We are HOME and happy to be here with darling kitties! I hope you will love this charming MUSICA . . .
Perfect music for nesting . . . which is what I did yesterday, our first day home; I waltzed around to this song putting everything back in order; kissing the kitties, hanging laundry, eating farm-stand Honey Crisp apples, putting the pumpkins we bought on the porch, hanging the wreath on the door. I dressed my stove in the two vintage dishtowels I found on the trip . . . cute eh? Look at those embroidered, appliqued apples! How come that was even THERE? Why hadn’t someone snapped it up before me? Lucky!!
I was all over the place trying to figure out how to do this post . . . I have too many different subjects/things from the trip to show you! But since I started with antiques, I thought I would continue that way . . . especially because we careened into every antique-store driveway we saw and found some really fun things.
“Was it open?” were the most-often spoken words on our trip.
This cute little barn was filled with wonderful old stuff.
But this one had the best prices! I found a 4′ x 6′ black, flowered, hooked rug here, for $49! For my pantry. Oh yes!
Some things struck me as perfect for Christmas presents . . . like this large embroidered towel with the title “Mother’s Little Helper” on the back. For some reason I’m weakest for embroidery, potholders, tablecloths, napkins, dishtowels, fabrics, needlepoints; the soft stuff.
And I found another vintage measuring cup! These are not easy to find! The shapes are softer than the modern ones, and they aren’t printed on, they’re embossed!
But this was the big one, and I do mean big. I walked into a wonderful store called Rustology in Stafford Springs, CT and just fell in love with this old doll house. It was almost four feet tall, and about six feet wide . . . and three feet deep.
The front of the house is on wheels and you can roll it away to reveal the wonderful rooms inside.
Wouldn’t Jack just LOVE this? The owner of the antique store said he found it in the attic of a Massachusetts house during an estate sale. It was originally built as an exact replica of the real house — It must have had a room of it’s own to live in, it’s so big.
What this must have looked like when it was furnished, I can’t imagine! That flowered piece on the floor is an actual carpet, a tiny petit point; and you can see the old wall paper. And the doors! And the doorknobs!
If this was my house, I would make everything for it. I would paint little paintings, and mold little clay, and stencil the walls. It would be so much fun finding the perfect pots and pans, making tiny pillows, looking for little dishes. Decorating it for the holidays!!! Joe could make beds, I could make sheets. Our real house could fall apart, but the doll house would be perfect at all times!
It definitely needs help, but it has great bones … and all the wonderful details; trim around doors and baseboards.
The shutters are perfect, and there’s glass in the windows, and through this window you can see two other doors with doorknobs.
The front door . . . Imagine it with tiny lights on it! The owners of the antique store love the doll house as much as me; they were showing it with so much pride. I don’t think they are in any hurry to sell it; they’d only had it for two weeks . . . they were asking $6,500 for it.
Anyway, I had a lot of fun in there pretending what I would do with it if it were mine. I considered which room in my house I might put it in, and came to the conclusion that it was too big for any of them. I also would have wanted it when I was twenty, so I could have done it the same way I did my charm bracelet, making and gathering one piece at a time, from everywhere, so each piece could have a story to go with it. Magical magical house. Lucky someone who will end up with it! But this house requires commitment, if you move, you have to pack it and take it with you which would he a true heck of a packing job! Maybe the smart thing would be to get it, give it to a historical society with the caveat that during your own lifetime, no body touches it but YOU.
This house was in the same store . . . . MUCH less expensive — $250 . . . and pretty darn cute, although it needs a lot of work. It opens like a little closet … how smart, hardly takes up any space at all; I really liked the original shape of this.
And it has lots of charming details too. . .
Inside, you can still see vestiges of the glory that it once was . . . but someone would have to start from the beginning to put it right again.
Sooo, while I’m at it, I thought I’d show you some of the pictures I took of REAL houses as we drove hill and dale around Connecticut and Massachusetts.
Because truly, one of the inspirations that motivated me into moving to New England was the charming houses I saw in books and movies. I wanted an old house sooooo badly; my life just wasn’t going to be complete until I got one.
Just look at these and you will see why. I would be perfectly ecstatic to have any of them! Look at that glassed in porch. Perfect for a tea party!
Obviously these people have another way to get into this very old house besides the front door! Look at those pumpkins!!! Wonderful, huh?
Of course, I am a fool for picket fences with colored leaves falling around them.
Sunny cottage, little arched porch, dentil-work up top, and tiny windows.
Very old house, leaves swirling through the air.
Love this soft yellow house in Historic Deerfield, Massachusetts — if you ever get a chance to drive through here, you should do it…. the prettiest houses ever, so full of history, most of the houses are very old, pre-Revolutionary war!
The great thing about these houses is that no two are exactly alike and all so amazingly romantic … I always wonder what kind of thinking was going on that they added so much gingerbread; the wide porches, bay windows, columns, and balconies? And inside, with all the built-in little nooks and crannies! Some of the bigger houses have a cozy fireplace in every room! I think I would have liked those people!
So on we drove, past houses and barns, farm stands, graveyards, and antique stores . . .
The sunsets would light the mountains on fire with color . . .
In one little town, we saw they were having a Book Sale . . . So of course we stopped to see what treasures we could unearth . . .
OH BOY, look what I found!! My first book, Heart of the Home! Rescue secured! Book no longer lurking pitifully in cardboard box! I brought my baby back home. Pobrecito!
And then, while nesting all day yesterday; I put some Martha’s Vineyard sand in my new measuring cup; then I added a pear-shaped candle I found on the trip, and a couple of shells and some sea glass. I thought, how perfect for the kitchen table!
And then I set it on top of my book, and it all looked so cute together, I thought,
I already have one of these books, and I already have one of these candle holders; I should make this a give-away for the girls, because they stick by me through thick and thin. And so that’s what it is!
