Carolina Country Living

Join Me at My New Blogging Home!

noreply@blogger.com (Erin) — Sun, 11 Oct 2015 01:23:00 +0000

Hello, everyone!

Are you all well? I really hope so!

So many things have changed since I last blogged with regularity here.

I'm now a town-living lady.

Grey hair and crow's feet showed up unexpectedly and refuse to leave. (So rude!)

My candle business has gone from a side gig to a legitimate enterprise.

And my sweet little boy child will be NINE before the year is out. I can't even.

So while I tried very, very, very briefly, and clearly unsuccessfully, to resurrect this blog last year, I finally realized it's time to permanently close the chapter on Carolina Country Living.

This blog reflects a certain time from my life that no longer exists. And that's fine on many levels.

Fortunately, there's also lots to look back on fondly from this blog by way of the friendships, connections, creativity and community that existed here. In fact, I dearly miss all of those things.

So if anyone out there is still receiving these posts or following along, I invite you to join me in the next chapter of whatever this life holds!

I've just started blogging at

BELATED BLOOMER

(belated-bloomer.blogspot.com)

It'll be a smorgasbord of craftiness, creativity, reflections, recipes, decorating, comfort, crochet, musings, photos, inspiration and whatever else strikes my fancy. It'll be my fun little online place and you're welcome to come visit, have a cuppa coffee or tea, and connect.

See you there!

Bloom Again

noreply@blogger.com (Erin) — Fri, 20 Jun 2014 17:22:00 +0000

"In the hardest times of your life, you can choose to bloom once more."

Janice Carabine

It's been far too long, friends; I've missed you. And I've missed visiting your blogs, leaving comments, being creative, taking on projects, writing here and documenting my surroundings.

Life for me fell apart in 2013. Circumstances were irrevocably altered; changes that were a longtime coming arrived. Simply put, it was a brutal year.

I'm still recovering, processing and learning a new way of being. But I'm also feeling emergent. The desire to create and connect has thankfully returned.

Like the flowers around my house, it feels possible to finally turn my face to the sun, unfurl all that's been closed up for too long, and bloom once more.

The Perfect Antidote to a Grey and Dreary Day

noreply@blogger.com (Erin) — Wed, 16 Jan 2013 19:15:00 +0000

It's been raining for two days straight here and the forecast calls for more of the same tomorrow.

After working on the farmhouse this morning, I came home, started a roaring fire in the woodstove, and ate a bowl of homemade cheese tortellini minestrone soup.

Though the house gradually warmed and the chilliness departed my bones, I still needed something to cut the dreariness of the day.

Lately, my antidote to this sort of thing is lemon.

The fragrance is well-known in aromatherapy circles to be an uplifting mood enhancer. To me, it's like a ray of much-needed sunshine on an otherwise cloudy day.

Therefore, in this house, dishes are washed with lemon-scented dish soap. Lemon Cookie candles--which are back in the Harmony Farm Candles Etsy shop!--are burned for a very happy pick-me-up. Eggs are kept in this lemon-colored ceramic egg crate on the kitchen counter.

And today, the chosen grey-weather-antidote-in-the-form-of-lemon was Lemon Meltaway cookies.

Very minorly adapted from a recipe found on Pinterest, these cookies are a new favorite!

If you're familiar with meltaway cookies, or melting moments as I'd previously known them, they are pure magic in the mouth.

The ingredient list is short: butter, flour, sugar and cornstarch.

And that last ingredient is what gives the cookies their delicious melting property.

Topped with a smear of lemon curd, I almost don't notice the pelting rain as it hammers the roof.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Lemon Meltaway Cookies
adapted from Landee See, Landee Do's recipe
makes approximately 2 dozen cookies

Ingredients
1 cup of softened butter
3/4 cup of cornstarch
3/4 cup of powdered sugar
1 cup of all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon of lemon extract

Directions
Turn on oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. While the oven warms, cream butter until light and fluffy with a mixer. Next, beat in cornstarch and powdered sugar until smooth. Add flour and mix until thoroughly combined. Lastly, pour in lemon extract and mix until incorporated.

Drop teaspoon-sized balls of dough onto an ungreased cookie sheet. Using the bottom of a small glass dipped in powdered sugar, gently press the cookies until flattened into discs.

Bake for 10 minutes and remove from oven. Let sit on cookie sheet for 1 minute to begin cooling, then transfer cookies to a wire rack.

Top cookies with lemon curd and enjoy!

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Hope you're staying warm and dry this winter day,

A First Look at the Farmhouse Interior

noreply@blogger.com (Erin) — Wed, 09 Jan 2013 03:17:00 +0000

Happy New Year, everyone!

My apologies for being an absent blogger these past few months. How about I make it up to you by sharing some interior photos of the farmhouse before work began?

These photos were taken just after the closing and the house looks much different now, but unfortunately not in the way you might think.

Right now, more than half of the house is down to the studs, which you'll see at the end of the photos. While we're making important progress necessary to improve the house's structural integrity, it's one of those situations where I feel like we're moving frustratingly backwards in order to ultimately go forward.

And I especially feel this way looking at these photos tonight, which I haven't done since November. Ugh.

While the house was decidedly dated inside, I'd forgotten how clean and put together it was. Alas, we have truly torn it apart in the name of creating load-bearing walls, adding insulation, re-wiring, adding HVAC, and more.

All great changes are preceded by chaos, right?

So, let's begin the 'tour' with a view of the outside.

The center 1-1/2 story section of the farmhouse is two-rooms deep divided by a stairway. On the first floor is a living room and a dining room; upstairs are two bedrooms. The left-side addition was once a porch but is now the kitchen in the front and bathroom in the rear. The right-side addition with the chimney is a 12'x32' den.

Through the front door you walk into the 'front room' as we're calling it right now as we haven't decided whether this will be the dining room or the living room. Will explain later... It's windowless and was filled with delightful 1970s paneling and ceiling tiles. The one (and possibly only) thing this space has going for it is original heart pine flooring.

Another view of the front room while standing in the middle. We're knocking out a section of the wall that divides this room from the kitchen to let in more light as there is already a 5-foot wide opening off this room on the opposite wall into the den that lets in a decent amount of light.

And speaking of the den, here it is, off to the right of the front room.

The paneling and ceiling tiles continue! The fireplace is filthy but in working order.

To give you a feel of just how deep this space is, here's a shot from the back of the room looking toward the front.

And the den from front to back...whee! I feel like bowling!

Now, let's head through the door that leads to the 'back room.' We'll go up the stairs after we finish touring the first floor.

It turned out there was a massive hole all the way through to the foundation in the floor under that huge tile hearth. But that's another story for another time...

Off the back room is the lone bathroom of the house. It will be gutted and the plan is to put a vanity where the washer/dryer hook-up is located, close in the existing window, and put a window over the toilet instead.

Sorry faux pink marble Formica-topped vanity, your days are numbered.

Adjacent to the bathroom is the final room of the first floor: the kitchen. At 9' wide by 24' deep, it's a narrow and long space that will actually be expanded to about 13' wide (to match the depth of the bathroom) and will be completely rearranged.

