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
Dear Susan,
It’s a bit of a challenge to get to the bottom of the comments if one keeps reading them! There are many things I enjoy about your blog posts but I must say that the thing that makes yours so unique is that you truly put your heart into all of it, the pictures, video clips, commentary, quotes, artwork all of it! That is the gift you give to each of us-you assume we are very good friends and so it is true.
Thank you,
Aloyce
* Hi Aloyce * Pacific Northwest Time: 12:14 AM
I saw your comment to Susan this evening and just had to reply and say hi to you! Oh my Gosh…I so agree with you…what you wrote was beautifully posted. There are so many wonderful and special things to enjoy when we read Susan’s Blogs. Each and every one is a treasure.
She gathers us girlfriends together in a very special circle of friendship and not only do we reach out to her, but also we reach out to one another.
What does set Susan’s Blog apart from any other blog is exactly what you wrote…she truly puts her heart into it, with her family photos, music, video clips, quotes (aren’t those quotes delightful?), recipes and delightful artwork.
I came upon Susan’s Blog on March 1st of this year and have been part of it ever since then. I love reading the girlfriends’ comments and through their notes to Susan, I am getting to know them too.
So, having said that, I am happy to meet you, Aloyce (you have a lovely name) and hope to “chat” with you again soon via Susan.
Have a happy weekend.
* Dorothy Ann on Cougar Mountain, Washington *
Loved seeing all the treasures and the goodies you found on your get-away road trip! The trees are gorgeous in New England, would love to see them ‘up close and personal’ sometime.
I can’t believe it. I stumbled upon this “unexpected adventure” when
looking for embroidery patterns.
I love that I’m mixed into the embroidery pattern Google world!!! xoxo
Susan,
Welcome home, we missed you! Today I really enjoyed your trip to the countyside to view the Fall leaves and the older homes along the way. I loved the doll house too! I immediately thought of decorating it with left over wall paper from my house, built in 1923. I thought of Vintage fabrics for the area rugs. But this house looks like it had the carpet from the real house it was designed from. Wow such a treasure, sure to make any little girl dream of her future house. Thank you again for taking us along. Oh, and I’d love to win those treasures, so please put my name in the hat as well.
Providence. Glad you found the cookbook. Glad you enjoyed your trip to the beautiful Fall foliage.
You take trips to the most beautiful places! Thank you for sharing with us!
Thanks so much for sharing with us, always wind up smiling as I read. Love love love the ornament.
I can’t believe it. I stumbled upon this “unexpected adventure” when
looking for embroidery patterns. I have been exploring back through all the old blogs, and have had such a good time. Thank you for pointing out the joys of homemaking, and for takeing the time to share the details of your trips. I have felt as if I were there.
The homes were all so beautiful. I too love white picket fences, all the more intriquing with colorful Autumn leaves swirling in the wind. Thank you Susan for your willingness to always share with us girls.
The trip was lovely, Susan. Just what I needed for my birthday on the 9th. Every year for the past 20 or so, I’ve been able to go to Maine with girlfriends and my sisters for the long Columbus Day weekend. Had the usual plans all made until my husband became very ill so the trip was cancelled (he will be okay after surgery). It will all be there next year but I felt a little pang this week until I viewed your video and photos, so thanks for sharing! Loved “antiquing” with you and would love to win the book and other goodies!
Happy Birthday week Kathleen!
Just beautiful…beautiful! I always wanted a dollhouse to decorate with a train set going around it so I am hoping when my granddaughter and grandsons get a little older we can do this together and make some special memories!
Thank you so much for sharing your life with us <3
Like so many others, I live vicariously through you when it comes to enjoying the smells, sights, and sounds of Autumn in the Northeast. Thank you again and again for all you do.
Amy
I have several of your books, and just love them all. Thanks for sharing your trip, enjoyed New England.