And then, guess what? My brand new Collector’s Edition Ornament was waiting for me when I went to get the mail! Isn’t it cute? This is the 5th year in a row for our dated collectible ornament (no, in case you’re wondering, we don’t have any left from the other years; we only get a few in of each design, and because they are dated, when they’re gone, they’re gone!) . . . . so, I thought, oh yes, I better throw this in with the book and the candle, right? They look so good together. ♥
I added a leaf I brought home from the trip . . . . and I’ll sign the book when I know the name of the winner and where its new home will be. Just leave a comment, and you will be entered in our drawing for all these goodies! And BTW, if my blog is being emailed to you, you have to come directly to my website (click here: www.162.240.10.175/~susanbs3/susanbranch/) to enter for the drawing . . . just scroll to the bottom of this post where you see the tiny word “comments.” Click there, and leave a comment and that will automatically enter you!
OK Girls, bye-bye for now … I have more to show you, but realized this would be the longest post EVER if I tried to do the whole trip all at once. So, there’s more to come! XOXO Love, me
Wonderful, wonderful posts to read. Thank you. Makes me want to take a vacation! I especially loved the doll houses. I was thrilled to see your posts about them. I recently became an owner of an old doll house – handmade by a dear friends father who was a dentist in our community. He had it in his office waiting room for children to play with! It is literally a blank canvas and I have so many ideas that I don’t know where to begin! Thank you also for your give aways. Such lovely treasures. . . . .
Blessings on your day.
Thanks for sharing the price of the big doll house – I was wondering as I kept reading about it.
We have an old, wonderful Bartlett pear tree in our yard. Due to a late freeze last spring, we had blossoms but no fruit this fall. This unique measuring cup with the pear candle and your book (which I don’t have) would look perfect in my home! 🙂 Thanks for thinking of us when you shop!
~~~~~~~~~Comfort Me With Apples~~~~~~~~
-Song of Solomon
Thank you so much for the beautiful photos of the homes in New England in this post…Autumn in New England looks like a storybook…Autumn is my
most favorite time of year and I would LOVE to have a copy of your Autumn book that you are going to share with one of us lucky ladies…
Happy Leaf Peeping
~Debbie
Thank you for sharing pictures of your New England tour. Next week we are going up to Door County (Wisconsin) for a few days. Door County reminds me in part of the New England countryside. I also must admit to also having a weakness for handworked items … old quilts, embroidery, doilies, etc. I always enjoy seeing what you have collected. Once again I must say … “pick me” with your latest contest 🙂
What a lovely drive thru New England! Love it in the fall! My husband was born in Leominster, MA We try to visit MA once a year. Would love to have your first book!
Oh, Susan, that does look like a wonderful trip.
I must tell you about my wonderful dollhouse. Twelve or so years ago I fell in love with a Charles Wysocki dollhouse. I saw it at a Franklin Mint store at the Mall of America. And everytime I saw it I would sigh and dream. The cute Wysocki paintings and sayings. The furniture, oh my. It was my dream house in miniature. But dream I must. I could never afford such a treat on my private school teacher’s salary.
Fast forward a few years. I met my husband and while dating we visited the store and I shared my “dreamhouse” with him. Lo, and behold our first Christmas together after getting married a very large box was delivered and it was my house! We had a friend build a special display table that spins so you can look at both sides easily. It is a treasure and my nieces love to oooh and aaah over it. It is an heirloom that I will surely pass on someday.
What a DOLL your husband must be!
What beautiful fall pictures! And the dollhouses were amazing which reminded me of a trip my husband and I took to Cooperstown, NY to see the Baseball Hall of Fame. Outside of Cooperstown was a Dollhouse Hall of Fame. I visited that while he was at the BHOF. Awesome houses. I went to google it to find out more information and it shows that it is closed now. This was about 3 years ago when we went. Can’t wait to see more pictures of your trip. Thanks so much for sharing.
How smart Cooperstown is to have something for everyone!
Wow…What a road trip that was! I loved seeing the old houses in their fanciful fall decorations. You are so blessed to live where you do and we are so blessed that you find it in your heart to share with us! Thank you so much~
I’ve lived in an old house (1928) and once was enough, but love to look at yours. You are so kind to offer this give away. Thanks for the chance to win this beautiful book and candle.
What a beautiful trip! So many old houses, and a dollhouse at that–I have one in he basement that my dad made for my aunt; fixed it up for my daughter, now grown. One of these days will get it out again. No place to set it up is the problem!
Happy Fall!
WOW! What a drawing! I have never even seen your first book. I would love to win it! The doll house is wonderful. Another great trip. Kisses to the Kitties!
Love, love, love your blog. I get to travel through your wonderful posts. Heart Of The Home is my very favorite one of your books. I lost mine when I lost
my home last year. Hopefully ‘ll be able to replace it someday. I look forward to your posts, Thank you.
Thank you Susan… This post was adorable, I sighed and oohed through the entire wonderful blog! Blessings always to yal, from the beautiful pastures of Texas!
I love “traveling” with you! My grandmother lived in the Berkshires, and one October we visited her. I will never forget the amazing trees! Your photos, added to my own fascination with any kind of miniature ( I once filled a miniature trunk with miniature items which, as my tolerant husband pointed out, cost four times what the trunk cost) made this a blog meant for me! Thank you again, for sharing with us!
