Getting Stuff Done!

Since our return home from Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, I've been super busy and although I've kept up with all your posts I haven't had time to do one! Not much exciting happening but a lot of things getting done.    Working in the garden and keeping up on the weeds! I've  been picking some great peppers (sweet, jalapeno, and hot) and cherry tomatoes, parsley and basil. My eggplants are growing. I have three! Not ready to pick just yet-- and large tomatoes that are still green....they are are taking their time! I feel like they've been green forever!

Carol and Frankie love to walk through the vegetable garden looking for insects and I have to say I have been very lucky in that I haven't had any issues with bugs on my plants this year. I'm sure it isn't due to Carol and Frankie cause they lose interest in just pecking around the vegetable garden and like to move all over the yard. Nosey little chickens! When they hear anything they are front and center to see what's happening.

I spent some time rearranging a big closet I have on the second floor that really needed straightening. I keep all my Halloween in the shed but I have my Fall decor  (most of it) in this upstairs closet. Since I start decorating for Fall by Labor Day, I pulled all those boxes forward in anticipation! Halloween will go up September 30th. After the closet was done, I had fun decorating with the items I got in Pennsylvania and adding them to my home.When I look around at all that I have I have to say I love all my stuff so much. I can tell you where I got each and every item in my house or who gave it to me and when. I truly treasure what I have. Do you do the same?

I added a new lamp to my parlor! My wonderful friend was in Florida for several months taking care of her elderly Dad and saw this lamp in a store called Belles. She said it's such a fun store and when she saw the lamp she had to buy it for me. It's kind of a shabby chic lamp all off white and chippy. It's a bird feeding her babies in the nest.  I received it by mail today. I have a bird/wildlife theme in that room and this lamp was just perfect! How sweet of her to gift me with it and I'm also happy to say she arrived  safely in New York  from Florida and is sure glad to be home! I can't wait till she sees it.

I have a couple more items to show you that I got in PA. I did a lot of shopping and as I unpack, I discover more of what I bought! We got this rack of hooks for our master bathroom. Love the birds on top of the faucets. My husband found this.

I found this cute WELCOME too. I was buying it for the chicken coop but the weather will surely ruin it so I've moved it to one of my rear porches ( a covered one) so it doesn't get ruined.

Another favorite item is this over the door candle holder. LOVE this!

If anyone has gone to Michaels lately, they are already loading up with Fall decor (HURRAY!) and have been having some great sales clearing out Spring and Summer. When I saw all the Fall greens and flowers I had all to do to stop myself from buying a bunch but I am trying to behave and eenjoy the season I am in and not rush to my favorite FALL!!! There is still the whole month of August for Summer activities and beach. On a sale shelf I noticed and couldn't resist these cute chickens. I think I paid $2.00 each for them.

Where am I putting them? I have no idea but they'll be somewhere! Happy little chickens!

Caitlin has been super busy. She went kayaking and paddle boarding and also did a library program and made this sweet lantern with tissue paper and mod podge. It looks like stained glass in person. She was pleased. It really glows with a tea light.

Here's my baby next to her kayak with her buddy Ashley
!

Tomorrow I'm going to a thrift store I've never been to. I'm hoping to find some goodies! I'll let you know!

Lancaster Trip!

Good Morning! It's been a few days since I posted and before I tell you what I've been up to, I wanted to say Hi and Thank You to my newest friends/followers. Thank you so much! I hope I don't bore you out of blog land and you keep visiting me!

We just returned from a short trip to Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, one of our favorite places to go. As always it was a great trip, and we can't wait to go back. As soon as I am leaving, we are already talking about how to go back soon.

 The amazing ideas for country decorating just pop out of everywhere there and I come home so inspired!I just want to stand and take notes!  I do take tons of photos! We had stopped a day earlier to visit some friends and relatives and the weather was looking ominous--we kept listening to the weather at their house and we were getting worried but I wasn't gonna let it get me down.  It turned out to be great. A brief shower here and there made no difference to us. As a matter of fact, the timing of the showers never interfered with our outdoor activities one bit! It rained at night when we were sleeping and one night during dinner (that's fine) and we had a brief shower while we were inside a bunch of stores...when we came out of the stores the sun was shining! We did a lot in a few short days!

My son and daughter enjoyed visiting Lapp Valley Farm in New Holland. We had never been there before and it was so nice. The calfs and cows were friendly and so accessible.

My husband made a new friend with this pretty one! We had some great ice cream made right from the farm. I would have liked to take that little moo moo home with me.....just saying...

We did some exploring and I took lots of photos of course! We saw a barn raising with at least a hundred Amish men working hard. My husband, who is a carpenter, really enjoyed talking with them. Across from the barn raising, the Amish men were organizing themselves in to teams to do different parts of raising a new barn. We also saw Amish women pulling up in buggies and wagons with baskets of food. So cool to see. I didn't photograph it as there were so many Amish and they are not to be photographed so of course I had my camera put away out of respect.

I love this bridge!

So many pretty sites to see with covered bridges, Amish children, fields of vegetables and barnyards filled with animals. I was in my glory!

