Funky - Junky Shadows

We went junking Friday.....need we say more?

As we were looking at things we found this medallion (actually two of them) that have great possibilities. As I held it up for us to look at, we saw the most lovely shadow!

"Junk" makes some beautiful shadows....don't you think?

Now....go and visit Hey Harriet

and see all of the other beautiful shadows

out there this weekend!

7 Things You Might Not Know About The Summer Kitchen Girls

OK...here it is...what did you always want to know about us....and were afraid to ask - ha!!

Thanks to our friends Clara & Marcella at Cottage Charm & Family Inspiration for tagging us! These sweet sisters always have the best ideas - if you haven't done so before...hop on over to their blog and check them out - you'll be glad you did! We just love these tag games...it's always fun to read about people....however now that we know that Marcella is a psychologist...ahhh....hmmmm....maybe this won't be such a great idea!! HA!

1. If you didn't know it by now...we are sisters. We have a brother, Kevin that is sandwiched between us (and he thanks his lucky stars every day!)We are 7 years apart...although, everyone always thought Karrie was older (it's the level of maturity you see!). And yes, we fought something terrible when we were younger!



2. Even though we love white/shabby look....we decorate our homes with Bright & Bold colors....especially warm colors (it is very cold in our old Victorian homes ya know....this tricks us into thinking it is warm!) Karrie lives 5 minutes from the shop in the old 1894 Farm House pictured here (her & her husband are the 3rd owners - pretty cool 'eh?). Karla lives 15 minutes away in the 1905 Victorian home her husband grew up in.



3. We love junking *sigh* it's our favorite pastime....what is it we love? Right now, Karrie is collecting anything silver - especially William Rogers. Karla loves wicker, and is known to pick it up off of curbs in the rain even! What do our husbands think? They just shake their heads when we come home....Karla's husband even dared callin' us pack rats - really? Naw...we USE the stuff we find (at some point!)



4. Karla has a streak of luck - she won a trip to England once, and got to meet the cast of "Are You Being Served" from PBS. Karrie hasn't won a trip yet....but give her time!




5. We both love art & art history. Karrie loves to draw & dabble in watercolors, while Karla likes to draw & use acrylics (of course girls...this is when we have time!) We love the impressionists and love nothing better (2nd to junkin') than to visit an art museum. We try to carry our love of art into the store by picking out unusual and not just the "same old" art that you see everywhere else.



6. Dirt. We love it - we take after our grandmothers and can't wait for the winter thaw so that we can start digging. Karrie has the best green thumb out of both of us...probably because she actually waters her plants! Karrie has the most flowers planted - but that's the florist in her....always thinking of another flower to add to her collection of perennials.


7. Did we mention that we were sisters...oh...ah...ya...let's see - something else that you don't know about us.....well...haa haa haa....how about the fact that Karrie & Karla met their husbands on blind dates....now wait this gets weird...the first date was at Chi Chi's for both of us - told you it was weird! Karla's been married for 14 years, and Karrie & her husband have been married for 7 years.....wow...would you look at that - 7 years apart! Hmmmm...interesting - it takes us back to that 7 thing again!




Well....there you are - 7 things about us you just might not have known! Hope you enjoyed this eye opening post...now we are off to get ready for tomorrow - we are putting mom in charge of the store as we explore #3 and find some cool "new" things for the store!

Just Plain Pooped!

Yep..... we're taking a break. We've got to do that now & then... you all understand! We had a tea party today.... and that just zaps us for sure!










It takes Karrie a good day to set up tables, figure out which linens to use.... what dishes to put together, and don't forget the extras... the napkins, menus & such!


The night before the tea, I start cooking everything for the meal. Something fun for the hubby & me to do!





The day of the tea we make sure that everything is in place, then get the scones made... along with the Devonshire cream. Have you ever had Devonshire cream before? It's the most wonderful condiment a scone could ever have! It is hard finding this delicious cream, so we make our own "Mock Devonshire" Many people want this recipe... so we thought we'd share it with you all....


Mock Devonshire Cream

Ingredients:
1 package (3 ounces) cream cheese, softened
1 cup (8 ounces) sour cream
3 tablespoons Powdered Sugar
1 cup heavy whipping cream

Directions: In a small bowl, beat cream cheese until fluffy. Beat in sour cream and confectioners' sugar until smooth. Add whipping cream. Beat on medium speed until combined; beat on high speed until stiff peaks form. Refrigerate until serving. Yield: 3-1/4 cups.

