A Surprise in the Closet

I just got home from a Girl's Getaway with three fantastic women at the Molly Pitcher Inn in Red Bank, New Jersey.  We had a blast, and the days went by so quickly!  I've posted about Red Bank before and the wonderful antique stores located there. 

Rather than list all of the stores and restaurants we visited and include photos of some of the beautiful antique peices that I found, I thought I'd share a photo of something on saw on Thursday morning on my way down to breakfast that was very interesting but unexpected. 

Here it is:

Believe me, it caught me by surprise and of course I had to stop and take a photo.  

It looks like he was looking for somebody, doesn't it? 

He didn't seem to notice me though. 

Do you see the Mrs. standing demurely in the background? 

I also wanted to get in on Pink Saturday at How Sweet the Sound but I always forget that I need to post by Friday evening, so here's the photo I was going to use. 

It's a hibiscus flower that I photographed in Cape May, New Jersey last month.  I'm thinking about getting a hibiscus topiary for the farm - but I'm not sure where I would put it yet. 

I hope your weekend is going beautifully and that you are relaxing and enjoying time with friends and family.  My daughter is home for the weekend and we're taking her back home to Brooklyn tomorrow, hopefully stopping at some of my favorite food shops and boutiques as well.  

Ciao, bella! 

Flower Guide Book

This past spring FHFB and I went on a short road trip down to Red Bank, NJ.  I picked up some Hemmingsley china at the antique stores down there, and mentioned a little flower guide book that I found as well. 

Since it's summer and so many bloggers, me included, are posting wonderful photos of their beautiful gardens, I thought I'd revisit the little flower book and show some more pictures of the beautiful watercolor drawings that must have been inspired by exquisite gardens and gardeners such as the ones I've loved looking at on so many blogger's pages. 
The book is about 3" by 5" with paper pages that are a bit discolored around the edges, just as you would expect with an antique book.  The binding along the spine of the book is a bit worn and broken in one spot. 

Title Page and Front Cover

A.  Wintergreen:  Checkerberry

B.  Trailing Arbutus:  Mayflower

Bull Thistle

Black-Eyed Susan

Butterfly Weed - Orange Milk-Weed

Cardinal Flower - Lobelia Cardinalis

I could look at this little book forever.  Hope you enjoyed seeing these pages from the flower guide. 

Ciao, bella!