A Lovely Summer Break

 We had a very nice little vacation in Marshfield this past week.  The weather was more cloudy than sunny but still warm enough to frolic at the beach. Cloudy, cool mornings with the children were spent coloring in coloring books, blowing bubbles, painting rocks and playing hide and seek.

 We did a lot of exploration at the tide pools and found crabs, starfish and plenty of periwinkles and giant clam shells. Below you can see a good size crab that caused quite a stir with my boys. It turned out to be dead which was relief because one of the boys stepped on it. Had it been alive it would have packed a powerful pinch. In the past, we have found lobsters in the tide pools, no such luck this year.

 We stayed in an a classic knotty pine cottage. It was owned by the same family for sixty years.  They had lots of really classic retro throwbacks in the kitchen.  The metal bread box was adorable not to mention some of the pans and Pyrex casserole dishes.

 These 1950's rooster motif plates and bowls were adorable. I could imagine there were hundreds of tuna sandwiches and bowls of ice cream served up on these festive chinaware.

 There was nothing tacky about this Old Salty Dog sitting on the fireplace greeting guests. They used to sell these sort of statues at the Marshfield gift shop along with inflatable beach toys and penny candy.

 The hydrangeas were in full bloom everywhere. I just love how the house accents were painted to match the seasonable flowers. So pretty.

 Here are some very nice ornaments my sons made from collected sea glass and interesting stones and jewelry wire. They came out really nice. Trash to treasure!

 I did a little bit of needle work and felt crafts as I tried to unwind in the evening.

 Here are the little cousins in the their adorable matching swim suits. They had so much fun jumping over the big waves.

 The week winded down with a beautiful sunset. I should have lifted the screen but forgot it was there when i saw the beautiful colored sky.

 I packed the suitcases......and yes, I am also a sucker for vintage luggage. Someday I hope to own a complete set in hot pink.

 I came home after an exhausting week of fun and relaxation to find this happening in my garden. (Pictured below) I panicked because it went without being watered. I was pretty happy to see it was still thriving on it's own. Not sure if it will be a cucumber, zucchini or pumpkin.  I love surprises.