Dinner in the Garden

The ambiance of enjoying a wonderful dinner outside, in the garden-- surrounded by all things relating to farm life -- at what is probably the worlds most beautiful and longest table -- is truly hard to describe~

Last fall, the Gardener and I attended our third 

"Outstanding in the Field"

farm dinner~

 

to spend the evening on a beautiful farm,

eat a fabulous dinner at this amazing table -- 

in the middle of the field,

~

the food, the wine, the scenery, the table~

the whole experience is truly

a memorable feast for your

 senses 

~

once you have attended one of these

incredible dinners -- you get it!

You totally understand why the tickets to these events

often sell out in a matter of minutes!!

~

admittedly-

I am an "Outstanding in the Field"

groupie~

 the dinner we attended last fall, was hosted by

Carriage House Farms

in North Bend, Ohio

~

this beautiful farm was once the home

to our 9th President,

William Henry Harrison

 before we take off across the field

to this beautiful table--

let's take a little tour of this lovely

historical farm~

 the farmhouse

I'm loving those ancient concrete columns

by the gate~

(and yes, I love that handsome guy too!)

 the folks here opened up their farm to us 

and we walked all around the beautiful property.

I took so many photos, it was hard to choose

just a few~

 

 there's just something about an old gate

that makes you want to take

 a picture~

(actually a lot of pictures!)

the BUS!!

~

Part of the excitement

 of attending these dinners 

is the opportunity

to be able to see their vintage

 1953 Flxible tour bus. 

(I climbed the hill behind the farm to get this photo) 

 (they even let us take a peek inside!)

How would you like to spend an entire year

living on this bus, traveling all over

the United States  -- 

from one farm dinner to the next~

(the wonderful folks who sponsor these events

call this bus their home!)

fall was is in the air~

a beautiful setting for the table,

right next to the grape vines~

(nope -- we aren't going there yet --

going to walk around a bit more~)

that's my chair :)

If only this tree could talk --

I'm betting it has seen a lot of history~

are you thirsty?

they're serving drinks and refreshments

on the front lawn~

honey anyone?

~

each farm dinner's focus is on

produce and meats that are produced

by local area farms and gardens.

Local chefs prepare the meals

on site.

(we will go visit them in a minute!)

 across the road from the farm house

is the beautiful stable 

and grounds~

I made a new friend outside the stable

loving this old barn house

~ and the stable house

 bring your own plate

and drop it off

 here~ 

such a pretty mix of vintage colors

and designs

forgot to bring a plate??

no worries--

you can borrow one from here! 

Let's go see what's cooking for dinner!

(are you hungry yet?)

the aromas were incredible~

seriously --

 just looking at these 

photos again is making me hungry!

there's the table --

let's go have a closer look~

there is no assigned seating-

all the food is served family style,

so you can sit wherever 

you want~ 

it was the most perfect autumn day

for this outdoor farm dinner~

love, LOVE this beautiful table~

the sun is just starting to set-

so that means

it's almost dinner time! 

(let's go find a seat at the table~)

the menu

the Gardener smiles after a wonderful dinner:)

~

 that's OITF founder Jim Denevan  (in the cowboy hat)

talking to guests

after dinner,

the whole crew pose for photos in front of the bus

~

these have to be some of the nicest, 

most hard working people

ever.

with dinner now a memory~

we all walk around a bit more

trying to take in every last beautiful moment

of this amazing experience.

isn't this what "groupie's" do?

He's a super nice guy~

 as the darkness overtakes us all-

it's time to go home~

~

(I really had intended to post these photos last fall

but somehow time just got away from me.

I'm pretty sure it had something to do

with all those beautiful pink scarves! )

xoxo

 

Seedling Farm

South Haven, Michigan

(photo borrowed from OITF website)

in just a few weeks, 

my friend Marsha and I

 are taking a little "Girl Trip" to here.

~

We will travel almost 500 miles

to beautiful coastal Michigan

just to sit at this 

extraordinary

table.

~

You can look forward to photos from

our incredible trip and the farm dinner

later this fall~

(I think we might win the prize for most distance traveled! LOL!) 

xoxo

Vicki

ps -- I've been working all summer on some incredible new designs -- one of those is coming up next!