Shield your eyes from the glare of the plastic walls. An approximately 5-foot wide section of the left wall will be knocked out to open into the front room.

Alright, now that you've seen the downstairs, let's go back to the den and head up the stairs to poke our heads in the bedrooms...

At the top of the stairs you are standing in the back bedroom, which will be Jacob's room. The previous inhabitants appeared to use the space as an over-sized walk-in closet.

To the left of the small landing is the front--and future master--bedroom.

Thank goodness the original wood floor lay hidden under the disgusting carpet. Though the wood floor has signs of old water damage it will be salvaged with paint.

Two things I love about the upstairs of this house: the abundance of light and the under-eave bedroom door. It has a quirky charm, doesn't it?

So, that's how things looked two months ago.

Now, here's a peek of the downstairs as it looked this morning...

The front and back rooms

Getting ready to create the opening between the kitchen and the front room.

The den

No going upstairs right now until the new stairs are built!

Obviously a lot ~~of destruction~~ has happened between taking possession of the house and where it is today, so I'll be back in the coming weeks with some more photos of what was under the paneling, for instance, and the various plans I have for each of the rooms.

Anybody have any advice for surviving a major renovation?

Season's Greetings

noreply@blogger.com (Erin) — Mon, 24 Dec 2012 21:56:00 +0000

Hello friends,

It's been awhile since I've been present here. These last two months have been full and tiring and a mix of both good and bad stress. I'm looking forward to slowing down this week, hopefully avoiding what feels like an oncoming bout of flu, and spending leisurely time with family.

I wish you all peace, joy, and love as we celebrate the change in seasons and the holidays.

Take care,

Happy Thanksgiving

noreply@blogger.com (Erin) — Thu, 22 Nov 2012 17:33:00 +0000

Candles, Candles and More Candles

noreply@blogger.com (Erin) — Fri, 16 Nov 2012 01:26:00 +0000

Good evening!

First, I must thank all of you for your wonderful messages of support and your well-wishes for the new farm. The responses you sent were so incredibly encouraging and I especially enjoyed hearing about how some of you have taken similar downsizing journeys. If I wasn't already feeling good about this decision, your comments definitely sealed the deal.

This weekend I will post photos of the interior of the house as it was when we closed on the property. My husband's been busy ripping out paneling and ceiling tiles, so it's already a construction zone, but at least you can see what we started off with.

-----------------------------------------------------

So, tonight my kitchen counters are absolutely covered in candles. I should have taken a picture, but I honestly didn't think about until now. It's quite comical how every surface has candles or candle-making supplies on it.

(Though I think my husband's developing a twitch from having to look at the mess for several days now...)

The reason for the sea o' candles?

I'm participating in two holiday craft fairs this weekend with my dear friend Sara, and I've been a busy, busy candlemaker in preparation for the events. If you're local, here are the deets. I can't believe it's already time to be thinking about shopping!

Friday, November 16th - 5 p.m. to 8 p.m.

2nd Annual GatorGanza

Garrett Elementary, 3224 Old Hillsborough Rd., Mebane, NC 27302

Saturday, November 17th - 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.

4th Annual Holiday Arts & Crafts Bazaar

Hillsborough Elementary, 402 N. Nash St., Hillsborough, NC 27278

Also wanted to let you know that Wintergreen candles (a.k.a., Christmas tree in a jar) are now in the Harmony Farm Candles Etsy shop.

I always look forward to making this candle because the fragrance is utterly divine. It might not be Thanksgiving yet, but it sure smells like there's a Christmas tree in my house already!

If you'd like to order any, they'll ship out next week. I have a feeling I'll be totally spent by Saturday evening. :)

Wish me luck and take care,

Introducing...Our New Farm

noreply@blogger.com (Erin) — Sat, 10 Nov 2012 01:18:00 +0000

A week ago today, we became the owners of a 42-acre farm and this small, funky farmhouse.

I realize this announcement is completely out of left field, so let me share the back story:

Even though we've lived in our current house for a mere five years (and put untold hours into building it, decorating it, and most recently, landscaping it), my husband and I have come to the realization that this lovely log home of 2,200 sq. ft. is too big for our family of three.

Don't get me wrong, this is a wonderful house and it seemed like everything we wanted when we built it in 2007: 3 bedrooms, 2-1/2 baths, a dramatic living and dining area, kitchen, office, loft, separate laundry room, wrap-around porch, etc.

But when you boil it down, I've become a very practical person the older I've gotten. And apparently I've become radically more practical in the last year or so because I now loathe the fact that out out of 2-1/2 baths in the home, we mainly use just one: the master bathroom.

Since both of our families and most of our friends are local, the guest bedroom, which is one of my favorite rooms in the house, goes unused 99 percent of the time.

The Cath Kidston-inspired loft? So pretty to look at, but rarely do I go up there when I can just as easily lay on the couch or on my bed to read.

The gorgeous 10-foot deep wrap-around porch, which totals an additional 1,000 sq. ft., is a pain in my you-know-what to keep relatively clean and free of delightful presents from the chickens. And confession: we've never really used the porch all the much.

Such first-world problems I have! :)

The other side of our situation is that we pined for more land on which to keep animals and garden. To many folks, the acre-plus we have is a ton of space, but for homesteading and animal husbandry, it's not nearly enough.

So, when an old family farm--only three-quarters a mile down the road from our current house--came on the market earlier in the fall for a very reasonable price, we found ourselves considering a big change: downsize on house and upsize significantly on land.

The farm house in color

A view into the far back pasture and the 20+ acres of woods beyond

We mulled this possibility over for several days, and my emotions alternated among:

-feeling totally loco for considering a move from such a new house (that I literally just finished landscaping!)

-recognizing how joyful and at peace being on the farm made me feel, especially when I walked across the nearly 20 acres of rolling pastures

-experiencing unexpected sadness at the idea of leaving this too-big house

-delighting at the idea of re-doing the dated mish-mash of a farmhouse and making it a cozy, bright, cohesive, and happy abode

-wrestling with, and mostly resisting, the idea of change in general

-realizing that this could be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that I'd regret passing by

So, we took the leap, made an offer, and the sellers accepted it.

An old well house in the side yard

Over the next 6-9 months (fingers crossed), we'll fix up the modest, but perfectly-sized-for-us farmhouse, and then say goodbye to this log house we have called home for five years.

We're already in the midst of working on the farmhouse, and the DIY renovation will be documented here on the blog.

An 1800s homestead on the property - the previous family used it many years ago as a tobacco pack barn

I will end this post with a shot of the pastures that lie behind the house. They remain my favorite part of this beautiful place so far.

"She needs wide open spaces..."

Country Living Fair ~ Atlanta 2012 Experience

noreply@blogger.com (Erin) — Sun, 04 Nov 2012 01:38:00 +0000

Exactly a week ago, Stacey of A Sort of Fairytale and I were eating Jeni's Splendid Ice Cream--which totally lives up to its name--and resting our barking dogs after spending a day at the 2012 Country Living Fair in Atlanta.

