Mommy's Day Out!

My new favorite store Acorn Farm (this was at Christmas time)
My creation, I call it barn by the apple tree

I love her special blends of potpourri, I love the lime vanilla, she packages it up so cute!

A few weeks ago while I was out shopping for a new couch I ran across an adorable new store in a nearby downtown. I was drawn in by the name "Acorn Farm" isn't that just so cute. I walked in and knew right away that this was probably my new favorite place to go when mommy needs some time to herself. It is a cooking/stationary/childrens goodies/home dec store. As I was leaving I noticed a cute little painting on the countertop, the lady behind the counter told me that they offer several cooking classes at the store and each month a watercolor painting class. The little barn with an apple tree picture was going to be next month's creation and she reassured me that yours will actually look like the original. So I thought what the heck, for $20 I can give myself a few hours out of the house and maybe start a new hobby. I am NOT an artist by no stretch of the imagination. Actually when I told Dayton that I was going to take a painting class, he cracked up, I mean CRACKED up! My good friend Val watched Myah for me and off I went yesterday. The owner of the store Kathy is just the sweetest person you would ever want to meet, I love someone who smiles as much as I does not think I am goofy (right mom!). Anywhooo, I was there with about 8 other women, mostly all older women, but I love spending time with people of "age" so I was thrilled to be spending my precious mommy time with these sweet little ladies. The teacher Wendy was so patient and so talented. I had a wonderful time, they are all asking me to come back and they also want me to join their Optimist club, (which is too far away so I wont' be doing it but flattered that they asked). I was pretty proud of my creation, it is just a tiny print about 4x6 but it is a good start. Mine didn't even look close to the original but Wendy kept telling us it was our "own interpretation", her nice way of saying, keep your day job! I cannot tell you how much fun I had! I really needed that! Afterwards Kathy gave us a 20% off coupon to spend in the store so I purchased a box of her own blend of potpourri, she has the beautiful jars filled with her seasonal scents. I took Val a small box too for watching my little darling. They have them boxed up so cute in a Chinese take out box with cute ribbon. I am sure my sister is dying to see my work, please be gentle Mel, remember I am the organized one! I will definately be going back next month!

I am in LOVE with brown transferware!

Here are my favorite pieces:
This sweet little mug was a purchased for $2 at little antique shop in Cooperstown NY while we were there for Dayton's baseball tournament. It holds my Grandma's old wooden pieces.

I love this tray and it was a steal for $6! I have used it all over my house, I wish I had 3 more!
The top plate was a recent purchase for $2 at my local antique outlet mall. It has a big chip on the back but you can't even see it! The plate on the bottom was one my sister gave me, it has a $28 tag on the back! She buys the "good" stuff!

I love this little biscuit jar, it was a treasure found for $8, recently I noticed that the lid probably wasn't the original but that doesn't matter to me, nothing has to be perfect for me! The bone dish I just found last week and want to hang it above the other two plates but I need to find a really small plate holder, it was $5.

These are on my dining room buffet, these both were given to me by my sister, I love them! I found the antique silver candle sticks for $10/pair. My hydrangeas were transferred to this Longa*berger basket that I have since Dayton was newborn, so about 14 years! I love old baskets and am on the search for more.

This was the Grand-daddy bargain! This bowl is pretty large and heavy, I had spotted it several months ago and just couldn't figure out where to put it in my home so I didn't buy it, dumb dumb dumb... luckily I went back a few weeks ago and it was still there, and still only $5! It has a huge crack in the middle but I still love it, I saw one similar without the crack selling for $80! It is so pretty, it has iris's on the inside and a pretty scene on the outside featuring a little birdie. I ran out of the store with that one before anyone could tell me it was mis marked! Now it sits proudly in the middle of my dining room table holding these dried gourds surrounded by a garland I found at a second hand store for $4.00. It doesn't have to be perfect to be beautiful now does it?

I am having a slight obsession with brown transferware. I have always collected old dishes and such but now I have finally realized that this particular style is my favorite. So it has been the design inspiration for my makeover of the kitchen, I will show you more of the huge transformation later but for now here is a peak at my beloved dishes. I have been very lucky in my search for these hard to find pieces, they are really selling for lots of moola lately but I am patient and can spot a thrifty piece from miles away. Also my sister was so kind to GIVE me 3 plates that I love! I also am not opposed to buying a piece with a special crack or a chip, I am all about character and I would never use them to serve food or anything, my friends would think I have completely lost my manners, but it does help drive the price down to my level.... cheap!

Making a Comeback....Trying to Move On

I love this angel that my dear friend Sheri sent me after my Dad passed away, I have it sitting in front of a favorite picture of my Dad.

I have had this beautiful bronze/black frame for years, it was a very expensive frame that my sister had in her store years ago ( she gave it to me), I finally put these pictures of Mark and I with our Dads on our wedding day, both of our Dad's are now in Heaven. Special pictures for a special frame. I put it on top of a few of Mark's family bibles, some are even in German.

I am getting back to my natural history. I am a country/small town girl, I have always loved the neutrals/naturals and more rustic country, I am trying to incorporate that into my new decorating scheme, I am SO done with the floral couch! A new one will arrive on Wednesday. As you can see, I have lots of work to do!

I have made the decision to start posting to this site again. I started my family blog back up a few months ago. I reopened that blog in order to share stories with my parents, we live about 2 hours away from them, and my Dad was in final stages of kidney failure at the time so I wanted to brighten their days. Sadly, my Dad passed away on January 14th and I am slowly gettting around to being myself again. I have been struggling with his death lately. He was only 61 years young. One way that I deal with sorrow or stress is to work around my house. It is my haven. I love to redecorate and create and it is my therapy I guess. So my sweet hubby has been working his little tail end off with me, I know he is just trying to make me happy, bless his heart! So many changes are taking place in our home right now and I am in true "feathering my nest" mode. So it seemed only appropriate that I journal all of the changes on here as a way to journal and also to heal. I am very excited to see the end results of all of our hard work. Our warm home is a blessing to us especially during this very long and cold winter, I have decided to make the house more natural and warm as well. I don't even know if anyone is still following this blog or not, that is not the point of my return, I am doing this for me. But if you are still out there, I am glad that you are back too.