More Time than Good Sense???

Sometimes I wonder...if I'm in my right mind?

Nanniepannie and I just returned from a road trip.
Yesterday morning we drove to Charlotte, NC
to our nearest IKEA store.
I was on a mission.


For the past two years I've had
these little mice from IKEA at our
Holiday Show.
Nothing really special about that,
except I knit tiny little sweaters for them.


I have no idea what people do with them.
But they're so darn cute,
everyone wants one, or two, or three...
And in previous years I've never had enough.
This year...I'll have 100 of them.
Where are my knitting needles???
*****
Our plan was to spend one day in Charlotte at IKEA
and spend the next in Greenville, SC
before driving home.
We finished mid afternoon and headed to Greenville.
We had not made a hotel reservation
since we didn't know in which city we'd stay the night.
We arrived in Greenville, had a nice dinner,
then started checking the downtown hotels.
Nothing seemed to fit the bill
(all a bit pricey for a quick overnight).
Then, we got lucky!!!


We found Pettigru Place,
a bed and breakfast
in the historic district of Greenville.
What a treat!


It's owned and operated by Lori,
who is not only an excellent innkeeper,
but an outstanding gardener.
The grounds were gorgeous.




This was "our" room.
The entire house is beautifully decorated
and attention to detail was impeccable.
For example, there were homemade cookies
on the landing, just outside our room,
as well as a vintage refrigerator, stocked
with soft drinks and bottled water,
and a coffee maker all ready to be turned on
by the first guest up this morning.
There were comfy robes in the room,
chocolates by the bedside
and soaps and shampoos in the
bathroom, if needed.
This morning we were treated to
a gourmet breakfast,
individual souffles with fresh fruit
and real bacon.
(I've been using the precooked kind
for so long, I had forgotten how
good the "real" thing tastes!)
ALL this and less expensive
than any of the downtown hotels
we considered!




After leaving Pettigru Place
we explored downtown Greenville,
which is loaded with places to eat
and shops.
There's also a wonderful park,
Falls Park, with walking paths,
a beautiful waterfall and
blooming flowers galore.
***
This week I'm linking up with
Wow Us Wednesdays at Savvy Southern Style
All Things Inspired at All Things Heart & Home

Beginning Fall with a Trip!

It seems like ages since I've posted! I'm still in the process of "being home" after a whirlwind trip last week with my "neighbor upstairs." We returned last night after a ten hour drive from NYC back to Tennessee. I love to go, but isn't it always great to return home again? The first leg of our trip was to Maryland for a visit with my brother Rick and his wife Terry. Here they are, with Nancy in the middle (three of my favorite people in the world). We had never been to Maryland before and Rick and Terry showed us the sights!

Terry is a crafter extraordinaire and had just finished several of her Fall projects. This small hanging paper decoration is one of several she crafted from pages of an old book and embellished with stamping and other techniques.

We spent some time prowling through this huge and interesting shop.
The Apple Basket is an emporium of antiques, floral designs and a mix of old and new collectibles.

Google Image

Since we don't have an IKEA near Buttermilk Cottage, it's always a real treat when we get to visit one. We found several "must haves" at this one just outside Washington, D.C.

Some of our "stash" from IKEA

En route to Ladew Topiary Gardens
in Monkton, Maryland we unexpectedly came upon these gorgeous fields of sunflowers! What a surprise and delight! Those fields of yellow you see are all sunflowers!

The Ladew Topiary Garden is noted by the Garden Club of America as "The Most Outstanding Topiary Garden in America."

In addition to the whimsical topiary, the garden also includes a nature walk and a house tour of the garden's creator, the late Harvey Ladew. We spent a wonderful afternoon here.

Then, on to New York for a visit with my daughter, Kate and her guy, Dylan.

Google Image

We caught the Broadway show MEMPHIS at the Shubert Theatre. This production is the 2010 Tony winner for Best Musical and is about "The Birth of Rock 'n' Roll." Lots of fun!

An unexpected treat was that we just happened to be in NYC for "Fashion Night Out," the kick off for Fashion Week. Hundreds of designer stores were open late for shopping. What fun! A real party atmosphere was created by many of the stores stationing attendants at their entrances to welcome you in, serving drinks and food, deejay music and live models. We felt as though NYC was throwing a huge party and we got to go!

And...what, there's more??? I had a nice treat waiting for me when I returned last night. I was the winner of a giveaway hosted by Laura at Bright, Bold and Beautiful. I haven't yet had the opportunity to try the several products included in my gift from Perricone MD

but I'm looking forward to it!