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

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

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

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





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