Would You Ever?

No....it's not time for Hooked On House's Holiday Tours! This weekend we were visiting family in New Jersey, and instead of hitting the malls for the best holiday deals - we went to Estate Sales! Now that's our idea of having some shopping fun! We shopped and shopped - touring some fabulous towns. We had pretty good luck at all of our stops - but wanted to make one more stop. It led us here. Out of the five of us - two of us were brave enough to enter the house (that was to be demolished later this month)
This is what we walled in to. Although it was one of the filthiest homes we'd been in...we were struck with the style - and the spaciousness of this home! So...how about a tour?

This stairway let to three bedrooms & a bath upstairs

Looking down from the top of the stairs we couldn't help but thing what a happenin' pad this had to be in it's day!

Downstairs in the basement

A storage room off of the basement's room

If only we could have taken this filing cabinet home....in perfect condition!

Groovy lamp!

Even though this kitchen was disgusting - we couldn't help ourselves going through everything in here! At this point - the other three girls decided to come in and see just what we were doing!

We were asking the lady that was running the sale if she knew about the owner. She said that he must have done something with photography & film. She said that the day before there were lots of vintage movie reels, cameras & lights that went out the door. It was pretty interesting to see - that's for sure!

Thought you'd like to see a few of the things we got

(by the way, this was everyone's favorite stop...we ALL got several things from here!)

So....Would You Ever?

Vintage Shadows

One of our newest vintage bowls was covered in shadow...and begging for attention!

Wowza! Ain't she a beaut?

Check out more beautiful shadows that demand attention around the world!
Visit Hey Harriet this weekend & stay inside this and avoid the crowded big box stores...then go support your favorite, local stores...they'll appreciate it!

{For more information about supporting your local stores visit the 3/50 Project!}

It's Friday.....& Everyone's In Love!

It's Friday!!
When everyone stops at the store they spend a few minutes out on the porch looking at our decorations. Every year we try to do something a little different. This year we took shiny, red (plastic) ornaments....a strand of lights....and a garden topiary...

Fill the topiary up with those plastic ornaments & lights layering all the way up.

Put the topiary in a pot and surround with ivy (or some other greens) and poinsettias (note - we added more around this topiary after I took the pictures....make it look nice & full...no skimping!)

It's Friday! What are You in love with today?

Wednesday Words

"He enjoys much

who is thankful for little."

~Thomas Secker

Oh to be thankful for everything you have!

Sometimes it is so hard to get past what you don't have isn't it?

Today's Wednesday Word picture is of our Mom, Grandma Norma,

Grandpa Billy & his Mother.

Pictures such as this one we are so grateful for.

When Mom was three their family was in a car accident

and Grandpa didn't make it...

so little glimpses of life before this are so special.

As you are all sitting around

the Thanksgiving table with your loved ones,

be sure to say a prayer of thanks for everyone....

and all of the little things in life!

Have a Happy Thanksgiving!

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Planter Plans

Every time Karrie & I go junking, estate sale-ing and antiquing -

it never fails...

some green piece of pottery (usually a planter) comes home with me!

This year fall has really been pretty -

see...oranges and yellows really set that green color off.

After Thursday...we'll have to come up with something else

to put in all of those planters!

hmmmm.....Christmas bulbs...thought of pinecones...

but need something bright - the orange & yellow were too pretty!

So, what shall it be? Guess we'll have to wait until another post!

Happy Monday Everyone!

It's Friday...and We're in Love!

It's Friday (whooo hooo!) and we are in love with the beautiful herbal wreaths we made in class last night....mostly in love with the herbs...the smell was fantastic - so much that we can still smell it in the store today!



We started by taking a grapevine wreath and just placing herbs and greens around the wreath and wrapping with wire.....











It's Friday...we're in love with that lovely herb smell ~ and a beautiful wreath!
What are you in love with today??

Wednesday Words

"Always put your best foot forward"

It's time again for Wednesday Words....now...isn't this the cutest picture? Karla found some pictures of her husband (ahhh haa haa haa haaaa!) and now we can prey on another family - isn't that grand?

Wednesday Words are brought to you by our Wall Enhancers and our Alphabet Images. Love cute quotes? Love them even more up on your wall!

Top "Little" Sellers at Open House

OH...we had such a good time this weekend at the Open House!

The cookie count....15 different types - in case you'd like to know...it's a record - Mom really outdid herself (and to think she didn't finish two of them.....!)

