This is the butterfly bush...

... that we planted last year... Summer has FINALLY arrived here in New England so I got to spend some time out in the yard today... There was no rain in sight and we actually had warm summer temps - a rare day, indeed!


I love the color of it... Sometimes it looks purple, and other times true blue, depending on the time of day and how much sun or shade it is in.


True to its name, it attracts butterflies...


...although in this photo a (honey?) bee is enjoying its nectar.

My vintage garden Mary watches over the butterfly bush, just as she does the rest of the garden with its many little creatures and insects who visit us.

Butterfly bushes require a lot of sunlight. We have many tall trees in our backyard, and therefore a lot of shade...

... so I wasn't sure how it would perform this summer.

But it seems to have adapted nicely...

...and is rewarding us by attracting some lovely butterflies...

This beautiful swallowtail visited this morning and spent quite a bit of time going from blossom to blossom...

You can see how the flowers look purple in the morning sun.

The swallowtail that was here this morning was quite large and its wings and tail were completely intact...

....unlike this poor fellow who showed up this afternoon missing the ends of his tail, and with his wings a bit worse for the wear...

But that didn't stop him from enjoying the nectar!

And you can see how the blossoms look very blue in the late afternoon light...

We also planted a second butterfly bush - a white one - in the backyard last summer. It's in a shadier spot than the blue one, so it hasn't even bloomed yet. Once it does, I'll be sure to take photos. We may try to relocate it to a sunnier spot this fall so that next summer it will bloom earlier.

Hoping you are all enjoying beautiful summer weather wherever you are!

COMMENT UPDATE: Hi Betty! I got my birdhouse in the summer of 2008 from The Christmas Tree Shop, a chain of stores here in the Northeast. I did not see any this summer, however... If you do a search on-line, there are lots of great birdhouses available so I bet you'll be able to find just what you're looking for!

Donna

My creative space...

Welcome to my little cottage office/studio!
(click any photos to enlarge)

I learned of this fun "Where Bloggers Create" party through Claudia's blog...

It's being hosted by Karen at My Desert Cottage. She thought it would be fun if we shared our little creative nooks with each other... Thanks, Karen, for a great idea!

Although it's not a very big room (smaller than 8'x10'), I am so fortunate to have a space to call my own! I recently rearranged the room, so it's a bit different from when this photo was taken. But it's still full of all the things that make me smile... artwork and signs painted by my girls, old family photos, chippy windows, and lots of junktique finds like the old green desk, the vintage tablecloth covering an old file cabinet/table, and the pink lamp(s) on top of the bookcase.

I made this bulletin board out of an old chippy window by applying cork squares to the window panes with double-sided tape...

And this is my computer/blogging corner!! (Although since recently rearranging the room, the computer now sits on the green desk, which has been moved into the corner, and the white shelving unit now sits on the other side of the room).

Here's the exact same view of the room in the early 90's! As you can see, I still have the same peachy-pink wallpaper that we put up when it was Courtney's room. Court has since moved into a larger bedroom, which pleases her to no end!

I fell in love with this chippy green desk at a sidewalk sale years ago. It's one of my all-time favorite junktique finds. Some day I'll try to get better photos because the green is much prettier than in shows here...

Photos of the girls are tucked under the glass desk top, as well as some cottagey placemats that match my no-sew window valance. I painted some old black/grey office supplies so I'd have a more cottage-friendly stapler and pencil sharpener. And my best friend (the fan) is never far away!

Okay, if I ever clean/rearrange my bookcase shelves, I promise I'll show you. But trust me when I say you would not be impressed with them in their current state! I can at least show you the top of the bookcase... I got the vintage lamps & shades for a song at a second-hand store that, unfortunately, is no longer in business... Boy, do I miss that place!

There are a lot of handmade things in my office, including this eye pottery that Amanda made in high school. I think it's so unique!

I also have a small "Mary" collection in my office... A thrifted Mary sits on top of a hand-painted cigar box....

...while an old ceramic Mary (that once belonged to my Mom) hangs on the wall. Isn't the swag of crosses sweet? I got them from Lori at Katie's Rose Cottage a couple of years ago (I love her shop! The CREATE sign hanging from the mirror over the bookcase was also from her shop!)...

On the old white shelving unit (that used to house the computer), I now have a special shelf with an old Mary paint-by-number, a vintage chalkware Mary statue, a little plastic shrine (that the girls bought for me many years ago), and my mom's and nana's Mass cards in little white frames. My (black kitty) Mr. B's ashes are in the blue urn (actually a cotton ball dispenser), and little animal figurines are reminders of some of the sweet fur babies we've had. So all in all, my office/studio is filled with special memories and things that make me happy.

And about that valance that conceals the shade ... Since I have no talent in the sewing department (do you give lessons, Claudia?), I just folded 3 placemats, side-by-side, over a curtain rod and then folded crocheted doilies over the areas where the placemats overlapped. Easy breezy (it has to be for me! ha ha)

I'm looking forward to visiting everyone else's creative spaces!

