Hi Everyone! Happy Autumn! Did you miss me? I definitely missed you! I’m still not sure my blog will work right, but I know you will let me know if you encounter road blocks. Ever since it shut down back in July my IT person has been working on it . . . he has also invited all our Willard girlfriends to join us here on the blog . . . which I’m hoping will work well too . . . it’s all a big experiment! But welcome! We have lots to catch up on! Let’s give it the old college try!🧡 Did I forget MUSICA? Oh no I di-ent!
It’s getting cold out there on our walk through the windy woods to the sea, crows are flying low, daylight is shrinking, a cozy knitted throw is near my favorite chair, candles are in their 
wooden holders. I put out my fall kitchen rugs and dish towels …. there’s a pumpkin on the table and flowers in my little vases . . . I especially love marigolds.🧡 I plant them every year just so I can have them this time of year. When you cut a branch like this and put it in water, it will keep going, the buds will bloom as you take off the faded ones … they brighten any corner and bring fall indoors!🍁🍂🍁
I’ve been doing fall cleaning chores … washing windows, airing quilts, oiling my table and wooden spoons … letting that oil sink in to make the wood more beautiful.
Getting ready for a cozy winter . . .🧡
I use mineral oil, the food-safe kind they have at the drug store. I brush it on with a pastry brush. The top three spoons are finished, I let the oil sink in for a few days … and I’m getting ready to do the bottom ones … isn’t the color difference amazing?
So, what’s new? Been a very long time . . . well, my newest news is that a couple of days ago I was wandering around the Internet, looking at house plans and ideas for decorating, and that’s when I discovered a fabulous new trend they are calling GrannyChic” or “Cottagecore” ~ and so, being of the granny age and curious, I thought, “What is THAT?” … and I discovered . . . you should hold on to something . . . this . . .
Look familiar? Believe it or not, this is Granny Chic. It’s a thing!! “Like your grandma, but hip,” one blogger wrote. 🤣
This is it too, looks like my girlfriend’s (who actually IS a granny) kitchen! It’s described as “a back to nature philosophy 
of simple old-house-living with pre-worn furniture, vintage books, delicate china, wallpaper, toile, flower gardens🌸, baked cakes, cups of tea you drink curled up in front of a fire with a kitty, learning to knit and embroider, feeding birds, arranging flowers, and listening to old music. “It’s a world like your grandma’s house where life is more whimsical and magical in an imagined past full of good things.” How about that my friends? Everything we LOVE!💞
“It’s baking fresh bread, listening to the radio, wearing a floral apron, and “simple closed-toe clogs.” One blogger said it could “dethrone Hygge!!!” Don’t you LOVE it?!! They even mention Laura Ashley! I am so HAPPY. We are IN again! I thought we were going to spend eternity in heartless minimalist-ville, but apparently, it’s OVER! Think of all those beautiful old “dated” kitchens HGTV ripped out! They’re going to have to put them all back! And the fireplaces they painted over!!! Eeeek!
Hygge, Cottagecore, GrannyChic, GrandmaCore Aesthetic, Grandmillinnial Style, whatever you choose to call it (they even have FarmCore and FaerieCore), antique stores are going to LOVE it! And now maybe they will want all that great stuff we’ve collected! And think of 
all the lovely hours spent wandering through antique stores ahead for the people who never heard of this before! They’re going to have so much FUN! Just no better way to have an original house than finding fanciful one-of-a-kind things at yard sales and second-hand stores. What’s next? CraftCore? Handwritten letters? Dinner parties? Anything can happen! It’s just an all-time win-win-win for the creative heart because HOME brings inner joy ~ it’s an especially big win for the Doily Mentality!😁
There are books and magazines for the “new” style and there’s fashion too, elegant simple things like this they are calling the “new Modesty.”🧡
And also, they are wearing 1970s granny dresses, cotton, long to the floor, with puffed sleeves. Even in Paris!
And when they put up pics of CottageCore houses, they look like this!!!🏠
And this … someone must have taken a trip to the English Countryside. So basically, you can count me in. Hippest of the hip … pure granny chic ~ should never go away again! Old is history, family, beauty.
I can’t tell you how much I love being hip and happenin’ again!😂
The chic-est of the chic!💋
What do you think. . . too granny? I’m sure SOME understand about the smell of freshly ironed clothes, don’t you think?
Anyway, I’ve been lighting candles and making chicken stock . . . ’tis the season . . . Couldn’t love it more. Let’s see, what else … So much happened over the summer . . . I can’t begin to tell you everything in one post ~ but here’s a little taste . . .
It was a beauty. The Island was packed this summer. A little scary in the Covid way, we had relatively high numbers … but we didn’t interact with many tourists, so we had our little safe pods of friends ~ it was the kids working in restaurants that took the brunt of the contagion . . . I can’t WAIT till this thing is over! I know it will be. These things always go away sooner or later, and we have way more ways to fight back than we used to.👏
We walked almost every day, our woods are still mostly green … we’re having a nice long fall this year 🍁 . . . these days we always have air pods in our ears when we walk, one in Joe’s, one in mine, sharing books as we hurry through the woods to the sea … I have Audible Books on my phone …
I’m one of the very few people in the world that had never read Wind in the Willows … Joe wanted me to hear it, he read it as a child, I don’t know how it got away from me! So we listened together … what a wonderful story. The description of each of their homes! Pure charm! I started looking deep into the woods wondering about all the life going on in there that we never see!
We read and loved Hamnet and the Pursuit of Love (have you seen the new Pursuit of Love movie? SO wonderful!!! Staring Lily James from Downton Abbey! Written by Nancy Mitford, the eldest of the famous (or infamous) Mitford Girls) ~ It’s on Amazon Prime. I hope you have it! The costumes/clothes are darling.
Right now we’re reading A Gentleman in Moscow. I can’t even BEGIN to tell you how much we love this book! We’re only about ¾ through it … I PRAY it holds true and doesn’t veer off into some sort of kidnap murder torture story, because so far it’s PERFECT. The Count! Adorable! (Please let him stay adorable and don’t let anything happen to him or anyone he loves!🙏) And please don’t tell me how it ends! The writing in this one is amazing. So good one would like to somehow examine the brain of Amor Towles to figure out HOW he THINKS of the things he does! We’re constantly repeating some of his word choices to each other and shaking our heads!
We took pictures of the Harvest Moon . . .
And counted stars over our house . . .
And had outdoor birthday picnics with our friends . . .
And dinner parties on their porches.
And at our house too . . .
We fed them the big beautiful tomatoes we grew in the garden!
Our dahlia garden grew strong and tall, and we learned so much! For one thing, next time we need to plant them earlier! May rather than June! It was torture waiting for the first ones to flower!🤣
They’re still going strong . . . we’re told they will last until first frost. 👏
We filled the house with them!
I go out to cut flowers or pick leaves of lettuce and Jack begs Joe to pick him up and hold him at the screen so he can watch me!
I planted two patches of lettuce for the fall season, and we’ve been eating amazing salads ever since! I always forget to do this, but not this year ~ I think it’s even more rewarding than doing it in spring! Lettuce likes colder weather too!
I designed and turned in the calendar covers for 2023! (Nice example of CottageCore if I do say so myself ~ kissing birds says it all!💞)
We had planned to go to my Studio in California by train for a family reunion (and a Kellee reunion💞) and stay the whole month of September but at the last moment we canceled … very disappointing but it just didn’t feel safe and we didn’t want to take a chance on bringing everyone together and have it turn into a Covid-cluster. Not worth it when we’re talking about our beloveds. We’re going to try again in November when we hope things are better. Instead, we drove ourselves onto the ferry, and went camping on Lake Sebago in Maine!
Camping in this cozy cabin, Granny Chic Style!
Having dinner among the pines, with wood-smoke spicing the air . . . can you smell it? 
We even had a porch with rocking chairs and a fireplace. It was heaven. And our first official get-away in 2 years!