Thank you for taking us along on part of your trip. The little doll house is amazing! I love it. And I love everything else that you showed us. My favorite homes are colonial. Just beautiful. One day I’ll make it to New England in the fall…
Thank you for sharing FALL pictures with this Central Cali girl…..fall weather today, but 100+ degree weather last week! LOVED the homes….especially the first one with the ONE pumpkin, mums and rocking chair…..MELT. <3
Love! Love! Love! your blog. I look forward to it!
Marylou
From Grass Valley CAlifornia
I love the pictures of houses – both doll and real.
Love reading about your adventures since I discovered your blog a while back. Your books have warmed my heart and home for years!! Thanks
Thanks for taking us on your trip with you. One of my favorite things to do – get in the car and wander, especially in New England.
Hi! The leaves have started their Fall dance in my backyard under the “Sunset” Maple- It’s wonderful!
Love your road trips especially with the footage. Good Joe didn’t speed through town. 🙂
The beautiful trees are a treat to the soul. God blessed us with nature, didn’t he?
Thanks for everything you do. You bring much joy to us!
Beautiful fall pictures, Susan! Down here in Texas the leaves are only beginning to turn. We don’t usually get as much color as the northeast but I still look forward to it. Thanks for the giveaway!
I love the ornament and doll house!
Had to smile when I read your musings about having to pack up and move that dollhouse. I found one nearly as big many years ago in an old toy store at the Chattanooga Choo-Choo! We were visiting family, and were living in Louisiana at the time, but I HAD TO HAVE IT, of course. We drove back to Louisiana (650 miles) with that dollhouse wrapped in a blanket, strapped down in the back of our pickup truck. Now, almost 30 years later, it holds a place of honor in our living room. It is a cherished on-going project. Such fun to collect for and add to. Thanks for the New England tour!
We, too, just returned from a short getaway. However, nothing as pretty as the New England states! I miss fall colors (moved to Phoenix from Wyoming in May).
your blog is THE VERY BEST!! nothing more can be said!
I could say this ♥♥♥!! Thank you Sharon!
Susan, thank you for sharing your road trip with us – I love, love, love Autumn! There is nothing better than an antique measure for making treasured recipes, but oh, how cute as a candle holder!
What a great trip you had! Did you take any pictures in Maine? Or did you make it that far? I think you said you were going to, but so many antique shops, so little time! I see you had a 3rd along for the ride! Hi Petey! He looks all tuckered out from all the shopping! Love love love all the stuff! I bet the kittys were glad to have you back home!
Love and hugs,
Jeannie
Thank you, Susan, for this lovely autumn trip in New England. It reminded me of the five years I lived in Maine as a little girl. In fact, I’ve enjoyed this trip even more than the one you made to England earlier this year. Great memories!
Hi Susan,
What glorious fall colors! I love the houses too! I think I belong in New England! I have the picture of your house in the Fall as my screen saver year ’round. I would love to win the book for my daughter-in law (thank goodness I already have it!) I collect old pitchers and measuring cups! The ornament is adorable! I hope I win!! Thanks again for a great blog post! Happy Fall!
Once more, I have to say, thank you for including us in on your wonderful trip! The houses, the colorful trees, etc., etc. LOVED the dollhouses!! I’ve always loved dollhouses! I know you’d fix it so darn cute! But Uffda!!! The price is about half of what my first live in house cost!!!! And I would REALLY love to win this prize! Love it!!!!!
I love reading your blog entries – the photography and your words transport your readers so we can share in the experience. Thank you so much!
Happy Autumn to you! The best season if you ask me.
Those dollhouses are amazing!
Lovely trip! I guess you didn’t come up as far as Vermont where I live although you did mention a covered bridge. What a fantastic dollhouse(s)! But it’s the stove….whenever you picture it my heart goes out. That is the stove we had all the time I was growing up. It was such a fantastic stove with the oven and broilers and the griddle on the top between the burners…. I learned to cook on that stove. Please give it my love xxxooo! And some for you too xxxxoooo! Wilhelmina
Dearest Susan,
At times our own light goes out and is rekindled by a spark from another person. Each of us has cause to think with deep gratitude of those who have lighted the flame within us.