Yet another wonderful blog with stunning pictures…..always such fun to click on “Susan Branch”!! The doll house was amazing! Would give anything to have seen it in its prime with little girls happily playing in their pretend world. (we’ve raised four boys!!!) What a great idea to build a doll house after one’s own home! Our son designs their gingerbread house each Christmas after each of their homes plus our lake house in Coeur d’Alene and our casita in Austin, TX. Our three grandchildren LOVE decorating them……that’s about as close as we will get to doll houses!!!! LOVE your giveaway….maybe I will yet get your Vineyard book…….I got one of the first ones for my daughter-in-law…..between the two of us we have many of your books, cards, pillows and wouldn’t be without your calendars!!!!! We love you!!!!!! 🙂 Miriam
Hi Susan,
Your post of your driving trip is wonderful! Thank you for sharing. I can’t believe you’re giving us another chance at possibly getting some treasures from you! I can only hope…..:-)
Thanks, Susan, for another fabulous blog with mouth watering eye candy. Just today my 80 something girlfriend came by for a visit. She reminisced about growing up in New England, eating fresh fish 5-6 days a week, on and on. She’s always asking me if I’ve been to Kennebunkport or Cape Cod. (I was long ago when I lived in Ohio, but it’s hard to remember all the places.) Also, my friend’s daughter was lucky enough to be in Mass. as I write site seeing so now I am going to try to get her to see this blog. It will make her so happy. I think I could make her another fan of yours.
OH those houses. I have always dreamed of having a big front porch with decorative molding around the whole place. Gorgeous photos. Maybe one day we’ll drive down from Ontario and take that tour. I would love to win the giveaway, thanks for the chance.
Thank you for sharing your Autumn journey with us, that is a trip I would love to make but I need to wait until my husband can retire because it is harvest for winemakers!! You bring me such joy:)
I enjoyed this post so much. Everything from the dollhouses, fun homes and country side but I was dismayed that you found your absolutely wonderful book in a cardboard box with other stuff. Your book is a treasure of its own. I would love to win your prize package. What a PERFECT giveaway. Thanks so much Susan with sharing your fall with us. I’ve loved every minute of it!! N.
Love New England, thanks for the pictures….we just came back to Ohio…doing the same thing on Martha’s Vineyard.would love to have an autografted copy of your book
Pat
Susan, I went to a booksale this weekend, too – AAUW sponsored – looking specifically for Autumn or ANY of your books. Not a one to be found, but I bought The Stillmeadow Road because of you. I’m waiting for the perfect Saturday to dive in. Also bought quilt books just because they look like autumn on my tables. I just love this time of year. Your giveway is so perfect. Thank you!
Loved this blog Susan, ESP. Old deerfield which is beautiful in any season. Please come an visit Historic Lexington ma.
Thank you for all the inspiration and cheer you bring to us GIRLS every day, and you are very appreciated. I enjoy looking at your blog every day!!!!
Your blog today was a trip down Memory Lane, Susan. I lived in Maine for 5 yrs. as a child in elementary school and still have warm fuzzies about all of New England! Thank you for the memories! So happy you are back home with the kitty cats!
What a wonderful, fun trip. If they were selling your book at a book fair they obviously didn’t know what they had! And how nice of you to make it a special treat giveaway. Thanks for sharing your adventures with us.
I love the fall foliage colors. What a beautiful and relaxing trip it must have been! I loved the measuring cup-embossed! I’m going to start looking for them. I keep wearing the “paint” off the modern ones but my family doesn’t seem to mind buying new ones to replace the old ones…they like the baked goods! I loved the article about the charm bracelet! I don’t have one but have several items that could be easily made into a charm. I love the idea of carrying the memories in a tangible way. Thank you again for your blog. It’s such a bright spot in my day!
Susan, I have just finished lighting a few mood candles and finished reading your post. Yes, my festive, nesting spirit has kicked in and I can feel a late night of decorationg/rearranging/downright puttering, is upon me. Beautiful photos! Your artistic eye has served you well, again. I also noticed your little bilingual nod to California with”pobrecito.” Too cute!
I like the way you said that 🙂
Thank you for the lovely travels down the back roads of New England in the Fall. The colors of Autumn speak to my heart.
It was a breath of fresh fall air to visit your area through your post. I love New England in the fall as living in north Texas we are just now seeing some temps below 90–and that may happen again this week! YIKES! My husband and I spent 2 weeks in Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont several years ago in the fall and it was one of our trips I have enjoyed most–staying in bed and breakfasts, whale watching off the coast, visiting light houses–even over into Nova Scotia. After reading your post, I started getting out my fall decorations this evening and will decorate over the weekend as I have a group of quilting friends coming for a day of stitching on Monday. I have already bought a boatload of pumpkins so let the decorating begin!
Hey! I didn’t write this comment! I’m in TN, but I’d love to have been on that trip and I am a quilter, too. Who really wrote this? Technology isn’t perfect either, is it?
I was out today looking for some great measuring cups just like that one. Didn’t even think to look in antique stores…duh!! Ill be heading out again tomorrow!
P.S. Your posts are NEVER too long!!!
Hi Susan
I love that enormous doll house! can you imagine the fun the little girl(s) of the house had playing with that?
My husband built a doll house for our daughter when she was eight years old and our cat at the time loved to squeeze into the rooms to rest. We had fun collecting pieces of furniture through the years until my daughter lost interest in it when she was older. I eventually put the house and furniture in our attic but it is definitely something we’ll be packing up to move with us to Colorado, as my daughter and son-in-law live there and they are now expecting a daughter this winter!
Your leaf peeping trip brought back memories of a trip my husband and I took a couple autumns ago. We stumbled upon a library book sale in Kent, CT, where they had an”all the books you can stuff into a bag’ sale for $5 a bag! I found a wonderful old cookbook full of the First Ladies recipes, which I adore. I didn’t see any of your books there or I would have also snapped them up!
Hugs,
Pat
When I first saw the pumpkin on the doll house, we’d just bought the yard pumpkin for my grandkids house and was glad theirs wasn’t as big as the doll house one! That would weigh a ton in real life! How fun that you found your book. Someday, I hope to find one of my grandparents pictures in the big oval frame at a store, or a postcard or envelope from a family member waiting for me to rescue it. Someday…
Thanks for taking us on the trip ~ it was fun!
