The September garden...

I took these photos a couple of days before Labor Day and this is what the garden looked like then. Now a week later the white phlox are almost finished blooming and the coneflowers are losing their color. Many roses are still blooming beautifully and my beloved sweet peas are going strong. The hydrangeas are at their peak and with the cooler night temperatures will soon start to turn a lovely pinkish hue. They will soon be ready to cut for dried arrangements in the house to cheer me through the long winter. The garden has brought me so much joy this summer. I can't think of too many things that bring me more pleasure than gardening. There is much to do in the garden in the fall to get it ready for the winter months. It is always a sad time for me, but a necessary one for the garden.

I am truly loving all the vegetables this year. The corn is gone now, but the tomatoes, peppers, squash, and cucumbers are still feeding us. I should be a pale shade of red because of all the tomatoes I have eaten this past week. I wonder if a person can overdose on tomatoes?

I hope that you are all spending these last Summer days doing the things that bring you joy!

White Wednesday...Labor Day at Rebecca's

Today for white Wednesday I thought I would take you along on my shopping trip to Rebecca's in Bellevue, Idaho. My daughter Ember and I got there a little early and we waited patiently for Rebecca to open her doors. There was a line of ladies ahead of us and we were on our best behavior and tried our best to be civil and not run over them in our enthusiasm to get to the goods. As I have stated before in a previous post, Rebecca is only open for the 4th of July and Labor Day. Her shop was filled with beautiful items and dressed for fall. The colors were rich and deep, but I still managed to find a few whites and creams for today's post.

Love the white corbels.

And just look at this amazing shade made by Rebecca's friend Laura. I probably have ten photos of this shade from every angle I could get. The detail was amazing. I loved everything about it, but alas, it was out of my budget, so I had to leave it behind.

Here is a closer view of the beautiful detail on this shade.
It was quite dim in the shop and so my pictures are a little dark. I hope you can get an idea
of just how lovely this was.



And here is a picture of the darling Laura herself, modeling one of her shades that lasted all of ten minutes after the doors opened.

I love lamps, and I really loved these lamps.

Rebecca always has a great stash of vintage linens. This little corner is where I hung out the most.

Yep...I did some major damage in this area. I made a mess of everything and then tried to put it all back together after I was done pawing through it. I bet they just hate shoppers like me. Well, maybe not, because a lot of it came home with me.

Then when we went to leave, Ember and I had to make our way over to the homemade cookies and lemonade. I love these food toppers that Laura made from vintage netting and laces.

Just so pretty!

And the cookies were so yum!!!

I want to thank Kathleen for hosting White Wednesdays. There are so many beautiful blogs featuring whites today and if you would like to see more, visit Faded Charm for a list of those participating.

Porch living...

I wish the porch looked like this everyday...but it doesn't. Rural living is a challenge sometimes. The fields around us are in constant change. The farmers are either plowing, harrowing, sowing and reaping, which makes for a lot of dust and chaff. We have also had a lot of rain this summer and since this is an open pergola I have to bring the fufu-y stuff inside when that happens. In fact just this morning it all had to come in for awhile because it started to rain. Yes, it's a pain, but still worth it. I do wish it was a covered porch. Maybe someday.
This is a favorite spot of the whole family and it seems we gather here more than any other place when the children come to visit. I think it's because this is where you will find Dale (hubs) when he is home. This is his man-cave...(sure looks like it, doesn't it?) He doesn't seem to mind the fluff though. He's a good man and puts up with all the fu-fu-la. The chenille settee is where you will find him when he's home. Mostly in a horizontal position. The porch was only half this size this spring, but when I acquired the iron table and chairs, and the four piece patio set (at a thrift store) we had to make more room. Hubs was happy to build on to HIS room and it went up pretty fast. We have sure enjoyed the extra space here and I'm happy you could join us on the porch today!!!