A Little Bit of This and That

Hi everyone!

Hope you are having a good fall so far.

Today I thought I'd share a few more photos from our trip to Austria, as well as show you some of my latest creations.

Before I go any further, I would like to mention those who have been hit by such terrible hurricanes as of late.  Keeping them in our thoughts and prayers, and remembering that they will need help for the long hail.   I just feel sad for those who have lost so much.

Ok, back to my little photo tour..........

One of the highlights of our trip was taking a tram ride to the top of the Untersberg alps.

Below is hubby about to board.

The view going up.........

 And up!

Now, I am not crazy about heights, but as long as I'm in an enclosed space, I am ok!

 The views were just amazing!  And my pictures just don't do it justice!

Notice me, below, not too close to the edge!

 At the very top was a charming little cafe.  I felt like Shirley Temple, playing Heidi should be popping out any minute!

We stopped for a glass of wine and beer, and just soaked up the incredible views.

 Wow, this is my idea of heaven on earth!!

 This huge iron cross was at the top of one of the peaks. Thought is was so neat.

 Notice all of the pretty alpine flowers? I was amazed how they could not only thrive at such a high elevation, but grow out of the rocks as well!

 Here's me, hanging on for dear life!  hahaha!

It truly was a day that I'll never forget!

I'll share more trip photos in a future post.

Now on to a peek at what I've been up to!

I've been busy working on creations to add to my Etsy shop, and am currently having a 20% off everything 

(with purchases of $25 or more) sale.  The discount will be automatically deducted, there is no need for coupon codes.

I fell in love with these neat galvanized metal canisters when I found them, and quickly snatched them up!

I gave them a French twist by adding these neat French labels to them. Love the graphics!

 Love this fun stenciled wood tote!

 This vintage Syroco mirror was transformed with a little paint and tlc.

It is even more gorgeous in person!

I love finding trays to make over, and had so much fun with this one.  I just love the bon appetit graphic that I hand stenciled on it!

You can find these, and many more treasures in my shop if you care to take a look!

That's it for today.

Thanks so much for stopping by, your visits and comments mean alot to me!

Have a great rest of the week!

From Fairy Tale Villages to Fairy Gardens

Hi everyone,

It's hard to believe that September is already here!

Summer always seems to go by way to quickly, and I'm usually a bit sad to see it go!

We did manage to pack alot into the season though.

Camping, swimming, gardening, and even an impromptu trip to Germany and Austria!

Long story, but we'd planned for months to visit Ireland this summer (I was super excited, as I am Irish!).

Well, we fly standby, thanks to hubby's many years of working at the airlines. So that means that if there's a seat open on the plane, we make it on.  If not, no luck!

Anyway, all of the flights and connections were way oversold, and we knew that we'd never make it on.  So we made  a last minute decision (the night before!) to instead go to Germany and Austria!

We'd been there years ago and loved both countries.

It was a bit difficult going spur of the moment with no plans, no guide book, nothing.  Like, where will we go, what will we see??

I did remember recently reading about the "Top 10" quaint villages in Europe,  one of which was Hallstatt, Austria.

We spent one afternoon there, and fell in love with it.

It is truly a magical place, and feels straight out of a fairy tale!

 Postcard perfect Hallstatt!

 Actually, my pictures don't do justice to how beautiful it was here!

 Typical Bavarian style architecture.  Aren't those flowers gorgeous?

I loved the aqua shutters, too!

 Check out this amazing castle on the other side of the lake! Someone actually lives there!

 I would love to visit again some day.  Oh, notice the swans in the photo above?

Thankfully we went later in the day, as I'd read that unfortunately everyone else seems to have discovered this beautiful village, meaning it's over run by tourists and tour busses!

I really feel for the people who live there and have to deal with throngs of crowds!

Let me tell you, this village is literally jaw dropping, it's hard to believe a place like this really exists!

There are no cars allowed in the village, making it even more quaint.

It's very popular to rent small electric boats and view the village from the lake, which is what we did.  What a different perspective you get from the water.  It was just magical!

I'll share more pictures of our trip in upcoming posts.

Also this summer I planted my very first fairy garden!

I'd been wanting to do this forever, and had so much fun with the project!  My handy hubby built me a wood planter box, complete with chunky spindle "feet".  Of course I had to paint it bright aqua and add a French themed stencil!

I just love it, but had a few challenges along the way, including not so cute little chipmunks who liked to dig in the planter!

Miss Molly is doing great, and turned 1 1/2 this summer!

She loves camping  (we took our motor home to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan earlier this summer), and swimming on our lake.  She can hardly stand still long enough for me to put her little doggie life vest on, before she dives in the water!

With cooler days and nights, I think our swimming days are over for the season.  Not too crazy about swimming in cold water!

That's it for today. Sure have missed you all, look forward to catching up with everyone!

Have a great rest of the week!

Wine Tasting Fun in Northern Michigan

Hi everyone, how is your summer going so far?

For many of us Michiganders (that's what we here in Michigan are referred to as!), summer just wouldn't be complete without a trip to beautiful Northern Michigan!

Last week hubby and I traveled there in our new (to us) motor home. A bit more about our motor home later, we are very excited about it!

I'm sure many of you would be surprised to know that Michigan produces wine.  Not just any wine, but award winning wine!  And we have some amazing wineries that would rival those of more popular wine producing regions, such as California or Washington State!

So nearly each summer we venture north of the Traverse City area, where there are two gorgeous peninsulas, both of which are home to dozens of these amazing wineries!