What a fantastic weekend!

The fair's locale, inside of Stone Mountain Park, was simply gorgeous and serene. Most of the vendors were situated in a pine forest, with tents and booths lining both sides of a winding, paved walkway.

But the company was even better.

Me (in the stripes) and Stacey taking a brief load off Saturday afternoon. Photo via A Sort of Fairytale.

Meeting and hanging out with Stacey was one of those situations where the comfort level was instantaneous and the conversation and laughter flowed easily. Spending time with her only made me wish we didn't live so far apart, and I couldn't have asked for a better or more fun shopping buddy!

***************

The 150 or so vendors at the CL Fair were truly top notch, and offered quite an array of mouthwatering vintage ephemera and finds, collectibles, clothing, furniture, industrial pieces, art, and handmade items.

I didn't buy much, but did bring home:
-a small piece of white, chippy architectural salvage
-several vintage English labels
-a vintage floral flour sack for a yet-to-be-determined sewing project
-a mini boxwood garland from McMaster & Storm
-an adorable mug from Tasha McKelvey, similar to the one below except that the mug is red and the bird is aqua

via

Being so caught up in the whole experience of the day, I took approximately three photos, so please visit A Sort of Fairytale to see Stacey's shots. She took some really nice ones!

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Now, my two favorite aspects of the fair itself were meeting Josh Kilmer-Purcell and Brent Ridge, the Fabulous Beekman Boys, and seeing the Sisters on the Fly vintage campers.

Stacey and I are both fans of Josh's best-selling The Bucolic Plague, and we had our copies signed at the meet-and-greet. Since I've not seen their Planet Green/Cooking Channel show The Fabulous Beekman Boys (the first season is available on Netflix and it's now in my Instant Queue for watching soon!) or their stint on this season of The Amazing Race, I only "knew" Josh and Brent from their books. In person, they were the epitome of warmth and graciousness, and happily posed for photos.

Josh, Stacey, Erin, and Brent

Something that made me laugh from the meet-and-greet was that Brent's Southern accent was immediately recognizable as being from North Carolina. Turns out he's from Randleman, NC, which is about an hour southwest of where I live, and also the home of NASCAR legend Richard Petty. I didn't realize until after the fair that Brent attended the University of North Carolina (also my alma mater--Go Heels!) and earned both his undergrad and medical degrees from there before going on to New York, where he later worked for Martha Stewart, and most recently created the Beekman 1802 brand.

***************

For all the Internet fawning I've done over vintage campers, I'd never actually seen one in person until the Country Living Fair. And what a treat it was to visit not one, but four campers from Sisters on the Fly members! (Again, visit Stacey and see her much better photos.)

The cuteness that's conveyed in photos of these campers is only amplified when viewed in three dimensions. I couldn't get a shot of any of them without people milling about because the campers were such attention magnets. And for good reason!

A 1963 Shasta with a fishing theme - love the flower box beneath the camper's window!

A peek inside the 1963 Shasta - swooning over that hexagon quilt on the bed

Seriously, these campers are precious times a million and I may or may not have come home and trolled Craigslist for a few hours in search of one for myself that I neither need nor can afford right now. One can dream, though, right?

***************

So that was my Country Living Fair experience. If you've ever considered going and get the opportunity to, GO. Take a friend, or meet up with one, and I guarantee you will have a delightful time!

Fall Decorating Around the House

noreply@blogger.com (Erin) — Wed, 31 Oct 2012 21:00:00 +0000

Happy Halloween, everyone!

We're headed out shortly to go trick-or-treating, but before November officially arrives, here are some shots of the fall decorating around the house this year.

Pumpkins are stationed at the back and front steps.

Mums in a chalk-painted chair.

The grapevine wreath that always hangs on the front door is embellished with fauxliage. :)

The old church pew stationed by the front door.

A close-up of the chicken wire banner I made earlier this month.

Moving inside...

I adore this framed page from The Little House, one of my all-time favorite children's books.

Hoo-hoo is this? It's a new little friend picked up for just a few bucks at Michael's!

A full view of the top of the television cabinet.

A paper bag haunted house sits on the dining room windowsill.

The dining room plate rack is looking festive!

Even the wood stove--which will be fired up in the next day or so because it's getting really chilly at night--gets a little fall love with a leaf garland.

Country Living Fair or Bust!

noreply@blogger.com (Erin) — Fri, 26 Oct 2012 01:21:00 +0000

First thing tomorrow morning, I'm headed out and will make the 6-hour drive down Interstate 85 to Atlanta to attend the Country Living Fair.

ROAD TRIP!

Though this will be a road trip for one--which is all good because my car's CD player has a date with several albums, namely Babel by Mumford and Sons--Stacey of A Sort of Fairytale is flying in and we're going to rendezvous tomorrow evening!

Stacey with her adorable Maggie

There will be more than 150 vendors at the fair, the weather forecast is outstanding, and besides looking forward to shopping (I'm totally ready to check out the booth of McMaster & Storm), I'm hoping to see the Fabulous Beekman Boys (a.k.a., Josh Kilmer-Purcell and Brent Ridge), who will be making an appearance on Saturday at a book signing for their Beekman 1802 Heirloom Cookbook.

Photo via Amazon

The cookbook is gorgeous...Santa brought a copy to our house last year...and I also loved reading Josh's The Bucolic Plague, which chronicles, quite hilariously and honestly, how Josh and Brent came to purchase Beekman Farm, return it to its former glory, and ultimately "become" the Fabulous Beekman Boys.

A wonderful weekend is ahead! Anybody else going to Atlanta?

P.S.--I'd planned on doing a post this week of the fall decorations around the house. You know, since they've been up since September and I photographed them more than a week ago. My timing is sterling, isn't it?

But...I managed to lose the camera's SD card for a couple of days in a total palm-to-forehead situation that involved misplacing the card between taking it out of the camera and putting it into the laptop. In my defense, a certain five-year old distracted me at a key moment. I know many of you can relate!

Fortunately, the card resurfaced a few hours ago. <big sigh of relief> I'll have some downtime between the end of the first day of the fair and Stacey's arrival, so I'll edit the photos and put together a post then. Yeah, just in time for November! Again, Erin's timing = awesome.

Guest Posting Today at Primitive & Proper

noreply@blogger.com (Erin) — Fri, 19 Oct 2012 17:37:00 +0000

Happy Friday, everyone!

It is such a gorgeous day here...I was driving home earlier and leaves were raining down in the sunshine. Fall is very much here and I'm loving it!

Just a quick post to let you know I'm sharing a furniture painting project over at Primitive & Proper today. It's been awhile since I've painted any furniture around here, mostly because I've taken a paintbrush to almost every piece in my house at this point!

Many of you probably already know Cassie of Primitive & Proper and I just adore her to pieces. I was so happy to have a chance to guest post. Here's the before photo of the project I worked on...now go visit Cassie to see the after photos!

Take care,

Fall Decorating Peek

noreply@blogger.com (Erin) — Mon, 15 Oct 2012 17:40:00 +0000

Good afternoon, lovelies.

