My Most Favorite-ist Blog...Ever...

My Most Favorite-tist Blog

...Eva!

***My Very First

Giveaway too!***

Ok....Here it is girls...

Holla- Farmhouse sistas!!!

I have to give credit where credit is due....and Miss Ruthie it is for You!!!

((sorry, that was so corny, I know....))

I decided that it was time to put it all out there and exclaim my all time favorite blog to the world.....Warm Pie Happy Home, (SugarPie Farmhouse) of course!

It all started way back in the fall of 2007....

At that time I didn't even know what a blog was til I stumbled upon Aunt Ruthies blog...Warm Pie Hapy Home. I was searching for some thanksgiving decorations and up came these cute lil pilgrims and indian figures in my search list. Up popped cute little pictures of these figurines dancing around on Miss Ruthie's kitchen counters...oh they were so very cute and I wanted them, but wait, what is that...oh, do you see just how cute the rest of her kitchen is...oh, there's more pictures...oh my, should I be reading this? This is someone's home...Is she writing to a dear friend and had I an unsuspecting visitor have stumbled upon this personal message she sent to them? Too tempting. I must read it....personal message regarding blessings from god? How beautiful and uplifting...Oh wait she's offering pie too???? I scratched the web address onto a piece of paper and shut my puter down for the night.

The next day I asked my puter savy hubby what is a blog hon? Hubs- Oh just something people do, like an online diary of sorts? Me-"Is it personal, like can anyone read them?" Hubs-"No, silly if it were personal do you think it would be on the internet?" Me-He,he. (now giddy over the fact that I was allowed to go back for some more pie :o) ) "Guess not silly!" Off he went to work and I jumped back onto my puter to find that cute blog. We'll over the next few (yes) hours I went over and over her blog and read all the previous posts and oooohhhed over her pictures of her home. I loved her style and could see that we shared a common thread in decorating our homes with a lil whimsy...

The message that she sent with each post was so very uplifting, positive, reassuring, and loving. I could see that this woman was on a mission! I hopped off the puter so refreshed by her messages and dedication to her family. Every day from then on I would check her blog while drinking my morning coffee. Miss Ruthie's blog became part of my morning routine....what a day when there was a new post to read...oh, heaven! Always, I walked away from my puter feeling so refreshed and ready to get to being a better homemaker and mother! The funny thing about all of it was how often she would send a message that seemed to tailor fit just what I needed to hear that day or week....gotta love that!

I want to share, with you, her blog because I truly enjoy it as so many of her other followers do that post on her new Sugar Pie Farmhouse message board (wheww that was long!). She started a sisterhood where women from all over post advice, positive messages, recipes and most of all friendship, all with a common likeness for Sugarpie Farmhouse. Before I knew it, Aunt Ruthie inspired me to start a blog of my very own and she was the first person to leave a comment on my blog! I couldn't do another post without mentioning all of this!

Every woman I have come across in this lifetime would love

and truly benefit from her blog.

Now......
At risk of being a total copy cat, geesh! I have to tell you that she has the cutest lil' stove in her kitchen and from the moment I laid eyes on it....I wanted one! Yup, I'm a poser and I don't care who knows. From that moment on I made it my mission to "get me one of those".

Well, about a year ago, I was finally able to locate one...I walked into an antique store off the beaten path and low and behold there it sat in all it's rusty glory my "Lil chef oven"! I had been searching for it since I first saw it on WarmPie in 2007. I was afraid to take my eyes off of it, fearing someone else would spot my treasure (even though there were only 2 other's in the store) and steal it out from under me. I played with the little knobs, opened the oven door to find all the pots and pans left behind from the little chef that once played with it long ago. Turning it around I couldn't find a tag anywhere on it....Oh no what if it is simply out of my budget? Could I contain myself and stay in control.....would I? Reluctantly, I pulled my eyes off of it for a second checking back only once as I approached the dealers counter. I tried to hide my excitment and as casually as I possbily could I said "how much are you asking for the rusty old stove there in the corner" as if I didn't like the fact that it was used and old. Hmmm, he said, I'll take $12 dollars for that one, it has been sittin for sometime. Oh glory! I wanted to jump up to the ceiling instead I cassually muttered an "Ok that'll do." I handed him the money and hit the road, me and my lil stove.

