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
Susan,
Thanks for all the very beautiful autumn photos you’ve been sharing! Your blog is lots of fun and I look forward to reading it. Cassie
Thank you for taking us along on your trip–love the way you decorated your kitchen –its so warm–you are such an inspiration. Nina
I can just picture you swirling and waltzing around your house making it impossibly adorable! Thanks for sharing your trip through New England, those old houses are wonderful! xoxo Debbie
P.S. I spent Saturday in the middle of the woods at a craft fair, munching kettle corn, smelling cinnamon candles and wood smoke, looking at adorable crafts, and being with my favorite girlfriends♥
Whoa – am I REALLY only the second person to write? Put my name in Vanna’s container please! Thanks from Garden Grove, CA.
PS – did anyone at the book sale know you were “THE Susan Branch” of the book you purchased?
Hi Susan,
I love your blog and it’s wonderful you share all your trips and adventures. Jack is cute as a button.
Take care, Margie
welcome back susan, hello and good afternoon everyone. that was a wonderful trip and the houses and the trees and leaves, i want to move to New England. there was one house in there that looked very much like the doll house, and was pete with you or did you find another pete??? i loved that glassed in porch, you’re right perfect for enjoying a steaming cup of tea with the girlfriends on chilly Fally day and watching the leaves swirl down in the wind. the roads look like 2 lane roads mostly, very much like the roads around here. we live on a 2 lane highway, caves highway to the Oregon caves. thata about 10 miles from where we live. oh i love the towels and that cute vintage dishtowel. i love the pumpkins on the porch, all my pumpkins are now on the porch, they have cured in the sun for 2 weeks and are now ready for sitting on the porch. i love the fall, and i love the Fall in New England, i love the old homes, i love it all. well off to make me a cup of tea, have a new tea to try, Celestial seasonings sweet harvest pumpkin tea. smells like the fall, and it has the wonderful scents of pumpkin pie spices in it. its tea time here. thank you for taking us all on your trip, and i can’t wait to see the rest of it. where did you find that wonderful vintage measuring cup??? its looks absolutely wonderful and i’ll bet its alot better to use than the ones we have nowadays. off to my tea, have a wonderful evening everyone. hugs…. 🙂 Happy Fall!!!
We did not get to make our fall pilgrimage to MA for leaf peeping, apple picking, antiquing and visiting friends~so, thank you for taking us along! I have the first edition book, but if I win, I know a very special person who will faint when I give it to HER! 😉 lol Bet the kitties were glad to see you both. And, I must say, it is a good thing that the doll house had a hefty price tag…it would be difficult to resist, otherwise! xo
I adore traveling with you! Sometimes that’s the only way I get to see things. Can’t wait for your new book.
Blessings!
Bernadette
I’m sipping my Starbucks Pumpkin Spice Latte as I read this post and I am on Adorable Overload. Oh my goodness, that doll house is so darn cute. I loved reading all about how you would have decorated it. I could just picture how charming it would be.
Thanks for taking us on the tour of the New England countryside in this beautiful season. How fun it was to tag along. Loved how you rescued your first book from the book sale and then created another fabulous giveaway for the girlfriends.
One last thing, the Mother’s Little Helper tea towel is the absolute most adorable thing I’ve ever seen. So glad you shared it.
I haven’t been back to New England in 30 years. I grew up there, visiting my grandparents in greenfield, ma. I always gets” homesick” for fall . Scuffling through the piles of leaves on the way to school, leaf forts and those all important donuts to go with your cider!
Thanks for sharing your trip!
New England fall is beautiful – thank you!
I too, have longed for an old house. We live in a wonderful house in which I’ve attempted to bring some of my PA culture into our home. My son-in-law once told me I should have been born around the Victorian era, as I love laces, doilies, romantic dresses & housewares. My husband enjoys modern houses, but has to live with some of the comfy furniture & accessories I’ve put into our home. I spied some old barns you saw on your trip. I’ve often wanted to make up a scrapbook of barns. We’ve travelled through the USA a lot over the years. I should have started the scrapbook years ago. Barns have so much character, & you never see duplicates. They’re all different. Even more enchanting to see that they’ve been of service throughout many years, with some of them a bit off kilter or patched up in some way. Not too long ago, I was in an Amish barn in PA, watching huge work horses eating. I was in heaven. The dimly lit barn with sunshine streaking in through the windows lead to the rustic charm of the barn. The horses were making eating sounds, while swishing their tails. The smell of hay, horses, manure, & earth, took me back to when I was a child, living in PA. Barns used to be advertising tools, with large signs painted on them. And, I must tell you, I’ve never seen such an intriguing dollhouse. I wish I could afford it. Too lovely for words. There must have been a very wealthy little girl who played with that dollhouse. Thanks Susan for including all that you did in this blog. Loved seeing all of those well cared for houses. When I’d visit my Gram, sometimes I knew I wouldn’t be in her old house (the one I grew up in) for several years again, so when I’d say goodbye to my family, I’d go around to each & every room, stand in the doorways, then say “goodbye house.” I know houses have souls. That house used to creak, it’s way of talking. Glad you’re home Susan.