I was hoping to take photos today of the fall decorations around the house, but it's a grey, rainy day. This house is difficult enough to photograph on a sun-shiny day, much less when it's overcast!

Hopefully tomorrow.

However, since I'm really in the mood to post photos of fall decorations, it occurred to me to share a couple photos from a project I completed last month.

This year, I've been writing monthly craft articles for Alamance Magazine, a local publication. For the October issue, I embellished Dollar Tree pumpkins and made a candle ring featuring putka pods.

Here's a peek of one of the wee little pumpkins, wrapped in orange and white baker's twine.

Though I do like the way the pumpkin turned out, what I truly love is the vintage-style flash card. It's from the Ella Minnow Peae Etsy shop. I may have overused these flash cards whilst decorating the house; I can't get enough of them.

The part of me that's never gotten over playing with dollhouses and delighting in miniatures totally squee'd when I saw these pods that resemble tiny pumpkins. They ultimately became part of a candle ring fashioned from a floral foam ring, burlap, and a bit of Spanish moss.

If you'd like to see what else I did with the pumpkins and read the full tutorials, you can view the article at Alamance Magazine by clicking on "Featured Articles" in the left sidebar.

A Miss Mustard Seed Milk Painted Frame and Autumn Leaves

noreply@blogger.com (Erin) — Fri, 12 Oct 2012 23:01:00 +0000

Last month I brought home two boxes of the new Miss Mustard Seed's Milk Paint (MMSMP) from the trip to Lucketts: Linen and Kitchen Scale.

I haven't tried Kitchen Scale yet but here's an old, formerly brown frame, now bearing a gorgeous coat of crackly, chippy Linen.

The frame came from my mom some months ago and cost just a few bucks. It had an "alligatored" finish and I figured that would only assist in the natural distressing that occurs with the MMSMP.

The frame actually ended up crackling extensively--which was gorgeous--but didn't flake. So with the assistance of a wire brush, that effect was promptly achieved.

Today, I stapled some chicken wire to the back of the frame and collected a few brightly colored leaves from around the yard, which were then clothes-pinned to the wire.

The leaves are just beginning to change here so pickings were kind of slim...but red, orange, yellow, green and brown are all represented here. :)

(P.S.--If you want to make new clothespins look old, grey, and weathered run them through the dishwasher in the silverware basket.)

Simple, natural art!

The MMSMP was very simple to mix up. I used equal parts hot water and milk paint powder (a tablespoon of each in this case since I was only painting the frame the day I tried it out) and any leftover paint can be stored in the refrigerator for up to a week.

The paint is much like skim milk when in liquid form and two coats didn't full conceal the frame's brown color (which was fine by me!) so I imagine it would have taken at least 3-4 coats for full coverage if that's what I'd been looking for.

I love, love, love the chippy finish and authentically old look it produces. I have a couple small pieces of furniture to paint so they'll be getting a Miss Mustard Seed Milk Paint treatment very soon!

Anatomy of a Lovely Day

noreply@blogger.com (Erin) — Tue, 02 Oct 2012 02:00:00 +0000

{via}

*Wake up at 6:30 a.m. perfectly rested and well after feeling on-the-verge-of-coming-down-with-something yesterday. (Thank you, Benadryl.)

*Welcome the fact that it's a drizzly, chilly day and that the leaves are really starting to change color: fall is truly here!

*Realize that my husband is off work, so there is no need for me to take Jacob to school. #daddyduty

*With a cup of French vanilla coffee in hand, bid them farewell, then settle down on the couch and peruse Pinterest for awhile.

*Inspired by this lettered artwork by Mary Kate McDevitt, decide to try my hand at a fancy pants chalkboard design for the kitchen. In honor of the first day of October...

Perfect? No. Love it all the same, though.

*Hang out at home with my husband and do a little crafting. Him: whittle a toy knife. Me: make some fall buntings of burlap, paper, and chicken wire.

*Tidy the house and vacuum so the floor is clean underfoot. (Clean house = happy momma!)

*Rock this tabata workout, along with the Monday series of these strength/cardio exercises, and feel both strong and pleasantly tired afterwards.

*Bake two loaves of pumpkin-chocolate chip bread. Mmmmm...

*Make a paper bag haunted house with Jacob after homework is finished.

*Catch up on the season premieres of Once Upon A Time and Call the Midwife.

*Feel thankful for having an unexpectedly wonderful and ordinary day at home.

The Old Lucketts Store in Photos

noreply@blogger.com (Erin) — Fri, 28 Sep 2012 10:00:00 +0000

If you ever find yourself in northern Virginia, the Old Lucketts Store, just outside of Leesburg, is an absolute must-visit.

The weekend that I met Janet of The Empty Nest in Warrenton, VA, I also visited Lucketts for the first time. I already want to go back ~~with a truck and trailer~~! :)

Lucketts is the home of Miss Mustard Seed and numerous other vendors, and it's filled to the brim with vintage furniture, upcycled pieces, all sorts of collectibles, garden decorations, unique smalls, metalwork, architectural salvage, and more. The shop is magnificent in its variety and quality of offerings, and I'm envious of anyone who lives close enough to go to it on a regular basis.

Let's take a look around...

Even the front porch is overflowing with amazing finds like this zinc-topped drop leaf table.

I wish I'd taken more photos because the personalities and styles of the spaces varied so widely. What you see below is just just a tiny fraction of what's at Lucketts. Forgive me, please? I was too busy ooohing and aaahing my way through three stories of retail heaven.

Get a load of the distressed painted floor and all those leaded glass windows!

The third-floor landing was one of my favorite spots in the store with all its natural light and those insanely comfortable (but pricy) grainsack wing chairs.

A miniature garden in a tray

The Lucketts groundhog mascot greets you at the checkout

Besides the shop itself, there are also multiple open-air outbuildings filled with even more goodies.

Loved these little sheds!

As tempted as I was by many of the beautiful items the Lucketts vendors offered, I practiced restraint and came home with two boxes of Miss Mustard Seed's new milk paint--in Linen and Kitchen Scale. I've already painted an old wood frame in Linen and I'm deliriously in love with the way this paint crackles and flakes. More on that later...

Miss Mustard Seed's milk paint booth

Hope you enjoyed this little peek of a gem of a store. My photos only scratch the surface!

If anyone else has blogged about Lucketts, could you leave a link in the comments?

Happy Friday!

A Quick Landscaping Update

noreply@blogger.com (Erin) — Wed, 26 Sep 2012 13:39:00 +0000

We're making major progress this week on what I've just decided to call Project: Landscape This House For Crying Out Loud Because You've Lived in It for Five Years!

Let's recap what's been going on with PLTHFCOLBYLIIFFY to this point...

Earlier in the year, I enlisted the help of a local and very knowledgeable gardening consultant because I know next to nothing about horticulture. Based on my longing for a cottage garden, the consultant drew up a landscaping plan that incorporates flowering shrubs like roses, hydrangeas, peonies, and gardenias, as well as evergreen shrubs for year-round color, and space for perennial flowers.