We visited roadside stands 🎃, did Christmas shopping, ate lobster next to Camden harbor🦞, and visited a wonderful DAHLIA GARDEN… and we arrived home just in time for the rising of the Harvest Moon.🌕
When we got back, I waited in line and got my booster. I had Pfizer, Joe got Moderna so he is still waiting for the big okay. I feel a little bit like Superwoman now…💞
That’s enough of summer because it’s already October, and I’m sure you’re wondering where your cups are! I know you know Covid has thrown the shipping world into a tizzy … but no, thank goodness, your cups are not sitting on a ship in Long Beach Harbor! They were picked up in England at the manufacturer on August 12 and put on a slow boat that came in on the east coast … and our most recent news (2 days ago) is they were on a train heading for California, a very good sign, and Joe is GUESSING they should arrive at the Studio by October 15th. For sure, they are on their way, and the minute we get our hands on them they will be in the mail to you!! I’m so sorry they’re late!
BUT, in the meantime, very good news, the puzzles have finally arrived and are all stacked up in the Studio ready for the the cozy season! Hopefully we won’t run out this time because from what I can see, shopping is going to be a bit iffy this year. Backup jams, candies, and cookies are going on my list!
And the Calendars are Here! Much later than usual, but perfect timing for 2022!
And the new printing of Autumn got here in the NICK of time! I’m so excited to revisit some of my favorite recipes … 
And the second printing of Home for Christmas just arrived too.👏
Okay, a few more things, first off, ARE YOU EXCITED ABOUT GOING TO ENGLAND AGAIN? Sailing past the Statue of Liberty on the Queen Mary 2 together? And our Picnic? If I was a person who said squeee, I would say squeeee! I think about it constantly!🚢 And if by chance you don’t know what I’m talking about, go back a couple of posts, scroll to bottom of each of them (I always put the ship news at the bottom of the posts for easy finding) and find out how to join us aboard the shipleaving NY Harbor for Southampton, England on May 1, 2022.🇺🇸🇬🇧
Also, another VERY interesting PBS special that I think you’ll like is Citizen Hearst … the story of William Randolph Hearst, 1863-1951. Chock full of old photographs and videos, his life takes up a huge time-period of American history ~ so you get all that too! Really interesting.
I’m doing a Zoom party for a group with the perfect name of Enchanted Book Club on December 4th. There is room for 400 of my dearest girlfriends, so if you’re interested, it’s first come, first serve, and free. It’s at 3 pm EST, 2 pm in Chicago, noon California Time, and 8 pm in England and I’d LOVE to see you there! Register HERE. (Addendum: Best news! We already have 450 of you signed up for the Zoom! 👏 but The Enchanted Book Club upgraded their Zoom account so we have room for 1000 now! 💞Yay!)
Well, off I go for now! Hope you are doing well . . . If everything goes okay today with this blog, I’ll be back soon with MORE! One way or another I’ll let you know! Write and say Hi! ❌⭕️❌⭕️ 
You are cracking me up! The fact that you know about the whole millennial fascination with the cottage core aesthetic warms my heart. You are a hip, hip lady! Check out the Mori Girl aesthetic for even more delightful collections. It’s all about layering.
Looking forward to the December Zoom! Hugs and so much love. You continue to help me manage my stress levels. I left you a lengthy Instagram comment full of appreciation.
Happy Autumn!
I’m a layer-er from way back! The little Laura Ashley slip peeking from underneath dresses was always my favorite! I love seeing all this creativity around! I am TERRIBLE at Instagram … I still don’t know my way around but I’m going to try and find your comment! Happy Autumn Susan!
A wonderful blog post and I enjoyed all the numerous details. My favourite photo is the one taken of the view, through the window, of your cosy cabin when you had dinner. I love granny chic – I find it makes a home look so welcoming!
Oh my goodness this post reflected so many things that are current here in SLO County and in our home. We are filled with “Granny Chic” things and decor. I cherish the many wonderful things from my grandmothers and great-grandmothers. Very happy to see that it is “in” again…LOL.
Sadly it was a good thing you did not come to SLO County. Our numbers have been just awful. Looks like they are finally ticking down. Way better for you to stay safe.
Wish I could come to the Zoom party but will be singing Christmas Carols with The Jingle Belles that Saturday. Would love to sing your favorite carol for you someday. Blessings from Paso Robles!
“With the Jingle Bells . . .” How wonderful Linda!
It was great reading your ‘update’. What a wonderful way to welcome Fall and all the events and colors.
Don’t get too excited yet about the young ones going Granny Chic. I watch alot of influencers on YouTube with over 500 thousand followers and they are going slowlyyyyyyyyy back with a minimalist twist. Buying old homes and restoring (which is great) but decorating with small touches of granny style. But at least it is a step in the right direction from what it has been.
Staying home seems to be the most important part of stopping the Covid spread but the only people I know who got Covid were friends giving it to each other. All had been vaccinated.
Linda from Idaho where the days have still been warm (low 80’s) the nights getting cold and my lawn is still green!! My stray cats have shrunk in numbers but one had 4 kittens but we trapped and got them & the mother in foster care & FIXED!!!! Have finally plugged in the cat houses so they are warm when they sleep. Stay happy and warm & keep enjoying your life! So nice to hear you are all okay(give Jack a big hug).
None of my friends have gotten it, thank you God, but my unvaccinated brother and his daughter had a terrible bout with it … what an AWFUL disease. I didn’t really realize but I texted him constantly during their illness and was surprised to hear about the PAIN they were in, and the hallucinations! They both came through, have now both been vaccinated, but I think maybe the media leaves something out by not talking about how awful it is to be sick with this! Love your Cat-Care Linda! Stay warm! xoxo
You are such a Joy!!! I have both my mini and wall calendars in hand(!), my Winter cup on the way =o) , and just gave a GF a copy of Autumn so we can enjoy the season together. Love your writing, squiggles, flowers, pictures, treasures, bits and pieces of love and life. A Joy, I tell you! Stay true and stay well. <3
❌⭕️
Oh, and the puzzle! Amazing fun and I encourage everyone to get theirs. Tnx!
Dearest Susan,
It’s so good to see you posting once again! I went all bug-eyed when I read about the two books you are enjoying… I loved A Gentleman in Moscow as well. I had read it the first time on Kindle. But I just had to have the physical book to dip into and bought that as well. It’s on my soon TBR list for a second reading. And I’m half way through the Wind in the Willows too!!! Never read it before. Talk about coincidences!
Kindred spirits Sreekala!
Enjoyed your beautiful blog tonight… what a delightful cozy chat with you! How exciting that Granny Chic is in… my style too, and has been. I’ve survived the minimalist concept, and am thankful the train has arrived back at the station, so to speak 🙂 May you enjoy all the cozy delights of fall and its special treats each day!
You have been missed but it’s wonderful to have you back. I love your cheery blog posts and happy pictures. We moved to a little Victorian cottage almost years ago and have fully embraced cottage core and granny chic! Hoping to picnic with you and the girlfriends next spring. Lots of love to you both
Hello Susan!
Just dropping by to say hi to you and Joe and let you know what a relief and a joy it is to hear from you. So glad to know you have both been enjoying a busy, safe and happy summer. Only recently heard about Cottagecore so your blog has been very helpful in expanding my knowledge about this new! sensation. Now you know for sure, you always were ahead of your time with your Doiley Mentality, yay!!
We are fine on this side of the pond but still being extremely cautious and hoping the situation will have improved for your visit next May. Until we meet at Stourhead please continue to look after yourselves dear hearts and stay safe.
With much love from Ann and Alan in Chester xx
Love hearing from you Ann… we’re right with you, hoping for clear sailing for 2022 … we will LOVE seeing you at Stourhead! xoxo
Always love your blog…to receive a new Willard as well — such a gift1 I’m going to splurge and during my lunch (I’m working from home), I’m going to enjoy some hot tea and cozy up and savor every delicious word! As always, thank you! Question: would you mind sharing where you stayed at Lake Sebago in ME? It looks perfect for a Fall or early Winter get-away. Huge thanks and much love!
So wonderful to see this post! and You!… We were on the Vineyard in August and drove by your homestead as we tried to find parking to walk around downtown – WOW, you aren’t kidding the island was PACKED – even chappy was sorta crowded, for chappy anyway. Still, we love the island so.
That puzzle! So charming – I need to put it in my cart – I so enjoyed your Christmas book, and will save it for generations next.
