Wednesday, August 26, 2015

What's In My Closet?(Summer, 2015)

Hello, Cairn Cottage friends!
It's been awhile since I've shared a
 What’s in My Closet?
post! 
I finally got a few minutes to get some picks of some of the summer outfits I purchased over the summer. It's been an interesting summer, for sure. In June, we had tons of rain and the weather was cool.
In July, a heat wave hit our area and there were many sunny days.
August has provided us with a variety of weather conditions.
Some super-sized thunderstorms, humidity that could melt plastic, and wind gusts that forced one to hold on for dear life have all been expeerienced.
Fishing has been great on our lake, though. And the weather has allowed for us to enjoy a variety of fun summer activities. I can't believe that summer is just about over!! Everytime this season comes around, I get a sad feeling. I LOVE summer and hate to see it go!!! 
I know Autumn will be amazing too, though and cooler breezes and colorful leaves will replace the heat and humidity.
Anyways, I hope you have had a great summer, as well.













 







Outfit #1
Shorts and purse - TJ Maxx
Top - Walmart
White linen blouse - Nordstrom
Hat - Meijer
Sandals - Target
Outfit #2
Crocheted cover-up and floral dress - TJ Maxx
Flower headband - Meijer
Feather necklace - Created by me
Outfit #3
White tank and blue capris - TJ Maxx
White lace flats - Meijer
Outfit #4
Blue and white tank - TJ Maxx
White capris - Kohl's
Straw hat - Dollar Tree

Have a wonderful week!
Wishing you
 Ann 
“Better joy in a cottage than sorrow in a palace” 
Spanish Proverb
Linking over to these blog parties:
Share Your Style Thursday @ 21 Rosemary Lane
Posted by at 12 comments:
Labels: ,

Sunday, August 23, 2015

Our Finds From Shipshewana

In my last post, "A Day in Shipshewana", I shared some pics of my hubby and I when we visited a local Amish community/tourist town. I also promised to come back and share a post and show you all what we found and purchased there.

On the day we went shopping, we were actually on the hunt for a few specific items. One was a big one - a pergola for our front patio area. We saw lots of pergolas, but finally decided the best and most efficient choice would be to go with one we saw several weeks ago at Lowes(see pic.)

The other items were for our spare guest room on the first floor of our house. We recently have had the opportunity to have my mom come and stay overnight a couple of times. We currently have a double-size bed in the room (which will probably go with our son when he moves into his new apartment.) The room is quite small and would feel less crowded with a single-size bed, which we will need to eventually purchase. There was no nightstand or reading lamp in the room, which my mom really likes to have to set her clock, phone, etc. on at night. So, we wanted to find a nice "cottage" nightstand and lamp. We found an old re-furnished nightstand at an antique store and fell in love with it.
I love the detail in the drawers, that were painted in an antiqued green stain.
Unfortunately, we didn't find a matching lamp. So, I stole a lamp from our living room until I find one that will go with the nightstand. I would like to find one that is a little taller than the one I have there now.
The thing about looking for certain things on a shopping trip is that you often come home with items you weren't intending to buy. That definitely was the case for us!
Because we live on a lake, anything with a "water" theme gets our attention!! A fews years ago I made a miniature lighthouse out of terra cotta pots (find it here). I've always loved lighthouses but never thought we'd have the oppotunity to buy a large lighthouse for our yard....until now!! 
We saw this cedar lighthouse on our trip to Shipshewana and couldn't take our eyes off of it!! It has a solar light on top, which doesn't shine very brightly. So my dear hubby is coming up with a plan to replace it with a bright LED light. He is even working on a way to possibly make the light revolve around to look like a real lighthouse beacon!!
The other unplanned purchase was the fish and lure weathervane below.
When my fisherman hubby saw this, it was love at first sight!!
Below he is braving the heights of the rooftop to attach the weathervane .
The completed project looks amazing!!
. . .even from a distance!!
Well, there you have it!! A successful shopping trip, even if we didn't get everything we went for!!

Have a wonderful week ahead!!
Wishing you
 Ann 
“Better joy in a cottage than sorrow in a palace” 
Spanish Proverb
Linking over to these blog parties:
Posted by at 4 comments:
Labels: , ,

Saturday, August 15, 2015

A Day In Shipshewana

What a beautiful week of sunny, warm weather we have had!!
My hubby took yesterday off work and surprised me by taking me to Shipshewana, IN.  (an Amish tourist community about an hour's drive north of us.). We wanted to look for a few specific items for around our house, but ended up finding so much more!

Today, I am sharing pictures of some of the places we shopped. 

Our first stop was at Eash Sales, This outdoor store and more, sells handcrafted furniture, gazebos, swing sets, log cabins, wood burning stoves, poly furniture, grills, bird houses, kitchen products, home decor, and other gardening ornaments, lawn, and garden benches, plus lots of hard to find items on their 2 ½ acres of land and multiple shops. We literally spent hours there!! 

 ..Several buildings on the premisis have displays with everything from indoor water gardens...
...to yard ornaments...
and handcrafted wood mailboxes...
as well as cute and funny signs.
Some of my favorite displays included beach decor...
...a fairy garden area, with decor items for purchase to make your very own fairy garden...
There were special pet displays for dog-lovers...
...cat-lovers.
...wine enthusiasts...
...hunting and backwoods cabin decor, 

 ,... indoor/outdoor lighting features, 
and a huge display of paintings, 
photography
...and gorgeous carvings.

Other outdoor decor included birdhouses, dining and patio furniture, 

a large display of weather vanes,
rocking chairs, and wall art, 
Ken was especially drawn to a special Clydesdale horse that the owner had on display. (Notice that the Amish man showing the horse hid from my camera. The Amish do not like to have their pictures taken.)
Other outdoor decor included every size and color of lighthouse that can really light up...
...homemade baskets. (Notice the huge display basket to the right in the picture below.)
... and colorful metal flowers (for the person who hates gardening.)
Our next stop was at a Yoder's Red Barn Shops
located just a few blocks north.

Red Bud Gormet Coffee, Tea, and Gift Shop
Owner/proprieter, Ann Yoder, doesn't just bake/cook all the food served in her cafe'. She also is an artist and has hand-decorated all the dishes and teapots in her shop.

The display of tea items in the shop overwhelmed my senses!!
Wall decor for sale in the cafe' area...
This teapot on display at the checkout counter is the biggest one I've ever seen!!

Our last stop was in Middlebury, located about 10 miles west, 
at the Old Creamery Antiques, aptly named due to the building originally being occupied by the "Middlebury Creamery Co Op".
photo source
Poor guy in this old car waited for his wife to come back out, after shopping at the Old Creamery Antiques!! Looks like she never returned!! LOL!!

After a long, fun day of shopping, we stopped next door at the Pumpkinvine Oasis for some hand-dipped ice cream!
We each ordered the small (it said one scoop on the sign). Ummmm, glad we didn't order 2 scoops!!

We actually did end up buying some really cool stuff!! I will be sharing pictures of what we got in a future post, so stop on back!!!
Wishing you
 Ann 
“Better joy in a cottage than sorrow in a palace” 
Spanish Proverb
Linking over to these blog parties:






Posted by at 5 comments:
Labels: , ,
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)