Saturday

 Early Saturday morning I got a notice that my pink pillows from Spoonflower would be delivered. They are everything I wanted them to be! 

It was supposed to rain on Sunday, so I decided to drive to Peterborough NH on Saturday. I specifically wanted to visit the Monadnock Oil & Vinegar Company. I wanted more of their Lemon Infused Olive Oil. I also wanted more of their Cara Cara Orange & Vanilla Balsamic Vinegar. Of course I didn't stop there. 

I saw this recipe card and decided I had to try it. I already have the Coconut White Balsamic Vinegar, so I brought home a bottle of Blood Orange Olive Oil too.

Just down the hall from MOV is Ana Marie Chocolates, and I love their milk chocolate covered Oreo cookies. It's the only way I will eat Oreo cookies. Since I have lost 30 + pounds, I need to be careful with sweets, so I only brought home four of these beauties. I shall savor them.

When I got home, it was sunny, so I decided to take beauty shots of the Yellow Ribbons quilt. Here it is on an old stone wall.

I also like this picture of the quilt tossed over a rail fence with the field in the background.

You know I keep telling you to listen to your instincts? Here the quilt is draped over a gate to the neighborhood community garden. The gate is made or rough wood and chicken wire. Something about it called to me, and I tossed the quilt over the top and got this picture. I think these three are the best.

The Yellow Ribbons Quilt is a Zebra Quilt. It's easier to make than you think, and goes together pretty quick. You can get my tutorial here, if you'd like to make one yourself.

Brown Barn

I saw this barn on the road home from Peterborough. I've driven by it several times, but this day I had the sense of mind to stop and take pictures.

I took the pictures from across the street. It's a big barn.

    

It has many of the features of a traditional New Hampshire barn, and a few "adjustments.

 I don't know if the owners in the house across the street noticed me ogling their barn.

It's really a gorgeous barn in its simplicity.

I may have to do something with it.

Barns on the Brain

I am always on the lookout for neat looking barns as I drive around. Here are a few that I have photographed over the last few weeks.

 This isn't an old barn, but it's a very handsome one. It is in Hampton Falls NH.

This worn out, worn down barn is on Route 114 on the way to Quilted Threads.

As you can see this barn is connected to an old house that has seen better times. As I was driving out to Peterborough with my dad on Saturday we looked at a lot of barns. "You know," my dad said, "keeping an old barn in good shape costs a lot of money."

This Francestown barn is famous. It is featured in a lot of calendars about New Hamsphire. As you can see, this barn is decked out for the Fourth of July. During the holiday season, the owners hang wreaths to every door and window.

"You know, the cupolas on the top of the barns aren't for the looks, they're for ventilation," my dad told me.

We got ice cream at Ava Marie's Chocolates after I bought some Lemon, Lime and Basil infused olive oils at Monadnock Oil & Vinegar. I had "Mississippi Mud" ice cream, which sounded awful to me, so I had to as WHAT it was. Turns out it was coffee flavored ice cream with oreo cookies and chocolate chips. It was seriously awesome. My dad had Maple Walnut. He's 87. Can you tell we're related? Can you tell we have a good time when we're together?

Right behind us in the picture above, we could see this barn across the street.

This is the side of a bar in downtown Peterborough. I don't know why there are names written on the siding, but I thought it looked terrific.

One other thing. Notice the big blocks of granite that make up the foundation of this building and many of the other barns in New Hampshire. Julie was blown away when she saw them.

"Well, this IS the Granite State," my dad said, laughing.