Once home, my hubs asked what in the world I wanted an old childs stove for....Are you kiddin me, I exclaimed, look at this baby! Ummmm, can you say ADORABLE! Gleefully, I reached into the lil oven door and pulled out all the utensils a little chef could possibly need. I imagined the chubby little hands that must have touched that stove with the same excitement I felt....only then it was shiny new. I loved the imprefections on my lil stove..bent burners, lil rust spots and another dent or two and it would stay exactly the way I had found it. I gave it a wiping down, and placed it on my counter.

Don't you know that lil stove still attracts children even in it's old age now and is played with often by my two younger children? While making dinner we slide it to the edge of the counter on particularly crazy nights and as a treat they get to play with it. It is a great distraction for them while I make their dinner. My son makes dinner in the little pots and pans and bakes it up. He takes good care of it and knows that it must sit where I place it and go back on the counter when finished. I love my lil stove!

There is also the subject

of my kitchen pantry...

If you see Miss Ruthie's pantry you will know that it is worth bloggin about! It is huge!

I have a much smaller version that I have in my kitchen. I had spotted the screen door on the pantry long ago in an issue of country living and placed it into my LOVE THIS binder (more on that in another post) I knew that I would be putting this up in my kitchen, but Miss Ruthie inspired my shelves for sure.

They remind me of the kind you would find in an old General Store. This area of my kitchen once was a little used baking center now better used better suited as our pantry to house all of the food you try to stock up on when you have a family of five.

Not to mention the cute

chalkboards, chore chart's I made and recipes...

All inspired by Aunt Ruthie!

Now, with all of that said, I have to tell you one last time that you must see Aunt Ruthie's blog and Sugar Pie Farmhouse forum if you haven't yet had the pleasure. I bet you'll be happy you did.

I want to show you something that I have made in celebration of Miss Ruthie's Blog and sugarpiefarmhouse.com, as I stated in my about me profile section of my blog, I make country signs and this one was made especially with her in mind. This is a rather plain sign done in an antiqued cream and red to go with alot of different decors. The giveaway is for the sign only.

If you do follow my blog and like this sign, please leave a comment on this post below. I would like to know about your most favorite blog and why it is your favorite. I will hold a drawing on June 10th for this giveaway...picking a follower's name out of a bowl. I will announce the winner on June 12th.

Of Course, Miss Ruthie if you are readin' this, by all means, let me know! This sign is a gift for you as well....no comment needed!

Go get some pie girls and enjoy your day!

For SugarPie Farmhouse, click below.

http://forums.sugarpiefarmhouse.com/index.php?act=idx

Take Care Gals,

Dee

Memorial Day Weekend at the Farmhouse

!Gettin Ready For Summertime!

Well girls we're gettin ready for summertime livin here at the farmhouse this Memorial Day weekend. We will be spending this long weekend getting our yard spiffed up and ready to go for the warm months. We have some property here and it is near impossible to find the time to get it all done when we are left with one day a week. Running for our kids sports 4 nights a week and soccer games on the weekend really take up alot of the time and leaves us with little energy!

There is a trellis that spans our back deck that I'm just dreading painting it. It is a large project and has been looming over our heads for the past two years but there is no more avoiding the fact that painting is now necessary. The part that stinks is that we have a grape vine that grows over a portion of it and now that we are starting to paint it later than we have in previous years we are going to have to cut the vine off of it in order for it to be painted. I hope that it grows back quickly over the top because I love the vine growing in and out of it. It provides a shady spot on our back deck over our patio table.

Not to mention that chicken wire still needs to be put around the garden to keep our woodland creatures from snacking on the fruits of our labors. There is also an old shed on our property that we are STILL in the process of turning into a coop....we had to tear off the old siding and it is waiting to be resided and painted...not a pretty site right now and taking much longer than expected. We also have torn down our old pool and will be replacing that over the next couple of weeks as well. The upper deck that goes around half of the pool also needs repairing and we have to replace some of the railing as well.

More importantly though.......

while we are doing all of the things that need to be done to keep our farmhouse up and running...we will also be reflecting on how grateful we are to live in this beautiful free country of ours. We are so Grateful to all those soldiers who have fought for our freedom and especially to those who have made the greatest sacrafice of all. In spite of all the hardships our country is facing today I am aware that we are very fortunate to live here and am confident that the amercian spirit will pull us through in the end!

