Baking for a fundraiser & getting ready for Thanksgiving!

Well, just taking a break from the New England trip blogging---two more days to finish writing about that but yesterday, my youngest daughter called me and asked me to bake for a fundraiser yesterday at the local university.  She's in vet school there and as funding is getting less and less for everything, they have to put on their own 'graduation' event on their own....so each class raises money during their 4 years to save up for this.  So.......I baked!  I'm also getting ready for Thanksgiving....the holidays make me crazy happy, so I've gotten most of the little Thanksgiving decorations up.....now it's time to think about the menu!

Found this plate last week for 4.00--yes, I'm a bargain hunter!

Getting into the season with some turkey and pumpkin picks

I made some DIY cupcake picks and wrappers to dress up a few of the cupcakes; I wanted to make them SO HARD to  walk away from.....tricky....tricky

Had to save a few for ourselves, right?

Here's the Linzer cookies I made for the fundraiser....filled with raspberry jam

just a little arrangement on the table in front of the sofa....I love candles!

Vintage gravy boat, my hidden stash of pumpkin spice jelly bellies, and a vintage 'leaf' dish I got on our trip to New England

"Bless our Nest" sign in back with teeny jug I typically use for syrup

Had to save one of the last roses from the garden....

The bowl was a hand-made gift from my oldest daughter that I filled with some pine cones from our yard .  The Moose?  A whimsical character and one of HUNDREDS of Moose things I have in our home

brought in a plant my middle daughter got me for Mother's Day....trying to hold onto it over the winter!  I just LOVE begonias and they do really well on our back porch if I water and mist them every day

stacked a couple of pumpkins by the fireplace up against the vintage snow shoes

I put my turban squash in my Simon Pearce bowl on the dining room table---looks a little BIG here, but it's cute

Since I bake and deliver LOTS of cupcakes, I have all kinds of carriers.  These are the Martha Stewart ones, but the same can be 'had' from SNAPWARE

Thank goodness for the cupcake carriers!

Here's my double chocolate cupcakes with cherry-vanilla buttercream frosting.  The cherry extract from Savory Spice Shop is delightfully wonderful.....it makes the frosting extra special

up close with the butterfly sprinkles....and I 'tossed on' a heart-shaped teeny sugar cookie, which came from the centers of the linzer cookies!  Hey....waste not...want not...

These are a rich ooey-gooey carrot cake with cream cheese frosting and a couple of chocolate sprinkles on top just for cuteness- love those sprinkly-things!

My 2nd attempt @ 'Hostess' cupcakes....made swirly-q's bigger this time but anyway you frost 'em, these 'lil gems are yummy!  AND, they were some of the first to go at the fundraiser

The bake sale was so fun...................and today I'm working on Thanksgiving cards to get out to a few dear friends.....love you all!!

Vermont's first snow of the season: October 15, 2010

When we work for breakfast in our lovely inn, there was something very different about the 'view' from our window----could it be?  Yes, during the night, the rain had turned to snow.  It was lovely sitting in the breakfast room having our scrumptious breakfast and watching those first flakes come down on the fall leaves strewn about....very picturesque, I must say!  

But now it was time to leave; our trip to New England was nearly over---2 more days and then back home.  This inn was awesome and I do highly recommend it.  I speak about it more in an earlier blog if you are interested...or if you do have questions, please feel free to ask.  I don't recommend such things if I'm not completely sold on it myself. It was lovely.

the long wonderful drive to the inn....

The Maple Leaf Inn Barnard, Vermont on the morning we left there....

Now....the drive was quite slippery!!

YES, it's SNOW- Oct 15, 2010 in Barnard, VT

Driving further away, the snow turned to rain and then back again, but it had come down hard throughout the night and the rivers and streams were to their brinks with rushing water.

Here, a stream is over its banks.

We come to the first of MANY roadblocks where the roads were  washed away

Here, a part of the road had slid into the rushing waters

the grass was greener than I had ever seen it before!

Remember the shot I told you to remember of the water @ the back of the store @ Simon Pearce?
Well, we went back to the store to see how the heavy rains had impacted the waterfall...it was unbelievable.  

