A Visit To Lavender Hollow

Hello Sweet Friends!  This past weekend I had the fun opportunity to travel with some gal pals to visit Lavender Hollow Farm.  This beautiful little farm is located in Escalon- only an hour drive away- and was a perfect, easy day trip.

 As soon as we opened the doors of the car the lovely fragrance of lavender greeted us.  I love the smell of lavender, so the fragrance was like heaven for me!

  The gardens surrounding the private residence are so charming.

 We enjoyed walking around the grounds.  There was plenty to look at...

 ... like this beautiful clematis climbing the entry to the private residence.  I love how it looks against that pretty used brick wall.

Aren't these beautiful?!  I love the vivid violet color.  No alterations were done to the color in this photo-- this is really how it looked!

  Lavender Hollow Farm is open for a very short season, only 5 or six weekends.  The lavender is in early bloom right now-- and I imagine that the color will intensify throughout the coming weeks.  Each weekend the farm offers lavender crafting classes under the canopy in the photo above.  On this day, the guests were creating heart shaped lavender wreaths~ so pretty!

Charm and sweetness around every corner...

 

  ...and a really great variety of lavender plants were available for purchase. I purchased two-- Sachet and Betty's Blue!

 I never knew there were so many varieties of lavender!  I love that this variety is named "Alice".  That happens to be my favorite auntie's name.

 Inside the lavender barn was a fun boutique.

I love the hardware on the door to the barn-- so pretty!

  We found a great variety of lavender goodness-- lots of bath, culinary, and gift products.  I ended up purchasing some ground culinary lavender for baking, and can't wait to try it out in a batch of shortbread cookies!

 It was refreshing to find items at such reasonable prices.  Sometimes prices of items in tourist locations can be so inflated, but that wasn't the case here at all.

 We wandered around the grounds, taking photos and enjoying the sunshine.  Lavender grows well here because of the Mediterranean climate in this valley.

 We enjoyed a really great box lunch catered by Leonardo's Cafe.  Every item was infused with lavender.  It was so good-- not overpowering at all.  Click here to see the yummy menu! 

Oh, and I couldn't leave without treating myself to a lavender infused pink lemonade for the road.  The perfect ending to a perfect visit to Lavender Hollow Farms!  (Now, off to shop the antique/vintage stores!)

Hugs,

Clay Play, And Some Sweet Vintage Embroidery

ost Fridays, my friend Kathy and I get together for what we call an "Artist Date". It's a fun way to stretch our creative wings, discover creative inspiration, and to simply have fun. Recently, Kathy and I had the opportunity to play with clay! Kathy has access to a kiln, so we have been excited to try our hand at sculpting. Above is my sculpture. Can you tell what it is??

Is it easier to tell in this photo? It's a pincushion! You know, the classic tomato with a strawberry needle sharpener. I used white clay, and decided to glaze it clear. I thought it would turn out with a more of a matte finish, but it's a bit glossy. I had hoped that the "fabric texture" would show more too. The strings came out okay though. (Okay, okay, okay, I'll stop the critiquing...)

Although I learned so much on just this little project, I have so much more to learn. This little pincushion was so fun to create and I'm really looking forward to the next project!

I love this little vintage embroidered dresser scarf thingy-- did you notice it under the pincushion? I collect vintage embroidery pieces here and there, and this is one of my favorites.

Each stitch is so perfectly stitched, and the images are so sweet. I love this mama duck and her little ducklings. Check out the baby duck butt-- that little duck is diving for something!

I love the trees on this piece also. They used two shades of green, and they look great.

Such a sweet stitched scene!

Hugs,