Glimpses From Home

Freshly picked strawberries:



Capped and ready to eat, with a glass of sweet tea:



A pot of blooming irises and other small plants:

Decorating With What You Have

This is one side of the built-in bookcases in our family room. We already owned every single thing on there. The nice thing is that I can rearrange it according to the seasons or just to make a change. As I was deciding what to put on each shelf, I found myself using a theme for each shelf or area. One shelf is dedicated to gardening things. One shelf is dedicated to my son, Josh, who passed away 24 years ago at age 2. Another shelf has family pictures framed only in black, silver and pewter frames. So if I want to I can just re-do one shelf when a new theme interests me.

This post is linked to Leslie's blog, My Country Home, for WHATCHA WORKING ON WEDNESDAY!

The Plates

Here are the plates I have been collecting from thrift stores, antique stores and Walmart. I had this spot above the dining room window in mind when purchasing them and my husband helped me to hang them this past week.

Some of the walls in the farmhouse are made of plaster and you have to be very careful about putting nails in them. So I will keep the items hung on the wall to a minimum!

Can you see the trees outside the window? Those are crape myrtle trees. There are two lines of them on each side of the house. I think there are about 20. I can't wait to see them blooming later on in the summertime.

A Stepping Stone Made With Love

This is a House Warming gift my daughter made for my husband and me. I LOVE IT! I will be posting a picture of the stepping stone after it is installed in its place of honor in the farmhouse yard soon.



This post is linked to"Made it Monday" at the Persimmon Perch Blog.

Lots of Cookbooks

I'm not sure if this is the final resting place for my cookbooks, but for now this works. The wooden crate turned on its side is sitting on a little wooden table in the room at our backdoor which we are calling the "mudroom". The cookbooks are visible from the kitchen and its convenient to grab one while cooking.

You can see my laundry drying rack folded up beside it. It sits underneath a window with cheerful country curtains. I should have taken the picture with the curtains pulled open so you could see the little pot of silk pansies that sits on the windowsill. Maybe I'll do that in another post.

I have a few more cookbooks that sit on the counter in the kitchen. You would think I'd be some kind of gourmet cook with the selection of cookbooks that I have, but I'm just a plain old country cook! My favorites are church fundraiser cookbooks and of course, gooseberry patch.

Frugal Friday - The Cow Picture

This is how I used the "Re-Do" thrift store cow picture I posted about HERE, in a corner of the dining room.

A close up of the picture hanging in my old house:



I couldn't like this corner more, even if I had spent lots of money decorating it. The red checked chair cushion was bought on clearance at Walmart. The basket was a yard sale find. The punched tin sconce was an old piece from the "Home Interior Home Party Days", that I was about to get rid of, but like it with the cow picture, so kept it.

For more frugal decorating tips, be sure to click on these links: The Shabby Nest and Decor Mama !

The Bench

This is the window in the dining room. I think the bench is perfect for this spot. I will spend some time arranging items on it, besides plants, when I am more settled in the house. But for now, its pleasing to me as a plant stand.

What's Going On At The Farmhouse?

Hi everyone! Just a little post about what's going on in rural North Carolina at our farmhouse. Still no computer at home so this is being written during little minutes when time allows.

1. We love the little farmhouse! I love the hardwood floors and don't mind needing my house shoes to keep the tootsies warm a bit. When I get up in the morning the first thing I look for are my pink scuffs!

2. I am slowly filling up these shelves with items we already own. Its a challenge to use what we already own, make it look nice, and not end up with a cluttered look. But, hey... if we like it, that's all that matters, right? There are shelves on both sides of the fireplace, even though this picture doesn't show them all.



3. I still have quite a few boxes to unpack, but they are all corralled in the sewing room. All the other rooms in the house are now in good order. I have great incentive to get the remainder of the boxes in the sewing room unpacked and organized.... since I can't even get to the sewing machine until this is done. I am itching to be stitching!

