Another day at the Festival

As I was looking through the pictures on my memory card, I ran across a few really neat ones that I never knew I had! These were taken by my husband the day of the Festival in town. (You know, while I was working!) They put on a really neat Civil War Reenactment downtown. I heard the "gunshots" going off but I never got a chance to see it first hand. Thanks to my husband, now I can!
Look at the kids at the back. . . Too cute!

Walking through the crowd were the Civil War Widows. They had the Priest following behind them as they walked with their umbrellas.

He was so excited to see the reenactment they had put on! I had no idea he was running around playing photographer for the event!

During the festival, we also had a local artist, Belinda Muth, set up out front. She painted a beautiful Fall scene in pastels. She has several pieces of her art displayed in the shop as well. She painted spring florals onto an old wooden window that I had in storage. It turned out beautiful! You can see it in the background of this picture. She has amazing talent and I am glad that she chose Back in the Day to display her work!

I will take some pictures of her art and post them so you all can see her talent!

Until then, I hope everyone has a great weekend!

My Weekend And The Winner Is . . .

This weekend was so crazy! My husband's business held a Bike Show at a local restaurant in town. I was roped into working the Registration table. The hubby helps me at festivals and I help him at his events. We had a great turnout. The weather was great but it did turn off a little chilly. A friend of mine, Chelle, came up and we got to hang out during the event. She brought her 3 kids and I had mine there. We have been trying to get together for over a year and just haven't been able to do it so it was great to finally get to spend some time with her and her family! Her youngest son, Dylan, was such a hoot! He kept me laughing - he was running around dancing to the music. This is him "playing his guitar" to some music that was playing! How cute!

It was so much fun watching our kids play together and getting to know one another! We need to make more time for our friends instead of staying so busy all of the time!

That evening we came home and started a cozy fire! We were so tired we both fell asleep! We never even got a chance to enjoy it! Maybe next time!

Now on to the fun stuff . . . It is time to pick the winner for my birthday giveaway! I know my birthday was a week ago but I think I am going to celebrate the whole month! What a great idea! (At least I think so!) I recruited my daughter to help me with the drawing. I think she decided to help so that I could take her picture!We have everyone's name in the bowl - ready for the drawing!

Finally, she has closed her eyes and is ready to pick the lucky winner!

And the winner is . . . LINDA FROM BEHIND MY RED DOOR!

CONGRATULATIONS LINDA! I hope you enjoy your Fall goodies! I had so much fun with this giveaway, I will try to do them more often! I enjoyed meeting all of the newbies to my blog too! There are so many great people out there and such interesting blogs! So much to read and so little time!

Have a great evening!
Nicole

Quilt Giveaway

Elizabeth over at Pigtails and Snails is having a Quilt giveaway! Can you belive it? A QUILT! May I say, it is absolutely gorgeous! This is her own design and it turned out beautifully!


Be sure to hop on over to her blog and enter for this amazing giveaway!

Just a Swingin!

I didn't get to participate in Leslie's Whatcha Workin on Wednesday due to a terrible migraine yesterday! My poor kids were so sweet and took care of me all evening. We had hot dogs for dinner just because it was the easiest thing we had in the cabinet! I took some medicine and seemed to have slept it off because I woke up today feeling much better! Thank goodness!

I don't know if I ever told you all but the house that we are living in is the house that my mother grew up in. It belonged to my grandparents. I always got to stay here as I got to spend time with them when I was little. In the eighth grade I moved in with my grandmother because my mother was moving to another town and I was going to have to change schools. My grandfather had recently passed away and I hated for her to live alone. Also, I really wanted to graduate from the same school my mother did. That is funny because now my kids are going to that same school!

I always loved living here. My grandmother and I would sit out on the front porch for hours watching the people go by and listening to the birds and kids playing around town. I grew up, went to college, and eventually got married. I never really felt as "at home" as I did living here. My grandmother passed away in January, 2006 and left this home to me. She knew I always loved living in this little town. It was always a little too small for my mom and brothers. They liked living in the bigger city where there was more going on. Not me, this was my home.