Thank you Susan for that spark. May God bless you.
Love,
Arlinda
Sweet thing to say Arlinda!
I can almost smell that crisp, fresh, fall air! Love, love, love those gorgeous, decorated houses! Your road trip sounds like it was so much fun! I like nothing better then to hop in the car and just go! Such a adventure for a beautiful autumn season!!
Seeing the dollhouses reminds me of the wonderful Playhouse Moma bought us girls for our backyard. Such fun!
Thanks, again for this excellent post.
Loved this post! My husband and I want to take a fall road trip up to New England ( he is from Texas) and this post provided us with lots of inspiration! The only problem is trying to fit all we want to do in a week’s trip! 🙂 Thanks for sharing your trip with us!
Thank you for the ride along with you fall in New England. The houses, the colors of the foliage, and the antique shops are all wonderful. I have always loved the old doll houses I have seen in antique shops, but your two finds are better than any I have ever seen. The decorating either house would be so very much fun.
Oh my, what a beautiful dollhouse. If only we had the room. It is fun to dream, isn’t it? Just like living in one of those big, beautiful houses in New England. You are so lucky to live in one of those, Susan. 🙂 Thank you for sharing your trip with us. I love looking at each and every picture. It’s like being there myself. 🙂
I have been waiting to see the inside of the doll house. I have an old one I have been restoring for my eight-year-old great niece. It was in pretty sad repair. I purchased it at a local junque store. (Not really junk, but not quite antiques.) I originally bought it to help entertain and distract my mother during the final months of her battle with breast cancer. Now that she is gone, my niece has taken an interest in the house. I think it was meant to be that way. Thank you for sharing your trip.
A little tie that binds xoxo
You are amazing, girl! Thank you for the lovely tour through New England in the fall. I am a native New Mexican, but I’ve lived in southern NJ for the past 6 years and the autumn out here is so beautiful! I greatly appreciate your love of vintage specialties of all kinds! Thanks for your generous spirit and kind heart and words! Enjoy the many autumn blessings all around!
You are an inspiration! Thank you for sharing so much of your life with us. Love England posts and now New England posts…living life vicariously through you!
It was a treat just to see that old dollhouse. Imagine the work that went into it, and what it must have looked like when new. Just like any old house-it just needs a lot of TLC!
Those doll houses brought back memories for me. When I was a little girl, I had a metal doll house that was beside my bed. I loved playing make-believe with that doll house. When I was 6 I had a kidney illness and was bedridden for the better part of a year. But when I was better, one evening I was jumping on the bed and I fell off onto the doll house. I got a cut on my bottom that required 8 stitches!!! I still have that scar. The doll house was not damaged at all, but my pride sure was. I had many happy memories playing with that doll house as I was recuperating. Your travels through New England make me so want to visit there. Thank you for the beautiful pictures.
sometime miniature things creep me out! i have no idea why….
So funny the things we can’t take and we don’t know why!
Love “traveling” with you Susan! I don’t know what it is about old houses. They speak to me. I grew up in a farm house that was built by my great grandfather and his brothers. I swear we could feel them in the house so many years later. Old houses are the best. Love your new kitchen towels! I bet the kitties were so happy to see you! XX00
Hi Susan,
As always, thank you for sharing all your great adventures with us. My sisters and I love to email one another with attachments of your blog. We all live in different states so this is a fun way to keep us close.
I also love the doll houses. Brings back memories of my Great Aunt Winnie and Uncle Roy. He built her a doll house in the exact image of their own home in Weymouth Ohio. I can remember her baking teenie tiny loaves of bread for it, only to have a mouse come claim it. The house is now on display with the Medina Historical Society in Medina Ohio. Hope you are enjoying your Fall. It’s my favorite time of year.
Hi Susan, Thank you for another beautiful roadtrip. Have I mentioned before that I am one of the girlfriends that live vicariously through you?