And so............

Boy, do we have our work cut out for us! I will post some pictures once our backyard has been cleaned up! I hope that we can get alot of it accomplished over the long weekend.....and that I'm still standing when Tuesday rolls around! Wish me luck!

In the meantime....during all of the rain that we had I was able to put up a few summertime decorations inside my home...here's a photo of my magazine cabinet. I purchased this cabinet unfinished a long time ago and finished it myself. It has been several different colors over the years but probably has been green the longest. Alway's changin things here at the farmhouse!

Anyway, I keep my magazine subscriptions inside this cabinet and rotate them out every couple of years. I may have mentioned that I have a problem with collecting them, I'm a magazine aholic!

This picture is my daughter Sage and niece Alea taken when they were about 5 years old. Another summer hose incident! I printed it out in black and white and out it goes every summer. It is one of my favorites!

Here is a figurine of a children playing in the summer sand, I keep it under my cloche that I rotate out for the seasons. It is from an illustration originally by Jessie Wilcox Smith. She is my favorite children's illustrator of all time and I have collected some of her things. When I saw this on ebay for $5 you bet I had to have it! Apparently there was a collection made by Avon some years back, and now I am on a mission to collect as many as I can (afford)!!

With all of that said.....we were able to get outside yesterday afternoon and run around a little in the front yard. (BTW, Please disregard the lack of weedwacking that needs to be done, something else we have to do this weekend).

My two younger kids got a hold of the hose while I was watering my flowers and had a blast! Jake had his sister soaked to the bone in two seconds flat! He sure is fast! They were so cute running around with the hose I snapped a few pictures of them.

Jake chasin his sister with that hose....
fun---e!!

Do you see this lil guy of mine? He has the most devilish laugh to match that cute face when he is getting himself into some trouble! I set that hose down for a split second and he was off terrorizing me and his sister and gigglin all the way. (note the post that is missing the birdhouse that blew off during the recent storms? Just another thing to fix this weekend!)

My sister in law (my partner in crime) finally got a hold of that hose and gave it right back to them...all in good fun!

Now that is some healthy fun, kids running around in the sunshine playin..gotta love it!

We all headed in for dinner and then some homemade pound cake and strawberries, yum! A simple and easy summer time dessert.

I hope that you and your families have a wonderful weekend! Please feel free to leave a comment about how you will be spending your weekend!

PS. I will be posting a giveaway next week so be sure to check back for it on Wednesday!


Take Care,
Dee

Makin Do!

Makin Do!

I often times will use things in my home in unconventional ways. Some call it recycling, some repurposing, or being green. Items that are cast off for trash, possessions sold at tag sales, parts that are broken or outdated can be given new life in a home and reinvented with an unusual purpose. A different use than it had in it's previous life.....My husband has looked at me cross eyed like I was nuts when I brought some of these things....thank god he humors me often. He always loves my final vision in the end....once he sees it. He is a visual kind of guy and has to see it to know whether or not he will like it. I, on the other hand, imagine first. I imagine what I would like to see an item become and then I try to make it that way. I wanted to share with you a few of those items that I have revamped and or "made do" with throughout my home.

In order to stay home with my children we tightened our budget when we first married. At first alot of the repurposing and revamping came out of necessity, like when we needed a dresser for our daughters room and I painted and faux finished a thrift store find. When I realized that through this necessity I could express my creativity without worry..I wasn't destroying anything new or that I had spent a large amount of money on. In fact most of what I do use is quite inexpensive or sometimes even free. It is a creative outlet for me and I sometimes take a classic approach and use an item for its intended purpose and sometimes I like to mix it up a little...

Here is an Old Shoe Factory Shelf turned Pot Rack

that hangs over top of my kitchen island. I spotted it while at a craft and antique show past the tables it leaned off the beaten path against an old building, I was attracted to the red peeling paint with the wood worn through, I instantly wanted it. The man that I purchased it from asked curiously what I was planning on doing with it after I shrewdly swiped it up. "It needs a lot of work" he told me "the paint is peeling"....Funny, since I actually thought that was what was giving it such character and I really liked the colors of it....I then asked him what it's prior occupation had been. After hearing that it had once held shoes in a factory I quickly gave him the $10 bucks. Yes, $10! I knew that if it was strong enough to hold shoes and lasted 70 years then it would make do for my intentions. I then exclaimed to him "this here is my new pot rack"!....I smiled and left him with a puzzled look on his face. I brought it home sealed the peeling paint and purchased some wrought iron hangers and up it went. It has hung in my kitchen for the past 7 years now and I have gotten a lot of chuckles from people after they hear about it's past.

