For those of you I haven't lost yet, here is the last part of our Maine weekend getaway. Saturday started off cool and crisp but sunny. The hotel had a huge breakfast buffet for the weekend so we decided to eat big and skip lunch. I had the best Belgian waffle - YUMMO! We took off with 2 prim shops programmed into the GPS and DH had the ocean programmed into his mind.
The first shop we stopped at was Candlewick Cottage in Augusta. A very cute shop with some nice prims but a bit too cute for me and too many imports. I still managed to find something though!
Then we headed to SaltBox Primitives also in Augusta. Very cute shop too and a few more primitives but I only managed to spend $4!! Hubby was shocked about now - by pleasantly I might add.
And then we headed to an Antique mall (no pics) but everything I wanted was very over priced. That is usually the way in NE. For those you with dreams of antique shopping here, be forewarned, the prices are usually very high. So nothing for me this time.Right about now DH said he was ready to find the Atlantic Ocean so that is what we did. This is a ferry landing - to where? I can't remember!!
That's a big dump truck waiting to get on. Wonder what he is going to dump on the island? And that is DH looking for seashells. Before I forget something else, one of my peeps asked me what DH means. It is short for dear hubby. I had to ask the same question awhile back myself!
We then drove north in and out of little towns like this one. Quintessential NE!!
And then DH got excited when he spotted this sign....
Every body wants to see moose when they go to Maine, right? So down the road we went and found this little stairway to heaven.
We found the cleanest little state park. The park ranger was raking the paths to the rest rooms and it was spotless! We had the beach all to ourselves. I asked DH if he found what he wanted and he said "yup, it's still here!! " My man is a man of few words sometimes. Humm, I didn't know the Atlantic was going anywhere, did you? (You can tell it's high tide.)
DH was happy, so I was happy and off we went again to explore more of the back roads of Maine.
It never gets old to me...
It was a lovely day! And then Sunday dawned bright and sunny and I asked DH to look up some addresses on Mapquest and let me know which one he felt we could just maybe go to on the way home. After a little mapping he said we could go to all three!! OH BOY! I was soooooo excited. So we packed up, said goodbye to our suite and took off for home. The first stop was here at the Mustard House in Buxton, ME. They were a little late in opening and when a car drove up, out got 2 young women. One was so young she looked to be the tween age sister of the maybe college aged older one. Their perfume was so strong, it nearly gave me a headache while we were still outside. I was disappointed once I got inside. It was a mix of prims and chabby chic and vintage. Very cluttered and confusing in my humble opinion and the perfume was so strong, I was choking so I walked out empty handed. I wondered out loud once I was back in the car if it wasn't prim once and perhaps these young women took it over and it now reflects more of their taste? I didn't ask because I didn't want to risk breathing that perfume again. I have to say, even if it was more to my liking, they still probably would have lost my sale because of it.
Next we headed to Winterberry Barn also in Buxton. I was so excited because I had seen pictures of it over Brigit's The Primitive Country Bug. Even though they advertise that they are open on Sundays, when we got there we found a hand written note on the door saying "sorry, closed today". I was very disappointed and didn't even take my camera out. Phooey! They lost my sale too.
This barn out back is where all the treasures are and oh, are there some treasures!! Hubba hubba!!
While chatting with the owners, we discovered they make furniture for some of the shops in our neck of the woods. And then we discovered they made my most recent large furniture purchase - my fairly new mustard cupboard(see below). What a small world! While I chatted with Debi inside, DH chatted with Jamie outside and got acquainted with their Welsh Corgi. DH had a Corgi growing up so he was in heaven seeing one again. The shop owners were such nice folks! I have been told the inside of their home is wonderful. I hope to get back someday when it is open for public tours.
So ends our short get away. Even though it was only 4 days, it was wonderful. I am so glad that back in 1972, my mom fixed me up with a guy who loves to drive as much as I do!And here finally are the goodies I brought home. I got this great black wall box and the black candle holder at Primitives in Pine. It so colonial!! The mustard cubby and wax corn are from Apple Hill in NH on day one of our trip, the wheat stalks are from Candlewick Cottage and the little teeny crow hanging on the knob (I got 4 of them for my Halloween tree) are from Saltbox Primitives. So all those shops and that is all I bought folks. Like I said, I helped the economy while keeping our retirement portfolio in mind.
My new cubby found a home on the counter in the master bathroom. I have wanted to use this lamp in there for some time and this works to hide the cord and outlet very well. And the little clock radio that I listen to every morning is behind door #2. It's perfect!
And believe it or not, the colonial wall box found a spot on the wall in the bathroom as well. I wanted to use the wall basket that was there in the family room by the wet bar sink and so this is a perfect replacement.
And the wheat and corn are in the dining room where they just seem to belong.
This little bureau holds one of my decorating tricks. I have done this in several places. The bottom is a reproduction piece and the top is an antique cutting board that I bought a bit longer and deeper than the top. I use wood glue to hold it in place. It not only increases the space for displays, it has another very practical purpose. The heating vents that run along some exterior walls in our house keep me from pushing the piece close to the wall. That leaves a gap so things can get pushed off the top and fall behind. By putting the cutting board on so that it hangs over the heating vent, that gap is closed. If you saw the red night stands in my last post, I did the same thing to them. Just a neat little trick I learned and very inexpensive too. And it sure helps make a new piece look old, doesn't it?
The little crows are now on Halloween tree and I'll show you that and the rest of my Halloween decor in my next post. Thanks for coming along as I relived a bit of our trip.~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The other day I mentioned that I made cranberry salsa for the weekend. It is so easy and so delicious. Everyone that tries it, just loves it. It does not have the usual kick to it. It is very refreshing. You need a food processor though.
I have altered the original recipe a little and here is my version.
1/2 bag of cranberries (fresh or frozen)
2 tart apples - cored but not peeled -I usually use green ones for the color but this time I used tart Cortlands
1 red bell pepper - cored as well
1 small red onion -peeled
Process those in the food processor until minced. Pour into a mixing bowl. Add 1 can petite diced tomatoes (drained), 1 cup sugar, about 1/2 teaspoon of garlic powder or to taste, and a few dashes of cumin. Stir well and serve with corn chips. 
It is refreshing anytime of the year so this fall when cranberries are in season, but a few extra bags and freeze them so you can make this all year long. I process the frozen ones right out of the freezer. You can make it and freeze it too. I usually double the batch and freeze some. I always have a little snack of it when I make it so I am off to enjoy that right now before I set the table and start getting ready for our family get together tomorrow.
Have a great weekend everyone, enjoy some fall goodness, celebrate Christopher Columbus Day and hug someone you love! Until next time - hugs, Linda
