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
Going to see the “fall color” in New England is on my bucket list. Thanks for sharing your trip!
Your trip looks lovely-thanks for sharing! You have inspired me to do some “homekeeping” of my own tomorrow and my first order of business is to string together some of the gorgeous leaves that are f-a-l-l-i-n-g all around my yard and hang them in my kitchen window! Thanks, Susan, for always making my day a little cheerier!
Welcome Home, Susan!!! Thanks for whetting my appetite with this lovely post! I can’t wait for the next installment. What fabulous doll houses! My imagination would be filled with decorating ideas too, infinite possibilities – we’re never too old to be kids again!
Love the measuring cup and you’ve made it too cute with your addition. I can’t imagine anyone putting one of your books in a book sale! I don’t think anyone could pry mine from my hands, I just treasure them! 🙂
Happy kitty and nesting time to you!
Love & hugs,
Jeanette
Thank you so much for the virtual tour of New England in the Fall!
Such a beautiful post, Susan. Thank you for brightening my day!
I have so enjoyed listening to Guy Lombardo on YouTube! I love this year’s ornament, it is the perfect color for my tree! Come on, Vanna…pick me, pick me! So glad you got to go “leaf-peep”! Our leaves are getting just beautiful, and I can’t wait to do the same! Happy Fall, Susan…and Happy Fall, ya’ll to all the girlfriends!
Oh, Susan, we must be twins at heart because we adore all the same things! I can’t believe there is someone in the world that is so much like me, that I will never meet.
Thank you for sharing your delightful autumn journey…it was a joy to read about & to see your beautiful photos.
By the way, I use to receive the Willard in snail mail & then by e-mail but I never got the last one…can’t figure out why.
Greetings to Joe & the kitties!
Hi Barbara, just try signing up again, I should be writing a new one soon!
Susan, Today is my birthday, and decided to look at your blog before retiring. What lovely pictures of your trip, and the same things pull at me, especially “days of the week” tea towels. I have some new flour sacks washed and ready in my bottom drawer just waiting on me. My mother built puzzles when I was growing up that look like your pictures. Some day I hope to see it for myself. Thanks for everything, Rebecca
Happy Birthday Rebecca! Have a wonderful day!
This was another fantastic vacation~ peeping of the leaves..all those wonderful ”oh I’d love to walk around” inside or outside of those awesome homes. Sucker for antique stores…that was d~light~ful too!! And having retired from a small town Library …I enjoyed “Emily’s Friends of the Library Book Sale”…they are always the ”bestest” …I’ve NEVER not found at least 1 or 2 special finds !!! And like all the girlfriends …I too would be THRILLED to be considered for your thoughtful gifts.
Whenever I see beautiful old houses I want to move into them right away. Maybe dollhouses are the way to go – that way I wouldn’t have to choose between just one!
It’s really true, you could decorate it like a dream house. Maybe be living in Death Valley, but have a New England doll house!
I love your cute little owl trio on top of your stove! I don’t remember owls being so “in” for fall, but they certainly are making their debut this year. I have a few little cutie-patootie owls in my kitchen for fall too! Kindred hearts… <3
Keep those wonderful scenes of New England coming! Out in California, we are just now feeling like Fall could come. Your website is a daily treat for me. Sometimes I even sneak a look when my first graders are off at recess. It warms my heart!
Linda from Southern California
If you can get near a vineyard … they are very fallish even in California!
What lovely fall pictures. I take pictures of houses in the older neighborhoods in our area and dream of porches!
Thank you for sharing the pics of the dollhouse. I couldn’t buy it either at that price but it is fun to dream!
…and just how much fun are you having?! life is indeed very good.. i still want to be your sister! love all your traveling stories. makes me feel as if i went along for the ride!!
yes please!!!!!