I have been wanting a swing for the front porch. I wanted a way for my whole family to sit out there and talk and listen like I used to do. I had mentioned this to my brother who is a carpenter. I begged and pleaded for him to build me one. I know I could just buy one at the store but I really wanted something handmade, especially from him. Well, I finally got it . . .

My very own custom built porch swing! I was so excited! He even came out and hung it for me! My sister in law said he worked so hard on that swing! Man, is this thing sturdy too! Me and the kids sit out there all of the time now. We also have a rocking chair out there which is usually where the hubby sits. Finally, we can all enjoy the sights and sounds together! Let me tell you too, we have seen some crazy things while on that front porch.

We came out one morning in our PJs - sipping coffee and talking. All of a sudden, parade floats started coming by! We only live one block from Main street so after the parade the floats came down our road to finish off the parade. We had no idea! Next thing we knew, people came by waving and smiling - we were still in our PJs! I hadn't even brushed my hair! I ran back into the house and my husband couldn't move for laughing! Another time, same situation, sipping drink, PJs (you would think we would learn our lesson!) here comes a Marathon! Hundreds of people running by, police escorted, the works! Again, I run back into the house to get dressed. It seems now if I come out dressed, nothing exciting happens! I'm gonna have to slip back into my PJs and see what else comes down the street!

I am gonna get to work on some pillows for my swing! I will post pictures when I get them finished!

Talk to you all later!
Nicole

Amazing giveaways!

I wanted to share a couple of giveaways that are going on in blogland! First is Dani at Olde Homestead Peddler. This is her first giveaway. She is new to blogging and wanted to welcome everyone over to her blog! What wonderful items she is giving away!

The winner will be announced Monday, 10/20 so you still have plenty to time to get entered!

Look at these great grubby apple candles! I bet they yummy! I have my name in the hat so you should too! Just pop over to her blog and give her a big hearty welcome to blogging!

The next great giveaway is from Tania at Fresh From the Farm. She is celebrating her 100th post and how sweet of her to celebrate it by showering us with gifts? Her candles are amazing - 100% soy and oh so yummy! She also is giving away some handmade tarts and a wooden sunflower candle mat. Too cute!

She will be picking the winner Friday, Oct 17th so you better hurry!

I am off to work on some new projects for the Wednesday project blog. I have to have something to show you guys or else you'll think I have been slacking!

I also wanted to say THANK YOU to everyone for my birthday greetings! Everyone has had such kind words and great wishes for my birthday! You really know how to make a girl feel special! I never knew I would find such great friends when I started blogging! THANKS TO ALL OF YOU!

What a great day for a Birthday party and my FIRST Giveaway!

Today was my birthday - and I turned 34! I came home from work today to find a big party set up in the dining room. My hubby had made my favorite dinner, Spaghetti, and also baked my all time favorite - Strawberry cake! Everything tasted amazing! The kids had decorated with Happy Birthday banners everywhere. I couldn't believe they had went to so much trouble! As soon as dinner was over, I couldn't wait to jump into the Strawberry cake! Literally! It had been sitting on the table in front of me the whole time so it seemed to be "taunting me" as I finished my spaghetti. They all sang Happy Birthday and each of the kids had their own funny card they had picked out for me. Of course, they both had something to do with being old but that was okay!

They bought me a huge bag filled with all of my favorite goodies! I got a huge bottle of bubble bath, lotions, hair accessories, and my favorite candies of all time . . . a box of Whoppers and a bag of Nerds! Do these people know me or what?! They said they bought me a bunch of stuff to pamper me since I won't take the time or money to pamper myself! It seems us moms always spend time taking care of everyone else, we put ourselves last. It was such a thoughtful gift!

After dinner, I quietly tip-toed off to the bathroom and took a very relaxing HOT bubble bath! I don't know how long I was in there but I was definately wrinkled when I got out!

As promised, I am hosting my very first blog giveaway today! I want to celebrate my birthday with all of you! I have some great fall items that I have included!

Included in this giveaway are 2 Candy Corn candles, a Autumn Blessings stitchery, and 3 prim pumpkins! A perfect Fall Gathering!