Your posts are always so inspiring and uplifting – I enjoyed this so much!
thank you!
xxx
Martha
OH I would love to be the lucky winner of the darling ornament, the pear candle, but, most of all, the book! I have several of your books yet have had a hard time locating a “vintage” copy of your “Heart of the Home” book.
Loved your photos, such a beautiful world, waiting just outside our door
🙂
I would LOVE a copy of your first book, and the beautiful ornament!
I eagerly await each and every blog posting to see what adventure you are off on or what you are doing about your beautiful New England home! Thanks so much for the beautiful postings.
How could anyone leave your book? Unbelievable! Your trip brought back memories of our trip out their to see you and never finding your house LOL
Hi Susan…
Hubby and I spend our time away from home at our 200 year old cabin which we rescued, recycled and relish whenever we have the chance. If walls could talk, the conversation coming from the hand-hewn log beams would echo stories of pioneers and Indians in the Ohio Wilderness long before statehood .
If a good book is like an old friend, then an old house must be akin to finding a long-lost relative! You just introduced us to some of ours and we loved it!
Just a thought, but you and Joe could collaborate on a scale model of your house! Great idea, huh? And, it could be a prelude to your “House Book”!
Sweet dreams!
Bunny
As the Beach Boys used to sing, “Fun, Fun, Fun!” I loved the trip, can taste the apples…it will be time for my hubby and me to drive to our favorite fried chicken place in Arkansas, see the leaves, get some cider, and picnic! Thanks for sharing your trip and lighting a fire inside me to get packing, Miss Scarlett!
hi susan….. what beautiful countyside….you picked a great few days to travel through it…. : ) I LOVE old dollhouses and could tell right away that the first one you showed was a real find… ( not sure if it’s worth $6,500..but still a great find!!!)…the one that I had as a child was a little like that one and to this day..I would recognize it in an instant….played with that thing ’til the walls wore thin!!! I always turned it into a haunted house at Halloween time..my mom worried about her daughter’s cryptic mind…but I am truly am harmless!!! What fun we had. So I went to the store to buy a doll house for my 4-year old grand-daughter..and guess what…NO DOLL HOUSES!!!! My heart just sank. There were all kinds of houses for My Little Pony and Smurfs ,..etc..but none like the kind I wanted. I researched online and discovered that there are people who do make very elaborate wooden doll houses..but they just didn’t have that charm I was looking for. I had to settle for Calico Critters because it was the only one that had furniture, dishes, etc….My little Jesse loves it, but I know what she’s missing!!! uh oh..I smell the pork roast…gotta go..loved your post today…..you are ever so inspiring…as usual!!! love, cindy
Love the Adorable doll house! What a Treasure! I half expected you to say at the end, that you decided you had to have it and broke down and bought it!! But with how big it is, you really Would need a special room just for it! But wouldn’t it be fun to re-furnish and decorate it! A Full-time hobby for sure!! Loved seeing the New England houses, too. I’ve never been to New England…hopefully Someday….(sigh…). I love dishtowels, table runners and tablecloths, napkins, “the soft stuff”, too, and am always on the lookout for them, as well. Lucky you, you scored on the dishtowels! And even found your very first book!! What FUN!! I look for your books at thrift stores and antique stores, too! Would Love to win the drawing! 🙂
Blessings,
Laura C.
Oh how I wish I could come to New England – you are posting such beautiful pictures from your trip and now we have a chance to win some of your great fines while you were gone. I love reading about what you are doing – always feel so happy after reading your posts. Happy Fall !!!!!
