Lupine Fields and Garden Picnics

God made a beauteous garden
With lovely flowers strown,
But one straight, narrow pathway
That was not overgrown.
And to this beauteous garden
He brought mankind to live,
And said "To you, my children,
These lovely flowers I give.
Prune ye my vines and fig trees,
With care my flowers tend,
But keep the pathway open
Your home is at the end."

God's Garden” 
― Robert Frost

Flea Market Finds and French Musings

 Happy unofficial start to summer!  The season for flea marketing, antiquing, and craft fairs has arrived!  Here are a few of my newest found treasures before and after.

Mid-century modern night stand before...

After a light sanding, fresh coat of creamy white paint, and some floral graphics* decoupage.

Plain Pine Cabinet before...

After... painted linen white on the outside and robin's egg blue on the inside.  I added a door lined with chicken wire and an antique blue knob.

The top is decoupaged with an antiqued French garden label*.  Boring cabinet becomes chic cupboard!

Clunky Oak Table before...

After... sanded and painted a fresh cream color

 The top decoupaged with an antique French postcard print*

70's chunky magazine rack before...

After...deconstructed, painted and reassembled.  Chicken wire and an antique French wine label* graphic hold wine bottles.  Simple screws hold the wine glasses.

*The graphic transfers come from The Graphics Fairy

See you at the Lupine Festival in Sugar Hill June 12th!

5 Custom Picnic Baskets

There is something divinely romantic about a summer picnic

 an afternoon in a country field, a Sunday drive up the coast or to the mountains

 in a park by a river, or afloat on a boat

Sure, you can throw some food and drinks in a cooler,

But the charm of an old fashioned picnic basket evokes by-gone days without full agendas, when all that matters is warm sunshine on a bright summer day, being with someone you love - friends or family, enjoying food that has been lovingly prepared and carefully packed, and perhaps some inspirational reading.

Much have I travell'd in the realms of gold, 

And many goodly states and kingdoms seen; 

Round many western islands have I been 

Which bards in fealty to Apollo hold. 

Oft of one wide expanse had I been told 

That deep-browed Homer ruled as his demesne; 

Yet did I never breathe its pure serene 

Till I heard Chapman speak out loud and bold: 

Then felt I like some watcher of the skies 

When a new planet swims into his ken; 

Or like stout Cortez when with eagle eyes 

He star'd at the Pacific — and all his men 

Look'd at each other with a wild surmise — 

Silent, upon a peak in Darien. 

“” 

The sonnet "On First Looking into Chapman's Homer" 

October 1816 

Recipes for a Summer Picnic

Browsing Brimfield

The Brimfield Antiques Show is the largest flea market in the world with over 6000 vendors and according to one vendor, 500,000 visitors!  It lines route 20 for over a mile on either side. So to say the least, it's overwhelming - but oh so much fun.

This being my first experience, I went with only one goal - to find an interesting table to use for a work surface/desk. And to be open, of course, to any interesting finds along the way.

 

The options were unlimited, as was the pricing.

But as the afternoon progressed and the weather threatened rain, most vendors were quite happy to bargain. 

 Weary, but soldiering on...

Here are my finds.  Stay tuned to see what they become.