NumberNineteen

Thrifting Treasurers

Just a quick post about a few treasures that I found while thrifting a few days ago.  First, I give big thanks to my husband, who was working at home, and said "sure, Hope can stay here with me".  She is good for one thrift shop but a whole day of thrifting?  Not happening. Anyway, on to the good stuff :)

The Ball jars were the big steal of the day!  95 cents a piece!  The blue ones are circa 1923-1932 & the clear were made 1932-1960.  I'm going to use them to store sea glass and other little treasures.  The shop at which I found them is very hit & miss, but when they do have something good, the prices are rock bottom.  

I found these very nice pieces of English transferware at another shop that is also very hit & miss.  But, I find good stuff there just often enough to keep me coming back....  Both the plates and the bowl are from the 1950s and are in excellent condition.  I particularly love the pattern on the bowl.  All of these will go into my re-vamped Etsy store, which is coming soon, I swear.  

I was very disciplined during my spree and only purchased items that I really love and need.  I picked up a cardigan to go with a skirt that I'm going to make and an adorable red cotton skirt that I know that I'm going to wear all of the time, both this summer and once school starts. And, I found a Pottery Barn picture frame for 2.99 that is perfect for a little re-fresh that I'm doing in the powder room.

It was so much fun to bargain shop all day and come home with bags full of treasures :)

Summer So Far

We've been having dinner on the porch, picking berries, going to the pool, and doing little projects. Lots of sewing projects.  Well....lots of sewing projects that I'm planning. I have the idea and the fabric...soooooo, I just need to actually sew.  Here is a sneak peek at one of the projects: 

 Painting.  Painting, painting, painting.  You know how you start with "I'm just going to touch up the trim" and then you notice how awful the walls look and then you notice how bad the trim in the entire house looks and the next thing you know, you've painted three rooms and hundreds of yards of trim???  Yeah, that is me.

Remember this little shelf from my flea market trip in April?

I loved it's jadite green color but it isn't Hope's favorite and it was purchased for her room.  So, I  painted it powder blue at her request (sigh) and it now holds her treasured art projects.

Reading.....lots of reading.  When you are a school librarian, your summer homework is to read as much as possible.  Not a bad deal, in my opinion :)

It's been a good summer so far, with a lot going on, but not too much.  I went thrifting yesterday and found a few treasures that I'll do a quick post on in the next few days.

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A Little Bit of the Sea at Home

I wish that I could spend the entire summer on the New England coast, with the windows open to the breeze, salt air and sounds of waves on the shore.  Since that isn't in the cards, I remind myself of those things by little bits of the sea around the house.  Starfish and shells gathered on beaches.  A lovely little shell encrusted box that reminds me of Victorian crafts.

An old toy boat that I found while antiquing in Maine.  It reminds me of the boats going past our house in Boothbay.  Although her original name of "Tooter" is adorable, Glenn and I refer to her as "Boaty McBoatface".

I love to look at these little things and have them bring me back to the shore.

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Beautiful Maine

To finish the story of our wonderful month of June, I will bring you to Maine.  For years, my parents have been vacationing in Maine and telling us how wonderful it is.  My mother always says, "It's not like any other place.  You just have to go there."  In the past few years, they have rented a house and invited us to stay with them.  Timing hasn't worked for us until this year.  When they said that they would be there the week after school ended, we made plans to join them.

Glenn couldn't come due to a work project :(  so Hope and I took the train to Boston, where my sister and nephew met us at the station.  The Wise/Fleming sisters and their kiddos headed straight up the coast to Boothbay Harbor. 

I'm going to pause and say that this was the first time that I've taken a long train trip in over 20 years.  It was so pleasant!  There is so much more seat and leg room than in a plane, you can easily walk around, get lunch in the club car, and use the free wifi.  Even though it was an 8 hour trip, it flew by as we read, napped, and played on the computer. 

When we arrived, I went straight to the back of the house & this is what I saw:

That view!  The windows stretch along the entire back of the house, with a deck right in front, also along the expanse of the house. It is very cool in Maine in June, so the windows are open, letting you hear the water, the boats, the birds. You feel as if the peaceful world of the bay has enveloped you. 

