Savoring Sweet, Sweet Summer

I always want to squeeze the most that I can out of summer!~ Anyone else?

Our summer seemed to really start in July this year. We had decided at the first of the year that ready or not, we were going to host our youngest daughter's graduation party in our "church reclaim" project at the end of June. The building wasn't as ready as I would have liked it to be, but the party was fun regardless. With guests, food and a fun, albeit imperfect, environment, celebrating our daughter with those that we love was the best!~ Work in progress photo below...

July & August were filled with floral work and as many lake, outdoor music & vintage/antiquing excursions as possible!~ 

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Big lake, little lake. Both so very different. We have a couple favorite lake locations that we love to hang out at as often as we possibly can.

 Weddings, Pulp & Stem bouquet deliveries and a fun 2 day floral workshop, kept us blooming busy all summer long. I don't think I'll ever tire of working with flowers! It's a beautiful thing.

 Vintage/Antique Flea Markets always seem to inspire me. Checkpoint 19 Antiques had a booth at a couple of our favorite places this summer. The Allegan Antiques Market and The Found Cottage Mercantile Market. Both so much fun to attend. 

My mind will wrap around the changing of the season soon, though everything in me says that I'm not ready for summer to end. Sometimes we need huge reminders to be thankful in all things!~

 We were able to attend a great music event up north this past weekend. The Accidentals were just one of the great bands that played at the Minnehaha Brewhaha. My 10 year old nephew agreed that the best song of the night was Michigan and Again where...

Thanks for visiting here.
Cheers to a great fall season!~ 

Always Amazing - Allegan in August

 The last Sunday of every month, April through September, the fabulous Allegan Antique Market takes place at the fairgrounds in Allegan.  Vendors and buyers come from far and near to enjoy the show, find new treasures and be inspired by what they see.

A couple of booths caught my attention this time around...
Heaven's Walk was a new booth this August.  The booth featured great items from Heaven's Walk, Lakehouse and Seashells & Lavender.  Three friends joining together to have fun and share their creativity with others.

Another fun booth is Butter Beans Antiques, a regular vendor.  I'm always drawn into their booth when I'm there.  The displays are just a breath of fresh air after visually taking in so much as you happily meander through the whole show.

If I had the farmhouse that my husband and I had put an offer in on this past spring, this might have been the table set that would have graced the dining room.  We still might get the house, but I'm sure that the table is gone.  Allegan is a great place to go when it comes to furnishing and decorating homes.

I would be remiss if I didn't tell you about a couple other fabulous booths.  Truth is, by the time I reached them, my arms were full, I was in desperate need of a coffee and some food, and I didn't want to take the time to pull out the camera.  Lame, I know, but I also knew that I had contact information and a photo of this cute camper from before the time my great friend Karla bought it.  Karla's Place is a great fun store in Holland that my friend owns.  If you look for this camper at Allegan, you will find Karla's friends from Rebel Reclaimed set up with all of their fun finds and creations.

Another great booth:  When I first met the couple who own Rivich Antiques, they had an adorable sweet little camper that they were selling at Allegan.  I knew it would go, and within a couple of hours of the show opening, the camper had a new owner.  Aside from the camper, they always have an amazing fun display.  Though they drive in from Chicago, IL, if you miss them at Allegan, you can probably find some of their treasures in Holland, MI at Karla's Place!

There are so many quality vendors who are a part of the Allegan Market.  Several of them will be participating in the upcoming Country Living Fair in Columbus, OH which takes place Sept. 16-18, 2011.  I'm bummed that I can't attend this year - I promised a great bride Forrester Farm wedding flowers for that weekend :)!

If you enjoyed this post on Allegan, you might also enjoy a former post featuring photos from our sweet French intern who lived with us last summer:  Allegan Antique Market, Sept. 2010.

Enjoy your day!  I'm off to move a son into his college dorm - though I cared about having his bedding, towels and accessories color coordinated - he could care less :)!