My pots are within reach without taking up precious cabinet space.

In my kitchen I have a powder sugar shaker picked up at a garage sale for a buck that I keep readily by my sink. Instead of sugar, it is filled with baking soda. Oh and by the way, I love baking soda...another blog topic someday....a sprinkling of baking soda on my cook top to clean up spills afterwards. It is a great natural non-abrasive cleaner and works great on my kitchen sink.....more on that another day though!

You might also notice the back splash?

Ceiling tiles.

Mason Jars....

Don't ya just love them?

They can be used for more than just canning! They make a nice vase, for poured candles, pen holders, drinking glasses, and that list goes on and on.....A little juice glass holds fresh picked wildflowers from my son Jake, picked special with his chubby lil 2 year old hands.....I love his fresh bouquets! So sweet!

A four leaf clover I pulled from my flower bed...

hmmm....maybe a good year for the flowers?

The New Ol' Water Pump...

This was gift from my family for this past Mother's Day...I just love it...It is an antique and I am now using it as a decoration in one of my flower beds.....I may someday try to find a way to pump water through it...if I can ever manage to make the small pond that I want, maybe someday. For now it will keep my pretty little flowers company.

I can imagine all the hands that must have pumped water from this well to quench their thirst or how many times a bucket full of ice cold well water was pumped to bring into the kitchen for someones momma.....I like to imagine....I am a daydreamer sometimes.

Here is the latest addition to our home....a used cabinet pie safe purchased for a song...

La...La...La!

I traveled about an hour away to pick it up yesterday and was so pleased that I liked the paint color on it...I thought that I would be painting it today, instead, I will be leaving it black and distressing it a little here and there. It came with all white knobs but I am in the process of switching them out to the wood knobs, hence the reason you can see three white knobs on the bottom.....I am not sure yet where I will place it or what it will be used for. Still working on that.

I have been eyeing a piece very similar to this piece for sometime now...but my budget wouldn't allow the expense so I just put it out of my mind as a someday, maybe, we'll see if I hit the lottery thing! Well I am thrilled to pieces that I found this one made by the same mfg. as the one I wanted and the price was an itsy bitsy fraction of it.....love when that happens.....

Well gals, I hope that you all have a wonderful weekend and that the weather allows you to get out and find some inexpensive items to repurpose and give new life and a new purpose to.....

Take Care, Dee

PS....See the rug under the cabinet above?

I use them to move furniture on hard floors...

slide them under and they work great and that's double duty!

Hey mommy! The sun is smiling at me!!

This is what my 2 year old son exclaimed as he peeked out the window this morning!

Too cute... :o)

Well....I guess that we can now say that we are clearly on our way to summer! Hip, hip too way--as my 2 year old Jake says! The pastels of spring are being packed away at my house and out come the red, white and blue americana in honor of memorial day and will stay up until after the fourth of July.

My garden things and silk potted flowers line my mantels and shelves but soon real flowers will wait in pots on my front porch to bloom....I cannot wait!

I have put out some of my flower arrangements to brighten the place up...we had almost 2 weeks of rain here and the sun just keeps teasing us playing hide-n-seek behind the clouds. So, I figured that today I would decorate while cloudy inside and then run outside when the sun was shinin' to weed my garden! Yeah right...I wish that I could multi task like that!

A cupboard that is now holding my gardening decor and nests....some were gifts, some homemade, some purchased and some thrift items all mixed together.....

A Basket of Geraniums....

Here is an arrangement that I made for my back door....now hanging in my laundry room. I add a tea dyed flag for the fourth of July and take it out for the rest of the summer.....double duty!

and......last but not least.........

A New Summer Wreath.....
Just wanted to share some pictures, I still have a long way to go but I am getting my cleaning finshed up and decorating for memorial day. I ordered the ADORABLE wreath from qvc last year and it was on backorder for so long I didn't get to use it until this year.