Last October I realized a dream come true by taking an impromptu trip to New England like you just did. I flew into Boston with no plans other than to meet a FB friends and bake with her. I went to Martha’s Island, but unfortunately you were in California when I was there, Newport, RI, drove through the Kankamagus Trail in New Hampshire, into Maine, then to Quebec, Stowe, VT and back through NH to Boston. No hotel plans, just by myself, stopping when I was tired or found a town I wanted to explore. I would so have loved to go back this year. I loved it back there, the houses, the smell of the apples as you drive down the road, the pumpkins everywhere. Amazing. Thank you for including us all in you daily life. I truly felt like I was back there again on this trip with you. Blessings to you Susan.
Oh, Susan! Your New England is so beautiful! I wish I was there to drive around; I love all those lovely houses(large and miniature!) Thanks for always making me smile! Of course, a Susan Branch book would make me smile too!
Wonderful outing…
the dollhouses were divine. And sweet that you found your book!
I’m off to an antique store to try and find a vintage measuring cup.
Susan,
I love reading your blog and your pictures are amazing! The leaves and houses are so beautiful. It’s funny that you started your post with a picture of your stove because my sister just got a new/old stove that is very similar to yours only it is blue! Does your stove shelf come off? I wondered because it looks like you have some kind of clocks or dials behind the shelf and my sister’s looks the same but without the shelf. I hope you have time to answer my question. Thanks.
oH Susan! Did your heart skip a beat when you discovered YOUR book! I think it wanted to come home…back to mama! 🙂 Ya know, I was thinking…. most of us will not be…the “lucky one” and recieve your signed “Heart of Home”… but really, we are ALL lucky…. we have YOU! You share your Heart and your Home with us everyday! For instance….tonight I made your Corn Chowder for dinner and Bret said, “Good dinner babes!” I told him it was a recipe from Susan Branch….and he came over and gave me a kiss…. It’s like Happy+Happy=Happy! I can tell you this, and say, “Thank You Susan, dinner was great!” and you can hear me (or is it read me in blogland?)…..it makes MY heart skip a beat! Little bits of You twirling and scattering about this Universe like the beautiful autumn leaves. But, lucky for us…. that your “colors” may be Autumn…….but your Heart is ……… Fall, Winter, Summer, and Spring!!!
XoXDawn
P.S. Susan, Please!…..What did Joe get for you to wear at the English Diary book signing’s??? Hmmm…………….I wonder…………well…. Hey!…….. I have an idea!!! .
England, Susan, Joe, and Petey……..England, Queen, King, and Court Jester……. It has just gotta be…. a crown! <l 🙂 maybe?
Oh! I need to go take a picture of it! I will, right now! Thank you Dawn!
Love, love, love you and the fact that you are so willing to share so much of your life and talent with us all. I will now seek out the “soft” areas of antique stores and the measuring cups. Kitchen items that have been used are so blessed I am thrilled to welcome them into my own kitchen.
Hi Susan
What a fun trip you took. I just love the old homes, their all so interesting and cozy looking. Oh and the doll houses, I can’t get enough of them. Thanks for showing us pictures of them. Someday I hope to own one so I can decorate it for the grandchildren. Would be so fun to have each season in it, cute little christmas tree etc.
Your books are WONDERFUL, would be great to have your first.
Thanks for giving a little cheer in my life.
Rebecca
Oh how I want that doll house and/or any of the New England homes you show. Have always wanted to live in an older home (if we stay in this house much longer it will qualify). Love how your kitchen turned out. Must come see your fall colors some year.
Going to New England in the fall is definitely on my bucket list. your pictures were inspiring and I absolutely loved the doll houses—if I had an extra six thousand dollars I would make them an offer.I really enjoy reading your blog. Thanks for all the sharing you do with “the girls.”
Always anxious to open your email…such wonderful pictures and artwork await. I love doll houses. Reminds me of several years ago, when my daughter (and I) were young, we went to the American Swedish Institute in Minneapolis for a doll house expo. Every room had doll houses and they were also amazing. Thanks for the reminder.
Susan, thank you soooo much for allowing us to step into your life. You have such a joy for life and an endearing charm that just jumps out of your pictures, your writing, and your artwork. We are blessed! You wear the colors of every season so well. I am happy to see your world through your eyes.
Love the video the little town was so quaint! I’ve always wanted to go to new England went to New Hampshire once, to me the most beautiful state. Love historical homes! Nesting idea sounds great I had apple cider, warm muffins, and good book. Ornament is so Christmasy and cute.
‘Sweet Susan’,
I send the happiest of ‘Fall Blessings’ to you and Joe and the kitties. The dish towels on the stove, oh! Thank you for bringing us along on the New England trip.
Beautiful,Marvelous,Wonderful,and maybe Beautiful, one more time? It just makes my heart sing! The doll house? Infectious! I was once the owner of a pretty metal house that had its own little garden and window boxes below the windows.
It came with real seeds for growing grass,and for flowers for the window boxes;
Accompanied with miniature gardening tools. Sweet,sweet memories. . . . . Sweet Day to the sweetest of Ladies.
Veronica/Sumerduck, Va.
We celebrated my birthday yesterday by going leaf-peeping in our little corner of Michigan. It was a gorgeous day and the colors were brilliant! Your leaf-peeping trip was wonderful and what an amazing doll house. Thank you for sharing your trip with us!
Thank you for sharing your trip, the beauty of it and the adorable doll houses. I know what you mean when you talk about decorating them. It gets me excited to think of it – it would be so much fun. BTW – Yankees are the bomb! Yay!
Gasp!!! A Susan Branch book found at a book sale??? How could anyone get rid of a Susan Branch book? Sure glad you rescued it! 🙂
Your post & pictures of your trip are wonderful! Can’t wait to see more in your next post! One day hopefully we can visit MV as well as the NE states.