4. Remember Granny's rule? You can't play until your work is done. My work is getting the house all straightened out and ... GASP!.... tax returns must be done by tomorrow at midnight! Thankfully I have been able to find the box containing what I need to get the tax returns done and have them ready to mail. I thought we were going to have to file an extension, but I put my mind and body to the task and got the work done.

5. Decorating the farmhouse will be a slow process. I'm not all that creative in that department, but I know what I like. I have hung the plates above the dining room windows. The bench my hubby bought me for my birthday sits underneath the dining room windows with my plants on it. Its such a sunny, cheerful spot!

6. I am trying to apply the principals of Elizabeth George's "A Woman After God's Own Heart" to my housekeeping. I love this book and it inspires me to work in my home. Right now I am trying to keep moving as she advises. Just 5 more minutes, just one more job on the list. It really does make a difference.

7. Today when I get home I will tackle a few boxes in the sewing room. Its such an accomplishment to have gotten to that point. We purchased a very sturdy folding table from Lowes that I will use for a work surface and to cut out my sewing projects on. I can't wait to contain my sewing to one room, instead of my usual "all over the house" style. No more cutting mat and scraps all over the kitchen table. All of my fabrics are stored in plastic totes that will fit underneath the table. the first "post-moving" project I plan is to make myself a new spring and summer pocketbook. I am in need of one badly! I am currently carrying a green canvas bag that I am very tired of!

8. Hubby and I are using "Early Autumn", which is the pink and brown quilt that was the last quilt I completed before all of this moving madness began, on our bed. So the bedroom is going to have pink and brown colors. We have an old hand painted picture of pink roses with a brown frame that will go perfectly in there. On the mantle I have placed a large bouquet of silk pink and white flowers in a ceramic vase. The vase is an off color of pink, so I intend to spray it white in the near future. Also on the mantle is a picture with the words from the Bible Verse, "Love is kind, etc." on a brown background. Also perfect with the brown and pink theme.

A picture of Early Autumn being machine quilted:



9. The farmhouse is about the same distance to my job, but takes less time due to the fact I travel on a nice wide highway as opposed to the winding country roads I traveled from my previous home. Love it!

10. Believe it or not, I do still have some things to move, so this weekend I will move the last of it, or die trying! I also intend to start dividing some plants to transplant in the farmhouse yard. I have many sentimental plants, since I lived at my old address for over 30 years. I have plants from my grandmother, mother, daughter and husband, that mean a lot to me.

11. The beautiful spring weather we have been having is begging me to get outside in the yard. There are so many things I want to do out there, but remember Granny's rule again. I must get things in order inside the house before venturing outdoors too much. Plants continue to bloom and it drives me nuts trying to identify the old fashioned plants. Now certain shrubs are blooming with delicate white flowers and I have no idea what their names are.

Be patient with me! I am a work in progress and will be back to full time blogging soon, I hope. Thanks!

Its Wednesday, so please check out Leslie's blog to see whatcha working on Wednesday posts HERE!

A Moving Update and An Herb Garden

Mint



Hello Friends! We are still moving... I never thought it would be this much work. I am extremely happy to say that after two weeks of constant packing, moving and unpacking, 99% of our stuff has been moved. However, most of the boxes have NOT been unpacked.

Storage has become a huge concern because we have down-sized not only in the size of the house, but in the amount of storage space. I have been brain storming to think of storage ideas. We also plan to have a yard sale in a couple of weeks.

I am really missing being able to sew, garden and blog! So my goal is to get everything straightened out THIS WEEKEND! I'm ready to start living in the house instead of being in a constant state of moving.

Speaking of gardening, our yard has an old small herb garden that has two herbs growing already this spring. One is Mint and the other is Sweet Cicely.

I have done all kinds of gardening, but herb gardening is a new one for me. I plan to clean out the little herb garden spot and plant other herbs in addition to the ones already growing there. The herb garden spot is convenient to the back door of the house, so I can run out and snip some herbs for cooking (if I can figure out what to do with them!:o) Maybe a Mint Julep? I will keep you posted.