House Love in "New Neighborhood" in Empire, Michigan

A planned community ... nestled in the hills near Lake Michigan and the Sleeping Bear Dunes.

In January of this year, my sisters and I were able to go up to the Traverse City area ...

We stumbled into this new little neighborhood full of cute houses to love.

It was so flippin' cold, I took pictures out the window for you.

There is some reflection on the windows but for the most part,

they're good!  And you should LOVE THEM!  

I love the metal-roof porches on this, it was a 'town hall' of sorts for the little neighborhood.

 A farmhouse-design that is made to look like an addition was added.  Pretty cute!  

The unusual trim colors on a classic design catch your eye... 

Oh, yes, I loved this one, ORANGE!  One of my favorite colors! 

So colorful! 

There were piles of snow everywhere...

This one looked so cozy...

I loved the fish above the door...

Can you imagine this one, all decorated for Christmas?  

This was a barn red ... 

Hope you enjoyed looking at the new houses that are similar to the days of old...

I hope to get back to blogging on a more regular basis and this is my 'comeback' post!

Love, 

Joni 

Farmhouse Porch

Spring is so brilliant and so special, especially after a long, gray winter.

It's always a pleasure to get back outside and ready the porch for the summer season.

So now that it's done, I thought I'd share with you.

I got out the old washtubs again, and this year, I used the bottom shelf, which now looks less awkward than sitting empty.  

In the washtubs are some nice full geraniums.  Someone had asked if I planted the flowers in the washtub.  They are not.  This is a couple of potted geraniums sitting up on a brick so the pots sit high enough to see the flowers.

I keep a cute little enamelware dishpan on the table with water in it for JuneBug.  I think the birdies might eventually find it and don't know what I'll do then, especially since JuneBug is such a good hunter girl.  :(

I just love the old Spirit of  '76 flag flyin' in the wind.
I usually fly two flags, one on the front and side railing each.  
So one of the flags is always 1776.

Come sit, down, let's rock and chat a spell!

How have you been?

I've missed you!

When You Really Need Cushions

What do you do when you're too cheap to pay the big money for cushions for your wicker chairs?

Well, if you're me, you improvise.

 Throw rug is a homemade rag rug I got for $1 at a garage sale, 

a favorite that is a treat to pull out to use for the summer.

What I did is bought four pillow shams for my wicker that match my porch decor at Pottery Barn outlet for $7 each.  Then I got some old pillows out of the attic.

The shams are a blue gingham with red trim!  PERFECT!  I found them in the kid's section late this winter.  I had this use in mind when I found them. 

This crochet rag rug is a favorite, bought it filthy dirty at a garage sale for $1 and have had it for years, 

I save it just for the porch in summer. 

WAY cheaper than buying ready-made lawn-furniture cushions that I never can find in the colors I need for our Old Centennial Farmhouse front porch.

Sometimes, they're thrown on the chairs in this direction, sometimes the opposite, but one thing for sure, they're comfortable and home-y and they fit the need I have for very little money.

I can wash them whenever I need to and the bonus is that 

June-Bug loves them, she's always curled up in a cushion for her nap.

Meow!  JuneBug says HOWDY!

XOXO

Let's Talk Strawberries

I bought this decal in a package as well as a red geranium, originally 10 cents, now $2.50, adding a little color to a lingering-a-little-too-long winter.  I love how it looks on my depression glass.  It sits on a little clock shelf in my kitchen.   ;)

***

Can we talk strawberries?  We have to plant a new patch and I would love to hear your tips, tricks and the type or variety you like.  Although we didn't have any last year, there's still plenty in the freezer!  Yum!

Longing for Spring...

My pansy platter ... makes me long for spring!

All Things Bright & Beautiful: Vintage Quilt

I have happy place in my house I like to go to sometimes when I need a nap, or when I'm feeling down.

There are happy faces everywhere...

There's a friendly little gal that sits on the bed.

It's our vintage toy guest room.

In that room are little reminders from childhood, 

when peanut butter came in tin buckets with handles.

There are little creatures with winsome eyes...

And now...

I finally have found the vintage quilt I've been watching for ... 

for quite a few years.  AMAZING, because it's just what 

I've wanted, in the right colors and at a decent price.

And I found this one with all the right colors... 

in the double wedding ring pattern.

It matches all the toys...and it matches the bed, too.

There's enough of the apple green in it that matches the bed...

And all those lovely intersections that make me woozy...

and if I was a little kid, 

my Matchbox cars would be going in circles all over the place.

Isn't it perfect?!  

All hand pieced and hand-quilted, in perfect condition, 

just a bit of yellowing on the muslin from age.

I love the border pieces with the tiny squares.

There are so many different quilting patterns 

that you can see on the back.

Making this red-gingham room an even sunnier place...

And we have had such a run of cloudy days, 

and I found a puddle of sunshine, 

so I laid on the floor in it curled up like a kitty cat, 

but I was snuggled under a quilt as the sun shined on my face.  And as the sun moved, I moved with it..

And as Uncle Si on Duck Dynasty says...

 I was ... "Happy, happy, happy!"

He Loves Me...

Look at what he brought me!

I don't know what this tin was for, do you?

The inside is lined in black, and is pristine inside.

The crackled look and half the missing label just makes me love it more!