Nesting: A great store to visit in Concord, MA...

Good morning! I'm still trying to play the "after vacation and back to reality" game, but thought I'd share a little bit of my visit to Nesting while we were up in Massachusetts last week. Last year I posted about this great little shop, and you can see that here.

This year I only took a couple of pictures, and those were of an item to die for. Unfortunately, it was way out of my price range. Of course I thought it was worth every penny, but Hubby, who was waiting outside on a bench, would not have shared my enthusiasm.

This is the stuff that old signs are made of!

It was an old "tourists" sign,

very large, and with the letters on both sides...

You can see it better in the photo below.

It had been rescued from a fire.

Imagine the stories that this sign could tell...

Instead, I came home with this beautiful vintage

christening dress...

...with this gorgeous inset lace...

...to pair with the one below,

which I purchased a few weeks ago 

on eBay...

I loved this one because of the lace yoke.

But then again, I love any kind of old

christening dress...

I also bought this book.

I have seen it mentioned on other blogs,

and had been on the hunt for it.

A gorgeous and inspiring read...

The pictures will do the talking...

I love how the writers placed scripted vellum

pages over beautiful photos...

I hope that you're finding some treasures, too!

Driving and eating along the New England coast: Rye, New Hampshire...

Good morning!

I am continuing today with our drive along the New England coast on Route 1A. Last Sunday, after going to Stonewall Kitchen (see my post from yesterday), we continued down the coast through New Hampshire. Though I had been up to the lakes region in NH many times, I don't think I had ever driven along the coast in that state. Here is a fact: The N.H. coastline is the shortest ocean coastline of any U.S. coastal state, having only 13 miles (or 18, depending on what you are reading). And wow! What they pack into those few miles is nothing less than spectacular.

When we were up in Maine we were driving around looking for somewhere to have fried clams (a New England specialty, if you haven't been up there). Before we knew it we were in N.H. so decided to look for clams down there. And were we ever glad that we did.

We discovered Petey's.

A great casual seaside place to eat.

Wonderful service and awesome food...

Fried clams and tartar sauce.

Quite likely the best clams I've ever eaten...

...with sides of fried zucchini,

and the best cole slaw ever...

You gotta love the beachy decor,

and I loved the fact that someone named

their yacht after me!

(It was probably the name of their dinghy!)...

I think that we were still in Rye when I shot these photos

through my open window.

They came out better than I thought they would,

as we couldn't stop since there were cars behind us.

Wouldn't you love to live on this street?

Well, maybe only in the summer...

My favorite.

I want to live here when I grow up...

Or if you lean towards the modern, 

how about this one?

I want to know how they keep such a beautiful lawn

so close to the salty ocean...

Probably one of the things I love most about New England

is the abundance of stone fencing.

You see it everywhere...

Each home was so different...

...and on such prime ocean front property 

(the road divided the homes from the actual beach).

Still wouldn't be hard to live with!...

I also loved this one...

Another beauty...

But, in the end, I could see the "real" side of me living 

in this one. 

Besides, there would be a lot less windows to wash!...

I even got Hubby to pose for a photo. 

He's always happy after we eat fried clams...

Which of these houses would you choose? (Sorry, but the man is taken.)

Driving along the New England coast: Stonewall Kitchen in York, Maine...

Good morning friends!

On Friday we returned from a week in New England, as we go to Massachusetts every July to visit Mr. Perch's son. It was our plan to go in the motor home, spending a week there, and a week up at Lake George in NY, but those plans went awry when, after spending a week doing a thorough cleaning of the motor home, and stocking it with two week's worth of food and clothes, we couldn't get the living room slide back in. Hubby worked on it for two days, to no avail. Not to mention we discovered that our windshield had somehow cracked. Do you believe in omens? I think that I do now.

We ended up canceling all of our campground reservations, making new ones at hotels, and only went for a week. Bummer. Aside from the fact that I came down with a cold a few days after we got there, we still managed to have a pretty good week.

