Home Dec

This post is, obviosly, about home decor.  I took some pictures of unique/homemade things that have made their way into our house.  Most of them are cheap and simple.  Enjoy!

1.  Kitchen

This cost-effective kitchen 'ladder' is rustic and fits well into any french-country looking kitchen.  I found this small ladder tucked away in the corner of an antique shop in downtown Waynesville.  Upon seeing it, a brilliant idea struck me; why not use a ladder as a pot/pan holder!  The price was a steal: $40 for a stylish way to organize the kitchen.  Soon after we found ourselves walking out of the store with a greenish/grayish rustic colored ladder to hang from our kitchen beam.  Mounting the ladder was as easy as anything.  We bought black hooks from the same store that we bought the ladder from.  After we got the ladder up, we used more of the same hooks (in a larger size) to hang the pots from.  Vwal-ah!  To finish it off, we wound a vineish mantel piece decoration over and through the wrungs of the ladder.     

#2 Mantal Additions

Here are a few tips to finish off that early-american country look.  First, a vintage iron given to my mom by her grandmother makes a great book holder!  Stack up a few old/collectible books (in the picture I use the Lamplighter books) and place the iron in such a way that it will support the books. 

 Secondly, add a picture above your mantel.  This helps the fire-place regain the center spot of the room.  If you would like to make the fire-place the focus of the room, keep your furniture facing the fire-place.  In the winter a nice warm fire makes any room feel cosy

3.  Tree Jewlry Holder

                                      

At just $14, this beautiful jewelry holder adds a unique twist to any bedroom. (I found this one at Joann's.) Its size is nearly perfect; while being small enough to put on a dresser, it is also big enough to fit lots and lots of necklaces!

Well, that's all for today!  :) 

To God be the glory.



Of Animals & Vegetables

Gardening

In spite of the late planting of our garden this year, our plants have been growing tall and healthy.  Gardening is one of those necessary time consuming things that, at the end of its season, proves itself useful.  We planted a variety of different plants such as cucumbers, strawberries, rosemary, basil, beans, tomatoes, carrots, etc.  My sister made some Zuchini chocolate chip bread.  Apparently it did not turn out the way that she had wanted it to, but it sure looked tasty!  (I didn't try any because it had wheat in it.)  Similarly, we had the joy of finding two apple trees in one of our pastures.  We had known they were there, but it was still exciting to find the apples ready to pick.  About a week ago, we found a huge Zuchini: it measured 17 inches long!  It probably won't taste very good because it is so big, but it is still amazing to look at! 

Animals

All of our animals are doing great!  Ranger, our Great Pyrenees puppy is now 27 lbs at 13 weeks old!  At 8 weeks of age (when we got him), he was only 11 lbs!  It is amazing how fast animals can grow!  Our goats, on the other hand, grow a lot slower than Ranger.  They were both born in Febuary (they are sisters) but they are not fully grown yet.  Our 19 chickens are producing about 15 eggs every day.  We are trying to sell them to cover the cost of the chicken food...  :)  The whole of our farm seems to be going pretty well thus far.  It is an adventure! 

 

         Ranger

 Molly

Patches

"Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own."

-Philippians 3:12

~Lily

Summer 2012

Even though this is my first blog post, I decided that I'll write as if it isn't.  Summer is upon us!  Who would have thought that 2 or 3 months of summer vacation could go by so quickly.  The business of school is right outside of our doors.  Unfortunately, some of us are ignorning those probing thoughts; "get ready for school", "Organize your old school folders", "Do 4 math lessons".  So, for this post, we will concentrate on the good stuff of the summer and forget our business for a little while.  :)

In June, we went down to FL to see family...we all had a great time and the weather wasn't too hot for us!  After we came home, we got into the schedule of summer and the activites that come with it.  I had to get used to taking care of the horses again since I hadn't had to when we were in FL.  Daily feeding, cleaning out of stalls, and watering them soon became normal to me, though. 

On the night of July 3rd, we went into downtown Lebanon to see the fireworks; they were great and lasted for about 15-20 minutes!  The next day was my brother's birthday (we used to tell him that they set off the fireworks just for him).  My sister and I put together a scavenger hunt for him with clues in his room, the kitchen, the porch, the garage, and in the woods.  The final clues led him to his bigest gift...........a red ATV quad!  It is still a little big for him, but fits me perfectly.  He got a red/gray/white/silver helmet to go with it, too.  Thus, I can now enjoy wrecking around our property; sometimes it just helps to release some of my extra energy.  :)

                                                                   driving the 4-wheeler

                                                             opening gifts/scavenger hunt

                                                      Calvin & Hobbs = From the girls

All in all, its been a really nice summer thus far!  More to come later.

"Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer." 

      -Romans 12:12

~Lily