Oh! What a beautiful trip! I want to live in one of those houses! I think I’m speaking for everyone when I say, though, that I’m so GLAD you’re back! 🙂 And I just LOVE your little “giveaways!”
I am new to reading your blog. ( since Leanne won your last book ) It would be too much to expect a second Kiwi to win, so I won’t be disappointed when someone else does win.
I loved your drive but it worried me that you were driving on the right, as we in NZ drive on the left. The houses you showed were all amazingly large and beautiful.
Thank you for writing your blog I am enjoying it and will now try and track down your books. Being a gardener and an orchardist I really enjoy seeing the garden content. Best Wishes from New Zealand.
Thank you Ali, and what a darling name you have! For an orchardist especially!
Susan, I’m pea-green with envy….your travels during the best season of the year for New England. Then you get to come home to your darlin’ house, with your precious kitties, on darlin’ MV. Just love it when you share your world with all of us. You are a very special lady!
Rachel
And I love it when you share your world with us Rachel, as you do so generously!
New England makes my heart sing and so does your lovely work.
Ieva
xoxo thank you Leva!
I love your stove; it reminds me of the one we had when I was a little girl. My favorite things to come from that stove were pancakes off of the griddle and chocolate chip cookies from the oven – YUM!
Hi Susan,
Thank you for sharing all the beautiful pictures with us! I can almost feel the cool crisp air, smell the aromas of fall, and imagine what others treasures could be found. I look forward to each and every post you share with us!
Dear Susan,
We are home nesting too. We were in Vermont visiting our daughter and being leaf peepers for the first time. I love being back home with our dogs but Vermont was lovely this time of year and saying good bye to our daughter is always hard.
I love your blog and look forward to all of the wonderful things you share with all of us. Thank you!!!
I LOVE your blog and feel that I am sharing your journeys! Thank you for so much joy.
My pleasure in more ways than one!
Susan,I really enjoy your blog! I love New England too and visit CapeCod for a week every spring.I fit in as many antique and consignment shops as I can ! thanks for taking us along on your travels!!
Thank you for taking us leaf peeping. I want to see your pantry rug!
I’ll do the whole pantry one of these days!
I am so glad you rescued your book, it is so exciting to find one…like when I found my copy, well my girlfriend did. How I begged her for it. Anyway, Emily and I loved the doll house. She has one, but not as big as this one. Her uncle gave it to her as her birhtday gift when she turned 10. He found it at a flea market and new she had to have it. Thanks again for reminding us how wonderful the houses are in New England.
Home again, home again, jiggity jog! My Granma always said that whether we went on a long trip or a walk! And, so you are! Isn’t home the sweetest?? What a lovely time you had. I have always been in New England in the summer; now, I need to come in the fall! Deerfield… best needlework collection EVER in the museum in the old schoolhouse near the center of the village! Got. To. See. It.
Welcome home!
I would love to win any one of those. My sister got your first book years ago as a wedding gift and I’ve loved your books ever since. I also love New England. My husband went to graduate school at Yale and we fell in love with New England–then returned to the West and our families. (We also love them.)
I just found your website – have three of your recipe/art from the 1990’s and decided to check the web. Wonderful photos, such a pretty place. I have never been to Con or Mass but perhaps one day I will get there. Until then, Hugs and Blessings from the Lone Star State.
Glad to be entered for the drawing. Perhaps I will win. 🙂
PS – Should clarify that my 1990 recipes are originally from the Country Living Mag and I am still using the apple cake recipe. Plan to make it for Thanksgiving and perhaps give mini loafs for the holidays.
The photos made me feel like I was there. October is the very best month of all!
Oh what a great trip! Our leaves here in the beautiful NW have just started to turn too, I can’t wait until they start to fall and cover the yards and sidewalks and trails I walk on 🙂
That doll house was AMAZING! I would go nuts decorating it! What a treasure to be found in an attic like that! Wow!
Thank you again for sharing your travels with us!
Love, Melissa
I know, I could spend a life decorating it. I have always wanted to see Queen Victoria’s Doll House. I hear there is one, and someday, I will try to do that!
What a wonderful trip. I loved every house you showed from the Doll house to the real ones. How fun to just get in the car and drive. Did you tell the sellers of your book that it was yours? How sad someone would give it up, but their loss is someone else’s gain. Fun blog post cant wait to see the rest of your trip. Is the Kitchen all back together yet? Looks great from what I can see of the stove area. I have a question. Do you use those pretty towels or only put them out for looks?