To enter my giveaway, all you have to do is leave a comment on this post and you will be entered once. If you would like more chances, you can post this giveaway on your blog and I will enter your name two more times. That's three chances to win!

If you do not have a blog, you can still enter . . . just leave your email address in my comments so that I can notify you if you are the winner!

I am going to keep this giveaway open for one week. I will draw the name of the winner at 8 pm (eastern time) on Monday, October 20th.

Good luck to all of you! Have a great week!

~Nicole~

A Day at the Festival!

Today was the first day of our town's Autumn Treasures Festival. The weather was beautiful - not too hot, no rain, what more could we ask for! The morning started out cloudy and there was a little sprinkle but by noon all had cleared up and the sun was out - finally! Our little town was so crowded! The streets were lined with vendors and you could smell the great foods all the way to the shop!

There were so many wonderful vendors and such amazing talent! We had lots of jewelry makers, candle makes, wood turners, basket weavers . . . you name it!

These are just a few pictures from my end of the street. I never actually got a chance to walk to the other side and see what was down there!

This is one of our great local talents - Tim Emore. He and his wife own the Leather Shop in town. He is an excellent bluegrass singer! I actually play his CD in the shop. I think it is great to represent your home town. There is so much talent out there and I love showcasing local artists!

The shop itself was VERY busy. We have everything in the store on sale so that we could clear the way for more great items. I couldn't believe how busy we were! I was going to make more items tonight but I am way too tired!

I told you all yesterday about the hutch that I had been working on - trying to get it ready for the festival. We finally got it in the shop late last night so I wanted to share the picture with you:

As you can see, it is filled with all of our handmade goodies. The quilt hanging off of the front was made by a local quilter. We have several of her pieces displayed throughout the shop. I think the hutch turned out nicely. It really makes a bold statement in the front of the shop!

Well, I am off to read some of my favorite blogs. I hope you all have a wonderful weekend!

Last minute goodies!

With our towns festival fast approaching, I have been down to the wire getting all of my "ideas" finished. I came across a really nice Maple hutch last weekend and, of course, decided that it should be painted! I thought a great Colonial Burgundy would look nice as a back drop to my new candies and goodies that I am bringing in. So, within the matter of a week, I have sanded and painted the hutch. This wasn't really in my schedule but I wanted to have it finished and in the shop by the festival. My dear hubby helped me and we have it almost finished. I will try to post pics as soon as I have it completed.

As I have mentioned earlier, I have been planning on having some homemade treats in the shop this weekend. Tonight I finished the candy and caramel apples and my hubby helped me finish the popcorn balls. I suddenly came down with a migraine last night and my dear sweet husband helped me with the rice krispy treats! He would probably kill me for telling you that but he did!

His business is hosting a Bike Show next weekend so after the festival I have to help him get things ready for his big event! I think this is his way of kissing up! lol

I have been thinking about the outside of the shop and really wanted something different for my screen door. This weekend is going to be SO busy that I wanted a little Halloween look outside. I have a Fall wreath out front that was store bought but it just wasn't doing it for me. So, I decided to make a witches stocking and fill it full of Fall florals and hang it on the door. I haven't added the berries and twigs yet but I wanted to go ahead and share what I have so far.

I am also finishing up a few witches brew bags to hang on peg hooks and cabinet knobs. I only have one more day left so Friday I will probably be MIA! Once this festival is over, I will get to work on my Christmas goodies! I know a lot of you are ahead of me so I have some stitchin to do!

My birthday is coming up on Monday, Oct 13th and I think I am going to have my first blog giveaway! I will get together my prizes this weekend and will start the giveaway on Monday. Be sure to stay tuned and get your name in the running!

I will take lots of pictures of the festival this weekend and will be sure to post them for all of you as soon as I can!

Have a great day!

Giveaway!

My friend Tammy over at Country Girl at Home is celebrating her 100th post with a wonderful giveaway! Look at the amazing Fall goodies she is giving away!

Be sure to stop by her blog and enter for your chance to win!

Finally . . . a vacation!

