Just a few more

-dana

Here is a sneak peak . . .

First photo shoot and I'm pleased as punch! Easy to take photos of such beautiful children. Keeping my fingers crossed that the mom and dad find some they like.

-dana

You MUST read this . . . NOW

I found a blog that you must begin reading immediately. Confessions of a Pioneer Woman is HILARIOUS!!! Check it out. You will love it. Add it to your favorites. Now. What are you waiting for. Go on.





You don't listen very well. So, since your still here I'll tell you that I have my first photo shoot tonight for non-family members. Two children. Brother and sister. Beautiful kids. I'm excited . . . and a bit nervous. So long as I get permission I'll post some of the shots soon.

Seriously now. Go to that blog I told you about. She has some funny stuff on there. Be sure to listen to some of her audio clips. They will have you falling out of your chair.

-dana

Art Festival

I spent all day Saturday and Sunday at this art festival. It was the first of the season for me and I had a great time. You'll see the picture of my booth. Mark made the cool shelves for me out of the shutters I showed you in a prior post.You can't see them very well in the picture . . . they are on the right hand side of the picture. Also new to the set up is the quilt backdrop behind the "Old Red Barn Co." banner. It provided some much needed shade and created a nice look I think. The other pictures are just some of the stuff that was around me. I loved the pottery at the one booth and in fact have added some to my collection. A cobalt blue bird bath with a dragonfly. Love it! The other photo is of two guys that sat and played music for several hours on Sunday. Since moving here I have come to love that type of music. Perhaps it is called bluegrass. I just call it mountain music. Know the song "Rocky Top Tennessee"? It's that and sooo much more. You can see what I'm talking about in this:


My booth was next to the local chapter of Trout Unlimited. I don't know much about trout and I know nothing about fly fishing but these were the nicest bunch of men to visit with. They were friendly, hilarious and just fun to be next to all weekend. Now if I ever get the urge to go fly fishing I know who I can call.

I never can predict (even though I try!!) what scents will be popular according to the season. Blackberry Sage is ALWAYS the favorite overall but I was surprised at how popular Lemongrass & Sage was. I had already decided that I liked the Lemongrass & Sage better than the Eucalyptus Spearmint. Now, it is for sure! I'll have to remember to go take Eucalyptus Spearmint off the website.

Hope you all had a joyful holiday weekend. Remember to pray for our troops in Iraq and Afghanistan. For their safety. For their quick return. For their sanity after what madness they have no doubt witnessed.

xo -- dana

Quilts and such

Imagine this scene:

We decide today would be a good day to hit all the local thrift shops as we haven't been in over a week. On the drive there I say, "I sure hope we find something good." The little one says, "Ya, Mommy. Let's try to hit the jackpot!" [that's my girl!!]

We arrive at first shop and little bit heads towards toys that she sees. Oh, man. Now I have to wait for her to go look at everything else. Hmpf. Well, maybe I could just look across the aisle here. I never find anything good in that section. Wait! What is that??? It must just be a cheap quilted pillow sham made in some factory far away where they pay their poor workers mere pennies a day all so that we can "rollback" prices. Opps! Soapbox tangent. Pull yourself together Dana. Just take a look anyway. What???? It can't be! Wait a minute. This is a handmade, hand quilted, pink and white dresden plate quilt made to look like DAISIES??!!!!!?????!!!!

That is like nearly half of my favorite things in ONE item!!!!!

My breath quickens. My pulse races. They are gonna want a fortune for this thing. I mean look at it Dana. It is in PERFECT condition. There is not a hole, stain or rip anywhere. All the seams are strong and in tact. Ok. Settle down. $20 is your limit. Even if she says $25 you will walk away. Do you understand? $20 is your limit!

So how much do you think this cost me?

Huh??

Wait for it. . . . .











$1.00.




It took me a good several hours to come down from that one.

Want more? Well, we headed to another shop and found this quilt!

Here is a close up.

On any given day I would have been beside myself to find this! It is a vintage child's quilt with the cutest 1940's bunny fabric. It is all hand done and in perfect condition. It was weird though because it seemed like I had to remind myself to be excited about this great find. And it is great! But, after the first quilt of the day it was hard to measure up. Oh, and since I know you'll ask, I paid $5 for this one.

Whew!! Fun day!

Muah!
dana

new scents

So many exciting things going on with Old Red Barn Co. Promise to write about it soon.
-dana

From Thursday Night

Thursday night's chorus concert was AWESOME! The kids did such a great job and our little cutie had a wonderful time. We took them for ice cream afterwards. Does it get any better than that?

-dana

The snow pea report

I am happy to report that the snow peas have started producing. We picked lots yesterday and now will have a steady supply for several weeks. Yum! Remember when they were only just little seedlings?

Tomorrow in art I'm doing tie-dye art with the kids. Should be fun and VERY messy. I hope to have some photos of the masterpieces. We did some at home to make sure we knew what we were doing. It is the last art class of the year so we wanted to end with a real bang. Did I tell you that I'll be the art teacher again next year AND organize a school yearbook and yearbook staff? I'm so psyched!