So glad that you have this great blog. If my name gets picked, I would give the book to my friend Jill. We have been friends since high school. I introduced her to your blog not long ago and she has very few of your books. I gave her the Girlfriends book for her birthday last year and she loves it. She is retiring next month and this would would make a wonderful gift for her. I would keep the ornament and measuring cup to enjoy. Thank you. Joyce Daytona Beach, Florida
Perfect! Something for everyone!
Just brought our daughter’s large dollhouse out to wrap it for our move tomorrow.
Hopefully someday a grandchild will enjoy it’s two storied splendor !
Why would they ever stop making measuring cups like that when that one is so perfect!? I love seeing your antiquing finds and the beautiful homes and gorgeous countryside. I’ve always wanted to go antiquing in New England, so thank you for letting me come along! xoxo
Very good question. I’m sure, like everything else, it has to do with money! Thank goodness for flea markets!
oh my how I love New England…..if I had another life I know for a fact that I lived there in Colonial Times…….I have been blessed enough to have visited there often and when I can’t I just try to recreate all the feelings I get there right here in my own humble home. Fall is so full of wonderful scents and scenes to explore and enjoy. I would love your new gifts, so will hope for the best. I have used so many of your recipes this fall and sometimes just sit and look at my books from you. thank you…………..
Oh Susan what a wonderful trip! I love dollhouses- and Honey Crisp apples!
Yet, again another reason I love your blogs and your art!! We are so fortunate
that you share with the rest of us.
Thanks so much!
Lynda
Hey SB <3 What an amazing dollhouse! Thank you for sharing all the wonderful pictures! I love going on "trips" with you! If I win (fingers crossed) could you please sign the book to Terry? She is my Pen Friend! We have been writing since April and got connected because of FOSB on Facebook!! Wouldn't it be so special to share your give-away goodies with her?!! Thank you for inspiring us all!
That doll house was to die for!!!! Amazing!!!! Thank you so much for sharing…and taking us along on your little trip. I have enjoyed every one of your posts. As a matter of fact, I print your blog, fill up my tub with lots and lots of bubbles, and relax while reading!
Wow! I never would have guessed that the doll house was so large! Wouldn’t it be fun to repaper the walls and make new furniture. I loved doing this when I was young. I used just anything I could find around the house, like toothpaste screw caps for sconce shades and film cannisters for trash bins. K and Company makes the most beautiful vintage papers (for scrapbooking) that would make beautiful wallpaper. But at that price, it won’t be me doing any refinishing!
The gift you’ve put together is so sweet! Especially the book that is out of print!
You are so generous. I am keeping my fingers crossed. Oh, I love the leaf in the book, too. Nice touch!
Oh, I almost forgot…….Fall finally came to Southern California!! Heavy rain all day and cooler temperatures! I’m so happy!
The view from the auto on this trip did not seem nearly as scary as the views from the auto on our English journey. Glad y’all had a great trip!
I loved seeing your pictures of the New England homes – so elegant and cosy. And library book sales are a treasure. Happy fall.
What a lovely post! I still have my dollhouse from childhood. So many good memories 🙂
I think the doll house is as big as the little cottage I live in! I love the pictures you share, it’s fabulous to travel with you! 😉 Give Jack and Girl Kitty some love from all of us, your reader family!
Your New England falls are spectacular! We were there last year and loved it! Our Colorado falls are pretty as well! $6500?!?!?!?!?!!!! for a doll house?! Only if it were totally restored by you!! Thanks for sharing your get-away weekend with us! We so love you and Joe!
xoxo Good Night
Hi Susan,
the dollhouse is beautiful and I’m getting great ideas for Rillas from it 🙂 My husband made a barbie house for my oldest daughter and now Rilla plays with it. It’s been packed away for a few months and came back last week, but it’s got a lot of work to do to it 🙂 It’ll be fun 🙂
Love the pics too!
Love,
Denise
I am enjoying the cool nip in the moist autumn air. Longing for a day at home to bake and sew and just “play house” as I call it.