Kitchen is back together and everything is working again! I use the towels! xoxo
Loved following your tweets while you leaf-peeped and antiqued!
Was hoping there’d be a blog post soon, but had a feeling you were nesting yesterday…it’s what I would have done too! (Come to think of it, yesterday was a work holiday and I WAS nesting!! 😉
Some day I hope, hope, HOPE to go leaf-peeping in New England, but the next best thing is hearing all abour your adventure. Thank you for sharing!
And thank you for a(nother!) thoughtful and generous giveaway…fingers crossed in California!
xoxo
What wonderful pictures, and those doll houses! I never had anything like that but when we would go down to the Museum of American History in Wash. D.C. I would stand for as long as my parents let me, in front of the wonderful furnished doll house that was there. Such things I imagined…a Victorian doll house I believe. We did a little driving this past weekend to Cleveland, OH and back and the leaves were soo pretty, esp. since ther was still lots of green. Thanks for sharing your trip with us!
I look for your posts every day, read the comments, and would love to receive the “goodies”, especially the leaf! Thanks, Judy in Nashville
I miss the Autumn SO much. I’ve been stuck in Florida for 20 plus years now. Would love to win your first book, it’s on of yours that I don’t have.
Thanks again for another wonderful trip! I think we will have to put Deerfield on our list of places to visit. I have a soft spot for old New England homes – complete with their history and nooks and crannies.
I come home from school every night and the first thing I do is check for a new post. Hip hip hooray! There was a new one today. Nesting is absolutely the best hobby for us, isnt it? I love all of the houses–real and doll. I think you should get a small one and decorate one room at a time to share with us. Your ideas are so dear to us and we would love to see your miniature thoughts for a doll house. The sun is still out so I am going out to enjoy some Indiana leaves. Thanks for the extra sunshine in your words.
I am chuckling as I reread what I just wrote. I guess I had more then A question. :))
Oh my, that ornament is incredible – I can see it hanging on my tree – oh, wait, I would put it on it’s own ornament stand for everyone to see!!! The scenic New England drive – brings back so many memories. I was raised in a huge old 1700’s house in Newport, RI, just 2 blocks from Narragansett Bay – each room had a fireplace and huge windows. It was a 3 story house made into 2 floors of apartments. There was a basement that was dark and scary but a wonderful 3rd floor attic where we could play in the winter time and we couldn’t get outside. It was at 175 Spring St. and when I went back 10 years ago, it was still there, still the same except that now it is a one family house. We lived a block from the old Trinity Church and I walked by an old graveyard with Revolutionary War headstones on my way to school. I can still smell the air in the crispness of Fall, with the leaves changing and swirling!!! Thank you, dear Susan, for bringing me such wonderful memories. Bless you!
What a wonderful trip! Western Massachusetts is just the best place in the world in autumn. As a native of the Berkshires, I miss it every year I’m not able to get back to visit, so I’m really glad you had the chance to be there with your camera. Thanks for sharing!
Tricia, who now lives in Connecticut
welcome home susan, and thank you for taking us along on the trip to see a beautiful New England Fall. good to have you home again. have a wonderful evening. hugs….. 🙂
I grew up not far from Deerfield-and it is a very special place-You opened your book to a page -that made my first Thanksgiving here in Conn.I made this stuffing and my family loved it-I still make it every year-thank you for the memories.
I love your first book!! But I would love it more Autographed by You!
ML
Susan, you are the sweetest. (not trying to butter you up; just speaking the truth. 🙂 ) I would love to be entered for this gift. I do not have a copy of your first book, and that measuring cup is too cute–especially after your special touches. And the 2012 ornament is darling.
I love going along on your antiquing jaunts, too. That blue bookshelf spoke to me. Might have to make room for it.
That big dollhouse was amazing. I tried to imagine the little girl who first owned it. She must have been in doll heaven.
So glad you and Joe (and Petey too, I see) had such a fun trip. Your photos make me want to go to New England in the fall. I think it must go on “the list.” I can’t wait to see more photos and pretend I was in the back seat with Petey.
Missed seeing the puddies, tho.
What fun! Would have loved to have been on that little trip with y’all! That big doll house would be so gorgeous all fixed up!