You are very sweet to bring back a goodie or two from your trips to share with a lucky one of us. It’s so much fun to hope to win. 🙂
Love the New England countryside. My in-laws live in and around Uncasville, CT so I’m familiar with some areas in CT where you may have traveled. I’d never thought to look for a vintage measuring cup…very interesting to know that it’s embossed. I’d love to win your giveaway….great idea, too, about positioning the cup/candle atop your book! Wonderful.
holy cats! i cannot tell you how it warmed
the cockles of my heart to see that phone
on your wall! huzzah! i know that sounds
pretty dumb…but “the phone on the kitchen
wall” is what memories are made of! ;}
m ^..^
Funny, we thought of taking it down when we painted the kitchen, but then it wouldn’t seem right without a wall phone next to the stove.
Too funny. I have recently been thinking of switching back to an “old fashioned” punch button phone. I would love to be able to go back to rotary phones as I love the ritual of taking a pencil end and swirling the dial in anticipation of talking to the PERSON on the other end. ~Jamie
oh jamie! how i DO remember!
when you dialed the “0” and you
let your finger take the free ride
all the way back around! ;} and the
sound it made! the things this
poor cell phone and iphone
generation had missed out on!
they are truly deprived! ;}
m ^..^
What a lucky find……for you and for the lucky winner!!!! Hope it is ME, but good luck to all.
A beautiful Autumn blog once again, Susan! I LOVE sweet music, too. You always give us something to fill our senses….love it! That dollhouse was just to die for!!! A blank canvas to let the imagination run wild on! I would love to win this giveaway (of course…as everyone else would, too!). I cannot bear to pass up one of your books when I see them and always feel the need to rescue them. Although, this past weekend I DID pass one up that I saw in a book store in Stillwater, MN….and it was SIGNED, too! AND, there was a note saying it was “From Karen” so it even had my name in it (kind of a gift to me from me!) I am still kicking myself for not buying it but my hubby was with me and I had spent quite a bit of $$ at the Kathe Wohlfahrt Christmas store. So winning this one would be a gift for certain! Thank you for thinking of us all!!! xoxo
Look at you~how lucky to be able to travel to all of the “Autumn” states~~~ I feel “trapped” in San Diego!!!!!
Well, if you HAVE to be trapped somewhere, SD isn’t a bad place to do it!
Love, love, love the doll house! I always enjoy your posts. Thank you.
Thank you for sharing these wonderful images. You really know how to celebrate fall and all the seasons.
Fall is in the air… Here in Huntington Beach I put on real shoes, socks and long pants today. Snow is expected in the Mountains… Miss running into you and your family on Main Street in Seal Beach…. Best wishes to your Mom… Happy Fall
Emily Gail
Love it when you can look across California to the mountains and see snow from the beach!
Love the vintage measuring cup! A new item to look for when I go antiquing. 😉
Wow!! What a beautiful piece of country!!! Thank you for taking us along! I love seeing all the pictures 🙂
What beautiful pictures! I love the old house with the leaves swirling around – fall is the best time of year. 🙂 Sounds like you had a wonderful trip.
I spent the day babysitting my 8 month old grandson, which was a treasure, then I sat down tired and with cup of chamomile tea beside me and found that you had a new blog today. Perfect blissful ending to an already wonderful day. I am so happy to have so many kindred spirit friends through your blog. Wow, a doll house that size would be a lifetime project, but what an adventure. Does your heart pound when you see the OPEN signs? One never know what treasure lie inside the door!! I always get the “cravings” after you show us your finds, I know that I will find some treasure soon, or maybe I’ll win yours. Thanks for sharing your trip!!
I am in love with this blog and your lovely words. I get extremely excited every time I see that little heart icon show up in my reader and rush here right away. I don’t currently own any of your books, but have been trying to decide what my first purchase will be. There are just to many choices. Lovely is the adjective that comes to mind for every description I want to make, lol. Thank you for this cozy little corner of the internet.