We moved often when I was a child and in one of those moves my precious doll house was left behind. Seeing these wonderful old houses makes me think it may be time…
Thank you for taking us along for the ride. I love the look of the pear shaped candle in the glass measure. Perhaps they will soon rest on my kitchen table? Enter me in the drawing!
Autumn in New England! Just beautiful. What lovely homes and countryside! Thanks for sharing your journey!
Nancy
Can’t wait to get my ornament. 2012 has been a year of praying on my knees. I what to celebrate my bloom after a long year of pruning. I feel blessed every time I visit here. For years years, dear Sue, through your illustrations and stories I have found comfort. A million times thank you.
LOVE the photos, and as I read of the places you visit, I feel as though I’m tagging along for the ride!
LOVE the pictures of New England! Have always wanted to visit, especially in the fall. Until I get there, I enjoyed visiting through your eyes! Thanks also for the closeups of the wonderful dollhouses.
Hi, Susan:
I was looking for a book written by you to give to one of my best girlfriends for her birthday and am so excited to find your website. It is as enchanting as your artwork, decorating ideas, and Christmas cards. Your travelogue of New England is delightful and inspiring. Thank you for seeing the beauty in all things, and reminding us that we can do the same. I look forward to visiting your website often! Now, back to finding that perfect SW book! Cheers! Elaine
Hi Susan,
I love reading your blog! Love all the pics and love to read about your adventures..your kitchen is beautiful! I want to tell you about my little adventure I had last September..my friend and I went on a girls roadtrip to cape cod..I told her I had to go to Marthas Vineyard ..love it ..been there about four times..well I told my friend I had to get a picture in front of your house ..didnt know where it was but had an idea..we were walking and walking, ,I told my friend, Mary Beth that we were going to miss the bus to take us back, she said we came this far there was no turning back! She knows Im one of your biggest fans..well we walked up this hill and there it was in all its glory!! She took my picture in front of your house.. I couldnt believe I was there..Had the nerve to even knock on the door..noone was home ..dont know what I would have said if you came to the door! I read your blog and I think you were visiting your dad at the time..Oh well I would have loved to have met you, she took my picture on your steps, it made my day and my roadtrip complete! Thank you for all the beauty you bring to your fans! Wishing you nothin but blue skies…Roseanne Hall
Hi Susan,
I love my Colorado in the Fall, but I’ve always been a secret New England lover! Thank you for the drive through the countryside and for the peek in the amazing antique stores, love the dollhouses. Something we never outgrow! Looks like you are having a Happy Fall! Oh-and thanks for the giveaway too!
What a lovely trip!!! Honey Crisp apples are awesome,
But the orchard we buy ours from suffered freeze damage
To their Honey crisp trees and don’t have any to sell.
Hopefully next year they will do better and maybe we will find them elsewhere
This year!! 🙂 Happy Autumn!!
Tina
We started calling around looking for a Honey Crisp apple TREE yesterday … Fall is perfect time for planting apples!
I hope you find one!!! 🙂
Loved the doll houses! My grandpa built me a doll house that I just loved. He built it out of wood and detailed it perfectly. Turned out years later we bought a farm house that looked just like it. Great memories! I have been searching for a measuring cup just like this one!!! Oh I hope so much…could I possibly win it? Dreaming helps….
Thanks for posting Susan
Too. Cute.
Really.
Your blog screams, no, it’s not screaming, your blog hums *Home* in every post, every corner, every turn… What could be sweeter than home? Home for dolls, home for kittens, home for apple-pie-eaters, home for thoughts, home for you and for me and for everything and everybody in-between…
Hello, Miriam – just have to tell you… What a great comment, and no truer words were ever spoken. Hope you have a wonderful Autumn! :>)
Kindred spirits!
* Hi Miriam from Finland *
Hi…so nice to meet you.
I just read your post to Susan. I had to…positively had to…stop…and read it twice. Those are thought-provoking and sweet comments you wrote.
