Oh Christmas Tree

How lovely are thy branches!

For me, my favorite Christmas tradition is putting up and decorating the Christmas tree.  

Every year we put up the same tree and the same ornaments(several hundred now) and it keeps growing.  The ornaments are as important as the tree itself ~  most of them have been either given as gifts or tell some story.  I love to put on some of my favorite Christmas music(Barbara Streisand and Bing Crosby) which really get me in the mood and brings back so many fond memories of Christmases past.

I don't just put up one tree though...

I also put a small simple shabby tree decorated with 

glittery white snowball ornaments in our bedroom

Another small twig tree decorated in hearts in memory of my niece

  who loved hearts and the color pink( I couldn't find any pink heart ornaments, so I bought these plain glass heart ornaments and decorated them in pink glitter)  

 I think she'd love it!

Another rustic nordic style tree in our family room 

(the vintage reindeer I just got from my mom's collection...

they're over 50 years old and I really love them!

A mini tree in our kitchen

and a beautiful Swarovski crystal tree

Have 

yourself 

a 

Merry little Christmas!

Sharon

T.G.I.F. (Thank God it's FALL)!

I always welcome the changing seasons and especially
LOVE fall
and all the ingredients that make it so  
beautiful:

 

 ~ homemade pumpkin pie (yum)!

~  cool, crisp air

 ~ the sound of rustling leaves

~  the beautiful fall colors (it still fascinates me)

~  Fall craft shows (my favorite)
~  Apple picking and eating!
~  comfy sweaters

~  Everything!

I also like to decorate outside and thought I'd share some with you

 this year I planted some stonecrop along the side of our house, 

I think it looks at home with my sunflower and pumpkin :)

I found this cute scarecrow at a fall festival this year and had to have him. 

I got the pumpkin at the same festival last year...

there's something special about fall festivals and I love going to them 

and supporting handmade items as much as possible

I planted different types of coleus along with some ornamental tall grass...I love the colors they turn for fall!

My favorite spot!

Butterflies love them too!

I can't believe I actually got a shot of one of our sweet hummingbirds...he even sat on top of the trellis for a while.  He will actually fly right up to my face when I'm sitting on our deck ~ always makes my day:)

the pumpkin patch

Welcome FALL!


Sharon

'Mornin Glory!

A couple months back I did a post "How does your garden grow" featuring some Zinnias and Morning Glories that I had started from seed for the first time, so I wasn't quite sure what the outcome would be.  I have had pretty good luck planting annuals and perennials, but as a lot of you probably know it's all about

LOCATION LOCATION LOCATION!

It's definitely a bit of trial and error and LOTS of patience or Impatients?

Anyway, I'm happy to announce that I did get some blooms on them and before the summer's over 

 

I planted them in a small planter on our deck and the bonus is the hummingbird's love them too!

that's my next challenge to get a picture of them ~  

hopefully they'll be in a future post if I'm lucky.

 brings a smile to my face ; )

 My very first "White Purity" Zinnia

 My first "Green Envy" Zinnia not in full bloom yet, but it's already 3 feet tall...

can't wait to see it in full bloom

Another "Green Envy" Zinnia not quite fully in bloom ~ I love the color of these!

 I don't consider myself to be a professional gardener by any means, so for those of you that are this may seem like a piece of cake, but I'm working on it and every little accomplishment is a reason to celebrate!

Have a wonderful weekend!

Sharon

Vintage Girl at Heart: Breakfast is Served!

Vintage Girl at Heart: Breakfast is Served!: "On a recent garage sale hunting expedition I came across some nice vintage pewter pieces that I thought would be a great addition to my smal..."

Breakfast is Served!

On a recent garage sale hunting expedition I came across some nice vintage pewter pieces that I thought would be a great addition to my small collection of pewter.  I got a nice hammered pewter tray with a leaf design along the edge, a pewter pitcher a sweet pewter vase(marked english pewter) and salt and pepper shakers.

All for a  

GRAND TOTAL 

of...

drum roll please!

7.00

that's right

only 

7 DOLLARS!!!

gotta LOVE garage sales!

the vintage plate (marked france on the back) I found at a garage sale several years ago and is one of my favorites, it has a pretty scalloped edge and an embossed design along the edge.  Everything tastes better eaten on them (wink).

Breakfast is served!!!

Sharon

Vintage Girl at Heart: Wanna Trade?

Vintage Girl at Heart: Wanna Trade?: "Welcome to Isle a la Cache , Romeoville, Il. (Island of the Hiding) This is a historic area where Voyageurs and Indians met to trade furs ..."

Wanna Trade?

Welcome to Isle a la Cache, Romeoville, Il.

(Island of the Hiding)

This is a historic area where Voyageurs and Indians met to trade furs along with other goods in the 18th Century.

The area is surrounded with beautiful wetlands and native prairie grasses and the I & M Canal where they canoed and fished for food. 

For you nature lovers out there, this is a nice place to spend a couple hours, have a little picnic, enjoy the beauty and visit the museum (great for kids). 

Every year they hold an Island Rendezvous(this year it was June 11th and 12th)

People dress in period costumes and the entire area is filled with tents where they have demonstrations, reenactments, a nicely done falconry show and music.

It's pretty interesting and free to the public.  

So...

If you live in the area, or are ever in the area, it's worth 

checking out!

Happy Trails!

Sharon

Hooray for the Red, White and Blue!

Ahhh..

the 

Fourth of July ~

This holiday brings back so many fond memories and evokes a sense of nostalgia. 

Not only am I proud to be an American,

 

I am GRATEFUL for the freedom we have and this BEAUTIFUL country we live in!

So, whatever your plans may be ~

whether you're having a cookout, going to parade or watching fireworks 

or maybe doing them all...

Have fun and have a SAFE and HAPPY 4th

and

Let Freedom Ring!

Sharon

 

Sweet Summer Time...

Lazy days,

Ice cold lemonade,

The birds and the bees,

A good book,

A beautiful garden,

Starry nights...

that's what summer's all about!

Mr. and Mrs. Sparrow

Morning glories I started from seed...

hopefully I'll have some blooms before summer's over:)

I just found this old chair at an estate sale for ONE dollar ~ 

I think it looks nice with some pale pink delphinium(a shorter version that only gets about 1 ft tall) along with various coleus and trailing vines.

ENJOY!

Sharon

Contain yourself...

I'm a big fan of container gardening and fill a dozen or so containers with perennial and annual flowers, tall grasses, hostas or anything I find interesting.  My all time favorite is silverberry petunias.  I love the soft pink color of them and how beautiful they trail.  

Take a look...

 My fave...silverberry petunias 

I plant these in flower boxes on our deck(they also attract hummingbirds and sometimes I'm lucky enough to have them fly right up to me ~  makes me smile!)

I really love pink flowers and like to plant various shades of pink

 some pretty rockfoil I planted in a vintage crock ~  

I also did a border with these in our front yard

Hens and chicks along with sweet pale pink creeping phlox and some river rocks and a trellis.

I like adding ornamental objects to my containers ~  gives it some dimension and makes them a little more interesting!

sweet lamb's ear ~ delightful!

 a bird bath with another container of silverberry petunias and some variegated hostas

did I mention that I love silverberry petunias?

here with some tall grass and a rustic bird house

(I just planted this, but should reach around 2 feet tall when mature)

The nice thing about container gardening is that you can change it every year 

and move the containers around if you want to.

Happy weekend!