Horton's French Flea Market

This weekend is the third annual French Flea Market at Horton's in Tipton, Indiana. I missed it the two previous years and made it a point not to miss it again this year.

Horton's is a unique place for a French Flea Market because as they state on their blog,"Like something out of the past, our store is a regular emporium of delights! We have hardware, a paint dept., and a garden center which includes flowers and veggies in season."

"Our ever changing merchandise is also spattered with lots of flea-market finds and one-of-a-kind treasures you can't find anywhere else."

The French Flea Market is obviously doing well because my friend and I got there around 2:00 and we heard from several vendors that they had sold a lot of their things already and were going to have a busy night trying to get their spaces filled back up and ready for the big day tomorrow.

As a nature and garden lover, I am enjoying the home decorating styles right now, especially the interest in botanical and bird prints.

I also like that old things are being recycled and used rather than being discarded in landfills. I'm not sure why, but there is something very comforting to me about being surrounded by old things from the past. I am even liking the chippy paint on old doors, windows and ladders!

I met Nicki, from The Vintage Farmhouse. I discovered her blog several days ago from Horton's blog post regarding the French Flea Market vendors. I was looking forward to meeting her. Thank you, Nicki, for not crossing your eyes and sticking your tongue out at me when I took your picture! ;-)

After seeing these lovely bouquets, the 'Limelight' hydrangea is definitely going on my wishlist. What a magnificent flower to add to bouquets! I love that color of green!

It was interesting seeing the creative uses for vintage doors at the French Flea Market! Horton's and these vendors have that mastered!

There was so much to see that it was overwhelming trying to take it all in.I can't imagine what it was like this morning before so much of it was sold. It would definitely have been sensory overload for me!

This particular booth was my favorite! It was decorated so cute with a paint theme. I really wish I could have seen it before most of their things were gone. She also has a blog that I just discovered called D. Reyne's Everyday Elegance. She is incredibly creative and her "Tinker House" is adorable! I can't wait to have some time to see more of it!

If you live nearby you should definitely make the trip to Horton's of Tipton for the French Flea Market!

I hope you all have a lovely weekend!

White River Gardens Reflecting Pond

Dragonfly Pictures

Here are a few of the dragonfly pictures I took at White River Gardens yesterday!

Happy 4th of July

I had a wonderful day today. I spent several hours at White River Gardens and Butterfly Exhibit. The zoo and the gardens are together and for the price of admission you get to enjoy both. I had planned to walk through the zoo but it was packed today. They literally had to close the parking lot at one point because it was full. Thankfully most of the people were at the zoo and I was able to enjoy the gardens at a leisurely pace. The butterfly exhibit was a bit crowded though but it was still fun.


We finished off our day in Indy with a stop by the Chocolate Cafe. Hubby and I shared Chocolate Eruption Cheesecake. Oh, wow, was it ever yummy!

I'll be sharing some of my pictures from the gardens over the next few days. I spent most of my time trying to get pictures of dragonflies at the garden ponds.

I hope all of my American friends have a wonderful 4th of July celebration!

Potter's Bridge

Today was an absolutely gorgeous day! One of favorite places locally in the fall is Potter's Bridge. After church, while everyone else was watching the Colts play football, my camera and I took a walk around Potter's Bridge.


The trees are just beginning to change colors and drop their leaves. The reflection on the water was beautiful today. I can't wait until the amazing autumn colors are reflected in the water.


These are huge leaves!

While I was walking I heard a chipmunk making the loudest noise. I stopped in the general direction and looked until I finally spotted it. Even though they're cute, I'm very glad they aren't in my yard here. I had them in Alabama and they were such a menace.

I saw a Woolly Bear caterpillar crossing the path today. There is folklore regarding the coloring of the woolly bear, "More brown than black means a fair winter, but more black than brown means there is going to be a harsh winter". They say it isn't really true, but my feelings won't be hurt one bit if it proves to be accurate this year!

I'm sure I'll be going back frequently now to watch as the leaves change color.

2008 Indiana State Fair

Yesterday I finally had the opportunity to visit the Indiana State Fair for the very first time. The State Fair is a big deal around here and I was the only person I knew who had never been. It was a beautiful day, right around 80 degrees with very little humidity.

I love the smell of cotton candy! It is one of those smells that immediately triggers childhood memories.







I spent the last hour of my time there just sitting and watching people eat.
Fair food doesn't really tempt me too much; deep fried Oreo or Snickers isn't very appetizing or appealing to me.

Deep fried Pepsi? I wonder how they do that.

I skipped the fried veggies too and had ice cream instead, that is always tempting to me. The chocolate milkshake from the Dairy Barn was delicious.

A mass planting of chili peppers.



A couple of young girls in Pioneer Village.




Getting ready for judging. They were gorgeous, especially exquisite decked out in their finery.

Well, now that I have finally been to the Indiana State Fair, I feel like a real Hoosier!

The Indy Zoo

I probably would have spent the day at White River Gardens and the butterfly exhibit, but the zoo had just received two koalas from the San Diego Zoo named Bamba and Coombah.

I had a close encounter with the koalas when I went to Australia in 1993, where I actually got to pet them and have a picture taken with one. I really wanted to see them again. These two are behind glass and they were both asleep, so the pictures aren't that great. They are so cute!

The zoo had their pink flamingo lawn ornaments.

The bald eagle.

The lioness.

Baby ducks.


I couldn't believe how much further along the flowers were at the zoo than at my house. My daisies have a few buds, but not a single one is blooming yet.


There is nothing more pleasurable than seeing little children laughing and having a good time.
We really had a blast at the Indy Zoo and White River Gardens!