Monday, October 12, 2015

one of those perfect sunny, warm fall weekends

 On Saturday, we traveled a couple of hours south to my cousin's house for an extended family get-together. I always enjoy driving up to my cousin's beautiful house ~ it has such lovely curb appeal. I admire the tall windows on the front and side of the house, as well as the beautiful landscaping.


Another feature of her house I have a soft spot for is on the other side where you walk under a leafy arbor to enter the house through the side door.
 

 We really lucked out with a warm, sunny October day, so we all sat around a bonfire in the middle of the extended driveway and talked and visited with one another. Although I don't think there was too much talking going on when I took this photo because everyone was busy stuffing their faces from the food buffet. Most of the menfolk disappeared indoors shortly after dinner to watch the Cubs baseball game. (And hooray, they won! Just for them to be in the playoffs is amazing. Ahem. And my Cubs-loving hubby is thrilled.)


 When the sun started going down though, boy, did it get cold quickly! Another cousin showed us the proper way to keep warm. ;-)


Speaking of the sun going down, my cousin's house is surrounded by farmland and we were graced with the most beautiful sunset.


 As the evening grew darker, the sky became more vivid...


 to the point where it looked like the sky was on fire.


And then it went back to pinkish tones before going completely dark. 


 Sunday was another one of those perfect warm, sunny fall days where it makes you wish fall would never end. I took a little drive to a farm called Ginger Blossom. The owner travels the world and brings back all kinds of goods...rugs, bedding, sweaters, blouses, scarves, antiques and home decor.


There's several little cottages on the property, each one filled with ethnic goods and materials.
 

 The barn is filled to the rafters with antiques, glassware, decor and furniture from all over the world.


Not sure if this outdoor elephant sculpture was for sale, but I thought the grasses behind it were so beautiful. Don't you just love that white plumage - it looks like bird feathers!


There was a wonderful variety of pumpkins and gourds for sale, too though I didn't bring any home with me. I did bring home locally-made cheese and raw honey.
 

Hope you had a good weekend, too!


16 comments:

  1. Your cousin's house gets an A+ for curb appeal! I need to study that landscaping. And the sunset without any city lights or buildings to get in the way was breathtaking! Looks like a fun time was had by all!

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  2. Oh Melanie,
    This house, the property, the open fields, the sunset! Surely this is an environment that I would never ever want to leave. Tranquil, calming, quiet and surrounded by nature. I just read your previous post and I too have a certain amount of anxiety. Diet is very important for me, walking, reading and nature. The older I become the less I enjoy the hustle and bustle of life and it tends to make me anxious as well.
    One of the many pluses of aging is that we know ourselves so much better now, and know how to take better care of ourselves.
    Enjoy your evening, Melanie!
    xo
    Jemma

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  3. What a beautiful house, the arbor is gorgeous and the views... wow! That farm looks like a wonderful place to find shop and I love the cottages. Have a lovely rest of the week... :)

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  4. Sounds and looks like an absolutely perfect weekend and the weather looks so wonderful. That sunset reminds me of the one I watched in New Orleans in July. The WOW factor indeed! Love that little farmhouse with all the international goodies. Definitely would be my kind of place. An Australian lady who used to be here (her husband sadly died of pancreatic cancer while they were here) still comes back to the Friday market and buys goodies to take back for sale in her vintage shop in Australia. She really has an eye for picking out the right stuff and is able to buy it cheap here but make a 1000% profit over there. Amazing! Would be something I would love to do down the road but I'm not that good at searching things out and certainly don't know anything about name brands (she also buys clothes which are abundant here since so many people wear something once and then get rid of it). Have a great week. Tammy

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  5. I'd say this was the perfect weekend! The party looked so fun and the pictures of the sunset are gorgeous!

    The farm you go to is awesome...I would be hard pressed not to pick up a few goodies. Emily are fans of a couple who go junking in the burbs and then share on FB. We used t go to their house to pick up things (I got two of my windows there as well as two vintage scales among other things). They are now on a farm a few more miles away and we are planning a trip very soon.

    I hear the weather s getting cooler. My yard and garden are pretty bare. I'm going to reseed the lawn and get some pumpkin and mums this week---I'm a little slow in that department this year!!

    Take care,

    Jane x

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  6. I am happy I got to be part of the group in attendance at my cousin's farm. Not only is the outside beautiful, but equally interesting is the inside. Beautifully decorated too with great antiques. My favorite is the bed where I would have to get a step stool to get in.
    Xo Mom

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  7. Your cousins house is so pretty isn't it, what a beautiful place to live. The skies are incredible aren't they, so beautiful too! So glad you had a great time! xx

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  8. Your cousins home is lovely, I loved those tall windows and what a beautiful sunset you all enjoyed.

    That farm looks interesting and I would have enjoyed looking around there.

    Have a great week ~ FlowerLady

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  9. Hi Melanie, as usual you always have an interesting post . . . this one makes me long for family. I need to buy a plane ticket and travel back to Indiana for a visit. It's been around 10 years since my last visit. Your cousin's home is beautiful and that arbor is amazing. Thanks for sharing your visit with us.
    Connie :)

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  10. oh what a fun post! From that arbor to die for, to laughing at the butt-warming by the fire, to the rest of it...the skies and farm and so on...to the pumpkins at the end...! :) A perfect fall weekend !

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  11. Sounds like the perfect fall weekend, Melanie. I love the fact that you spent it with family...those really are the best times!

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  12. Your photos are so pretty, Melanie...your cousin has a lovely home...wonderful curb appeal and surrounding property!

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  13. Melanie,
    The windows in your cousins home are simply fabulous. And, as a midwestern, I would love the sunsets over the fields. Ginger Blossoms is such a fun place. I had a good friend who worked there. When she became quite ill, Ginger and the entire crew stuck by my friend and helped her in so many ways. They are very cool people.
    ~Ginene

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  14. What a pretty home and that arbor, I love it! You had a beautiful sunset to enjoy, with wide open spaces to get the full picture. I love hearing about families getting together. My cousins and I keep in touch by FB but rarely see each other any more. Must try to do better.

    What a fun place to visit, that Ginger Blossom must be!

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  15. Looks and sound like the perfect weekend! Your photos are pretty and smiles on everyone;s faces.

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  16. The last couple weeks have been picture perfect autumn, with warm days, cool nights, and blue skies. I was in heaven! But last night we had a little frost, with more tonight, so it's all coming to an end. Darn it! I'm glad to see you've been enjoying the same perfect autumn.

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