~ A few of my favorite things~

 A Scottish Highland cow and calf.

This sweet little mama and calf are in a field at the end of our subdivision, and we sure enjoy seeing them on our walks. 

An old trunk: a gift from my husband's cousin. It belonged to a great, great-grandma.

I just love the stamped metal on this old trunk...such a sweet pattern.

"Our mountains". When the days are mild and warm enough, we go for 'scooter' (side by side) rides all around the trails in our mountains.

It is an absolute blast to go exploring the trails and see all the beauty right in our own backyard.

Home refresh.

We are getting ready to paint. We have painted quite a few rooms since moving here just over two years ago, but we are going to finish painting the rest of the rooms, and then after Christmas, we are having new carpet put in. 

I love, love being able to refresh our home.

Sea holly still blooming.

I love gardening, and even though I'm not spending time in the yard currently because of the colder weather, it's still fun to see what is hanging on in terms of plants.

This week:

Painting, painting, and more painting.

Continue to organize and fill donation boxes.

Dehydrate more pears and apples.

 

Rock Candy & Frokes

 Big Rock Candy Mountain, that is.
Have you ever been to Big Rock Candy Mountain?
Remember the song 'Big Rock Candy Mountain', by Harry McClintock?
His idea of a Hobo's dream life.

 ~ Big Rock Candy Mountain, is a short drive from where we live. The drive up the canyon is beautiful, and there is a beautiful river walkway/ bike path. 

On our drives, we often pick up a 'Froke'.... or a frozen coke to sip on.
One of our favorite summer time treats!

 How darling is this potting shed ~ or garden shed ~or she shed? 
This gal has decorated her shed is such a cute fashion, and it  makes one happy to see all of her cute collections.

 This is the kitchen table 'before', and below is a picture of the kitchen table 'after'. 
We gave our youngest son our very large kitchen table when we were packing and moving, thinking that we were going to St. George. 
We had a small drop leaf table to use in the interim, and planned on replacing our main dining room table with something permanent, once we were moved in and settled.

 We had kept the chairs from our original set because we really liked the style and quality, but the table was far too large for us. 
One day, while we were visiting friends, I mentioned how much I liked their single pedestal table and they told me that I could have it. 
I didn't feel right about taking it for free, so I made a trade with them. 
I had an old extra trunk ~ the wooden kind, and traded that old trunk for the table. 
Of course I painted the entire set a cottage white, and I love love the finished project. There is an extra leaf for the table so that we can quite comfortably seat 6~8, when it's more than just the two of us for meals.

 We managed to save three red twig dogwoods and transplanted them.
I spray painted all of my metal love hearts and placed them near the dogwoods.

 I'm loving the hutch in the entryway, where I can enjoy it every day.
 It's also great for extra storage!

 Kitchen hutch is right where we like it, and love that the bee ware dishes are so handy for dinner time.

 Lastly.. I've been styling the tops of the cupboards in the kitchen. 
Above the pantry, I have a 'Bakery' sign, and little mason jar lights that are on a convenient light switch.

My sweet husband is counting down...just about 7 months more, then he will retire.
He has put in more than 30 years in law enforcement, and he always tells me that he wants at least 30 years of retirement life in kind :)
My sweet husband is fourth generation LEO, and our boys are 5th generation LEO (law enforcement officers).

 We've been practicing for retirement...going to the lakes and ponds fishing, working in the yard and garden, taking trips, going for rides, etc..

I told him "we are going to be the best retirees ever!" 
We always have a blast together!

~This week:
  *Finishing the last bit of painting in my sweet husbands office, and getting it decorated and pictures and awards etc. hung up;one of his favorite pics of the unit he was over in the police academy.
*Planting the 'new to me' pussy willow tree.
*Working on the spot where the garden shed will go.
* Planting in our veggie garden.

Leaves Change

 Autumn beauty:
Brilliant crimson mums, shrub leaves change from green to red.

 Colourful rainbow over the mountains, sunshine warms the mountain tops after an Autumn storm.

 Vibrant blue skies. Russet colored sunflower stalks.

 Displays of colourful foliage across the mountains...browns, reds and yellows.

 Dry sunflowers dance with the winds. Birds snack on remaining sunflower seeds. 

The leaves change. 
Autumn is finally here. 
My most favourite time of the year. 

 The square pumpkin sits cheerily on the steps of the front porch and at night, his crooked smile lights up.

 Orange pumpkins...

 Orange pumpkins, white pumpkins, green and pink and yellow pumpkins.

Enjoy this changing leaves season, dear friends.

Attitude of gratitude:
~Feeling thankful for the good health that I and my sweet husband are blessed with. I do not take our good health for granted. 
~Grateful for our home, and the warm and welcoming feeling that resides in our home.

Bring back:
Kindness, and the old adage of 'If you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all.

Homespun Philosophy: A penny saved, is a penny earned.

* Sunflowers, Sea Holly and pre~Fall mini Haul

 Sunflowers and Sea Holly arrangements...

