...because there is a little country living in all of us



Tuesday, November 26, 2013

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving!  This is a most busy time filled with traveling, family, food, shopping, and football (which I only mention because I love it so much!) but before it all begins let's all take some time to truly thank God, for we have much to be thankful for!




Somewhere in between the turkey and the football game, I would like to invite you into my humble farmhouse for a little harvest tour!  To take a gander at last year's fall adornment, please *Click Here*.




A vintage wooden flour sifter filled with gourds from the garden makes a simple table centerpiece!  It rests on a runner of orange painted burlap.




I found this perfectly-worn bread board at a newly discovered shop in Traverse City, Michigan, called The Red Dresser!  This wonderful boutique is filled to the brim with treasures and if you are ever in northern Michigan, it is definitely well worth a visit!


 




Vintage French ironstone situated atop the board makes for a delightful fall vignette on our kitchen island made of old crates.  I tied a piece of vintage French lace around the Sarreguemines pitcher for an added touch to complete the look!


































Nothing beats ironstone, don't you think?  An ironstone English compote catches a pile of mini pumpkins for a festive fall touch on the shabby kitchen hutch.














Do you see the little pumpkins tucked into the fall cubby in our entry room?














Even the bath can't escape the season!  By simply filling a vintage French watering can with bittersweet, a touch of fall was added to the room.  I cut all of the bittersweet from our vine planted about five years ago when we moved to our home.  The vine has now reached the very top of our barn roof!






















Oh how I love this antique hand-carved old chest picked out for my birthday from my mom and sister, Carla!  The chest is most likely a couple hundred years old.  It is from a delightful antique shop in Midland, Michigan called Prism Antiques!  I was able to chat with and get to know the owners last time I visited!  Ryan and Nicole are just the sweetest and often traveling from state to state, they find the most unique treasures to fill their shop!












I want to wish you all a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday!  I would love to hear what you are especially thankful for this year?  I will go first... I am so very thankful for my dad's health!  Five years ago to the day, my dad was airlifted to a prominent hospital downstate because he had a spontaneous bleed in his spinal cord.  The doctors told us there was no explained cause for it and that he would probably never walk again!  But through much pain and prayer, he was miraculously walking in six months and reaching full recovery in a year!  Thank you for Your mercies, God!






On another note, I am over-the-top exited to be one of over thirty homes featured in the 3rd annual virtual Holiday Housewalk!  Oh boy, I am sure feeling the pressure on this one!  Last year, I linked up our own merrily 'decked halls' and won a stop in this year's tour!  To read all about it, please *Click Here*.  Want to take the virtual Holiday Housewalk and peek into all the inspiring, festive homes?  The tour begins at Jennifer Rizzo's home on December 2!  Mark the date on your calenders, then simply *Click Here* or on the button in my sidebar to start this gorgeous parade of Holiday homes!





Happy Thanksgiving!




PS.  I am very thankful for you too and so glad you are here!




Maria ~Rusty Hinge






Tuesday, November 19, 2013

Vintage Fruit Harvesting Basket

What to do with a vintage fruit harvesting pack?  Fill it with dried lavender of course!  This vintage basket is one of my favorite finds from the Shop the Maple Cottage sale this past summer!  There was no second guessing this one, and I knew exactly what to do with it as soon as I spotted it!




I have been busy adding fall touches around the house and changing it around (fall tour coming up next post!) but thought why not keep it up through the season?  




These packs were worn during apple harvesting.  When the pack was full of apples the harvester would pull the drawstrings to open it up at the bottom, thus releasing all the apples over nearby bins while never having to remove it off of his back!




You may remember what I did here last year for the October Cottage of the Month feature.  Here is a little refresher...to see the full COTM tour again please *Click Here*.  Come to think of it, this apple picking sign would go perfectly with the apple harvesting basket, don't you think?













On another note, I want to thank you again for your support with our previous cookbook project and give you a quick update on my sister, Alexandra!  It has been two months already since we said goodbye and put her on a plane bound for Tanzania, Africa!  Boy, do I miss her, especially with the holiday season coming up!  And because she is up in the mountains in a remote village there, communication is very limited.  There are no phone calls so we won't be able to hear her voice for a whole year, but we do receive some emails!  Honestly, some days are tough, but we are certain that she is following the Lord's will and because of this we are given peace that passeth all understanding!  I just know that the months will fly by and she will be home to us safe-and-sound again before we know it!




Fall home tour coming this week just in time for Thanksgiving!  THANK YOU for being here and THANK YOU to all of my new blog and Facebook followers!  Your sweet comments mean the world to me!




Maria ~Rusty Hinge






Friday, November 1, 2013

Romantic Country Winter 2013

Has anyone had a chance to read Romantic Country Winter 2013?  There is a very familiar home featured there that you just might recognize!




I had no idea that these home photos were going to be featured and it was a most wonderful and pleasant surprise when I read the issue!  Fifi and Mark had come out in March of 2012 to do a holiday photo shoot scheduled to run in the Winter 2012 issue of Romantic Prairie Style magazine.  If you would like to read all about their visit, please *Click Here*.  Sadly, the magazine was cancelled by the publisher before it ever went to print.  I was pretty bummed when I received the news.  But now Fifi has surprised me big time with this feature in Romantic Country and a HUGE thank you goes out to her for this one!


{Photography by Mark Lohman.}


You can find Romantic Country Winter 2013 on newsstands now.  The whole issue is jam-packed with inspiration and delicious Christmas homes that you don't want to miss including my friend, Angela of Living Simply at Maple Valley Farms!  I absolutely love her farmhouse all decked out for Christmas so much so I could move right in!



This past week, I have been adding many Fall touches here and there and I will be back again soon to show you!




Maria ~Rusty Hinge





Friday, October 25, 2013

It's Here and It's FREE!

Welcome!  It is good to be back!  I hope you are enjoying the turn of the season.  Fall in northern Michigan is truly a magnificent sight beyond words!  The forests have burst forth in all reds, oranges, and yellows!  It can only be a miracle!






I am excited to announce that the new issue of Homebound is here!  And guess what?  It's FREE!  Heather has graciously offered the digital E-zine version FREE to all Rusty Hinge readers (why don't we all pop over to her blog to say thank you!)  You can find the newest issue embedded down at the bottom of this post.  Enjoy! 




Before you dive into this dandy, I want to tease you with a couple photos pulled right from the pages!  I am extremely honored to be included in such a fabulous and talented line-up of contributors:


Shabby Fufu
Sunday Brocantes
Annetta Bosakova
A Finn in the Kitchen
Jennifer Borek
Creating Vintage Charm
Little Cottage Shoppe.






















See what I mean?  Aren't you excited as I am to get to reading it now?  If you prefer to hold the hard copy in your little hands, Homebound print version subscriptions and back issues are available  *Here*.


Thank you again, Heather!  We at Rusty Hinge say THANK YOU!




Maria ~Rusty Hinge