The family and I drove to the mountains for a little get-away. Boy, let me tell you, it was a well needed vacation! My husband owns a Motorcycle shop and I have the little country shop plus work full time. Therefore, vacations seem to be few and far between! We could only go for a few days so we headed to Maggie Valley, NC. I love this area because of the gorgeous mountain views.

We didn't get to head out until we closed so we didn't get there until late. We picked a little motel and settled in for the night. The next morning I came outside of our room to this site . . .Is that amazing or what? This was right across the street from our hotel but because it was dark when we arrived, we never knew it! We headed out to tour the area. I couldn't wait to stop in all of the cute shops! Of course, the kids and hubby weren't looking as forward to shopping as I was!

We found a "Lookout" spot while out riding around and had to get a few pictures. I wasn't exactly dressed for family portraits but, hey, it was vacation. The kids really had a great time. I was surprised that a 3 hour car ride didn't produce more fighting! They had never been to this area before so there was a lot of OOOHS and AAAHS! We couldn't have picked a better time of year to go. The weather was a little chilly at times but not too bad.

We stopped at a neat spot to see live bears. For 50 cent you could buy a tray of lettuce and apples and even feed them! I could not believe how big those guys were! Some were a little more active than others but they all really put on a show! This big guy was actually in a tree just perched on a limb. I thought it was the perfect photo opportunity!

We made our way back home, safe and sound. That is when the REAL fun starts. All the laundry and clean up from the actual vacation! So, I am off to get back to reality and back to the huge amount left to do for the Fall Festival!

Have a great day!

I love Candy Corn!

In my last minute rush to get ready for our Fall Festival, I have been a MAD WOMAN! I have started on a few stitcheries but decided that I could do them from the shop tomorrow. So, I pulled off of that to finish my apples and pears but then I realized that I could put the stems in while at the shop tomorrow. (Are you seeing a pattern here?) I got it! I can finish more candles! I had just finished a pile of grubby candles but I was looking for something with a little more Fall life to it!

Viola! Candy Corn Grubbies! I tried to "pose" them in this basket for you all to see!

Does anyone else start out with something in your mind and you end up with a totally different project or is it just me? I had a bread basket at the shop that I wanted to fill with something Fall-like for the Festival. I think these Candy Corn Candles will be perfect! I am going to add a piece of homespun and maybe even a tag to each one. (Of course, I can do that from the shop . . . tomorrow!)

Procrastination . . . one of my many assets!

I also wanted to share a picture of the Window box my hubby made for me. This old window came out of a house that was being renovated in the area. The wood for the box is from an old house too . . . OURS! We are adding on a room and they had taken some old pieces down to cut the entryway. I couldn't bear it going to waste so we are using it little by little on different projects. I meant to clean the window before I took the picture but forgot! (Again, procrastination!)

I am going to hang this one on the side of our garden shed. He built me another one to put at the shop and I have that one sitting on a table filled with goodies! I will post a picture of the one here at home as soon as the the hubby has a chance to hang it for me!

Talk to you all soon!

Whatcha Working On Wednesday!

In honor of Leslie over at My Country Home, I am finally back to participate in Whatcha Working on Wednesday! Be sure to check out her blog to see what everyone has been up too! Things have been so crazy with our town festival comin up that I have been busy working on all sorts of goodies!

My poor sewing machine has been down for a while and my dear hubby helped work on it last night. Thank goodness! I have been handstitching like a mad woman but we all know things move A LOT faster with a machine!

My first project was a trio of pears. I love primitive pears with their skinny shapes so I decided to draw some up and get to stitching! I made 3 different shapes and sizes to look more natural in a bowl. I thought these would be great pin cushions or just to stick out of a basket or bowl! I am going to grubby them and add old rusty pins, bells, and raffia. I also have to add leaves to each of them (I hope to finish that tonight!)

My other project was a bowl of primitive cherries. I wanted these to fill a small bowl that I had at the shop. It just looked so empty so I had to fill it up with these cute cherries with their little stems and gingham leaves! Seems I am in the mood to make fruits this week! I am going to start some fabric apples this evening so I will try to get them posted by the weekend!

I hope everyone is having a great day!