I agree with Susan and Janet from Rochester… “no truer words were ever spoken” and “kindred spirits”.
You said it all…Home “is” where the heart is and everybody and everything is happier therein!
Have a wonderful day.
* Dorothy Ann on Cougar Mountain, Washington *
Susan,
Thank you for always inspiring me. I loved the photos of your trip!
I want to live in new england. The houses are my absolute dream houses.
All those photos just make me sigh! I love antiques, fall and New England…
What a great trip Susan! We live in New York in the Hudson Valley and it’s peak “leaf peeping” time here. So glad today is Friday so we can enjoy some “peeping” this weekend! I’m in the mood to check out our local antique shops too. Never know what you might find. 🙂
Morning Susan,
Isn’t new England wonderful? While I am surrounded with the images you shared every day, this posting just reminded me all over again how fortunate I am to live in this beautiful region of our country. I too love old houses and am always having my hubby pullover when we day trip to capture a special building…barn, house, or even a shed. My photo catalog is packed and sometimes when I am snow bound, I sit and travel the roads again through it. Thanks for sharing your trip.
What a beautiful post! Thank you. I love being your “travel buddy.” 🙂 I just ordered the Christmas ornament. Last year I waited too late and missed it, so I jumped straight to the shopping page and ordered it today! 🙂 Can’t wait to get it. Thank you, Susan!
Love your fall trip – I too have been known to snap a few house photos because some houses are just too beautiful to forget. Whenever I look at them, it transports me back to their locale far quicker than the more typical travel sightseeing photos. 🙂
The dollhouse reminds me of Tasha Tudor and her love of them. I would love, love, LOVE to be in New England! Although I love the southern Appalachian region, I always say I should have been born a New Englander — dare I say a Yankee! 😀
Hi Susan
I love your stovetop……wish I was there baking apple pies to go with the dishtowels . I’m counting the days ’til our annual fall trip to New England…love our nearest neighbours !
I love traveling vicariously through you. Thank you for taking us with you.
We just arrived home from Ireland and England….3 weeks of wandering about on our own. I loved reading your earlier trip reports you posted this Spring, in anticipation of our own trip.
I’m always ‘planning” a new trip in my head by the time I get back to our house from the one we have currently been on.
Today’s photos make me want to tour all of New England next Fall……….hummm.
Welcome Home Joyce . . . I am sure it was WONDERFUL!
So happy you found and rescued your book! Thanks, as always, for sharing your adventures with us! 🙂
Love your road trip photos… the only change in color we are seeing in SW Florida is a yellowing palm branch (from age, not Fall!) I do have my pumpkins from the local church pumpkin patch, and they are chillin’ in the house a/c… looking cute, though. Fall has always been my fav time of the year and I miss the chill in the air and beautifully colored leaves… however, this year I will enjoy your wonderful photos and hope to win your drawing. Happy Fall y’all!
Dear Susan,
FINALLY!! It took me several days but I finally got to the end of the comments from the girlfriends. I always like to see what everyone’s up to and add my two cents worth to different conversations before I write my “official” comment.
We’re waiting for our son and new wife to return from their honeymoon. Can’t wait to see them. In the meantime it was fun reading about charm bracelets. And here’s something interesting to add to your $1 charm. I have a charm that says, on one side, “If ever in trouble, here’s the price of a call.” and on the other side is a DIME!! Wow, does that ever take you back to the days when you had to go to a phone booth and put in your dime to call someone if you were away from home.
And rotary phones, as several commented about? I love everything about them. I had a princess rotary in my bedroom when I was in high school and the dial lit up! That was the ultimate in luxury!!!
Lovely tour, Susan. The tips of our trees are brushed with red and orange, but we’re not in full color yet here in Lancaster.
I’m sure you’re busy this weekend with girl talk and wedding talk and Bob Dylan songs and the flurry of excitement that comes with a WEDDING! Have lots of fun!