Oh, I was so hoping to see you in our antique shop in NH. I even made some potholders for you, just in case . . . maybe next time! I LOVED the large yellow doll house. Thanks for showing all those wonderful shots of it! Off to the Cape with best girlfriends for the weekend — oceanside for a few days — recharge my inner batteries! Yeah.
As usual our eyes were bigger than our abilities! Wanted to get up there, but there was just too much to see along the way! We will try again! Have fun, and hello to the girlfriends!
Thank you for such a wonderful tour of such lovely old homes.
I enjoyed seeing your fall trip. Glad you had a great time. Doris
I love the dollhouses. They remind me of Tasha Tudor who enjoyed them as well:) Where I live in KY there is a miniature museum and it is my understanding to be the best in the United States and one of the best in the entire world. If you love miniatures then you may want to check out the website……kygmc.org/miniatureExhibits/ I found your blog via my adoration for Ms. Gladys Taber:) Birds of a feather…..
Dear Susan Branch,
What a wonderful post … what a lovely give-away … I would be thrilled to pieces if I won.
All the best-
Jeanne Murray
Such a glorious time of year! Indiana is looking aglow, too, and each day goes by much quicker than I’d like – our Indiana winter will be here before we know it! Love, love, love your blog, dear SB, and your bright, happy, clean kitchen! Sure wish we were neighbors : )
Hi there… Win or lose, I don’t mind. I just love reading your blog. When I need an escape I make my way to your latest entry and read about your adventures, watch your little videos, and dream about living in a quaint place like the one you live in…. I am a busy trend guru living in central CA with my little family, and when I am not flying through life by the seat of my pants I think about living my creative life in a more inspiring place. Until I make my dreams come true, I visit your blog and dream! Thanks for sharing, friend.
Loved that Jennifer xoxo
What wonderful photos! Thank you for taking us along on your fall outing! That dollhouse is amazing! What a great project just waiting for someone!
Fall has finally arrived in SoCal! Slight chance of rain for the middle of this week – fingers crossed!
Our kitchen is almost done! Can’t wait to get moved back into the kitchen and major cleaning of the house completed!! All that will be much easier with cooler weather!
Thanks again for sharing Susan! Another heart warming posting! 😉
Dear Susan,
You made me so homesick. I grew up in Stafford Springs, CT and always shopped in the antique stores there and, at the always exciting Brimfield, MA. We owned several old houses in Stafford. The old houses speak to me and I agree with you that they are all are so charming and so different and look especially fabulous decorated for fall. Thank you for showing the beautiful houses and the winding roads and the leaves and trees. It brought tears to my eyes. I loved the tour through New England.
Hugs and Kisses from Florida,
Lorraine
My new house in Florida is lovely, but not as charming.
So glad you were there Lorraine; that river than runs through your town? It is surrounded in colorful trees that reflect in the water … so beautiful!
The hills on that River Road are alive with color. One of my favorite drives, whether it is winter after a snowfall, spring with the pale green leaves coming out, or autumn with the rich reds and gold. Beauty always makes my heart sing. Here in Florida, I have the beauty of the beach, the sand and the sound of the waves and, on a lucky morning, watching the dolphins play. It is a joy to appreciate all the specialness of what we are surrounded by. You are a master! Enjoy!
Can’t tell you how much I enjoy “arm-chair” traveling with you. Your pictures and commentary make me feel like I’ve actually been there myself. Thanks for the ride!
Claudia
Hello from Southern California!! I’m originally from Baltimore, MD and check your blog daily to get my east coast fix. Love your blog and your trip looks like it was just perfect!
Heidi
Looks like an amazing trip! And I must add, I LOVE your stove. So adorable and cozy. xx
You were so close to us in upstate NY! I wish we could have bumped into each other in an antique store or consignment shop. I agree, Deerfield and that whole area of Western Massachusetts is full of wonderful architecture. Any chance you made it to Yankee Candle’s flagship store while you were there? It snows indoors!
Fabulous trip! I’d love to be in your drawing.♥♫
Oh, how beautiful New England is in the Autumn! We did the very same trip about seventeen years ago and came home with a banjo clock, a coal scuttle, a butter pick and numerous embroidered items. I am SO surprised that you actually found one of your books! I’ve been going to book sales for years and have never seen a Susan Branch book of any description. Your books are keepers! I’ve always wanted to live in an old house, too, and if I stay in this one much longer, I will. Thanks for the wonderful posts.
Love, love,love the drive thru the country..sooo beautiful.