Have a wonderful Autumn. – Karen in CT
Loved catching up with your lovely days friend. Always a warm fuzzy feel when I’m done reading☺️💕. Hugs, judi
Oh, Susan, what a JOY to read again your uplifting and exciting message and to see your exquisite pictures – all which resonate to my heart’s core!! My house could be in a magazine for Granny Chic, haha, so how delightful to learn my decorating is ‘in’!! Family pictures and doilies and tea cups and mugs and candles and stuffed animals and books, and a few treasured old and handmade dolls, as well, are everywhere in my house, as in yours. It’s a visual feast that nurtures my soul, just like your blog does! In-depth fall cleaning is my thing, too, and yesterday as I was cleaning the many framed pictures in my back bedrooms, I wondered if I had too many scattered about. They cover my refrigerator and are found on almost every shelf and table top. But being an actual Grammy who just turned 73 in September, I justify the extravagance by saying that at my age I can choose to express my heart this way in order see my family everyday (I’m in NC and they’re in Seattle). How fun to read this morning that my pictures are Okay to have about – and that it’s all good! Thank you for the affirmation!! One more quick sharing – I descend from eleven Martha’s Vineyard families, primarily the Luce, (Nancy Luce is my 4th cousin, 4x’s removed) Stewart, and Merry families, with Chase, Pease, Manter and a few others, as well. I’ve never been there, but someday I hope to visit this beautiful home of many of my New England ancestors. I love that you live there and share its remarkable beauty with us. I adore your book “Isle of Dreams” and have read it several times and have even shared it with my grandchildren. You are a treasure beyond words, and we all thank you for being and sharing lovely you!! Blessings always, Ann
P.S. I “met” you at the Gladys Taber reunion in 2014 – fantastic!!
You will LOVE it Ann… your ancestors names fill the graveyards here, all very familiar to me. I know you will feel like you’ve come home! Must do that someday!
Thank you, Susan, for the encouragement to visit! Along with visiting the cemeteries and thanking the Lord for my beloved ancestry, it would be thrilling to see where you found your happily ever after. Your book “A Fine Romance” is another favorite I’ve read multiple times. I met Joe at the 2014 reunion and was thrilled to buy your book! Your story is an absolute joy, and I admire you more than words can express. Thank you for enriching us as you affirm the loveliness embraced by all your fans, you are a beacon that shines its light upon all we treasure. Blessings, always! Ann
I was so excited to see your blog! I missed reading them. Gosh, Harvest moon, picnics. It was a great summer and autumn! Time to get your book out and cook something. Life is good.
Love, love your Willard! Love the granny style. My 14 year old grand daughter says she wants my house to stay the way it is! Keep everything., She says. All my little knick knacks. And my collection of legos. And pictures everywhere. Now to keep the freezer full of chocolate chip cookies for her. And my collection of Friends dvds! Have a wonderful fall dear Susan!
14 year olds can be so smart, cut right to the chase!!
I love granny chic!! It has been my style forever! So happy for fall🍁🍂🎃 my favorite season. Looks like I need an updated “Fall” book. Thanks for posting. Have really missed you ❤
Hello Susan!
It is so delightful to have you back on board with the blog! Yes! I surely did miss you! And… I love the Grannychic style, which has been the “look “ here at my house for decades. As you expressed it, it is nice to be back in style! It is so warm, cozy, and comforting.
So happy to hear that you are doing well and are being creative with positive activities. We too canceled plans for a train ride west to visit family. Hard choices to make.
Thanks so much for sharing your thoughts and brightening my days! ❤️ 💕
You will not be disappointed in the ending to Gentleman in Moscow.
So glad to see you on the blog again, Susan! I just checked for a new post yesterday and wondered if everything was alright, so I was happy to see this post this morning. As far as I’m concerned, Granny Chic is always in style! Classic beauty never goes “out”. Thanks for the beautiful Fall pictures.
What a wonderful surprise! I thought…”Wonder if that Dear, Sweet Woman has posted a new Blog.” And there you are. No time to comment on the comments, as I have to be ready to roll over to Mount Desert Island Hospital to have the surgeon peek at my leg….Huge mucker taken out/off. Will learn today if it’s the big C. I asked him to leave humongous “margins” around the Alien Entity, so that if it is positive, I won’t need a second surgery. So many of our Doctors have fled the Takeover by a huge For Profit company that has bought up most of the hospitals. So, the wait time to see a dermatologist is 6 months at the least, so off to the cute Doogie Howser surgeon who had time to do this.
I got my booster yesterday, the Moderna, as my wonderful GP said we qualified to get it NOW. Tom and I are going to boogie down to Camden/Rockport/Rockland on October 19th for 4 nights. And Yes, we’ll eat at Primo. We’ll feel much better eating out every meal now that we have both been boosted! We have actually stayed in the inn in Camden that is beside the tinkling stream….with ducks. This time we’re going back too our favorite place, which is right on the Rockport/Rockland village line. I’ve stayed there many times while taking drawing classes at the Farnsworth. If those two adjoining properties were official Gardens, you’d be paying $ to amble around. Anyone interested can go to Strawberry Hill and next door Island View Inn and see pictures on Trip Advisor. They used to have a tortoise shell Kitty that I would invite into my room after going down to the lounge to get my coffee…in my fuzzy slippers and warm robe. (It’s that kind of place!) There was even a book about her with adorable watercolors. The gardens are ever changing with the seasons.
Can’t wait to get back here to read all the comments and spend more time taking in the pictures….
You have been busy, Dear Lady.
Mucho Love,
Debbie in another beautiful Maine
I know, with the Booster, I do feel stronger! Love hearing from you Debbie. Good luck with that leg … I don’t have to tell you to keep your sunny side up, it’s ALWAYS up… love you! Wrote down Island View Inn for maybe next time! Comments are beautiful as always and forever! So lucky to have this wonderful group of kindred spirits! So positive! Good luck today! 💝💋
I love granny chic but “heartless minimalism”? Nay! Nay! It doesn’t have to be! Check our Benita Larsson on her blog, youtube, insta… Or Youehm on Healyourliving. There is room for all styles in soul-filled living.
I LOVE Scandanavian style, but what I mean by heartless is the lack of family photos, throw rugs, stuff on the kitchen counters 😂, teapots, magnets on the fridge, antique books, etc, etc. It’s all so cool, VERY beautiful, but impossible for me to live in, try though I may! 🤪
The Lovely Tom says that the fridge would fall apart if we removed all the magnets, photos and clippings!!! 😉
Welcome back Susan! So happy for my delightful morning read. And over the moon when I read about “Grannychic”. Whenever I have had family and friends to our home, I always get a comment from someone young or old, “Aunt Peg, it is so cozy in here.” Always the best compliment ever! A home wrapped in memories is more important than keeping with the current trends. Anxiously awaiting my “Blessing cup”. And now will be ordering that delightful puzzle for my daughter. Love those marigolds, my Mom’s constant flower in the garden when I was young. And one that my daughter and I plant every year in our garden, in her memory, and they are beautiful this year! Bring on the candles, homemade soups, and yes, good movies!! Thanks for my morning read!
Thank YOU for every cozy word! xoxo
CAN I SAY – SO HAPPY YOU ARE BACK!@!@!@!@!@! I have missed you-your blogs- and it was so nice to see that you are back. I hope you are enjoying your fall weather, and i love all the Granny Chic stuff- hahah- who knew it would all be back in style? It makes me happy. Thank you for bringing a big smile to me today, i needed it. I have recently lost my step-father of 40 years to Covid- my uncle to Covid- I am sick of the whole thing…..it needs to be over and done. I have had my booster shot. Hugs to you and Joe and Jack too…….so glad to have you back. Have a wonderful day.
Oh I am so sorry Kathy, such a terrible disease. I had a close-call with my brother a couple of weeks ago … I didn’t realize how ravaging it is until I texted with him every day. AWFUL! I’m happy to be back, and happy to see you here… sending love …💞
Love hearing from you my dear! All warm and cozy. You tweeted that it was time for out with the blue and in with the red… Well, I was dragging my feet but not anymore. I redid the hutch with the cranberry Woodsware and kept just some of the blue and white and white ironstone. I am a happy lady now! Wooden spoons and boards next. You worked your magic again. Marigolds are a great idea -next year. Happy Fall to you and Joe
Lani
It’s that time of year dear Lani! 🧡🧡🧡
Hi Susan,
I was thrilled to get the email notification of your latest blog post! YEAH! It’s wonderful to hear from you again!
