"Splurge"

SPLURGE -- how I really like that word. 

And, I do believe we owe ourselves a splurge every now and again.

So, I start & end my day with two splurges --

can you guess what they are in this picture????

#1:  Sweet, luxurious hand towels!

#2:  Bath & Body Works Soap

Now if you guessed sweet, adorable, charming stuff -- YES, that too --- ALWAYS!

And, what do you splurge on??

A Kitten Request!

Kitten Pictures, please! 

The babies are now almost 3 months old.

**Cindy...these are for you & your Aunt.....Enjoy!**

Sleeping spot of choice - Shadow in the bike basket.

Pumpkin being, well, pumpkin-y!

A wagon of kittens -

left to right:  Chippewa, Shadow, Whisper

Hope, the mom cat, widens their realm each week.  They "play an area" until they know it. 

I love the names of pets -- do share yours!

Peaking at summer...

I sat on Monday --- not the kind of sitting at my office --- the kind of sitting when you need everything to just stop for a moment, you take a "sigh" -- and sit.   Kittens made me do it!

So, I pulled up a chair near the side barn door & the milk house and sat.  And when I turned to my left, this is what I saw....my own private peak at summer.  Past the potting shed, there was the deck off the summer kitchen -- beckoning, always beckoning.

Where is/are your favorite places to just sit?

The question about goats...

If I had a dollar for every time someone has wondered about why we have goats...well, needless to say - the goat bridges arriving Friday would be paid for!

So, today, I am home -- in need of a day to feel better -- and I just walked out to the barn for a smile.

This is my little Ralphie. 

He was one of the twins that arrived last fall.  His horns are new, grown over his first winter.  He sometimes gets picked on by the older goats -- but what Ralphie has taught me is to get up, brush yourself off -- and try again.  He is joyful and resilient & runs to me when I call for him.  Grape leaves and strawberries make his day. Many times, he makes my day. 

The answer to the question -- because, just because.

Under Glass - the magic of cloches.

In a recent comment, Cheryl mentioned her affinity for cloches.  I couldn't agree more.  On my "I adore list" would definitely be the cloche!  These glass domes elevate any item to magical grandeur.  They originally were used in the garden for fragile seedlings in early spring -- (I have a vintage cloche -- thick walled & bubbled glass pictured below.)  Now you can find reproductions -- like this one to the right.  And, as Cheryl mentioned, glass cheese domes can be repurposed as little cloches too.

This cloche is large - holding a series of vintage floral boxes topped by a clock. 

And look at the base -- an old clock face!

Here is that same dome -- only over my basket of doves. 

I like to switch these out by holiday & season.  Yes, soon a pumpkin will be under glass. 

                       

This little sweetie is an etched cheese dome "married" to a German tart pan ...holding two German creche sheep....of course!   Sweet, sweet, sweet!!  Pure innocence & magic!

This vintage bell dome has such thick bubbly glass that it was difficult to photograph.  Within is a basket, vintage lace and a string ball.....all again on an old clock face.  (If I took the time to wind a string ball, I would want it under glass too.)

Finally - though not old -- there is something So Charming about this painted cloche/case.  I keep two of my beloved Bluebird cups within.....Oh, look to the left -- there is the little sheep dome on the shelf.

Magical - simply magical.

I Adore Ceiling Fans!!

 

Remember the show, Trading Spaces -- one of the first decorating shows to draw in a fan base --- I mean viewers NOT ceiling fans.  They ripped out ceiling fans quicker than they could throw paint on a wall.  I always shuttered for the poor home owners that would tag their fan as "off limits", only to find it gone on the great reveal. 

So when we bought the farm in 2006 --- I almost felt we were breaking a decorating taboo to install not just one ceiling fan -- but SEVEN ceiling fans!  I finally had the high ceilings to support these beauties.....not to mention no air conditioning.  These guys were essential!  And they were a first for me!

So, now Summer means Ceiling Fans!  And, we ADORE them...absolutely, positively.  "Do not take down my ceiling fans -- Or Else!" reads my 7 notes!

What is a porch without a gentle breeze?

And, I love love love the swirly energy efficient bulbs sneaking out from the end of a sweet fan shade. 

Adds a touch of modern to charming.

So -- would you let Paige & Company tear out your ceiling fans?

Who even remembers Paige & Company of Trading Spaces fame?

Sweet little places...

Sweet little places just nourish my soul.  Here is a little table in our upstairs hallway.  It is already for a little holiday celebration...an Easter rabbit stays out year round.  Under the cloche on a stack of plates is a vintage peacock ornament in a little Ohio Art tin teapot.

Sweet little places nourish my soul.