We did quite a bit of shopping (no surprise there, right??) We pack the car with everything we like from furniture to candles, to fruits and vegetables, knick knacks and anything else we like! We just enjoyed going through the stores and seeing what new ideas in country decorating were in Amish country. Here is just some of what I purchased:

This lovely crock!

candle holder!

All placed with greens on my foyer table:

I'm getting in such an Autumn mood...I can't help it. .......I got this mustard colored chair...

  A nice prim birdhouse that I had seen last year and for some reason left the store without buying it. I made sure I got it this year :)

We purchased two Billy Jacobs paintings. This one will go in our bedroom. It's called "The Road Home." It's very large.

The other one is in the family room in our basement.

We also got a great tv table for the basement. It matches the shelves we got last year. Amish made and very nice.

I bought a new flag. My husband loved this one best!

 And I have a lot more to show you but it's still all in my parlor waiting to be unpacked:

What a mess it looks like but I'll have fun going through it all!

 We also had some great meals at the historic Revere Tavern, The Fireside Tavern and our favorite, breakfast at Kling House in Kitchen Kettle Village! I had the most delicious "healthy" skillet of egg whites, onions, mushrooms, peppers...YUM!!!! But of all of that doesn't compare to seeing this:

or this!

Here are some more photos I took of some of the stores I went to. I love photographing their displays for ideas. Just call me copycat!

I had a nice big piece of shoo fly pie, apple dumplings and whoopie pies too! And we all played mini golf and went swimming!

Thanks for visiting! Have a great day!

Summer Days

July is a nice month! It comes in with a bang for the 4th of July and kind of eases out slowly in to the August heat. As I look around at my patriotic decorations I realize that the next "boxes" of decorations to be brought out will be my FAVORITE--Autumn! But don't worry! I'm not rushing Summer to be over. I'm enjoying myself too much!

I've been picking sweet peppers from my garden and also some "hot" banana peppers and jalapenos. My tomatoes are starting to turn red and we have a whole bunch! Its exciting to watch your garden grow. I've also been working inside and doing some extra Summer cleaning.I know it sounds crazy but I actually enjoy cleaning... One of my favorite shelves is this particular one in my dining area:

I always like to make a few changes and I have so much fun doing that. I moved a few things out and moved a few in! Here are the garage sale finds from a few weeks back:

I gave my chicken family some more room to eat their corn on this shelf:

And the vintage Amish man and woman stand proudly on this shelf!

I added my metal watering can to the wall instead of using it on the shelf. I love it here, and I added a battery candle!

I always have a helper too. Caitlin loves to do things around the house. Yesterday she was pretty busy though making cupcakes for our Girl Scout Pool Party today! We are "bridging" from Brownies to Girl Scout Juniors and celebrating with a pool party at my co-leaders house. We are bringing these pool themed cupcakes!

We used blue sanding sugar on top of white icing to make it look like a pool. The colors are more vivid in person. That's a teddy graham in a gummy life saver too.

 Caitlin enjoyed working in the kitchen after being a glamour girl on Saturday! She and her girlfriend Ashley got fancy hairstyles from Ashley's older sister! Then they did a "photo shoot"!

Fancy Hair! 

Lots of fun! Stephanie did a great job curling Caitlin's VERY straight hair!

Before I go, I wanted to mention a great website I have been visiting for some time and I just won a giveaway! If you are a fan of Amish fiction, go to www.amishreader.com  A terrific sight that reviews Amish fiction books, interviews the authors, shares recipes and other tips, etc. At the end of June I was lucky enough to win a giveaway from the author! It came in the mail yesterday along with some other goodies! Pens, bookmarks, magnets.. Check it out!

Thank you so much Amish Reader! I'll be in Amish Country soon too! Can't wait!

Have a great day!

Happy 4th of July a Day Early!

"On this day of Independence, on this Independence Day...I'm singing a song of freedom for all people who cry out to be free...." that's from the song of Freedom sang by Bing Crosby in one of my favorite movies "Holiday Inn".

I hope you have some wonderful plans for the 4th!

My Brownie Troop was recognized by ADOPT A BATTALION LONG ISLAND through the Boots on the Ground Organization for providing gift bags to our veterans. Here are some of them: 

We plan to keep doing projects for our veterans. Last year we sent cards and gifts to Walter Reed Hospital and other stuff. Our kids need to know that freedom isn't free. Sometimes adults need reminding of that too! :)

My husband replaced a window in Caitlin's playhouse above the chicken coop!

It's a beautiful window and Caitlin can open it and close it unlike the other window we had. He also put new railings, steps and lights!

Now for the interior...I don't have pictures yet but he got her some indoor/outdoor carpet. We'll be on the hunt for some furniture for it so she can have her clubhouse in comfort!

Here is Miss Molly Moo Moo looking very Presidential in the family room...

I'll be seeing plenty of black and white cows that remind me of my Molly Moo when I go to Lancaster County shortly! Counting the days till I'm in my "happy place"! 

Next week is a busy week! Brownie Pool Party! My troop is "bridging" as they call it to Junior Girl Scouts! Pool Party at my co-leader Cheryl's house. Can't wait! 

Have a great holiday, friends!