I’m so happy that you and Joe “got out of Dodge” and spent some time at Sebago Lake in Maine. It’s unfortunate that you had to postpone your trip via train to CA for your family reunion, but it was probably the best course of action given the uncertainties of COVID. For all of our sakes, I pray that we’ll have a better handle on all things COVID by November.
Welcome to the world of “Cottagecore”! I discovered it myself while perusing the options on YouTube earlier this year. I have always leaned toward the “Shabby Chic” style but I have now embraced “Cottagecore” and “Farmhousecore” as well. In fact, I now follow 3 different women who have their own YouTube channels featuring both. They do a lot of thrifting & flipping, and I’ve picked up some great tips from them. It’s amazing how they can turn something battered & broken into something better & beautiful. I am especially impressed with their skills in handling all sorts of power tools! YOU GO GIRLS!
Your dahlias are gorgeous, but I have a question about them. Will you and Joe have to dig them all up this fall and store them in a dry, dark & cool place over the winter? I ask because I used to have several different varieties interspersed in one of my perennial beds but because I live in VT, I had to dig them up each year and inevitably, I would inadvertently dig up some tulip and daffodil bulbs too. It was frustrating and so I dug them all up and gave them to my mother-in-law a few years ago. I do miss cutting them to put in vases in my home, however. I’m curious, can dahlias survive in the ground during an MV winter without risking any damage to them?
I did receive my 2022 calendars and like another girlfriend mentioned, I’m so glad that the desk blotter came with page holders since I have been using paperclips on my 2021 blotter. Any update on your quote book?
Enjoy these lovely days of Fall! My little world in Vermont is getting more beautiful with each passing day as the leaves burst into brilliant color.
Warmly
Franny Ramsey
No they cannot survive, their big drawback. I am waiting to see if Joe, who said he would, will actually go to the trouble to dig them up! He has always wanted a dahlia garden, but I know us and have never thought we’d get it together to do the dig-up part. So that is yet to come! I hope we do! I promised I’d help! Working on the quote book, I’m totally obsessed, love it so much, it’s going to be wonderful! Happy Vermont Autumn, I know it’s gorgeous up there! xoxoxo
can you share the youtubers you follow? I would love to check them out. I just made a comment about shabby chic is what it was know in the late 80s but would love to see more on the take on it now.
Hi Franny, would you be willing to share the blog addresses that you follow? Thanks, Sandi
I would be happy to share them, Sandi! They are: .
White Cottage Company with Mary Yoder,
Julie of Julie’s Designs and Signs and Siobhan & Chris of Gingerchickrehab. When I am not reading Susan’s blog, I am usually watching one of those. Enjoy! Franny
Thanks!❤
Good to hear from you again. Keep the news coming.
My dear friend and I always said “rabbit rabbit” on the first of the month. So when I saw your “Rabbit Rabbit” mug I was thrilled to order it for her. I cannot wait for her to see it. What a surprise it will be! I think I have waited all my life for the Granny Chic to return! Now I am “in style” HAHA! Everything is so impersonal these days – nobody writes letters. I think people need to feel a connection with each other that doesn’t involve the internet. Thank you for your wonderful blog. I, too, love the UK and have been many times – once to visit relatives in Wales. Bless you for sharing your talents with us all.
So happy I made that perfect mug for your friend!!!! xoxo
How I wish I could have meandered through your yard sale – I saw so many, many treasures and temptations. You have an infinite passion for life and write about it and share it with us to a pink perfection! Thank you, thank you, thank you, Susan!
Dear Susan,
Just popping in to say your new blog post is an awaited pleasure. At this end of things, it all looks fine and dandy. I just signed up for your December zoom party – oh my, I’m looking forward to being with you and all the girlfriends.
I’ll be back a few times to read your post more leisurely – to savour the details. It’s so good to see you again on your blog.
Heart hugs,
@BrenFromHome
Good! I forgot MUSICA yesterday! But I put it in this morning!
Sooooo happy to read your blog post. I’ve missed reading them and have wondered how life was on the island! The photo of the stars over your house is AMAZING! Am I correct that it looks like the big dipper is perfectly perched in the sky above your house!!??
Blessing on your day to you and Joe and Happy Fall!
So glad to see a post from you. I check it every morning while I have coffee. It is such a treat to read your posts. I’m all into “granny chic”. Love it! Thanks for letting us in on what has been going on with you.
Ha ha…I did a google search too…is Susan Branch still alive….obviously didn’t find your obituary…thank God…now you are back. Whoo Whoo…breakfast this morning and a Susan Branch blog. Great way to start the day. Looking forward to your next one.
OH HAPPY DAY! Oh, happy day. Your blog is back! I missed you. And in other news, I can stop trying to love the minimalist style and embrace my inner granny! I am no minimalist. I am a MAXIMALIST to the core. I love old things, and I always have. My favorite hangout in college was the local ANTIQUE STORE! I am an old soul for sure. Country Living subscription since 1985, and all that. And that, dear Susan, is where I discovered you, those many years ago.
I have registered for the December 4 event and I am looking forward to that. Cup of tea will be in hand, and likely a kitty or two will be nearby.
I cannot WAIT for the next installment of your blog (no pressure) after this long hiatus. Good health!
Aaah, you’re back! You’ve been missed. ❤ What a lovely blog. Your dahlias are gorgeous, and your lettuce looks so yummy. I have an “earth box” that I usually plant herbs in every spring, but might try lettuces next year. My husband and I got our boosters yesterday. I felt a little tired from it, but very protected. Now onto the flu shot! Take care. Linda
You know what they say “everything old is new again” so if you love something, just wait, it will be back in style eventually. I love this stuff and never cared if I was out of fashion. I crochet and quilt and bake and love the fall all the more for the coziness these passions bring to the season. Yay for the new calendars! So nice to find you here today and thank you for all the lovely pictures. They always make my heart sing!
Welp Howdy~Doo Sweet Sue 🙋♀️ Had been thinking about You n’ your fellas So tickled pink to see your IG Post. 😊 Had to bounce right away. This was like 7npacking the loveliest, yummiest of picnic baskets. Full of Goodies. Every word, picture and song a delightful bite. “Wind in the Willows” *sigh* a family tradition. How sweet to imagine you discovering & sharing a wonderful part of Joe. Sitting here in my floral stretchy capris, hot pink came under a soft gray cami, bare feet, ponytail, grabbing a second cuppa and reading all the sweet comments from all the Girlfriends. And hey! Love that we were all Granny Chic before it was Chic! And never gonna change. Sending Y’all big old hugs n smoothies from our cozy rose cottage in deep east Texas.
🧡🎃🧡🎃😘Hi Kat! xoxo
Hello, hello, hello!! So good to see your blog today. Made my heart jump for joy.
I’m really liking the idea of “Grannychic”. Makes me want to take my linen tablecloths out of the cupboard and use them around the house. (I’ll bet they would make cute curtains…).
We’re having a lovely fall in the Midwest. Warm days and cool nights. Delightful to be able to sleep with the windows open again.
We had 15 pumpkins in our patch this year and have placed them in several spots around our yard. Love that punch of color.
Warmest greetings to you, Joe and Jack.
Happy fall and welcome back!!!
Oh Susan, I’m so glad to find you again! I thought you retired or something! I to love the granny chic, and since I am a granny of ten going on 11 it fits. SO nice to see Jack again. what a cute kitty! I have a twelve year old part Maine coon and she is a snot! Everything has to go her way or the high way. LOL.
Do you think you will ever make a short video again? I love to watch your old video’s Your voice is so soothing in this scary times. I love the winter birds, Jack running threw your home, and what your making in your beautiful kitchen ( LOVE that stove)
I’m glad your brother and his daughter are better. I wish this whole Covid thing would go away. If everyone would have just gotten the shots right away, maybe we wouldn’t be in this mess! I have one daughter out of my five that did not get the shot with her family. and it causes anxiety, when we get together ( which we haven’t in a few months.
I hope is well with you and your family. and hope to hear more from you. This winter I want to try every recipe from all the books I have of yours. But can’t find the mexican spice for the pecans.
