Shopping in Wilmington, North Carolina

So who goes on vacation and doesn't shop?? NOT ME! ha! I found a few things that I brought
along home with me.

I LOVED the shop that was filled with pillows like the one above. I mean this lady had
hundreds of pillows with beaches, towns and coordinates. She told me that she ships them to
 Michigan, Florida etc. and had just shipped out 200! Wow! That is dedication!

I LOVE this pillow. She didn't have it in black so I ordered one and she sent it to my home.
It is made out of canvas with an envelope back so you can insert a pillow form.
She sent the form along home with me so she wouldn't have to mess with mailing that.
I am thinking of ordering another one that has Wilmington, North Carolina and the
coordinates. Isn't it so cool?? 

I fell in love with this french grain tote and did NOT purchase it when I was there. I tend to
think about things for awhile. Well, you might know as soon as I got home I decided that
I should have purchased it. So I ran down the store online {quite a feat in itself} and asked
if they would ship to me. It was my lucky day.

I purchased this lovely coastal bracelet and have worn it almost every day since being home.
I miss North Carolina. Wilmington is such a BEAUTIFUL place.
We also picked up these shells at the beach.

This is on the of the stores that I did not purchase anything in , but I took a few photos.

Taking a photo break...SMILE!

I told hubby that I want to eat here next time. Too many places to eat and shop.
Oh my, what is a girl to do?? ha~

I mean...doesn't this just draw you in? It is right along the riverfront.

Okay...this store was GORGEOUS...beyond GORGEOUS, but I forgot to take in my camera
so the only shot I got was of the outside. ugh! This is the store that I purchased the french
grain tote from.

This place is called
THE SHOP OF SEAGATE.

The next few pictures are from here.

The COASTAL VIBE store is where I purchased my bracelet and I also purchased a
beautiful white scarf. {forgot to take a photo of that to show you}

Just plain yummy-ness!! ha!

IF you click here you will find out all about THE COTTON EXCHANGE.
It still has an old wagon right inside the door that holds a huge bale of cotton.
That was neat to see and the building is beautiful! If you click the link be sure
to then click on  Cotton Exchange History.

It is filled with several shops that are fun to peruse at your leisure.

This is where I left my Canon camera!! Can you believe it? Hubby had already drowned one in the
ocean and I forgot my other $400 camera in here on a bench. ugh!! THANKFULLY a lady who owned one
 of the stores found it quickly and held it for me. I will be honest, I was in TEARS when I got back to my
son's apartment and found out I didn't have it. I thought I would never see it again.
Thank GOD for honest people!!!

Little Ms Ainsley had to have her photo taken here. She is so funny. WHO is she looking at?
haha!

I think this is the place where we booked a boat tour. Hope to share that soon also.

This shopping place was called Chandler's Wharf. I had to take some photos because my nephew's
name is Chandler. Too fun!!

We really did have a wonderful time and can't wait to go back!!
If waiting 26 years for a vacation takes me to places like this , it was well worth the wait.

Where are you going on vacation this year? I would love to hear about it!

Blessings~

Summer in Michigan!

Please come up on my front porch and sit awhile if you so desire.

I love decorating outside just as much as I do inside so it spills out onto my front porch every year.

This year I wanted to add a bit of blue/teal to my decor without it being totally blue and I think I pulled
 it off.  What do you think?

I love vintage plant stands and have had several over the years. This is one that I hung onto
and I use it ever year. The flowers in my urns are just coming back after a nasty run in
with a raccoon! 

I always add impatiens to my porch in either pink or white. They are very easy to grow and this
gal LOVES easy. 

Front porch view from my yard. I am wanting to do something to the floor. We have lived here for over
 33 years and it has stayed pretty much the same. I either want to put a wood floor over the cement or get a
 nice big sea grass rug. I also want hubby to enlarge the porch posts and put some decorative angled trim
around the top and maybe the bottom. Hopefully we can get that done this summer.

One of our kitties are always photo bombing! lol

This is reality living in the country. I got up one morning to this mess! I never did get the large
terra cotta planter replanted. The plant was broken off with no roots left. ugh!

Doesn't this look like a fun clean up?  At least all these still had the roots attached so I could replant them.

As I said earlier, the flowers in the urns are finally coming along nicely. I hope we don't have any more
run ins with raccoon's. Hubby caught one so hopefully that is the only one around. ha!

The plants growing in front of the cement are tall white phlox, but they don't bloom until late June or July.
I love their fragrance. Also, the plant growing on the arbor is a Sweet Autumn Clematis. LOVE IT!
It has gorgeous white flowers in the fall.

This is also another flower I purchase every year and they are getting harder to find. I don't
understand it and neither do the growers because an IVY GERANIUM is the easiest flower
to grow! Makes no sense. 

 For the past several years I have had a tall white wicker table
in this space, but I wanted to mix it up this year. First I had this bookcase sitting the "tall" way and I
just didn't like it. I turned it on it's side and loved it. I want to put numbers above the openings, but
haven't gotten that done yet. I can change out the decor in the cubby holes anytime I want.

I hope you enjoyed your tour of our humble abode. I love living in the country...in Michigan...
in the Summer...without the raccoons!! :)

I'm in a gray, gray mood...

 Can you tell?

{truthfully a little of that going on inside of me as well , but it is getting better. Today I put on my
 big girl panties and pulled them wayyyy up so I hope they stay there this time!}

A peek inside my gray bedroom...it has been decorated this way for a few weeks, months, ...could it
possibly be years?? Parts of it have been I am sure and it needs some tweaking, but I am leaving it
 as is for now. 

I know all of it hasn't been this way for years because I have added a few
treasures as of late such as the dress form that I found at Hobby Lobby
for $6.00!

I am still in love with my Simply Shabby Chic shower curtains that I use for closet
doors. I also have these same curtains on the windows. I just love the gray and
white design.

I know I have shown you these lavender sachets before, but...
YEP, they are still hanging on my bed.

A window that I adorned awhile back and a  small canvas tote that I embellished.

This is the mirror that hangs above my bed. Another Hobby Lobby find several years ago that I
painted white.

Isn't that black box on the dresser just precious? ha! 

One day I will take ballet lessons...umm...NOT, but I love these shoes!
Worn by a true ballerina no less!

Are you in a gray mood today also?

Sharing with Grey Dey Thursday this week...IF I remember. lol