Adventures in Allegan!

Well, I've made you wait long enough to see all the fun that Debbie, Michelle,
and I had at the Allegan Flea Market.

They posted about the trip before I did.
They called me a slacker.

So, I had to get my tookus in gear and get this post up for you all
since I know that you're all dying to hear MY side of the story!

We waited all year to finally give each other an actual hug

instead of virtual ones.

We waited all year to share stories with each other face to face

instead of via the computer.

It was SO worth the wait!

We instantly connected.

We all felt like we were sisters separated at birth.

We felt like we had known each other all our lives.

What a complete and utter blessing!

Now I have an older sister AND a younger sister! 

 We immediately started shopping

while chatting and sharing stories...

(because we're multi-taskers, you know).

Debbie immediately found a sign made just for her.
Great name for a blog, huh?

We all fell in love with these goodies.
Love the dark pulls against the distressed white wood.
Yum.

(Notice the lady on the 2-holer?

She was just taking a break, believe me.)

We adored this darling little pink trailer!
We all pictured ourselves crammed into that thing
traveling from flea to flea together
like junking gypsies.

{I think Deb was trying to hide her purchase from us.....}

This was the prettiest booth in the place -

and the name was so cute!

{Sigh!  Talk about a sweet Frenchy sofa...!}

We found ourselves surrounded by vintage goodness.

See that cute urn Debbie's holding?

She bought it when my back was turned....
drat!

I did find a beautiful vintage grain sack, though.

{I considered trying to stuff that sofa in the back of my SUV....but common sense told me otherwise.}

An awesome front door will be coming home with me next month, too.

Michelle and I actually started to measure the door with a couple dollar bills

(Debbie was obviously off buying things from underneath our noses again....)

after the dealer's wife said that a dollar bill is six inches long.

Did you know that?
I didn't.

(You're going to go measure one now, aren't you?)

But, luckily they scrounged around and found an actual measuring tape.

I didn't know the measurements of our current dorky looking front door at home,
so I two-wayed hubby.

 

He was on the lake fishing with Deb's hubby.


Okaaaay.....so much for that idea.


I stroked my door one more time
before sadly walking away.

BUT.....

I measured our funky front door when I got home that evening
and praise the Lord!

The new one would fit
with a wee bit shaved off one side.

So, I called the dealer and he said he would bring my beautiful vintage door back with him
to July's market!

The vignettes were so creative and colorful wherever we looked.

After furiously working those booths for a couple hours,
it was time for
a pickle break!

Now, if you have never had the chance to eat a

fried pickle,

then let me tell you.....

run to your nearest fried pickle maker!

Hot, crunchy, dilly.....

a complete

guilty

pleasure!

{And yes...we did share a big old lemonade.  Had to save our money for treasures, dontcha know!}

Our stomachs happy once again,

it was time to get back to pounding the dirt for more treasures.

Michelle bought these pale, perfectly weathered, seaside blue vintage bottles for her

beautiful home by Lake Michigan.

{Is she not the cutest thing?}

Then she scored with a pair of these darling little wooden swans.

See that incredibly beautiful vintage birdcage that you can't see
because Deb's standing in front of it so that I can't see it, either?

Yeah, well - she bought that when my back was turned, too.

(Note to self:  Keep a closer eye on Debbie
and make her walk behind you.)

We turned the corner to be greeted by the
Lakehouse Louise.

She needed a lesson in
"too much is never good".

After walking for 7 hours,
stuffing ourselves full of fried pickles, french fries, and lemonade,
and bidding adieu to Louise,
we all piled into my SUV to take Michelle back to her car
-
which she decided to park out in the puckerbrush
for some odd reason.

And since the back of my car was loaded with all of our goodies,
Michelle had to sit on Debbie's lap
while we drove around the parking lot
like a trio of ditzy junksters.

{Nope....THAT'S not it, either......."Where DID I park my car, anyway.....?}

All in all, it was a GREAT day
spent with two of my most favorite  
friends
sisters.

{LUV you two ~ and see you next month!}

I'm working on scrubbing up all of my new treasures
(Debbie didn't nab ALL of them....)
and will be doing some floofing this week
so that I can share them with you soon!

Have you been to any great Fleas this month?


{Hugs}

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Ladder Love

Old ladders inside a house.

Inside?

What's UP with that?

(no pun intended)

When I saw my first one out in blogland this past winter,

I really loved the whole idea.

I knew that one would eventually have to come to live with me.

There was just something deliciously French, rustic, and farmhousey about the whole look.

Perfect for Heaven's Walk.

I had no idea where it would go,

what I would hang on it,

or where I would even find one.

But find one - I did.

Driving through a local town one autumn afternoon,

I passed by one of my favorite little antique shops.

Whipping my head over my shoulder as I drove by....
(it automatically does that when traveling by antique shops)

what do my wandering eyes did appear

but a handful of ladders

looking quite dear!

I stomped on the brakes, did a U-y into a parking spot,

and practically fell out of my SUV in my race to get to them

before someone else did

(although there was no one else in the place).

Unfortunately, that sweet ladder hung out in my garage all winter long.

I had grand ideas of painting and distressing it

and wanted to wait until spring to tackle that job outside

instead of flinging white paint all over the basement.

(I have never claimed to be neat painter...)

When I pulled it out of the corner of the garage a month ago

and gave it a good bath,

I wondered what it would look like in it's natural work-worn beauty.

(Ummm....more like I was too lazy to paint all those rungs....)

So, I hauled it upstairs 

(without knocking out any windows much to my relief)

and wandered from room to room

looking for the perfect corner for it.

Ahhhh.....yes!

After sticking my head into the linen closet

sending sheets and pillow cases flying
and toilet paper rolling down the hall,

I found the perfect treasure to hang on it.

A vintage crocheted edged pillow slip found at the Allegan Flea Market last year.

I think I'm in ladder-love.....

and am ignoring the man sleeping beside me who keeps asking,

"Why is there an old ladder in our bedroom...?"

Speaking of Allegan Flea Market,

there's been a little more floofing going on inside Heaven's Walk, too.

{Vintage looking wine carrier and bottles:  TJ Maxx}

{Vintage mini-birdbath: Antique shop in Florida}

We're having company very soon,

so the guest room has been primped and fluffed in preparation.

{I'll be looking for a new bench or table to replace that wicker chest at the foot of the bed, and maybe a new lamp...}

Debbie and her hubby are coming for the weekend

and we're hitting the Allegan Flea Market.

Woot woot!

And this time is going to be even more special

because we're going to meet our very first, very special, and very loved blog-friend ~

Michelle from Emerald Cove!

{Insert scream here}

If you haven't visited Debbie's or Michelle's blogs yet,

take a few minutes to stop in and say hi.

 If you love seaside inspired homes,

you will love your visit there.

And don't worry...

I'll have a bunch of photos for you from our crazy, flea market adventure.

Watch out Allegan! 
Here we come!

{ Hugs }

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Befores & Afters

The weather was so utterly summer-perfect here
a few days ago

that I took advantage of it ~

(bright, sunny, good-hair days have that affect on me)

plunking peonies in all sorts of pitchers

all around the house...

and filling the rooms with their sweet scent.

I also completed some projects I had on the back burner for a while.

Remember that old potting bench that I took home from our lake house 

so that I could make use of her here at the farmhouse?

This is what the old girl looked like for many years.

Poor thing.

Dressed in a new coat of white paint,

she's gracing the gardens in the back yard

and happily living the farm life now!

She's feeling much younger and prettier now.

We placed her next to the kennel

where I can talk to Maizie while I'm potting and crafting.

Project #1 ~ Completed!

On to Project #2...

Remember that tri-fold door that I nabbed at the Allegan Flea Market last summer

when Debbie and her hubby came down for a weekend

and we seemingly stuffed the entire market into the back of my SUV?

(We swore we could hear the back bumper dragging all the way home...)

This is what the door looked like when I brought it home.
(Debbie bought the twin.)

Pretty....but the curtains didn't do much for me.
They had a strange, old, yellowy cast to them,

and someone had used a heavy hand with the
antiquing glaze on the doors.

This is what it looked like dressed for Christmas

after I spray painted it with "Heirloom White"

and removed the curtains.

 

{Boxwood wreaths:  Farmhouse Wares}

But it just needed.....something...
something more.

Erin first blogged about "rustifying" chicken wire

with spray paint.

(I think it was Erin.  Someone correct me if I'm wrong!)

She used Rustoleum Multi-Colored Texture spray paint

in 'Autumn Brown'.

I decided that I needed a little rusty goodness in the living room.

It was an easy project.

Well....sort of.

I measured the openings in the doors.

Cut the chicken wire,

and spray painted it.