Thanks so much for these pictures of gorgeous New England! Fall is absolutely my favorite time of year but as I live in southern California, I have to settle for living vicariously through your pictures & stories (although I hope to someday move to the east coast and see all of this beauty in person!). I would love to win this giveaway and treasure a little piece of New England right here in California!
Love all the autumn leaves and colors! We don’t have that yet in California. Still too warm. Thank you for taking me on a virtual vacation!
Hi Susan!
All my life I have felt that my heart really belongs in New England. Each time I visit back east it’s as though a piece of me is home (I live in Southern CA). I have only visited New England in the summer months and I truly enjoyed getting a first hand look at what driving around in the fall is like from your video. How magical! Thank you for sharing with us your wonderful adventures!
Had to check tonight to see if you were home. Excited to see a new blog. Thanks for the pictures of your trip . Love the doll house. I had a metal doll house growing up with lots of rooms. Had all kinds of furniture. That’s cool that you found one of your books!
Hi Susan, would love to win that measuring cup. The past 2 I’ve had have had the red writing on them and it eventually wears off. Ugh! I would love to add the book to my collection of Susan Branch books. (My favorite and first one was the Christmas Book). Love to leaf peep here in Michigan, particularly near Traverse City and the Mission Penninsula and the Leelanau Pennisula. It is so beautiful and the wine tasting in the area is great!
So funny that you stopped into Stafford Springs CT – I grew up there and still have lots of family living there.
I think old houses are one of the main reasons I stay in New England. My husband and I just moved into, what we call the castle on the hill. It was built in 1910 and has such unique charm you can’t find in any other home. ♥ in house form.
My husband made a dollhouse for our daughter when she was a baby some 26 years ago. It has a front porch, a shingled roof, little green shutters, each piece painstakingly fitted and glued in place. It took him months to finish it. We furnished it bit by bit, over many years. It passed on to our youngest daughter, until she too outgrew it and it gathered dust in the corner of her bedroom. It ended up at the cottage, neglected, until one year when we had twin girls up as guests. Hattie and Posie, scrumptious little delights with ringlets, boundless reserves of energy and a gift for finishing each others’ sentences. They were just the right age for a dollhouse, and they played with it all summer. They added bits of furniture, some they bought at flea markets and some they made, and I suspect their pet hamster who popped in for occasional visits. Now they too have outgrown it, but I look forward to grandchildren (hope, anyway) who will venture inside the little house and put their own stamp on it. For isn’t this a metaphor for all our lives and all our little houses? xo Pam
Oh! Pick me! Pick me!
Okay, I’m sold. I’ve just added a driving trip through New England on my own to My Bucket List. I’ve been several times, but always on a tour, stopping where the tour stopped instead of where I wanted to stop. My kitty, Tiki, hates for me to leave her. She’s solid black and thinks that makes her a shadow, so she follows me everywhere. She’s asleep on her bankie on my desk, right where I can reach out and pet her, at this very moment. She’s 15 and I don’t like to leave her with my kitty-sitter brother too long, but I’ll get there and I’ll see all the wonderful sights and I’ll think of how your photos inspired me to make the trip.
Oh my Sue!! I LOVED all those pictures of those glorious old homes! As you know, we lack having many of them in this part of California. Driving along with you and Joe, made me feel like we were right back there in Connecticut again. I took a ton of pictures of them as well. I just can’t see enough!~~~ We hit every Antique store that said, “OPEN” like you two did! =) I thought you were going to say that that huge Doll House came home with you! =) That price tag was a little much, wasn’t it? SO beautiful though…. Welcome Home, and thanks for sharing your fun trip with us! Sounds exactly like what Tom and I LOVE to do too! xoxo
Yes, a vintage convertible VW would cost less! 🙂
I love it when we get to go with you on your trips. Just now I am grounded-my brakes need fixing. But, there you go off to see so much fun stuff. Thanks for the trip
I love it when we get to go with you on your trips. Just now I am grounded-my brakes need fixing. But, there you go off to see so much fun stuff. Thanks for the trip.