Last Sunday we took a drive up the coast on Route 1A. It is such a beautiful drive. I always marvel at the ragged coastline with its rocks and beautiful views of the ocean. Having lived a large part of my life in Florida where I spent many hours on Siesta Key Beach (I still think one of the most beautiful beaches with its white sand and tame Gulf waters), the New England coastline is so beautiful in a very different way. First we headed up to York, Maine, to make our annual visit to Stonewall Kitchen. You can read about it in my post of a couple of years ago, found here. 

Every year their gardens are spectacular.

This year I loved the border garden just outside

the outside dining area...

The beauty was in its simplicity.

Basically four types of plants,

repeated throughout.

pink dahlias,

what I think were

ornamental kale, New Guinea Impatiens,

and some wispy things with pink blossoms 

that I couldn't identify...

These photos don't do the garden justice, 

but I tried to capture the fact that the veins

in the Ornamental Kale were pink 

and matched the Dahlias...

Since I don't have much luck growing dahlias

here, I always marvel at their beauty...

We came back with a few things,

but not the garden I'm afraid!

My favorite, Balsamic Fig Dressing.

Delicious with mixed greens, Gorgonzola cheese,

pears, red onions, and glazed pecans.

And some "new releases",

along with a small bottle of Barbecue Ketchup,

which was their giveaway. 

I couldn't resist the towels and the teak spreader...

We didn't stop at York beach, since we have already been a few times, and it is always very crowded. 

In my next post I'll continue with the rest of our drive, where you will actually see some of the coastline!

Have a wonderful Sunday!

Finding Old Lace in Vintage Hankies

One of my favorite memories as a child was watching my paternal grandmother crochet and tat lace edges for hankies. I always wondered how she could maneuver such a small hook or shuttle and make something so beautiful out of simple little threads. My aunt later taught me how to crochet, but I learned on granny afghan squares and then progressed to crocheting throws. I never did learn how to tat. I believe it's a dying art, and there are likely very few gals that know how to do it in this day and age. I did recently buy a book about how to get started, along with a shuttle, but somehow I have not found the time to try it.

I remember using many of the hankies that my grandmother edged, and even when carrying Kleenex became "the norm" I still loved my lace-edged hankies and always carried one with me. There is something so beautiful about seeing the delicate work created by someone long ago that will always strike a chord with me. And unlike Kleenex, they leave no lint in your purse.

Since my foray into fabric art began, I have always looked for various kinds of lace that I can incorporate into my work. Vintage colored lace is not easy to find, so I started to look to old hankies as a source. Often they fetch a pretty high price, even when bidding on eBay, especially if you buy a group that are in the same color family. Often they fetch upwards of $3 to $5 dollars a piece. So, imagine my excitement when on Etsy I found "Ninety four lace-edged hankies" for sale. They looked pretty good in the photos that the seller provided, and she stated that they were clean and ironed when she bought them, probably from an estate sale. They were grouped by color, and I imagine that the lady who owned them stored them in her drawer this way, so that they were ready to go whenever she needed them.

What do you think?

This is how they looked when I opened the box...

 The work is exquisite.

Beautiful blues...

Some with embroidery...

Some with a touch of black...

...and some in nice Autumn colors...

Don't you just love these butterflies?...

The one on the left is tatting,

and the one on the right crocheting...

Gorgeous greens...

...with this one tatted in two colors 

being one of my favorites. 

It also has some cut work on it...

Several used multi-colored threads...

I love the crocheting on this one.

It looks like an edging of delicate seashells...

Some with applique as well as lace...

The pinks are just beautiful...

...with this one so unusual...

...not to mention the delicate pink tatting on this one...

More lovely butterflies...

...and delicate lavenders...

...with a punch of red...

I am so happy to have all of this beautiful lace to use in my art. Or not to use in my art. I think I will just look at them for awhile, admire their beauty, and respect the time and efforts of those who walked before us, my grandmother included. 

Do you have collections of beautiful things that you like to look at?