A Glimpse Into the Garden

Happy Labor Day!  I hope you are enjoying our final hurrah of summer as soon enough we welcome Fall onto our calenders.  Oh how I love summertime and it is always a little tough for me to say good-bye to it.  What about you?  What season do you enjoy most?

Come along with me as I show you a little peek into my garden.  It is long overdue for I have promised to show you weeks ago!

Not knowing how to use these three wooden wall pockets for the longest time, I decided to put them to use as flower vases on a painted gazebo found on Amazon!  After painting the wall pockets white as well, I wired them to the sides of the gazebo and stuffed each with fresh flowers.  The wall pockets were a $5.00 garage sale find!

In the background, you spot my vegetable garden comprised of eight raised beds of field stone found right here on our property!  I hauled the stones wheel-barrow at a time until I had enough to form the beds.  They host a variety of vegetables including tomatoes, beans, cucumbers, peppers, lettuce, beets, gourds, and potatoes to name a few!

I love to garden!  I can spend hours in the garden during the summer, but it feels like only minutes to me!  We have lived here for five years now and although we have a long way to go, I know we are making great strides in enhancing our old farmhouse.  I want to share with you two delightful gardens that have greatly inspired me along the way!  The first is Laurie's beautiful garden at Heaven's Walk and the second is Carolyn's seen at Aiken House & Gardens.  If you have not yet had a chance to visit these two, please go take a look!  They are gorgeous!

This coming week, I will be busy working on my contribution for the Fall Edition of Homebound!  I am excited to be on board once again and can't wait to share it with you when it is released!  Fall is such a fun season to celebrate with pumpkins, mums, and bittersweet vine galore!  How do you like to decorate for fall?  Do tell!  


(If you missed any of the back issues of Homebound and would like to catch up, they can all be found *Here*.)




Maria ~Rusty Hinge





I'm joining these parties:

Special Visitors!

Hello!  I hope you are all doing well!  Oh, how I have missed you!  I can't wait to tell you all about my EXCITING news!  On Wednesday and Thursday, July 24 and 25, I had special guests come into my home for a two-day photo shoot!  I most assuredly will fill you in on all the 'when and what' publishing details as soon as I know more.  I had the most wonderful time!  It was all very surreal, just like a dream! 

A huge thank you to regional editor, Andrea Caughey, for taking a chance on me after discovering my blog and contacting me about a possible photo shoot here.  Then possibility became reality when she later informed me that the shoot was a 100% go and sent me the scheduled July shoot dates!

I counted down the weeks into days until the big day was finally here!  I was terribly nervous beforehand, but everyone was wonderful and instantly put me at ease!  It was like chatting and catching up with old friends and the hours just flew by!  I was amazed by the talent of stylist, Sandra Mohlmann.  Her style was outstanding and she paid great attention to even the smallest of details in the composition of each and every photo.  I loved to watch her work!  Jay Wilde also had a great eye for composition and his photography was over the top!  I learned much watching them work their magic here!  A great thank you to Sandra Mohlmann, Patrice Bailey, Jay Wilde, and Laurel Scott for being so easy to have around here and making it all such a perfect memory! 

The month preceding the photo shoot had been a whirl wind!  I am very sorry that I was not able to keep up with my blog or online shop and have left you without a post for so long.  My home and gardens were on the photo order so I was very busy making sure they were in tip-top shape.  There was so much to be done!  Karl was a huge help!  He diligently worked through my many lists and crossed projects off one by one.  He was also on yard duty, keeping the lawn mowed and watered with the hose sprinklers even on those dry, hot July days.  Thank you very much, Karl!  I could not have done it all with out you!  

It was strange and a little lonely waking up the morning after the shoot without a house teeming full of cameras, cords and equipment!  Our home seemed much too empty and I missed the easy conversation I had with new friends!  But now that the photo shoot is behind me, I will direct my attention back to my blog and online store! 

  Sandra and Patrice selected such beautiful, hand-picked flowers for the shoot!  I would love to share them with you so I snapped a couple photos afterward.  Sandra had each room popping with color and she invoked such a warm, inviting aura within!  I am extremely excited and can't wait to see how Jay captured it all on camera for the publication.  If you too desire to see how it all turned out, please be sure to pick up a copy of the issue on newsstands when it is released.  The suspense is killing me too! :)  And don't worry, I will be sure to fill you in on all the details so you won't miss it! 

This fabulous shabby milk can came from Melinda of Alabaster Rose Lifestyle.  It makes the perfect summer vase for fresh cut flowers, don't you think?

Aren't these roses fabulous?  I think yellow roses are now my new favorite!

On a final note, I want to show you what I just did for a light and airy curtain in my bath window.  Per the inspiration of Vintage By Nina, one of my favorite books, I hung two mismatched antique French linen napkins on twine using vintage German curtain clips.  I love how light pronounces the old embroidery!

