My Vintage Blankie Blanket Giveaway

It's been a while since I've had a giveaway. All you have to do is write a comment on what you would like to do with this blanket and I will pick the winner randomly. If you mention this giveaway on your blog...I will enter you in the contest twice. You have through Monday to enter. Good Luck! ~amy

Tablescape Thursday

Thank you Susan at Between Naps On The Porch for hosting the 46TH Tablescape Thursday.

I gathered a variety of items for setting the table for Thanksgiving dinner. Everything from a birch bark container to gold plated eating utensils. I bought the candlestick holders at a store called "Fine Antiques"...a wonderful antique shop in beautiful historic Lewiston, NY. The wine glasses were bought at an antique shop called "Europa" in picturesque Niagara On The Lake, Canada. Which by the way for those of you that have never visited this beautiful part of Canada and the USA... they are across the Niagara Gorge from each other. There is plenty to see and do in these two quaint historic towns.... forts, antiquing, restaurants, art, winery's, and beautiful scenery. I used a mix match of plates I found at garage sales and from Walmart. The birch bark container from "Ray Brook Frog" in Lake Placid, NY is filled with blooms of ornamental grasses from our garden. Gourds, leaves and berries are scattered on the table top for vibrant color. Table runners and napkins I sewed out of scrap fabric. Click on the images below for a closer look. ~amy

It's Been A Memorable Month

It has been a memorable month. We have witnessed two graduations in our family. The birth of our beautiful niece Kylie and the wedding of my dear friend Joan's daughter. Sadly...we lost also. My nephews "Nana" who was our dear friend passed away last week. We'll miss her.

~amy

My daughter graduated on June 5TH.

Introducing our new niece Kylie.

My handsome nephew Kyle graduated on June 25TH.

Ann walking down the isle on July 3RD.

Such pretty peony bouquets.

Before dinner at the reception we had drinks and appetizers out on the terrace at Belhurst Castle in Geneva Lake, NY.

My girls and I in church.

At 10:00 we all gathered back onto the terrace and witnessed a spectacular display of fireworks. Just a lovely wedding!

The Adirondack's....Lake Placid, NY, Vt. and Saratoga Springs Images

Below are a few pictures I took from our trip up in the North Country. Please scroll down and I'll describe each picture with a brief caption. Later this morning we are on our way to Fairport, NY for my dear friends daughters wedding. After that I'll drive to my mother's and spend a few days with her. I'll be back the beginning of next week. Have a warm and sunny weekend and Happy 4TH of July. ~amy

A view of Whiteface Mt. The largest mountain in New York State. This mountain was used during the 1932 and 1980 winter Olympics.

Driving down the highway entering Keene, NY. Majestic view.

Looking down Church Street in Burlington, Vt. This street is home to many retail shops and fine restaurants.

Our favorite hangout when we lived in Peru, NY. Rulf's bakes delicious pies and baked goods. We picked many blueberries and apples from their orchards. The evergreen garland they made and sold at Christmastime was beautiful....so big and mixed with many different evergreen and berries. Just lovely. Rulfs Orchard's definitely a gem up in the Adirondack's.



An old map of Rulf's Orchards.














On our way to Vt. via ferry.



View from ferry looking out at Lake Champlain.





Land of Make Believe in Upper Jay, NY (1954-1979)...created by Art Monaco who designed the original Cinderella Castle for Disney. He built this theme park right in his backyard. Everything was made in child size and children were encouraged to play and touch anything in the park. The local children in the hamlet were able to enter the park free of charge when ever they wanted through a special entrance. Uncle Monaco as he was called from the local children never had children of his own. The park closed in 1979 after several bouts of flooding. Art Monaco designed many theme parks during his 90 years. He died in 2003.


Land of Make Believe now.



Land of Make Believe then.



Land of Make Believe now.



Scenes from my favorite eatery in Lake Placid called The Cottage. Nice place to go for drinks, appetizers and
meals. I look forward to sitting on the deck every visit up there. The scenery is pretty.















Picture of the toboggan run.



Imagine starting out at the top of this structure and then you slide down it on a toboggan on to the frozen lake. When you hit the lake you glide forever!




