Flowers...

...from my garden to you.  Happy Wednesday!

The Summer of the French Chicken....

It happened the summer of 2010.  We had a sweet girl from France come to intern with Forrester Farm for 10 weeks.  Alize and 64 other agricultural students from Esipta, needed to secure 8 weeks of internship experience in an English speaking country.  Alize found us through Local Harvest, and I'm so glad that she did.  We worked, played, camped and worked some more.  The internship was as much about helping with Forrester Farm weddings and flowers as it was about experiencing the culture of the area.  We learned from Alize and she learned from us.  She even changed her opinion about camping being only for "old people"!

While Alize was with us, we needed to construct a chicken coop for our little flock that we had purchased in the spring.  Inspired by a friend who mentioned turning a corn crib into a gazebo, my husband and I decided to use that idea for a chicken coop.  We tend to optimistically jump into a project, only to realize later just how long that project might take.  It really became the whole summer project - between my husband's work, Forrester Farm weddings, farmer's market vending days, camping and some other fun excursions like ice cream runs, trips to the beach and outdoor concerts.  By the end of the summer, I had decided that the summer of 2010 would always be remembered in my mind as the Summer of the French Chicken.

Here is the completed coop.  We do just want to paint the roof yet.  I love that we can gather eggs from the little doors on the outside - they open into the nesting boxes for easy gathering.

Cooped up and ready to be set free:

Our favorite rooster of all time - Henry.  He would actually run to us if we called his name.  Alize loved picking him up. 

If Alize were with us this summer, I know that she would be smiling at the new flock additions.

At the end of the summer 2010, our coop was completed, Alize returned to France, and ever since, she refers to me as her American mum.  I gained a "French daughter", a friend, and so many memories.

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 :)!

A "Stop and Smell the Flowers" kind of day.....

I don't know if it is true for you, but our summer has flown by fast!  For the one week that I wasn't working on wedding flowers or was out of town, we hosted family from out of state and threw a graduation & birthday party for my son.  It has been one busy summer - and this week, I'm catching up.  Reclaiming the jungle of a yard, organizing bedrooms, shopping for school clothes and college dorm supplies and.... remembering to stop to smell the flowers :)!  Today, we'll even relax and take in a fabulous floral scene while enjoying music at the local botanical gardens:  Frederik Meijer Gardens and Sculpture Park. 

A wonderful perk to all the summer weddings I've worked on - 

the "left-over" flowers that call for a vase in my home.

Enjoy your day and remember to stop and smell the flowers!

(Maybe even up close!)

Our (egg) basket overfloweth.....

...with chicken, duck and Easter eggs. Spring of 2010 was our first attempt at owning chickens. It has been an interesting and foundational learning experience. I'm not sure why chickens are so fascinating to watch. One in particular likes to join me in the garden and eat found bugs and slugs off my trowel.

This spring, inspired by my daughters' "30 things to do before we are 30" list, we added "owning ducks" to the mix. Cute, messy and altogether a different experience, we have enjoyed their company on our little flower farm. Last week, one of the ducks starting laying eggs. Yesterday, one of our Araucana chickens left a surprise for us.

Baby Ducks, Spring 2011

Baby Chicks, Spring 2011

Gathered from the coop, Aug.17, 2011

An Abundant Harvest - even after having a neighbor gather eggs for a week while we were out of town

Our Best Garage Sale Find Ever....

...was a sweet little camper that I just gave a nod to when I first saw it.  My in-laws were visiting from Pennsylvania and when we traveled a ways to a flea market that closed earlier than we anticipated, we agreed to garage sale hop all the way home.  One of the sales had a camper for sale that I thought was interesting.  I walked through it and didn't think much of it - except that it was kind of cute and was a great price for what it was.  Two days later, after my in-laws had returned home, I told my husband about it.  I'd come across some cute photos of re-done trailers on the MaryJanesFarm and Sisters on the fly websites and was showing them to my husband.  To my surprise, Tony responded, "I've always thought it would be great to own one of those".  It was 4th of July weekend, 3 years ago now, and decided to venture out to the garage sale the very next day.  We were so excited to see the camper still in the driveway of the sale, but the sign was gone.  Long story made shorter, we were there as the new owner showed up to tow the camper away.  My husband offered $50 more than the original sale price and it became ours :)!  A little bit of work and a whole lot of camping fun later, it has been one of our best purchases ever.

When we bought it, it looked like this:

The interior was like this:

Our children were grossed out that once upon a time, a guy named "Bug" used to live in it.

With some wood refinishing, new curtains and cushions, it has a whole new look:

A different angle:

Now we just have to find the perfect awning!

Pure camping fun!

Wedding Season is in Full Swing....

and I've hardly taken a moment to post photos - though we did take time to have a great California get away :)! More about that at another time.

For now - enjoy some shots of a long awaited wedding...
Mandy and Ken are both in the military. Though their date had been set for this summer, they thought they would have to post-pone the wedding due to new military assignments. As it turned out, they were able to go forward with their planned date, and they couldn't be happier.

I'm looking forward to getting photos from the wedding photographer, but in the meantime, am posting the photos that I took during set up.  The family was a joy to work with - and so were the flowers :)~

A typical delivery day look for the car...

One style of centerpiece...

Another style of centerpiece...

The almost completed look.  Windows were yet to be decorated...

The bridal bouquet....

Bridal bouquet with 2 of the 4 bridesmaids bouquets...

Another shot, different angle...

Lanterns used at the church and later for the reception...

There were 4 lanterns total, 2 on each side of the front of the church...

Just loved Ken and Mandy's color combination....

Ken and Mandy, it was a joy to provide flowers for your wedding.

Thank you for all that you do to serve our country!  God Bless!