The garden in bloom...........

How grand it is! the sun is shining the birds are singing the blooms are well blooming!! I wanted to share some photos today of my favorite bloom, the Peony.  If I were able to have this bloom all summer long I would. There is something about it that makes me swoon, like the way a good day of junking does.. Is it the color? The lingering fragrance? The delicate and feminine blooms when fully opened?? I think it is all of the above.

I snapped a few photos, of my first bloom that opened up. Yesterday was my mom's 60th birthday and I hosted the celebration at my house. I was so tickled to see one opened up that morning. You see my mom and I both love peonies, so I was so happy to have had one at her spot at the table, just for her...I think those peonies knew just when they should show up in my garden, just in time to party!

  

For the love of vintage.......

I have a small love affair with junk, yes I admit it.... Although I have always loved decorating and creating, it was only a few years ago when that love turned to my current obsession with vintage... My style is always evolving and changing... As I am sure for everyone else out there, I am always on a new project around my house! My house is filled with history, every piece offers a glimpse into the past, many of my things are family pieces and just looking at them brings me back to those great memories of the people who owned them... I am grateful for the chance to keep them and one day pass down to my children....I love the thrill of the hunt and the giddyness of getting a great deal.... Searching out new places to find treasures, the list goes on.... Besides that, being head over heels in love with vintage has other perks too.... Meeting other vintage gals, finding life long friends through blogging, getting the oppurtunity to brainstorm with amazing people with the same passion on great projects, and the best reason.... Justifying to your husband that all those garage sales and ever growing pile of junk in the garage is worth it... Just take a moment and soak in all the wonderful websites and bloggers out there.... Doing what they love and sharing it with everyone.

THe Beauty Of Nature..

It's that time of year when I get the itch to de-clutter my surroundings... The Biggest task I think is going through the hundreds of photos on my computer... I have been telling myself I need to organize all the photos and get them on discs.. Mind you I have been debating with that voice in my head about this for years.. You see I am one of those people that was afraid to switch to digital a few years back.. The thoughts running through my head, what if the computer crashes and I lose the photos, what if my memory card malfunctions and I lose all the photos on it... I had some pretty crazy schemes going on in my head.So with those thoughts came the need to save and store every photo taken on the computer and lets just say I own 3 memory cards filled to capacity..Anyways, that is why this organizing task is well overdue.I am still waiting for my photo/computer expert/goddess to come to my rescue, HINT,HINT...(you know who you are!) Being easily distracted when it comes to a task I start, I took a break from organizing and played around with a few photos I had taken at the botanical gardens in Rockford, Illinois... I think there is a certain magic to the outdoors, it offers limitless options for inspiration.If you really stop and think about it we are all lucky to be able to step outside our door everyday no matter the weather outside and find some little hint of inspiration for life and decorating.. So tomorrow, take a moment and just admire what nature has given us. Whether it be the patterns frost makes on your windowpanes or the beauty of a blooming flower on a warm summer day, I bet you can find something that makes you smile.. So many of my own projects are inspired from the simplest of things. Inspiration is all around us.. So that's my two cents for today.  So what are your "inspirations" from nature?  I'd love to know! 

Where to start

Blogging is intimidating... I have never thought of myself as the writer type. I have always been better at expressing myself through my decorating and creating.. So this whole blogging thing will be true test.. I think the challenge of making myself break out of what is comfortable for me and try something new is exciting and scary all at once.. I spend hours drooling over all the creative people out there in blog land... They always seem to have it going on both with their written words and stunning photos.. So I am going to make a go of this.. I may not post everyday but I am going to try to at least do it once a week..

 So hopefully this year will become a great journey for me and I will meet some great blogging friends.. So come on in and sit awhile.. See what I am up to at Small Town Vintage...

Winter is so long here in Wisconsin... I find that I enjoy it for about a month and then it all unravels... The long cold days, no sunshine, kids cooped up in the house.. It's a recipe for disaster I tell you.... So when I am in the thick of my "winter blues" I start thinking up some new projects to pass the time... This Purse I whipped up last year for my outside decor and I loved it! So I am off to start a new project.. Next time I post, I will show you what I am up to!