Three Weeks and Counting

I know this is a little cliche' but time sure does fly when you are having fun! We cannot believe that there are only three weeks left until our Barn Event and Sale! We have been crazy busy around here getting everything ready and it looks like Mother Nature is following suit...albeit a little early.

The daffodils are flowering in all of their glory along the old stone wall.

The magnolia is budding beautifully even though everything around it is still wearing their coats of muted browns. Except for the ivy which never wears anything but it's resplendent coat of green. I find these changes that occur every year without fail nothing short of miraculous. 

With the soil never freezing fully we have been able to get a huge jump on the vegetable garden. The beds are all ready to be planted and many seeds are waiting to show their heads in the warm sunshine of the past couple of weeks. 

I love this trellis that my son Christopher built with a friend. Last year I built a tee pee type trellis out of the same bamboo...one lasted the season, the other ended up in a heap of twisted vines in the dirt. I passed the job on this year!

I cannot wait for the cucumbers to wrap their growing tentacles around this baby! Unfortunately, with gardening, as with many things in life...the best laid plans...

We all know how that one goes.  

As well as my trellises not serving their intended purpose last summer our crops were severely depleted by the deer. After 4 summers of staying out of the garden fence, they attempted it and were rewarded by all of  our hard work. In one night, they topped off every plant in the garden except the okra. Once they have tasted a ripe tomato, I am sure that they will be back for more! Any suggestions?

We have more to do outside in the warm sunshine but at night we have been busy in the barn. I wanted to give you a peak at a couple of the handmade items that we are putting the finishing touches on.

Here is a chalkboard that we made out of an old decorative molding piece. All we have to add is the tray for the chalk.

We made this one out of an old gilded frame.

Lots more to come so stay tuned!

Spring Barn Sale Event to Benefit Local Charity - Hives for Lives!

Over at Life's Patina we have been buzzing with activity that have kept us busy as bees!  Along those lines we are so proud to announce that we've selected  Hives for Lives as the Benefit Charity for our upcoming Spring Sale!  This is a wonderful local organization started by two young beekeepers, Molly & Carly Houlahan.  When these industrious young girls lost their Great Grandfather to cancer they began selling their honey to honor him and help fight this disease.  For more information and to hear their story follow this link to their website:

                             


                              Hives for Lives

Proceeds of our Spring Preview Party and a portion of net sale profits will be donated to this wonderful  charity which works to "BEE-T Cancer".  Make a difference at our Spring Sale (dates are April 20 – 22nd) which will feature  Hives for Lives products in addition to the many unique items we will be showcasing!

Show hours are as follows:

Friday - 12 - 7 pm

Saturday - 9 - 5 pm

Sunday - 9 - 4 pm

A Bounty of Farm Tables and More

 Excitement brews as we haul in treasures from our latest excursions. We have a bounty of beautiful old wood farm tables to share with you at the next sale. 

These ones are made with old wood tops and new wood  for the legs. They are embellished with a simple wooden apron.

We found them in two sizes.

This table has drawers on one side thus making a great desk. Not sure if we are going to paint this piece but we better decide soon!

Beautiful Irish scrubbed pine Library table...what a find!

We just came in from the barn where we are finishing up repurposing old frames like this beauty into bulletin boards and chalkboards. We have quite a collection of which I will preview for you in my next post.

Happy treasure hunting! Only 30 more days until the Barn Sale!

"Top of the eve-nin to you!"

The wee little leprechauns made a stop at our house today and were very mischievous! They turned our milk green and left us a yummy batch of Raisin scones and some gold coins. They even did my laundry, cleaned the kitchen and made all the beds...tricked ya!

We ended our day with a delicious meal out with my brother and sister and their families as well as my mom and dad. I hope that your Saint Patrick's Day was just as "lucky!"

"May the road rise up to meet you

May the wind be always at your back

May the sun shine warm upon your face,

The rains fall softly on your fields

and until we meet again

May God hold you in the palm of his hand."

Neat Find

And they say that children were not born with a book to tell you how to raise them...

They did in the 1930's!! You can find out everything you ever wanted to know about child rearing in this interesting collection of books called The Mothers Encyclopedia in only 6 volumes! 6 Volumes and you would be all set! 

It even contains sage advice such as the caption under this photo, " The unspoiled baby seldom fusses."

Wish I had this years ago! You don't want to miss this treasure find - it will be for Sale at the Spring Sale but sadly, I only have one!

Enjoy your day!

The Thrill of the hunt

Good morning on this balmy morning in March! 

I am so excited about some of the treasures that I have been finding that I have to share some pictures of what we will have here at our spring Barn Show and Sale.

Old silo door~wouldn't this make a unique towel holder?

This chair needs a little TLC but wait until you see the transformation! We have a set of four that will be ready just in time for this balmy Spring!

The last temptation of the day are these stainless steel milking cans. Wouldn't they look great filled with some of the forsythia blooms that are showing their golden hues?

Come back tomorrow to see more from our treasure hunting!

More of Mission Organization

I know that I revealed in my last organization post that I had a penchant for things that speak to me visually. Things can be practical and pretty at the same time. I thought I would share a few areas or items in my home that I use to help keep all of the stuff that I have to keep track of from entering into the pile of oblivion (only to be lost forever when they are swiped up to be placed in a bag hidden from the eyes of visitors). You know....the never open a closet in front of strangers rule? 

I will start with the small things and move up into the bigger items. Remember...they have to look pretty!

Lists, menu's, magazine clippings of a product you want to try and find on your next shopping day, receipts from your last shopping day of an item that needs to be returned, letters to be mailed all need to find a home and preferably not one at the bottom of your purse/pocketbook.

 To alleviate them from being "at home" in the bottom of my bags, I took a cute decorative little clipboard (5 X 7 size) and now I clip all those little flyaway pieces to it. It is easy to bring it with me as I am running out the door to to my car and back. I have even clipped small Ziploc bags to it that held the tiniest light bulb ever that I had to match up at the store because I had thrown away the package. To keep it where you will not forget it, you can hang it by the pretty little ribbon near where you make your grocery lists or as you go out the door.

Next dilemma:

I was forever ripping out recipes and...putting them in a pile to never be seen again. Now I have the perfect place to keep the ones I want to try each week so that they are in full view. I took some old tin tiles that I had found and glued a ribbon to the back to make a hanger. I hung 2 of them on the cabinet next to my stove and added a pretty magnet and viola.

This project took a bit more time. I was fortunate enough to have a book shelf in the wall in our kitchen above a desk where the kids can do homework. The open shelving drove me crazy though for it was the first thing you saw when you entered the room. I asked my friend Jennifer one day (remember my artist friend and jack of all trades go to girl?) if she thought that she could make a door and trim it with molding (to make it look pretty!) that could hide the cabinet. To solve another problem...the chore chart...I asked if she could paint the door with chalkboard paint. (We now paint everything with chalkboard paint and yes...the board does say, "take down Christmas decorations the week of March 4th! I had a few here and there that I wanted to make made it back into their hibernation boxes for at least a few months. It does NOT say take down the Christmas tree!)

The door opens up and there at my fingertips are the kids school binders, papers, BD cards, etc. You can even hang schedules on the inside of the door!

I hope that you might get a little spark in your eye when you see this that says, "I too can LOOK like I am totally organized."

Happy organizing!