I have been going to Brimfield, MA for their outdoor vintage and antique market for years.

For a while, it was just two of us.

Then, there were three and now the package is complete and it has been all four Betties.

My Betties and I have been together since 1989 when we are all housed in the same dorm at UNH.

They have been one of my greatest blessings since.

Day 1 was just two of us and I could not wait to get there.

One of my favorite parts is checking out what people already found and bought and are carrying around in their carts.

There are so many different styles of booths/tents.

Some are very formal and organized.  Some are not.

Some make you want to come right in and stay a while.

Don’t you love what that chalkboard says?

“Creativity is allowing yourself to make mistakes.  Art is knowing which ones to keep.”

There were lots of treasures that almost went home with us…

But in the end, new options were found or the decision to hold off was made.

There is endless inspiration, ideas and visual stimulation.

On the second day the traffic getting into Brimfield was legendary and was even on the news.

It took us as long from 30 minutes away as it had for me from NY the day before – 3 hours.

It gave us plenty of time to reflect on the damage that was done by a tornado in this area last year.

My hubby was about 10 minutes behind this storm on the highway and was humbled when he came upon the damage.  That gets you thinking.

We moved from booth to booth, some at the same pace, others on their own – but always meeting up at the end of the aisle.

We called each other back when we saw something we thought the other might like (thanks for finding the trays Jack!).

It was all just easy, relaxed and comfortable.

Oh, and how they made me laugh.

After all these years, our decades old jokes are still funny.

At least we think so.

And we found plenty of new things to laugh about too.

We found some creativity that was, well creative…

But I wouldn’t want it in my house, creepy!

I feel like I would have to announce something really important to do this chalkboard justice.

Oh how fun that cart would be on a porch.

I did not expect to find much for my sales, but I actually did find some great treasures to be reworked and sold.

Boxes seemed to be the theme.

6 greenish, one large blue and four natural wood.

I also brought home a wire basket, several trays and some transferware for myself.

I will share photos of the other items when there is actually some sun around these parts.

It seems fitting that we all seek out items that have a story to tell and that have history.

I seek them out because we have stories to tell, we have history.

I love them fully for who they are and they do the same in return.

I feel renewed and thankful.

Thanks,

Mother’s Day for me wasn’t your typical relax and put your feet up kind of day, but that was okay by me.

We met up with my family for lunch.

I mean, all of us.

You see, my parents are divorced and both are remarried.

I spent a good part of my growing up years with parents who couldn’t be in the same room.

Look at us now.

Mom and Richard (who by the way is doing fabulous!)

Dad and Sue.

We have never all done Mother’s Day before, but I love this new normal.

It is not forced or done begrudgingly.

Everyone really does get along.

And for me to be able to give this type of family to my children is beyond words.

I hope this is all they ever know.

And although the day was about  Mothers, I could not help but think about this man.

I have always said the best decision I have ever or will ever make is to choose this man to be the father of my children.

All that he has taught me about fighting fair, not holding a grudge, treating people fairly – he has made me a better wife, mother and person.

And my Mom, of course I had to thank her for all that she has done for me and the Grandmother that she now is to my children.

I think a lot about doing right by my children, I take my job as a mother quite seriously and want so much to teach them well.

And then there are moments when I realize that they have so much to teach me.

I am 41 years old and don’t think I have ever sat on my Dad’s lap – I thought this picture was worth sharing.

I never would have seen this coming, but I am so thankful for our new normal.

Thanks,

Yeah, I know, if you have been looking for me, I haven’t been here.

For the last three weeks I have been involved in a program at church and I WAY over committed myself.  Not a little bit – a lot.

I truly had no idea what I volunteered for, I don’t think any of us did.

It has taken so much of my time – and there was still the cooking, cleaning, parenting and endless softball games to attend to.

I do not know how women who work outside of the home do it.

I officially bow to you.

But it was more than my time, this program and the people in it have whooped my tush (by the way, spell check says “tush” is not a word, they never met my Grandmother).

