Romantic Country - Winter issue

Friends, I have some exciting news to share!  Remember last May when Fifi came to visit (read about it here)?  I am so lucky to be included in her winter issue of Romantic Country, out on newsstands now.  Here is the amazing cover of the issue:

My home and work are featured on page 12, in the People and Places section.  What a thrill!

The article includes a lovely tribute to my Grandmother Evelyn and Great-grandmother Rose, this blog's namesakes, and I love the photos that were chosen.  My son frowned about the article incorrectly stating I have 2 daughters, but otherwise it's a wonderful feature!  :)

This winter issue is amazing - I just adore the home featured on the cover, and guess who else has her home featured in a fabulous spread?  Talented Michelle of Petite Michelle Louise!
Fifi came to shoot her home the day before mine, and it was such fun to share this excitement with Michelle.  Take a peek at the first page of her article, showcasing her famous inspiration holders...

....then head to the newsstands to see the rest!

Special Canvas Print

Hello friends!
Today I'd love to share with you a recent addition to our walls - a sweet canvas of a photo of our children.  Over the summer the folks from Easy Canvas Prints contacted me to try out one of their products.  It couldn't have been simpler to order a lovely canvas print of a photograph of ours from their website.  The 11 x 14 canvas arrived not long after that.
The hardest part about the process was.....choosing a favorite photo of our children!  We created a folder on our PC for all our 'potentials' and this image was finally chosen....

It captures a summer day in 2009 when my son was 4 years old, and my daughter was almost 2.  It was taken at the nearby park along the ocean, with sailboats off in the distance.
Although the photo doesn't show their faces straight on, it captures the free-spirited fun they were having that day and reminds us how much they love to play together.

One of the tasks on my (long) project list is to make a photo gallery wall up our stairway.  This canvas will take pride of place there.  Now it's just a matter of collecting more favorite photos for the wall.  I think another canvas print would be in our future, especially with the great experience we had with Easy Canvas Prints.

Although my children are not as readily agreeable for photos these days, we do manage to capture some recent fun memories - like our hayride in an apple orchard this past Sunday:

Every day with them is a blessing.  :)

2014 Fall Vintage Bazaar

Another fall Vintage Bazaar has come and gone last weekend.
I have to say.....it was a great bazaar!  The crowds came out in full force and Michelle and I had a wonderful time.

Here we are in our tent in front of our 'check-out' station, donning aprons we made.  Michelle also made the 'Pay Here' window sign behind us, which (not surprisingly) people asked to purchase.

The view of our tent from afar...

Come inside for a peek...

Most of these photos were taken Sunday when it was quieter.  A lot of items had sold by the time we got our cameras out...and that's a great thing!
I was sad to say goodbye to this door...but the wreath didn't sell.  It looks great in my house now.  I'll be back blogging to share some fall decor.  Now that the bazaar is behind us, I can finally get my house in order. :)

One last note about the Vintage Bazaar.  We had the best neighbors beside us!  Cindy from Cowgirl Emporium and Amy from Sage and Twine, our neighbors from last year, as well as Kim and Leslie from 2 Chix and a Barn.  Check them out on HGTV Flea Market Flip October 5th.
And thank you to all our customers!
(It was great meeting you, too, Carol - our new friend who follows our blogs!)

Vintage Bazaar 2014 - this weekend!

I've been absent from this dear blog for quite a while....how did that happen?
Our summer was wonderful and next thing you know school started up early September with the usual chaos that comes with a new academic year.
I've also been getting ready for the annual Fall Vintage Bazaar in Salisbury, MA.  Michelle and I will once again be setting up as vendors at the fabulous show this weekend.  You can read about our experience last year here.

Here's what I've been gathering up for the event...

We hope any local friends will be able to make it - stop by our tent to say hello!

Summer Flea Market Delights

Friends, I do hope you are having a wonderful summer.  My children are home with me full time these months and we are enjoying each day.  I got to sneak away early Sunday morning for a trip to the flea market.  I hadn't been since early May and was getting the itch!

It was a beautiful morning with lots of treasures to be found, such as these...

I don't usually buy old photos, but I really liked the patina and elegance of these....dapper gentlemen, somber couple and two sisters...  The drawer behind them was a great find, too:

I'm loving this ironstone pitcher, which I plan to sell, but not sure if I can part with it:

These embroidered vintage towels are gorgeous, and came from a sweet vendor named Jan who I met last year.  Jan has the greatest eye for vintage treasures and is just charming.  Not to mention Jan wears the cutest outfits.  :)  It was great chatting with you Jan!

I also got these old balusters with the most perfect patina from Jan.

I think I was truly gasping at their hint of light blue paint...sigh...

A set of monogrammed forks were a lovely find as well:

One can never have too many cigar boxes for storage, either:

On another trip to my local thrift shop I found this pretty blue floral covered dish.  Vintage blue floral china just seems to scream my name when I'm out shopping:

Lastly, I simply have to recommend a wonderful book I recently read, called "The Nesting Place" by blogger Myquillyn Smith.  It is truly a warm and encouraging book for all of us DIY-type bloggers that want to make our houses more like homes for our family.  It is realistic and full of wonderful advice and real-life experiences.  It is not a 'decorating' book in the sense that it gives tips on vignettes and such, but more like an inspirational book on so many levels.  Kudos to Myquillyn!

She has inspired me to add more whimsy and quirkiness to our home, especially to put smiles on my children's faces.  That's how this birthday crown for my daughter ended up in this photo.  Have fun with your home!

Sharing at these lovely parties:
Feathered Nest Friday
Shabbilicious Friday

Capturing Pretties

Just a few photos to share with you today, capturing prettiness around the house.  Lately I've been enjoying small snippets of the color red, preferably faded, in displays.  I especially love seeing these hand-embroidered letters on our living room chair, personalized with the first letters of our children's names:

Summer pillows for naps on the daybed...

My mother recently gave me this red and white vintage tablecloth that belonged to my grandmother, Evelyn (one of this blog's namesakes).

A few weeks ago I took photos of the remaining flowers from Fifi's visit.  They lasted quite long and always made me smile as I passed by, thinking about that wonderful day:

Lastly, I wanted to share with you a simple project I worked on recently to add some spring cheer.  Many of you know that dear blogging friend Michelle has a keen eye for treasures.  Well, she was able to salvage a group of shutters that her neighbor was getting rid of and gave one to me.  They were forest green to start, but I painted mine a chalky white, then added fabric to the back of the candlestick cut-out.  I simply attached fabric to cardboard, with some felt on the back (to hide the ugly cardboard), then used double-sided tape to attach it to the back of the shutter.

Here's a close-up of the fabric behind the cut-out.  This fabric was also a gift from Michelle and blends in perfectly with the living room.  Thank you, my friend!

Hope you all are enjoying your summers so far.  My children are out of school, and we're keeping busy while enjoying the great weather.

I'm joining in at these lovely parties:
Feathered Nest Friday
Shabbilicious Friday

Guest Artist at Somerset Place!

Hello friends, I'm so excited to share that Stampington's delightful Somerset Place blog has just posted a tutorial on grain sack hearts I made.  It was a pleasure to be asked to provide photos and instructions for making grain sack hearts such as these...

Take a peek at the post here.

Thank you Stampington and Gabriela, I'm honored to be a part of your fabulous blog this week!