Pinterest Pick: Words, Words

Samantha, my daughter and favorite English major geek, talks about her love for language today in her guest post...

I don't know about all of you, but I love a good word or collection of words.  Some of my favorite words are the following:

brevity
atonement
logistics
velveteen
meloncholia
misadventure
kismet (the name I wish I could name my future daughter, but decided to name my car instead)

I pick a favorite word basically because of how it feels to say or hear.  It just feels good to form the word in your mouth, or it makes a beautiful sound.  Anyone else have favorite words, or am I just a weird English major?

What I might love even more than words is quotes.  When I was a student teacher, I put a "Quote of the Day" on the board every day to get my students thinking.  To be honest, a lot of the time I found my quotes on Pinterest based on some beautiful design work...

Source: flickr.com via Samantha on Pinterest

Beautiful words? Check.  Beautiful design? Double check.  I found this print by Alyssa Nassner around Valentine's Day this year.

Source: vol25.typepad.com via Samantha on Pinterest

C.S. Lewis is a personal favorite author, philosopher, theologian (can he be my favorite everything??), etc. and I think he would have particularly loved this illustration by this lovely lady.  I know I do.

Source: etsy.com via Samantha on Pinterest

Goodness gracious, do I love watercolor. (Oh, you love watercolor too? Then you should go here.)  This print and others are sold by The Wheatfield on Etsy.  The colors are just marvelous.

Here are a few more designs that are just for fun :)

Source: Uploaded by user via Samantha on Pinterest

Source: tumblr.com via Samantha on Pinterest

Source: fromupnorth.com via Samantha on Pinterest

Abraham Lincoln, teehee.

Do you have any favorite words or quotes?  Share with me! And remember to follow The Noble Wife on Pinterest!

Happy pinning, and happy weekend!

Samantha

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!