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