Original MacKenzie-Child Estate FOR SALE!

Do you know who currently lives here?:

Answer: Victoria and Richard MacKenzie-Childs

Do you have an extra $1.1 million dollars that you would like to invest? Victoria and Richard MacKenzie-Childs are selling their home in Aurora, NY on Cayuga Lake - the home where it all started!

The WHOLE house reflects their unique and individual artistic flair, hand painted walls, courtly checks, Victoria's closet ceiling and wall covered in pottery shards, and a hidden hallway in which you enter through an armoire. The dining room might make some dizzy, but I would love to host a party here:

And my favorite room of all - this sun room in the front corner of the house. The individually, hand painted floor tiles are all original templates for many of their original terra cotta designs:

The home is currently a Bed and Breakfast, with a gift shop which sells their new houseware items V and R Emprise, operated by their daughter and son-in-law. The grounds are breathtaking, with views of the lake, wisteria covered grapevine arbor, a small art studio, a huge carriage house - But this is worth a peek at, so visit the Southeby's site to view the whole estate here.

NO, I am not a realtor, but this is such a beautiful home that I needed to share this with all of you M-C lovers!

I'll be at the M-C Barn Sale tomorrow!

Stickley Sale and 2 WINNERS

I got lucky this past week and found fringe at Real Deals Dollar Store (10 yd/$1.00):

And then I got "LUCKIER": I live about 20 minutes from the Stickley Furniture plant and they have an annual clearance sale every summer. They were selling their leftover upholstery fabrics for unbelievably low prices.

I bought a 4 yd bolt of gold striped fabric, a 4 yd bolt of gold, green and red plaid and a 3 yd bolt of a black and tan circle design:

This fabric cost $5.00 for a 4 yard bolt - Yes, only $5.00.

So now I have some fabric to play with - good reason to buy some chairs and stools to recover, right?

Sharing this deal with Thrifty Thursday

The winners of my Vintage Linen Giveaway are:

Valeree of Fall Creek Cottage (don't you just love that blog name?) - Stop by her blog to see that she had much better luck at stamping vintage spoons for garden markers than I had!

and

My old (as in long time!!) friend Keetha of The Eclectic Company - stop by there for a "witty" daily read!

Email me your home addys at ppultorak (at) gmail (dot) com

Another Quick Idea for Happy Hour

One of my favorite summer snacks to have with Happy Hour is Bruschetta. Take a ripe tomato, chop it and drain. Add a little chopped onion and garlic, salt and pepper. And then I add fresh parsley and basil from my herb garden:

Toss it about and refrigerate for a few hours:

I rub butter and garlic on baguette slices and toast under the broiler for a few minutes:

Just delish:

And the drink of the day is a favorite of mine:

Pineapple Surprise: citrus vodka, pineapple juice and a splash of cranberry juice.

Sharing this with Tutorial Tuesdays

and Time to Shine

Last Chance to enter Vintage Linen Giveaway

HERE at Pandora's Box

I will pick a winner Tuesday Night

Ideas for Happy Hour

We had a Happy Hour with friends yesterday and I wanted to make it easy so I served

bread, seasonings and dipping oil:

I served Tuscan seasonings to mix with EVOO:

and garlic and herb seasonings:

I also made hors d'oeuvre pops with these ingredients:

Quick and easy:

And Happy Hour would be nothing without the "happy" - Watermelon Martinis:

Recipe for Watermelon Martinis:

5 cups watermelon chunks, mash and strain

6 T Lime Juice

3/4 cup Citrus vodka

Place in freezer for an hour to chill ~ serve in a martini glass with a slice of lime

Don't forget the umbrella!

Last Chance to enter vintage Linen Giveaway -

HERE at Pandora's Box

Sharing this with Met Monday

and Tutorial Tuesday

Thrifty Milk Glass

I decided NOT to buy any more Milk Glass - I have enough - that was until I saw these three dishes at the Thrift Shop:

The detail on the edges of these dishes is beautiful:

The fleur de lis is so delicate:

And I can't wait to use this one on Valentine's Day:

Just pretty, pretty, pretty - and they made it so easy for me to break my own rule!

All 3 dishes were only $3.50, so how could I refuse?

Sharing this with

Check me Out Saturday

Last Chance to enter the Vintage Linen Giveaway HERE

A Busy Week...

We just spent a week with this little guy as he celebrated his 2nd birthday:

And I forgot that 2 year olds spend most of their time doing this:

We had a wonderful time in Ohio and on the way home we stopped in Niagara Falls - here they are lit up the first night:

I just love standing in this spot and watching how fast and powerful the water flows:

And we were lucky to have a hotel room in Canada that had a great view of the American Falls.

We stayed directly across the street from the Casino and had a great dinner there. We even found time to enjoy some of this:

The last day we drove to Niagara on the Lake - where the Niagara River meets Lake Ontario. There are lots of cute little boutiques, cafes and beautiful flowers everywhere!

We enjoyed a wonderful lunch overlooking Lake Ontario at the oldest golf course in North America:

And enjoyed some Canadian Moosehead Beer:

This was the view from our lunch table:

You can't visit the area without stopping at a few wineries :

There are over 30 wineries in the area:

It was a busy trip - 1000 miles - 5 fun-packed days with Carter, his birthday party, fireworks in Prospect, Ohio, a picnic at Delaware State Park, and lots of playing with cars and splashing in the pool!

We just have to do something about the distance between us!

Don't forget to enter the Vintage Linen Giveaway HERE

Another VINTAGE GIVEAWAY

I am having 2 "HAPPY SUMMER VACATION TO ME" giveaways!

The first giveaway is 4 vintage, linen, hand embroidered tea napkins. Just look at the detail:

The second is a pair of vintage luncheon napkins:

So, you know the rules ~

Leave a comment for an entry and follow me for another entry.

Giveaway ends July 12th

Happy 4th of July!

We are off to spend some time with Carter

Enjoy the weekend!