Mums!

I have mums on the brain!

I love all the different colors that they come in!

And when every thing else is looking dried up and dead

it's nice to see a little mum color!

We were gone to New York for only 4 days and when we returned

it seemed like most of the leaves had come down!

But..... there where still my mums!

I found these at my local greenhouse with the grass in the middle and the mums around the edges!

Oh how I wish the blooms lasted longer!

Enjoy your mums while they last!

Happy Fall my Friends!

Bittersweetness!!

It's fall and it's BITTERSWEET time!

Now... if you are older you know what I speak of.

But if you are younger you probably don't have a clue.

Bittersweet is a wonderful vine that

produces these bright orange berries!

They are perfect for decorating for fall.

Most years my mom brings me some.

But this year my daughter and I got to go to her secret hiding place.

Several years ago my mom came across

all kinds of bittersweet growing along a farmers fence.

And it's TOP SECRET!

But... I'll let you have a glimpse of our perfect bittersweet day! 

Look at all this lovely bittersweet!

Even my step-dad got in on the fun!

The key to picking bittersweet is to get it at just the right time!

The berries should be very bright orange and 

the leaves still green not dried out and brown.

Perfect!

We packed the car to the top!

And off we went!

The only problem with packing your car 

with a bunch of vines are the BUGS!

OMG!

We had all kinds of bugs crawling and buzzing around in the car!

But...

 we persevered and we even saw all kinds of "wildlife"

on our buggy drive home!


And...my daughter thought she would capture it for all of you!!

~Horse~

~Sheep~

~Jack Ass~

{Really!}

Wild Turkey's

{Ugly!}

And even Bambi!!!

How about it? 

We saw all of these guys on Bittersweet Day!

Once we got home MaryKate and I went to work 

cleaning all the leaves off the bittersweet.

Then after a couple days the bright orange berries POP!

Seriously....they pop open!

And then....

you go to town and splash some bittersweet 

where ever you need a little hint of Fall!

Bittersweetness ~ Don't ya think?

 

Hydrangea's

I picked these
from my garden!

I have never had hydrangea's till I
moved to the house I live in now.
I think they're one of the most beautiful flowers.
They are gorgeous
at almost every stage of blooming!
Whether they are small & green or large & white
they are awesome!

These are
Annabelle Hydrangea's!

My daughter-in-law said I needed to cut
them so they would continue blooming!

So we cut a bunch!
They look so beautiful in a vase
and they last for a long time!

Next...
I am going to try and figure out how to dry them!

Thank you again
for all of your wonderful comments!
I enjoy each and every one!!

Have a safe & fun
4th of July!

Warmly,

Whoa....look what I got today!!

I LOVE SUNFLOWERS!

And they had them today at the farmers market!

I didn't get to go to the my usual farmers market on Wednesday.
I went to a Musical in Chicago!
{I'll tell you more about that later!}

Sunflowers are early this year because
of all the warm weather and rain!

I can remember way back,
when Mike and I were young and broke.
I told him
"NO FLOWERS,
we can't afford it!"

But now....
I love to buy fresh flowers every week at the market!
That's one good thing about being old!

Don't they make you smile!
Have a good weekend!

~XXOXO~

Containers...Containers...Containers...

Before we left on vacation I was in a gardening frenzy!
I had this plan to plant every container I had.
I figured that by the time I returned there would
be slim pickin's when it came to finding the plants I like.
So...like a maniac I went to all my favorite nurseries,
filled up the car again and again.
Then I planted and Mike{my husband} watered and lugged
my heavy pots around until I found the perfect spot.
{Thank you honey!}

As I left to go on vacation I thought to myself....
"Why do you do this to yourself, Cindy?"
Why make your self crazy!
And then as we came down our lane to our house after vacation,
I thought this is why....

While we were gone it rained quite a bit and
the temperatures were in the 90's.
And... my new plants loved it!

Hmmm....
I guess that's why we do the crazy things that we do.

Ya gotta love summertime in the Midwest!

Happy planting everyone....

How about these babies!

I love them.

This wonderful assortment of crowns for your garden
are from Wisteria.

I am a big Wisteria fan!!

But....do you buy just one or two....
Oh what the heck, there on sale, I might need all three!!

Click
HERE
to check them out.


Speaking of Crowns...
It's time to crown the winners of
Giveaway #2!

And.....

The runner up is.....{drum roll}...
#25
~ Aunt Barb~

The winner is...{drum roll}....
#2
~Karen~

So, Barb and Karen please email me your addresses
and the funky spoon necklaces will be on their way to you!!

Thank you to everyone who played along!
I will be on the hunt for my next Giveaway!

Hugs...

~Mother's Day~

This year my sister and I took our mom to lunch and a little shopping.
A little Mothers day treat for the girls!
(i also have a brother, but shopping and tea are not his thing....lol)

It was her choice and as always mom chose an "off the wall place."
That's right no Panera or Applebee's for this mother!

We ended up in a very small town that has this
quaint little gift shop with loads of goodies.
Next we had lunch across the street at this little place called
Crumpets and Tea.

And...as usual
when the three of us get together we laugh!

Laugh we did, because while dining
(on homemade cabbage rolls~yum)
this extremely loud music started to play.
It sounded like we were inside of one of those old jewelry boxes.
You know the ones were the dancing ballerina twirls around!

That's all it took....
and we started laughing so hard we cried!
{And get this I didn't even pee my pants! Yea!}

Next we were off to a wonderful gardening place
that Aunt Kathy had recommended.

That's were the real shopping began...

Blumen Gardens in Sycamore Illinois!

It's so fun and funky!
With all kinds of unique things that just called my name.

Here's a pic of my Mom and sister!
My mom looks so innocent but she was in rare form!!
My mom has a great sense of humor and the fact that she was
shopping with her two daughters
at one of her favorite kinds of places...

well that made for a fun & crazy day!

Here are a few shots of things that caught my eye!

How cool is this ground cover growing
on the top of this old outhouse!

See those two landscape elevation pictures with the black frames.
They came home with me....hmmmm.
Love them!!
What a fun day we had!
If you live in the area, this is a must see!

Happy Mother's Day Mom....
Love You!

I hope all of you mother's have a special day!!

Hugs..