The next major step was completed in June when the beds were installed. Here's one of the beds as it was just before being dug.

My husband and I enjoy DIY projects, but decided it was worth it to hire a crew to come in and knock out the beds in a day. It most definitely was.

Then it took about three months for me to finally put down landscaping fabric to keep weeds at bay while we waited to plant in the fall. Here's the same bed from above, covered in landscape fabric, and waiting for plants.

With fall finally here, my husband and I went to the State Farmers Market in Raleigh last Friday to purchase the majority of the landscaping plants.

A friend had serendipitously told me in August about a wholesale nursery that sells to the public at the State Farmers Market. I visited the nursery's Web site and it turned out they could supply the great majority of the plants called for in the landscaping plan. What good fortune! And the best part? All of their 3-gallon plants are just $10 each.

So where we are now is that the plants are going in the ground this week! And yes, we're a bit messy when we work.

Once the beds are mulched, I'll be back with more details on the plants we've used. But I am already so happy with the this pretty little Ducher rose and the gorgeous-smelling gardenias.

In the meantime, I'd love to hear from you more experienced gardeners about perennial flowers you like. I live in zone 7 and have already planted coreopsis, daisies, sedum, and penstemon. I really like coneflowers and zinnias, but beyond that, I'm all ears for suggestions!

One of the great things about blogging...

noreply@blogger.com (Erin) — Mon, 24 Sep 2012 02:52:00 +0000

...is that sometimes you get to meet the real people--the creative, funny, inspirational, warm, kind, and lovely people--behind the blogs you read.

The first instance of this for me was when I had the chance to meet the crafty and stylish Ali of My Third True Love for a cup of coffee last August while visiting California.

(Never mind that I went to the wrong Starbucks...Ali graciously packed her kids back up into the car and drove over to meet me. Add understanding to the list of adjectives to describe Ali!) The next time I'm back in SoCal, a stop to visit Ali is most certainly on the itinerary.

******

Another example of the connective nature of blogging? The amazing artist/funny-as-crap blogger Cindy Austin (of Cindy's Fractured Fairytale) and I live only 10 minutes apart. Thanks to blogging we've gotten to know each other and enjoy chatting when we run into one another at the local shops we both frequent. Since I ~~shame on me~~ don't have a photo of the two us, let me instead share a commissioned painting she recently completed.

It hangs in my bedroom...

and I truly swoon every time I look at the dreamy scene with the fluff-ball sheep...

and the SHEPHERD'S HUT. (If you follow me on Pinterest, you'll see I have an entire board dedicated to this obsession with shepherd's huts.)

******

Over this summer, the blogging gods smiled upon another meeting: Cindy of Cottage Instincts and Cindy (in the present tense) and I grabbed some dee-licious Ghirardelli ice cream at DisneyWorld when our families were both vacationing.

We chatted and laughed and I wished we could have had more time to visit because she's vivacity on a stick!

******

Last weekend, the chance to once more meet another favorite blogger in person came about when our family took an overnight trip to Washington D.C. and northern Virginia.

For the boys: the Bruce Springsteen concert on Friday night in D.C.

For me: trips on Saturday to Lucketts in Leesburg, VA and The Empty Nest in downtown Warrenton, VA, run by none other than Janet of The Empty Nest blog!

I've been following Janet long enough that I can't remember when I wasn't reading her blog. She's a delightful lady, who's full of life, oozes creativity, and simply has a great sense of humor.

This chalkboard sentiment in her shop captures Janet well.

Not only is she a shop-keeper and furniture-painter, she's an Annie Sloan Chalk Paint stockist who knows her way around a sewing machine, appreciates vintage items, and can be counted on to leave the best comments whenever I post music on this blog. (I swear she and I are musical kindred spirits!)

So, it was a complete treat to meet her and visit The Empty Nest. Here's a peek at her lovely shop!

And here we are chatting, completely oblivious to the fact my husband was taking our picture...

Now we're ready...smiles all around!

******

I was also hoping to catch Cassie of Primitive and Proper on this trip to the mid-Atlantic area, but it just wasn't meant to be. This time anyway. There will be a next time, Cassie!

And I hate to even mention this for fear of jinxing things since we're still firming up plans, but I may get to hang out with another blog friend at next month's Country Living fair in Georgia. It'd be a fairytale-wish-come-true (wink, wink) to meet this talented lady in Atlanta after all the emails and blog comments we've swapped.

Have you met any of your blogging friends in "real life?"

Monday Morning Music: Sia

noreply@blogger.com (Erin) — Mon, 10 Sep 2012 09:00:00 +0000

It's been awhile since I've put up a Monday Morning Music post. But this infrequent series is back today with a good entry!

Sia Furler, known mononymously as Sia, is an Australian jazz-pop singer and songwriter. As you'll see shortly, she's quirky as hell, full of joy, and out-of-this-world talented.

Now, I'm not going to pretend like I've known about and loved Sia for years. In reality, I only found out about her a few months ago thanks to a Flo Rida song on the radio.

Flo who?

(He's a mainstream rapper whose recent dance single "Wild Ones" was written in part by Sia and features her vocals.)

Now, I could take or leave Flo Rida's rapping. (Sorry, Flo.) But Sia's voice completely enchanted me. I went home and made a beeline for Google after hearing "Wild Ones" to find out just whose beautiful throaty, soulful voice I was hearing against the dance beat and vacuous lyrics.

Well, long story short, I have a new musical obsession ~~that I'm going to gently force on you~~.

Sia's been recording for more than a decade, but she's recently hit the mainstream for her writing and vocal contributions to dance songs. (Word is that she's working on songs for Rihanna's next album.)

However, in the last 10 years, she's put out several albums of her own that feature none of the beat-heavy dance tunes that are raising her profile at the moment. Her best works--in my opinon--are her jazz-influenced, downtempo, and more indie-style songs.

Rather than me ramble on more, let's let Sia do her thing and convince you of her utter amazingness.

"Day Too Soon" from Some People Have REAL Problems (2008)

"Breathe Me" from Colour the Small Ones (2006)

"Soon We'll Be Found" from Some People Have REAL Problems (2008)

"I'm in Here" from We Are Born (2010)

The haunting "My Love" from The Twilight Saga: Eclipse Soundtrack (2010)

And finally, after extolling all the virtues of her non-uber-commercialized work, I have to admit, I do really like her latest collaboration with French DJ/producer extraordinare David Guetta. Get ready to get your club on! :)

"She Wolf (Falling to Pieces)" from Nothing But the Beat 2.0 (David Guetta)

Time Keeps on Slipping...

noreply@blogger.com (Erin) — Mon, 03 Sep 2012 18:47:00 +0000

People, I'm freaking out that it's already September! Anybody else feeling the same way?

Don't get me wrong, I'm so very glad September's here and that fall is soon to come. I'm practically lusting for an autumn breeze and a change of color in the leaves. I even had to stop and photo this leaf last week when I was mowing the yard, the colors of it thrilled me so much.

