Little Bit...

Waiting with fat bellies...

waiting for this to arrive...

gentle and stark...

sigh...this week has been one from .....you know...

with newborn calves getting sick and dying...

with somebody running through our cattle corrals in the middle of the night and not letting us know...still haven't heard from the person, you would think they would say...hey, it was an accident; i can come over and fix the fence for you...

not one word...

with some things with family...

i am dishearted today...

it leaves me thinking about life...

what is important...

what i want to be known for...

what i want to be remembered for...

i found this amazing photographer through etsy...

awakes...

she rescues broken bits and writes messages on them...

then attaches the altered bits to abandoned buildings, barns, and tumbled down houses...

she recreates the broken bits and long forgotten structures...

into something beautiful...

she leaves her mark and message behind...

what delicate messages...reminding us...what is important...

i wonder about my messages...

i want to leave simple, beautifully stark, honest messages wherever i go....

strong, brave, graceful, messages...

i don't want to radiate a residue of disheartenment...

swooning....not drooling...

i've been shopping...



yes, somewhere other than french larkspur.....



i decided tracey needed a break from me ;0)....



though i'm not sure how much longer i can go....



{insert warning to tracey here}



i'm being brave....



sigh...



sometimes brave is not at all fun....



neither is being poor...



so....i went thrifting...




which is an hour away...



....yes, i live in the middle of nowhere....



i was such a bargain shopper....



i shopped the sales at the thrift shop....



i know....



me....sale....thrift shop....= filet mignon & shrimp dinner...



yum....drool....oh,



i've decided...drooling is so unlady like....



not at all attractive and sophisticated which a prairie girl should be ;0)....



so....i shall be swooning from now on....



i know....



much better....but....



it was a steak dinner after all....




so....drool....one last time....



....anyways....sorry....beef....yum....
{martha you must come visit me} ;0)



thrift shop...sale...$10.00 = dro..oh...swoon...

she is not much to look at right now....

but just imagine her covered in dark grey bliss...



no?....



how about drop cloth beauty...



look at her legs...

*love* those legs...{wish someone would say that to me...sigh}

have i mentioned i'm really short...

no...



oh. now you know...ssshhh...

...around the thrifty bend...this lovely...

my little one has a bed of her very own now...



...what?....oh, no, no, i didn't buy the mattress to go with it...



that was already on hand at our house...relief...

i couldn't pass on an antique cream iron bed for $30.00 could i?

now do you understand the need for a steak dinner...celebration...



she *loves* her new bed...while she did this...

i was able to do a little of this...

they should be arriving in the shop by next week...



along with some other goods...



also, next week is going to bring a little surprise to someone...



maybe to a lucky reader... :0)



we have to celebrate the passing of january don't we?!?



spring here we come!!

~p.s.~

thank you to everyone who left encouraging words and lifted up my spirits concerning a post earlier on...

you amaze me with your strength and goodness...

this prairie girl is so thankful to have friends who can listen and share...

*thank you*

Textures, Actions, Giveaway...oh my!

I had many of you comment on my photography...

let me tell you; i only know about 1/1000000000th of the things photoshop can do...

sigh...

i just hate reading manuals....

i've just stumbled along, picked up little bits here and there....

one website i *love* is:

they are amazing when it comes to tutorials, questions and such...

many of you know that i'm addicted to textures...

i'm not sure that i'm even doing them right....and truth be told....

.....i probably over do them a little....shhh....

one of the most amazing sites i have found for textures and actions is florabella collection...

simply stunning photography with a hint of texture...

she is amazing...

i have purchased several of her actions and texture sets....

they are simple and add such a romantic prairie quality to photos...

guess what....

are you ready?...

i'm sharing with you a link so you can enter for a giveaway...

yes, i'm sharing...

normally i'm very greedy when it comes to a great giveaway...

sorry...

but you all decrease my chances of winning....

i know...

shameful...

i'm working on it....

see....sharing....

click on the i heart faces link above...

you can enter to win:

all three action sets...vintage; color/haze; and bw...

plus both texture sets from the florabella collection!!

a value of close to $200.00!!

i know....drool....

they are giving you three chances to win..twitter, facebook and comment...

sad...since i don't twitter or facebook i could only comment...

gasp...

i know i'm behind the times....

not much need for twittering out here on the range....

cows just don't have much interest...

and i'm not sure i would want them for fans on my facebook page...