Saratogo, NY. If you like horses you will love Saratoga. Home to many of the greatest horse events throughout the years.



Shopping.

These girls are always happy shopping.

The Adirondack's....And More Pictures Of The Inside Of Dartbrook Lodge Cottage's

As I promised here are the additional pictures of the interiors of the other cottage's on the property. Click on the pictures to get a bigger and closer view.

This cottage had a different configuration then the one we stayed in. It had a separate bedroom. Ours was more of a studio.

This kitchen had the same stained wood kitchen cabinets as the one we stayed in but had a different configured kitchen and not a breakfast nook.

Nice idea for added storage space for pots and pans.






Simple Adirondack molding.







Added touches for rustic charm.




More beams.

Here is another cottage. I liked the configuration of this one. It had more of an open floor plan.





The kitchen in this cottage had all open shelving cabinets on the lower and upper cabinets. I love the little farmers sink and the little plaid curtains are adorable.










It's amazing how you can configure these small kitchen spaces to be functional.

...and more wild flowers!

I hope you enjoyed the pictures of the main lodge and the cottage's. I am beside myself when I see nice interiors. I graduated many, many years ago with a degree in interior design and even though I never worked in the field.....I can spend a whole vacation or for that matter anytime looking at decorated spec houses. I know it's a sickness but I love interiors. I'm going out of town again tomorrow. Monday I will post pictures of sites from the rest of our vacation up in the Adirondacks, Vermont and Saratoga! Have a sunny and warm weekend!! ~amy

The Adirondack's...Inside The Dartbrook Lodge

....so here are the pictures I promised to show you of the inside of our cottage at the Dartbrook Lodge. I'll post more pictures tomorrow of the inside of the other cottage's since there are so many pictures I'm posting today. The reason I'm posting so many pictures of this cottage is because the interior decorating was delightful. The owners paid special attention to detail and since these are not big cottages...space was wisely used. Please take a gander at the photos and I hope you see what I mean. When I walked in these cottage's I felt like I was in make believe land. It was so much fun. Click on the pictures for a closer view. Now for the tour!

I know this isn't an inside picture but I loved how the stone is stacked beneath the porch?

Please come in....

Main living area

Here is their version of the do not disturb sign that also served as a room freshner. It was filled with needles of white pine. It made the cottage smell so wonderful!




Little lamp on the twig dresser. So pretty.






This housed the TV and DVD player.








Unit opened to expose the TV and DVD player.




The dresser that the pretty little lamp sat on. The bathroom door is to the left and the kitchen is to the right. So cute!








Very comfy bed!






Looking at the kitchenette. I loved the idea of the curtains that could be pulled across for privacy.





Different view of entering the kitchen.





Upper kitchen shelves. Too cute. Stained red.






Closer view of the shelves.








Just gets cuter and cuter! Check out the window shutters and the built in breakfast nook. All are stained the same color red as the kitchen cabinets and shelves.






Yes...when you look out of the kitchen window you see wild flowers!

Oh...isn't there suppose to be a mirror above the bathroom sink?

When You shut the fabric shutter there is a mirror on the other side. Genius!

The Adirondack's...We Had A Wonderful Time

Hello! I hope your last week was lovely! We had a great trip up in the North Country. The Dartbrook Lodge in Keene, NY is where we spent the bulk of our nights. I can't get enough of this lodge. It's rustic. The staff is gracious and the grounds and decor are beautiful with wild flowers amongst the pine and birch trees. From the property you can see the Adirondack high peaks and hear a babbling brook. Yes...there really is a brook at Dartbrook Lodge! Please enjoy the pictures below of the main lodge and its porch. I hope you can see through the pictures how special this property is. It's like stepping back in time except with all of the amenities of today. Tomorrow I'll show you pictures of the inside of the cottage we stayed in and some of the other cottage's that they let me peak inside. I hope you enjoy a warm and sunny summer day! ~amy

Notice the bark siding.

Pretty lamp on the reception desk in the main lodge.

The front of the reception desk. Look at all of those twigs.

Bench in the reception area.

These stars hanging from the porch ceiling light up at night. They were so pretty!

Checkers anyone?

Some more rustic furniture on the porch. These were big rocking chairs.