Enjoy all your posts! So happy the roads in New England are 2 lanes, unlike your England roads! Watching you drive on a few of those roads I was holding my breath and praying for you & Joe!!! I’m waiting, waiting, waiting, chewing my nails for your new book but add me in for a chance for an old one. Thank goodness you saved it!
As Always, Thank You for your Wonderful Blog and Happy Trails To You & Joe, Girl & Jack……..just love his baby kitty pictures, toooo cute! Also, love the kitchen. Joe, what great job on those doors!
Oh my how exciting! My computer crashed & the one thing I was most sad about was losing your wonderful blog! Happily I am now back in the groove, & what a good time to get back to you & the wonderful pictures & stories!!!!! Soooo happy here!
Enjoy all your posts! So happy the roads in New England are 2 lanes, unlike your England roads! Watching you drive on a few of those roads I was holding my breath and praying for you & Joe!!! I’m waiting, waiting, waiting, chewing my nails for your new book but add me in for a chance for an old one. Thank goodness you saved it!
Happy Fall To You & Joe, Girl & Jack……..just love his baby kitty pictures, toooo cute! Also, love the kitchen. Joe, what great job on those doors!
Oh Susan…the “Heart of the Home” book was my very first introduction to you, way back when! Seeing it again brings back lovely memories. As does your New England trip post…I lived in Massachusetts for 7 wonderful years, all my four kids were born there, and my heart is still there. Thanks for the memories!
Thanks for the lovely visit. Your new towels are the perfect touch.
I was so excited to see your last two blogs. My husband and I are heading your way in one week to do what you and Joe did – wander through New England in the fall with a two night stop on Martha’s Vineyard. It has been a dream of mine forever and now that we have retired from teaching we can finally do it. What a wonderful preview of the beauty we will see! It makes me even more excited. We don’t have much fall in central Texas. I made your Touchdown Chili and Iowa Corn Bread with Bee Butter this past weekend and enjoyed every bite. Thanks for sharing with all of us.
Bring your warmies, it’s getting chilly here!
I enjoy reading your posts! No matter how short or long it always brightens my day. I love the Fall season…the colors, the crisp air, and delicious foods. Thanks for taking us along on your trips and sharing your home and kitties. Happy Autumn!
I wish the cold dreary rain would go away. Plants to move and bulbs to plant. Thanks for showing the doll house. Our doll house was a model for the house my parents wanted. Or so we thought. You are correct when you said they don’t make measuring cups like they used to!!!
Your posts are always so much fun! Amazing you found one of your books! That dollhouse was way too cool, I would love to have it! Thank for yet another giveaway,! Laura J. B.
Oh oh oh!!!! The awesomeness of that giveaway!!!!! The measuring cup I loved when you showed it earlier in the post and the sand, sea glass and shell?! I die! I am from MI and now live in TX. I have brought small bags of sand home with me before so I am crazy about that idea of the sand from where you live! Your Autumn book is on my coffee table right now.
So, when you found your book, did you tell them you were the author?
If I get your giveaway, I guarantee it will come to a home where it will be appreciated more than I can say!
Beautiful post, thank you!
Oh, so beautiful! Everything just looks so “East Coast”…our surroundings here in California just don’t look like that. My little family has frequent discussions about our top-five-things-we’d-want-to-see-if-we-took-a-trip-back-east…the fall colors are on my list! That and a Broadway show in New York…thanks for sharing your trip with us girlfriends.
Two fabulous things … and exactly what I did on my first trip. I saw Evita from the third row in NY, on my first trip. I will never get over it!
Oh and another thing! You should see my Christmas tree. It is literally a history of me and then my family when I got married. I have an ornament for everything. I am 54 and my Mom started getting us ornaments every year when I was little. Most of them are glass from Germany. Very fragile. I have annual ornaments for my 4 kids, ornaments from places we have visited and I could go on. Needless to say, yours would have lots of company and it would become part of our history!