.....remember...click the i heart faces button to get taken to the giveaway...you must enter there and not on the florabella site....

{images all by florabella collection}

Horizons...

this prairie girl needs days like this....

{found}

bare feet and 3' feet of snow just doesn't make for an enjoyable experience...

sigh...

i'm feel the need to expand, and grow...

since i have grown and expanded in all the wrong spots....

namely my waistline....

sigh...

i hate rolls hanging over my jeans...

i mean...how can i be wild and free with jiggling rolls of....well...you know...gross...

oh...

maybe you don't know...

lucky you...

i won't proceed to describe them for you....

i like you...

i want you to come visit often...

and not picture wild, free rolls of fat jiggling in the sunset...

so no...

i won't put you through the visual...

anyways...

i'm feeling the need to expand my artistic side...

i am constantly inspired by jeanne and all she can create...

there also was an inspiring shop called the poet's daughter...

sadly she has closed...

sigh...

wonderful altered art....

soft, romantic, wild, beautiful...

so i'm participating in a couple online workshops...

{here}

{here}

i have the desire to create beauty...

to give voice to all that is around me on the prairie...

to capture the spirit of what once was and pass that on to you...

wish me luck on my creative journey...

most of the time nothing looks like i pictured...

does this happen to any of you?

no?!?...

just me?!?...

sigh....it may be a long journey....

Seeking...

i braved the cold.... {-5 degrees to be exact}.....but really who's counting after it drops below 0?!


i braved the ice.....


i braved the snow....


i braved the wind....


to get the the post office....


not today...


we all know what would have happened if i went today....in the snow...the cold....the ice....


hhhmmm.....would have been very disappointed....


anyways.....



when i arrived i found a package from Tracey.....


oh, sweet Tracey and her beautiful shop....


drool.....slurp.....sigh.....drool.....wish.....slurp.....dream....drool.... {you get the idea}


this is what i found inside....




oh....beautiful....


vintage stencils to go in my studio....


will show you what they spell...when i decide exactly where to put them....


linen pillow to go in my studio...it now resides on my sewing chair....oh, pure bliss....






and wrapped beautifully in the most gorgeous tissue paper was this....





i am definitely addicted....





drool some more...





on a misson to find all the vintage clock faces i can....



i have been able to find a few...



will show you when i decide where to put them...



hhhmmm...that may have to be another post...



right now we have come to this.....



me seeking all your amazing decorating opinions...



i'm at my wit's end trying to decide what to do up above my couch in my living room....



this is a far as i've gotten...




before i had photos of my kids....



would still like to have photos of the family....maybe silhouettes??



french nordic meets the american prairie type of thing???



i have the matching side tables and lamps on either side of the couch....to symmetrical??



yes, the lamps are me trying to bring a little stripped down industrial style to my home...hhmm...working? not working? {plan on changing the bulbs to clear vintage style}



seriously what do i do??



would love to hear any ideas you all may have...getting desperate here....



btw~go and check out Tracey's shop French Larkspur...you will not be disappointed...but please try to leave some things for this addicted to french-nordic prairie girl! ;0)

Regrets of the Heart...

i'm not even sure where to begin this post...

i'm a very private person...i never talk about what hurts...

i was taught as a young child not to give voice to those feelings..




i lost my dad unexpectedly almost five years ago..

i miss him terribly...

i have regrets in my heart...

i have desires to go back and change so many things...

i hardened my heart against him...when i should have listened to the silence within his soul...

i focused on his dependency on alcohol; instead of asking why he was turning to the bottle...

he was an amazing man...they don't make cowboys like him anymore...

he was a cancer survivor...not once...but three times...

he never complained about the life that was handed him...he carried on with a strength that, looking back on i hope i can have half as much...

i never took the time to learn all he knew...i look at my children and wish he could be here to teach them the ways of the land...

how do i make things right? how can he know how deeply sorry i am..how to wake every morning knowing that i didn't ease his pain and loneliness...

regrets..sorrow..love...