Walking down an stone path to the back and side of the house, there is a small rocky beach and dock for residents to use. 

Every day, I went down to the rocks several times, to search for sea glass, to journal, to sit and breathe the salty air and listen to the waves.

On the other side of the house, the owners planted a gorgeous garden.

The quiet and solitude of Maine were just what I needed to start summer. More photos taken around the house & property:

We spent a bit of time exploring Maine....

Boothbay Harbor

The kids waiting for their ice cream downtown

Hope and I in front of the giant boot at LL Bean in Freeport

We antiqued, book shopped, read, ate ice cream, made fairy houses, went to an aquarium and cuddled.  At the end of the week, we turned the house back to the owners (tears were shed by one member of the family who shall remain un-named...) and returned to Boston for a day with Terri & Ezra.

My summary of our trip? 

You were right Mom, you do just have to be there.

 

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Visit From Great Friends

(Mount Vernon garden)

I'm back...like I said, summer vacation means time to blog!  Continuing on the story of our eventful and delightful June, I'll pick up where I left off, with the end of school....The very day that school ended we had dear friends visit from Indiana.  Glenn went to high school with Brian and has known Leslie ever since he was in their wedding.  As soon as I met them at our wedding, I knew that we would hit it off.  We usually only see each other once a year in Indiana, but they were able to take an entire week to visit with us and explore DC and the Virginia wine country. 

I know that both of them appreciate good food and restaurants, so I had fun putting together a menu of delicious food and choosing restaurants for nights out.  I wish that I would have taken photos of Friday night's dinner, because it was so good.  Flank steak, Susan Branch's tomato salad, asparagus, french bread and blackberry cobbler with ice cream!  Mmmm...I wish that I could have it again tonight :)  Saturday morning, I made a bacon, egg and cheese breakfast ring, pumpkin muffins (I added mini chocolate chips), Barefoot Contessa bananna crunch muffins (I left out the granola, banana chips & coconut) and berries.  Again, soooo good.  Bonus: the breakfast ring and pumpkin muffins are Weight Watchers compatible to those of us attempting to get rid of the effects of winter hibernation.

(photo from Foodnetwork.com)

(photo from Savorysweetlife.com)

Sunday night was chicken marsala, mashed potatoes and green beans.

For dinner out, I really wanted to try Blackwall Hitch, a restaurant that has been in Old Town Alexandria for about a year and has been getting a lot of positive talk.  I loved the setting and the interior -- it's right on the waterfront, with gorgeous views of the river and boats.  The interior is fun mix of industrial and vintage, with a bit of a nautical theme thrown in. We sat inside, in a booth. The food -- mine was only meh, but Brian and Leslie really liked theirs.  I think that I'd like to return, sit outside to enjoy the views and give the food another try before giving a final review.  DC area peeps -- any opinions on Blackwall Hitch?

(photo from Theblackwallhitch.com)

Believe it or not, and it's hard to tell from this post, we did something other than eat.  Saturday, we went to Mount Vernon and George Washington's Distillery. 

Did you know that our founding father was a wiskey distiller?  The restored mill and distillery is really interesting (worth a visit if you are in the area) and you can purchase wiskey made from on the premises from his original recipe.  Mount Vernon is always a beautiful site to visit, with it's perch overlooking the Potomac. 

On Sunday, knowing that Brian and Leslie enjoy hiking, we went to Great Falls National Park to walk around and see the famous and dangerous falls.

(All of the photos, unless otherwise noted, were taken by Leslie.  For some reason, I didn't take any pictures the entire time that they were here!)

It's an easy walk, along the river, and you can easily see the falls from various viewpoints.  There were a lot of people there including many kyakers, but we stayed a safe distance from the water, on the high path!

After the weekend, Brian and Leslie explored DC on their own while Hope and I had to leave to meet my parents in Maine (more to come).  Right before they left our house, Leslie snapped this great picture of these great friends:

 

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