Donna

Raindrops keep falling on my head...

... and on everything else outside!


These are the double impatiens outside our dining room window...


I braved the rain to snap these photos (see the little raindrop ready to fall from the petal in the upper left hand corner?)


Clearly the flowers are loving this wet summer because they're doing amazingly well ...


... especially when you consider the fact that I just plopped them down on the top of our birdseed screen feeder (serving as a windowbox for the summer) in their original little garden 6-pack containers. No larger pots, no potting soil, no fertilizer, no nothing...


I wonder if the Northwest is getting our typical Northeast summers (hot, high humidity, normal rainfall)? Because we definitely seem to be getting weather typical of the Northwest ... mildly pleasant summer temps, low humidity, and an excessive amount of rain! If it weren't for the rain, I'd actually be in 7th heaven with the pleasant temps and low humidity!


I'll definitely be buying lots more of these double impatiens in summers to come. They remind me of miniature roses.


Now who is that up in the old oak tree?


Awww, it's one of our Sammies, who's not going to let a rainy day keep him inside! Because rain or not, it's still a beautiful day!

Donna

Old Saybrook, CT - Part 2

While in Old Saybrook, CT, Amanda and I stopped at Pat's Kountry Kitchen, a cute little restaurant. The food was delicious and the atmosphere was very homey and inviting.


The owners must love bears and Christmas, because both figured very prominently in the country style decor. Here's Amanda with Mrs. Bear, who guards the coat rack.


An adorable "teddy bear room" on display by the checkout counter...

The entry/exit to the restaurant is decorated like Santa's village.

And then it was on to Blueberry Hill Antiques.

I loved this window, with the glass decanters and the pale yellow chenille spread serving as a curtain. The blue and yellow was such a pretty combination!

Anyone looking for some pink depression glass? Lots to choose from!

Ooooh - my weakness - a bird cage on a stand!

An old bureau with drawers full of quilts...

A wide variety of bureaus to choose from...

I loved this old kitty door stop! That cottage kitty would be perfect in my home, but the price didn't come anywhere close to my budget!

I also loved all the old windows they had... What's that song? "If I had a million dollars..."

Amanda is into all things nautical and loves clipper ships and such, so I had to take her picture with this beautiful painting.

So if you're in the Old Saybrook area, be sure to pop into Blueberry Hill Antiques, 523 Boston Post Rd., Old Saybrook, CT 06475 (860-388-6100). I think you'll be glad you did!

Donna

A little brass "book" bird,...

... bought during a day trip to Connecticut, looks right at home on the stack of books I also purchased that same day.


Last month I took Courtney to Connecticut for a weekend visit with a college friend. After dropping her off, Amanda and I set out to find a few junktique shops before heading home.


How lucky we were to find Blueberry Hill Antiques in Old Saybrook, CT! That's where I found my little brass bird (marked down to $1.50) and the majority of the books I bought. Most of them were from the FIFTY CENTS PER BOOK ROOM (actually, it might have been 25 cents - at least that's what Amanda remembers! I meant to post about this trip over a month ago, but with all that has happened I just haven't had time. Scary that in a month's time I can't remember if they were 25 or 50 cents!) I'm not sure if we hit a special sale or if those low prices are ongoing in that room, but we had a blast looking through the shelves of books!


This is my favorite - Little Miss Joy by Emma Marshall. It was originally published in 1892, but for the life of me I cannot find the copyright date in my edition. In doing a little on-line research I discovered that copyrights were not required prior to 1900, so I'm guessing this was printed some time in the 1800's...


I love it when the used books I purchase have inscriptions (everyone had beautiful penmanship back then!)... This faint pencil inscription reads, "Agnes Paulson, A Merry Xmas + Happy New Year. Your Aunt."


A pressed clover marks pages 94/95. Is that as far as Agnes got? Or does it mark a favorite passage, I wonder? The other books I purchased were One Jump Ahead, c1956; Lovely is the Lee, c 1945; The Cardinal's Snuff Box, c 1900; and My Friend Flicka, c1941 (that was one of my favorite TV shows from the 60's... yes, I was a complete horse nut)...


And look at these yummy children's books I found! The Lord's Prayer (copyright 1940), Hello, Joe (copyright 1961), and Through the Picture Frame (copyright 1944). "Nutty Sam" is the squirrel's name in Hello, Joe! (I think he lives in my yard now!)

And just look at this illustration from the Lord's Prayer book where the little boy is offering Sammy a peanut.... isn't it the sweetest?

One Jump Ahead, a book about horses by Pat Smythe, belonged to "Mimi Spencer" at one time, and here is the inscription in her book, dated June 1958, fifty-one years prior to me purchasing it.

I'll share some photos of Blueberry Hill Antiques in an upcoming post. It's an adorable shop and if I ever find myself back in Old Saybrook, CT, I'll definitely be popping in again (as well as another shop, Saybrook Recycled Furniture, Etcetera, that we didn't get to spend nearly enough time in before heading home!)...

Have a great week, everyone!

Donna