Baltimore, Maryland

Hubby and I celebrated our 23rd wedding anniversary last weekend with a trip to Baltimore's Inner Harbor. We spent a night at a nice Bed and Breakfast, and had dinner at famous Baltimore seafood restaurant Phillips.

We also went to the National Aquarium, which was really great. I highly recommend it if you are in the area.

Freshwater crocodile in the Australia exhibit.

Lots of weird and creepy jellyfish....

The National Aquarium is also home to lots of sharks, rays, dolphins, and a beautiful, rescued, 3 flippered sea turtle named Calypso.

The next day, I had a Shrimp and Grit Po'boy for lunch.  A girl's gotta eat!! It was very good.

 We found a cute cupcake shop- but did not indulge. Aren't you in awe of my willpower????

Possibly the most memorable part of the trip was when we were walking around Inner Harbor and the wind blew up the back of my favorite flow-y summer skirt- exposing my backside to the entire city of Baltimore... to said city, my deepest apologies.

Youngest daughter also spent all of last week in Columbus, Ohio for the Teen Bible Quiz National Championships. Her team placed 10th in the nation! Congratulations! Now she is off to the beach for a few days with some of her friends from school. That, in addition to her volunteer work at a local museum, makes her a busy busy girl this summer.

Have a Happy Monday...

Town Tour: Woodbury

A guest post from my daughter Samantha:

There has always been something I love about a small, historic town; probably because I grew up in one.  I love the architecture and the big trees populating every lawn.  The town my husband and I moved to is no exception, so I've decided to take you on a little photo tour of my new hometown, and some of my favorite places so far.

This is a small painted bridge tucked into the back of town over the railroad tracks.  Did you notice the theme? Quilts! How lovely is that?

Some of my favorite architectural pieces in town are, of course, the historic homes, but also places like the court house, the fire company, and this little railroad-station-turned-coffee-house!

Last is my personal favorite; the local Episcopal church.  This little beauty reminds me so much of Robin Hood with its almost Mediaeval style bell tower and stone style.  I only wish I had more room for pictures!

I hope you enjoyed taking a walk with me through my town and enjoying all the little things Woodbury has to offer.  I hope you have a favorite little town of your own!

Happy weekend!

Samantha

A Garden Tour

Way, way back in April, we went on a Historic Home and Garden Tour on the Eastern Shore of Virginia. The day was cloudy but the rain kindly held off until the very end of the day. Every year when we go, it inspires me to come home and work in my own garden. Oh, what grand schemes and plans I dream of while touring these homes and gardens! I only need my own full time professional gardener (or 2) to implement and maintain my garden plans..... We took lots and lots of photos. They will have to do for now, until I hire those gardeners....

Poppy (Pansies in background)

Crape Myrtle trees thrive in the warm Virginia climate. They have a very smooth bark.

Foxglove

I love these paved "kitchen gardens"- close to the back door so you can conveniently run out and snip herbs, etc while you are cooking.

I love a garden with "surprises" around the corner....

Iris

Tulips

A little misty drizzle made us feel like we were in an English garden....

One home had a graveyard set in the farthest corner of the property, 

I was so anxious to find out more about it....

It turned out to be a really lovely resting place for the family pets. 

It is also common to find graveyards for human family members on the properties of these very old homes.

The wrought iron archway on the front of this home was made by Haitian slaves. It has a snake motif, to keep away evil spirits.

Root cellar- gorgeous original hardware on the door.

Dock in the back yard of one of the homes.

I wish I had a fence like this, don't you? (Maybe you actually do have one.... lucky.)

One of my very favorite things that we saw on the tour was this serpentine wall which divided the back yard from the creek.

Are you feeling inspired yet?? It was a really lovely tour... I am already looking forward to going again next Spring. It makes me want to go work in my garden today.... but it's going to be 94 degrees, so I think I'll stay inside and dream about misty, cool English gardens.

Have a happy Monday!

Just Peachy

Daughter Samantha shares her first guest post as a married lady.

I'm sure that many of you already know this, but married life is fantastic...


What's not so fantastic is sitting at home waiting for my hubby to come home from work.  As I don't have a job yet, I have become domestic goddess... or I was for about 2 days and then I got incredibly tired of cleaning our apartment.  I was ready to turn on some bad TV and zonk out for the day when I realized that I had about 10 peaches sitting on my kitchen table.

Hubby picked these (and about 8 more!) at a farm last week and brought them home for me. I love peaches, but there was only so many I could eat before these babies started getting mushy.  So what's a domestic goddess to do?  Make peach bread of course!

So I threw open the windows, invited in the breeze, and played some official summer music.  My definition of "official summer music" varies from Top 40 to rock anthems, but when a light breeze is coming through the windows and you are making peach bread, folk is the best way to go; like this little ditty from The Civil Wars...

I used this recipe here in case you are interested in trying it yourself.  I love getting peach bread from the Amish market every once in a while.  Spread it with some butter, pop it in the toaster, and you have a very special treat for breakfast, midday, or midnight!

My own bread turned out a little less sweet but a little more peachy than the Amish loaf, and I have to say it is so good...  "Even better than watching bad TV in your underwear all day?" you may ask.
Yes, even better than that.

Happy weekend!

Samantha

A Little Encouragement for Today

Well folks, our interweb has been down at home since Tuesday... and we don't know when it will be back. I'm sitting at church right now, using the internet there trying to get some stuff done. So just a quick post for today, which I saw at my friend Brenda's blog. I teared up, this made me feel better after a not-so-great morning. Hope you enjoy it and are encouraged by it. Have a great day.

Click here to watch: http://www.godtube.com/watch/?v=0BEB0MNU

Flowers and Things

One of my favorite, favorite things about this time of year is how green and lush the gardens are. This year, I did not put much effort into the garden- there is still a lot of weeding and mulching that needs to be done (which, in all honesty, may have to wait till fall, or maybe even next spring.) But the perennials and herbs in the garden have done their jobs splendidly with absolutely no help from me this year. All summer, I keep an assortment of bottles, jars, and small pitchers on the window sill above my kitchen window. Once a week or so, I go outside and snip a variety of samples from my yard. It makes standing at the sink doing dishes much, much more enjoyable!

My specimens, from left to right: Butterfly Bush, Baby's Breath (leftover from the wedding- everything else is from my own garden), Rosemary, Lavender, Daisy, Hydrangea, Blue Salvia, Hydrangea and Yarrow, Oregano.

You can do this too- just go through your cabinets and collect any small containers you can find- the more they vary in size, shape, and color, the more charming your arrangement will be. Then take some scissors into the yard and start snipping- little sprigs of just about anything will look cute in your little containers. You don't need to have a flower or herb garden either- Boxwood, Ivy, Maple Leaves, even Dandelion flowers will look cute and fresh. Place just 1 or 2 cuttings in each container, and arrange on a window sill, or on a pretty tray on your coffee table or side table. Your home will look like a vignette straight out of Better Homes and Gardens magazine!

This week, my house was also beautified by the many flower arrangements we had left over from the wedding. I put the bouquets in vases and lined them up with some of the table arrangements.

The flowers were beautiful while they lasted. But we went to the beach for a few days, and unfortunately when we came back the flowers had died and the whole house smelled like a stuffy funeral parlor. Oh well, we really enjoyed them for a little while. Even once they were dead, I hated to throw them out- I love flowers. Especially romantic flowers like these- David Austin Roses, Peonies, Stock, Snapdragon, Lamb's Ear, Scabiosa, Hydrangea, etc.

Visit my Pinterest pages Flowers and Things and Weddings for more Floral Inspiration.