Winner of the Anthropologie Giveaway!

Hi everyone!  I hope you had an amazing weekend...I've got a lot to blog about since we last spoke..

The June market...

Silverwood...

but I'll save that for another post on another day...

I am back to announce the winner of the Anthropologie giveaway! 

Thank you to everyone who commented and said so many awesome things!  I really appreciate it and look forward to getting to know the few of you that I don't already know!

I'm also happy to announce that I finally figured out how to capture screenshots, so you don't have to stare at a phone picture of the winner this time...

Commenter number 98 was Joye from The Joyeful Journey!

I just discovered Joye a few months ago, and I'm so glad I did!  The day I found her blog, I read a few posts that were exactly what I was needing to hear that day... and just fell in love with her and her beautiful family! 

Head over to check out her blog today if you get the chance! 

Joye, email me and I'll get your goodies to you right away! :)

***

In other news, check out the article that Cheryl-Anne Millsap wrote in the Spokesman Review about my blog and the market!  So excited....she has such an amazing talent for writing! 

I'll be back tomorrow with a post about the latest market...it was a huge success!  Can't believe the next one is already this Saturday! :O

An Anthropologie Giveaway...

Fridays are all about exhaling for me. 

{via weheartit.com}

 I have held my breath the entire week...put up with things beyond my control...ate a load of junk food...ignored the dishes and the mess in the closet...and guess what?  I'm going to continue to do so until Sunday night!  Why? cause its Friday and I don't want to do anything!  I'm gonna go home and look ugly and ENJOY IT.

Actually I have a lot of things to do pertaining to the market, but thats all fun stuff.  All the crappy stuff and the not so fun stuff I'm going to leave for another day.  Yes I am.

Speaking of the market, we got some really exciting news that I can share with you soon!  But not just yet...

Instead, I'm feeling in the mood to give away some Anthropologie (and a few other things) stuff! 

'Cause even if you're not June Cleaver in the kitchen, you can dang well look the part!!!

In this giveaway, enter to win whichever Anthropologie apron you want...

this one is my favorite right now..

How about these cute earrings?

...Just to make sure your kitchen looks the part, how about a copy of this?

and finally, some amazing Palm Oil soap from Heather Bullard's online shop!  It is so wonderful, and used in France for the kitchen and laundry!

All you have to do is....

1.  Show me you're a reader!  Look at the top right hand side of the blog and click follow, and comment to let me know you did (or are)

2.  Blog about the giveaway (if you don't have a blog, you can post on Facebook!) (make sure to leave a comment letting me know)!

I'll wrap up the entries by June 23rd at midnight, so enter, enter, enter and spread the word!

Day One...

Well, we are all moved in with the exception of one closet that needs to be sorted through!

It feels so nice to know I can walk around naked and no one would see! 

Except Gus....

Honestly, that is the look he would give me if he saw me walking around naked, too.

"WOW mom...REALLY....NAKED...JUST BECAUSE YOU CAN?!"

We're all different.

The day we moved went pretty fast, with only a few mishaps...

I love this picture.  It exemplifies how we move from place to place.  Really neat and put together in the back, and toward the end we get impatient and start throwing things in NOT boxed.  Laundry detergent...random papers...books...a couple plates...heck why not. 

I don't have any pictures of the actual unpacking process...Tanner would have killed me if I was standing around taking pictures for "blogging" purposes instead of helping haha.

I will put a few pictures of the house up...although everything isn't exactly in its final spot...it probably never will be but still.  Keep that in mind. :)  If you have any suggestions for decor, let me know!!!!

The island will be painted a creamy color, hopefully subduing the veiny cabinets (yes veiny...it's what I think of everytime I see them!) that we can't do anything about.

We hung the 5.00 farmhouse light I bought at Habitat Restore above the sink and it looks WONDERFUL.  Any suggestions for a light fixture in the middle of the kitchen?  We'll be making some mason jar pendants to hang over the island soon.

I absolutely love love love my lockers in the kitchen!  I put Gus' dog food, treats, and leashes in one, extra paper towels in another, and my aprons in the last one!  SO cute.

I have to tell you whats unique about this doughboy table.  We found it in the cellar of the farmhouse!  We went down to check it out, and there it was...covered in rat poo and insulation!  Cute, right? 

The boys hauled it up and we swept, disinfected, and cleaned all the drawers.  I think it adds the perfect amount of charm to the dining room.  It is original to the farmhouse which was built in 1906.  I wish I knew the history behind it!  It fascinates me to know that at one time it was a functional table used in perhaps that very room!  So interesting...

Little vignette on the table...do you think it's too cluttered?

After we got moved in, Tanner and Pate (my littlest brother) decided to go down to the pond and catch crawdads...

I love this picture.