In fact, in celebration of autumn's approach, I've been making batches of Mulled Cider and Pumpkin Pie candles for wholesale orders and the Harmony Farm Candles Etsy shop. Sniff either of these and I guarantee you'll be yearning to dig out a cozy sweater, feel a nip in the air, and hold a warm mug in yours hand. :)

Mulled Cider Soy Wax Candle

Pumpkin Pie Soy Wax Candle

But I swear, I blinked and the month of August came and went.

Really, I shouldn't be surprised the month went by so quickly. We spent a week at the beach with my husband's family, then celebrated both of my parents' birthdays upon returning home.

School also started last week and my one and only baby is now a kindergartener!

Though neither he nor I boo-hoo'd, or did anything even remotely close to that, on the first day, it surprises me how seeing him off the subsequent mornings in the car rider line snags a part of my heart. Watching him walk into the building after a perfunctory adieu (Me: "Buddy, I love you! Have a good day!" Him: "Gotta go, Mom!"), just one little person in a sea of many, makes me want to snatch him back and keep him for myself just a little while longer. But he's happy in elementary school, doesn't seem to have missed a beat in the transition, and so goes the growing up of a child.

With the new-found free time that comes with not having a kid at home for seven hours a day, I've been slaving in the perpetual and disgusting heat and humidity to finish prepping the beds around the house for landscaping in the coming weeks. We had beds installed in early June, and it only took me two months to put down the landscape fabric (after weeding the beds close to half a dozen times--you'd think I'd learn!)

P.S.--Did you know they make these magical things called landscape staples?

via

You insert them through the landscape fabric and into the ground, thus securing said landscape fabric in place. Well, I didn't the first time I laid out and cut the landscape fabric. Only after laying tree limbs, random garden instruments, chicken-feeders-cum-flower-planters, and old fence posts (while thinking "there must be a better way!"), did I realize these babies existed. But of course, this realization also only occurred after a windstorm blew away and/or twisted the fabric so I essentially had to repeat all my original work before I could use the staples.

Moving on...

So, the plan is to get most of the shrubbery by next weekend from a local wholesale nursery, and in the meantime, order a few roses by mail from the Antique Rose Emporium. Once the plants are here, we (hopefully my husband) will lay a drip irrigation system, I'll get the plants in the ground, mulch, and come spring there will be much loveliness happening.

I must be a glutton for manual labor because I also spent a good bit of time in the last part of August cleaning out the remains of the summer garden and readying the beds for a fall/winter garden.

The beds that currently house seedlings are spiffed up with this kitschy wire edging that makes me want to do jumpy claps every time I see it. I'm totally thinking I should paint the raised beds...too much?

Though this embellishment is definitely for looks, it also serves a purpose as I try to keep the ~~bloody-free-ranging-fowl-that-think-they-can-eat-whatever-they-please-and-poop-wherever-they-want~~ chickens out of the garden beds.

They totally munched the Romaine lettuce, spinach, and broccoli seedlings to nubbins a few days back. Needless to say, the hens are locked in their pen until further notice and I'm ignoring the shade they keep throwing my way.

Someone please tell me the poor little seedlings will survive such ravaging? This one was originally three times this size!

So, that's where I am in the first week of September. After all the recent gardening, I'm looking forward this week to thinking about (nay, even doing, perhaps?) some fall crafts and decorating. And if this heat ever breaks, there are several pieces of furniture calling my name, just begging to be refreshed.

What are your plans in the coming weeks?

Happy Labor Day!

Home again, home again...

noreply@blogger.com (Erin) — Thu, 16 Aug 2012 22:22:00 +0000

...jiggity jig.

(Yes, I'm a dork who quotes nursery rhymes.)

After two trips in the past three weeks, I'm totally out of sorts in regards to blogging.

There's so much I want to share and my mind lurches into warp speed when I consider what to write about first. But in the end, all I do is work myself into a mental tizzy and walk away from the computer. Ha!

Fear not, coherent posts will be forthcoming. I've been sewing and tinkering with much gratification in the craft room between trips.

And we also brought home a litter of piglets--which are all kinds of tiny adorableness--and a momma sow the other day. (I never blogged about raising pigs last year, so be prepared for a couple of retroactive pig posts.)

Plus, I've finished several projects around the house I keep meaning to write about, but need to photo first.

So, in an attempt to get back into the swing of things, here are a few pictures from the first of the two recent trips.

Jacob and I traveled to Bryson City, North Carolina--located in the gorgeous Great Smokey Mountains--and we met up with one of my dearest friends and her little daughter for an extended weekend.

We stayed in a rustic, green-tin-roofed cabin situated on a sunny dirt road ~~deep in Bear Country~~ in the prettiest mountain hollow.

The view from the front porch, overlooking another homestead in the hollow, made my heart swell a little bit.

As did the property's barn, vegetable garden, whimsical landscaping, and wildflowers flowers growing at will. (Is it weird that I enjoy vacationing in the country when I already live in the country?)

I was totally envious of the healthy corn and red tomatoes

Succulents in old boots

Hibiscus on a hillside

Swan planter shot for Ali

Marigolds in and around an old wheelbarrow

Trickling creek that fed a spring on the property

We hiked in part of the Great Smokey Mountain National Park and visited a waterfall. Then we tubed down the Deep Creek.

My birthday was a week before the trip, and my talented, creative and generous friend also presented me with this beautiful embroidery that she made! It now resides proudly in the craft room. Isn't the detail wonderful?

It was inspired by this art quote I'd pinned several months ago and I couldn't adore this handmade present more!

via

But mostly we let the kids play while we gabbed in our jammies, drank coffee, and ate cobbler. :) Which means this was a most excellent trip.

Where has this summer taken you?

Easy Blackberry Cherry Cobbler

noreply@blogger.com (Erin) — Tue, 24 Jul 2012 22:35:00 +0000

Hello, friends!

Looking for a quick and supremely easy summertime dessert?

Thanks to my Aunt Sherry, who made this cobbler and shared it with me when I was visiting her and my Uncle Gerry back in the spring, here's a most excellent one!

Her delicious version used home-canned peaches, but I used fresh blackberries and store-bought canned dark cherries for equally tasty results. And, honestly, most any fruit filling will do, as that's the versatile nature of cobblers.

Easy Blackberry Cherry Cobbler

Very slightly adapted from a recipe courtesy of Sherry Hils

1 cup of water

1 cup of sugar
1 cup of flour
1 stick of butter, melted
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt (omit if using salted butter)

15 oz. can of pitted dark sweet cherries with juices - I used Oregon Fruit Products brand

6 oz. container of fresh blackberries

Whisk together all ingredients except fruit(s) and pour into an
ungreased 8"x8," 9"x9," or 7"x11" dish.

Top batter with the cherries and blackberries.
Bake at 400 degrees for 25-30 minutes until top is golden.

May be served warm or at room temperature.
Serve with ice cream or whipped cream, if desired.

This recipe is the epitome of "dump-ingredients-together-stir-throw-in-the-oven-and-eat" baking.

Enjoy!