I do have to say there was one thing missing in this most wonderful post — it didn’t end with any Jack or Kitty pictures. 🙂 They must be glad to have you & Joe back home again.
Thanks for the chance to win the wonderful give-a-way!
The Sisterpals 3 neeed to travel New England and ooo and ahhh over all those beautiful old homes and backroads draped with orange and gold! If we are so blessed, we will also find a Susan Branch treasure along the way! If not, perhaps my name will be drawn by “Vanna”! Loved your Autumn journey with Joe!
As always, it’s great to travel with you and Joe and Petey. thanks so much for taking us all along with you, it is much appreciated. I really enjoy your blog, it is always a bright spot in my day.
You get to do such wonderful things, Susan! I’m not envious…..how could I be when you take us girls on these trips, dinners, etc. with you? This book is a special one….I have it….it is my first one that I ever bought of yours…I love Heart of the Home so much! My copy though, got eaten a bit by mice! That fall, we were living in the country and I was storing my cookbooks in the big pantry….I didn’t know that when the farmers took off the soybeans and corn, they began looking for new residences….harvest time is fun for us, but not so much for little critters…..I still use the book, and just read it 3-4 times a year…..those special little teeth marks remind me that even the mice know that the kitchen area is the heart of the home! Whomever receives this book will be blessed by the wonder inside those pages….good luck to all!
Cynthia
You must have made that book delicious!
What a feeling it must be to be at a book sale and find one of your books – that is so cool. I bet it never gets old! I love the measuring cup. I found a guy here in Florida that has table after table of Pyrex bowls, old measuring cups, etc. He says I am his best customer! I try not to lose my title every few months! I really enjoyed this post, thanks.
Loved the dollhouse find along your Autumn travels with Joe…reminds me of the stable I made with my Dad for my Breyer horses 20 years ago! New England and all those glorious old homes and golden tree lined roads are calling my name!
Susan, I love your blog & have been a fan of your art work and books for many years. It makes my heart happy whenever I read your blog or pull out one of your books to enjoy again & again. I am a Kindergarten teacher in Texas and have never been to New England. It is my dream to one day make it there to see the beautiful fall foliage. For now, I will just enjoy seeing it through your wonderful pictures!
PS Loved “going to England” with you this summer!! That is another place I hope to visit one day!
Thanks for sharing your gifts with the world! You make it a better place! Fondly, Sharon
Thank you Sharon, I love reading everyone’s comments, and dreams, here; love how we’re all from everywhere! Fun!
I love dollhouses, I live in New England, and I love fall! Your picture scrapbook from your leaf-peeping trip, Susan, puts everyone right in the mood to explore towns, take pictures of golden-hued trees, and even visit an antique shop. My late sister-in-law, Maureen, had purchased a charming dollhouse on QVC that I am now the proud owner of. It came with furniture but I always feel I should make it more my own by putting “my touch” on it. I am such a fan of dollhouses that whenver I see one, I am drawn to it. I love how people furnish them and I love seeing girls playing with them. Thank you for the treat of exploring those 2 antique dollhouses in your photos. I also got a kick that you took the sailor doll on the trip. Bet he enjoyed it!
What a wonderful trip and thank you so much for sharing these special moments with us.
~Margie
This post makes me miss my home in Connecticut! And the second doll house was so beautiful, just needs a little love! Thank you for the beautiful trip! 🙂
Love the pictures,comments and details. A trip through your eyes just setting at my computer. Thank you.
You’re so much fun and so generous! I’d love to win, so please count me in. I’m looking forward to a little Autumn Adventure in a few weeks myself. I can’t wait to hit the road with my hubby and enjoy this beautiful season as well.
I live in the upper midwest and nothing here is THAT OLD! I just love your photos of New England; my bucket list of course includes leaf looking there in autumn. I was laid off this year so Boston had to be dropped from the dream but I hope that some day…I get to Massachusetts. I would love to have your first book and that GORGEOUS glass measuring cup, I can still afford to eat, not much else!
Tammy
Hi Susan!
I was just sitting at my computer eating a big, cold, juicy honeycrisp while reading and taking in all the wonderful New England fall you shared with us. I’m so jealous of my brother and his wife who spend a month in New England, mostly on Cape Cod, every fall. It’s my someday dream. I’m so glad you share your life with us girlfriends…we get to experience the best trips….followed you daily on your England trip and now the New England trip is just as fun. Glad you had a chance to stop at all those unique antique shops. I’d love to find some of your older books at a book sale….or perhaps through Vanna’s lottery draw!
A forever girlfriend,
Anne Marie
ps. I think you should have purchased that first doll house….you deserve it and it deserves your touch.
I would need to build on to the house! 🙂
There is just something about this time of year. I get all my Willard newsletters out, the ones that came by snail mail back in the day (I looked forward to them soooooo!) and read each one all over again. Then back in my treasure box they go. Thanks for the beauty you bring to the day!
The houses on your trip were beautiful! Thanks for sharing.
Beautiful!! As close to New England as I will get this fall. Love the houses and countryside and beautiful leaves. Nature to fill the senses!!
Susan,
We, too, are back from our trip “up north”. We really enjoyed the amazing colors of all the beautiful trees. So many falling leaves, acorns, and pine needles. Loved your photos of all the houses and doll houses. The measuring cup reminds me of the one my Grandmother used, only hers was green. Made your corn chowder and slaw recipes. Everybody loved them! Thanks! Have to tell you —just as we were leaving to come home I was walking to the car and found a heart shaped rock on the ground among the leaves! Of course I thought of you! Jan
Looks like you had a wonderful trip! Loved the doll house. Aren’t Honey Crisp apples the best! My husbands parents had a fruit orchard when he was growing up. When we started dating, I felt so privileged to be able to have fresh fruit from their orchard–cherries, apricots, peaches, pears and best of all, apples. They made cider every fall. So good! Oh, and I have to share this with you. The other day I was going into an office and an elderly gentleman said, “Happy Autumn”. He was such a sweet man and was just delighting in the season. It made my day!