This is one wall of the potting shed, or "The Cottage" as we call it.  All along the perimeter are herbs.  Lemon thyme, mint, chives, etc.  I will be transplanting the herbs I bought a few weeks ago into this garden.  Don't you just LOVE that gate?!

(It has been weeded since I took this photo haha)

That's all for day one photos!  I'll be taking more...and seriously, if you see something I could move around or change, let me know!  I'm so open to suggestions!

Have an awesome Tuesday!

Huckleberries and hydrochloric acid..

Not to be confused with the magazine, country living is now my lifestyle and I LOVE it.  I am fascinated by the fact that the sounds of sirens, bass, kids screaming, and car horns have been replaced by crickets, hawks, owls, and the occasional raccoon.  Its everything I loved about living in my parents house, which is way more in the country than this one, with the convenience of town being 8 minutes away. 

Originally, we were going to take our time moving in over this week, but Saturday came and my parents were motivating us to just get it done in one day.  Tanner whipped up a nice batch of cream cheese huckleberry pancakes to get us going...

So the recipe for those pancakes?  It's really hard...ready?

Make pancake batter according to Krusteaz Buttermilk Pancake Bag...

(Usually just the batter and water, SO simple and good...)

Take about 3 or 4 handfuls of huckleberries (depending on what you like) and throw them in

Spoon 2 tablespoons of cream cheese in..

A couple sprinkles of garlic powder (trust me, its good)

Fry them up.

Eat.

Eat more.

Cry about how full you are while cramming another one in your mouth.

After we didn't feel so comatose anymore, the moving began.  I don't really know whether I blacked out, or if it was just the thought of moving in to the farmhouse that lit my fire, but we got that stuff done SO fast!

Funny story here though...

Have you ever used this?

It works great for cleaning the toilet bowl!  It also works amazingly well for cleaning soap scum and hard water stains off of a shower door!

Unfortunately not so good for your skin.

I decided it would be wise to clean the shower doors before we moved, so I didn't have to worry about it later. 

I stepped in to the shower, and for the next 15 minutes, cleaned the shower doors barefoot.

...

Tanner happened to look at the label after realizing our house smelled like a clean toilet bowl and read something like this:

"In case of contact with skin, immediately flush the area with soap and water for at least 15-20 minutes and immediately call your local poison control center"

Um, what? 

I've been cleaning for at least 15 - 20 minutes while STANDING in the cleaner...

You'd think my reaction would be something like "OHMYGOSHIDON'TWANTTODIE!CUTOFMYFEET!CUTOFFMYFEET!"

But instead, I replied with "I'm ALMOST done, I just have a little bit left."

Um, what?

About 5 minutes later the realization of the label set in, and I calmly stepped out of the shower and in a quiet voice said, "so I should probably call poison control..."

Then it was an all out sprint for the phone...my mind wandered with each ring.

I really like my legs, I mean, I don't know if I could do prosthetics.  I guess I don't have to worry about sunburns...  Oh, great, and it touched my hands! Which touched my phone!  Which TOUCHED MY EARS! I can't handle hooks for hands!  Although it would be GREAT for distressing furniture....

"Hello, poison control, how can I help you?"

"I DON'T WANT TO HAVE HOOKS FOR HANDS!  SHOULD I CUT MY LEGS OFF AT THE KNEE? DO YOU THINK IT WOULD BE BETTER TO HAVE FULL PROSTHETICS THAN JUST HALF LEGS?  WHAT IS YOUR NAME AGAIN?  I WANT TO PUT IT IN MY EULOGY..."

"Calm down, ma'am. What happened?"

"My ENTIRE BODY IS BURNING BECAUSE OF THE INGREDIENTS IN SOME TOILET BOWL CLEANER I USED TO CLEAN MY SHOWER WITH BAREFOOT!  I'M PRETTY SURE ITS MADE OUT OF NUCLEAR MATERIALS, SNAKE VENOM, EYE OF NEWT...HELP!!!!"

"Can you describe it to me?"

"UHH..........PURE EVIL IN A BOTTLE?"

Anyway, long story short...the active ingredient is hydrochloric acid. I washed my feet and hands for 15 - 20 minutes, promised poison control I would read labels, and not clean my shower with something that belongs in the toilet from now on.  She was not very happy with me.. 

However, I'm very happy to have beautifully sparkling clean shower doors.  And my legs.

Green Acres...

"Is the place to be....

Faaarm Livin' is brand-new-to-me-but-I'm-super-excited-to-give-it-a-try-and-there's-a-barn-and-its-super-cute-so-what-am-i-saying-it's-definitely....theeee life for me!"

Can't even tell you how ready I am to get those keys in my hand and start moving stuff in!

Welcome to 285 Jellison Rd.

My new home!

I am so excited because as you know, losing the house was never really something I A).  liked to talk about, or B).  looked forward to.

