Antique shopping!

7.28.13-

 Let me just say at the beginning of this post that I wish we would have had a U-Haul with us instead of a little Chevy Malibu & that I could take home tons with me on the plane. Oh. My.Goodness!  We stopped at so many antique stores & little shops on our road trip of all shapes & sizes, organized, messy ones & enjoyed every second of it.  

Grateful to have a hubby who enjoys looking at antique stores, junk, rusty things as much as I do.  This whole trip was his idea {by the way} & that we would just meander & stop wherever we wanted to along the way.  I left behind SO MuCH STuFF that I would have loved to take home with me but just didn't have the room.  I did realize have way through our trip that next time I am just going to budget in cost for shipping things home & not even think twice about it. 

{It's worth it to me not to have regrets about it.  Because there is one thing I left behind in Rochester, Vermont that I still think about :( } 

So here are a few of the treasures that I found: 

Of coarse on the top of my list is pop bottles!  If I find a bottle from the state that we are visiting in, done deal it's mine I'm taking it home.  Much more fun that way. One of my goals on this trip was to find an orange or black one 

{starting to dream about a Halloween pop bottle display}  

Lucky, for me a found a bottle with both.  Check! 

 I'm a sucker for anything vintage school related 

{must be the teacher in me!} 

but I scored some cool flashcards & a few other things to bring home.  Love the old boxes they came in too. I also love old tins, I have a collection of them. Just adore the colors & the olden days they represent.  These old milk bottle caps were cool- loved the color of them.  Maybe they'll become a garland or something, we'll see. 

I also found this vintage game that comes with adorable miniature alphabet playing cards.  Oooh, can't wait to use these around the house & for something H&H-y. Stay tuned!! How cute are these little mesh milk bottle caps.  I was so intrigued by them I just had to grab a bundle.  Also one thing I've started to do when I travel & shop at antique stores is to purchase a Christmas Ornament to add to my vintage ornament collection.  When I saw this beaded star with 6 mercury glass balls on it I just knew this was the treasure from this trip to add to the collection.  

I also snagged an old Vermont Syrup tin that I absolutely love & it ties in perfectly with my vintage kitchen decor. 

{I showed it on Instagram if  you follow me there} 

Lessons learned from this trip: 

-Pay to ship stuff home!

-Bring an empty suitcase 

-Bring a large box in a suitcase so I have a big box to ship everything home. 

-Don't leave anything I love behind!

{easier said than done ;)} 

{M} 

Postage, pebbles & postcards

7.27.13- 

  Hi, all!  Thanks for following along as I recapped our road trip.   So much fun & can't wait to go back.  

While I was away I showed you a tradition we have in our family that perfectly adds as home decor too.  Our vacation sand & postcard collection.  

I thought it would be fun to share a few pics of purchasing, collecting & sending some of those on our trip as a follow up to my blog post.  

{If you missed it or don't know what I'm talking about go HERE}

 Holding a hand full of postcards to send home to our girls & to each other from Detroit, Lake George & Vermont. 

We used up a LoT of stamps on this trip.  We grabbed postcards from every place we visited.  Need to buy a new sheet of stamps to keep on hand for the next trip.  

 A fun new things we discovered on this trip is vintage postcards.  There were all over the place at antique stores in the Northeast.  I've never seen so many & that they were organized so nicely too.  You could look up almost any city, lake or beach you were at & find old postcards.  Tyler bought these 2 to send home to me from 2 of the places we stopped, Old Orchard Beach, Maine & Lake Sunapee N.H.  I especially love the Old Orchard Beach one because that is exactly how the beach looked the day we stopped by 

{The only difference is that the people in the postcard were wearing more clothing than what we saw that day on the beach ;)}  

 Just look at that postcard!  That's when you know it is truly vintage, a 1 cent stamp is all that was needed back then.  Love it!  Me with a lap full of postcards to finish writing on before we headed for home. 