The Craft Room Details

noreply@blogger.com (Erin) — Wed, 18 Jul 2012 12:30:00 +0000

Thank you for all the wonderful comments and kind words about the craft room reveal last month. The room was even featured on a few blogs!

This project was a labor of love (and fabric, and paint, and organization...) and even nearly a month after completion, I'm still enjoying it every single time I step foot in here. I've actually already done a couple crafty projects, so they be on the lookout for those in the coming weeks!

Since that initial reveal post contained the broader views of the room, I'm back today with close-ups and info on the details that really made this space, in my opinion anyway. I'll warn you, this is a long post--but full of good information, and worth the read--I promise! :)

So, to begin, let's take a peek at the "entrance," if you will.

The door to the left is actually the kitchen pantry. The chalkboard hanging on it was a curbside find courtesy of my husband. Since I'm a chronic list-maker, the door seemed like a good piece of vertical real estate on which to hang the board so I can keep my to-do list in a visible place. Which is very necessary because out of sight, out of mind is a big problem for me. :)

The chalkboard--which is actually metal--just needed a good cleaning with a vinegar-water solution, and the previously barn red frame got two coats of Annie Sloan Chalk Paint in Duck Egg.

Beyond the chalkboard is a reproduction Venetian glass mirror with hooks. My mom gave it to me last year as a present, but she picked it up from Marshall's for a mere $10.

A couple of my favorite vintage aprons hang from it, as does a lightweight Cath Kidston canvas tote from my trip to the UK back in March. I love most anything Cath Kidston, but she's a clever lady when she puts hens on her items, like she did this bag, because that pretty much guarantees I'll want to buy said item. The heart-shaped burlap rosette wreath was a quick Valentine's project I made in 2011. I didn't know where else to put it, but wanted to display it anyway, so there it lives.

Now, moving into the craft room proper, here's a quick refresher of the space.

Off to the left is the sewing station and gallery wall (which, I'm so seriously proud of y'all, because I've been intimidated by doing a gallery wall for soooo loooong.)

The sewing table itself is a little farm table I picked up from Jeannie at Uniquitiques in Hillsborough, NC. It has a great planked top that I kind of hated to cover, but ever since seeing Elyse at Tinkered Treasures wrap her dining room table in various oil cloths, I knew that's exactly what I wanted to ho here.

The red and white dotted oil cloth--which is from Fabric.com--is easy to wipe down if needed, brings an element of cheer, and breaks up the white. After cutting the appropriate-sized piece, like Elyse, I taped the oil cloth in place.

Let's pretend this photo isn't all blurry and nausea-inducing, and instead focus on how cute the aqua details of the sewing machine complement the pops of red and blue.

That cute little bunting hanging on the beadboard wall was made by my pal Ali of Ooh La La Co. The terribly blurry photo above makes it difficult to see, but each brown triangle has a paper doily on it. And one even has a sweet little heart on it for good measure. Ali makes adorable paper and fabric buntings, pom-pom garlands, necklaces, hair clips, and seasonal decorations, and everything is very reasonably priced.

Cuteness, no?

Back to to the sewing station...

I used containers and what-nots thrifted over the last year for storage on the table. A vintage lidded glass jar holds crocheted lace tape; a small milk glass pitcher is perfect for paintbrushes. The blue footed glass bowl containing the thread is actually from IKEA.

A thrifted mini basket holds some floral flour sacks waiting to be transformed into pillows, perhaps?

Underneath the table, I have a majority of my fabric hoard rolled and stored in various wire and wicker baskets. It helps for me to see all my options when working on a fabric project!

Next to the sewing station is one my favorite recent finds. From Nest in Burlington, NC, I believe this is a metal vegetable bin. It now has a new life as a sewing notions and supplies organizer.

Above the sewing station is--in my opinion--the crowning glory of the room: the gallery wall. All that lovely white beadboard was just begging to be decorated with colorful artwork. Thanks to the fabric stash and great Cyber Monday sales at the The Wheatfield by Katie Daisy and Janet Hill Studio Etsy shops, that mission was most certainly accomplished.

At the heart of the gallery wall is Katie Daisy's Love What You Do print in an old wood frame that I painted, aged, and ultimately slathered in Grecian Gold Rub N' Buff. I'm not usually very partial to gold, but blog friends Cassie and Ali, with their love of gold accents, won me over. And I must say I do like how it turned out! The print was dry mounted (very amateurishly by me, but it got the job done) to foam board and then cut to fit in the frame.

Flanking this inspiring print is a variety of framed prints and embroidery hoops with fabric. Framing fabric in hoops is now my new favorite way to create quick and easy art. I know it's been all over blogland for some time, and I'm slow to catch that train, but it's seriously a no-brainer if you want to add some whimsy to a space. The hoops were all purchased on sale at Michael's and once again, the ever-plentiful fabric stash provided.

The chicken fabric below is from JoAnn's, and the pink floral fabric is from Hobby Lobby. The aqua beadboard bird is from The Shabby Creek Shop. The framed print is Janet Hill's Hot Chocolate, featuring a most quaint and adorable cottage kitchen scene. I mean, who wouldn't want an aqua stove?

Another Katie Daisy print here from her Wanderlust series. That series has just 13 states in it so far, but when I saw the North Carolina print, I couldn't resist. The wood frame it's in came unpainted from The Dollar Tree, but a quick coat of Hummingbird Blue by Behr spiffed that right up.

Beneath that picture is a gorgeous vintage floral flour sack I picked up at the Spring 2011 Liberty Antiques Festival from a dealer in Asheville, NC. You'll be seeing a project soon where I used more of that fabric.

And more fabric art. The hexagon flower was cut from a damaged, vintage quilt top. The yellow repro feedsack fabric is from the Lecien's Old New 30s collection. And the little red hen was my first try at embroidering.

Katie Daisy's Life Is Beautiful print, which is a neat mixed media piece featuring doilies, embroidery, watercolor, and foiled letters. The frame is actually made of black plastic that I whitewashed. I didn't want to buy any frames to do this wall, so I made the best of what was in my stash.

Janet Hill's The Silver Sugar Bowl

A fabric-wrapped wreath using more fabrics from the the stash.

And the the last piece from the gallery wall is Katie Daisy's Someday Cottage in greeting card size. Another frame from my stash--which was actually already painted--was scuffed up to go along with the primitive feel of the picture.

All of the embroidery hoops were hung with small nails, but I used 3M Command Strips to hang the framed pieces. I'm now a big fan of those strips!

While there are many tips and tutorials for creating gallery walls, I simply made templates for each of the pieces I wanted to hang from sheets of paper. With double-sided tape, I hung and rearranged them until a pleasing composition formed. I then marked on the beadboard with chalk the upper corners (or edges in the case of the hoops) of each piece, so I'd know where to place them when hanging. After that experience, gallery walls are a lot less daunting!

Moving right along...another detail I wanted to share with you is the wood shelf I hung above one of the sets of double windows for my model horse collection.