I am done in, mentally exhausted and needing to just step away for a minute to process it all.

It was the good but hard raw stuff where friendships are truly born.

So, the timing could. not. be. better.

I head out now to go to Brimfield with my Betties.

I love these girls – they know me SO well and I can just be myself, relax, hunt for treasures and laugh my tush off.

So, I will write this week off, I hope you forgive me, and I will come back next week with a renewed energy.

In the meantime, I will be sharing interesting finds on Facebook and Instagram (lpatfindinghome).

Have a wonderful weekend, a blessed Mother’s Day and I look forward to getting back to things next week.

Thanks,

Last year, I hit several great auctions during the winter and early spring.

This year, they have not been as good or I have been unable to attend the ones with good potential.

I was starting to get very frustrated.

Recently, I have had better luck though – with two estate sales run by the same company.

I thought I would share some of my finds today…

Some are to keep, some are for projects and some are in preparation to hopefully open at Etsy shop soon?

This first one is so fun – it is an old lock but it has a latch on it that would be great to hang things from.

I couldn’t scoop this embroidered clock up fast enough..still deciding if I am keeping or selling this one…

The details are unbelievable – I love all the different type of stitches, colors and thicknesses.  I think with a fun color pop on the frame this could be fabulous!

A small ironstone sugar bowl went right on my shelf…

A large pile of freshly washed vintage hankies.  These were quite the challenge to get out the musty smell but I finally won out.

Note, these are washed, not pressed.

I am working on some ideas of projects with these, we shall see…

I have looked for one of these for a while, a chicken feeder.  Another lady had it in her hand for a long time, but she put it down and walked away.

Fair game in my book.

Oh, and some of the hankies have beautiful embroidered details.

Again, not yet pressed.

These were kind of thrown in with everything else, one is a wooden flat spoon and the other – I have no idea.

Hopefully some day I will have a “light bulb” moment and figure out what to do with it.

This is one of my favorites.  I got all three buckets, but the front one still has its farm label.

Hubby really liked this one as well so this is a keeper.

This little pretty painting was in a really ugly and crazy heavy frame, I threw that away and now you can see how pretty the art really is and I love the colors.

Couldn’t pass this baby up – yup, the year I was born.

I’ll save you the math – I am 41.

This was too good of a deal to pass up.  It is a pheasant transferware pattern.

It is incomplete, but I thought it would be fun to find other pieces to mix with it and use it for a Thanksgiving table.

It is already in my kitchen hutch with all of its new transferware friends.

And lastly, some uniquely shaped ironstone bowls.

I have gone to almost every estate sale this company runs.

I know if they are doing it chances are its going to be pretty good.

They told me they have another one coming up soon and I realized it was the weekend of Brimfield (anyone going?).

I tried to convince them it was a bad choices because so many collectors would be at Brimfield – most importantly me and I wouldn’t be able to come!

But then, they also realized it is Mother’s Day weekend as well.

Keeping my fingers crossed they have rescheduled it so I can go!

Have a great day!

Thanks,

Today I am sharing Part 3 of the series, Finding Your Landscape Style

If you would like, you can read Part 1 and Part 2.

I started writing this series to share a lot of the mistakes that I have made over the years with our landscaping, specifically with our front yard garden beds – in hopes of helping you avoid them.

I am determined, once and for all to design these beds in a style we like and that is realistic for us to maintain.

As, I have been planning, I used a list of criteria to help direct me.

I have already shared points 1, 2 and 3.

Today, I am talking about:

As I shared in point 3, I never really approached the outside of my home the way I approached the inside.

I am hoping by using a similar approach to “decorate” outside I will have better results.

As I looked around my house to see what were the things I really like about my home – I kept turning to my vintage and vintage inspired treasures.

I truly like unique things with a story, so why not bring that outside?

So the final step to finishing my outdoor beds will be to accessorize.