Of coarse we had to collect some sand to bring home with us too.  Glad we stopped by Old Orchard Beach, loved the name & getting to play in the sand for a bit & putting our tootsies in the water. Love our sand collection & the memories it brings whenever I see all the bottles lined up on the shelves.  

 My hubby, Ty jotting down a few thoughts to send back home to the girls over breakfast in Vermont.  We always divide up who to write too so that they get cards from both of us & then we each send one to each other. 

{Tender!} 

Grateful for traditions & things we do together to preserve memories for our family.  It's been a fun collection to watch grow over the years & I look forward to seeing many more memories added to our shelves & postcard holder. 

*-I'd love to hear from you!  What are some things you do to save memories from great vacations?-

{M} 

*be back next week to show you some of the antiques that I found & brought home. 

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Maine Street, USA

7.23.13- 

-Yes, the way life should be- I agree!- 

  The last stop on our road trip- Maine!  Oh, I have always wanted to visit here & 24 hours just didn't cut it.  There is still so much I want to see & explore.  It was fun just knowing that we were there but I can't wait to go back. I would love to explore the coast line & see the national park & spend more time at the ocean.  I'd also love to drop by Skylands & say hi to Martha sometime. {yeah, right!}  I think that's where my interest in Maine grew from was seeing her beautiful home & gardens she has there on her show. 

I knew I adored Maine when we stumbled upon the quiet little town of Brunswick & the main street was named Maine Street.  How adorable is that?  I wish we would have come across it an hour earlier because all the delightful little shops all closed up right as we got there. I did some window shopping but wished so bad I could come back the next day.  

{So sad that our flight was early & I couldn't} 

I still don't get tired of looking at pictures of the roads we drove on.  This is a main road & not a car in sight, no billboards, building everywhere just trees & a bright blue sky- love! Me with my guy after a yummy dinner on Maine Street at Henry & Marty's.  Good food- hit the spot & left us with a great taste of Maine to remember our trip by. 

I don't know why but I always take a picture of the license plate of the state we're in.  

-Got giddy when I saw this sign as we were about to leave New Hampshire-

Our first stop in Maine- the beach!  I think we were there with every other person in town.  Old Orchard Beach was the place to be Saturday morning.  Loved feeling the sand & the warm Atlantic Ocean on my feet. 

-A happy guy, out of the car & in the sand!- 

This is what I pictured houses in Maine to look like & if we lived here this is what ours would be.  Fun table & chairs in the yard & window boxes in the front.  Love the coastal colors of this house. 

When in Maine you have to have some lobster.  We stopped off at a local road side shack for a lobster roll.  

 {M}

Green with envy!

7.19.13-

  Oh, Dorothy I'm sure you were! Thought this artwork hanging up at the Amee Farms summed up pretty well how I was feeling about experiencing Vermont for the first time. It sure looked like the Emerald City to me.  

One last view of the charming Bed & Breakfast we stayed at.  That is our bedroom window, cracked open to hear the stream that is just outside.  Oh, I just adored this place.  I want to go back & stay in every single room.  

{But I think that room #6 really is the best, I mean its the pic they put on all their brochures} 

A few lovely decor ideas I took away from our stay there & want to incorporate into our home in one way or another. These simple dreamy headboard.  So charming & sweet.  

Thought this log circles turned into artwork was really cool!  Since we have piles of wood in our garage I think it will be something to add to the honey to-do list for our bedroom or family room. 

{Maybe I'll ask put this on my Christmas list} 

 I'll never forget the moss covered stone steps leading up to the green lawn at Amee Farms.  

The time finally came for us to load up the car & take off down the open road.  I wore my green cardigan for the day in honor of being in the Green Mountain State.  

I wanted to show my love! 

 This was my view the entire trip.  Thanks to my hubby for driving the whole way so I could take pics, enjoy looking out the window & dreaming of coming back here someday soon. 