Did anyone recognize you when you bought the book? Don’t know what they’re missing if they didn’t!!
No I am very incognito! 🙂
Aha, you probably wear summer colors to throw everyone off!
Blonde wig, scarf, and sunglasses??? 🙂
I suspected you might be up to something – like posting an update, for example – when I kept having trouble getting through to your website; yay, I was right! And your comment about the dollhouse being a commitment that must be packed up and moved with you was right on. My husband hand-built a log-cabin dollhouse for me back in the late 80s, and I’ve had such fun making and finding the items to ‘play house’ in it, all the while dreaming of the day it might belong to a granddaughter. It takes up a chunk of space, and has gone through two moves (with a few battle scars from this latest move); but we have that granddaughter now, and she loves playing with it. Some dreams DO come true! Now I’m dreaming of a day when my name is drawn as the lucky winner of ANYthing you set your hand to; thanks always for inspiring and encouraging!
Sharon in Alabama
I love your travelogs. Thank you for taking me back through the countryside of my grandparents. Amazing little villages of beautiful houses. So wonderful the people who live in them treasure them as much as those of us passing by. Thanks, Susan.
Hi Susan, I love everything about this post. New England is wonderful and I’m so lucky to live here! xox
Oh wow! What a beautiful trip you’ve had. It’s almost heartbreaking to see those doll houses needing so much TLC. I hope they will find someone to bring them back to life. You are so fun to buy back your book, and so sweet to offer it as a giveaway. I love the books I have & the ornament is wonderful. Thanks so much for your fun blog. XOX
The first time I ever heard of Susan Branch was on a trip to Cape Cod almost twenty years ago. In a little card and gift shop on a street in Falmouth, I fell in love with the Heart of the Home calendar. I have collected them every year since {except for that one year there was none} and have kept every single one. I even have my picture on one…that one with the woman with glasses in the white sweater and green skirt looks just like me back then! I swear I had that sweater! Anyway, thanks for writing the best blog there is, the only one I check every single day. Sometimes twice.
Blessings – Marcia in Sewell, NJ
Thank you Marcia! xoxo Maybe that was you!
What a fun trip…fall is the perfect time to look at houses and dream with all those pretty leaves! 🙂
… and while you were exploring the magnificent New England countryside, Daniel and I were making your mom’s waffles… how perfect! I know he tweeted you and was quite thrilled that you replied! We made a double batch… should have made a TRIPLE… so yummy and onto the kids’ plates and into their tummies before the next ones came off the griddle! xoxoxo
SO nice to hear, and yes he did tweet me! Love that!
I want a doll house too but then my practical side takes over. And where would I put it? Oh the fun!
What a wonderful trip, Thank you again for sharing, I could envision myself right there with you, you make a wonderful tour guide 🙂
Oh Susan,
I kept craning my neck to see every house and yard as you drove through. What a glorious fall you’re having.
The huge dollhouse is spectacular. I remember as a child having a small metal one that had plastic furniture – nowhere nearly as beautiful as the big one you saw. But, oh boy, did I have fun moving furniture all around. I used to squat down and look in and out of the windows trying to imagine what it would be like to live in my little metal dollhouse.
Thanks for the memories!
Diane in North Carolina
I have a lot of your books but I don’t have that one! What a sweet giveaway and your trip looked like so much fun!
i am always inspired by your observations during your travels. it was fun to remember Deerfield, Ma. i went there as a child and it was a highlight of the trip for me. i always thought it would be wonderful to live back in the “olden times” until i grew up and realized how much hard work they did 🙂
also love the color of your new kitchen.
thanks, patti
WOW. The doll house is even more spectacular inside. I can just imagine what it looked like in it’s day. Did they have an idea how old it was? I only know I didn’t pay too much more than that for my first house!! That’s quite a play toy. It was worth the trip, I think, just to see that! Can’t wait to hear and see more of this trip! So glad you could rescue Heart of the Home! Did they know who you were????! No matter which girlfriend wins it, it will be loved! XXXOO
One of the books I can’t leave behind at resales are the Summer Book. I have a thing for spotting them amongst other books and feel like I’ve found an Easter Egg surprise! I think you know what I mean*:)
Oh, and it is a dream to travel the roads to see The Leaves turning. One day….
What a wonderful trip you had. I love your give away! Please count me in for your book and measuring cup and charm! Thanks also for showing your stove! Love seeing your kitchen!