So lovely, all of it. Would love to have you as a tour guide cause I can tell that you just have fun all along the way! Thanks for the opportunity to share in some of your treasures.
Thanks for sharing another fun trip. Maybe, just maybe I’ll get lucky. Doesn’t hurt to hope! and hope! and hope! So I hope I win.
Dear Susan,
I love this post! Love old houses! Doll houses or big people houses! But….I laughed out loud when I came to the sign for the book sale. :o) A. Library. Book. Sale!!! Oh, be still my heart. :O) So glad you were able to resuce that wonderful book, it is a sweet one. I rescue books all the time, and I like to give them for gifts also.
Your blog is great. Have a great day….
Jo
Dear Susan,
I have to Thank You so much for sharing your wonderful Autumn trip with all of us girlfriends! How lucky that you found your book and the glass measuring cup. I believe that they were both waiting for you….and the sweet tea towel too. Some things are just meant to be! And now you are going to make it a give away!! Awesome!! I have been looking for your books everywhere there are any books to be had!! I would love to have your first and signed!! Be still my heart!! I loved the doll houses, so amazing how intricate they made them so many years ago. I remember my cousin had a huge wooden doll house that had lights in it…I was so envious….I had one of the metal doll houses and I still have the furniture to it, but the doll house met with an untimely accident and was smashed. But I still have it (thinking maybe I could put it back together some how) Pack Rat that I am, because it is full of fun memories, hours spent playing with it as a child. Sometimes you just cannot let those “things” go. Kind of like your book…..
Warmest Regards,
Candice
I could live in any of those historic houses. Living here on the West Coast (Bainbridge Island), I can’t imagine structures built before the Revolutionary War! The doll houses were amazing. Craftsmanship to rival handmade England. I had just jotted down to look for a vintage measuring cup and then continued reading the post – aha! I have a chance to win it ~ thank you!
I know, when I’m on that street, which is really very wide; I think of it as dirt, with men on horses in breeches and tri-corner hats, buggies, wagons and farm animals in the yards, gardens too.
Hello Susan! Happy Autumn to you!! Your trip photos are beautiful!!! I love the old houses and doll houses and I wonder what the little girls looked like who played with them! Thank goodness for their mothers for saving those special doll houses and keeping them in safe keeping for future generations to see! I made your Iowa Corn Bread for dinner and it was very tastey along with the homemade chicken soup. Oh how nice it would be to win your book and vintage glass measuring cup! Thank you for always giving us so much joy each and every day!!!!
Dear Susan,
YOU are an inspiration, every time I read your blog I get up and get busy on SOMETHING crafty, thank you, thank you, thank you!!
What sweet memories you have stirred. At 18 yrs. old I took my first plane ride from Florida to go to Berkshire Christian College in Lenox, Massachusetts. What beauty I found in the seasons…..leaves, my first seen snow, Pussy Willows, Queen Anne’s Lace etc. That first year I got the great idea of making a scratch pumpkin pie with one of my young married friends. What a great idea! We could scoop out the pumpkin for our pie and I could make a Jack O Lantern for my dorm. I walked in frigid weather with my heavy pumpkin up and down the mountain road to her house. When I arrived she told me she had found out the pumpkin meat was the rind and NOT the guts. We laughed and laughed. (My mom always used canned pumpkin. My grandma did not but I had never watched her make a pumpkin pie.) We ended up buying canned pumpkin for our pie.
I also love old linens and wonder whose kitchen they were in before mine. The measuring cup is adorable. In all my years of antiquing I’ve never seen one like that. What a treasure finding your book. Did the sellers know?
Blessings to you and Joe!
Hi Susan,
This reminded me of the Tasha Tudor Christmas movie where it is hard to tell the real home from the dollhouse… I hope the two dollhouses find someone to restore them! I drive around my town and look at my favorite houses. I live in San Bernardino CA and there are many lovely old houses that are foreclosures. I wish I could adopt them all… Maybe dollhouses would fill that need to own and decorate different style houses! Thanks for sharing Fall’s beauty with us. I’m so glad you rescued your book and how sweet of you to want to share your new good finds with us.
Thank you for your generous heart!
Hi Susan,
What a wonderful trip through New England. we did that in 2002 and loved it. Thank you for sharing and now for the chance to win the measuring cup, book and ornament. I love your books!!
Happy Fall! Most of our aspen trees here in Colorado are bare now but they are beautiful too, when they are all golden.
Irene Talaasen
Fall Greetings from California!
So loved your trip to New England and the shops! But I really enjoyed seeing the kitten photos of Jack! I love to look back at my cat Cosmo as a kitten. He could fit in a small pitcher as a favorite hiding place!
Just revisited your Autumn book and I did some nesting at my house Saturday decorating for Halloween.
Welcome Fall and some cooler weather! We are expecting rain! Yippee! Time for a cup of tea and homemade scones.
Susan Christmas
Oh, another chance for a darling prize! Thank you for thinking of us. I happened upon your Christmas Book at a farm stand on the island. What a surprise. I gave it to a dear friend when she came for a visit to the island!
Oh I love the nostalgic style you bring such life to. Your positive attitude comes through every post, something that is missing in most lives today. Thank You!!!
Thank you Nora!
Oh how I wished I was a bug, lady bug, riding in that car with you traveling through all those glorious towns! Will do next year with my three girlfriends, Cape Cod will be our 60’s birthday destination celebration, now I just can’t wait! Valley Girls do get around…….will be on the search for your “Autumn ” book, hope I get lucky like you did!!,
Aren’t the homes in Deerfield wonderful? You truly do feel like you’ve stepped back in time. And maybe someone can answer a question I’ve had for a while. When I was on Nantucket many years ago, I noticed that many of the homes had 2 sets of steps going up to the front door, one on the right and one on the left, and handrails going up one side, across the middle, and down the other side. Didn’t know if this had a particular purpose or was just perhaps a style of the day?
