A Milestone

This past April marked my five year blog anniversary.

I do wish I didn't delete my first blog, Black Rooster Cottage, so I could

go back and see what I wrote about then. That would be fun.

It was a whole new ballgame when we moved to Sweet Home Alabama 

so I changed my name and never looked back.

 I've been through the whole emotional roller coaster of loving it, wanting to quit because really, who cares what I do, then saying, who cares what anyone thinks because I blog for the love of writing

and sharing my thoughts and sharing things that make me happy.

I have made some very wonderful friends through blogging that share 

the same love of Vintage, Country and the South and I hope that

someday, I can meet every single one in person.

I'm always trying to improve my photography and content but

make sure to remain me in thought and style.

So, I have to say this.....

To celebrate this little milestone,

I am working on a couple of give-away's.

One for the locals and one to my friends that don't live within 

driving distance.

My next post will have all the details on how to enter

and what's on the table.

Now, back to the drawing board!

The FPH Garden

It's planted and taking shape!

It's a little sparse looking right now but I'm certain that in about a month or so,

everything will be mammoth size {I'm hoping anyway!} and we'll be enjoying 

some homegrown goodies.

Bruce put two cow panels up for me where I have the beans and cucumbers planted

with the rest being installed soon. Then it'll be time for the garden gate.

We've settled on iron which I am ecstatic about.

If I find a photo of the perfect vintage gate, he will build it for me. 

I have to say, I'm pretty darn lucky to have such a talented man.

We have a very large backyard which includes acreage behind the coop which is wooded.

The coop has been the starting point of what we plan on doing in the yard.

We're fencing the garden to keep the dogs out and heaven forbid, any deer that come around. 

We planted a small orchard on the right side of the yard with apples, plums and peaches and to the left, we have several varieties of berries and some blueberry bushes.  I definitely want to plant additional berry vines and bushes. I know what we have will not be enough for our fruit loving kiddos. 

The weather was exceptionally beautiful today so I stripped the bed and pulled the curtains

down to get them washed and hung. I absolutely love the smell of lined dried clothes.

I planted some lavender around the posts sorta as a test to see how well it will do here.

If I can grow lavender, look out!

I love the sink that was given to us. I am 

still deciding whether to have Bruce run water to it but 

for the time being, it's a great herb garden as I often use

mint and lemon balm on my cakes as garnish.

And of course, the girls. I will let them have run of the garden come Fall.

Did you know chickens are great rototillers? Indeed they are.

They follow me from side to side of the run since I'm always treating them with greens or meal worms.  They certainly earn those treats! We usually get 3 or 4 a day but today, we got 6!

And that's how it all looks right now.

I will update as things grow. Sometimes you don't realize growth, improvement

or accomplishments until you look at photos from the beginning.

Have a wonderful weekend. The boys turn 7 on Memorial Day and I can still remember 

their birth date like it was yesterday. They missed their Kindergarten graduation today because they decided that it was a good time to have strep throat and the flu. Lucky, lucky!

If you don't already, follow us on FB. I usually post daily about whatever is going on in between blog posts.

See you all soon!

Miscellaneous.

That leap of Faith proved to be worthy.

Who would have known?

I am so happy that when I got to the fork in the road,

I was guided down the right path.

Is it supposed to be as easy as it is?

I closed my eyes, prayed, surrendered and it happened.

There is no other feeling like the one of contentment.

Baking is good for the soul.

Baking from scratch is even better.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Our hens are laying regularly now. We've got one

Buff Orpington that loves to lay double yolkers.

I'm hoping her body adjusts and she becomes normal.

It is the boys job to collect eggs after school.

I have to control myself every day from doing their job.

It makes me happy to see those nesting boxes with pretty eggs.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The garden is planted {photo shoot today} and all of 

our seeds have germinated and are poking out. 

Now, hopefully we will have a fantastic bounty!

I'll be back in a few days with updated pictures.

xo

Hi!

In the kitchen baking today and 

snapping photos of what I'm doing. Feeling brave,

I decided to take a picture of myself.

I much prefer being behind the camera but

I compromised, I did both.

Hi!

Oh hey! I'm working on my FPH Bakery page.

If you'd like to visit, just click the 

button on the right side {toward the top}.

Have a great day and remember...

Life is short, eat dessert first!

Mailbox Love

I am confessing that I have not gone green and 

made my own grocery bags.

I still use the non-biodegradable thin, easily ripped 

plastic sacks they give you at the market.

I do, however, re-use them!

I could list my many ways of re-uses but that is not the intent of this post. 

I want to talk about storage.

 How on earth do you store these neatly?

I just saw a pin on a folding method and although

they looked rather neat and tidy,

I don't think I'd take the time to do that. 

I am a bag stuffer. Well, was a bag stuffer.

Every too often, I find a lovely item on

Antique Farm House that fits the bill of something I'm looking for.

I had seen this vintage inspired mailbox before and fell in love with it

so when they offered it again, I jumped on it!

Isn't it pretty?!

I knew this would be my new bag storage container.

1. Because it is gorgeous.

2. It would fit my need.

3. It would be perfect for my kitchen entry thus

making it easily accessible for everyone.

4. No more big over stuffed bags behind the laundry room door!

And this particular mailbox is huge!

I would have loved to find an authentic

vintage iron mailbox but I think

those are hard to come by and a bit pricey.

I've checked the big box stores and they are coming

out with mailboxes that have a bit of a vintage flair.

Most are black, white or rubbed bronze so just

add some colorful paint and there you go!

I hope everyone has a happy Mother's Day.

A Trick I Learned

Photographing food is not an easy task!

Especially in my dark kitchen, at night.

Since I do all of my baking during school hours

{for mental and hygienic purposes},

I can squeeze some photography in

if I'm on task and have the time and daylight.

My dining table is the best place to do this since

there's a wall of windows and our

dining table is white.

Today, something popped in my head about a pin

I had seen about reflective light and I remembered

tin foil.

I tried it and I like it. A lot!

Here are two photos that are untouched.

The first one is without the foil reflector and 

the second one is with .

Here's my top notch, high tech reflector:

Frugality at its best, don't you think?

I think I may be using this method for other things too.

Just and idea I thought I would share!

A Beautiful Life

Country life has suited us extremely well.

Little girl dreams fulfilled and grownup dreams coming to fruition.

What makes my heart the happiest is the environment that our

children are growing up in. 

Family. Faith. Friendship. Goodness.

Life is good.

Have a wonderful start to the week!

xo