While we take a little break.... we thought you might like to sit down to a spot of tea with us - of course with a scone piled high with your own Devonshire Cream.....Enjoy.....because it looks like the party is over for us....it looks like we have a lot of dishes to do....Fancy THAT!

Karla & Karrie

Remembering

"True heroism is remarkably sober, very undramatic. It is not the urge to surpass all others at whatever cost, but the urge to serve others at whatever cost."

~Arthur Ashe

Thank you to all the service men and their families today!

Happy Memorial Day!

Seventh Inning Shadows

Well....it was third inning stretch on a hot Saturday morning when I saw these shadows....

Did you know that singing Take Me Out tho the Ball Game wasn't sang until 1971, when baseball announcer Harry Caray first led the crowd in singing the chorus during the seventh inning stretch at a Chicago Cubs game?

Come on everyone.....stand up....let's sing and get ready for more Shadow Shots......


"Take me out to the ball game,
Take me out with the crowds;
Buy me some peanuts and Cracker Jack,
I don't care if I never get back.
Let me root, root, root for the home team,
If they don't win, it's a shame.
For it's one, two, three strikes, you're out,
At the old ball game. "

After your stretch...head on over to Hey Harriet for some "out of the park" shadow fun!

Garden Junk

Old base to a table....

Rusty

Forgotten

No one wants it....






Wait....


An Idea!




Old Table Base

Rusty, Forgotten
+ Old Galvanized Tin Tub
____________________
= new planter

Way better than anything we saw at Lowes!


Can't wait to fill it with some flowers this weekend.....stay tune for a picture of it finished!

Wednesday Words

“A good laugh is sunshine in the house.”
~William Makepeace Thackeray

Wednesday Words are brought to you by our Wall Enhancer Line.

Need a fun quote on your wall, door or mirror? Check out our website and have fun creating your own....or using one of ours!

Just Love Tufa!

Not Tofu....Tufa!
We were on Fine Gardening and saw this picture of these gardening containers. We see them all the time and just adore them!

We discovered that they are called Tufa Pots or Hypertufa Pots. We found out that Hypertufa actually means fake tufa, and that tufa rock is a volcanic stone which was once used in England as watering troughs for livestock.

There was an article on making your own tufa pot, and it looked fairly easy.
While searching some more, we found this video on how to create your own Hypertufa Pots here. Looks like it could be a fun summer project -maybe something to do with the kids when school gets out? If you're brave.....!

Blue, But Happy {Anniversary} Shadows

A couple of weeks ago Karrie & I went shopping.....at the antique store *sigh*

There, in a small booth huddled on a bottom shelf were 10 blue & white plates made by the Bailey-Walker Company in Bedford, Ohio.

They are considered restaurant ware china....but to me..... indestructible with three kids & a dog - better yet, they compliment the spode dinner plates - a match made in heaven!

I couldn't bear to put these plates in the hutch behind closed doors - so I put them stacked up on the shelf - and there.....were shadows!

These little dessert plates are perfect for some cake to celebrate Shadow Shot Sunday's 1st Anniversary!

Want to join in the fun? Go on over to Hey Harriet with the rest of the 60+ shadow chasers, for some of the best fun in blogland!

"Playing In the Dirt"

Grandma Norma was notorious for "playing in the dirt"

As soon as spring began - there she would be, out planting all of the geraniums she had grown from clippings from the fall before. Geraniums.....all lined up in every window in her house. A pleasant memory....and also a gene embedded deep withing ourselves!

Last night we got a chance to "play in the dirt" with our Thursday night girls.....we were making Bay Leaf topiaries with Catherine. You might recall our last class with Catherine when we made Rosemary topiaries.

We again realized that getting a plant pruned up so that it would grow in a ball shape was easy work. We also learned some other fun things.....


Catherine brought to our attention that the base of plants can look attractive too. She suggested putting river rocks, shells, and colorful stones along the base of a tall plant to cover the dirt - huh!
How about sedum? This idea won everyone over - and we all decided to cut some off of Catherine's plant's base and place it onto ours....cute eh?


There is such a relaxation when playing in the dirt....it calms and relaxes you.....and in the presence of others there is a common bond of friendship!




You might want to grab some friends and play in the dirt yourselves....you'll be glad you did! {Norma would be proud!}

Wednesday Words

"Live a good, honorable life. Then when you get older and think back, you'll enjoy it a second time."