Muah! (make the sound . . . it is a big juicy kiss!)
dana

By the back door

These little folk art angels hang right outside our back door. The back door is really the main door that we use as it enters through the mudroom rather than the living room like the front door. In fact, we so rarely use the front door that when I went to open it today for a delivery person it was stuck a bit and I had to use some brute muscle to open it. Anyhow, I love these little things. Found them both at different times at different thrift shops. Wish I could find some more. Suppose I could make some.

Hasta la taco!
dana

Yes I took that picture!

I spend my days at home with my youngest daughter. We find fun things to do. Educational things to do. Chores to do. Places to go. Lately all I want to do is be here at my potting bench in the greenhouse.

The little one is patient with me up to a point. She occupies herself with swinging, mud pies, or tending to her plants . . . for awhile. But then the "Mommy-come-push-me-on-the-swing" calls become louder and more persistent. So I do. Because why be home with my children if I'm not really here.

So anyway.

Our yard is so beautiful at this time of year. The iris, love-in-the-mist, coreopsis, columbine, torch lily, soapwart, chives, and wallflower are a mass of blooms.




Our vegetable garden will be planted by my worker-bee husband this evening. Can't wait for that. Well, what I really can't wait for is the first tomato of the summer . . . or the first ear of corn . . . or, um , well . . . for any of it!

I got this picture of Sweetie Boy today. His name is so fitting. Just don't tell any of the other cats in the neighborhood that he really is sweet.


Finally, my brother and his wife have been married for 3 years today. What a beautiful union. I love you both.

xo -- dana

I love days like this

Today was a most perfect day.

I got to do this out at a river . . .


I got to see cool stuff like this . . .


I got to be with the beauties . . .


And then the icing on the cake was the wonderful meal that my husband cooked for me! The most amazing grilled jalepeno poppers, grilled steak, fresh green salad from the garden (radishes the girls grew) and my favorite wild rice. Yum!

Life is good.
-dana

To the BEST Mothers in the World

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY

I feel so lucky to have the two mothers that I do. Each is there offering countless and unwavering encouragement and support. I thank you both for being a great mom.

Love,
Dana

New label for the sugar scrub

What do you think of the new label design?

xo, dana

A Good Listen

Nora Jones / Come Away With Me



John Mayer / Your Body is a Wonderland


The Fray / How to Save a Life

If I had an iPod entire albums from Norah Jones, John Mayer and The Fray would sooo be on there to listen to lots.

When I need to dance though you gotta love this song!

Sergio Mendes / Mas Que Nada
Gotta say I liked this song better before I saw the video. Well, I'll just dance and forget about the video!

-dana

Why I love my home

These pictures are worth thousands of words as to why I love my home. I think the girls are pretty happy here too.

I'm so very grateful for this life I lead.
-dana

Come on . . . say it with me

This month I will not buy new fabric . . . say it with me!

There are some great fabric collections out that I love and find myself daydreaming about. Nearly anything from Freespirit is to die for. Plus, I love lots of Moda stuff. My current favorite is this line from Moda called "Chez Moi".


This image is neat because it shows all the fabrics in the whole collection. Love it!

Another favorite is this funky line from Robert Kaufman called "Every Iota".


And yet another that I have caught myself daydreaming about . . .

This is a collection from Anna Maria Horner called "Chocolate Lollipop".

Breathe in . . . breathe out . . . breathe in . . .

A girl is allowed to dream isn't she?

Oh, and then of course I had to stumble upon this great store fabricshack.com

THIS MONTH I WILL NOT BUY NEW FABRIC. Watch out June!

-dana

Neat image you can make

I found this neat card catalog generator thingy on the web. Click here to make your own.

The weekend is here my friends!
-dana

This book took by breath away!

I loved this book! It is A Lesson Before Dying by Ernest J. Gaines. It is a beautifully moving story about a young black man sentenced to death for a crime he did not commit in early 1940's Louisiana. In prison, he is aided by a black teacher that helps him to understand that he can die with dignity. Beautiful. Heartbreaking. This is definitely going on my personal list for top 10 books of all time.

Go to the library and check it out.
-dana

This had me laughing so hard!

Apparently many of you like to laugh. Thanks for sending this link Donna! It had me laughing so hard I was crying. Don't have your children in the room when you watch -- nothing outrageous, just stuff you might not want to explain RIGHT NOW. :)

Giggles & Grins!
dana

P.S. I promise not to turn this into a youtube.com-video-clip-24-hours-a-day blog. You gotta admit, though, that youtube is very addicting!!

Silly stuff to make you laugh!

You may have seen this before. I have watched it many times. Why? It makes me laugh. It is sooooooooo something that my brother and I would do together just to make our familes laugh . . . or just to make ourselves laugh.

I felt like laughing this morning so I watched it again.
(Mom just push the play button right on the computer screen with your mouse)

-dana