Hi~
I do the same thing!!
See that! We really are all birds of a feather! I started collecting ornaments from every family trip we took from the time my boys were babies – one for us and one for each son. Now that they are adults (sort of- heehee!), they have a whole set of memory ornaments for their own trees. No one else I know did that – until now! Thank you Susan for bringing us all here! I love these girlfriends!
New England in the fall is on my bucket list, as is visiting MV. Thanks so much for taking us with you! My birthday is at the end of the month and my kids have asked what I would like….easy answer….anything on Susan Branchs’ site! I have most of your books, years (maybe decades) of your calendars (I just can’t throw them out)! How have I missed your ornaments?? Thank you, Susan for all the loveliness you bring into my life.
Thank you back Theresa! xo
I treasure that first book, so if you pick my name go on to someone else, but know it has given me joy all through the years. Happy Fall! Your Autumn book is decorating the dining room table along with fabric pumpkins and other greens. Love the blog:>) Judy Tracy
Thank you for taking us along on your journeys. I have many of your books including this initial book. It was the first book I bought of yours back in the early 90’s. I became an instant fan and have purchased all of your books for my cookbook collection. My plan is to start a collection of your books for my daughter.
I was wondering if in your different travels if you have ever been to Pennsylvania? For several years I lived in Lancaster County until a year ago when we relocated to Pittsburgh. I think you would love a visit to that area. It is called Pennsylvania Dutch Country and is known for a having a large Amish community. There are beautiful quilts, antiques, crafts. There is a large Central Market in the city of Lancaster offering a variety of foods and products. There are many small towns in Lancaster county that each individually have their own character and charm. Lititz is the town that I lived in and they had a pretzel factory and chocolate factory in addition to the wonderful annual 4th of July celebration that included a Queen of Candles and court. There was also an annual craft show where they shut down streets in the town to accommodate all of the craft tents for the hundreds of craft vendors. If you and Joe ever have the opportunity to visit there I think you would enjoy it. : )
Thank you for doing the blog. I along with so many others look forward to postings from Susan. Wondering what adventure has she been up to? What tip will she share? You put a lot of time and attention into these postings and I thank you! : )
Take Care -Kimberly
This post was just what I needed tonight to cheer me up. The thermostat is on the fritz and it is hot (77) in my house! My foot hurts and I’m cranky! I turned on the computer and read about your latest travels and I’m calming down. So much fun to see that dollhouse. Incredible! My mum and dad (who live in England) have collected antique dolls, dollhouses and dollhouse furniture and accessories their whole married life. They have some beauties, including my childhood dollhouse. I loved seeing the old houses you passed by, and the antique shops and descriptions of them, you sure know what we girlfriends enjoy! I would love to be entered into the drawing, but even if I don’t win, your blog will always be my favorite! Happy Fall Susan and Girlfriends.
Hi Susan
Loved the trip-I always have a great time on your travels.
Susan M
Norm rolls his eyes in response to the bird twittering, too. I showed him the video tonight and he said it looks just like it was taken in Door County, which it does! Then we both noticed the creepy-looking face in the corner of the photo of the one dollhouse. Yikes! Looks kind of like a Halloween spook… 🙂
They were decorating for Halloween in the antique store!
I asked the same thing about that picture!
Would love to win these goodies! Thank you for sharing your adventure with us. I love following along as if riding with you and Joe!
My husband and I drove through Mass. about 11 years ago and I fell in love with it. Your pictures bring back so many beautiful memories. Thank you for sharing your trip! 🙂
Love, Love, Love the pictures of all the beautiful houses and the trees changing color. Don’t get much of that here in SoCal! Thank you for sharing your travels with us. Your blog always makes me feel as if I am reading a note from a dear friend.
I just love New England! Thanks for the tour and such wonderful things you find. My family is from Gray, Maine but I now live in Bakersfield, CA — do miss that area so. Love you blog – thanks for the chance to win such fabulous finds.
