Airlie Gardens

Last weekend while at the coast, we visited Airlie Gardens in Wilmington on Easter Sunday afternoon.  My in-laws had been before, but we didn't even know this place existed.  It was a lovely way to spend the afternoon.  

Easter at the Beach

Happy April!  Are things in bloom where you live?  It seems that everything has burst into bloom here.  Our Redbud tree is covered with blooms, and so is our Dogwood.   We spent the Easter holiday at the beach this year; it was the first time we've ever done that.    

July Note Card Party

Hi everyone!  How's the weather in your part of the world?  The heat has finally arrived here in North Carolina and has joined forces with the ever-present humidity to make us feel like we're in a steam bath.  But...we have blue skies and sunshine, and for that I am very thankful.

Every summer on our local weather station, we hear the nasty D-word (drought) at least every other day.  Not so this year.  In fact, we are truly saturated.  I saw a disturbing piece on our local news last night that a portion of the Blue Ridge Parkway between Asheville and Mount Mitchell is closed indefinitely due to cracks in the pavement.  The ground beneath the road in that section is completely saturated and they said the crack is five feet deep and 200 feet long.  Yikes!  Can you say sinkhole, or maybe, landslide?

Today, I've put together four pictures from some of my previous posts in order to join in with the other bloggers at Vee's monthly Note Card Party.  This month I was in the mood to use pictures of our American flag because July always feels like a patriotic month to me.  These pictures somewhat reflect the evolution of our American flag from early colonial days up to the 21st century.

"Continental Colors a/k/a Grand Union Flag"
A restored merchant's shop in Old Salem, N.C., circa 1776

Historic Wilmington, North Carolina

In my posts for the last few days, I've talked about being at the beach for our annual family summer vacation.  That family time at the beach has come to symbolize a big part of what the summer season means to me... and on that note, I'll be linking this post to Seasonal Sundays hosted by The Tablescaper.  I hope you'll stop by to see the interesting posts there!

Yesterday we drove to Wilmington to visit a photography shop and the Barnes & Noble Bookstore.  We usually go to Wilmington for a day, or a half-day, when we're down here; and happily for me, we almost always end up in the historic downtown waterfront section of the city.  It's a fun area, and it has the most interesting old homes.  Now you may not know this, but I Love Houses!!  I love big houses, small, cozy houses, old houses and new houses.  I like cottage style, and castles, bungalows, and manor houses, Federal style, Georgian style, Victorian, farmhouse, townhouse -- just about everything but contemporary.  Anyway, you get the idea.  I want to share some pictures of these wonderful old houses located on the waterfront in downtown Wilmington.  The thing that makes them so interesting is that they have so many charming architectural features, such as handsome doors,

windows and cupolas (look on top of this roof)

ornate wrought iron fences...

and gates.

There are secret courtyard gardens

and fountains.

There are porches...

and the most wonderful hydrangeas that bloom in multiple colors.

There's convenient shopping right around the corner...

even some beautiful dishes!

And last, but not least, an awesome home security system!!

That's right, if pirates should sail up the river with plans to pillage and plunder, boy are they in for a big surprise:-)

I thought we might retire here, but I haven't told Mr. Forest Manor;)  Hope you enjoyed the tour, and I'll leave you with the rest of the pictures.

The U.S. Battleship North Carolina

Aren't the columns on the front of this house enormous?!

This is a Confederate Jasmine vine growing below, and it smells heavenly in the early evening breeze.

Thanks for stopping by.  Have a great week!

Denise