My biggest mistake: With the exception of some containers, I have never “accessorized” my garden beds.  By adding layers, I am hoping to add more interest and in the end actually like what the front of our house looks like.

In this picture, a collection of galvanized containers make a great impact.  What is especially lovely is unifying effect of white and soft pink flowers.

Just as we use color to pull together a room, the same can be done in gardens.

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If you are not necessarily into vintage items, these sculptural pieces are so lovely they would work in almost any garden.

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In this picture that I shared above (can I get the water view too please!), I love how they incorporated rocks into the space to make it more interesting.

Around here there is not shortage of rocks!

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I think I used to really dislike sculpture or any non-plant things in the garden.

I think I may even have to admit that I often thought them to be tacky.

Now, I am learning that it is all about the pieces you choose, where you place them and how you balance them out.

Oh wait, that is exactly what we do INSIDE our homes.

Why did this take me so long and so many plants to figure this out?

I am in love with unique bird houses and I am hoping to be able to include some like this one.

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I love how in this image the simple placement of a bird bath provides a focal point and then sends you wandering down the path. source

I actually used several child size turquoise chair planters in front of my garage last fall.

Two of them have made their way up front and are the color jumping off point ( not quite this bright).

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Finding interesting items for your home can be fairly simple.

If you are someone who already shops yard sales /estate sales / auctions – start keeping your eye out for things that could withstand the outdoors and be interesting – even if their primary purpose is not garden related.

Other great options are Lowes, Home Depot, Homegoods and similar stores.

I think the key thing in these type of stores is to try and find the more unique items, what catches your eye and try to think about using things in an unusual way.

If you would like to see more outdoor accessory inspiration, you can visit my Outdoor Spaces Pinterest Board.

Again, the links to the series are here Part 1 and Part 2

We have already gotten a good start outdoors and I will share the results when we are finished.

Right now I am waiting for there to actually be leaves on my hydrangea plants and for the seedlings to drop on my trees.  Once they drop, I will be putting down fresh mulch.

I am also waiting for the weather to warm back up to put out my annuals without a frost risk.

If you would like to follow any updates along the way, I will be sharing on my Facebook page.

Thanks so much for reading!

I hope this series was helpful in someway and maybe helped you avoid some of the mistakes I have made.

Thanks,

Recently I shared Part 1 of Finding Your Landscape Style.

I am really hoping that by sharing the mistakes we have made in regards to our landscaping, I can prevent you from doing the same.

I have been working over the last few weeks to make better decisions and hopefully get our front landscaping as we really want it – meaning that we like the way it looks and we are capable of managing it.

So, I have put together a list of considerations for making decisions about our landscape style and I thought I would share that list with you.

I already reviewed points 1 and 2 in the last post, so today I will cover point 3.

Regardless of what your style is inside, I believe that style can be translated to the outdoors.

I am starting to realize that may be one of the reasons what I have done outside hasn’t worked yet is because I haven’t been true to my style.

My Mistake – Not making a plan for what my outdoor style is and implementing it.

So, I started to think, I already have a pretty clear style indoors.

Could I literally translate some of the my favorite elements from inside my home outdoors?

I know, groundbreaking – ha!

I started from what I already knew.

There are two plants I have used (and I am still using) that actually have worked out well and I have loved.

Boxwoods and Hydrangeas.

And this lovely picture happens to show both together which makes me so very happy.

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This setting is much more formal than my taste, but it provides such great inspiration.

This grouping is more causal, I love the layered look.  It also introduces the idea of adding annuals to the mix which I had not thought of and I am totally going to steal be inspired by.

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And this picture inspired a new idea of boxwoods in a container – which I love these so very much (have you ever seen one like this?).

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I have had great success over the last few years with Endless Summer Hydrangeas.

They do cost more – but for me they have flowered well into the fall and have handled full sun most of the day really well.

sorry – could not locate source!

So, here is how I am approaching things now:

Instead of having a whole bunch of stuff that isn’t working, I am focusing on what I really like.