A must stop when you're in Vermont, or at least all the tourists say.   Ben & Jerry's!!  A much needed hit of sugar to get us through a day of driving.  A very fun, happy & colorful place to say the least.  

 I love a good quote & thought that what Jerry said was great.  

You scream, I scream we all scream for Ice Cream. Cherry Garcia for me {the #1 all time flavor} & Mint Choc. Chip for him.  Such big huge cones, we were totally full for most of the rest of the day.  

{Went with the cone- Save the Enviorment ;)} 

 After Ben & Jerry's we hit a couple of Antique stores 

{I'll share some pics of the goods I found later} 

& then headed up to Sharon, Vermont.  I'd never been there so I wanted us to stop by.  It was a beautiful day.  Love how the clouds look in this picture.  That monument is much more impressive in person, really tall, 38 1/2 feet in fact.  Such a wonderful tribute to a amazing man & Prophet, Joseph Smith.  

Another picture perfect postcard of Vermont.  A tall white steeple poking out of the trees.  This time it was our church standing out along the countryside.  Loved that!!

Something about the contrast between the white & green that is everywhere is so picturesque.  

-I'm a Mormon.  Go here to learn more about The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints-  

After a trip to the Joseph Smith Birthplace site we stopped off at a local burger stand, Sandy's for dinner.  Yum!  These burgers hit the spot- so good.  We didn't even put a dent into the large order of Onion Rings. Hmmm.... probably should have ordered the small. 

 Sad to say this is my only pic of New Hampshire.  We really just cruised through it. 

 {I think we loved our time in Vermont too much!}  

Next time we visit I want to walk around & stay in the area around Darmouth College, go to Hampton Beach 

{where my Grandparents used to live} 

& dip my toes in Lake Winnipesaukee. 

**{Quick.... Name that movie! I sail, I'm a sailor} 

One of my all-time favorite movies! 

I'm giggling just thinking about it. 

What is it?  

I really am jealous of everyone who gets to live in this beautiful part of the country.  Get to wake up to those views every morning & drive those streets everyday as they're out & about.  So green & glorious!  

{M} 

I'm in LoVE!

7.17.13- 

   I'm back from a whirlwind trip of traveling 5 states in 6 days with my hubby. If you follow me on Instagram I'm sure you saw some of the pics that I posted during our trip. After starting with a bit of a rocky start 
{flight cancelled & unexpected night in Detroit}  

that resulted in going to the ballpark & watching the Tigers play the White Sox which was a fun surprise, the rest of the trip was fabulous.  

We decided to have a "freestyling" road trip. 

{We took this term from the American Pickers}  

We traveled the back roads of Upstate NY into Vermont, through New Hampshire & finally into Maine.  I really enjoyed our time meandering through small towns, amid all the thousands of trees & taking our time with no real agenda in mind.  Made for a relaxing vacation.  

Since my blog is kind of like a journal for me, I thought it would be fun to look back & share a few of the things I adored & learned on our trip with all of you.

-Waiting in the car outside of Sharon, Vermont while my hubby talks to an Arborist to get some wood to bring home & turn on his lathe.  He makes some amazing things!-

Took a quick stop in Saratoga Springs, NY.  It was simply delightful. Wish we would have had more time to check out the town.  It was fun to feel completely embedded into the horse racing lifestyle.  Loved seeing all the old stables, horses & vintage charm of this area.  I also adored all the handwritten & painted signs around the track.  Why can't things be more like that now?  
Miss simpler times.
{Sometimes I really think I was born in the wrong era, as I'll continue to show you throughout this post} 

-Notice the horseshoe hanging on the top- nice touch!- 

 We then traveled up to Lake George, NY & a trip out to find Burgess Island.  This island was named after one of my hubby's relative. He came over to fight for the British in the Revolutionary War as a paid solidier.  

