and the "me" time that I was able to squeeze in while keeping life going for my family, now gave me the balance I needed.



I am going to hold on to "create" as my word for 2012.  I still need to work on making this a priority in my life.  But, I am going to expand on my need to physically create something with my hands and mind and layer on the challenge to "create happiness" in my life.  Life gets busy and it is easy to pass over everyday opportunities to stop and appreciate the little things.  I am going to follow the lead of my five year old, who greets each day with a smile and sees every moment as an opportunity for happiness and fun.