"No Turning Back..Climb 'Til Your Dreams Come True"

     I remember finding this very small white poem booklet with powerful words many years ago while living and thrifting in San Diego, CA. It has always found a prominent place among my collections, usually on the shelf one of the old cupboards filled with dishes... something I can see it everyday.

     Please let me share with you the contents....

An Inspirational Poem by Helen Steiner Rice from her Book of Verses

 "Climb 'Til Your Dreams Come True"

Often your tasks will be many, And more than you think you can do...

Often the road will be rugged And the hills insurmountable to...

But always remember, the hills ahead Are never as steep as they seem...

And with Faith in your heart start upward....And climb 'til you reach your dream...

For nothing in life that is worthy Is ever too hard to achieve...

If you have the courage to try it And you have the Faith to believe...

For Faith is a force that is greater Than knowledge or power or skill...

And many defeats turn to triumph If you trust in God's wisdom and will...

For Faith is a mover of mountains-There's nothing that God cannot do...

So start out today with Faith in your heart...

And Climb 'Til Your Dream Comes True!

My lil' find

 My father-in-laws pocket watch (Love the engraved "T")

Happy New Year!

     I would say that I am a dreamer...but I'm sure that I'm not the only one, so together let's "Climb 'Til Our Dreams Come True". 

     Happy collecting, thrifting and dreaming. 

     The Blue Farmhouse.

"Another Day...More Finds"

     I love waking up and thinking..."Where shall we go today?" And of course our first response is let's hit our favorite thrift stores and out the door we go! (Thank goodness I'm still on Christmas break)...because I found some great things and now I'm happy to share them with you.
   
     My original thoughts for some of them where to paint white and then lightly sand giving them an aged look with some of the gold patina showing through. And if you purchase the Le Creuset pans brand new they are quite expensive but I found these for pennies!

     But now I'm having second thoughts and not sure which direction to take so I'll ask you for your thoughts? Oh and be sure to look for these items after I repurpose some of them in a future post.

     Thanks for sharing and until break is over...happy collecting and thrifting.

     The Blue Farmhouse.

Repurposing to chalkboard

   

Love the shelf and religious memorablia

     

Paint or not?

Love these Le Creuset pans

Adding to my collection

"Something Old....Something New"

     It would be pretty difficult to choose "the best Christmas" ever because a lot could probably depend on where you are in life. As for me I have adult children, three beautiful grand daughters, a beautiful daughter in law and a husband whose love and support never wavers.

     And from this love and joy flows...gift giving and I'm thankful for my husband who always looks out for my best interest. He gives, gives, gives and this year he gave me this....13' MacBook Air, some computer accessories and a pair of the most beautiful antique sconces from one of my favorite consignment stores in Santa Barbara. I love the little switch on the side and I will trade out the amber colored light bulbs for some clear ones.

     I'm looking forward to blogging on my new MacBook Air, as well as improving my computer skills and finding just the right location for these beautiful antique sconces in our home.

     Until next time happy collecting, thrifting and gifting....and thank you Tommy.

     The Blue Farmhouse.

New laptop

Wireless Network Storage System

Microsoft Office 2011

Antique  sconses

Closer look

"In the Rain"

I wanna go outside in the rain

It may sound crazy but

I wanna go outside in the rain...

By The Dramatics

Rainy forecast

     The forecasted weather in my area has been "right on target" rainy, light showers, and then here comes the sun....but it's okay because "painted toe" and I have just been hanging out by the living room window (one of my favorite past times) but wait.... 

     We now want to go outside in the rain....it may sound crazy but we want to go outside in the rain. Okay...let's go! 

     What about you?

      The Blue Farmhouse.

C'm on let's go

"The Morning After"

There's got to be a morning after...(hmmm)

There's got to be a morning after

There's got to be a morning after....

By Maureen McGovern

The day after Christmas

"Painted Toe"

     The tune to this old song just swirling around in my head while hanging out with "painted toe" and honestly folks it just doesn't get any better than this...."happy morning after" Christmas Day! 

     Until next time...The Blue Farmhouse.

"My Indoor Loot Shoot"

     Finals are over...YeAh! Christmas break has begun...it's about time!!! and now I can just wake up to paint some of the many projects that need finishing and of course go thrift store shopping everyday.

     And yes, I did exactly that the other day and found some pretty terrific things. I know that "staged" pictures look best but I like showing the before and after because it gives an accurate account on what discarded things can become with a fresh coat of paint, new knobs, etc...

     So bear with me and for now just let me indulge you on these fabulous finds....

My fab finds

Love these canisters

Love these old ornate lamps

I have big plans for these pendant lamps

     The 2 white lamps are ones that I have been working on for awhile and I can't wait to show you to final results with new lampshades, etc...it's all a work in progress! Some of these things will find a place in my home and others will you can find in my space at "Sweet Repeats". So now that you have seen the before pictures I hope that'll you'll return for the after pictures. 

     Until next time...happy thrifting and collecting. 

     The Blue Farmhouse.

