I Have an Idea: Entrance Poster (Part 2)

July 11, 2016June 29, 2016Leave a comment

House-Text

Once winter passed, I was on the hunt for a new picture to put up in our entryway.

My husband and I went to the Philadelphia Boat Show to as they say, “dream a little dream.” Along the way, we decided to instead dream big and went aboard a huge pontoon boat that we called the “Party Boat.”

We shared the picture we took and got a good laugh about it with our family. It was at this time that I decided I wanted to put the picture up in our entrance.

Who doesn’t enjoy seeing a party boat upon entering their home?

I enjoyed the Party Boat Poster so much I wasn’t sure how to replace it. We’ve been looking at old family photos trying to unlock genealogical mysteries when I remembered a picture of my father-in-law running on a beach looking like joy personified.

Of course remembering it and finding it were two different tasks. My husband ended up asking his sister if she knew where it might be. Thankfully she did find it and sent us a copy! My husband adjusted the dimensions and ordered it as a poster. This is Pure Joy.

Beach Poster

Variations on a Theme: Wine and Crackers and Benches (Oh My!)

July 7, 2016June 22, 2016Leave a comment

finger-lakes6

Where can you go for an anniversary trip that you didn’t give yourself enough time to plan for: the Finger Lakes!

We live a few hours away from the area, we have never been there, and I enjoyed Sonoma when I visited our son. Reasons enough! (Also, it was fall, and we were able to get a hotel on short notice.)

We had a great trip and are looking forward to going again soon.

Here are some benches we noticed between wine tastings!

Montour Falls

Montour Falls

Montour Falls

Elmira College

Mark Twain’s Study

Hill Top Inn Restaurant

Glenora Wine Cellars

Green-Bench

Ravines Wine Cellars

Urbana

Dr. Konstantin Frank Winery

Buttermilk Falls

Buttermilk Falls

Buttermilk Falls

Ithaca

Ithaca

Ithaca

Favorite Things: Independence Day

July 4, 2016June 23, 2016Leave a comment

Happy 4th of July!

Variations on a Theme: Bench by Bench

June 30, 2016June 21, 2016Leave a comment

Wildlife Bench MIchigan

We explored Michigan last summer, my husband and I. I mentioned we grew up in the Detroit area, but despite spending our childhoods in Michigan, we have never really explored the western half of the state. Our opportunity to rectify that came in the guise of the Row by Row Experience 2015.

Since the theme for 2015 was water, what better place to participate than Michigan? (Okay, maybe Minnesota.) My husband started planning out our trip, and because he is an engineer, he designed our itinerary to maximize the number of shops we could conquer.

Let’s just say, I have more than nine rows.

Here are some of the benches I came across in the beautiful state of Michigan (yes, I know I am partial!)

White Bench Michigan california-oregon trip nikon_2015 06 15_0797 Michigan Fence Bench Blue Bench Company Log Bench Petoskey Stone Bench Petoskey Stone Bench Aerial Chainlink Bench Michigan Boardwalk Bench Michigan Park Bench Michigan Red Building Bench

I Have an Idea: Entrance Poster (Part 1)

June 27, 2016June 23, 2016Leave a comment

House-Text

The entryway in our home has been an important space for me. I like the idea of a welcoming entrance to our home. Our entrance isn’t grand – like most of our home its dimensions have inherent problems when trying to do something with it! Mostly I try to keep it picked up and the closet doors shut.

But one year I was decorating for Thanksgiving and came upon a turkey and pilgrim my children had made in elementary school. They were packed away with Thanksgiving decorations, but I never knew what to do with them!

I decided to put them in a poster frame and hang them in the foyer. They looked surprisingly good there.

Pilgrim Poster

In fact, it looked so good that the space looked bare to me when I took them down.

That’s when I decided to hang a poster-sized picture, which I would change out periodically to fit the season.

My first choice was a picture I took on our daily walk. It was a peaceful winter scene.

Winter Poster

As much as I enjoyed the poster, when the snow was gone, it was time to move on and store it away until next winter with the hats and gloves!

Variations on a Theme: A Journey of 10,000 Steps Begins with a Single Mailbox

June 23, 2016June 21, 2016Leave a comment

Barn Mailbox

I began noticing more mailboxes after my initial appreciation of the Mack bulldog.

My morning walk with my husband is about 3 miles. We have walked 1 of 2 routes for about 3 years now. Despite having lived in the same neighborhood for decades, I never paid very much attention to my neighbor’s mailboxes, unless of course I collided with it with my car (which did actually happen. Another story for another day. Let’s keep this post positive!)

