Five Faves

To round out National Ag Week, I wanted to highlight five of my personal favorite agricultural products and link up with some of my favorite Friday characters!

ONE
Wine, sweet wine!  Actually I'm a dry wine kinda girl, but "wine, sweet wine" rolls off the tongue a little easier.  Anywho.  Without vitaculture, which is the science, production and study of grapes wines aren't nearly as tasty!  Wineries are becoming one of the largest and most visited Agri-Tourism locations here in Illinois.  All you wine drinkers out there, remember to #thankafarmer!

 TWO
Meat eater's unite.  Having grown up on a farm that raised cattle to put food on our table, as well as others in our community, I know first hand the respect that farmers have for the animals they care for and raise.  It's a luxury that I'm able to go to our freezer and pick out a package of steaks or a pound of hamburger and have no concerns about what we're eating for supper that night.  Don't forget to #thankafarmer the next time you're standing at the meat counter or grabbing a quick burger at your local pub and grub!

 THREE
If you're not aware of my obsession with all things 'fall', you can bring yourself up to speed with a few past posts (here, here, here).  It's true!  From harvest to bonfires and everything in between I'm a fan, pumpkins and gourds are some of may favorite ways to decorate our house!  But someone is growing and tending all the mums, gourds and pumpkins that adorn my house each year... #thankafarmer

FOUR
Who remembers their first sip of beer?  Where you a little kiddo sitting next to grandpa on the swing on a warm July day or maybe it was a stealthy swig at your first college house party?  Mine was somewhere in between.  I've wised up since college and prefer (and can easily afford) "good" beer.  Matt and I both enjoy a good round of craft beer, but without barley, hops and wheat we'd be sunk.  Beer drinkers, #thankafarmer before your next swig!

FIVE
From my head down to my legs, I love eggs!  Just about anyway you can eat 'em... over-easy, hard-boiled, poached, I love 'em.  When I can get them from the 4-Her down the road, farm-fresh are my go-to and I buy them from her two dozen at a time.  Although I've broached the idea of getting our own chickens, to which I was shot down... I support and always #thankafarmer for my eggs whether they come from the store or just down the road.

What are some of your favorite agricultural products?

Linking up with Five on Friday, Friday Favorites and Oh, Hey Friday!

Fall Decor Tour

Each year I can hardly wait to drag all my Fall decorations up from the basement and get the house looking all sorts of snazzy!

I usually wait until Labor Day weekend to start decorating and then everything stays up until the end of November.  I don't specifically decorate for just Fall or just Halloween, but have learned that for me easier to incorporate both into my 'design'.  It doesn't hurt to have a good friend that makes some amazing wood crafts that I absolutely love!  Shameless plug.  It's also in my favor that I'm handy with a paint brush and other crafting essentials.

So much of what you'll see are decorations that we used at our wedding four years ago.  I didn't want all of our table decor to be the same so that I could use them again and again!  At this point, I actually have too much stuff to put out...

Let's start this tour shall we?  If you come through the front door (for inquiring minds, that the purple one!) you enter into our dining room.   As you can tell, I love burlap.  For the wedding, I'm not even ashamed to say I bought a hundred yards of the stuff... if it stood still, it was draped in burlap!  The 30+ table runners that I cut have been loaned out and reused at several weddings and showers over the last few years, so I'd say it was a good buy!  I still have oodles of it left and honestly use it quite a bit.  The 'FALL' pennant flags are just one of the things I've used it for over the years!

I painstakingly glittered everyone of the pumpkins on our table.  Mod Podge and extra fine glitter.  I freaking love them!  The wide hurricane vases are new this year.  They were a birthday present and I really like the way they look in this grouping!

You'll spy one of Diana's wood crafts hanging on the ladder here.  While it's Halloween, it doesn't scream it.  For a long time I struggled with wanting to decorate with black, orange and purple at Halloween, but resigned to the more rustic look so I didn't have to take down, put up and take down again.  The gourds in the picture are also from the wedding.  They were dried and scrubbed clean so I could bring them in the house.  The apple shaped ones are in a vintage bunny cage that we used to collect our cards on our wedding day.

