Vintage Flour Sack Towels

Happy Monday everyone!  I hope all you moms had as wonderful a Mother's Day as I did!
I had such a lovely day with my hubby and kids.  And they did all kinds of sweet things for me.
But the most special had to be that they told me they loved me and gave me lots of hugs.

Last week I was lucky enough to receive a wonderful little package in the mail from Daune over at Cottage In The Oaks and I was thrilled with what was inside.

I love packages like this.  Don't they just make you feel so special? 

Inside were these lovely vintage flour sack towels, available in her Etsy shop.  I absolutely love them both but I think the towel with the bicycle on it is my favorite.  It makes me smile every time I look at it.  I collect kitchen tea towels and was so excited to add these to my collection but even more excited to hang them on my kitchen island that I made from barn wood.

Aren't they so cute?  They go perfectly in our kitchen because of the neutral color and I love the gray lettering.

She was also so kind as to send me this gorgeous leather cuff/bracelet, also available in her shop.

Which says "douce reveuse" which means "tender dreamer".
Describes me perfectly, I think.  How cool is that? 

Daune sells these items, along with many others, in her Etsy shop and is graciously offering a special discount for our readers, 20% off your total purchase of anything in her shop!!  Thank you so much, Daune!  Please do check out her shop as there are many wonderful things to choose from.  Please use the discount code:  VINTAGEHOME

And be sure to also visit her blog !

Have a great day!

Great Chalfield Manor - Part II

Welcome back to part II from the gardens of Great Chalfield Manor.

(Please click on the horizontal images to see the whole image. Part of them are "cropped" when viewed here.)

The lovely things about gardens like these, is that there is something for 

everyone to explore. Here, my oldest son is running after his little brother, 

who has already managed to hide inside the yew tree "room".

There are four "tree houses" like this here, where four clipped yews have grown together 

and then been hollowed out inside, creating a little "room" and a tunnel to walk through.

If we turn around, we will see that my son started his sprint down by the Apple House...

... and a well-manicured border of lovely tulips...

...and other petal beauties as well, this one looking as if made of silk.

Oh yes! Stone wall + door in wall a little ajar = an exciting, inviting, FABULOUS feature!

The plant sale in the manor courtyard offered many temptations,
and resisting this gorgeous girl was particularly challenging!

Well, calling this "Niagara" (and they do!) may perhaps point to a hint of hybris, 

but then again, aim for the stars!

That's all from Great Chalfield Manor for this time, 

but I have a sneaky suspicion there may be more visits, 

more flowers, and more photos one day....

***

Lantliv på Holm - A Lovely New Shop and Web shop!

Camilla, a dear blog friend of mine has followed her dream and just opened a country style interior & life style shop in her own barn. She sells beautiful decorative items, and for those of us how live too far away to visit the physical shop (in Kärna, north-west of Gothenburg, near Marstrand), we can visit the Lantliv på Holm web shop. At the moment, the web shop only works for customers from Sweden, but Camilla is happy to send items to clients abroad, if you place your order via email instead (Contact details under "Kontakta oss" in the menu).

Best of luck with your fabulous shop, Camilla!

***

Thank you, kind, kind readers, for all your lovely comments 

on my previous blog posts. You brighten my days!

Helena

Ps. If you feel you recognize the views from Great Chalfield Manor, you may have seen them in movies like "The Other Boleyn Girl" or the BBC Television adaptation of "Tess of the d'Urbervilles", which were both filmed here.