Autumn is our favorite season, and I loved your drive through beautiful New England! I especially like the old barns. Thanks for sharing with us. Can’t wait to see what’s next! Many thanks again!
Oh Susan, you have no idea how much you mean to me….quick story….my mother passed when I was only 22 years old and her sister (my aunt of course) stepped in and took over as my mother figure. Her and my uncle even gave me away at my wedding…..anyway, my mother was much like your mom, the most wonderful woman ever and so is my aunt. My aunt and I have bonded even further over your books and artwork. We both love you so much. Thank you for being you. We also live in New England and just love the fall as much as you do!! So please enter me in your give-a-way!! Also, when I lived in my house (which I longer have) I had tea parties every year around Valentines Day and always tried to incorporate something of yours, be it stickers, notepads or whatever to give to my friends. It was always a success and much needed girltime, LOL.
A VERY BIG FAN!
Jill from NY
Such a nice story Jill, please tell your Aunt I said a big Hello! xoxo
P.S. Would LOVE to own the cookbook and measuring cup!
Looks like it was the perfect trip! Love the beautiful doll house, the old homes (I’m am old house person too!), the goregous leaves, all of it. And the stove—nesting, perfect. Isn’t it nice to come home after a trip and feel so content<3
I visited Deerfield once many years ago and loved it. It’s on my list of “I Want To Go Back” places! Nesting is nice and adventuring is nice too. Just look at everything you saw and did. Love the doll houses, but I think I enjoyed the houses and the beautiful fall colors the best. I really miss the color changes of the seasons. I’d love to give your goodies a good home (I promise I will)!!
My Bucket-List is pretty short: Get to New England in the fall. (I can’t wait to see more pictures). My parents wrote a cookbook many years ago and I found an old copy, greatly reduced (that stung) so I snatched it up, bought it and discovered my mother’s handwriting in the cover. She had inscribed it to a woman named Doris. Who Doris is, is a mystery, but I don’t see how people can toss books out like that! So glad you were there to rescue your lovely, lovely book! What are people thinking?!
I think they move to England, or join the foreign service, and are not allowed to bring anything but the clothes on their backs!
…or are in the witness protection program and the book had their name inscribed in it.
Exactly, some situation which we mere mortals cannot fathom.
I collect children’s books and especially like to rescue those with personal inscriptions in them to the child. I feel the same way, “What are people thinking?!” Maybe that’s why I don’t inscribe books I give….I don’t want to run into it in a used book store and know it was one I gave someone!
I definitely checked to see if it was signed 🙂 and it wasn’t!
Welcome home Susan & Joe,
Your leaf peeping was just the best. All the ooh’s & aah’s about their colors says there is magic in the Autumn season. My second ooh & aah is for me, maybe, just maybe ,I could be the winner of my very first “Susan Branch” book. I just looked today and saw your 2012 ornament in “your going to love this”. I think that icon said this. I go there so see what you have new for sale.
Old houses have always been a favorite past time for me. I live in a 100 year old farm house. It sits right at the brough line of my little town. It has a front porch that spans the whole front of the house. There we have a wooden swing, a table with a candle in a dish that is filled with seashells(my passion) I love the ocean and walks on the beach finding them. We bought this home to bring it back to is former grandeur. Any one of these houses you have photographed would make darling doll houses. Love them all !
Susan: You take us on such beautiful trips! I love it all Thank you so much!
Love the tour, you were in my neck of the woods, I live in a little town of Palmer and yes there are some pretty quaint houses all around us. So glad you had a wonderful time.
As always, love the stories of your travels. I sit in my sunny California family room dreaming of a leaf peeping trip of my own one day – thanks again Susan!
Thank you SO much for the virtual leaf-peeping tour, Susan! My husband and I made a trip to New England during the Fall almost 5 years ago, and I’ve been longing to go back ever since…
It gets under your skin, all this history!
Love it! Son moved to Boston this summer, we were able to spend four days in Mystic, Connecticut. Hope to get back there very often now. Love the desert but drool over New England!
I knew your website would give me good cheer….I have the 2010 ornament…the petit rouge l’auto….so darn cute…looking forward to Christmas ….take care, Susan
Dear Susan ,
Thanks so much for sharing your wonderful road trip with us….you are so thoughtful ! Love the doll houses and could just picture “redecorating them…Love the old measuring cup and could think of at least 10 different ways to use it !