Also in the dining room, I made what I call a 'Thankful Tree'.  It has paper circles hanging on the branches and each year we fill out a few to share our blessings.  If we host Thanksgiving we also ask our family to make one.  I enjoy looking back at who was thankful for what and when.

Remember how I said I have a lot of decorations... 

Well, they continue into the kitchen.  The two pumpkins on the shelf were made by Diana and I did the wood burning back in high school.  The wreath, Harvest sign and print with the spices were also made by yours truly!  I also have some cute decorations on top of the refrigerator, but honestly it's entirely too dusty up there to show you!  Just keeping it real.

Our living room downstairs is also sporting Fall finery!  The glittery FALL frames were also made specifically for our wedding, aside from the glitter pumpkins, it's one of my favorite things to put out each year.  The floral arrangement behind the frames sat on the alter where we lit our unity candle.  
You guys thought I was kidding when you said I wanted to reuse all our wedding decorations, huh?  

More of Diana's adorable stuff is on display here!  The witches hat is brand new this year and it's my favorite piece she's done.  The top actually comes apart from the base for easy storage!  She really thinks of everything.  

Each of the bathrooms also have some pumpkins in them, ya know because I can!  

I know I have a problem.  You don't have to tell me.

It makes me sad, but I'll probably start putting away my Fall decor away within a week or two.  We aren't hosting Turkey Day, but our annual Christmas party is butting right up to our trip to Las Vegas and getting the house undecorated and redecorated will be a bit of a squeeze.  I do love my Christmas decorations, so I won't grieve Fall too long!

 

Linking up with Lisa

The Halloween Costume That Almost Wasn't #blogtober14

Living in a small, rural community poses certain challenges, but there are definite perks!!

Just this morning, I called the Post Office well before they were actually open (like HOURS before!) on the off chance someone would answer and tell me the box that contained our Halloween costumes showed up after our mail was delivered Thursday morning. 

Thank goodness, the postmistress answered the phone and the package was there!  WooHoo!!!

Since the movie A League of Their Own came out in 1992, it's been one of my favorites!  You've seen it right? 

The movie is based on the women who played in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League which existed from 1943 to 1954.  While the movie took some liberties with the story, all four of the teams featured (Rockford, Racine, Kenosha and South Bend) actually existed along with 11 other teams throughout Midwest.

Rockford Peaches, 1945

When I say this is one of my favorite movies, I mean my sister and I literally wore out our VHS copy!  Which means when it comes on TV, I'm the obnoxious one who sits there and recites every. single. line.  

Matt was up at o'dark thirty to go hunting, so selfies at work was the best I could do this morning!

I totally get that it's annoying, but I can't help myself!  And there are so many classic lines in this movie!  Here are five of my favorites... 

Jimmy Dugan: Are you crying? Are you crying? ARE YOU CRYING? There's no crying! THERE'S NO CRYING IN BASEBALL!

Doris Murphy: Why don't you give her a break, Jimmy...

Jimmy Dugan: Oh, you zip it, Doris! Rogers Hornsby was my manager, and he called me a talking pile of pigshit. And that was when my parents drove all the way down from Michigan to see me play the game. And did I cry?

Evelyn Gardner: No, no, no.

Jimmy Dugan: Yeah! NO. And do you know why?

Evelyn Gardner: No...

Jimmy Dugan: Because there's no crying in baseball. THERE'S NO CRYING IN BASEBALL! No crying! 

 ----------------

Dottie Hinson: Lay off the high ones!
Kit Keller: I like the high ones!
Dottie Hinson: Mule!
Kit Keller: Nag!
 ----------------

Mae Mordabito: Evelyn. Evelyn. I'm sorry but I have to kill your son.
(begins to chase Stillwell with a bat)
Doris Murphy: Mae! Mae! Don't use my bat! Use Marla's. It's heavier.

 ----------------

Mae Mordabito: (at Tryouts) Ya know they got over a hundred girls here. So some of yous are going home.
Kit Keller: What do you mean some of us?
(Doris throws a fast ball at Kit, which Dottie catches with her bare hands)
Mae Mordabito: OK, some of them are going home.
Doris Murphy: Hey, how'd you do that?

