Tuesday night we had the worst storm that I can remember.
We eventually took shelter in our basement while the winds and rain ripped apart our yard.
We lost significant trees around our garden. Chris spent Wednesday rebuilding the fencing and clearing trees. We're missing one tree that framed the treehouse deck, but it could have been much worse. The garden took the brunt of the storm.
We definitely had a few
fairies & angels protecting our special
little dwelling.
Now, onto thrifty news...
When we were in Detroit visiting family recently, Chris noticed a garage sale going on down the street from his parent's home. I spotted these washboards and thought they would make a nice addition to our laundry room.
He added picture hooks to the back of the washboards and hung them on the laundry room wall for me. I really liked them, but it felt like I needed something more to go with them.
I dug through my stash of vintage doll dresses in my
craft room (
you probably will recognize one of them from my blog banner) and attached a few of my favorite ones onto the washboards with string and clothes pins.
I added a framed print of a little girl ironing from
Round the Mulberry Bush by Marion McNeil illustrated by one of my favorite children's illustrators, Fern Bisel Peat (copyright 1933).
By the way, this book is about a playhouse that was built for two little girls. I've owned the book for several years (
way before the girl's treehouse became a reality).
The woman that sold the washboards to us, said they used to be her mother's and she remembers helping her mother with the weekly laundry. I promised her that they had found a good home.
Taking Josie on her first sand dune ride
Loving our own private beach!!
I'll be back later this week.
Yes. I could definitely get used to my summer's off.
Although we take our chances on the water temps, nothing beats the waves and the sunsets.
Our view each evening is just lovely.
Aside from digging in the sand, Chris and I will spend the week playing board games with the girls, attempting to fish at a smaller inland lake nearby, reading lots of books, and indulging in lots of yummy food & drinks. You can bet that I'll also be sneaking in some shopping at a few of my favorite antique stores too!!
We have absolutely ZERO cell phone or internet access at the cottage. Those bars just don't want to light up at the top of the sand dunes, so it forces me to be completely unplugged. 
The cottage is just shy of 70 minutes, which makes it nice for quick trips home to water the plants and retrieve Emma's best friend for overnight visits.
I can hardly wait!
Be good. 
We lost significant trees around our garden. Chris spent Wednesday rebuilding the fencing and clearing trees. We're missing one tree that framed the treehouse deck, but it could have been much worse. The garden took the brunt of the storm.
We definitely had a few fairies & angels protecting our special little dwelling.
He added picture hooks to the back of the washboards and hung them on the laundry room wall for me. I really liked them, but it felt like I needed something more to go with them.
I dug through my stash of vintage doll dresses in my craft room (you probably will recognize one of them from my blog banner) and attached a few of my favorite ones onto the washboards with string and clothes pins.
I added a framed print of a little girl ironing from Round the Mulberry Bush by Marion McNeil illustrated by one of my favorite children's illustrators, Fern Bisel Peat (copyright 1933).
By the way, this book is about a playhouse that was built for two little girls. I've owned the book for several years (way before the girl's treehouse became a reality).
The woman that sold the washboards to us, said they used to be her mother's and she remembers helping her mother with the weekly laundry. I promised her that they had found a good home. 
The rest of my ornaments arrived Monday.
Aren't they lovely?
Vivian has a quick tutorial on her blog with tips for making these cupcakes here.
I found these birds last summer when we were on vacation at a local thrift store. Super gaudy, but I love them!!
Here are a few more red, white & blue decorations that I have on display on top of my dish hutch.
I love these American Bisque salt & pepper bears & jam jar.
I picked up these bottle brush trees while on last summer in Pentwater.
Have I mentioned that I love to decorate for ALL holidays?
Isn't this fairy door the sweetest thing ever?
The fairies now have a special entrance into the treehouse. Thank you, Lee. We had such a good time sharing our treehouse with you & your husband.
He just so happened to have a new Father's day drill that needed testing and a few extra pieces of lumber laying around. 