Guess it was a popular wreath. It is made by Valerie Parr Hill and I love, love, love the summery colors and the bike is just like a real one...my 2 year old son is whining because he really, really wants to play with it! I just hope that I can keep it up and stay sane!

Well I hope that you are having fun decorating for the season as I do....only I hope that you are making more progress than I am......I have to run...I have some gardening to do and the sun is showing for now!

Take Care, Dee

Blessings of Motherhood

I have been blessed as a mother. Even on my craziest most zaniest-- wanna pull your hair out kind of days I know that I am truly blessed. Some people want to be a nurse, teacher, I wanted to be a mother. Although my husband and I went to high school together, we didn't start dating until our college years. We dated for several years and were married when I was 22 and he was 23. I have been at home with my children since the day I laid eyes on my first born 15 years ago. C.A. was to say the least my wild child...energetic, vivacious, and fun loving, she let the world know that she was here...always the life of the party! Jeez was I TIRED at the end of the day! She has grown into a beautiful young lady who is most helpful and so very loyal.

I tried for two years to have another baby and after many prayers, (and ouch...many fertility shots) four years later my second daughter, S.L. , was born to us. After six months of colic she was a perfect baby happy just being happy and always going with the flow and content doing so. She wasn't in any rush to get into this world and sure isn't going to start rushing around now! A quiet and sensitive child, she has been a pleasure. Sage is very artistic and considerate of others feelings.

For nine years it was just the four of us, and it was wonderful with lots of happy memories. When my oldest daughter entered into middle school I was happy that they were growing and moving into more independent stages of their lives but at the same time a little sad that they didn't need me the way they did when they were younger. I was to say the least..... confused....I still wanted to be here for them when they got off the school bus in the afternoon but was restless and lonely with them gone all day long.

Then I became sick with a flu that lasted a whole month ;o) I was sideswiped and couldn't figure out why I just felt so darn lousy! My husband and I found out that it wasn't the flu that was keeping me that ill for weeks on end, not even a stomach bug, instead we had been blessed with another baby on the way! Surprised and excited as ever, we prepared our family for the arrival of another addition. Our daughters were so very excited and we welcomed a baby boy into the world nine and half years after my middle child.

My son, J.D., is my sunshine. I have found out that there is truly a difference between boys and girls and am loving it all the same. He is my sweet boy, tough and sensitive, and very funny. I guess being the youngest child with such an age gap he always has an audience and plays the part. Spoiled beyond belief...what he doesn't get from one he will try to get from another family member! I cannot remember those days without him and know that he was a blessing sent straight from heaven. He has taught me that we are not in control of everything in our lives and that it is alright not to be.

I cannot imagine my life any other way....I am grateful to have been so blessed with this family. Although going through teenagehood and toddlerhood at the same time can be taxing I am stronger than I thought! The sounds that have filled the walls of this farmhouse have been truly wonderful...good and bad--the laughing, the loud music, the banging on drums, the sound of my daughter learning to play the clarinet, the sound of my older daughter mastering chords on her guitar, my son singing himself awake lying in his bed in the morning, my middle daughter playing school, many sleepovers and parties, children bickering, hide n go seek, daughters chatting on phones, my daughters favorite cd playing over and over and over again! Sage walking around in my heels, my children playing games, playing tag in the yard, splashing in the pool, skinned knees, hurt feelings, tears of sadness, tears of joy, singing Christmas carols, watching movies, children sleeping soundly in their beds, and I could go on and on and on......thank you to my children for all your blessings, thank you all for another wonderful Mother's Day! I love you more than all the stars in the sky, over the moon and back....forever and ever.

I won a giveaway!!!

Well, I just want to say thank you to CathyJean from Because Nice Matters!! I won her blog giveaway for a current issue of Mary Janes Farm Magazine. I have only read one other issue of this magazine and loved it so I am very excited to read this one! Anyone who wanted to share their farmgirl style project with her and leave a comment would be entered into a chance to receive from her a copy of the magazine. My hubs and I are turning an old shed on our property into a chicken coop...and although it is taking quite sometime I hope to be able to post some pictures soon. I am so excited because I have never won anything before! I have been reading her blog for sometime now. What a kind and generous woman she is......she just had another give away for the cutest darn apron ever! She has some really cute things and great recipes on her blog, you should go over and check it out at http://auntdaisyscottage.blogspot.com/. Thank you again CathyJean for your kindness and generosity!