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!

Where Bloggers Create -- Welcome to my Sacred Yarn Room

Welcome to my creative place.  A bit of a mess most of the time -- well actually, a truly big mess most of the time -- but it's MY mess!  This  room is a special haven for me -- a place where my creativity blooms~

my special place

 holds a conglomeration of all my crafting collections~

my button collections

yarns (LOTS of yarn)

knitting supplies

fabric collections

vintage laces and embellishment

knitting books and patterns (LOTS!!)

it's a small room actually

in the upstairs of our house

next to the attic

~

(and I confess to having overflow items stored 

out there as well!)

~

mornings in this room

are my most favorite

~

I love the way the morning sunlight

streams in through the window

and listening to the birds sing their

morning songs

 welcome to my

"Sacred Yarn Room"

I'm guilty of having yarn stashes

tucked away all over this room

for my various projects

~ these

are some of the yarns 

that are used in the making of my

little nests

one of my little nests

basking in the rays of the morning sun

another little nest reflected in the morning light

~this one

made from vintage laces and threads

this is about as organized as it gets~

truly though -- I do know where everything is!

~

I love this window-

just having the window open

makes me so happy~

my Mother's button collection

is very special to me

~

even though I have added to it many times,

I still consider it to be 

her collection

a little collection of buttons

in one of my vintage

 seashell plates

 a few more of my favorite

button collections

this jar is filled with 
beautiful embellishments
that I use on my nest creations

I am passionate about
all things relating to
"birds and nests"
~
bird decorations
are found all over my
"Sacred Yarn Room"

this collection of glass jars
is used to hold
my collection of vintage fabric strips
~
these glass jars and their metal stand
are one of my all time favorite
flea market purchases

this vintage Samsonite suitcase
once belonged to my Mother~
she used it when she went
on her honeymoon.
~
the original train station
tag from that trip is still attached to the suitcase
~
today, this suitcase houses 
my yarn scraps--
 every knot and tangle,
every stray strand,
every cast off
every piece I can't bear to throw away
(I throw them into the suitcase!)
~
some of my button collections are also
kept here in favorite
bourbon whiskey bottles. 
~
(my home state of Kentucky has a strong heritage related to the making of whiskey--
I collect these bottles to house some of my collections.)

 a little vignette collection~
pieces for use in some of my projects

 hanging on the wall is a wooden crutch
 that once belonged to
 my grandfather
~
today some of my yarns are displayed 
hanging from that
 crutch

tiny little beads
waiting for a new home on one
of my projects

this bowl once belonged to my Grandmother
~ now, it holds 
more of my scrap yarn collections

I'm almost embarrassed to show this photo to you!
~
I know it looks rather messy--
but, honestly--
this is pretty organized for me!

a tree branch
holds more of my novelty
"nature" collection

a favorite little berry basket
from "Anthropologie"
holds my business cards
~
 a vintage bowl houses 
some of my ribbons and beaded trims

 a collection of glass jars
also holds ribbons and trims

this pretty little bird dish
once belonged to my grandmother--
she always told me that it was one of her
most favorite pieces

some of my yarns and laces
used in making my knitted
nests

more of my "nesting" yarns

 my collection
of vintage flower and bird
 books

 these vintage laces
are actually part of my Mother's collection.
~
I love that I have found a way to use 
them so beautifully
in my "Shabby Chic"
 nests

thank you so very much for visiting me here
in my creative space.
~
I'm so grateful for your visits and comments.
If you have left a comment here,
I will be by to visit you 
in a short bit.
~
if you would like to contact me
you can do so here~
vboster1@windstream.net

a little different perspective
on some of my
photos~

Dearest Karen --
thank you once again for hosting this incredible event, providing us all with the opportunity to become inspired by each others creativity, and to make new friends.  Your dedication as a resource person and friend to all of us who write blogs is so very appreciated~

 If you are visiting my blog for the first time -- I am participating in the "Where Blogger's Create" event, hosted by my dear friend Karen Valentine.  You can see the complete list of all those participating by visiting Karen here~

My heartfelt thanks to each of you 

who took the time to visit me

 here today~

xoxo

Vicki