auctions are the greatest

I have only been to two auctions in my adult life and I intend to go to many, many more as often as I can. They are so much fun, and you can find the greatest treasures!

This weekend I went to an auction in this beautiful building below. It is the Highlands in Fort Washington. It is quite a spectacular place. I had previously explored the grounds and gardens, but this time I finally got to see the inside. And it just so happened to be filled to the brim with amazing treasures of paintings, sculptures, jewelry, and lots of rugs. It was as close to heaven that I can get in Fort Washington 

This is a light fixture in the building. 

The gardens are spectacular and were bursting with colors of fall. 

Painted Pumpkins Craft Night

Our last craft night was all about pumpkins.

We painted them with craft paint, acrylic paint, paint markers and even some chalkboard paint. 

My friend Melissa made two of these ghosts. 

This masterpiece was by Ericka.

I used some gold and silver to paint the stems of my pumpkins. The idea was from the latest Martha Stewart magazine. It is a super easy and fun craft that works for adults and kids alike.

Maddie made these beauties.

And here they are around my house. 

This is the chalkboard paint gourd.

I used a few of them to add an autumn touch to the dinner table.

Wissahickon Valley Park

Wissahickon Valley park is a Philadelphia treasure. And lucky for us, we live very close to it. It is enormous (1800 acres and 50 miles of trails) and has so much history and cool geology. The park includes the only covered bridge in a major city, miles and miles of hiking trails, horse trails, historic statues and stone walls everywhere. The creek has a few dams which are left over from when it was home to many mills.  It's incredible and there is always a new part of it to explore. 

 It runs along the Wissahickon Creek.

We spent a beautiful day hiking forbidden drive, up to see the statue of the an Indian chief, Tedyuscung, then to the Valley Green Inn for lunch. Every step of the way is an exploration, in a major city! We saw a blue heron in flight over the creek, turtles hanging out on logs, chipmunks, another heron scouting out his next meal on a branch, and finally we saw the Indian statue. I don't know how I just found out about that this year, but he was an amazingly cool statue who is looking out west over the creek. 

The sun reflecting onto the bridge.

 That's a Blue Heron on the branch, patiently waiting for his next meal.

What is your favorite spot on the Wissahickon? I know there is so much more of it to explore.