midwest pleasures ~ nellie's barn sale

Brian and I took a day trip yesterday to a small town right outside Rockford, IL.

 The drive was peaceful and beautiful. Nothing but farm fields as far as the eye could see.

 We stopped for lunch at  Mary's Market, which serves fantastic "real" food.

I had the grilled avocado and chicken tacos with black beans, mango, corn,

pico de gallo, lettuce, and sriracha vinaigrette...

and Brian had seared ahi tuna with mixed greens, avocado, tomatoes,

and green onions, with wasabi aioli ~ and a roasted beet salad.

 

With our bellies sufficiently full, we went on to Nellie's Barn Sale.

What could be more welcoming than an old screen door with a cute,

little pup waiting for customers?

This semi-annual sale held on the expansive, beautifully landscaped grounds of

 a house in Roscoe, is filled with all kinds of vintage goodies.

Tents were set up for all the different vendors.

 

 There was a lot of vintage kitchen tools, collectibles, painted furniture, tools,

handmade birdhouses, jewelry, and tags...

Old pictures and baskets...

 

Doris the little camper {these are known as "glampers" nowadays, right?}

 held some cool stuff, too - including a couple of vintage typewriters.

 

A little barn filled with all kinds of treasures...

 

And then there were the gardens. I probably spent more time looking around,

oohing and aahing over the gardens than I did all the antiques!

I love how the homeowner incorporated this old gate into the landscaping.

And take a look at this twig bench amongst the ferns and flowers.

 

 There was a small pond surrounded by hostas, bushes, ferns, and tall

 grasses ~ and check out the vine-covered arbor in the background, too.

Lovely how the stone bird bath is set in the middle of the day lilies. 

 

I think one of these wooden pyramid trellises is going on my garden wish list.

 

I love how this perennial garden is backed by an chippy, white fence

 with beautiful spindles. 

 

I only bought a few small things at the barn sale, which I will show you later. :-)