I know that you can't even imagine what we saw and heard---it was thunderous--and we could hardly believe that the building could stand so close to this amount of rushing water.  It was a furious power that was unleashed.  Simon Pearce's parking lot was half underwater----we wanted to stay longer but were afraid we might get stuck there or worse have our car washed away....so we made it back to our car and drove off.  The trip, however, had many many slow spots, including a stop delay of nearly an hour while crews worked on roads---we had to turn around and take different directions until we could safely get out of the area and get to higher ground.....

We kept thinking that this could not have been the only storm like this in the history of the community, but it turns out that the magnitude of this rainstorm was quite record-breaking.  We also learned the next day that two people had drowned when they fell into one of the rivers....we felt lucky to have gotten safely out of several of the situations that we were in----a 'noreaster......and weather reports across Vermont told of the tale.  CLICK HERE for more on that day's weather report. 

A visit to SIMON PEARCE in Quechee, Vermont

Simon Pearce began in 1971, so it's a relatively 'new' concept in New England.  He actually began in Ireland and you can CLICK HERE to read more about the man, the concepts he believes in, the products, and the philosophy of life he shares with all.  For me, the glassware was lovely, but it was his style, his values, and his belief system that drew me to the shop.  Here, you can see glassblowing, oogle over the gorgeous tablescapes of displays throughout the store, and just be grateful for incredible artisans as those who work here.  I hope you enjoy!

the Parker House which is next door

at the main entrance

they even have linens

vases of every shape and size

the 'shine' and clarity of his glass

white on white.....always just right

simple, simple, simple

an inn next door to Simon Pearce, the Parker House

the main store

the 'garden' outside Simon Pearce

One of their simply but oh so lovely tablescapes

cake stands!! 

the entire store was SO getting me ready for Thanksgiving

some of their glass-blowing studios across the street

You're going to need to REMEMBER the following waterfall picture, because during our stay, there were torrential rains and you won't believe the difference- we went back to snap a picture of the falls during the rainstorm.

the waterfall directly behind the store from a shop window

The shop had interesting pumpkins all around

That was GREAT inspiration for ME to think about my own Thanksgiving table this year.....hmmmmmm

                                                                        

                                                                                

                                                                                
                                                                   

Barnard, Vermont and the Maple Leaf INN

The Brick Store

Some of the covered bridges look pretty rough

some areas were so so green...

the backroads of New England

I KNOW I saw this same church in Kennebunk!

Talk about lawn ornaments!

Steeples and clocks

I see some pumpkins!!

I LOVED this- I haven't seen a five and dime store since I was a kid!

lots of leaves down here, but green grass prevails

And....after the drive, we arrive in Barnard, Vermont and the doorsteps to our INN- the Maple Leaf INN!

The Maple Leaf Inn sits on approximately 14 acres and it's absolutely beautiful!

THE MAPLE LEAF INN is owned by a wonderful couple!! The structure is new, compared to the victorian mansion around New England, but it is made to 'look' old.  Inside, rooms are lovely, the food is delicious, and the library has a computer to use and books to borrow.  There is hot tea and coffee always available and a chocolate dish for those with a sweet tooth.  Breakfast was incredibly delicious, and on our second morning there, we had SNOW!  More on that later!  I don't typically recommend places to go.  I'll mention that I've been there, that we enjoyed it, that the food was yummy, or that the beds were cozy, but I would DEFINITELY go back here----we loved the area and its close proximity to other towns that we wanted to see, and it was just splendid to be there!!  If any of my readers are more interested and would like to ask me questions, I am more than happy to oblige.  Click on the link I've provided for more information, their rates, and photographs of the rooms.  We stayed there for two nights and wished we could have stayed at least two more......

Next up?  What did we do in Vermont?  Hint:  Simon Pearce, Lake Champlain Chocolates, a Maple Syrup Farm, and Cabot Cheese for starters!!  

Well, I'm off to get on my Vermont flannel shirt and start my day! See you next blog!!