summer flowers around my house

Welcome to my house at 517.

This perennial in my butterfly garden blooms just for short time in the Spring. I can't remember the name of this beauty. My mom gave it to me for Mother's Day a couple of years ago.

Blue hydrangea...

Just purchased this hanging basket of hot pink petunias today for my front porch. I had a basket of pansies previously hanging there, but they couldn't take the summer heat and sun.

The midwestern favorite for the shade - hostas. I love when they bloom with their purple flowers!

Another hanging basket outside my kitchen door. Again, I am so bad at remembering name of flowers I'm not familiar with, so I can't tell you what these are. I believe they're some kind of geraniums though...at least the leaves look "geraniumy" to me!

Hubby dug out some plants in the back of the butterfly garden today that were being dwarfed by the bigger plants in front. That left us with a lot of empty space in back. So I took an old picnic bench to fill up the empty space in back and put pots of pansies on it. The pansies were the ones originally in front of the house where they received too much heat and sun. The handpainted birdcage was purchased at an antique mall last year.

OK, so I know it's not a flower, but I am so excited by my new blueberry bush and the prospect of picking my own blueberries!

Thank you for stopping by - I love when you visit!

day tripping

Last week, hubby and I both had a day off work, so we headed up to one of our favorite little getaway destinations - Lake Geneva, Wisconsin. It's only a 40 min. drive from our house and since it's a resort town (known as The Hamptons of the Midwest), boasts blocks of quaint shops and restaurants, beautiful scenery, and of course, the famous Lake.

One of my favorite shops to browse in - and how charming is the building! I want the windows on MY house surrounded by ivy and window boxes full of flowers.

Walking around on a hot, humid midwestern afternoon calls for a stop at Caribou Coffee for an icy drink...

I sipped on a dark chocolate iced mocha while reading "South of Broad". Hubby had an icy pomegranate green tea...

There's my handsome guy, totally oblivious to my picture-taking...

And here's me, in front of bistro 220, which is a restaurant. Umm...we didn't eat here, but I thought the building was so pretty, that I had to take some pictures. Believe it or not, not too long ago this gorgeous structure was a dilapidated four-family apartment building.

Check out the lovely landscaping...

I love the simplicity and juxtaposition of these colorful pots lined up on a stone ledge...

I fell in love in Lake Geneva. With a red metal bench. Had no price tag and I didn't feel like going in the store and asking the price. I need to call...maybe it's cheaper than I think?

some of my recent goodwill finds

I collect roosters and I loved this charming fellow with his curly wire tail...

A lovely suede purse...

A Liz Claiborne purse in perfect condition...

A cute butterfly necklace from Aeropostale...

Funky bracelet with blues and greens...

treasure hunt finds

In my previous post about going treasure hunting, I didn't post what I found! Silly me. First up, I found this lovely antique pearl bracelet. Granted, they're not real pearls, but I still think the bracelet is elegant and feminine. It seems very well made, too. Best of all, it was only $3! The pearls have a pink sheen in this photograph, but they're really a cream color.

I love cloches. Just ask my husband. He jokes that everything in the house is under glass. I retort that I'm going to put his HEAD under glass. ;-) Well, I found another cloche (sorry, honey!) but this one is wire, not glass. Does that count?

treasure hunting

There is almost nothing better on a Saturday afternoon than to go treasure hunting...

Especially when it's with two of my favorite ladies in the whole world...my Aunt Suzie (in the blue top) and my mom (little lady in the middle)!

Aunt Suzie checks out the price of a table that would be just perfect for her patio, while Mom looks on.

blessed nest

I have this little obsession with birds lately. Ceramic, wood, resin, glass...white, brown, green, blue...doesn't matter. I have little birdies perched on shelves, bookcases, side tables; tucked between plants, and hovering under cloches. Faux eggs are clustered in teacups and votive candle holders. So I thought for the Spring season, I'd do a bird vingette on the buffet in my living room. See the colorful bird picture in back, leaning against the wall? I made that with scrapbook and stamping materials.