This is how I started to see things:

The armoire in our family room is traditional, structured and has a strong presence in our family room.

I see boxwoods as the equivalent of that.

Our sofas are also a large part of this room.  They are less structured, soft and have pops of color on them – like hydrangeas.

I love how they contrast each other.  The structure against the soft and free flowing.

Are you still with me?  Is this a totally crazy idea or does it make some sense?

I am now working to build my front flower beds like I would build a room.

Instead of including too many unrelated elements, I am simplifying and using plants that I love and reflect my style.

Do you think this approach would work for you?

Where are you most comfortable in your home, what room best expresses your style?

Start using that as a guide for selecting plants and you may end up with a space outside that you love as much as inside.

In the next part of the series I will be covering the key missing ingredient in our outdoor space that is so prevalent inside – accessories and vintage accents.

If you are interested in some other interesting outdoor ideas you can follow my Outdoor Spaces Pinterest page.

You may even find out how to shape a boxwood into an elephant!

Thanks for reading and have a great day.

I am sharing over at…

Thanks,

Last week, I shared our Fairy Garden.  Since finishing this project we are moving on to our “full-sized” gardens.

We have managed to get outside and start working outdoors much earlier than usual because of the mild weather.

And this is a good thing because we really need it.

We have focused so much on the inside the last few years that the outside has really taken a hit.

I will get into more specifics on our space at a future date, but for now I want to share how much we have learned about what NOT to do.

We have wasted a lot of money on buying plants for our front beds only to pull them out and attempt to replant them in another location.

So, I have been working over the last few weeks to make better decisions and hopefully get our front landscaping as we really want it – meaning that we like the way it looks and we are capable of managing it.

So, I have put together a list of considerations I have been using as criteria for making decisions about our landscape style and I thought I would share that list with you.

To cover all four points in one post would be really long and I don’t want to loose you!

So, for today, I am going to cover points one and two.  I am hoping by sharing some of the things I have learned through mistakes, I can help you avoid making the same ones!

You need to start in the zone – your planting zone of course.

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Zones: Most people already know this, but it is important to keep it in mind – if your zone is too extreme in temperature for a plant – no matter what you do, it won’t make it.  Or, if it isn’t fit for your zone you could end needing to water significantly more often. The good news is most garden centers are only going to sell plants that are appropriate for your location.  This mostly becomes a consideration if you order plant or seeds out of a catalog or online.

My biggest mistake: The main mistake we have made in this area is with hanging plants.  Unless you remember / are available to water them everyday, they dry out – and then you feel guilty when they are dead.  I have just stopped doing them.  If I am doing something in a container, it has to be large enough to hold a fair amount of soil to hold onto water and not hanging which seems to drain quicker.

source: BHG.com

Greenness of Your Thumb and Time Management:

You also need to consider how green your thumb is and how much time you have to put into your landscape and garden spaces.

I learned this the hard way.

The image above is a beautiful garden that I would love to have.  Now, I have not ever had anything like that, but I know that although this appears relaxed and casual – it is A LOT of work.  I have planted many plants that loose their flowers after a very short time and need to be cut back or that self seed and and run amuck.  If you have the time, passion and knowledge to stage your gardens for continuous blooms – I applaud you.  If you do not, consider things like flowering seasons and needing to cut a plant back for a new growth season.

My biggest mistake: Saliva.  I thought they were so beautiful so I bought several varieties  I didn’t realize that they would seed very randomly everywhere, but not in a “it all filled in” type of way.  I have painfully pulled them all but did pass them on to a neighbor to use in their yard.

Pests: Deer rule the roost in our neck of the woods.  As much as I would love to have a walkway like this:

source: BHG.com

Everyone of those hostas would be gone the morning after I planted them.  Hostas are like candy crack for deer in these parts.  All your hard work and money would go to waste.  If deer or other plant eating pests are a problem in your area, research plants that are deer resistant.  There are product that help keep the deer at bay, but they require re-application when it rains and it only takes one time of missing it for the deer to have a buffet in your yard.

