...all things pertaining to the warmth and coziness of home

Wednesday 30 September 2015

Visiting the Crazy Eight Barn

 
 A friend and I went "Daytripping" a few weeks ago.
It was a beautiful bright sunny day.
 
 
The company was just as lovely.
 
 
This shop has two painted barn quilts, that are part of the Barn Quilt Trail.
This quilt is called the "Dakota Star" in honour of the original owners moving
to the Dakotas where they saw octagon barns,
 and moving back to Southern Ontario,
decided to build one.
 
 
This quilt is called the "Evening Star"
 
 
Lots of country feel before you even get inside.
 
 
Love the old washtub used as a planter.
And a sweet welcome sign painted on a hinged door.
 
 
The first floor of the shop.
 
 
Aren't these lacy lamp shades so pretty?!
It gives me an idea that I want to try.
If it works, I'll share it.
 
 
They sell Miss Mustard Seed paint and offer classes as well.
 
 
And Fusion paint.
I haven't used this yet.
It's on my "to do" list.
 
 
The progression of the round barn.
 
 
The story and pictures was played on a small TV for those interested in the details.
 
 
I found it very interesting and such a cool idea for a shop.
 
 
The second floor has a small café,
as well as more shopping.
 
 
These are the stairs that take you to the café.
A beautiful winding staircase.
The only thing is, you couldn't bring a buggy or wheelchair up.
 
 
More goodies upstairs.
I like the sign, "Life is good at the Farm".
 
 
Some of the items in this shop are made by local artisans.
 
 
You can see the café in the foreground.
We had the bean soup.
SO GOOD!
It was sweet and sour pork 'n bean soup.
I didn't even think to take a picture.
I started eating and didn't stop until the last drop.
We shared a piece of rhubarb pie with ice cream too.
It's a good thing I don't live nearby.
 
 
How much more country can you get than this?
 
 
This is the view looking up from our table.
 
 
Going down the stairs.
It was hard to keep my toes out of the picture.
 
 
There are beautiful shrubs and flowers all around the property.
We had a great day.
We stopped at some antique shops along the way.
We stopped at one of the many roadside markets along the way for some fruit.
 
 
I had to post one more summer piece.
I hope you enjoyed the shop as much as we did.
 
I'm not a huge Fall decorator.
I like to spend all my decorating energies on Christmas.
Hopefully I can get to a bit of Fall decorating soon.
So stay tuned!
 
Have a blessed day!
 
Sharing this post at these parties:


Saturday 12 September 2015

Unexpected Ironstone Find...With A Dutch Twist

 
 
A few weeks ago, on my way home from visiting my folks,
I stopped in at an antique mall
to stretch my legs (wink, wink).
 
This mall has three floors and they are full.
I couldn't spend a lot of time looking since I still had another 2 hours to drive before getting home.
 
I wasn't looking for anything in particular.
I never do.
That's the best part.
Usually when I am looking for something, I can't find it.
So...
when I'm not looking for anything I tend to find something.
That happens when shopping for clothes as well.
Wonder why that is??
Less pressure??
 
 
I was on the second floor at the very back and middle aisle,
quickly scanning a hutch full of stuff.
I'm sure you can imagine it.
As my eyes are working their way down to the middle of the hutch,
I notice some insulators with electrical cords coming from them.
I think, "This is different", so I walk over to pick one up.
Someone had the bright idea to put little lights in them.
 
Not sure what an insulator is?
 
 
It's these two glass pieces you see here.
They were used as insulators for hydro lines.
They don't use them anymore.
 
As I lifted it up to inspect it further I noticed the plate that they were sitting on.
 
 
Be still my little Dutch heart!
I lifted up the plate and rested the insulators on the next plate sitting there.
It was beautiful!!
It was black and white and had windmills in it.
AND
it was only $16.00!!
That was one item I did not have to think twice about.
 
 
It has a lovely scalloped designed edge.
   
 
A lovely windmill scene in the centre of the plate.
You can see the worn patina.
 
 
 
I spent some time trying to get it displayed to my satisfaction.
I thought it would be nice to have a few other Dutch items around it.
 
 
This Bible belonged to my father.
Even though he's still with us, I thought it suited perfectly.
 
 
I love these little primitive candles
You can place them anywhere for effect.
This little one takes one AA battery.
You can loosen it to stop the light from working when you don't need it.
 
 
I think it all works well together.
 

The two pictures on the wall are Dutch as well,
and were thrifty finds.
 
 

I found this picture this past weekend while on a road trip with a friend.
The frame caught my attention first.
 
 
I love the old style clothes she is wearing.
There's even a cat in the picture!
It looks like a watercolour painting.
 
 
When I looked at the back of the frame,
it had a sticker on it from the place of purchase,
as well as the name of the artist.
 

I didn't have to think twice about this treasure either.
 
 
This picture I've had for awhile,
but it too was found at an antique store.
 
 
"A Flower Girl in Holland"
I like the sepia colouring to the picture.
 



I'm currently stripping a vintage wall unit I purchased a few months ago.
It's definitely been learning curve for me.
So this corner will look a little different soon.
Hopefully!
 
 
I hope you enjoyed my little Dutch treasures.
I was born here, but my parents were born in the Netherlands,
and emigrated to Canada when they were adults.
 
Have you found any sweet treasures lately?
 
Blessings to you, 
 
Sharing this post at these wonderful parties:

Saturday 5 September 2015

Pizza on the Barbeque

 
Doesn't this just look scrumptious?!!
 
It tasted as scrumptious as it looked.
 
I was visiting my folks the beginning of August
 and my sister-in-law Kristine cooked us this delicious pizza.
She cooked it on the barbeque.
That was a first for me.
 
 
The recipe for the crust came from her Kitchen Aid recipe book.
 Kristine felt it was a little too thick to have for the barbeque.
(I liked it)
 

 
Hopefully you can read this well.
 
 
Start with pizza sauce.
The nice thing about making your own pizza is you can put whatever you want
and how much you want.
 
 
One of the keys to a good pizza is LOTS of cheese.
 
 
Starting to melt...mmmm!
 
 
Melting over!
The temperature should be 350 degrees and cook for approximately 3-5 minutes.
This was in for almost 20 minutes and you can see
 that the edge of the crust is getting dark.
 

 
Can you smell it?
 
 
Two slices of this pizza was enough for me.
Very filling,
and very tasty!
I did eat it with a fork and knife.
Had to.
It was too sloppy.
A good kind of sloppy!
 
 
Sitting here with my sister and my brother-in-law.
 
 
It's a long weekend here in Canada
and in the US as well.
Having one last summer party?
This is a great idea.
Pizza and wings?
 
Have a wonderful weekend whatever you do.
I'm going on a Day Trip with a friend of mine on Saturday.
I'll share pictures next week.
 
Blessings,
 
Sharing this post at these great parties: