Farmgirl Follies

Seriously?

Posted by Farmgirl on August 12, 2010  |  No Comments

They call that art.

Seriously.

I wish I had that much confidence.

Those are some fantastic rose-colored glasses.

I have children who sculpt better than that … with Play-Doh.

Sorry.

Sometimes I see something in one of those fancy decorating magazines that makes me shake my head and utter disparaging remarks.

Because seriously … that’s just ridiculous.

Cowboy inspiration

Posted by Farmgirl on August 11, 2010  |  3 Comments

This is the print that started it all …

My love for rustic western-inspired interior decor. My shop is brimming with rustic and primitive antiques, but in my own home, I don’t stick to a purely primitive style. I incorporate rustic pieces and mix them up with some cowboy-style stuff. Huh?

You know … hides and horns and spurs and the like.

I’ve been gathering bits and pieces for awhile now and luckily, I have the help of my posse. FarmGuy and the girls found this antler in the woods. I pick up textured frames whenever I come across them at thrift stores, flea markets or on sale. I prefer family photos over artwork. I like the personal element.

This is a 1930s photograph of my grandpa and his cousins after a hunting trip.

Apparently the locals didn’t like the idea of wolves invading their space!

I also have a great photo of my great-grandfather holding a large string of fish … one of my grandmother hand-feeding a buck … and my grandpa as a young boy on a camping trip. I scanned them and had them enlarged and printed at Shutterfly. A few distressed black frames and they’re ready for my wall.

The steer skull was acquired at a family Christmas exchange. It was one of those trade your gift for someone else’s affairs … a battle to the end. The candlesticks? Goodwill. The hides? Ebay.

Decorating is fun. It’s a particular passion of mine.

I’m as likely to mix an old crock into traditional decor as I am to put a modern lamp in a rustic country room.

Layer your home with things and the people you love. That’s what truly makes your house a home.

It’s what truly says, this is me.

Home is where your story begins.

Are you telling your story the way you want others to read it?

Need help finding an inspirational rustic piece for your home?

Stop in and visit us at Farmgirl Finds on Fridays and Saturdays, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Zoo-ology of Marriage

Posted by Farmgirl on August 2, 2010  |  2 Comments

Pretend you’re an Andean condor!

Bet you’ve never done THAT on your wedding anniversary! We don’t like to conform to normal standards like dinner and a movie … we’d rather wax poetic near the penguins and get lost in each other’s eyes while silently screaming, “He’s climbing the fence again! Grab him before he falls head first into the Komodo dragon cage!

Anniversary celebrations should leave you feeling warm and fuzzy.

Anniversaries should be electric … exciting … stinging you head to toe with emotion.

Anniversaries are a chance to sing sappy love songs …

“I can fly higher than an eagle … you are the wind beneath my wings.”

And they’re even better if you enjoy fresh flowers.

They should make your skin crawl with excitement.

I highly recommend a trip to the zoo on your next wedding anniversary.

Soak up some sunshine and bask in the glow of nature-love. Bonus! You won’t need to hire a sitter for the kids.

Have an anniversary coming up?

Celebrate with the one (s) you love.

Cross bridges when you come to them.

Laugh with each other.

Wonder in amazement.

And throw your cares to the aromatic wind.

View from the porch

Posted by Farmgirl on June 1, 2010  |  4 Comments

The dog days are approaching.

I did some sittin’ over the weekend. Somewhere between the cookouts, stall mucking and livingroom painting spree, I sat on a black rocker on the porch and imagined the landscaping that could be. (The above photo is not my porch, by the way. I just liked the dog and the screen door.)

Do you have a dream porch?

Do you have grand landscaping plans? 

I do. Always.

Unfortunately, mine are usually thwarted by life, budget and uggh, weeds. Forgive me, but the first step in my landscaping reality: a sprayer filled with Roundup. I’m sorry.

The second step? Search and Rescue.

For the Farmboy workboots on top of the bunny cage … the red bucket in the middle of the driveway. The frisbee in the yard. The stray baseball bat on the sidewalk. The miscellaneous bicycles and wagons and sandbox tools crowding the area off the porch. The big brown spot from the tent that was used all weekend. All signs of a wonderful weekend. We played hard, laughed much and sweated a lot.

So while my FarmGuy transforms the fencerows with his weed-eating machine and I mix up a few gallons of Roundup for the wilderness that likes to creep in to the tamed lands, let’s dream.

It’s summertime … time for dreaming outdoors.

Here are a few beautiful porches I found at the Better Homes & Garden and Country Living websites. And quite frankly … there are no weeds on my porch. Transforming that space just seems a lot easier at the moment. Then again, it’s only 5:42 a.m. Maybe I just need some coffee.

Enjoy!

Love this one!

Early to rise

Posted by Farmgirl on May 29, 2010  |  No Comments

Campground for little people.

Five of them spent the night in a tent next to the fire. They giggled and told stories until 11 p.m. when all was suddenly quiet. For good. So Farmguy and I stopped looking at the stars, counting satellites and staring into the flames. We thankfully went to bed. Secure in the knowledge that we would be awakened early.

Just how early we couldn’t have predicted.

Breakfast of champions.

What do you do with five little people who are full throttle giggling and screaming at 5:45 a.m. because of a mosquito attack in a tent? You call them into the house and feed them. It’s the only way to keep them quiet … temporarily. But it does allow the adults to gulp a cup of coffee in peace.

So Farmguy made his infamous pancakes. Three kinds of pancakes.  And I made raspberry iced tea because they wanted a tea party and napkins and good manners and the whole works.

Amen to the practicing of good manners.

They dined on strawberry pancakes …

… and chocolate chip pancakes.

And after that, who would bother to eat the plain pancakes?

Campfire girls and campfire boys and cousins campout.

What a great way to start the weekend!

Color coded

Posted by Farmgirl on May 19, 2010  |  3 Comments

Do you know how many colors of tan there are?

2,697,809,432,701

or something like that.

I want to repaint the livingroom.

It is currently a cheerful shade of yellow/gold … and it’s been irritating me. When I found myself in town on Monday, I stopped by the Sherwin-Williams store. I came home with these. Some have a green cast. Some have a pinkish cast. Some seem grayish.

It’s really rather ridiculous.

When such indecision occurs I tend to pick the top five and then — get this! —

I select by color name.

Which one appeals to me?

Which one reminds me of something?

Which one gives me a feeling of happy nostalgia?

It could be anything as long as it calls to me in some way.  

So I think I’m going to go with this one.

It’s similar to my favorites. Not too dark, not too light. Neutral. Smack dab in the center of the greenish/pinkish/grayish tinted tans.

It’s called Twilight Gray.

And really, it’s the only choice.

Party time!

Posted by Farmgirl on May 7, 2010  |  No Comments

Farmgirl Finds is three years old and we’re having a party to celebrate!

We have anniversary cupcakes … we have special sales … best of all, we have a huge tag sale in the parking lot. Cupboards, tables, chairs, quilts, primitives, make-do items, you name it!

And everything outside is deeply reduced. Bargains like these are hard to come by!

Stop on over today and tomorrow … we’re here and waiting for you, rain or shine.

Pantry perfection

Posted by Farmgirl on May 5, 2010  |  4 Comments

This is not my pantry.

It belongs to the hip and happenin’ couple over at emersonmade.

But oh, I wish it could be my pantry.

I would sit on the floor and just stare up in wonder at the perfectly organized shelves and the beautiful ingredients in their glass jars. My children would disorganize it daily.

But oh, it’s gorgeous.

I yearn to buy glass jars and bottles and pour everything into them. Forget the cardboard boxes and noisy plastic packaging. Wouldn’t it be fun to peruse these shelves to determine what healthy and fabulous feast you will create for dinner?

Except I wouldn’t.

This photo gives me false dreams and unrealistic goals.

I love it anyway.

Gardening in snow

Posted by Farmgirl on April 18, 2010  |  3 Comments

We’re expanding the garden.

The weekend was plagued by snow flurries and rain showers, but my gardener did a fantastic job of enlarging my garden beds. We added another board on top, increasing the depth to about 15 inches. Now the boxes will hold a skid-loader scoop of nutrient-rich compost from the feedlot.

On the downside … lots of weeds thrive in this dirt.

On the other hand, it grows veggies like nuthin’ I’ve seen before.

I can’t wait to plant!

I’m the only one who eats tomatoes, but we’ll also plant peppers, green beans, squash, cucumbers, carrots and herbs. I should have my peas and shallots planted already, but things are a little behind. I’m not worried though, since I have my own miracle soil.

My gardener is also constructing a new, larger box for the width of the garden area.

And since I’m tired of battling the weeds all summer, I purchased some landscape fabric. I’m putting it between all of the boxes and then we’ll dump a bunch of pea gravel on top. Hopefully that will keep things nice and tidy… until Farmboy gets out his bucket and shovel and digs a tunnel to China or something.

But I’ll deal with that later.

For now … I shall pray that warm weather arrives for good!

Do you plant a garden?

Is it big or small?

Containers, boxes or plot of land?

What do you plant and when?

I’d love to hear about your gardening endeavors!

Do you paddle?

Posted by Farmgirl on April 7, 2010  |  3 Comments

There are always towels on the floor.

I purchased some iron coat hooks. No messing around with a towel rack — just a quick hang it on a hook mentality that I’m hoping the kids will embrace.

Then one day …

Farmboy started chasing his sisters with a canoe paddle I had leaning in a corner.

Hmmm. Inspiration!

Here are a few tips:

Be sure to pre-drill screw holes in the paddles so the handles don’t split.

Pre-drill holes in the wall — it makes things a heck of a lot easier.

I put a screw in the top and the bottom third of the paddle to hold it securely to the wall.

Also, two screws will ensure your kids can’t remove the paddles for hand to hand combat.

I think it’s a fun look … but experiment with your own stuff.

You may walk into the bathroom one day and discover all of the towels hanging neatly on their hooks.

And all it took was a good paddling.