A buttery yellow Zinnia and Sea Holly

 Gathered enough Sea Holly, and Sunflowers and feather tops from asparagus that has gone to seed that I made three...

 sweet little arrangements to place throughout the cottage.

 Not real wood. 
Simple faux wood signs from the Dollar Tree. 

 This little faux wood sign I'll attach a  wooden stake to the back,  and then place it in a pumpkin display on our front porch, once pumpkin season arrives.

 A newly acquired thrifted find. 
Sunflowers, leaves and an acorn on one side...

 Pumpkin and sunflowers on the opposing side. 

 A flameless candle {scented too!} small plaque, metal 'Gather Together' sign, and a thrifted flat back basket that hangs on a peg. ~ the above items were from Hobby Lobby.

 Hello, Fall wooden cutout, also from Hobby Lobby.

 A work in progress: Bleached Pinecones.

Bleached Pinecones, after the first attempt. I used 1/2 bleach and 1/2 water and soaked the pinecones for 48 hrs. 
Currently, the pine cones are on their second soak in the bucket. This time, I'm using 100% bleach and hoping that the pinecones bleach out more this go~round. I'll keep you posted. If you've bleached pinecones before, leave me a comment and let me know how well it worked out for you, and also how you used the bleached pine cones in your decor. 


Attitude of gratitude:
~ Thankful for a super fun date with my husband; fishing at the lake and a picnic dinner.

~ Country Style Weekend ~

How we do weekends in the country :
We go to the drive~in movie.
The Basin drive~in theater has a new movie showing, about every weekend.
This past Saturday, we saw ' The Zookeeper's Wife'.
We had a mini convoy to the theater, including our son and his fiance, and some dear friends of ours.
The theater is also famous for their 'Basin Burgers' , and we had a delicious burger for dinner.

My sweet hubby and I took a ride in the early evening on Sunday.
We drove by the 'Old Pea Factory' in Manti, and there were a couple of rock chucks hanging out on the old dock.
Can you see that critter on the dock in the below picture?

 It rained off and on all weekend.
Gray clouds and rain throughout the valleys.

 All those clouds sure made for some gorgeous sunsets.
This is the sunset that greeted us on Friday night, as we left the temple.

On Saturday, our youngest son, and his fiance worked on his yard.
He recently had a new water main installed.
The old pipes had corroded and his water pressure was low and weak.
Once the new water line was installed,  now he has great water pressure!
The operator covered the line up, of course, but now Spencer needs to rake and replant lawn, and remove the rocks from the yard, etc.

I finished giving the kitchen a fresh, new look.
I painted the kitchen and decorated the kitchen.
Below is a little glimpse of the new wall color and a bit of decor.

I love thrifting!

 Yard sales, and thrift stores yield some of the greatest finds.

The above shelf, two of the plates, the small vintage rooster salt shaker, the sign, and the wreath are all thrifted finds.
I did a makeover on the shelf, of course, but the design of the shelf was just perfect for my "Cottage ~ Farmhouse" style. It cost a mere three dollars.

 

This past Friday, we also went to look at this old house.
The county records show this house being built sometime between 1885 and 1900, though there is not a specific date registered.
The house was for sale and some dear friends wanted to look at it, to buy it.
They wanted our opinion, as we have renovated old homes for over 25 years
There is work to still be done here, but all the hard and 'not fun' work has been done here. The updated electrical, insulation, HVAC, etc.

 A view of the kitchen.
The floors have all been redone with wood look tile, which is very easy to maintain, scrub and family friendly.

 The mudroom has built~ins and the washer and dryer and lots and lots of storage. There is plenty of room to have a pantry in part of the mudroom, as well. The lower boxes in the built in are on rails, which make sliding them in and out a breeze.

 A glimpse of the the living room and the front door, that the current homeowner made.
They took out the transom window, and made a door with four panes in the top, but the door is super tall and makes up the space of the transom.

 The kitchen. Floor to ceiling cupboard, and enough counter space to prep a meal, and work on.

*All pictures of the house were taken from the listing.

Dining area.
  The house is adorable, and all the hard work is done, though there may be color changes and decorative changes that our friends want to make.
They put an offer on the house,and it was accepted! Sans any hiccups, they will be the new owners of this darling old cottage!
They hope to close by the end of next month.
We are very happy for them, and excited for them to have an old house.

~Attitude of gratitude :
* So grateful for good health. My back gave me a few twitches and twangs this past weekend, and while it slowed me down, just a bit, it didn't take me out. I am so grateful that we enjoy good health.
*Thankful for the rain that we received.
*Feeling thankful that I found a darling skirt and top for the wedding. I looked at lots of dresses, and skirts, and finally found just the right style for me, and the right color for the wedding. Our future daughter in  law has chosen to have mauve, and blush for her colors. Mauve colored clothing, and accessories aren't as easy to find these days, as it was in the 1980's!

~On the list :
*Paint the hallway, and get started on the livingroom
*Scrub and re~stain the fence rails and finials.
*Plant seeds... sunflower, zinnia, morning glories, Italian flat leaf parsley.
* Plant tomato plants and basil and peppers