Lots of love,
Linda
Aren’t the comments just amazing? I have loved every single one of them… puts me in such a good mood! Thank you Linda, have a wonderful day!
Just love seeing all of your Fall!!
Susan, I loved that you found your own book in that sale. I look forward to your art and stories. I find myself smiling. I understand your desire to pretty-up the world.
Xxxxx Judy
It often does a pretty good job on its own, but I think it needs us too!
What a wonderful time of year to go adventuring….the crisp area, picking apples off the trees, brilliant sun, sparking lakes, spectacular colors, migrating birds and on it goes… I love the change in seasons and wish this beautiful time of the year could last longer! ❤ ❤ ❤
Meeee tooo! Like the quote on the October page of my calendar says!
Hi Susan,
Thanks for taking us along on another great adventure. Love the houses and all the little details. By the way, your house looks great too. The kitchen paint color is beautiful. I’ve had painters at my house all week. Whew! It’s a lot of work getting ready for painters. Didn’t think I had THAT much stuff stored in my china cabinets. Have a great weekend!
Goodness! I go offline for two days and come back to a wonderful giveaway with 1554 others hoping to be the lucky one! Your trip around CT & MA sounds and looks wonderful and what fun you had in all those shops. The doll houses are fantastic. How sad to see how run down they are now, but oh! What possibilities! I think your idea for someone to donate it to a museum is a great one. Wish I had that kind of money. :). I want to think there is a doll house museum somewhere…NYC, maybe. They should be alerted to the existence of those houses. Thanks for sharing all the colors and cozy homes and lovely antiques, but most of all, thanks for sharing yourself. Have an absolutely scrumptious day. Love, Stacey ( in still tropical green FL)
Oh, geeeeesh! There’s already 1,558 comments?!!!! =O
Well, now there’s 1,559! =]
Except, I don’t need the book…. it’s been a dear friend, these many years! 😉 Although…. signed by you….. how sweet would that be?!
I kept thinking, the whole time I knew you were toodling off in NE, “if she comes to Vermont, I could bump into her on the street!!! …You never know!” Well…. we like to dream! =D
xxo
It’s happened before, I do bump into people! 🙂
Your trip was a wonderful treat after the process of the “kitchen refreshing”. How wise of Joe to plan something so enticing to help you both stay on track!
I enjoy seeing the treasures you find during your trips. Sometimes it’s the ordinary things from days gone by that touch our heart more than the elegant, beautiful or expensive. I know that your gift will be treasured by the receiver.
Thanks for sharing with us.
Hi Susan,
I just can’t wait to read you new comments and just love that you share your adventures and thoughts with us. It is as if we are right there with you and can see and feel everything you do. Thank you so much! I love everything vintage and have a kitchen sink that looks just like the one on the open page in your book that has Grandma’s stuffing recipe!
I love old houses, too. I live in one – built in 1910!
What a fantabulous trip you had! You’ve stirred up some memories with your antiquing tales…I went up early for a business meeting in Worcester, MA one year so I could go to an antique market early one Saturday morning. I would have sworn the name of the town was Epps, but when I google it, I’m coming up empty.
Now I’m off to find where it was that I went! Thanks for the reminder of old antiquing fun!
~ Laure
I love Ct and Ma and the beauty they give us during the fall! Its been quite a while since I have taken a road trip like yours, so I thank you for the wonderful photos!
I came across one of your recipe books at Barnes and Noble on the discount rack (GASP!) last summer and quickly grabbed it to give to my daughter for Christmas this year.
Enjoy your guests; the decorations around the house are wonderful!
I have never been to The Vineyard during the fall. I should really consider going. I’d probably see a whole different perspective through my lens!
Beautiful, beautiful pictures. I live in New Hampshire, not far from Historic Deerfield, MA – aren’t the houses just lovely! It’s such a gorgeous time of year. Thanks for sharing your adventures, you’re such an inspiration!
I just found your website and having a great time reading past blogs, recipes and everything else that’s makes your site wonderful. I would love to win the cookbook and extras. Toni