Mark your calendar

We're getting ready to BURST into BLOOM !

Think pretty.  Think urban country, think spring with a hint of boho chic and then mark your calendar and join us ~

SPRING STUDIO OPEN HOUSE

Friday, May 3rd,   4 - 8

Saturday, May 4th,  1 - 4

 Sunday, May 5th,  1 - 4

We're looking forward to seeing you ~

{images:  pinterest}

And the cook book goes to . . .

Alicia Prairie C.  Lucky you! 

 I do really believe you will enjoy Heather's FARM-FRESH RECIPES book as much as I am. For those of you not so lucky, don't feel bad, I never win anything either!!  

Cheers!

I will be back in a few days with our SPRING OPEN STUDIO SHOP details.

{image:  tumblr}

Pie Snobbery

I'm intent on becoming a pie snob!

I used to make lovely pastry.  Beginners luck, maybe, but it lasted for some time.  Now, I just suck at it.  Seems I've lost the "touch".  I've been thinking about getting it back, searching the web for "the best pie pastry" recipes I could find and having mixed results.  Then just when I was about to give up and try again another day, I discovered the lovely and ever so charming Heather Cameron of Missing Goat Farm.

Every once in a while you come across someone you just get.  You know what I mean?  Someone whose story, passions, character just makes you smile.  Even though I don't personally know her, we've only become ever so slightly acquainted through FB (ok, I feel like I've been stocking her on her FB page), she's someone I feel I should have known all my life (and I think we share an aversion to getting et by a shark) and now, she's going to teach me how to make mind boggling good pies, how cool is that!  

A self-proclaimed pie snob, Heather aims to inspire us all to pie snobbery with her lovely & newly released cook book ~ FARM-FRESH RECIPES  ~ and I'm jumping in.  My copy of her book is already dusted and dog eared and while my instinct was to keep her all to myself, I've decided to share so, I'm GIVING AWAY one copy of Heather's book.  The test kitchen begins this weekend, I'll let you know how it goes.  But I was thinking that it would be much more fun to have someone else along for the ride.  Are you game?  

It's easy as pie to enter:  

Like and share my FB page and leave a comment telling me you have done so;

Blog about this giveaway, link back to my blog & leave a comment here on my blog telling me you have done so;

Leave a comment here on my blog telling me why you'd love to win.

You can do all three, each being one entry.  

Contest closes Sunday, April 14th.  

I just know you are going to love her!  

Random thoughts . . .

What a difference a week or so makes. 

On Easter Sunday, my husband and I left a snow storm and headed for a little trip to 

Las Vegas, Nevada!

Between you and me, it's the last place I would ever deliberately choose to go but I have to tell you, it was fantastic!  Not only was it really great to step out of boots and winter gear into flip flops and shorts and sit pool side in the 80ish degree weather we had all week, but it was just a really fun over-the-top sensory experience. 

I think their motto is go big or go home on everything, and yet the city itself is incredibly easy to navigate and enjoy.  

We managed to take in a Cirque du Soleil show which was beyond incredible and enjoy the company of our good friends Karen and Lyle who were also escaping the long winter of Winnipeg, Manitoba.

But, here we are, back home and busy with the chores of every day life. 

Before leaving for Vegas I managed to prepare candyboards for the honeybees so that they would be ready and waiting for my return.  Yesterday, the weather co-operated somewhat and one candyboard was installed into each hive.  I enlisted the assistance of my husband so that we could get in and out of the hive as quickly as possible.  Despite being appropriately dressed for the event, the old feller got stung and so I will be investing in a proper pair of beekeeper's gloves for him lest I have an assistant's strike on my hands the next time I am in need of a helping hand.   I am now anxious to see how they like the boards instead of the sugar syrup I usually feed at this time of year. 

Given the highly fluctuating weather and temperatures of our spring season this year, I am hoping that the use of candyboards will help to eliminate any excess moisture which can develop in the hives in the spring.

With a little luck and assistance from mother nature, I am hoping that all of my hives survive and the summer season has me harvesting not only a bumper crop of flowers but sweet golden honey.  Now wouldn't that be nice. 

Here's to spring chores in the hope of things to come. 

{images:  google} 

Make it count . . .

Eat Chocolate.

Envision the season ahead.

Here's to a living in the moment, eating chocolate and dreaming kind of day.

{images:  agirlsgotarighttodream.com}

Rethinking . . .

. . . the layout of our living room.

Years ago now, my husband built us an incredible cabinet for our living room using gorgeous old almost door sized windows given to us by a friend.  It was to be a two door cabinet.  He got carried away with it's beauty and made it into a three door cabinet.  It's gorgeous, it's big.  It takes up most of one wall in our smallish living room.  

We love the rooms in our home to have a "sunny disposition".  I remember when we purchased our first home and the realtor asked what we were looking for?  I recall, very specifically saying ~ I don't know other than it MUST have a sunny disposition!  

When we purchased our existing home, the living room had well, anything but a "sunny disposition".  Broken into two rooms with mostly smaller windows.  Over time, the two rooms became one and the smaller windows gave way to much larger windows.  

I love my windows, I do.  Unfortunately the more windows in a room, the less wall space you have and furniture placement can become an issue.  

I'm working on convincing my husband to move that gorgeous, big cabinet upstairs to the master bedroom ~ it will fit perfectly there and then having him make a built in, smaller wall unit for the living room.  Then I can begin to move things around. 

The cabinet is the thing.  

I love this cabinet.  It reminds me of our cabinet ~ plus one more door.  This cabinet is fantastic ~ it has removable shelves, allowing you to add objects/displays of different heights.  

I would really like to have a cabinet of this kind somewhere in my house.

Probably just another hint at my current love with weathered gray.

Further evidence of my basket love . . .

Hmm, so many ideas, not enough money time!

What about you, design ideas piling up?

I have

some old wooden greenhouse plant trays.  Now, if only breakfast in bed was in the cards.

Work on the master bedroom update has begun.  Sewing, sewing, sewing.

I can hardly wait to share.  In the meantime, I'm on the hunt for a cheap, old chippy nine drawer dresser.  Anyone?  

I hunted high and low for just the thing while on a trip into Winnipeg a few weeks ago, no luck.  I hate it when that happens.  Now I can't get my mind off of it and nothing else will do.  You know what it's like when you get an idea in your head?

I also popped into one of the large commercial greenhouses while I was there.  My sister was on the hunt for seeding supplies.  I guess it's the way of the large commercial greenhouses these days . . . in addition to traditional greenhouse goods you will find giftware, furniture and clothing.  What totally blew my mind and has me swearing off of large scale commercial greenhouses now more than ever -- a big rack of SPANX.  Yup, not kidding.  I guess that's for those who need a little support while working in the garden.  

Here's to having a let it all hang out, breakfast in bed kind of week!  

Happy Spring.

{image:  A girls got a right to dream.com}