But now that everyone's gonna be "jellison" of our new farmhouse...I'm over it.  Hah, just kidding....but seriously, prayers have definitely been answered and I am so so so grateful!

Oh boy, where to start...I'll give you a little photo tour...

This is the driveway coming in, and the field where I really want to have a croquet tournament! Complete with picnic and fun attire!

Looking from one outbuilding to another...

Past the treeline in the backyard..

The red barn in the backyard...

Lets head inside now...

The homeowners built on this deck, and a master bedroom to expand the original house.  We're going to use that as our living room, and make the dining room HUGE.

Just a shot of the living room...can't give the WHOLE thing away yet...I need to save that for when we actually move in.. :)

This is the dining room, coming in from the master on the right...  hopefully we can paint the walls (or use removeable wallpaper), maybe put up a chair rail trim or some wainscoating.... and the gold on that stove can come off...and take that window treatment down ;)

Looking into the kitchen...which needs HELP. haha

The bones are amazing, and there's hardwood under them there floors....waiting to be explored....and exposed....for the love of all that is good, I HOPE WE CAN GET RID OF THAT CURRENT LINOLEUM CONGLOMERATION....my farmhouse light will go so perfectly up there in place of that current fixture as well...

So the bathroom really isn't that white...I messed with the colors to change it.  It's really pink.  Like peachy pink.  That needs to go as well haha...its a big bathroom though, and would look great with some tall wainscoating!

If you go back into the dining room and look right, there are stairs going up to what will be our master bedroom....

Our master bedroom and sitting room...possibly someday a nursery?

Oh the possibilities are really endless......hope you had fun taking a sneak peek!  We should be moving things in this weekend and then I'll have more pictures for you!  Thanks for all the awesome words of encouragement!  Love you all!!

Farm Chicks Weekend....

So I think I'm still slowing down my breathing from The Farm Chicks show on Saturday and Sunday. 

A-MAZ-ING.  

Way more intense than I had imagined, and totally better than I imagined too!

I loved meeting all the women I read and talk to so often.  The thing I loved the most was the fact that it was never awkward.  It was more like a family reunion.  So great!

Something I would also like to share, is that my truck is still loaded up.  haha!  And the back seat...and the front seat.....all my LITTLE treasures came in with me last night though.

Here are some pictures I managed to snap while running around frantically :)

So I got to meet Amber, who's pretty much the coolest.  She's such a sweetheart!  I am so glad I finally got to meet her! :)

But wait, I should back up and show you the line to get in...the line that we were somehow lucky enough NOT to be at the back of!

It goes way down there.  I heard there were about 4,000 people there!  Yeah, I forgot how I sometimes get a little anxious in huge crowds...but it was SO WORTH IT.

Also, its very challenging to take pictures while walking in....but again, worth it. 

And then the absolutely fun chaos began...

Here's Vanessa's first purchase of the day! That really fun green cabinet behind her....love it!!

This is the Retreat Style booth...and it was so beautiful!  I loved the display and all the colors.  It was so awesome!

Just another shot of the Retreat booth....LOVE that enamel sink unit!

This booth is from Wild Whimsy...and I bought my amazing farm table from them at the Vintage Barn show last fall...which I can't wait to go to this year!!

Next up is Ormolulu....with that amazing coin laundry sign...that I desperately wanted...even though it would never fit anywhere in the house, except in parts. 

I don't think "coi laun" would have the same effect though...

Eli was with us too, he was such a trooper!  So good all day.  Look at this face!

And this one...ha!!

He no lika-da-squash.

Then this moment was pretty high up there....:) 

What a down to earth, awesome woman!  I got some amazing soaps from her booth.  I tried to snap some pictures of it, but boy it was so full everytime I went by! Suffice it to say it was BEAUTIFUL.  Heather Bullard has an amazing eye for design, that's for sure!

We paused to have a picture taken of our little group...sorry its a bit blurry.  Love that carnation truck though!! Ahh!

I was pretty much obsessed with these drawer units.  I so wish I could afford one!!!

And this was the most unique piece!  It wasn't for sale, I dont' think...but on the map, it was just labeled "Cake."  I love it.  Seriously a cool display!

Sea Fans are my new favorite thing.  I LOVE these.  I bought the coolest little bottle I'll have to take a picture of....it has a sea fan saudered to the top.  Like the Greyfreth bottles...AAAAH IN LOVE.

I'm feeling really guilty now..I'm just realizing that some of these pictures....I don't remember where they were at!  Let me know if you know, and I'll credit accordingly!

Here's what I REALLY wanted...if I had an extra 1600.00 laying around, this would have been MINE.

There are so many things in that picture that I need. :)

This was hands down my favorite booth...its where I got my sea fan bottle that I'll post pictures of later...ohhh boy.

What a fun day!

PS.....WE GOT THE FARMHOUSE!!!!!

Post & pictures to follow soon...