Our memorable trip to PA and more sneak peeks….

Sometimes things just fall into place ~ like our first ever overnight photo shoot weekend!

Last year sometime we (the magazine) received an email with photos of a home that we knew would make a wonderful article for the magazine. But it was in PA!! 5.5 hours from my home.

Now normally, we had to pass on homes too far from where our photography teams are located because overnights were not possible. But this home is in the small town of Slatington, PA. When I saw that address, my heart skipped a beat – you see, long time dear dear friends of Mr. Red Door and I live in this little town of Slatington. Joe started working on the same day for the same company as Mr. Red Door way back in 1974 – the year before we go married. At that time, Mr. Red Door was fresh out of college and started out on the ground floor of the local company ~ the same one he works for now. Back then he worked ‘on the road’ as a service engineer. The company sent him right off to a sleepy tobacco growing town in north central NC called Roxboro. Joe was sent there too and his wife Pat, and then 3 year old daughter soon followed him. I would go to NC to visit my sweetie and we all got to know each other well. The next summer when we were sent to New Orleans for a job right after our honeymoon, Pat and Joe were already there. We spent that summer together. Mr. Red Door was soon promoted to an office position back home so we didn’t live on the road anymore but we stayed in touch with Pat and Joe and have been close all these years. The last time we had been to their home was in 2005 for their daughter’s backyard wedding but they come here and stay overnight with us almost every summer on their way north to their summer rental on the lakes in NH – their home state. So I just knew that we were long overdue for a trip to Slatington!  I wrote back to the homeowner Diane and explained that I didn’t know when I would get to Slatington but that I would and she graciously told me anytime was fine with her! She really is that sweet!

Fast forward several months and Pat and Joe came here but we still hadn’t been able to get to PA when Kristine told Audrey and I that  she and I could go on an overnight shoot!! WOOHOO!!!!! I knew this was the place to go!! So we started planning. Since I was driving all that way, I knew we didn’t have time for any side trips that took us out of the way and while we couldn’t make the trip any longer than we had too, at the same time, we wanted to make most of the time we had! I mentioned to some online friends that we would be at our hotel late afternoon on the 15th and two dear friends decided to join us for a gathering!  We left here Saturday morning for the 5.5 hour drive to the hotel in Lehighton, PA. It’s been years since I had driven that far without Mr. Red Door sharing the drive so we had to plan a stop along the way. Audrey jokingly asked if there was a Cracker Barrel in our future and wouldn’t you know, there was one half way right off the highway!  You see, she wanted me to taste the pumpkin custard they are offering this fall.  Who am I to refuse a friend so we had the perfect stop halfway! This is the pumpkin custard from their website. “Enjoy made-from-scratch pumpkin custard, tasty gingersnap crumble, and fluffy caramel mousse. And there’s a fresh-baked gingersnap cookie to top it all off.” Let me just say ~ it was worth the drive just for this!! OH YUMMO!

With doggy bags and full bellies, we were back on the road and before long we were at the hotel partying with Karen Leonard, her BFF Terry and Kris Thomas! Karen and I ‘met’ Kristine, the magazine’s owner and Editor on Webshots back in 2007. Kris joined Webshots at some point and then we ALL moved over the APP Forum to chat when Kristine started that. And while Audrey and I met Kris last fall when she came out east for the Walker Homestead show, this was the first time we had all met Karen and her friend Terry! They drove over 6 hours just to party with us and Kris and her hubby and daughter stopped in PA after a whirlwind trip to NE.  We all brought some goodies to eat ~ here are just some of the goodies!!  See the fresh fruit and veggies?? They are all healthy right??

We had such a good time ~  for almost 5 hours we all chatted and laughed and ate. We could have stayed up all night I think, but I already had a miserable cold and knew that I had a big job ahead of me on Sunday to shoot Diane’s home, so we reluctantly called it a night. Just before we disbanded, Terry kindly snapped this photo of 4 very tired road weary but happy gals!! It was a night I will never forget and Audrey and I are determined to get to Ohio, where Karen, Terry and Kris all live!!