Did the steps run parallel to the house? Maybe it was just for expediency?
I always love traveling with you and Joe, you always have such a lovely view of the world! And that playhouse! Oh my, that is one of the prettiest things I have ever seen. I wish it had been more in my price range too, I sure would have gone looking for it. And how funny to find/rescue one of your wonderful books from the book sale. A very unusual experience I am sure…because it would take a lot to pry one away from me! ha!
As always
Thanks for the fun day!
Be still my heart………I thought for sure when you started showing pics of that dollhouse that you had bought it and the end of the post would show Jack coming out of it!! Boo hoo!! I guess would be kind of hard to justify that hefty pricetag but at least they appreciate it! Then…..be still my heart again when I saw your book you rescued I thought……..gee that would be nice for a giveaway especially if this lady in Idaho I know (tee hee) were to get it!!! Lo and behold my dream came true and it is a giveaway. I like to think that the only reason it was there is it’s original owner passed on and someone with no knowledge of your greatness overlooked it’s value. Then you paired it with the (be still my heart) measuring cup!!! Thank you for the wonderful post..glad you had a great time. The only news from Idaho Linda is the dog ate Grandma’s teeth!
be still my heart after seeing and reading this post. We are moving right now to the beach and no time to do our usual fall New England tour. Thank you Susan for doing it for us and bring back much better pictures than I would have taken!! You always bring to me reality with what is important in life and you make me smile. Thanks for the memories of our most favorite place on earth. Nancy Settel
What a wonderful post! Loved all the houses, the book sale, and what a great find! That’s why you were drawn there you know…..to rescue that book! The person chosen will surely get a great prize! The measuring cup is the sweetest one I’ve ever seen!
I’ve always longed to meander through New England in the fall. Alas, it is unlikely I will ever get to do that, but you have so graciously let me tag along – thank you!
Hi Susan, crossing fingers and toes again – hoping to win the goodies. Glad to see you had such a nice trip enjoying the fall colors. The trees here are beautiful, possibly because we had such a hot, dry summer here in the Chicago area. But it’s windy as HE double toothpicks and all the leaves are falling off the trees too soon – once they’re gone you know winter isn’t too far off.
I love old houses too and I am so envious of anyone who gets to live in one of those big old beautiful white houses (Like yours)……There just aren’t many out here on the left coast where civilization hasn’t been here as back East….arden in Oregon….
I loved this journey with you through beautiful New England. I just love those doll houses. What a passion they could inspire a person to fulfill . . . I have a dolls house that I built and decorated about two years ago. It was a lifelong dream and I play with it every day, moving the little people around in it, keeping it alive. I always ask my husband if he can see what is different. It’s a little game we play I suppose . . . sometimes he moves Norah and her little puppy himself. That is always a delightful surprise for me . . . and I find myself wondering . . . did Todd do that??? Or did Norah and Boots come alive and do it themselves. Oh what a wonderful thought! Spooky and yet charming at the same time!!
How lovely that you found your very own book there, as if it were waiting for you to happen upon it and snatch it up. I would not have been able to resist either. I am sending special autumn hugs and wishes from your second home, the UK . . . where it is a very dull and very grey day, but the chrysanthemums are blooming . . . one last hurrah before the dull and the grey take us over for good. xxoo
What a special husband he must be to take the time to play with you and your dollhouse!!! Lucky you!! I thought Susan only had the perfect guy!!
It’s always wonderful to receive your posts. Thank you and happy fall!
Wow, 972 comments so far. I guess everyone would like to have your ornament, book and other goodies (just as I would). I have to say that I loved the pictures of the doll houses. I was already dreaming about how it must have looked even before I finished reading your entry. Thanks for posting, I enjoy reading all your posts. Sandra
Hi Susan
Thank you for a lovely start to my day. Gorgeous pictures and music to put a smile on my face.
My hubby & I spent a wonderful afternoon in Bibury (England) recently. It’s one of our favourite places. We only live about an hour away. We hadn’t been back since you did your trip around England so it was so strange and lovely to think that you & Joe had actually walked all around here too. I kept saying, Susan Branch walked here, had tea here, stayed here, that was her room up there etc: He’s used to me saying that haha, as I do the same when we go to Stourhead, another of our favourite places :o) There’s always a room at our house with your name on it, should you ever want to stay on future visits to our lovely country. I’m really looking forward to visiting some of the lovely places you wrote about on your trip that I haven’t been to yet.
I’m loving your New England posts right now as my sister lives in New Hampshire and it’s so beautiful. My last visit was Autumn 2008 and I can’t wait to get back. I’m really missing her. Thanks for being such an inspiration x
I hope I am the lucky winner of the Susan Branch book and more. On a side note: I worked at the Martha’s Vineyard Times during the fall of 2007 and loved every minute on the vineyard. I lived on island from May to December 2007. I think I even passed by your home. I get your blog entries in my inbox weekly and am delighted to relive the joys of living in New England. I am so ready to be back there. I’ve got to win the book, so that I can have a piece of New England in my kitchen. Thanks! Amy 😀
Hi Amy! Peter Oberfest is a very good friend of mine! xo
Susan, thanks for the response. I had the opportunity to meet Peter at the Christmas party. It was a fun experience. Looking back, I really enjoyed the chance to be a part of the newspaper. My bosses were Susan Safford and Doug Cabral. I remember one day at a Thursday staff meeting, Barbara Ronchetti brought in one of her alpacas. Have a spooky Halloween! Amy
It’s a quirky island isn’t it Amy :-)!
What a gorgeous jug! Those lovely things are very hard to find here in NZ and get snapped up fast. Isn’t it nice that the vintage are suddenly modern again 🙂
Great autumn photos we are moving into spring now – bliss sun.