I did it, I did it -- I got the picture loaded of the Peacock in the Ohio Art teapot on the stack of dishes on the cake pedastal.....under the cloche!!  Whew -- that is one special peacock!!

Little Ironstone Pitcher is Packed & Ready To Go!

I have a winner...number 10 is the lucky winner of the Barn Sale Count Down Give-Away.......and that is:

Sue from Chic Cottage Junk!!

Sue -- please email me your address:  stroede@earthlink.net

Yea for you! 
Thanks to everyone that participated. 
Watch for another Give-Away in August.

After the storm...

Seriously, I get it.  I washed my car, we bought a new shiny barn red car, I washed all the windows in the house, Dave washed the windows in the barn, AND I picked up every stick in the yard.....all in the matter of two days.   Yes, we were playing with fate!

At 5 a.m. this morning -- heard a whistling -- then saw the grape vine that had been climbing the chimney blowing across the window next to it.  We awoke to a mess...followed by two hours of picking up tree limbs....with three downed branches that will await the chain saw.  As I was out in the storm wrestling with our umbrella table on the back deck  -- can attest to the fact that these were STRONG winds.  Came out of the north east...think the house held them off from the apple orchard.

Only concession was that we were O.K., the animals were all O.K. and the wrens were singing their symphony again.

Reminder, Barn Sale Give-Away ends tonight...

see two posts below for the details.

I love color!

I love color! 

Give me green...
Give me blue...

I wake to these colors.

What colors make you swoon?

P.S. -- Don't miss my first Give-Away...

see post below! 

Ends Sunday!!

Give-away! Barn Sale Count Down!

My FIRST Give-Away!

This little Ironstone Pitcher is looking for a new home -- YOURS?!

In honor of my FIRST Barn Sale on October 9 & 10

(details at bottom of post)

I am beginning my own little count down --

complete with give-aways at each step.

***To enter this give-away -- just post a comment.

(no need to attend Barn Sale to win...item will be sent to you,

I will post winning name with my email so you can send me your address)

***To enter this give-away a second time -- add/link me to your "Favorites" on your Blog - and let me know you did with a second comment & your blog address.

Give-Away will close at midnight on Sunday, July 18th.

I will post the winner right here on Monday, July 19th.

Sneak Peak of the Barn Sale progress...
Stairs are going up to the hay loft in our 100 year old barn.
Electrician arriving end of the month.
Signs ordered from my favorite Minnesota Artist, Susan.
Currently TWO FULL Barn Stalls awaiting unloading!

Barn Sale:  Saturday & Sunday
October 9 & 10

9:00-5:00
(no early sales)

Country Road R

Augusta, Wisconsin

**Watch for signs

Keep checking back for updates and more

Count Down Give-aways!

"Tis Mine...

We walked into this vacant farm house in 2006. 

Literally, within minutes we began to summarize the magic of owning this place: 

• original 1857 doors - check
• 6 inch trim or wider trim - check
• spacious - check
• high ceilings - check

Then we came up the stairs, and looked into what is now our guest/sewing room....and this is what we found....

This home in need of some pretty serious TLC -- (not to mention a roof, well, tuckpointing, windows, electrical, plumbing).........but this sweet, almost Asian inspired wallpaper---- not vintage to say, but it still stole my heart.  I think in that moment, my two year old internal child came out with an, "It's mine!"

No. Turning. Back.

We owned the farm that next week.

Now I awake to this view into the guest room every morning.

Sweetness & Light & Roses & Very Strange Birds

Pack your bags - Vintage with a Purpose #4

Need extra storage...pack them and stack them!

I especially love these old woven suitcases with leather straps. 

Here they are tucked under a corner table...sometimes they are at the end of the couch for a side table.

How do you use vintage finds for storage?

Be Still My Heart...

Whisper     Shadow     Pumpkin     Chippewa

8 weeks old

Born in a barn

Hope is their mother

I begin & end my day with their wonder. 

All is new & fresh in their eyes.

Each moment is pure & sweet.

If I could purr - I would.

American Honey

Summertime -- and American Honey! 

(lyrics from Lady Antebellum of course)

So, my American Honey, my summertime sweet shop must include favorites from my many collections:

Rabbits, mirrors, whisk brooms with velvet topped handles.

Rag balls, jars, bird cages, cookie cutters, picnic tins, store price labels.

Cake stands, clocks, Ironstone, nests, shutters, mirrors.

Cows, print letters, child's toys, blocks, millinery, cigar boxes.

American Honey!!

What is your American Honey --

what is in your summer "sweet shop"?

July!

July has arrived. 

This proud patriotic month of the year - filled with parades, picnics, porches, & flags. 

My Shawnee sits on his favorite porch table - on a tablecloth crocheted by my grandma Quale.

July!

What are your plans for this first weekend in July?