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Sunday dawned a bit too early and we headed over to Slatington to Diane’s home. It was a gorgeous cool sunny but very windy fall day. The drive through the rolling countryside was so pretty. It was a part of Slatington I had never seen before. When we drove up, we both knew this was going to be a good day. Look at the wonderful front door décor….

And look at the view from their driveway….

and inside was just as lovely. Here are some sneak peeks from inside….

Want more??  Well you can do two things.. first go see to the post I made on APP on Friday about this wonderful home by clicking ~HERE~ and you then can subscribe to the magazine to see the full layout in a future issue! You can do that by clicking ~HERE~!

After the shoot, Diane took us to her favorite antique store in nearby Tripoli, PA. As soon as we drove up we knew it was going to be a fun place to shop! And the prices were soooo good!!

Diane and the shopkeeper Julann. Thank you Diane for welcoming us into your wonderful home and for taking us to Farmer’s Field. Audrey and I both found some goodies! You can find Farmer’s Field at 6806 Route 309 in New Tripoli, PA 18066 (where 309 and 143 meet). No website but the phone is (610) 298-8238. If  you stop in, please tell them the girls from APP & CJ sent you!!

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After we left the shop, we headed back to Slatington to see my friends Pat and Joe for a lovely evening. Pat is an incredible cook and hostess and she made us the most delicious stuffed shells we had ever eaten. A fresh garden salad, crusty bread with garlic and olive oil, chocolate dipped strawberries and cannoli all beautifully displayed on pretty dishes rounded out the amazing meal. It was just divine!! It was wonderful to introduce Audrey to my dear friends and to share some time together. And yup, I was so wiped out by then from the long drive, the busy shoot and my cough and cold, that I forgot to take any pics! You’ll just have to trust me that the food looked as good as it tasted!!

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Monday morning it was time to head home. But we had one more fun stop planned!  Remember this gorgeous kitchen from the cover of the fall issue??

We were going to Loretta’s for lunch! WOOHOO! Luckily for us, she lives just a few minutes off the highway about halfway home and she graciously offered to feed us!! It was just so nice to see her in person and get a hug!!  She made us a delicious brunch - quiche, croissants and salad. And she sent us home with our own loaves of her yummy pumpkin bread!  What a dear friend!

I was so excited to see the changes she had made since we were there last year. Forgive the blurriness, I think I was a bit road weary by now and didn’t take my photo lights out either, but I still wanted to snap a few quick pics to share with you!  Loretta had her fireplace wall and the wall under her chair rail in the family room totally done over with paneling and molding.

It looks soooooo colonial!! Just gorgeous!!!!!!

You can see under the chair rail better here…. with the gorgeous desk her hubby bought for her since we were there…

Isn’t it stunning??

And just look at this new hutch… she was able to fill it with all her antique pewter!! SIGH!!!

It was a lovely but all too quick visit! Her sister Janet snapped this just as were ready to get back on the road for the last leg of our trip!

Thank you Loretta for the yummy food,  and for making it that much easier to make the trip home after the long weekend!

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It was certainly a fun and memorable weekend but my cold kept getting worse so I was indeed very relieved to finally be home.  There really is no place like home!!

I was thrilled to find two treasures at Farmer’s Field and they quickly found homes Behind My Red Door. I have wanted a round cutting board and this one fit the bill! 

And I am always looking for antique baskets. I loved this one! 

Every time I look at these, I will smile and remember the busy whirlwind exhausting but wonderful weekend spent with dear friends ~ new and old!

Now please go back over to the APP blog ( Just click ~here~) and see some sneak peeks from the shoot I did yesterday and to enter the October giveaway! This shoot was local but we still enjoyed time with an old friend and a new friend! Lots more eye candy too!! 

I am so thankful for the friendships I have made online and through blogging. They truly have enriched my life in so many ways. I am blessed!

And one more quick note ~ I got an email from the dear couple who did my photo shoot for Country Sampler a few years ago. Esther and Franklin Schmidt have published a new book called A Passion for Primitives . That is Linda Babb’s pretty antique cupboard on the cover!  I don’t have a copy yet, but I have heard from friends that it is wonderful! You can see it on my sidebar on the top left. It is available on Amazon.com I am told! Please pass the word!

Thanks so much for stopping by! 

Until next time ~ warm hugs and prim blessings, Linda