"BBQ Pulled Pork Results"

     Well I certainly missed my Saturday deadline~sorry...but the results were "a hit" and we're busy trying to consume the rest of it.

     Here's a few pictures of what really is a delicious and simply recipe for delicious pulled pork barbecue!

I hope you give it a try....The Blue Farmhouse.

You can use fries or chips

A closer look

Thank you Paul and Cathy

"Christmas Party~Pulled Pork B.B.Q"

     Umm...just typing in the title makes the taste buds on my tongue salivate with anticipation of the announcement "time to eat."

     Now in case you didn't know I'm from the South and in my book the words.. The South and B.B.Q. go hand in hand. But because I haven't lived in my birthplace in "many moons"... I must say that I have discovered some pulled pork sandwiches that would stand toe to toe with the best!

     The places that my husband and I will drive to in a heart beat are Firestone in San Luis Obispo and order "The Pig", The Oak Pit B.B.Q. Company in Arroyo Grande (check out my post "Memoriable-Memorial Day for photos) and the last but not least Rancho Nipomo B.B.Q. But don't just take my word, get in your car and go taste for yourself some of the best pulled pork b.b.q sandwiches on the Central Coast!

     Hmm..okay okay back to my story....the recipe for the sauce is called "Mom's Barbecue" by K. Young in Hardy, Va. This recipe came to me via my brother and sister in law who pastored in Marion, Virginia as a gift Christmas gift in 2002. The cookbook features a collection of good down home cooking from church members throughout the State of Virginia and they are good!

     I've cooked this several times and my boss has requested it on a couple of occasions. In fact a lady who ate some asked that I make her the sauce and then wondered if I considered bottling the sauce to sell. Well I was flattered but declined the offer but, if you were close by I would treat you to sandwich, topped with homemade cole slaw, glass (notice I didn't say mason jar) of sweet ice tea and french fries. Okay....here's some pictures of preparations and you can see the final results tomorrow.

     Enjoy and hope to see you on Saturday, December 22, 2012.

     The Blue Farmhouse.

Simple ingredients

Roaster and pork loin

Add loin

Add ingredients

Recipe

Simmer on the lowest setting (the longer the better)

Cover (I slow cook until the next day)

"Making A List"

He's making a list

Checking it twice

He's gonna find out who's naughty or nice....

The sleigh (a gift)

Old Santa found in San Diego

     A couple of weeks ago my boss arrives at work and says, "I have something for you....I saw this and I said this is Rita. So she takes me to her truck and opens the door to this sweet sleigh that belonged to her mother and that she fondly remembers as a child growing up. 

     Her mother told me that she has some reindeer that go with the sleigh but she's not ready to depart with them... yet!

     It graces my home beautiful for this time of the year and can be used in any room...but most of all I love the thoughtfulness behind the giving. 

     Until next time happy collecting, thrifting and gifting! 

     The Blue Farmhouse.

"Let It Snow...Let It Snow"

    Well, there's no snow falling where I live...but these vintage finds can make you reminiscence about how these old skis, poles and ice skates might have been used.

     However, today they serve only as decor for the home and a memories of "days gone by."Until next time happy thrifting and collecting!

     The Blue Farmhouse.

Vintage skis, poles and matching skates

Another look

Old markings on the skis

Days gone by...

"A-Tisket, A-Tasket"

A tisket~ A tasket~

A baby in a basket...

18 more days!

Found basket ($3.00)

A very special gift!

     I found this basket at a thrift store I hadn't been to in a long time. And of course, we love all the functions this basket can be used for....the baby...well she's priceless! 

     Until next time happy collecting and thrifting. 

     The Blue Farmhouse.

"Star Struck*!*?*!*?"

     ((Well I might have exaggerated a little...but their is no mistaken when I say that Eric is the owner of one the most beautiful stores in Santa Barbara)).

     So I wasn't quite sure if I could take pictures inside the store, so I approach a lady and say, "Excuse me, I have a blog named "The Blue Farmhouse" and is it okay if I took some pictures of the inside?" she replied, "Sure and what's the name of your blog?"... she puts some merchandise away and walks over to the computer and searches... "Oh here it is".

     In the meantime a gentleman walks behind the counter also viewing the computer screen and she introduces him, "this is Eric the owner of the store". Of course, now I'm tongue-tied as I stumble over my words sharing about when I first began blogging and featured this store in my very first post, "I'm Coming Out".

     They both compliment me on the blog and thanked me for my enthusisiam for the shop. Hey, this no hype but "Rooms and Gardens" is the real mccoy if you're looking for high quality, a beautiful selection of chairs, tables, lamps, ottomans, throws, linens, fabric choices (my favorites are Kathy Irelands') or just pure inspiration.

     Now, I really would be tongue-tied if home decorator Kathy Ireland was there in person! Enjoy and until next time...find your inspiration.

     The Blue Farmhouse.

Me and Eric (store owner)

Beautiful bedroom

Custom fabric choices

Chicken coop

Resident chickens

Backyard view

The Gardens

Back inside

Of course! Blue and White Rugs

A must visit for everyone