But once I started walking the same route consistently, I began to appreciate the creativity and care that a surprising number of my neighbors put into their mailboxes.

Here are some from my neighborhood:

Saddlebag Mailbox

I Have an Idea: Bourbon Bottle Vanilla

June 21, 2016June 21, 2016Leave a comment

How many bottles is too many bottles?

I may be a pack rat, but I prefer to think of it as being a “saver.”

Part of the reason why I save things is that I like the idea of a new use for an old thing. I think that most things can remain useful even if I haven’t figured out in what way yet.

I especially like bottles. This became an issue when my husband became interested in visiting craft distilleries. When we finished the bourbon we bought after visiting Tuthilltown Distillery in upstate New York, I couldn’t get rid of the empty bottle. It was just so lovely.

Where it all started.

It wasn’t until my son was visiting for Christmas and mentioned he made his own vanilla for baking that I realized I had found a way to repurpose my bourbon bottles!

(Side note- most baked goods are better with a splash (or 2) or vanilla instead of a teaspoon as usually suggested!)

Vanilla with filter

We ordered vanilla beans online and bought the least expensive vodka available, since my son said, “the cheaper the vodka the better.” We cleaned out our bourbon bottles, added the vanilla beans, then poured in the vodka. The beans soaked in the vodka bath, and after a week or so it was ready!

Unaged Vanilla Unaged Vanilla in cabinet

Wish you could smell it!

That’s how I ended up with a bourbon bottle full of vanilla.

Variations on a Theme: Mailboxes

June 16, 2016Leave a comment

There was a movement in the late 1990s and early 2000s when communities adopted an animal statue and decorated them. Our town participated in the Miles of Mules project. Big, dramatic mules.

(Notice the bench in the background!)

We were driving in another town that was also participating in the project and saw one of the mules. I enthusiastically proclaimed to my family, “I always notice them!” It struck us as a hilarious statement since they were impossible not to notice!

Since then, this statement has been a family joke whenever you point out something unusual. But the joke also has a truth in it that we sometimes don’t pay attention to things right in front of us, and it does add to our life experience to notice them.

For example, mailboxes.

My husband decided to take a challenge at work to walk 10,000 steps a day. I joined in. We walked in our neighborhood every morning. During these walks I started noticing mailboxes that I never noticed while driving through the neighborhood. It actually started with one particular mailbox. I loved this mailbox at first sight!

This mailbox was the beginning of an obsession!!! Stay tuned…

Favorite Things: Brown Paper Packages Tied Up with String

June 13, 2016June 9, 20161 Comment

Because I live several states away from most of my family, I have to mail presents. We used to exchange Christmas and birthday presents with everyone. As our numbers grew, we lowered the number and decreased the expense of gifts by picking names among adults and children. Some families exchange birthday gifts and some don’t, but regardless, I have mailed more gifts than I can count at this point.

Because so many gifts were being exchanged for some years, I had plenty of opportunities to experiment with wrapping and packaging presents. I like to tailor the package to the person just as much as the gift. My goal is for the receiver to see a cohesive display of gifts from the moment they open the box that hopefully makes them smile and feel special.

Flowers-Packaging-2

One wrapped present that I was especially pleased with was the “bow-tie ribbon.”

Our friend is a snappy dresser, so I decided to make a “bow-tie ribbon” for his birthday package.

I used brown craft paper for the gift wrapping and had fabric left over from a Birthday Quilt Runner I made for a quilt guild contest (another story for another day– it ended badly) that I thought would make a festive looking tie.

I found wonderful directions and a pattern on the site Tie-a-Tie.net. I measured the circumference of the box, which was 16 inches, so I made the pattern that length. Pattern

After a few tries of tying it this is how it looked! He loved it!

Bow-Tie-Polka-Dot-1 Bow-Tie-Polka-Dot-3

I also made one for my son- here is how it looked!

Bow-Tie-Plaid-1

Variations on a Theme: Ode to the Simple Bench

June 9, 2016June 9, 2016Leave a comment

Tilden-Park-Bench

This picture says it all. Enjoy the view.

I am not sure I would have noticed this bench as part of the view if I hadn’t gotten into the habit of appreciating benches in my neighborhood.

A rush of affection for the person or more likely people who made that effort to provide a bench to the traveler came over me. Like the well laid trail I was walking on to get to this view – this bench felt like a kindness.

I’d like to share with you some other benches I noticed while visiting Northern California.