6:00 a.m.

see you at 6:00 a.m. for a farm fresh breakfast?






i promise not to send you out to milk the cow...

...not that we have one...

...a milk cow that is...

i'm still refusing to go that far...

...i refused to have chickens when we first got married...

...look where that got me...sigh...

...have you ever been attacked by an evil rooster?!?...

Family fun???

a picture of a family...

a picture of a family enjoying the freshly fallen snow...

a picture of a dad taking his darling daughter for a ride on the sled...

a picture without a mom because the mom is smart and taking photos from within the toasty truck...

a picture of a darling daughter wishing she was with her mom...








is anyone other than this darling daughter wishing winter wasn't quite so cold?

Foraging...

Rejoicing..

Do you have a room where you create...

one that makes your heart sing everytime you enter...

i didn't...mine just gave me heartburn....





but now...rejoice...it is slowing coming together...





this is just a small sampling of the texture and colors that will inspire me...

i have a few more ideas that i want to get done before i show you more...

what makes your heart sing and inspires you to create beauty?

Defined...

i desire to be successful....

to be successful as a mother...

to be successful as a wife...

to be successful as a boutique owner...

i found this wonderful blog post {here} ....

it was exactly what i needed to read, to remind myself....

i'm already successful....

and thankful...

btw...

christina @ sage creek is a constant inspiration...

she has a way with words that speaks to your soul...

please go check her out...she is working on a new website...

Frosted Prairie...

Revisited...

I wanted to give something a try....

since I am a librarian....

yep....

a librarian at a middle school...

no....

I don't have glasses..{though I should..sshhh...}

and I don't have grey hair pulled back in a fierce bun....

...I like to call it a messy bun.....

....and as for the grey hairs....

well...they don't exist anymore since I pulled them out this afternoon...

yep...all three of the little suckers...

anyways...

I want to start sharing with you some books that I often revisit...


books that speak to me...books that will be passed onto my children


books that mark a time in my life...good or bad....


these books helped me find myself....


helped create who I am and who I strive to be...

the first I want to share is Boy's Life

it is set in a small Alabama town in the 1960's...

a time when things were not exactly simpler...

but where life was filled with living, with grins, scabbed knees, and noise....

a story full of magic and dreams of a young boy and his friends..

of adventures, trials, and yes, growing up...

a beautiful story where you will laugh outright...

cry...

and yearn for something lost..

If you get a chance this is a must read for those of us that don't want that magic to wither inside us....

Turning...

I'm ready to "turn my face towards the sunshine and leave the shadows behind" me....

{inspired}

Our children grew taller and wilder.....The Cowboy did many honey-do's around the farmhouse, though he didn't quite get through the whole list....the list carried over to 2010 with other projects added...the lucky guy! ;0)

We had a good year here on the ranch...many baby calves born, we actually raised 19 hens and 1 rooster...6 didn't quite make it because of a wild, clever, farm cat....crops were successful.....and we are getting the moisture we so need....I could do without the below zero temps every night though...

As I turn my face towards the prairie sun I feel whole....new ideas have been planted in my mind and I can't wait to see them sprout and grow and give them the nurturing they need....I feel the desire to be intentional.....to accomplish and live the life I desire....

Here's hoping you find yourself turning towards the sunshine and leaving behind those shadows that you may have felt hindered by....