Have a good day
So glad to hear from you. Reading this brightens my day. I will make sure I watch The Pursuit of Love now that you mentioned it. I also love that you are listening to The Wind in the Willows. My third grade teacher read the book aloud to us way back in the day and I bought a copy of the book( a beautiful edition with gorgeous illustrations) for my oldest son when he was in grade school. I don’t think he ever read it but I did last year before I gave it to him now that he has a son. What a wonderful book. I kayak with friends and also alone, and think of Wind in the Willows when I am out there on the water paddling. The Water Rat said to Mole, “Believe me, my young friend, there is nothing – absolutely nothing – half so much worth doing as simply messing about in boats.” So calming and so true.
I’ve missed you friend! But in one sweet blog post you have unleashed inspiration and my mind is running amuck about all things fall! We haven’t really had any sweater weather yet, but it is coming! I’m going to plant a bed of spinach and lettuce today…inspired by you. I’m all decked for fall and quilting a Halloween quilt called kitty corn by Moda😍 I love cottage core because I was cottage core when it wasn’t cool! I shop flea markets regularly and recently found your Santa coffee pot, I was overjoyed! Can’t wait to fill it with hot cocoa for Wil and I and sit by a fire! Glad you and Joe are well and enjoying life to the fullest! Love.
I never see one of those!!! How lucky! You sound wonderful Laurie, I’m glad all is going well, love a mind that runs amuck!
Oh Susan! You were so missed! Thank goodness you are back. LOVED this blog and I am signing up for the Zoom event. Can’t wait! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!
So glad you are back! So happy to have kindred spirits all here together; it’s so much fun. That’s why I came to comment – not just on the blog post (which was lovely, as always, so beautiful, and yay for the brown furniture club! (I belong too!)), but to “share” with the girlfriends, because I just can’t believe it. I went to my plot at our community garden very early this morning before work, to cut some dahlias for a friend and pick some arugula for supper tonight. And while I was working, I saw something out of the corner of my eye – and it was a cat! A yellow one! I kissed at him and he came right over, slipped through the plastic netting holding up my sweet peas, and padded right up to me! Let me pet him and even pick him up. I’ve gardened there for four years, and this is the first time I’ve seen a cat. I was so excited! So when I got home, I ran in and told my wife Jill about it. How cute he was, how sweet and friendly, oh my gosh a cat to play with! (Very well-loved looking, so I feel sure he has a home in the cottages next door, but still – a part-time kitty!) I was so excited and just bursting to tell her. And she said oh yes, there’s a cat hanging out in the garden now. And I said, “WHAT? You knew about him?” and she said, “Oh yes, I’ve seen him a couple of times.” “And you never told me? Did he let you pet him?” “No, but then I didn’t try to pet him.”
Can you imagine finding a beautiful kitty in your special garden and not running in immediately to tell your spouse about it? And not even trying to play with him? Who IS this person?!!! I am married to a stranger.:) It just blew my mind, how different people can be. Like people who get more excited about turnips than snapdragons. I love turnips too, very much, but deep orangey pink snapdragons? Now THAT’S something to get excited about.
She thought the whole thing was so funny and teased me that she would be very happy to make something to serve at the We Have A New Part-Time Garden Kitty Parade.:) And of course that made me laugh; she really is the sweetest, happiest person, even if she does not get excited about new garden kitties. But I also thought to myself, I can’t wait to tell the Girlfriends, because they will understand. I guess it is just more proof that although finding your person is heaven on earth, you still need girlfriends, maybe even more so then, because you have to have people who will just UNDERSTAND such things. Thanks for giving us a place to share them.
TOTALLY understand! And love that you are all laughing about it! xoxo
Happy Autumn Susan!
So happy to see you back. It always makes my heart sing with joy to see all your news. You inspired me today to go out and pick more marigolds ( which I love) from my garden for my tiny vases again. House is all decorated up for Fall and now the finishing touches of flowers. I have to say this is my favorite time of year in New England. Later today as I do my rug hooking I will enjoy watching “ The Pursuit of Love” . Thank you for all that you write to bring joy into our lives.
Hi Susan,
Any updates on when your book about your last trip to the UK is going to be published? Can’t wait!
Too many road blocks on this poor book … broken wrist was the worst, but there were plenty more. I don’t really know!
So sorry to hear that. I hope you can bring it to life at some point. Your aesthetic is perfect for capturing the charm of travelling through the British Isles. Good luck with it!
Like Hilary, I hope so, too! I enjoyed A Fine Romance so much, and I’ve so been looking forward to the time of Enchantment. Your books are what I love the most.
It’s so good to see you again. Your blog is such a delight. You bring do much joy to us all!
Rabbit, Rabbit plus one day. By the way, I was reading a fictional story that took place around W W II. IN it, I learned that White Rabbits was also said for good luck. I like that!
Dear Susan … so happy to hear from you .. your silence was beginning to worry me!!
Granny Chic so totally my style … and my closet holds my favorites from the 70’s and on!!
Pls take care of YOU💗🌸💗Alo-ha-ha .. Xo Evie in San Diego💗
Love the post! Marigolds are wonderful in the fall, and they protect the tomato plants, too! Granny Chic is just another expression of love for home, family, memories, goodness, and domestic bliss all so needed in our world today. After I retired from nursing this spring I decided to treat myself and went to an antique sale at our local Historical Society held in a very old historical home. I bought a beautiful dinner setting (for 14) of a floral patterned, gold trimmed German china made in Bavaria, named Margarita for $125. This included serving platters, soup terrine, gravy boat, serving bowls, etc.. . It is beautiful. I hesitated to buy it because of my limited retirement income, but was so drawn to it I just blurted out “I want that”! I do not think I could have gotten the quality, quantity or style in a new set of china for that price. I’m set for family holiday dinners this year! Definitely Granny Chic and so charming. Thanks for the inspiring post. Have a wonderful Autumn season!
That was a total deal, especially because you LOVE it!!!
I started the morning out with a “happy dance” Susan is BACK! I had faith your IT guy/gal would get you back up! So glad to hear all of you are doing so well – yes COVID is very scary – had to buy a pack of condolence cards. We plan on getting our booster shots this month. We also cancelled plans and have rescheduled many events hoping this straightens out by December.
In happier news – my grandmother always said “what goes around comes around” she was also an antique dealer so she knew her stuff! Now I too can embrace all my granny chic stuff!!! I love looking at pictures of farmhouse all white interiors but absolutely cannot live that way – if someone walked into my house and only saw three things on the kitchen counters they would assume we’d been robbed! And I have to say growing up in Iowa – I never, not once was in an all-white farmhouse. Pretty sure that concept came from a city dweller. I think the key is to live with what you love and not worry about what will sell the house someday!
Once again so glad you’re back and healthy! Sorry this is so long had to “catch up”!😘
Ha ha! I think you might be right on the white farmhouse! I don’t have any white walls in this house, but I do have a white sofa, and my kitchen cupboards are white, just like they were when we moved here in 1989! The house is white too, but that seems to be the general rule for old houses in New England!
Hooray for Granny Chic!! I love all things, “Granny”!! Enjoyed your post so much today. Thank you for sharing your beautiful, peaceful world with us.
So happy to ‘see’ you again! And I am thrilled about Grannychic – was in despair among all the gray modern soulless things! Color! Antiques! Cats! China! Life is good again.
After watching the trailer of the Pursuit of Love. Not really my cup of tea I guess. All is well though because Susan is back. I think I will do an audible book of Wind in the Willows instead. Have a great day everyone, Jan
Dearest Susan, How delighted I was to log on this morning and find your ‘Willard”! I have had trouble getting signed up for years ( computer gremlins?) and this is the first ‘Willard’ I have gotten on my laptop!! Ta da! So sorry you and Joe didn’t get to go to California, but the whole West Coast has been bad for COVID numbers. Glad your brother and his daughter survived and got the shots after having the virus. Weird, nasty virus, and way too adaptable!! We oldies stay home a lot; which is okay, since we LIKE home a lot! I have a copy of “Gentleman in Moscow ‘ on my shelf, and will earmark it for the winter. Having a big eye surgery next week, so trying to stay busy and read less, to keep eyes rested. Happily signed up for the ‘Enchanted Book Club” event December 4th! Going to oil my myrtle-wood and olive wood kitchen things now, and think of marigolds. Hugs from Oregon’s High Desert, Suzette
Very happy to see you up and at’em again. Not that you have not been up and at ‘em. We just couldn’t see you. The world feels right again. We are chugging along into fall here in Texas with temps a little too high. However, we are flying to Rhode Island tomorrow morning…Newport…where our daughter and son-in-law live with their 2 little ones. Great! Then we are meeting 3 couple friends for a week in Ma and CT. My daughter said “Should we go to Martha’s Vineyard?” Oh my! Would I love that! But it is not likely to happen.