 ----------------
Kit Keller: (Talking about the uniform) It's awfully short!
Dottie Hinson: Short?!?  I'm gonna have to squat in that!

Did you dress up for Halloween today?  Any party plans for the weekend?

Linking up with Karli, Amanda, Helene, and Christina.

Fall La La La La'ing and a Birthday

When Lisa announced she and some pals were going to have a Holiday Link-Up, I knew I had to be on board!  I'm a compulsive over-decorator for all holidays, but no more so than Fall and Christmas!  You may have seen the pictures last month that reiterate just how much stuff I have for Halloween and Fall??  And I'll tell you that my Christmas decor has it's own closet...

Today's post is designed to show off our front porch, which has been all spiffed up for Fall, and to show off some of the hand-made 'touches' I've put together! 

Oh, and is a post complete without a pic of the prettiest Black Labrador on the planet??  You're right.  I don't think it is either!!! 

Whats more... Today is sweet, sweet Bella's BIRTHDAY!!  She is four years young and is still as playful as a pup!  She still tears around the house with her toys in her mouth and her tail tucked.  Gets into things she knows aren't hers.  And fills our home with so many laughs and lots and LOTS of love!

"I'm only laying here to get the biscuit in your other hand..."

Halloween Throwbacks #blogtober14

I've always enjoyed dressing up for Halloween!

For my first Halloween, my mom made me the cutest little witch costume complete with hat and glow in the dark spiderweb decals!  I actually still have it!  Other than the witch outfit and one handmade Oreo costume our costumes came from the store.

When Matt and I started dating, I was set on 'making' costumes for us to wear for Halloween.  Now you should understand that I'm no seamstress so making costumes generally means a LOT of hot glue...

And of course since we were/are a couple, only couple costumes will do!

I hope you enjoy some of my favorites from the last few years!!

Princess Peach and Mario

The Rubbles and the Flintstones

Bo Peep and Sheriff Woody

 

Linking up with Helene and Taylor.

Weekend Festivities // Live Music and Fall Fun

Another great weekend has come and gone.  *sigh*  Thankfully, we'll have another one coming around again, but first a whole week of work!

Instead of diving into work, I'd rather relive this weekend's shenanigans...

Friday night we did a little drinking, dancing and singing to Mr. Aaron Watson!  Good times, great music!  Keeping my fingers crossed that he will be playing in Vegas when we head out in December.

After sleeping in 'til 10:30am Saturday morning I was feeling extra energetic and a little guilty about all those Redd's from the night before, so I headed out for a 4 mile run.  I felt extra spiffy in my coordinating workout gear!

Matt and Bella headed to the farm to plant his deer food plot and I spent the rest of the afternoon in the kitchen whipping up some tasty yummies!  Broccoli salad, pumpkin chocolate chip cookies, bruschetta and apple crisp pie with salted caramel sauce.  The house smelled AMAZING!

After Matt got home and cleaned up we headed to Beitz's for supper and then we all headed off to hear some more live music!

Saturday night was Brushville, an up and coming country band who played at our wedding almost four years ago.  They've got two singles out on country radio, Bar Star and Baby's Got Her Boots On.  Check them out!  Here in central Illinois, they're a pretty big deal!

Since I slept like the dead Saturday morning, it was fitting that I was up bright and early Sunday.  But it was all for a good reason!  The first thing I did was prep a crock pot full of balsamic beef stew and then it was off to Apple 'N Pork Festival. 

Shockingly, I only bought one thing and it wasn't even for me... but a Christmas present!  I know... Christmas already!?!?  After checking out all the vendors that this year's festival had to offer it was time to head back and consume copious amounts of beef stew and apple pie while watching football!  After watching the Bears lose to the Packers (I guess it's only disappointing if you're a Bears fan, which I'm not... Go Broncos!) I started the process, and it really is a process, of decorating the house for fall! 

What can I say, I love Fall!  We were married in October, so I have lots and lots of decorations left over from the wedding that I use to decorate the house every year.  I overheard Matt say to Bella, "Holy Fall shitzel Bella!  Doesn't it feel like we're in a pumpkin patch?"

