No Better Time Monday - fresh flowers

There's no better time than now to get something accomplished and I'm joining A Sanctuary Sought every Monday so that I'm actually accountable to get things done. Because...I like to procrastinate sometimes. *blushes*

This week I decided to stop putting off something I've been wanting to do since the Vintage Gathering / Barn House Flea that I've been obsessing about. What was I so anxious to do? Fresh flowers! Or fresh dried flowers because that works too.

There were some of THE most gorgeous dried flower and lavender bunches at the Vintage Gathering and they smelled so, so good. And I walked into one particular booth at the Barn House flea that had basil, rosemary and lavender tucked in everywhere! And even though it was an open tent and totally outside it smelled amazingly fresh in that tent.

I started small with a little flower by the bed - this was more to cheer me up because I'm having a horrible Monday. :(

On my dresser I added some basil stems - my plant has been doing terribly and these stems in particular seemed better suited to room fragrance than to eating.
You can see I also have a bunch of dried lavender, some wild rose buds and that silver bowl holds rose petals and one queen anne's lace bloom for decoration.


On the bookshelf I added more queen anne's lace - this is not for fragrance, because, really it doesn't smell that good; but I think it is pretty. And they had it everywhere at the Barn House flea. :)


On the other bedside table I added mint flowers leftover from me picking mint to dry for tea this winter.



And again, for aesthetics and not scent, I added a garlic flower to my windowsill. And you can say hello to my hand and camera in that photo frame. Guh.

I have to say I HAVE noticed a difference in the fresh, alive scent that my bedroom now has. Plus all that color and life sure perk me right up.

Be sure to visit A Sanctuary Sought and join in the fun!

Beautiful old things

On my way home from house-sitting for a week I stopped at a garage sale that claimed it had "antiques and stuff" - ha ha!

I always gravitate towards boxes of books, and I need another book like I need a hole in the head, but this one I couldn't resist.
The preface states this to be a second edition (of one of my all-time favorite books) and is dated "December 1847." It cost me a whole 50 cents. It's in some disrepair but it is 163 years old.

This little guy...


Was - unbelievably - the only thing I took home with me from the Vintage Gathering sale last weekend. I chose it because it's smaller by about half than any of the older floral frogs I've ever seen.

It cost two dollars.

Currently it's holding a photo of my brother and his girlfriend. :)

Visit Rhoda at Southern Hospitality to see all the found weekend treasures!

Visit House of Grace for a collection of twice owned goodies!

Visit A Picture is Worth A 1,000 Words for treasures that are loved a second time around.

Visit Cindy at My Romantic Home for Show and Tell Friday!




And I'd love for you to join in the Lovie and Boo covered button earring giveaway - Natalie is such a sweetheart, let's show her some love!

The wooded garden

I've been house-sitting this week so I don't have any projects to share (not that I couldn't make stuff, after all I'm staying at this house) but you know me and my camera can't resist taking flower photos. They live on a heavily wooded hillside with lots and lots of ferns, ivy and moss.


But they've made a beautiful series of flower beds.

Plenty of hanging baskets and pergolas with climbing vines.

They have a gorgeous group of phlox that the butterflies are in love with. I think that spider is slightly offended by the intrusion.

Some purple coneflower.

Clematis isn't finished blooming here but it is at my house!

She has a peppermint striped rose - this is the one I made my rose petal jelly from last year when I house-sat for them.

It actually sprinkled one morning. So then I had to take waterdrop photos.

I can't think of what these are called but they have quite a few and they are just lovely.

I like the bark on this tree.

I caught up with another butterfly but look at all the damage to its wings! I kept imagining it saying, "you should see the other guy."

Not sure what this is called either but the butterflies like it too.

A beautiful climbing rose is about to take over the bird houses.

Again, not sure what this one is. Looks like it used to be much more full but right now they look like giant bachelor buttons.

So if you follow me on my facebook fanpage you now know why I can't stop making flower earrings for my shop!

And speaking of earrings I have a wonderful fellow etsian to introduce you to and you have a chance to win some of her beautiful goodies! Come back next week to check it out!

Linking to:

My Romantic Home

A day of junque-ing

Saturday was ladies' day out with my brother's girlfriend and our moms and we all went to A Vintage Gathering in Battle Ground, Washington. Hosted by Beyond the Garden Gate (who I've blogged about before, here) the vintage gathering features a group of sellers who have vintage and handmade goodies. It was overcast (on August 1st? Seriously?) but the temperature was great for wandering.


These bouquets were so gorgeous!


A lovely bunch of signs from Beyond the Garden Gate.


Love this old quilt but also love that hutch in the background.



Below was the entrance to the Voondi booth - the set up was so beautiful.


AND! I got to meet Lisa from...

Which was so fun since we've only ever commented back and forth on the blogs. (Their blog here.)

From there we hit garage sales and made our way to a Lavender Fest at Heison House. There was live music, booths of beautiful handmade goods and we stopped for a burger, a chance to hear the music and I had a

Lavender soda I bought from the Scented Acres booth. It just sounded so interesting I couldn't resist. It was very mildly flavored. I liked it. :) Crazy that there's a lavender farm a few hours away called Scented Acres when I've always wanted to cover my property in lavender and call it fragrant acres - they are living my dream, what!

We garage sale'd our way from there to the Barn House flea.

And some of these tents...I just wanted to move in and live!
Everything was so beautifully set up that as soon as I got home I started rummaging, moving and cleaning, digging and arranging.





I was totally in love with the booth below. Garden and feathers and pretties.
That box to the right was a fully landscaped miniature garden. It was fantastic.


I saw this starfish garland and thought of Gina!


So much beautiful inspiration and what a wonderful time we had!

No Better Time Monday - garden chaos

Today is the first edition of No Better Time Monday hosted by A Sanctuary Sought (mysteriously still coming up as "learning to breathe" in my sidebar)

I like blogging because it's fun to share and see and learn and meet but I also like blogging because it motivates me to get things done in a timely manner.

Below is one of my gardens - it had been worked up and then I intended to do it again but this happened:


Stupid weeds.

I ended up hoeing the weeds (great arm workout as well as a great aggression reliever) and raked the dirt flat. Once the dirt was ready I transplanted several volunteer plants from my main garden. I'd thrown a squash type thing out there in the early spring and the seeds decided to go for it!



I planted most of the volunteer plants thinking if I moved a ton of them then at least some of them would survive this late move. Watch they'll all do great and I'll be supplying the whole neighborhood with squash. ;)