Minnesota, here we come!

Howdy friend!

Kev and I are on our way here today...



And by "here", I mean here...



Okay, we're not actually going to that particular farm , but we will be staying at my aunt & uncles farm that is equally as charming!
(I just don't have a photo of it....yet!)



I spent the first 19 years of my life in Minnesota.

The first 8 were spent in a city called Mankato, and the next 11 were spent out in the country, just north of a teeny tiny town called Nicollet...



My Mom had plenty of room to grow lots and lots of pretty flowers on our seven acre hobby farm...



And my Dad had lots and lots of yard to mow, but our four "pet" horses (Jodi, Queenie, Truckie and Starbuck) did help take care of a big chunk of it...


(Queenie & Truckie)

My brother, Justin, and I spent many Summer's playing in that big barn, and we took care of many, many litters of these little guys...



Most of which we named, and then gave away to various kitten-wantin' folks that came out to our place to pick strawberries.
(My Mom had a 1/2 acre patch, and every Summer people would come and pick bucket fulls of them.)

But I didn't give all my kitties away.

I kept "Speck" so that I could take some of my graduation pictures with him...


(Me, sportin' a bulletproof "do" in 1992)

Oh yeah.

It was all about the Aquanet back then.



Anywho...I haven't been back to see my family in several years (-$), and Kevin's never seen where I grew up- so I am really looking forward to spending a few days doing both of those things while we're there.



On Thursday and Friday, we'll be hangin' out with some folks at Junk Bonanza and we're pretty darn excited about the opportunity to work with them.

We're hoping to bump into lots of fellow bloggers along the way...and lots of great junk too!





PS-

Have you seen this?



SO inspiring!

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Savannah, Georgia - Spring 2009

Our first fun stop on the trip was Savannah, Georgia. We didn't plan on visiting Savannah, but we were pretty hungry at the time we were driving by it, so we had Mr. Garmin route us to "Cafe Ambrosia".



It's right across the street from the Savannah College of Art and Design.

I had their "Baguette Blanche". A delicious turkey sandwich, filled with grilled mushrooms & onions, herb cream cheese & pesto. My Mom had the "Honey Chicken Salad Croissant". Which was made up of chicken breast, walnuts, celery, red flame grapes and a delectable sweet honey mayonnaise.

After lunch, we strolled down the street with our smoothies. I had Peach/Raspberry, and Mom had Peach/Mango. We stopped at "The Paris Market", a couple of blocks down from Cafe Ambrosia.



I remembered that Country Living had featured their shop a while back, and was anxious to see what was inside. The window displays were beautiful...

Don't you just love the picket fence covered in old book pages?
Makes me want to cover something with them too!

I didn't take any photos of the shops main floor, but I couldn't resist snapping some downstairs. Just look at this place...

These green bins drove me wild!

And the antique bookcases, brimming with books that all had the same color spines, were amazing. The strings of light bulbs adds so much charm. I may have to steal the idea for my Reading Room. :-)





The table and chandelier in this next photo were incredible. And I love the mood the whole vignette creates.



It conjures up images of a Tuscany...breezes bending their way around tall, straight cypresses...olives darkening with oil...grapes ripening on vines. Hazy slopes dotted with colorful distant hill towns. (sigh) I really need to take a trip there some day.

Here is another vignette I fell in love with...

The dusty blue "sideboard" behind my mom was incredible.



I think I may have to re-do my linen press, to make it look more like it. :-)

I'll be back tomorrow with more photos of Savannah. It was my favorite city we visited on the whole trip, and I can't wait to bring Kevin back there in the Fall.

Oh! And thank you so much to everyone who left me Birthday comments last Friday! You guys are the sweetest! :-)

Layla

HGTV Green Home Photos

I'm still reeling from our serendipitous trip to the 2008 Green Home on Friday. I almost feels like a dream. (Mom- did I really get to see it in person?)

It's currently up for sale, and the asking price is $589,000.

My obsession with this house runs deep. I've had this photo set as my desktop photo on my monitor for quite some time now...

And I have a recurring dream about this antique piece of furniture designer Linda Woodrum used...



The antique brass picture lamp on the middle of the tabletop is amazing. And check out the galvanized wire baskets in the lower right. (Those came from Scott's Antique Market in Atlanta, I believe) The combination of galvanized metal and milky-white china stops me in my tracks every time!