Thank you for coming back again after such a long period of silence!  I appreciate your patience!  Next time, I will show you some of my summer gardens.  And please stay tuned for updates on my new online shop website coming very soon!



I hope you have a wonderful week!




Maria ~Rusty Hinge

Shop the Maple Valley Farmhouse

Hello!  How are you all doing?  I hope all is well in your neck of the woods!  You may have noticed a major trend in my blog posts lately in that they all begin with an exclamation of  'Oh my, look at how much time has slipped by since my last post!' and this one is no exception! :)  I am terribly sorry for not keeping up with you!  With summer finally making it's long awaited arrival, life is extremely busy here.  I will try to fill you in on some of the details and get you up to date on what's been going on!

{Photo courtesy of Maple Valley Farmhouse}

But first, I must share a little secret!  I have a favorite place that I love to get away to!  It has a very relaxing environment, the most wonderful hosts and loads of vintage treasures begging me to take them all home!  Let me introduce you to the Maple Valley Farmhouse!  

{Photo courtesy of Maple Valley Farmhouse}

Located in Coral, Michigan, it is just shy of a two-hour drive for me, but well worth it.  Angela of Living Simply @ Maple Valley Farm along with Holly of Haviland Fields and Victoria of The Barn spend long hours antique picking all week to fill the main floor of the Maple Valley Farmhouse with their finds.  The Farmhouse has weekly summer sales and is open by appointment throughout the week.  Trust me in that there is no going home empty-handed with such unique finds at great prices!

{Photo courtesy of Maple Valley Farmhouse}

 {Photo courtesy of Maple Valley Farmhouse}

{Photo courtesy of Maple Valley Farmhouse}

{Photo courtesy of Maple Valley Farmhouse}

{Photo courtesy of Maple Valley Farmhouse}

{Photo courtesy of Maple Valley Farmhouse}

{Photo courtesy of Maple Valley Farmhouse}


The next scheduled sale is coming up this weekend on June 14 and 15.  At each sale you can also expect farm danish, free coffee, and a light lunch menu!  Sounds like the perfect opportunity for another day trip!  Can't wait!  At the Maple Valley Farmhouse you are amongst friends!

{Photo courtesy of Maple Valley Farmhouse}

 Let me also quickly fill you in on what I have been up to!  I am working hard on putting together a separate website for my shop!  It is almost ready to go so the next round of treasures for sale will be displayed on 'shiny new shelves!'  I will keep you posted on exactly when the new shop will launch so please keep an eye on my Facebook and blog for updates.  In the meantime, you can check out what is still available for purchase here.

The garden has also been beckoning me and stealing the rest of my time!  My raised beds are finally in and stuffed with vegetables, my window boxes are filled and I made all my own annual hanging baskets this year.  I can't wait to show you all my hard work!  I promise to post more garden photos soon!

Well, better run for now!  Thank you again for being so patient with me!  I appreciate you all very much!



Have a wonderful week,




Maria ~Rusty Hinge





   

Summer Homebound 2013 is Here!

Summer Homebound 2013 is here!  It is jam-packed with gorgeous eye candy from super talented contributors!  But don't take my word for it, please see for yourself!

Here are the articles you will find in this issue-


~Repurposing Vintage Linens

~Peonies and How to Grow

~French Farmhouse Decor and Finds

~Summery Tablescape

~Raising Chickens

~Chair Re-do on the Lake

~Summer Berries, Recipes and How to Grow

and MORE!

Summer Homebound is once again available in digital or print version!  To purchase your very own print version, please *Click Here.*

Just gorgeous, isn't it?  Head on over to Post Road Vintage for more details or to purchase the digital version from her shop!


Thank you very much again for inviting me back on-board, Heather!  You did a phenomenal job as usual!



Maria ~Rusty Hinge




PS. New farmhouse items restocked in the shop very soon, including those styled and photographed for Summer Homebound!

Fifteen Percent Off and a Winner!

What a glorious day!  I am excited to offer 15% off on all remaining shop items purchased today through Tuesday, May 21!  If you have your eye on something, now is your chance to snap it up!  To take advantage of the discount, just add to cart and purchase as usual and I will refund the discount with Paypal back to your account.  Easy as pie!

Everything left in the shop is 15% off including this vintage European dough board...

...and these French bistro tip saucers!


Wondering what else is available and 15% off?  Please *Click Here* to head over to my shop!  Note:  The 15% discount is not reflective in the cart price, but will be refunded back to your Paypal account upon receipt of payment.  The Mountains Be Moved Cookbooks are not included in this sale.





And even more exciting to announce is that I have a winner for the Jennifer Rizzo Santos Doll E-Course giveaway!  Congratulations, Nadya!  I will let Jennifer know that you are my winner, but please pre-register for the class on Jeanne Oliver's website  *Here.*  The class starts on May 27!  Can't wait!



Thank you again for stopping by!  I hope you all have a wonderful weekend!



Maria ~Rusty Hinge