So so in favor of Grannychic! My house is totally that! And I never gave up any of it as the styles change. Fun to see your gorgeous grannychic as well. So happy to see all is well with you and Joe. Have a lovely fall.
What joy to see you in my mailbox. I moved across the US a few months ago and I did toss, and gave away many items I wished I still had with me. Oh well, my daughter and I are going thrifting and antique shopping, I have a new house to fill.
You always give me a smile on my face when I read your blog.❤️
This is a check – I don’t seem to be able to respond to this site. This is the second time/month so this is a check before I contact IT.
I think it’s working… at least I see your comment!
Hi, Charlotte, if it helps at all, I read you loud and clear out
here in the beautiful, rainy, Pacific Northwest!
WOW! I’ve been hip like you for several years and didn’t know it. 🙂 One of the greatest compliments I ever received was having my home described as “it’s like being at Grandma’s house.” They were worried they had offended me! It was high praise in my book. You introduced me to the idea of playing beautiful musica. I discovered Jake Westbrook on YouTube, if you’ve never seen any of his uploads, I think you’d find them delightful – vintage music and graphics from the 40’s and 50’s – precious. The videos are the soundtrack to my weekly babysitting dates with my two-year old grandson. He loves listening to Grammie’s “oldies”. Thank you for always lifting up the simple beauty of home and handmade and the joy of the seasons and tea and music and flowers… and so much more. You are a blessing.
I just checked out Jake Westbrook on YouTube per your suggestion and what fun! I’m listening to vintage autumn music as I write this, but his Halloween compilation would be great for a party. Thanks for sharing!
Oh Susan..I didn’t realize how much I’ve missed your posts until I read this one! Signed up for the Dec. 4th Zoom right away! Loved the other ones you did and looking forward to this one!
Dear Susan,
Thank you for the new blog. I found cottagecore during lockdown and was so thrilled, like you, that the things I value most are being newly discovered! Oh! and I was able to join the group for your December Zoom! I can’t wait 🧑🏻🎄
Grandma core- back in the late 80s when I was in my early 20s it was known by Shabby Chic popularized by Rachel Ashwell- or cottage chic. I always gravitated to vintage decor and still do. I appreciate a lot of decor but what I enjoy living in is shabby chic! Missed you blog!
Hello Susan! I look forward to your newsletter every month. I have my new calendar for next year and will enjoy filling in important dates etc.. I do hope to be able to get a puzzle this year. Have been wanting one for years as I love nothing better than a good puzzle.. I can’t wait to sail with you again to England. Do you have the Cotswolds on your list? Such beautiful country.
Hello! So glad to hear from you! When I worry that something might have happened to you, I Google ‘Susan Branch twitter’ and see that you are doing good! When I first seen Cottagecore earlier this year, you were the first person I thought of. It is everything that we love about your art, books and decorating! I have changed a lot of my home from this to a more coastal feel, but I still kept all my vintage items and china. And, baking cakes and cookies and drinking tea by the fire are always in style as far as I am concerned. Brought out my Autumn book that I bought at your little store in San Luis Obispo when it first came out. Love reading the stories and looking forward to making some of the recipes in the coming weeks. Glad you and your family are doing well. Stay healthy and safe and thanks for all you do!
I was so happy to see this post yesterday, I was beginning to worry. It was great to read your words and view your beautiful art.
Happy as always to see your blog post Susan. The blog worked fine! Glad you are protecting yourself from Covid; which we are all sick of. I was happy that you got to go to Maine. We had to cancel our fall trip to Maine due to my husband’s health issues (not Covid related). I believe I have always had and will continue to have the Granny Chic style. Love all of your books and am waiting for the 2022 calendar to arrive to my house…. and I save all the previous years because they are so wonderful! Always a heart of gratitude I send to you with blessings. I was able to get registered for the Enchanted Book Club on December 4th. Until then be well.
Whaaaat!?? Im a somebody!?! No-better Im “in”!! Im chic!!!! I did it! I made it! Thanks for sharing the news Susan!! Your long awaited post was glorious!!! Now where did I store that box of doilies????!!!!! Love you so much girl!!!! Hugs Linda
Style maven!♥️
Welcome Back, Susan!!
You have been missed and this blog is so cool!!
This GrannyChic is so YOU!!
I’m signed up for the Enchanted Zoom and looking forward to it!
Stay Healthy <3
I would love to know the association with “Willard”? That is my maiden name and I loved seeing it at the top of this post!
It’s my grandfather’s first name … he used to send us a letter every year at Christmas to tell us everything he’d done for the entire year … my mom would read it to us at the dinner table. Later on we got a letter like this from someone else! My mom read it out loud, and my brother said, “OH! It’s a Willard!” … So when I started my newsletter, that was the obvious name for it!
I had no problems with your blog post. I was so excited to finally see one. Glad it’s working. Yesterday, I got both my Covid booster and my flu shot at the same time. You said you felt like Superwoman. I told my best friends that I feel bulletproof now. My husband also got the Moderna, so he needs to wait just a while longer.
I love GrannyChic and really hope it catches on. It makes me sad to think my children aren’t going to want any of my precious and beloved collections. Haha. Have a wonderful autumn. I can’t wait for another blog post to see what else you’ve been up to.
Your blog is always a sheer delight, dear Susan! Last evening I noticed it in my list of new email … but oh, no….I was not about to rush through it! I saved it for morning! And as you often suggest – a cup of tea, a comfy reading spot, and your new post complete with always perfect musica. You bring us a sweet spirit of goodness, beautifully packaged, every time. I think from time to time, about an earlier post when you were feeling down; it was generous of you to share that with us, your girlfriends. It takes a lot to make me feel blue; but “a lot” is what each of us is enduring these days. Your discussion of your feelings helps make many of us feel that we really are OK. Thank you for sharing so deeply and honestly in your posts.
Welcome back! As many others have said, you were greatly missed. Thanks for the update on your many exploits.
A Gentleman from Moscow is one of my favorite books and you will enjoy it to the end – which I was dragging my feet finishing in effort to postpone the final page. I look forward to reading the author’s new book as he is so gifted with language and his unique style of writing. Great character development.
Your news about the trendy “Grannychic” is welcome indeed! Although I have never bowed to decorating trends it is affirming to know that my furnishings encompassing those belonging to my great grandparents through my mother’s antique purchases are all “au courant”. I have textiles woven and crocheted by Great-aunts including aprons and doilies galore! Thankfully, my Millennium daughter loves antiques-especially family connected ones; so much so that their first house is a Victorian. Although our furnishings are not of that period her house will someday be filled with items built or bought by her ancestors.
Cute picture of master Jack – might I suggest a automatic water fountain for him to play/drink from rather than the open spigot? Water is a very precious, as you know from living in CA.
Glad you got your booster and hope your brother and niece recover well after their painful and scary experience with covid-19. Like Joe, I am awaiting the arrival of the Moderna booster. I hope to spend the winter holidays visiting my daughter and grandchild in MA if it is safe by then so like you am looking forward to this virus getting snuffed out.
Enjoy the rest of fall and your lovely garden. I have been converting an old garden to a pollinator garden filled only with native plants. No more “exotics” or invasives promoted by the commercial horticulture industry which has wrecked havoc on our native plants, insects, pollinators and birds by their aggressive growing characteristics. This has become my new cause Native plants for Native species!
Closing with the happy news that i was able to reserve a spot at your Dec 4 zoom gathering. Looking forward to it! Cheers and Stay well !
I don’t understand it. I left a comment on Oct 5 at 8:55 pm and it never showed up on your board although it did say comment awaiting review…….I just wanted to say I love granny chic because that reflects my style of decorating. Also the Sebago Lake resort you stayed at looks so nice. Can you let me know the name?