I was able to take a picture through the glass on the front door, and what used to look like this:



Now looks like this:



The windows on the back side of the house were heavily tinted, so I wasn't able to snap any photos of the Kitchen, Living Room or Dining Room (boo). I was really hoping to see this stuff...





...but the house has been re-staged and put up for sale, so none of the things I was excited to see were there. I heard through the grapevine that the woman who won the house last year wasn't able to keep the house because of the high property taxes she also "won". So sad. :-(

There is a big body of water behind the house:



We spotted an alligator out in the middle of it:



Do you see him out there? If not, here's a closer look! Scary!



Here's a photo of my Mom in the backyard:



I'll never forget our quick visit to the Green Home...




It was such a magical moment in time for me!

I'm back!

Hello!

I had a wonderful time in Savannah, Charleston, Wilmington and Jacksonville.
I took so many photos, and an entire video tape full of footage.

One of the unexpected highlights of the trip was when we came upon a billboard that read "2008 HGTV Green Home - Next Exit". Poor Mom didn't know about my intense fascination with the 2008 Green Home, but she quickly became fully aware. I'm not sure if it was the hyperventilating that gave it away, or the rate of speed at which words were flying out of my mouth, but I think it was pretty clear that this was a very special moment for me. :-)


I took several other photos of the property, and will share them here tomorrow. Til then, it's off to beddy-by for this one. It's late, and I can barely keep my eyes open. Zzzzzzzzzzz......................

Vacation Location

I am in the mood for a vacation!
Thursday is my last day at work. So, of course, time is moving ULTRA slow this week. :-)

But, anyways, speaking of vacations...
For all of those in, or around, northern Alabama- you should check this place out:
www.bearcreeklogcabins.com



Kevin and I have stayed here three times in the past four years, and let me just tell you- it's SOOOO relaxing! We always stay in Cabin #1. It's the smallest of their cabins, and was "reconstructed from an 1850's cabin and moved to a quiet secluded spot on pictorial Lookout Mountain adjoining Little River Canyon National Preserve". It's a little out of the way (okay, quite a bit out of the way, to be honest) but if you're looking for some peace and quiet...this is the place!

We also visited Cathedral Cavern while staying there once.

It's the largest cave opening in the world, and is home to one of the world's largest stalagmites, frozen waterfalls, flow stone walls, stalagmite forests and other incredible formations. It's about 4000 feet long, and takes approximately an hour and a half to walk all the way in, and all the way back out.

Here's what the opening looks like-

Outside looking In:


Inside looking Out:


Click here to watch a short video of the inside of the cave.


If anyone is interested, here is their contact info:

637 Cave Rd.
Woodville, AL 35776
256-728-8193
256-728-8193 (fax)

Anyone have any new vacation location ideas for Kevin and I?
I'd love to gather ideas and links!

Ciao for now!

La Maisonette

I took another little "web trip" overseas again this morning.

Oh, I might as well go ahead and say it...my name is Layla, and I'm a France-a-holic.

I found the perfect place to stay when we go there. It's called "La Maisonette", which means "small house" in French. Too cute!




The description reads, "...La Maisonette is a 350 year-old enchanting stone cottage located in the charming and historic riverside hamlet of Montarnal. La Maisonette is located within five minutes of the ancient village of Vieillevie which offers a delightful restaurant with a beautiful wisteria-covered riverside terrace, post office, café, and general store. The Cottage is also minutes from the charming mountaintop hamlet of Le Fel with restaurants, vineyards, a premiere ceramics gallery and tennis courts, and the medieval village of Entraygues-sur-Truyere is only 15 minutes away and offers full services including a village walking tour, shopping, cafés, post office, bank, etc. There are also several farmer's markets and festivals during the peak summer months. For wine enthusiasts, Le Fel-Entraygues is a boutique wine region with a handful of wineries to explore. La Maisonette is absolutely perfect for a romantic holiday! Nestled between an 11th century tower and a beautifully restored chapel, the cottage transports you to another time and place. You may choose to walk around the hamlet, picnic along the river’s edge, or simply curl up with a good book and enjoy the charming cottage and its views. The Lot River is just a short walking distance from the front door of the cottage for picnics, swimming and sunbathing. You can hire canoes, rafts and kayaks from Entraygues or Le Port and take a trip down the scenic river.


Here's the view from the Bedroom window:







Here are some more photos of it. Isn't it delightful?