My biggest mistake: I actually had a few hostas in a raised bed about three feet high figuring they would not come up that high – they did.  I have found numerous plants broken off and have lost THREE weeping cherry trees to deer.  We now cover many of our plants in the winter when a lot of the damage happens.

I don’t believe that you have to have hard and fast rules about matching the style of your home with your landscaping because I think landscaping is an opportunity to customize your home, make it your own style.  However, I do think you need to consider the style of your home.  If your home is very traditional, maybe instead of doing a completely formal and traditional garden space, you could combine traditional elements with cottage elements.

Or, if your home is very rustic in style, maybe bring in a few evergreens that bring in structure and then bring in the rustic side with more casual perennials.

You get the idea, just like inside your home, work with what you already have, but put your own twist on it.

My biggest mistake: I thought I wanted an English country garden.  I was wrong.  For the area we are in and the style of our home, it just didn’t look right and I have slowly been changing plants out.  I do try to replant anything I pull out in another location.

Next post I will cover points 3 and 4 and share how I am using the inside of my home as inspiration for my outdoor landscaping.

Thanks so much for reading!

Thanks,

This is a recycled post, I hope you don’t mind.

There are quite a few new people around these parts since I first wrote it a year ago and this story is just so good!

We are back in to softball season around here and I wrote this during the playoff week last year.

It is a GREAT story – I hope I do it justice – I know it and I am teared up again reading it today.

Sunshine is no longer on this team – she aged up, but we are lucky enough that Peanut aged up and is now on this same team.

And, we are lucky enough to be playing again with the young lady that this story is about –

The ultimate underdog story!

Last night was a pure joy moment. One of the best I have had in a while. I even jumped up and down.

Really.

It was all for this little girl.

The girl being swooped up by her Mom and cheered by her team.

Let me set the stage.

Sunshine is on a 9 and 10 year old softball team. Should be all fun right?

Fortunately, for the girls, it really is.

Some of the adults, no so much.

See we finished the season in second place, played our first playoff game, won, then through a series of events the” previously agreed playoff game” became a “makeup game”.

Stung a little, would have stung a lot if they lost after already thinking they were going to the championship game (did I already give away the ending?).

So, here it was, bottom of the 6th inning (they only play 6 innings at this level).

The young lady above was up to bat, was walked, next batter up, walked, putting this little Petunia on second base.

We just needed one run and the game was over.

But, the coaches underestimated her.

They didn’t realize that there was a firecracker inside there.

They all huddled on the field for several minutes, brought in other coaches, rule books, it was all there.

They wanted to put in a “Pinch Runner” to replace Petunia and to run faster.

Really?

Well, turns out the rule books said, nope, not happening.

Next batter up, great hit, not even sure where it went, doesn’t matter.

Petunia ran from second,

to third,

and then crossed home plate to score the winning run.

It was so amazing.

She ran like the wind and never hesitated.

She just went for it.

She had never moved like that before.

I barely know this child, but as a Mother, heck as a person, what a moment to witness, what a moment to be lucky enough to be part of.

I heard the woo hoo come out of my mouth, I felt myself jump up several times and it was such pure joy.

And it felt really good.

It would have been fun to win the game, but this joy was over this girl showing us all what it is all about.

So thanks to Petunia, and to the whole team, for playing with class and working really hard.

Thanks for showing us that we are not always as we appear.

Tomorrow, we head to the championship game and the adults are already managing to complicate that as well.

Either way, our girls had a fabulous time out there and tonight had just as much fun at practice.

Yes, it will be so fun for them to win tomorrow, but I think they have already figured out it is just fun to play ball with your friends.

Isn’t that what it is all about?

Update – they did not win the championship game – but they played with class and had so much fun.

I realize reading this that this does not necessarily place the coaches in the finest light – and while I don’t think it was their best moment, it does not reflect on how they are as coaches on the whole.  And this year, it seems to be different – even better.  Maybe they learned a little something that day!