Before re-doing the room, there was a shallow cabinet-turned-bookcase on the wall where the sewing table is now. The horses were all located on top of that cabinet. Well, when that piece was moved out, I had no where to keep the horses...until I looked up. One 1"x12"x8' board, a pair of on-sale iron scroll brackets from Hobby Lobby, some white paint, and crocheted lace tape later, we have a simple but cute and functional shelf.

All of the fixtures in the house are oil-rubbed bronze, so I liked how the brackets picked up on that, and offered a different texture to the space. With the wood wall, I knew the shelf would pop nicely with a coat of Annie Sloan Chalk Paint in Old White. And it took awhile to figure out how to embellish the shelf edge, but a well-timed sale on crocheted lace tape from GroopDealz via Mindy Mae's Market solved that quandary.

In the corner near my desk are a pair of wooden shelves from Michael's. They were purchased unpainted in a three-pack and with a 40% off coupon were like $8. The scalloped edges and routed details were too charming to pass up. The upper shelf was painted with red craft paint, while the bottom shelf received a coat of Hummingbird Blue paint by Behr.

Since taking these photos, I've actually already rearranged and added some more knick-knacks, but the Scottish boy with bag pipes is a remembrance of going to Scotland; the green transferware creamer was found at Cottage Treasures in Mebane, NC; the double-decker bus is actually a pencil sharpener and also came from the UK trip. A tutorial on how to make the embroidery hoop and doily wall clock is here.

Though this next piece isn't new to the room, I still wanted to share the printer station. Can anyone tell me what it is? Is it a vegetable storage bin of some sort? I picked it from Nest in Burlington, NC, a few years ago for a song, and it was just the right size to hold the printer. Paper, stationery, etc. are stored behind the door.

The little clay tags hanging from the knob were an order thank-you from Jami at Freckled Laundry.

Next to the printer is the blue desk; you can see the before and after from 2010 here, but the main thing I did during this transformation was add some of Cath Kidston's Chintz wallpaper, which doesn't seem to be available any longer. My always-reliable double-sided tape affixed the wallpaper quickly and easily to the panel.

Also in the desk area is this sweet milk glass lamp. A yard sale find, the shade just needed some TLC and so I covered it in strips of Lecien's Yellow Floral Stripe from the Flower Sugar collection. There were many comments about this detail and I have to share that this was most certainly not an original idea on my part! Nope, the inspiration came from The Handmade Home and a tutorial can be found here.

The lamp aglow in the evening.

Finally, the last details I wanted to share are these coffee filter flowers atop the grey armoire...

For some great tutorials on how to make various coffee filter flowers, visit this Pinterest board I created.

And this wall...the blue bookcase is another find from Uniquitiques in Hillsborough, NC, while the small quilt rack came from Nest in Burlington, NC.

The book case is "candle central" for fragrance and essential oils, as well as finished candles. The lightweight rack is the perfect place to to drape favorite fabrics. Right now, there's a pink floral flannel you might recognize if you've been reading the blog for awhile--I made a pair of pajama bottoms from it earlier in the year. Next to it is a long-ago discontinued, but very cherished Cath Kidston fabric called Lupins, and on top of that, some delicate pink and white hanky fabric, also from Cath Kidston.

If you have any other questions about the craft room, don't hesitate to leave them in the comments section!

The July Garden Update and Lessons Already Learned

noreply@blogger.com (Erin) — Sun, 08 Jul 2012 18:57:00 +0000

Wow, this heat wave we've been having will seriously make you not want to do anything besides lay around and catch up on past seasons of Sons of Anarchy and The Office.

It's been 100+ degrees here for what feels like weeks. A cool front's supposed to move in tonight and drop the temps into the low 90s tomorrow, then into the 80s the rest of the week. Please, please, please let that happen!

Anyway, it's about time for another garden update. And look what the garden is yielding!

All this heat has necessitated watering every evening, but the garden's doing well nonetheless.

Well, I should say parts of the garden are doing well.

First, the good news.

There are lots of green beans coming in, as evidenced by the photo above. I beer-battered and fried the first harvest and good lawd was that a delicious way to enjoy fresh green beans. We scarfed all those fried green beans, so alas, no photo. But I used this Food Network recipe and Newcastle Brown Ale to make a simple and delicious batter. What green beans we don't eat will be frozen and put up.

Also doing well are the cucumbers. I planted four pickling cucumber seedlings in May and when we returned from our trip to Florida in mid-June, they had grown like bananas!

I'm harvesting an average of 4-5 cucumbers a day and have been making copious amounts of refrigerator dill pickles. (There's dill in the garden too, so it's quite convenient to clip some of that while I'm out picking cukes!) There are pickle spears, and chips, and the first batch will be ready to eat later this month.

The heirloom cucumbers planted from seed are a little behind the seedling cukes, but growing well nonetheless and we've harvested quite a few of them as well.

Also growing nicely are the crookneck squash and zucchini, and there are several little watermelons that are thriving. The tomatoes are fair--nothing's turned red yet, but there are quite a few green ones on the vine.

Not doing so well?

The two beds nearest to the woods. They started off so promisingly, but have completely crapped out since mid-June. Everything is stunted or dead at this point. I need to just pull it all out and start planting for the fall here because they are a lost cause.

The corn is tasseled, but also a bit stunted. Nevermind that most of it didn't come up, likely due to the chickens.

On the whole, these garden beds don't get as much sunlight as they ideally should because our yard is surrounded by mature woods. I've been eyeing the side yard, observing how much sun it receives, and I'm thinking I will need to build some beds in that area for next season as it receives light earlier in the day, and continues to do so well into the late afternoon.

That means more work for me, but I'm thinking of minimizing the labor by trying the lasagna method to establish the beds. We shall see...

This little epiphany also leads to the next lesson if I want to increase how much food I grow: I absolutely must start seeds indoors next year. I was very much behind the eight-ball on that this year, and most of the plants are maturing later because of my tardiness in planning the garden.

The final lesson I've learned is that if I want my chickens to free range--which I do because they're happier when not penned, plus I enjoy catching glimpses of them, and their eggs are more nutrient-laden when they're allowed to forage and spend time in the sunshine--that means I'm going to have to bite the bullet and put up a fence around the garden beds.

Chickens actually NOT in the beds for once...these three young hens were after a bug and running all over the place before I captured this photo

Besides thieving seeds, the ~~twerps~~ ladies also enjoy taking dirt baths in the garden beds. Even though I routinely chase them out, they inevitably return for the cooling relief of the dirt. They've damaged a number of plants and also helped themselves to the leaves of many a seedling. So, next year, a fence will be in order.

Despite that negative-sounding end note, I will say, I'm truly pleased with how certain parts of the garden are doing. It's quite a little miracle to know that most of this garden started with seeds sown directly in the soil--and now many of those seeds are lush, large plants giving my family food, albeit in small amounts.

"Like a big mountain, a small garden stimulates, restores, and delights us,

just as it poses challenges, promotes mastery, provides exercise and relieves monotony."
- Winifred Gallagher

How does your garden grow this summer?

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Happy Independence Day!

noreply@blogger.com (Erin) — Wed, 04 Jul 2012 10:00:00 +0000