Anyway, we thought you'd like to see our list of Top 6 "little" sellers this weekend - things that flew out of the store....

#1 Our Bellsnickle Santas....every year these little....and big guys walk out the door. This year's new one has a tinsel tree he is holding...available in three different sizes!

#2 Our Summer Kitchen Exclusive Blend of tea...any why wouldn't it be a top seller...with macadamia nuts, toffee, caramel & maple - this tea even makes coffee drinkers swoon!





#3 Our scone mixes by Catherine's Healthy Bakes - they pair nicely with our tea...the Apple Pecan was the top seller this weekend!











#4 Garden Flags - always popular! Lots of new styles were in...and gone!












#5 The Jingle Christmas Tree Pens....only 5 left - by far the fastest moving item this weekend!

#6 The Santa Countdown......at this moment it's
38 Days
16 Hours
5 Minutes

But who's counting????

Winking Shadows

He sees you when you're sleeping
He knows when you're awake
He knows if you've been bad or good
So be good for goodness sake!
O! You better watch out!
You better not cry
Better not pout I'm telling you why
Santa Claus is coming to town

Christmas has come to The Summer Kitchen. We are celebrating our 14th Annual Christmas Open House this weekend. While getting ready last night we found a winking santa....it seems he know's all about you!

He also knows all about Shadow Shot Sunday...where you can find some lovely shadows! For goodness sake...why don't you come play along and visit Hey Harriet for some super shadows!

Take a Peak....

Welcome to
Christmas Open House 2009!
Be our guest as we a peak of some of the sights from the store today...oh...first stop and have some of mom's famous cookies!

















A sweet story from today...
A woman came up with her purchases and said that we looked very nostalgic this year & it made her tear up....
she had to compose herself behind a Christmas tree...
isn't that sweet - what a wonderful compliment!

Oh.... you must try another -
we can't even tell you how many cookies mom made this year....we'll get you the count tomorrow (she kept on pulling more & more out...so we never really knew!)

Our sweet friends Kathy & Joan were up from the Dayton area....and they brought sweets from Esther Price - they insisted that it was the best chocolate EVER.....





















Girls - you were right!
Loved the caramels & the pecan turtles...wow - they were so fresh! Thanks for thinking of us!

Be Our Guest!

Christmas Open House

Friday, November 13th 10am-8pm
Saturday, November 14th 10am-5pm
Sunday, November 15th 1pm-5pm

Looking forward to serving you!

Dressing the Table

We thought we'd take a break from putting the final touches on the store for Christmas Open House to share some pictures & things we talked about a couple weeks ago in our class on Fabulous Holiday Tables.


Here we go....

The first thing we touched on was layering the table with tablecloths, runners and pattern. In the fall we love to use our nubby runners.

Then we love to use glass jars. Apothecaries work well, but any glass will do! Just fill them up with dried fruits, berries, nuts, and bearded wheat like we did here. To make it more special for the holidays, we added photocopies of some family photos.

Place your filled glass along the middle of your table or buffet and add fall garland or picks. Add those great votive cups you made here - and voila - a perfect table for fall!

Now...how about the place settings?

Try adding photo's of family members in place of their place cards. Again, we just photo copies some pictures and put them into the frame. You could even write their names on their pictures if you'd like.

We also shared with the class, how you could take old (or new) glass paperweights and put photos with names on them, in front of your guests plate, or on top of the napkin that is on their plate.
Just how fun would it be to sit down to a table with pictures of your relatives greeting you for Thanksgiving?!!

We then talked about the napkin. Here we just rolled it tight and tied a ribbon around it that matched the ribbon on our votives above. Then we stuck some bearded wheat underneath the bow. Elegant & unforgettable!


If you didn't want to use photos or place cards, consider taking a leaf from outside and writing the names of your guests on it with a metallic pen. Then punch a hole in the leaf and tie it on your napkin.

The last ideas we touched on were the back of the chairs. If you're going all out - why not the chairs as well?

Taking a scarf, or piece of fabric and tying around the back of your chair is just the easiest thing to do....look here - you wouldn't even need to have the same scarves - a mixture would look great!

This other chair idea was just as cool! Take the napkins and put them over the chair. Get some ribbon, raffia, twine - whatever you have and tie the napkin. Add a name card on the back - pretty creative 'eh?

Hope you found some inspiration for the perfect Thanksgiving table!