I guess living in New England is ok ,but not for me …….I don`t do windows !
Oh yes you do! 🙂
What about the bugs???
I so enjoy your posts and musica! I live in NC now but I am from NY and I love seeing your photos, reminds me of soooo much.
Thanks for the give-a-way
I just love New England in the fall! I wished I lived in one of those old homes! One day, one day I will! Your trip seemed perfect! Thank you for sharing!!!
{{Hugs}} to you for taking us along on your autumn meander through New England! So glad you stopped at all the antique stores, and photographed the charming old houses, and gave glimpses of the autumn splendor of color…just the things I would have done if I’d been behind the wheel. =D
Oh, so happy that you saved your book from its lurking spot. How sweet of you to share it, and the other treasures, with one of us girlfriends!
Beautiful New England! The trees look lovely! Fall colors haven’t made it here yet but it’s got to be soon. Ooooh…your vintage dishtowels sure are finds! They look right at home already. 🙂 And how neat that you stumbled upon a book sale. Book sales give me a thrill. 🙂 The thing is there are usually so many books that I want to rescue from “lurking pitifully in the cardboard boxes.” 🙂
I loved the ‘rolling the eyes by the husbands’ comment. That’s when you know you have the perfect conversation with your girlfriends! Your trip was so fun to see and all of the antiquing was great, too. Of course I had to say in my head as I read, “Hey, those potholders and linens and embroidered towels are my weakness too!”. I would love to light the candle in the heart of our home.
~ Kari
A trip thru New England brought floods of memories. This is such an amazing time of year there. Your blogs create smiles!
You made my day (yet again!!!). My “Travel Bucket List” has included in it – visit New England area of US during autumn to see how beautiful it actually is. Well, if i don’t get the opportunity to get there I have just done a quick virtual tour in the back seat of your car with you and Joe. Thank you, thank you. Loved your goodies that you bought along the way too.
Don’t suppose your cookbook and candle jug could make their way down under to Sydney, could they? I’ll wait in anticipation 🙂
ok Vannah, will it be me?
Thank you for everything you do, and for a chance to win the lovely book and measuring cup/candle and ornament. How perfect! Blessings!
Sounds like a lovely vacation! I also love looking at old houses and dreaming of living in them!
Following your posts is such a treat! I’ve taken the train, sailed on a luxury liner, been to England, taken walks in gorgeous woods and lush cottage gardens, played with Jack, toured Martha’s Vinyard, watched the President’s motorcade, watched an artist, chef, endearing homemaker and wife. I’ve read wise and humorous quotes. You’re so generous with these giveaways and to be a winner would be divine, but the way I see it, those of us who follow you are big winners everyday! Many thanks!
So sweet Chrissy! Sounds pretty good the way you put it! 🙂 Thank you!
Hi Susan,
Thanks for the wonderful post. The houses and scenery are stunning! We’re saving up for a trip to the US and New England is the place I want to visit the most. I wish where I live in England was half as pretty, but we have some lovely Autumn colour and your blogs always inspire and encourage me to keep on making my house a home.
Enjoy the rest of this beautiful season!
Love Jane
Thank you for this little trip around New England…maybe after the Old England book is finished….you could take us all on an extended tour of New England too! Looks like Pete is an eager traveller 🙂 Love all your books, so please enter me in your darling giveaway.
In October of 1969 my Mom and I made our first trip to New England.
It was the first of many firsts for me — my first long road trip (3 weeks), my first trip to Canada, my first taste of corn chowder (at the Deerfield Inn ! )
and my first trip to Martha’s Vineyard. The last was an absolute must and first on my list ever since I first heard the name of your magical island when I was a
child.
Thank you so much for sharing your vacation(s) with us — so many memories to share again with my Mom…
I remember my New England firsts, I came in the fall, so number one was the leaves — but I’d never had a whole lobster before, never been served an entire bowl of raspberries and cream, never had hot Indian Pudding with vanilla ice cream. Funny, the things you remember as firsts and especially wonderful that you got to share them with your mom.
