Sweet Finds!

We scored some really cool goodies this weekend on our latest Thrill of the Hunt pickin trip!

We have become excellent packers and even the dubious gentleman at our last stop were impressed by our ingenuity on how we got it all in. With every item they brought out was the comment, "Now where do you think you are going to put that?" If they did not speak it,  their eyes, sighs and shrugs said it all. We showed them! (even if we had to reposition things a few times) See those trunks? They are even filled with treasures!

Come to the barn sale and see if you can tell what we have done with some of these goodies. We have our work cut out for us but we are always up for a challenge!

Okay...so we couldn't fit in this guy. 

Maybe next time if he is still hanging out waiting to be our knight in shining armor.

Looking forward to seeing you all soon!

Meg

If We Build It They Will Come

What do you do with a very large field that used to house horses in it?

Get out your tractor and cut a baseball field into the verdant green grass!

That is what my dad did this past summer. I think he secretly did it so he could lure his 12 grandsons to come over and play frequently...as long as they stayed outside.  Or being the baseball lover that he is, he might have truly wanted to re-enact Kevin Costner's baseball field of ghost greats! Whatever the case may be, it worked this past weekend when we were coming up with plans to celebrate our oldest sons' 22nd Birthday. When asked what he would like to do, his first reply without even thinking was, "To play baseball at Skip Pops." (That is what the kids call my dad. When we had Christopher, who was the first grandchild, he was younger than I...ouch! and did not feel that he was ready to be called grand pa...so he came up with Skip - his first name and Pop. Makes him sound much younger!) 

So that is what we did! We sure can field 2 baseball teams with family members and the day could not have been any more beautiful!

Christopher is always the pitcher... because he can get it across the plate.

Being that there were so many boys here...I did say 12 grand SONS (okay one was too little to play and his brother was just born a week ago so there were only 10 and 3 live in North Carolina so that left 7) they needed to get some more of their energy out by running around an almost painted empty pool. Tons of fun! Kelsey, our daughter who is spending a semester abroad in London at the present time, would have been standing at the edge shaking her head asking, "Why?" as they completed their 57th lap.  

One thing I observed, as I was walking around the place that I called home for so many years, was an understanding of where my love for patina originated. It is way too seldom that we gather at my mom and dad's, even though they are not that far away. Our busy schedules, and theirs as well, competes for our time. Upon being here during such a beautiful Fall afternoon, it all became totally transparent. Yes, I had grown away from it for awhile while in college. I wanted nothing to do with leaky faucets, a cold 3rd floor where I wore a hat to bed and at least a 20 minute drive to get milk. I went to school in Washington DC. Married, lived in townhouses as the kids were born and then a brand new house.

 Wham, it hit as the kids were getting older! That yearning for coming back to my roots, maybe? A soul fulfilling dream? My love for history never faded and every chance we got to take a trip away from home, it was almost always centered around a historic place or city. History has a way of repeating itself so they say, and I think in this case it is true. 

My quest for creating what my parents had created for us has come full circle, leaky pipes and all. Plaster that occasionally falls from the ceiling, as Shane let us know last night was happening in his sister's room. (That is a whole other story how they are jockeying for her room while she is away...) So much work to be done to maintain these one hundred and fifty year plus buildings, but it is all worth it. They are testaments to lives past and ways of living that have almost vanished and they are filled with a  palatable beauty...to some.

With a heart full of patina~

Meg

Loot Shoot for our Sale in October! Went picking and took the kids!

First of all - SAVE the DATE!! The fall barn sale has been scheduled for
OCTOBER 4th - 6th, 2013. 

So many great treasures, some of which I picked up on a fun road trip with my two of my boys.
 How did I choose the lucky ones that got to go with me? and why would I take them? Well let's just say that my 15 year old loves anything new and sleek and asks all the time if a) he can either carpet his hardwood floors or b) get a new room that does not have a drafty old fireplace in it. Since neither of those requests are going to come to fruition, I have probably scarred him for life against anything old, peeling and squeaky...you can catch my drift . He would not appreciate a day and half trip surrounded by old, peeling squeaky things so he was off the hook. You see, I needed some help loading this awesome pair of shutters that I had purchased on my last trip but had no room to take home. I would enlist the help of my oldest and bring the youngest along to test the waters. He is the creative type and you can either find him a) with his fingers glued together after working on some creative contraption or b) with his fingers glued together after... So the crew was assembled and off we drove into the sunset.

After waking up bright and early and enjoying the complimentary breakfast at the hotel, ( of which my husband says that if it was only served until 5am than I would be there even though I dislike early mornings, just because it is free ) we headed back onto the road and to our first stop. 

Lots of goodies to be found here! Let the trailer loading begin.

One thing I have learned after these many ventures out picking is how to pack the car, truck or trailer to hold the maximum capacity. It really is a science, one that I will be passing onto the boys on this trip. What they will do with it in the future I have no idea.

The bungee cords and blankets were enlisted, and right around 3 pm we were finished loading. We were all hot and tired and the boys

 were thrilled to be involved in the days activities. Can't you see it on their faces? Don't you worry! They will thank me later for this experience and their future wives will love me for it. At least that is what I like to tell myself.

So stop on by the weekend of October 4th-6th to check out our finds from this picking trip along with other forays. 

Happy trails to you!

Meg

The Final Shades of Summer

As school children across the US head back to school after the Labor Day weekend and we cross the bridge into a change of mentality, colder days, darker evenings and a more hurried pace, I thought I would give a last look back on Summer decor. 

The shades of summer are filled with blues, greens and tans that change with the skies and the light. I love to reflect the outside hues indoors and use the same tones to fill interior spaces. If the skies are bright the same colors light up and become much more vivid and bright.

I am sharing how we incorporated these outdoor colors in a beach house whose windows reflect these scenes. Why fight against these magnificent colors?

Colors magnified...

Cheers!

As we move towards a more Earthed toned palette and turn our heads towards the cooler days of Fall, may your memories of the Summer past fade into the present days and how to make them just as beautiful! The change, though difficult at times, is a welcome sign of moving forward. To be truly honest with you, I welcome the brisk days of Fall, the first smell of fires burning at the hearth and the turning inwards that Fall brings on.

Enjoy!

Meg