Hello! Hello! Hello! It is so wonderful to hear from you again! GrannyChic? I have been living the life for 64 years! You can call it “Poor-Working-Class-Never-Throw-Anything-Away-Pass-It-Around! We were recycling before it was a ‘thing’ and my Mother was the Queen of refinishing antiques & found objects! So, Hurrah! We are “in” again!! Thank you for the photo of the orange marigold. I reminded me of my Grandmother’s garden in Drums, Pennsylvania. It was bordered with a black, wrought-iron fence (very Victorian!) which set off the colors to perfection. Isn’t October magnificent! We just celebrated 39 years of a truly lovely marriage, my Kent and I and we wish all who were wed this month one more year of happy memories. Bless you all.
Dear Susan,
So good to hear from you! The Willard was just what I needed today because it’s rainy and gloomy in Indiana. I’m sitting under my quilt with my favorite cinnamon tea reading it.
Happy to hear Granny Chic is coming back, also. I have always decorated with family and others’ antiques. Getting ready to inherit my grandmother’s old secretary. Don’t really have the room but I’m too sentimental to pass it on to someone else.
Looking forward to receiving my “blessed cup.” Thank you for the update.
Enjoy your fall.
Sally Peters
I cannot tell you how much this Willard delighted me. I truly laughed OUT LOUD at your term “heartless minimalist-ville.” I’ve watched dozens of YT videos on going minimalist, but somehow I just can’t manage to pull it off. I’m already sporting the granny chic style – never wasn’t. And I’m right in the middle of brain dumping all my memories of my own grandmother’s 1930s house, complete with buttery-colored cabinets and hand-embroidered dishtowels. I’ve got just under 2000 words so far. Isn’t it funny how the styles just come around again and again like a merry-go-round? I had a friend buy me several Laura Ashley dresses when she visited London in the early 80s and now they’re in again. Woot! Anyway, thanks for the awesome blog post and now I know how to revive my wooden spoons, too. 🙂
Happy you are back! I, too loved “Gentleman in Moscow”. If you check on youtube there is an interview by a female reporter, in the Russian Tea Room. The author explains so much about the book and when he got the idea. Also, he tells a sweet story about he and his grandmother, from his childhood, that he put in the book. I think you would truly enjoy the interview, Susan. Also, I recently finished a new book titled, “The Magic of Bees”, which I feel was the best story I have read since reading “Gentleman” 3 yrs ago. Beautiful post. Thank you.
jeanie
That sounds good, I’ll look for it! Thank you Jeanie!
Correction book title should “the Music of Bees”
Hi! So glad you are back! I was getting worried!!! Loving fall, today is a lovely gloomy rainy day—perfect!!! My Hollyhocks are still blooming and beautiful! Probably not for much longer, but they have been just beautiful this summer. Thank you for the book recommendations. It has been years since I read “Wind in the Willows”—-I looked in our book stash—saved for our Grands but I must have passed it along so I’ll find a copy at the local B & N and or do audible. I remember how fun of a story it was. I am not familiar with the other two titles, but I am always looking for good stories to read so will check those out as well as the movie. Your blog/e-mail was fine, I had no issues reading or seeing photos. Take good care!!!! HUGS!! Sandi 🙂
Love that you also love A Gentleman in Moscow — one of my faves. I was so excited when I heard that Kenneth Branaugh was making a movie of it. I hope it happens. Would love to go to Britain on the QEII — a dream come true. Maybe sometime!
Susan,
The blog is as wonderful as ever! Love all the cozy things you’ve shared. I’ve been watching Cottagecore YouTube videos of people who redecorate often for a living, for about 6 months or so and am loving it! The Granny Chic phrasing is new to me, other than a line of fabric from Lori Holt who all her fabrics are vintage in nature and she has a line named Granny Chic. I’ll have to check out the world of Granny Chic!
I’m so glad you’re back with your lovely illustrations and quotes, sharing of your days with you and Joe and all your offerings that we can bring into our own homes. And the Dahlia’s are GORGEOUS!!
I’ve been reading a series called Mysteries of Martha’s Vineyard. I am really enjoying the stories and they talk a lot about the different events that occur there at different times of the year and the streets and towns, etc., and I think of you often when reading them-you are the only one I know who lives on MV. 🙂
So happy to hear from you!!
Wishing you, Joe and Jack a blessed and happy fall.
I’m so glad you’re back! July to October was a long wait! I got my calendar and desk blotter a couple of weeks ago. So happy the desk blotter has corner tabs again! Can’t wait for my mug!
Haven’t seen much fall here in Houston. Still running the a/c round the clock. But at least the humidity has been better. I did make your Ginger crisp cookies in hopes that they would bring cooler weather. A girl can dream!🍁
So Nice to see your latest post! Brightened my day. I have loved “Granny Chic” since I was in my twenties. House full of antique furniture, gifted by family or found at the Salvation Army or the Restore. Quilts made by my grandmother and great grandmother. Queen Elizabeth bedspreads, Antique lace tablecloths, hand sewn curtains, lots of old family treasures, pictures galore. Family tableware dating back to the teens and twenties. Love my Art Deco ware even though it is plate and not silver. This has always been my favorite style. My husband of many years walked into my first Apartment, looked around, and then said, “This place looks like grandparents live here.” Yes indeed. They were my favorite people when I was a child and young adult and their home was always a place of calm, delicious food, homemade bread, and faith. What’s not to love about that. Enjoy Halloween! My neighborhood is already busy decorating.
Hello Susan,
If you’re looking for easy listening book ideas on Audible, I recommend Fannie Flagg books. I think you’ll enjoy on your walk!
SO glad you are back!! Was worried about you. This is a ray of sunshine.
Sometimes people forget that Grandmas have always been hip in one way or another. Love your blogs, Susan. Just signed up for the webinar and really looking forward to it.
Yay! Your back Susan!! Glad you are doing well! Love your post as usual. The weather here in CA has been so hot, finally cooling down for fall. I can’t wait for your webcast in December. I am so wanting to go on your Queen Mary 2 crossing but just can’t with work. Someday though I will. My Daddy immigrated from Liverpool, England to America in 1957 so that voyage holds special meaning for me. I will look forward to your posts while you are traveling!
One of the stores that sells your beautiful books and decor closed recently, Barbara Cheatley’s in Claremont, CA, she was open for 45 years and I used to shop there with my mom as a kid and continued until she closed her doors in June. I loved going in there and seeing all your beautiful collections of mugs, books and calendars. I know of nowhere else that has your merchandise except online. Anyway that store is the end of an era for many of us here in southern California. I’m so glad you are back, I’ve really missed your posts. Take care Susan, blessings friend!
Theresa Raffee
Rancho Cucamonga, CA
I heard Barbara retired. She is going to be sorely missed! xoxo
Oh, I’ve missed you and worried that something was going on beyond the crazy tech glitch. Grateful to hear you both are well. So very happy to be able to read this lovely post and enjoy your gorgeous photos! It’s Grammie Chic at this house😉🤷♀️ I have an abundance of family heirlooms and am so hopeful the kids will one day (but, please, later than sooner) will want to keep them in the family. My parents were Depression babies, only children and instilled in me at an early age the value of these pieces-if not monetarily, certainly sentimentally. We recently drove through my childhood hometown. I looked at a few of the homes on Zillow that I remembered as a child-all white, ALL white-seriously sterile to my eyes and it made me sad. I do so hope this trend catches on!
I I am not surprised that classic cozy country chic is making a “comeback” ,it never went away as far as I’m concerned! My calendars were proposed against my front door today! I absolutely love them, especially the pocket calendar because it has my name on the front! I feel extra special! I will enjoy my little calendar for two years! My husband saw it and thought you had personalized it! Lol…I appreciate his thought! Enjoy Autumn and all it entails!
Maybe staying home made everyone more aware of the importance of home? Love it that your name is on the calendar! Good work Sue!
Well, I did write a comment yesterday, but it’s not showing. It’s so me to have forgotten to hit post. If it does show…well here I am again thanking you for your blog.
I will have to find a picture of me in my long dress with a lace slip peeking out of the bottom. So chic in the 1980s and now as Granny Chic. I’ll post it on Twitter.