You never had an entire bowl of raspberries and cream until you were an adult??? Life wasn’t fair!!! There is a place in WI that makes a killer raspberry pie! Please pass the whipped cream…
I even use Philosophy Raspberry and Cream body lotion. LOL
Oh, Susan! You are so generous!! I’m loving your “leaf peeping” trip and would be so pleased to be the lucky winner of your giveaway. I keep hoping I’ll run across one of your books somewhere. I love your creative mind. Thanks for sharing yourself with us.
Nancy (from Bakersfield)
Once again loved taking a journey with you and Joe. So many lovely old houses to see. I too wish I could live in one of them but alas don’t think it’s going to happen. Oh well a gal can always dream. The autumn colours look wonderful – it’s starting to heat up here as we’re well into spring but I do love all of the changing seasons.
Just like with the doll house, it’s always fun to look, always fun to pretend.
What beautiful houses. Coming from Britain its your houses that are visions of America to me after watching all the old films, which after listening to your selection of music to accompany this post,fits in perfectly. Our leaves are also falling in an assortment of beautiful colours, not as striking as New England, but beautiful just the same, making me eager to cosy up the house x Marie -England
What a fabulous road trip you both had, thank you so much for sharing it with us. Being able to enjoy the sights and delights of New England in the Fall without having to leave home is just one of the many joys of technology. What would the first inhabitants of some of those beautiful old houses made of it!
With love from Ann in Thame x
Thanks for taking us on the ride through the NE countryside 🙂 At first, I thought you actually bought that huge old dollhouse! What a treasure for someone. Please enter me for a chance to win your generous giveaway…thanks!
Enjoy your day 🙂
Smiles, DianeM
Once more I am left wishing Susan Branch products could be bought in the UK . . oh! well . .
I just love that vintage measuring jug!
Now, there is a hug of bears here just peeking over my shoulder with eager anticipation and paws that are ready to set to on those lovely doll houses and fix them right up, for they are certain they are like the bowl of porridge and are ‘just right’ for small bears to live in. They are second to none when it comes down to the liberal use of paper, paint, glitter, and glue and already full of decorating ideas! Why, they would even love to photograph their efforts and put the restoration on their own blogspot adventuresoftreasurebear.blogspot.co.uk/ just like you put your kitchen on yours! What are they like? ♥
Hello Susan
What a wonderful adventure you have had in New England! I am in Old England and have been patiently waiting for some lovely sunny crisp autumn days and joy oh joy they have arrived three days ago. Today I am taking a girlfriend to buy quilting wadding and fabric, we are going to enjoy the day and have lunch out, so I am off on my own little adventure. Thank you so much for your stories,photos and paintings, I enjoy looking at your blog you are an inspiration!
…good morning !! …so good to hear from you all !! …” thee is me and I am thee “…how sweet and true !!..you always know, dear Susan, what we all want to see and hear about !!….ohhh!…love those dollhouses…I can just imagine what you would do with them !!!! ..thank you,again for taking us with you guys on your adventure…ALWAYS so much fun and inspirational !!..we all love those antique stores and autumn colors and old houses…such kindred spirits !!..take care…with love.. P.S. the little ones and I used your Autumn cookie cutters to also make clay ornaments !!..what fun !! ( love your Christmas ornament, by the way )…good day..
I’ve always wanted to visit New England in the fall and, from your pictures, it’s as beautiful and charming as I’ve always imagined. For some reason, the falling leaves and picket fences and old houses and all of that history are the “real” autumn… We do get fall out here, of course, but it’s not quite the same. I remember well all of the stories of American history and Thanksgiving that we had in grade school at around this time of year, and it all seems to have melded together in my mind. Thanks for taking us all along!
Jake
P.S. Now, where and what did you eat on this trip?! And, is Indian Pudding as good as it sounds like it would be?
