Greetings everyone! Well it's looking more and more like once a week is when I will get to post. So that means this is another long one with lots of pictures ( but some missing ones too! ME BAD!) First order of business - do you like my simple Easter tree? I do - no pastels for me. A few blogging friends said they are not into pastels so they don't have many or any spring decor. I wanted to show you can do spring without pastels. But if you like pastels, that is OK TOO! If you missed the rest of my spring decor, you can see it here.
Yup - that's me. By now you must know I hate having my picture taken. But I decided I needed to mark the occasion of my birthday with at least one. Jay's friend is a bartender at the steak house where we had dinner and he made me a very fruity raspberry drink. I don't drink alcohol very often, not because I am against it in moderation, but because I don't need it to feel good. So Andy made me this fruity frozen concoction and it was just my speed. It tasted like a smoothie! Yummo! And I enjoyed it with my steak dinner and decadent chocolate dessert. But most of all I enjoyed the time with my family. Jay, Ang and Brady gave me a gift certificate to Pepperberry Cottage so I will have fun spending that some time in the future and Jen gave me a gift certificate to Old Glory and she also got me this sweet little charm frame that will be put to good use in about 14 weeks or so!! Thanks kids!
My parents gave me a nice check and it didn't stay in my pocket very long because it went towards this beauty - my new lantern. When I saw this I was in love. It was only the second shop on the route but I had to have it. I love the seed glass and punched tin top.
I probably should start at the beginning and explain I found this on my wonderful shopping trip on Saturday with my prim friend Jill from Maine. She is on vacation this week so she asked if she could drive down and go to some of my favorite shops with me. I was more than happy to show her around. Jill planned to arrive bright and early at 9 AM on Saturday so I spent all day Friday cleaning and cooking. When someone is coming to actually see your house, it is amazing what things you notice that need fixing, cleaning, tweaking or need to be hidden! LOL So I got the house in tip top shape (so it really looked like all my photos and there were no piles of mess hiding in another room), I set the dining room table, and I planned our menu. I decided to make a nice picnic lunch since we would surely need sustenance during along day of shopping. And not eating out meant more money for prims and more time shopping.
So made some chicken salad with cranberries and almonds, some wonderful hearty nutty and seed filled bread, and I cut up a fresh pineapple into chunks. I packed those along with some chilled bottles of spring water and we were ready to go.
We drove an hour northwest of my town and started in Athol, MA at the The Primitive Peddlar on Main Street. As I pulled into the parking space out front, I went to grab my camera and realized that while packing the cooler and making sure everything was ready for dinner on our return, my camera was sitting on the settle bench at home. Did you hear me groan. See I told you ME BAD!! I had charged the batteries, made sure it was on the right setting and laid it out, but in my excitement of seeing Jill, I just forgot it. Jill didn't think to bring her camera, so we were plum out of luck! We made our way into the Primitive Peddlar and Jill and I were both in love with this store. I was hesitant to spend too much as I had a full day of shopping planned, but I bought a few note cards and this adorable colonial bird on a stick. I love how it looks in my basket of sweet annie. It adds a simple touch of spring and whimsy to that spot.
I also found this sweet little pillow made from a coverlet remnant. This shop had several of these and it was hard to decide which one I wanted. 
Then next we made our way a bit east ( and a bit closer to home) to Primitives fore Ewe in Baldwinville, MA. By the way, I will make the name a link if any shop I mention in this post has a website. If you want to see pics of this shop, click on the name and then click on Shop Pics in the left hand column to see what awesome prims they sell. She had the most unusual selection of lighting I have seen in ages. And that is where I got my lantern. I just had to show it again,. This will be our night light from now on. 
From there, we inched our way east to a shop I have shared with you a few times already, The Country Mischief in Templeton, MA. When I was there last month, the ground was covered in snow just like the photo on their website. We have had some lovely days and Saturday was no exception being close to 50, so this time, no snow! By the time we got here, I had spent a pretty penny on my pretty lantern, so I was a good girl. I found this napkin made by Family Heirloom Weavers in the same colors as my coverlet, so I grabbed that right up. I may make it into a pillow for our bed. Maybe I'll have a show n tell in a future post!
From there we headed to Fitchburg, MA to Homestead Primitives. Charlene and Roger are in the process of starting their website so check back again soon. When I walked in the door. Charlene greeted me with compliments about our home in Mercantile Gatherings and with the news that my Olde Crow birthday bucks were in the mail but that if I wanted to spend them that day, I certainly could. Well of course I wanted to!! LOL Lately I cannot get enough of sewing decor and this sweet pinkeep just had to come home with me. It looks great in our bedroom.
And from there we also made our way to Pierce's Craft Barn in Leominster, Old Glory in Northborough and Pepperberry Cottage in Westborough. Despite having gift certificates to the last two, I let Jill do the shopping at these last three places. All in all we hit seven stores and we each got some wonderful prims.
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When we got Behind My Red Door, there was a box waiting for me and this wonderful handmade wool bunny was inside the box. He was dying to hop out and into my cheese basket. He is a birthday gift from my blogging and webshot friend Lisa of Black Sheep Prims Homeplace. Isn't he WONDERFUL! Now after a day of shopping and lots of eye candy, when I saw him, I was just giddy with delight. And yes, I squealed once more. But not too loud, I didn't want to scare Jill! Thanks again Lisa. You are so talented! I love your T2T makeovers this past weekend!
We had some time to sit and visit and then I served our lasagna dinner before it was time for Jill to head home. It was a lot of fun and I hope to make the trip to her home in Maine and see all her favorite shops soon!
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Now the last time I posted, I promised you a wonderful Colonial Home and I promise you won't be disappointed! In a previous post I mentioned my new friend Carol who called me after seeing our home in Country Sampler. Carol and her husband very recently moved into their new colonial style home and she was kind enough to share some pictures with me and gave me permission to share the with you. Thank you Carol!!
And the front foyer. Keep in mind Carol and her DH are looking for just the right furnishings still so the rooms are still a bit empty.
The living room.. I love the paint choices! OK - I love it ALL!
More living room...
The dining room.... wouldn't you love a fireplace like this in your dining room? I know I would!
The keeping room - oh I love this too!! Look at that fireplace. If you are counting, that's 3 so far. That works for me! Wouldn't you love to have a meal sitting here?
The kitchen part of the keeping room. I already like to cook for my DH but this would sure make it even more enticing I am sure.
Wasn't that fun? Carol, I hope you and sweet hubby have many happy years in your wonderful new home. Thanks for sharing with us!
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Did you notice the widget for my Blogoversary in the upper right hand column? Yup, I am counting down to my one year anniversary of blogging. And every anniversary deserves a celebration. I am going to celebrate by having a Blogoversary Giveaway! I am working hard to find just the right things for a prim give away so stay tuned for the next month, and I will have details as we approach my Blogoversary.
I am looking for homes of various country styles to photograph for the Country Sampler Magazine. My name is Bill Mathews and I have worked as an independent photographer with Sampler for many years. I am currently seeking homes in the mid-west, also Michigan, downstate Illinois, Arkansas, Georgia, Tennessee and Kentucky.
If you feel your home might be a contender please contact me to discuss it. You can respond through this message board, or I can be reached at bill@billmathews.com, or at 913-649-4934. If I’m unavailable by phone, please leave a message.
Thank you, Bill Matthews
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Until Next Time - Hugs, Linda