I look forward to your train trip. I have signed up for your December webinar. I love seeing you live and hearing your voice.
My daughter and her husband have both successfully recovered from Covid, but still refuse to get vaccinated. 😕 This is why we remain masked in an area where very few mark or get vaccinated. 😷
No Fall weather here yet in North Carolina. But there are plenty of Halloween decorations in my neighborhood. Lots of children and young families here so Halloween is great fun. 🎃
Stay well. Love to you, Joe, Jack. ❤
Love to see that picture Peggy! Please stay safe…I know you’re doing the best you can. xoxoxo
Happy Fall and many Autumn blessings, Hello Susan, and Hello Girlfriends. wow it is finally here, the Fall is finally here… YAY!!! no more heat, no more long hot days and no more nights too hot to sleep comfortably. nice cool days, crisp and cool with lovely colors starting to show. this has been a busy time for me… we lost my hubby’s mom the day after Labor day due to dementia, she passed Sept. 7th and we have been busy with yard sales and going through drawers, cabinets, closets and sheds to get rid of the unwanted items like her shoes, clothes, craft items, and other things to really clear out the garage, sheds and closets and make things easy for his dad. so that was September for me. than yesterday we lost our little Mittens.. one of our tuxedo cats and his brother Socks is crying at the windows and looking for him, and i have been weepy and teary eyed ever since. i guess you can say my heart broke a little at the loss of my little shadow. anywhere i went he went with me. he is buried out with our other 2 cats (Inky and Tabby) and i am sure they will look after him since they brought him and his brother to us almost 3 years ago. they were our Christmas cats as someone dumped them on our front lawn about 2 weeks before Christmas. well we took them in and while they were gremlins, they were lovable, adorable and just plain full of fun. and i do miss him very much, i am so used to him following me about that it is very hard to accept that he is gone now. well i must be in fashion now, “granny chic” isn’t it funny how everything old is new again and fashionable?? love it. well i have bread dough to punch down, and cookie dough to make.. i make up the dough early, freeze it and then come around Christmas time i bring out the rolls of cookie dough, slice them and bake them up for holiday cookie plates, i am a bit late with that this year, but it will get done. Happy Autumn everyone, stay well, stay safe and stay happy. loves and hugs…… hugs….. 😀
A sad time dear Pat. I’m so sorry for your losses. Love hearing from you… glad you have bread dough to punch down, the smell of yeast warms the heart. Sending BIG love! xoxo
thank you Susan, its been sad around here. with Socks still looking for his brother and crying at the windows its been pretty hard to stop the tears, hope i didn’t get the bread dough too salty. wonder how long before i stop looking behind me or around me for Mittens, he followed me everywhere and sat with me at my desk or on the chair he would curl up in my lap.. i’ll miss that and him. hugs…. 🙁
Our little petty pets. They mean so much. Hugs to you and Socks dear Pat!
Oh thank goodness Susan! I was beginning to fear I had to face 2022 without a blotter calendar! Scary 🙂
LOL! xoxo
Hello again everyone, i forgot to share this lovely Fall treat recipe i got from a friend, they used it to serve as a treat at the local library festival which raises money for the local library out here, this year they need new shelves and more of them. so here is the recipe for apple pie fries. apple pie fries: ingredients: 1-2 good sized granny smith apples; cored, peeled and sliced.; pancake or waffle mix, sugar, cinnamon, apple pie spice, pinch of salt; for garnishes warm caramel sauce, whipped cream. peel, core and slice up the apples and sprinkle some lemon juice on them to prevent browning, set aside. in a large bowl mix up some of the pancake or waffle mix, enough for 1 serving and make it a bit thick with water, no eggs or milk. add 1 Tbsp. of apple pie spice to the batter and a pinch of salt. set up your deep fryer and set it for 350 degrees. coat the apple slices with the batter and place in the fryer to fry for 3-5 minutes until golden brown. remove from the hot oil and sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar, warm up the caramel sauce and drizzle some over the tops of the apple fries, set aside the whipped cream to dip the apple fries in. enjoy!!! hugs… 😀
MMMMMMMM. 🧡
they are really good, and i forgot to mention mix the cinammon and sugar together before sprinkling on the apple pie fries. happy eating and Happy Fall!!!
The coup de grâce!
So very good to hear from you again! And thrilled you are reading “A Gentleman from Moscow!!” There were periods when I actually had to put the book down and run away from it because I was loved the Count so much I couldn’t bear to read one of the plot lines. You may have finished it by now, but in case you (or anyone else) haven’t I won’t spoil the ending. Just know it topped my reading list for 2020. So glad also that your flowers and walks and dinners with friends have been good. Putting a bit of Granny Chic in my own home, and very glad minimalists are on the way out–way to black/white/grey for me! And we too were able to enjoy lovely big tomatoes from the garden my daughter planted this summer. Many thanks for writing to us! Keep the Faith, Covid will end, and we’ll start again–a new normal perhaps, but a Normal, and a Safe One. Sending all the best to you, Joe, and Sweet Jack! xoxo, Rosemary
He’s in having a talk with the Bishop who is now “the manager” … it doesn’t sound good. Don’t tell me anything!
I am so glad your back!!! And I love hearing about Grandma Cosy, that is my house now and forever and I do qualify as a grandma and even a great grandma!!
So excited pretty is coming back! Lovely things are coming back! Thank you so much for sharing, it has made my day! even my year!
Welcome back! I was so happy to read that you love A Gentleman in Moscow too! It’s one of my favorite books, and it’s well worth the time it takes to read (or listen to) all of those pages. The stars above your house must be beautiful!
Susan, I love GrannyChic! So glad to find out it’s a “thing” now. Finally!! I have actually been looking for some time for a kitchen table just like yours. I know there are some things out there that look similar, but I would love to have the real thing. Something I can oil and take care of and love. Any idea where I can find something like it?
Thank you as always for your wonderful posts. It’s always so good to hear from you. Keep staying happy and healthy!
Happy, happy Autumn!!
I bought mine so long ago, in 1989 when we first moved into this house, from a little gift shop in downtown vineyard haven. I would Google “Kitchen table with wood top and white turned legs” and wee what you get! It has to be somewhere!
Thanks, Susan. I have been searching online, but would love to find it somewhere “out there” in a cute shop, or buy it from someone who makes them. But I’ll try your search terms and see what happens–you’re right, it has to be somewhere!! 🙂
Happy to see you again!!! Also happy to see we are in style again as I have never gotten out of it!! I was so thrilled because in going through things I found Susan Branch stickers & just in time for Halloween!!!! Love your stickers! Also looking forward to new calendars in time for 2022. Take care & Thanks so much!!
Welcome back, Susan! Such a lovely update for us all to enjoy. 😊 I love your wooden spoons. So happy you are able to make new calendars.
Presently I am in Virginia (from New Jersey)
visiting one of my daughters who had a baby Sept. 7th. 👶 Oh The joys of being a Grandma! She is my 12th grandbaby!!
Have a blessed fall everyone!
It was wonderful seeing your post! You’ve been missed. So glad you and Joe are doing well. Your blog always brings me joy! 😀 ❤
It’s heavenly to see your posts again! Especially about Granny Chic which my house is dripping in. (In a young airy kind of way, lol.) During all of this covid topsy turvy my forever fiancé and I decided to get married. It was in the backyard garden with a total of 7 people including us. Perfect. Anyway it’s so nice to catch up with you . We’ll be going to England and Scotland in June but also to Germany to escort my granddaughter there to spend the summer with my Navy daughter who will be stationed there for 3 yrs. All good things 💗
Happy marriage Cindy! How romantic and wonderful! xoxo
Hi Susan
I am reading your blog from the website because it still is not coming to my mailbox. I’ve signed up online through Willard, I think and keep hoping your name will pop up in my mail once more. I have a dear friend who lets me know when the blog shows up in her mailbox. Then I know to log on to the website and enjoy reading the latest news. This quiet time I spend with you is something I savor. Such a relaxing moment…mocha coffee and the blog.
I bet your computer has somehow decided our blog is spam? Maybe you can find your spam folder and check it out. It doesn’t make sense! xoxo
Dear Susan,
What a happy surprise to find your post just as I put on my tea. It’s beautiful. You really have been missed.
Love to all three of you.
Lillian