Fun to see the pictures,living in San Diego, I miss the old homestead feel from back east, so thanks for sharing. Loved the towels too, remind me of grandmas stuff. Never had a dollhouse, so looking at those brings out my creative urges. thank you for sharing your trip!
Dear Susan,
Loved the old doll houses especially. During your travels to England I hope you were able to visit Queen Mary’s doll house at Windsor Castle. It is the doll house of doll houses! Hope to win the giveaway.
BeBe
Nanjemoy MD
PS — Happy to see Petey got to go on the Leaf Peeping trip!
* Hi Welcome Home, Susan *
Guess what? I don’t want to leave this new post of yours! I keep going back to your first picture…your charming stove (love those two new (vintage) kitchen towels on it)…and then to all the photos and adventure touring that follows. Antiquing is so much fun! Look at all the treasures you found!
One upon a time, when Ron and I lived in Massachusetts, we went to a quaint antique shop in Framingham. I found and bought a miniature vintage silver bicycle-built-for-two with a little basket on the front of it. Like a baby basket. One year later, our daughter Tracey was born. I still have that silver bicycle-built-for-three!
It must have been hard to leave that precious doll house you discovered in Stafford Springs. I, too, would want to bring it home. Imagine, it has those teeny-tiny knobs on the doors and that fireplace, and those rooms! I agree with you, it’s a magical dollhouse.
Now, the second one you showed us is truly a “fixer-upper”. Hmmmm…a 4-level townehouse…with alot of possibilities.
The real country homes you drove by were a delight unto themselves. Homes you would read about in story books and wished you lived in them. Not unlike the most beautiful, fabulous, charming, and inviting country home that I have ever seen…yours and Joe’s!
So, once again, you brought us some surprises from your trip. You are spoiling us, you know, with this new “give-away. Let me just say, I don’t have the joy of owning your first book, “Heart of the Home”, I delight in vintage cups, I love your ornaments and having a lovely Autumn Leaf from your trip would be very special.
O.K. I’ll send this note right to you and then I want to take another look at your kitchen stove with those new red towels. So cute! Your kitchen wall looks so “blue-ti-ful midst the white stove and cabinets.
Have a wonderful day…Hi to Joe and give snuggle-hugs to Jack and Girl Kitty.
* Dorothy Ann on Cougar Mountain, Washington *
Dear Dorothy Ann,
Yay! I’ve missed hearing from you! Now I know you’re okay. (I’ve often wondered how we would know if one of the girlfriends were very sick, etc. Would our husbands know to post a comment??)
How is the weather up on your mountain? Do the colors change? What have you been up to?
My middle son’s wedding is over and they are honeymooning at Hilton Head, SC. Happy, happy times! Now it’s the time of the month to get outside and do some garden cleaning!
Love and hugs,
Linda
* Hi Linda from Lancaster *
Well, hi once again, Pennsylvania Girlfriend!
I was on Susan’s oh-so-delightful new Post and of course, reading the girlfriends’ comments…and there you were…with a note to me. How sweet of you.
I enjoy all of the comments and I am getting to know many of the girlfriend’s names and locations. I’ve been planning to send you a little note and I was just waiting ’til I saw your familiar post.
How exciting for you and your family. A Wedding! How was the special day? Your son and his new bride have chosen a wonderful place to have their honeymoon…South Carolina!
Best wishes and congratulations to them, to you, and to your family. A happy celebration, for sure!
Isn’t Susan’s new blog an awesome one, filled with lovely shared surprises of her trip and antique shopping too. So exciting. There are many comments on her pages as so many of our girlfriends (PGF) want to be part of her special give-away! Over 1600 responses so far!
You are quite the sweet-caring girlfriend, if I may say that, Linda. I have noticed that… in your comments to me (one note to me, you worried about me being up so late when I wrote to Susan ), and to our other girlfriends (asking how they are doing, after they wrote they were facing challenges in their lives). You even sent cute comments, when some of the girlfriends told a happy story.
I would like to (if it is O.K. of course, with dear Susan) to name you our PGF Mrs. Congeniality.
Our weather, here is typical for October…48 degrees at nightime and in the low 60’s during the day. We’ve been having a glorious past few weeks, alot of sunshine during the day, yet cool and brisk…but alas! today we had our first rainfall in a long, long time. Oh yes, our leaves change colors, a bit more subtle than New England, but beautiful.
* Hi again, Linda *
I am adding a P.S. to my above reply…
Have a wonderful weekend!
Hugs from
* Dorothy Ann on Cougar Mountain, Washington *
Dear Dorothy Ann,
I am so glad you added the “hugs” part at the end! But I have to admit that I’ve always thought you have just the right words for all the girlfriends–you seem to have an open heart and open arms!
In fact, I have a daydream where I am motoring up Cougar Mt. and I get there quite late–you are busy on your computer, being creative with words. But when I arrive, you open the door, lead me to your cozy room, and I settle in under an afghan and we have a big gab fest. Because that’s the kind of girlfriend I see you being!
Thank you for your kind words about the wedding. The evening before I had the rehearsal dinner at my house. My sister catered it–that was nice! So I could have fun decorating with pumpkins, mums, candles, and lanterns. And it was mild enough that I had two tables out on the patio and two tables inside. Everyone was so happy and the happiness just spilled into the next day. One of my favorite pictures of my son and daughter in law is when they were just pronounced husband and wife–they were looking at each other just brimming with joy.
They arrive back on Sunday and I can’t wait to see them!
I love that you told me what Cougar Mt. looks like right now–thanks for letting me know! I’m glad you get to see the leaves change color! We do too, but usually later in October, not yet. We had our first frost last night though!
Lots of love,
Linda
What a treat! Thank you for ‘taking me along’! I have always wanted to see autumn in New England and your pictures are just like being there. You are so sweet to include us in your journeys 🙂