christmas greeting card

Baby, It's Hot Outside!

The temperature here in my part of New Jersey reached 101 yesterday. Yes, that is not a typo -- it was 101 degrees Fahrenheit here yesterday. There is no convenient central air conditioning in our Little Red House, although we do have several window units installed upstairs in the bedrooms and our little family room.

So, no going outside to photograph gardens or wander through thrift stores or visit decorating shops. It was just too darn hot. Instead, I sat inside, in the air conditioned upstairs, and did some reading and some blog hopping.

And I decided to be a lazy blogger, and post some pictures that I took last month when it was cooler, and the daisies were in bloom, and I was feeling inspired. Now I'm just feeling hot.

I did manage to empty the dishwasher, and get a few loads of laundry done, but other than that, it was a lazy day here at the Little Red House. I guess everyone needs a lazy day every once in awhile, but it's beginning to feel like Cabin Fever, Summer Edition. And that is never fun.

So, how's the weather in your neck of the woods these days?

An Architect's Garden: Courtyard Dining

I wanted to show you a few more images from the beautiful garden we visited a few weeks ago. "An Architect's Garden" was open to the public as part of the Garden Conservancy's Open Days program.

This view (above) is taken from a wonderful outdoor dining area, looking back toward the house. The owners have a design business, and you can see all the architectural salvage that they have incorporated into the garden design. The outdoor dining table, which you can see just a bit of in the bottom left of this view, is a huge slab of stone resting on two massive stone plinths. It must have taken a lot of muscle (or some heavy equipment) to move it there, but it makes a beautiful table.

There are many wonderful old iron gates and fences -- again architectural salvage -- which add rust and patina to this very formal boxwood garden.

I love the beautiful silver leafed tree (willow?) in the photo above, which blends with the silvery grey of the house.

There are several beautiful stone walls here as well. This one helps to enclose the dining area. Another slab of stone serves as an outdoor buffet. And a bit of decorative ironwork adds a beautiful backdrop.

In case you missed my earlier posts about this garden and house, they can be found here and here. Next week, I still have the conservatory and pool to show you. :)

An Architect's Garden: Conservatory

As promised last week, here is a look at the conservatory/greenhouses at "An Architect's Garden," which we visited a few weeks ago. There is a beautiful courtyard, with a pool, in front of the main door to the conservatory (shown above).

Inside, the conservatory is filled with antique furniture and gardening items. Don't you love those giant cloches (pictured above)?

And just look at those green glazed pots. Can you say "gorgeous?"

I'm thinking the small dressers on the table (above) must be furniture maker's samples. I love the beauty of these utilitarian pieces.

Just look at the brass faucet and stone farmer's sink in the potting room. Beautiful!

More casual beauty (above). Oh how I love this place! :)

And a huge antique chandelier hangs in the central room of the conservatory (above). Gorgeous!

I'm guessing that the small staircases (above) are architect's models. Wonderful and whimsical!

This is the gravel path outside the greenhouses. Don't you love the little stone tower and the purple catmint?

The conservatory and greenhouses from the back (above). I hope you have enjoyed the tours of An Architect's Garden as much as I have. If you missed the other installments, you can find them here, here and here.

What's Hanging?

I'm always interested in what people hang on their walls... in fact, you might call me a bloggy voyeur. :) I love to browse the decorating blogs, checking out all the great art. Not great, as in Matisse or Dutch Masters. But great as in "wow, I really like that!"

Over the years, I have found that vintage or antique prints seems to work best for me. This is an old house -- a little scruffy -- and anything too precious or polished would look like, well... a sow in a silk dress. So I tend to collect old prints, mainly with a flower theme. Because I love flowers. :)

The prints you see here hang in our master bedroom. The large one was found at a rummage sale for $6. The others came from my favorite thrift store. I think they were $2.50 each. It's driving me nuts that they are hanging crooked in these photos, but I just wanted to give you an idea of the "art" here at Little Red House.

So tell me, what's hanging on your walls? ;)

Mosaic Monday: Queen Anne's Lace

After a very rainy and cool spring, we have endured a dry and torrid summer here in my part of New Jersey. Officially, summer continues for the next few weeks, but already it seems like we are looking forward to cooler temperatures and the golden light of autumn.

I've been fascinated by wildflowers this summer, especially queen anne's lace, or wild carrot. If you follow my other blog, In a Soft Light, you are probably sick of the sight of them. lol But I just love the flowers, and especially the seedheads that are so frustrating when they stick to your dog's coat. I think the architecture of tiny struts is quite beautiful, especially when they are all curled up.

So here are a few of my favorite queen anne's lace shots.

Now let's have some mosaic fun! Here are the instructions:
1. Publish your Mosaic Monday post.
2. Once it is published, click on the title of the post. This will lead you to the static link for your post. The static link is the page with only that post on it. Copy the url from your browser at the top of the page.
3. Paste the url into the appropriate inlinkz box in this post.
4. Type your name in the appropriate inlinkz box in this post.
5. Click on "Enter."
6. Please link back to this Mosaic Monday post so that your readers can find other wonderful mosaics.

That's all there is to it! It's always a good idea to then check and see if your link is working. If you have any questions, feel free to email me: mrcarroll(at)optonline.

Mosaic Monday: Firemen's Parade

On Saturday our local volunteer fire company celebrated it's one-hundredth anniversary with a parade. All the equipment was lovingly shined, including the antique hose trucks and vintage ambulance. They were joined by neighboring fire companies, the high school marching band, several bagpipe bands and a local private school drum corps. The weather was beautiful, the parade route was lined with appreciative families, and there were cheers all around. :)

That's all there is to it! It's always a good idea to then check and see if your link is working. If you have any questions, feel free to email me: mrcarroll(at)optonline.

My name is Mary, and I'm a milk-glass-a-holic

This is my semi-annual post where I show you all the milk glass I bought for a song at the Visiting Nurse's Rummage Sale in Far Hills, New Jersey. ;)

I went there this year, saying to myself that I was not going to buy any more milk glass. I have way too much already.

But that resolve went right out the window when I saw these two beautiful pieces by Westmoreland (above and below).

One was $3. and the other was $2. The covered candy dish (above) is currently selling for around $25-$38 on ebay and bonanza. Score!

The beautiful goblet (below) was made by Napco. I love the simple shape and the almost translucent quality of the glass. I think this one cost me $2. -- a real bargain for something that gives me so much pleasure to look at. :)

I love the basketweave pattern on the plate shown below, too. It doesn't have a maker's mark, but I think it may be another piece of Westmoreland because it is so heavy. I'll have to look out for a few more so that I can set a small table with them. ;)

The hobnail, fluted-edge compote (below) has no maker's mark either, but it has the most beautiful opalescent glass. This makes me wonder if it is made by Fenton, which is famous for it's lovely fluting and mother-of-pearl glass. I've ordered a reference book on milk glass from Amazon. Can't wait to see if it helps with identification. :)

The little leaf-shaped candy dish (below) is definitely Fenton -- the daisy and button pattern. I just thought it was so cute, and for $1. it was another no brainer.

And the very first piece of milk glass I ever bought was an urn similar to the one shown below. I think I just responded to the classic shape. Now I have several of them. This one is by the E.O. Brody Co. I'm thinking of placing one of them on either end of the mantel in the library with some fall branches.

If you are a fan of Eddie Ross, you will know that he often includes milk glass pieces in his tablescapes. Early last week he wrote on his blog that he was shooting

a makeover story for Women's Day at the Visiting Nurse's Rummage Sale. I can't wait to see it, and see if it includes any milk glass! :)