(Ermmm....do you realize how hard it is to paint chicken wire?

Do you realize how much spray paint goes through the chicken wire?

Do you know that I now have really pretty rust-colored grass outside hubby's tool room?
Did you assume that I received more eye-rolling?
You'd be correct in that assumption.)

Anyway, after using three cans of paint,

I grunted and groaned and pulled and hauled those doors,

which are quite heavy and unwieldy I might add,

into the kitchen and laid them out on the floor.

{Yes, I would love to have wood floors in here because I don't like tile floors...}

Staple gun in hand,

I stapled away.

Then I grunted and groaned and pulled and hauled those doors

back into the living room

(miraculously without punching any holes in ceiling or walls),

stepped back

and 

sighed...

So much better!

It will give me a place to clip some old black and white photos of 

friends and family with some favorite vintage clothespins

that my friend, Amy at All Things Home, gave me.

Did I tell you how much I love that 'Autumn Brown' paint....?

Project #2 ~ Completed!

Project #3 ~ waiting in the wings.

Don't go far. 

I'm on a roll!

{ Hugs }

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Through the lens.....

Summer has finally and gratefully arrived here in Michigan!

We waited so long for her arrival.

She's come in like a lion.....

in heat!

We had another 92 degree day

with 73% humidity.

Whew!  

But you won't hear me complaining.

No, ma'am.

I spent the morning taking my sweet little 16 year old Sophie to the vet

to have a lump checked on her leg.

I had prayed over her very early this morning 

when I woke to find her in her usual spot ~

curled up against my chest.

(This is her "secret" sleeping spot.
She thinks no one can see her there....)

My prayers were answered with the diagnosis of a simple cyst.

Thank you, Lord!

The rest of the day was spent paying bills,

doing some paperwork for hubby,

and doing laundry....

grateful for the air conditioning.  

Before I headed outside to water my pots of heat-stressed flowers,

I grabbed my camera to share with you

what I see through the lens

at Heaven's Walk

on a beautiful summer day.

The first thing that greets my eyes every morning when I come down the stairs?

Sunlight spilling into the kitchen and filling it with light.

See that big frame on the side table?  It will soon be turned into a chalkboard.

The view from the French doors in our kitchen.

What I'm reading....when there's time.

Hubby's sister, brother-in-law, daughter, and a good friend

helped hubby and I at our lake house recently.

We worked for about 5 hours

cutting down trees,

pruning bushes,

weeding, 

cleaning ponds,

and doing some major landscape de-cluttering.

We have yearly renters right now,

but desperately want to sell it next spring.

It's almost like a monkey on our backs, you know?

The extra insurance, extra taxes, extra upkeep....

just too stressful.

Our timing was off when it came to trying to sell it four years ago...

right before the economy slid downhill.

Ugh...

So, we had to rent it out to help make ends meet.

View from the private road.

We lived in this house for 25 years and loved every minute of it.

View from the gazebo on the water side of the house.

So, if you know of anyone looking for a wonderful home on a lake
at a reasonable price...just holler.
I plan on dedicating an entire post about our lake house in the near future.

I decided to bring home my beloved, sturdy old potting bench that resided all these years

beneath the porch of the "shed" on our lot next to the lake house.

It needs a little TLC
(ok....alot of TLC) -

a good washing and

maybe a slap or two of white paint to protect it from the weather

and a few vintage clay pots to fill the shelf below and make it look pretty.

After we unloaded it,

I walked around the yard at Heaven's Walk

feeling grateful for this big, old farmhouse

settled in the middle of flowers, trees, and meadows...

I keep the vintage white wicker rockers covered until we have guests to help preserve them.

'Zehpirine Drouhin' is happily blooming.

feeling God's presence surround me...

in every tiny detail.

Robin, bluebird, and wren babies have all been raised at Heaven's Walk.

We also rescued an old birdhouse,

that's obviously seen better days ~

but still has the potential for more happy feathered families.

My sweet, departed mother-in-law used to serve her famous homemade biscuits in this old tin bowl.

"Enjoy stillness and quiet.
Appreciate His created beauty.
There is loveliness all around.
Choose to see it, hear it, feel it, smell it, taste it.
Open your eyes to wonder.
Then create.
Make your own kind of beauty."

And I did.....

all through the lens of my camera.

What touched your heart through the lens today?

{ Hugs }

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Click on the buttons and be incredibly inspired!