Linking up with Biana and Meghan.

All Hail Friday!

It's sad when you have to refer to your calendar to remind you where and what you've done this week!  This week was softball, two nights worth for Matt and one for me... It was fun playing again!

Top that with meetings, FFA contests and yield checks for work.  

I can't forget those nights at the horse barn either!  Louie is riding really great these days!  We have one more IPHA show this season and then it's our 'off season'.   And all that really means is I'm still riding a couple nights a week, but not showing until next Spring.

To round out the work week, tonight my pal Maggie and I are headed to Springfield for an Aaron Watson concert!  I talked a bit about him in this post and I've heard some amazing things about his shows.  Pretty excited for some 'Red Dirt' country music to come to the flatlands of Illinois!

Then this weekend is the annual Apple and Pork Festival!  Close your eyes and envision: flea markets, crafters, all the apple things... Cider. Dumplings. Fritters.

It's a Fall lover's paradise!  Too bad (or not really if you're trying to keep your horse from putting on his winter hair coat for just another week or so!) there's talk of it being in the mid to upper 80's this weekend!

I'm hoping the festival will inspire me to dig out all my fall decor and get the house in the spirit of the season!

How did you spend your week?  Have any fun plans for the weekend?

Linking up with Karli, Amy and Amanda.  

Midwestern Values

On Saturday I was heading home from a program for work and I came upon this sign as I was driving.  I can't hardly express how much I LOVE it!  To me it just really expresses the true values and character of those living in small, rural farming communities.

Share the road, farmers keep us fed!

Shameless Fall Decorating

Fall is by far my most favorite time of the year!  The weather cools off, the air gets crisp, the leaves change, hunting season kicks off for Matt, we celebrate our wedding anniversary, and harvest begins... See, so many good things!!

Since Matt and I got married in the fall (and no two tables sported the same decor) I have TONS of decorations that I store in tubs in the basement and drag out each year.  Although I'm a little early and the seasons haven't 'officially' changed I took advantage of the quiet, empty house to decorate!

It all starts with be hauling said tubs upstairs.  There are FOUR of them.

Okay, really 4+ because not everything fits.

 I spent the better part of the day unpacking and placing the decorations I have.  Last year I made this 'Thankful Tree' and at our family Thanksgiving I asked everyone to write something they were thankful for and display it on the tree.

 

The buffet in our dining room is full of glittered pumpkins.  I spent two years scouring craft stores for cheap pumpkins so I could have this huge 'punkin patch'!  The large white monogrammed pumpkin and two silouhette ones are from our wedding.   

Sidenote: We had the best wedding!  I'm biased of course, but it was a blast!  

The three falling leaf pieces are just some canvas I painted, hand drew a leaf, smeared glue and glittered them up.  I love 'em! 

This A-frame wine rack was a gift from my friend Kira.  It's reminiscent of aFrench riddling rack's.  I have it decorated with faux 'mum-kin's', again from our wedding.  There's also a little ceramic tile tucked in there that I mod podge'd a wedding photo on to!

Here are the decorations in the kitchen.  I could literally decorate the whole house top to bottom, but then I just have to clean it all up later so that keeps me in check... kinda.

 I made the 'give thanks' blocks last year from some wood laying around, scrapbook paper, mod podge, and wood stain.  I think it's super cute and could do a tutorial if you wanted?  Lemme know!

The two pumpkins were a birthday gift from one of the uber crafty ladies I work with.  I love that they're primitive!  The farm scene was a high school art project that I just happened to keep track of.

The harvest artwork on the other wall I painted last year.  I dig it, but would I really claim something as mine if I didn't? Nope, probably not!

 

Hi, Mr. Pheasant!  I hope Matt shoots lots of your real pheasant friends this season because they're awfully tasty.  You don't have to worry though, you're safe on the kitchen counter!

And frankly, you're too small to eat!

Well there you have it friends, my house all dressed up for fall!  Now go get your decorations out and get to cracking!  I'm off to put my horses in the barn before the rain we are experiencing from Hurricane Isaac starts up again.  Later!

I just linked up with Between Naps on the Porch and I Heart Nap Time.   Check it out!