Nineteen Years, a Lavender Festival and Lake Treasures

Eighteen years ago my husband Frank and I celebrated our first year wedding anniversary at a quaint Bed & Breakfast at Skaneateles Lake. One of the Finger Lakes in central New York in the United States, the name Skaneateles means long lake in one of the local Iroquoian languages.

It is a beautiful lake, a quaint town full of great shops and restaurants and this weekend, a Lavender Festival. We decided to celebrate our 19th anniversary on Saturday there. Our actual anniversary day is today, July 13th.

When we arrived at the festival at the Lockwood Lavender Farm on West Lake Rd, the first thing we saw was the mile long line for the bathroom! I was not about to wait in it although nature was calling. You will understand later why I am mentioning it! It still made a pretty picture with the barn in the background!

Just to the left there were rows of gorgeous Lavender.

 

The chair was lavender colored and put there for picture taking. I am holding my long stemmed bunch of lavender that I picked myself. That was one of the main features at this festival. 

 



 

You were given a pair of scissors, instructions and a cardboard guide for how large your bunch could be. I have to dry the bunch for about 3 weeks and then it is ready to display.

While I waited in line to cut my bunch of lavender my sweet husband volunteered to go wait in the bathroom line for me! It worked out perfect! When I got back to him, he was second in line. Did I mention that he agreed to go to a Lavender Festival for OUR anniversary outing? I have been calling him my Knight in Shining Armor for nineteen years now.

This picture was taken after he waited in the bathroom line! It was hot!

On the way to Skaneateles we stopped at a yard sale and an antique sale and got some treasures. My knight doesn't mind thrifting with me at all. Actually he likes it. He wanted to stop at so many yard sales that by the time we stopped at a three floor warehouse flea market on our way home I had to say "enough" because I was exhausted! That is huge. I usually don't say no to thrifting!

This box of antique lamp parts was calling me. I don't know why because I don't really sell supplies but I just loved these!

The large brass ring is from a chandelier.
 

I also found a great set of white enamelware pots with red trim. One has the cover to match. A tan green trimmed enamelware bowl, an Art Deco Son-Chief toaster and a 1930's Acme frying pan.

I just love these purses so I threw that in the mix although it didn't match a thing! :-) I will be listing all of these in my Etsy shop.

 

I came home with a thing or two for me too. I have always loved the look of an old door in the garden but don't want to pay the price for the really chippy, weathered ones. This door was at a yard sale while passing through Auburn, NY on our way home. It is almost 7' tall and has a nice brass pull and hinges on it. I paid $5!

 

 

I am going to figure out the fastest way to weather this so I can get it in my garden. I may have to paint it aqua first! My friend Susan gave me some great ideas for it so I am anxious to pull it all together. Won't it look great nestled in some ferns with a stone path leading to it and a window box attached near the middle filled with flowers? At night a spotlight can highlight all it's goodness!

And finally, we found an arts and crafts show that had a display of metal garden things. My husband is funny about not having an actual gift on the day of our anniversary so he just had to buy me something. My anniversary gift from him is clearing out a garden and adding a lilac bush, which I have been wanting since we moved here. Since the planting can't be done till Fall, he bought me this....

 

It is a metal sculpture, all chippy and rusty, which is hard to see, and it is my new favorite color of Aqua! It is large and we spent the morning hanging it from our funky side growing tree over the side garden. 

 

 

 

My gift to my husband was a pair of Converse high tops. He grew up in the 70's and Converse sneakers were the thing to wear, if you had money! They now make them with DC Characters and Frank wanted Batman and Joker. Since they make a pair with Batman and a pair with the Joker, not both characters on one pair, I bought him both! No surprise to me that he wore one from each pair at the same time. One foot Batman, one foot Joker. No joke!!

 



 

He pulled the look off great with his blue plaid shorts and Batman t-shirt. We went to the new Minion movie and Panera for dinner, with our son, as our anniversary date.

 

Next year Italy!

 

 

AnnMarie xoxo

 

I am sharing with these great blog parties:

 

Show and Share

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Thrift and Vintage Finds Link Party

Wake Up Wednesday Linky Party

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Vintage Inspiration Party

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Home and Garden Thursday

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