On another note, I am ending Show & Tell Fridays but will be bringing them back soon in a new format – stay tuned!

Thanks,

A bit ago I completed an embroidered Eiffel Tower

It was part of my spring mantel

If you have read my blog for any length of time, or if you follow me on Pinterest, you already know I am kind of obsessed with embroidery.

Actually, any kind of hand work – embroidery, needlepoint, crewel, oh how I love crewel.

So, I decided it was time to stop just pinning and try my hand at it.

I am not exactly sure why I decided such a large project would be the way to go, but I was feeling the need for an Eiffel Tower.

I know, that makes no sense.

If you are a talented and experienced embroidery pro, please stop reading.

If you really want to know how to do this the proper way, please stop reading.

I had it in my mind that I was making this on this particular day and would make it work with what I had on hand.

Now that my disclaimers are out of the way, I will share my process.

I actually started with the frame that was the right size for where I wanted to it to go on the mantel

I traced the opening onto a piece of poster board and then sketched my Eiffel Tower in pencil and then went over it with Sharpie.

I made some changes from this version, and I know in both versions the top is a little wonky and I would do it differently in the future.

I used this tutorial, actually for cupcakes as a guide.

Then I laid my fabric over the drawing and traced it lightly with a good old fashioned pencil.  I do now own an embroidery tracing pencil, but this is what I had available to me at the time.  Actually, it worked quite fine on this fabric, which is like a chambray and didn’t really show up once I was finished.

I started with a hoop but found it very awkward, probably because of the size of what I was working with.

So, I am not going to give you a tutorial on stitches, I will leave that to the pros.  This is what I used to get myself started.

You have to choose how many threads you are going to use, I used three except on the clouds – there I used all six for it to be “fluffy”.

The picture above show why you should use a hoop – so that the fabric stays in place and you don’t get bunching like I did.

And yes, my stitches are not straight or even.

I did very basic stitches except I decided to get a little fancy with the “amour”.

When it was complete, I used a staple gun to attach the fabric to the back of the frame.

In the end, I was happy with it despite the flaws.

It gave my mantel the kitchy edge I was looking for and I finally did it instead of just pinning it.

I am hoping to take the lessons learned here and try again, probably on a smaller scale so and not in such a rush.

How about you, have you tried your hand at embroidery?

Thanks for reading!

Thanks,

Do you Instagram?

I do and I love it!

Why?

Lots of reasons, like…

…I can quick share an estate sale find, or

when my daughter falls asleep so beautifully during our Mom & Dad’s room sleepover – camera is nowhere to be found but my phone was already in my hand, or…

to do sneak peeks of projects we are working on,or…

to share little things, like my new turtle friend in the garden that I would not really write a whole post about (although he is cute enough for a full post!), or

to capture the simple moments with my family when I am not necessarily bringing my camera but my phone is always with me, or

to share fun little updates or additions in our home (the adorable moss frog was found at AC Moore, the cow is from Hobby Lobby), or

to share the beauty that is around us (and you can add fun frames as well).

Instagram (a free Ap for iPhones and I think now some other smart phones) allows you take pictures with your phone, crop it down to a simple square and add filters to enhance the images.  You can also then share them directly to your Twitter and Facebook accounts.

Yes, you can just take a picture with your phone and link to those accounts, but the filters and cropping make it so much more fun.  It is like Photoshop for your phone and you don’t have to learn all the technical stuff!

And Instagram is a community unto itself.

It gives you another looks into the lives of bloggers and friends.  I love looking at the feed of those I follow.

I will admit, I didn’t get it at first, but my friend’s daughter gave me the gist and got me started and I really enjoy it now (Thanks Paige for teaching me and being my only follower for some time!).

So get on board, it is pretty simple, so fun and you will be amazed at how many more family moments you capture with Instagram.

If you would like to follow me, I can be found at lpatfindinghome.

Thanks for reading!

Thanks,