For this trip, we stayed on the Old Mission Peninsula, which has stunning views of Lake Michigan and the lush surrounding rolling hills.

This first winery, below, just opened up.  It was built to look as if it were in the middle of the Italian country side instead of here in the Midwest!  It was pretty impressive.

Another winery that we like to visit, Chateau Chantal, has this wonderful patio area where you can take your tastings.  

I think this is one of the most beautiful areas of our state!

And here is our home away from home! We'd looked far and wide for a motor home that had all of the features we were looking for.  In fact, we traveled all the way down to North Carolina to buy it!
Notice Miss Molly in the window?

All of these photos were taken with my cell phone and haven't been retouched.  I know the below picture is pretty blurry, but I just couldn't resist sharing it with you!

The motor home has a small window on the side, down at floor level.  It acts as a little peep hole of sorts for Molly!

Up next is Bonobo Winery, which I was very excited to visit for the first time. They opened up less than two years ago, and is owned by Carter Oosterhouse of HGTV, along with his brother.
Carter is a native of Traverse City, and designed the building himself.
While it may look a bit utilitarian on the outside, just wait til you see the inside!

That's me, below.  If you look closely, you'll see Molly on the dash in the front window!

That's super hunky rather handsome Carter on the right, and his brother on the left.

source

We visited on a Monday, when it wasn't crowded in the least.
I just loved these large fabric covered panels that were suspended from the ceiling.  I'm sure they act as great noise baffles.

The design of winery was so well thought out. There are several rooms here and there which are also used as tastings and private tastings. They have the look and feel of being at someones private home.

Ok, I am sure I was the only one to photograph the women's room!

Sorry for the poor picture quality (again, this was taken with my cell phone).  I 

just thought the wire shelf holding the rolls of tp was such an amazing idea, loved it, and the cool light over the sink too.

Mario Batali, a long time fan of  Northern Michigan (he has a summer home in the area) designed the tasting menu of Bonobo. Sadly, we didn't see Carter or Mario on this trip!  I sure would've loved to meet them though!
If you ever get the chance to visit this beautiful area of our state, I would highly recommend it!
Ok, now we are back home, below!
And no, you are not seeing things!  The front two tires really are off the ground!
Our driveway has a bit of a slope, and when the stabilizing jacks are down, the front end comes up!

 Our home, and our home away from home!

Thanks so much for stopping by!
I've gotten so behind in my blog visits, but I promise to stop in as soon as I can!
Have a great rest of the week!

Greetings From Sunny Florida!

Hi everyone!  How has your week been?

We are taking a little break from winter (though it's been pretty mild back home in Michigan) and are in Florida right now.

We took a day trip today to Venice, and it was just gorgeous.

I was so happy to find a dog friendly beach (not a common thing here, it seems), and the three of us walked forever.

 Katie had a blast, and we had fun collecting lots of shells.  Notice the bulge in my pocket?  It's filled with shells!)

 It was a beautiful and sunny day, not a cloud in the sky.  A "cold front" just moved in, highs are supposed to be in the low 60's for the next several days.  That is fine with me!  For us mid westerners, that constitutes a heat wave!

 Downtown Venice was full of lots of amazing shops.

And mermaids, too:)

Gee, I sure wish I really had a figure this shapely!

Well, except for the tail:)

 Katie couldn't resist getting in on the fun, too!

That's it for today!  Looking forward to seeing what you all have been up to!

Christmas in Quebec City

Hi Everyone,

Just one short week away from Christmas, can you believe it?
I know you are all busy planning, doing last minute shopping, baking, decorating, and more!
Such a busy time of year, isn't it?
I am trying hard to not get stressed from all of the
"should do's" and "need to do's",
and instead
remember the real reason for the season.

Hubby and I returned last night from a trip to Quebec City.  It was our third time there, and is such a magical place at Christmas time!

Thought I'd share a few photos with you today of our getaway.

Here was our home away from home, the historic Chateau Frontenac!

 I felt like a princess staying here:)

Quebec City is not a cheap place to visit, but thankfully for us Americans the exchange rate is great for us now!

So now is the perfect time to visit!

Loved our room, my photo just doesn't do it justice.

And here is the view out our window!

 When visiting Quebec City, you truly feel as if you are in a quaint village in the heart of France.

French is the language spoken, and of course all of the signs, menus, etc are in French.

And the architecture is amazing!

 The city really goes all out decorating for Christmas.

I was just mesmerized by this adorable and oh so sweet window display of an antique shop that we came upon.

(I wish I could figure out how to photograph thru glass and not get a bunch of glare.)

It was just the cutest ever!

An antique doll is decorating the tree while her friends watch admiringly.

Perched on a ladder with a garland in her hands, she is having such fun getting the tree just right!

As her dolly friends look on.............

I just had to snap a photo of this sign below, certainly nothing we see at home!

Watch out for snow falling from the rooftops above!

Moi!

You would just love walking the cobblestone streets!

Here's hubby in front of "our" chateau!

Meet Daphne!

She is the ambassador of the seeing eye dog program in Canada, and comes to "work" each day at the hotel.

She is part Labrador and part Bernese Mountain dog, and is just gorgeous!

The grand lobby was decorated with some amazing Christmas trees.

 This blinged out one was my very favorite!
They were all decorated by different organizations for a charity fundraiser.

 Just magical!

Thanks so much for stopping by, I'll share more of our trip in a few days!
Au revoir!