It’s just delicious! And so old-fashioned, speaking of history!
Do any of your books contain a good recipe for Indian Pudding?
Book two, Vineyard Seasons, Page 133. It bakes for three hours, perfect to keep your kitchen warm on a really cold day!!
First…..I really had to laugh – the wall phone in the kitchen with the stretched out cord. We had 5 kids and the ONLY phone:) we had was the wall phone in the kitchen …..with the extraaaaaa long cord. That phone went out the back door ….followed it under a closet door (teenaged daughter), wrapped around various people, kids, dogs, things. Happy memories.
Lovely pictures – only been to New England once. Just like MN except for the older houses. Thanks for the “taste of fall”.
Our phone can even reach to the fridge in the back pantry! I lived in an apartment with my girlfriend in my early 20’s and we had a cord that reached outside to the pool–I know what you mean!
I Love all the wonderful pictures of the homes. I always wondered what the people do that live in them? I wish I could have been a little fly and come along with you. You are truly a most fortunate person. You love what you do and who you do it with . God Bless you and yours.
Susan,
Your adventures with Joe are always so interesting to follow. There is a town about 30 miles from my home in Polk called Wellington, Ohio. It is a small, very New England style farm community in the heart of the Western Reserve part of Ohio. One of my favorite places for a fall drive. Love your road trips!
Thanks for sharing,
Karin
For all of us who can no longer get out for these annual tours of foliage, thank you so much for the touring post! It was wonderful!
Susan you have done it again! Another wonderful travel log. I can almost smell the crisp New England air, smell the burning chimney fires, the twinkling lights in the stores, the hint of cinnamon and apples in a candle burning somewhere! My memories of living in Pepperell, MA were revived! Sitting here in our Springtime Melbourne Australia I’m busily sewing and constructing my thanksgiving turkey place card holders and dreaming of all the wonderful places you and Joe have just visited, thank you thank you for the memories…..
I Love Love Love New England especially in the Fall! Would love to see Martha’s Vineyard one of these days!
New England in the Autumn is definitely on my bucket list. The houses are gorgeous. Glad you had a good trip, it sounds like you found lots of goodies. 🙂
i loved the doll houses you found! i plan to start one this winter (finally, since i’ve wanted one my whole life and i am now 56) i’m like you , i want to make everything to go in it!
i don’t have any of your books, but i will be looking for them now when i go shopping at yard sales and such.
thank you for your wonderful blog……..<3
As always, I loved following you on your fall drive and reading all about it. The large doll house is gorgeous! I’m glad you are back at home, safe and sound, and reunited with kitties. Although I already have your first book, how lovely it would be to have another personally signed by you! The new 2012 ornament is very pretty also. Have a wonderful Wednesday, dear Susan! xoxo
Susan,
I also noticed the kitchen phone and had a chuckle. When my girlfriends and I have a road trip we have one rule – if we see a sign for an antique shop, we have to stop! Thanks for the chance to win one of your books.
One of my favorite things to do is drive around, looking at houses, imagining living there. My husband & I just returned from a few days in Charleston, SC and I loved looking at all the old homes! I hope the people living there didn’t mind me peeking into their backyard gardens and photographing their front doors! I need to look for vintage measuring cups – I bought a new one recently because the markings on my old one had come off in the dishwasher…after the first wash the markings on the new one were gone 🙁 Thanks for the chance to win your find! Love all your books, they are so sweet!
Loved your little snipet of video. Isn’t it so much fun to just drive and see where you end up? Born and raised and still living in Connecticut I know that it is “the place to be” this time of year. Your blog reminded me that it is a blessing that I can experience first hand the beautiful things that New England has to offer in the Fall. Thank you!
You’re so lucky to be surrounded by such beauty. I live in Florida and I really miss the fall season the most. Thanks for the pictures, if I turn the airconditioning down low and read your blog, I can almost fool myself into thinking I’m there for a short time 🙂