Wednesday Words are brought to you by our Wall Enhancer Line.....have a favorite saying or quote....put it up on your wall!

Come & Sit a Spell

Our new butterfly bench....available in green, red, orange or blue - shipped right to your door.....ahhhhhh - summer is almost here!

Green Cleaning

More books just came in on Friday! We sold out and had to reorder our "Naturally Clean Home"

Since we had Catherine over for a class on herbal cleaners, we've been obsessed with these good-for-you & oh-so wonderful smelling cleaners!

When we saw this book we snapped it up - and since then it's been in our #1 spot of best sellers in the store!

Thought we'd share one of the recipes for you.....

Lavender Fabric Softener

1 gallon vinegar
20 drops lavender essential oil

"Add the lavender essential oil to the vinegar right in the container and you've got instant fabric softener! Shake well before using. For a large load, add 1 cup curing the rinse cycle; use 1/2 cup during the rinse cycle for smaller loads."

Did you know that vinegar is the fabric softener of choice.....not only is it nontoxic, it also removes soap residue in the rinse cycle and helps to prevent static cling in the dryer!

Green Shadows

As Karrie was making her famous fern pots, I was pricing them....and paying a lot of attention to the delicate shadows they were making!

Thinking green.....means decorate with green too!

Visit Hey Harriet this week as we all spot shadows in all sorts of different places! Join us if you can....we just love seeing new shadow shooters!

Fresh Quilts for Summer

Quilts certainly have a way to bring whimsy & a comfortable ease to a room don't they?

As I opened my email from Architectural Digest today.....there was an article on American Quilts. Typically I think of quilts as something I pile on the bed in the winter.....but then I began to think about the interview we just did for the Buzz book about keeping things "cool" - or "cool looking" in the summer. Many times people change out pillows and drapes. We suggested lightening up with changing chairs - or slip covering them, bringing in elements from the outside, like urns with plants and even wire topiaries.
After looking at the article....I realized that I should have suggested adding a brightly colored quilt for on your bed.....or like in this picture from the Architectural Digest article...put them out on your porch to snuggle under while in the chill of the morning or evening.

Hanging quilts is always a great way to put art on a big wall - and easy enough to switch out different quilts for different seasons. How about using them as a table cloth? Our mom just loves quilts on her table - they are just a part of her dining room as the dishes!

Just this past Monday, Mom, Karrie & I were all out shopping....OK - junking....and I scored a quilt for my daughter's room......$35.....polyester.....hand stitched.....that's right - eat your heart out! This is the perfect thing {and somewhat indestructible} for her bed - especially this summer!

So....I guess it's time to dig out grandma's old quilt in the attic.....or try your luck at the garage sales this weekend.....see more ideas for your quilts on Architectural Digest's website - happy hunting!

Wednesday Words

"An ounce of mother is worth a pound of clergy."
~Spanish Proverb

Wednesday Words are brought to you by our Wall Scapes....have a favorite saying or quote....put it on your wall!

Wishing all the mothers out there a Happy Mother's Day....we all appreciate your patience & love!

Seeing It In a New Light

We soooo love our new lights......oh where to put them? Bathrooms, kitchens, bedrooms....we're thinking the porch would be fun too!

Need to see something in a new light....maybe you need two new hanging ones!!

Purse Love

PURSE TRUNK SHOW

Going on now through May 8th

If you are in the area stop in to see some of the loveliest purses, scarves & belts around! If you aren't.....stop by Purse Love and browse to see what you can get online from Ms. Nancy!

Glorious Pink Shadows

While putting out some new wreaths we found some wonderful shadows.

'Tis the time for geraniums....and these pink ones hit the spot - bright & ready for summer!

We are joining Hey Harriet today for Shadow Shot Sunday...and crossing our fingers that Tracy has her computer back....this week! Hop on over to see some more fabulous shadows at Hey Harriet.







Happy weekend everyone!

Don't be too matchy-matchy

Who needs everything to match? We find that mixing things is much more interesting - don't you think?

We like to collect different patterns to mix and match with another set. How many times have you had a full set of glasses....then one breaks, then another - or how about you find the most wonderful pattern at the junk store....but there is only 3 - no sweat - pick them up and put them with your existing set.

Think of it this way....the glasses not only look more interesting - it sure makes keeping track of your glass easier during a get-together when the glasses all don't look the same!