{Oh, I learned so much about these guys in College with my History major.  Very Cool!} 

He loved it here so much, changed the spelling of his last name & stayed here at Lake George.  I could see why he did it is gorgeous!  It would be a fun vacation spot for a family trip. 

-Burgess Island has 5 campsites on it- so pretty big compared to all the other little islands on the lake- 

 Then we crossed the state line into Vermont & my heart skipped a beat.  I think I'm in love!!  From the moment we hit all the green hills & open pastures I felt like I was home. We totally lucked out & found the most charming Bed & Breakfast to stay at for the night, right off the side of the road.  Amee Farms in Pittsfield, Vermont.  
{If you're headed this way & want a fabulous place to stay, go here. You won't be dissapointed!} 

-We drove past this & I made Ty turn around.  Luckily they weren't booked & we got a room. LoVED it!!-

When we drove up the driveway & saw this sign I just knew we would enjoy our stay.  

Across the street is the actual Amee Farm with fresh fruits & veggies.  Thought these garden rocks were charming all placed together on a wooden stump.  Inspiration for our garden at home.  

 The view we had from the Bed & Breakfast on the huge wrap around porch.  Such a great place to sit, unwind after a long day of driving & take in all the amazing hills of Vermont. 

 Our kind of place. Nice, clean & unique.  Our room {there were 16 rooms to choose from} was on the bottom floor had 2 windows & a door to the back of the house.  There was a stream in the backyard so we opened the window at night & listened to the water.  It was heavenly!! 

-Thanks to my Hubby, Ty, for planning our freestyling road trip. It was so great. Love spending time with this guy.- 

 Lots of these all throughout Vermont, everything you need in one place. Love a good general old school store.  

 Thought these mason jars filled with goodies were sweet.  Not to mention syrup, EVERYWHERE!  We were definately in the Green Mountain state that is covered with Maple trees. 

 Nothing like fresh blueberry pancakes & pure maple syrup to start your day. 

-A country centerpiece- charming!- 

Just had to take a pic of this on the side of the General Store.  A piece of Americana in Vermont. 

-Our ride for the whole 764 miles we drove. Nice wheels! - 

I could have taken pics all day long of the gorgeous countryside.  I completely understand why it's called the Green Mountain State. 
{Oh, I cannot imagine how glorious this all looks in the Fall. We'll be back!} 

Another sight we saw everywhere was orange tiger lilly's dotting the countryside.  I want to plant some in our yard in honor of upstate New York & Vermont. 

I wanted to find a covered bridge & drive through it. They are a very popular Vermont landmark.  They are everywhere & so cool looking.  Why don't we still do that over small creaks & streams.  I wish! 

These next 2 pictures sum up Vermont perfectly.  Small farms poking out of the trees.  Loved the silver silos & red barns we passed along on the road.  

Exactly what I thought Vermont would look like.  White steeples dotting the landscape & sticking up for all to see.  Loved to see all of the different churches & think about how long they had been there. So fun to travel through the little towns & see when they were founded. Examples we saw were: 1761, 1744, 1776 & more.  
There was also really neat old {I mean OlD} cemeteries along the road too. The history buff in me wondered if some of the revolutionists were buried in some cemeteries. 

One last little nugget to think about from Vermont.  So true!  Love this poster & I don't think I'll ever order ice cream in a cup again.  So much easier that way ;) 

Things I loved about this road trip: 

-No Vinyl Fences, anywhere!!  Oh, I LOVE that!  Instead hedges, picket fances or just wide open spaces.  Vinyl fences are one of my PET PEEVES!! 

-No Billboards.  Just exit & road signs, nothing else.  

{Maybe I need to move ;)} 

- American flags flying everywhere.  On street posts, mailboxes & off porches.  So nice to see.

-Fresh air with a hint of pine, so refreshing.  

Thanks for letting me share a little bit of our trip with you. 

Already miss the beautiful North East & already want to go back.  But I think I'll wait until the Fall sometime.  Such a beautiful part of our country. 

{M}