are yours real or fake?

Ummmm...the subject of todays post is GREENS....as in Christmas Trees and Wreaths. 

Lets not let our minds go crazy places with what I am asking is real or fake, ok?

Trees. Wreaths. 

That is all. 

Just thought that title might wake everyone up this morning. 

{wink...wink...}

Artificial trees & wreaths have always been part of my Christmas. My parents always had a 'fake' tree and I have 3 of them for our house, but truth be told, I {LOVE} the look of a real tree. 

I love the irregular shape, the smell, the natural look it has. It is just so "me".  

And to be honest, I love the idea of not having to store anything in my basement the 335 days of the year I am not using it. 

(By the way, isn't that mini flag bunting on the tree below just the cutest??? I am in love with it! I have a feeling we will be seeing bunting on one of our trees this year. It is just so simple and sweet. )

 I feel a little guilty about cutting down a living, thriving tree only to let it decorate my house for a month, then throw it to the curb as soon as its loveliness fades. But after talking to a blog friend on the phone last night, she has me feeling a little better about it. She pointed out tree farms grow Christmas trees just for this purpose, so I am not just randomly kiling an innocent tree. 

And I realize she probably things I am a total nut for even worrying about it in the first place. But I am making my annual trek to the Northwind Perennial Farm in Burlington, WI this weekend and I need to decide if I am going to come home with a tree strapped to my roof or not. 

(By the way...if you are anywhere near Southern Wisconsin and love big old barns, french pastries, gorgeous Christmas greens and fabulous antiques & home decor...you have to make the trek to Northwind. You can read about my visit last here and here. It is AMAZING!)

(all images can be found via my Pinterest board - Christmas)

So I just have to know, girls....

REAL or FAKE??

What are you doing this year? 

giveaway winner!

Happy Monday, girls!

Hope you had a wonderful Holiday weekend!

I am back today with the winners of my Artful Blogging magazine giveaway, then I am off to photograph things all day today for the Etsy shop! Stay tuned, I have some awesome finds getting posted later this afternoon!

But before I get to that, did you all download Heather's fabulous E-zine?? Nothing like a little eye candy...and can you believe...it's free!? You can sign up on Heather's blog, Post Road Vintage. I am between the virtual pages giving you a little info on how I transformed this cabinet for my home office. You can find some of my favorite bloggers in it, too!

Ok, onto the fun stuff....the 2 winners of the Artful Blogging magazine are:

The UnSoccer Mom

and...

Kat from Pretty in Pink & Green

Congrats, girls! Email me so I can get your package on the way!

I am off to photograph some vintage goodness now...keep your fingers crossed I get sunshine all day today! Darn this Midwest winter weather!

Homebound e-zine!

I have some exciting new to share!

Heather, from the beautiful blog Post Road Vintage has put together a GORGEOUS new e-zine for everyone to enjoy...and I am so lucky to have been a part of it!

You may remember me showing you a "before" of the cabinet below on my blog last month....

(click here to subscribe)


Between the virtual pages of the e-zine, I am giving some info on how I took it from 'before' to 'after'!

You can also find projects and decor inspiration from some of my very favorite bloggers:

Andrea - Faded Plains
Carol - Raised in Cotton
Lynda - Lynda Naranjo Photography
Courtney - French Country Cottage
Heather - Post Road Vintage


If you would like to have pages of endless inspiration delivered straight to your email inbox, click here or below the photo above.

No strings...no spam...and best of all this Holiday season...it doesn't cost a dime!

Just sharing the love of all things home...homemade...and vintage! I hope you will take a moment to check it out! It is Heather's very first e-zine, and I think she did a FABULOUS job!

I will be adding new goodies to my Etsy shop after the weekend, so stay tuned!

And there is still time to enter my giveaway! You could be one of 2 lucky readers to win a copy of Artful Blogging! Click here to enter!

thank you Artful Blogging...and a giveaway!

I just added one more thing to my list of things I am thankful for. 

I received an email a couple of months ago, asking if I would be willing to be featured as one of the bloggers highlighted in the issue they were working on. 

I thought for sure they had the wrong farmgirl. I mean, really....Moi?? In the pages of Artful Blogging? I double checked the email address, and read the email a few times before I answered. And sure enough, as crazy as it was...they were indeed asking me! Exciting, right?

I am forever grateful to Stampington & Co. and Jennifer Jackson Taylor for seeing a little something in my little corner of the world they wanted to share with all of you. 

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. 

You have no idea how you made a girl that constantly doubts herself...feel so very humbled and just plain happy!

I thought I would share a little of that happiness this weekend...I am giving away 2 copies of this gorgeous publication!

Some of my very favorite bloggers are in this issue...

Anne from Fiona & Twig 

Tracey from French Larkspur

Tricia from A Rosy Note

and one of my all time favorite photographers...

Lynda Naranjo

We are taking some serious eye candy between the pages! I am in good company, or what?

Just leave me a comment on this post, and I will draw 2 names Monday morning!

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

 Have a happy, happy Holiday...and safe travels!

*** COMMENTS FOR THIS GIVEAWAY ARE NOW CLOSED ***

I'm flipping out...

Well, really just house-flipping, as they call it!

 I have been an absent blogger these last few weeks, so I thought I should explain a little. I have missed everyone...and THANK YOU so much for all the "Mary where are you??" emails! It sure makes a girl feel good to be missed! Here is the low-down on whats been going on in my world.

 I have been CONSUMED with trying to finish a house project we have taken on. The hubs and I do this about once every-other-year. We stumble on a house that had LOADS of potential but needs LOTS and LOTS of love. We give ourselves a time frame of 6 weeks to get the house done, and then its up for sale and ready to be a cozy new home for a new little family. 

I do 75% of the work...and I love every single minute! Choosing finishes, hanging light fixtures, painting walls...I just WISH I had more time to blog about it. 

Darn it. Reason #379 I need a personal assistant. Wouldn't it be fun to see this process step-by-step in real-world time...not edited HGTV time where it looks all fast and glamorous? Trust me, it is far from either one! Its exhausting and dirty but I looooove it so much!

Want to see photos of the house I am taking on at this very moment??

WARNING: The following photos may hurt your eyes. They may cause burning, stinging or for you to gasp out loud when you see them. We are talking some major ugly here, girls. 

Living Room

Living Room/Breakfast Nook

Bedroom #1

Bedroom #2

I cannot wait to make all those cherry-wood walls and ceiling beams bright white! 

It is a petite little house, which has unintentionally become my specialty. I have found a niche in the market of small starter homes, usually the buyer is a single, younger person. In my corner of the world, I have found the secret is making the house very "Pottery Barn". It appeals to the young, first time buyer that can't afford a large house with a large payment...BUT they cannot find what they like in their small price range. So, it has worked for me to make it cute...clean, simple, classically modern...and it sells fast every time! Lets pray this one goes the same way! 

The last time I sold a house we had redone, it was only 850 square feet..and I redid every single surface in the house for under $2000...it had new and cute everything! Bathroom, kitchen, flooring, windows, gutters, fixtures....we had seven offers on the day of the very first open house. Crazy for this market!! I hear the same thing over and over when I sell this size of house "I can't find anything this nice in my price range". Bingo! If anyone is thinking of doing a project like this, small houses seem to be the way to go!

I am not even going to show you the kitchen or bathroom yet.  I didn't want to do that to you on a beautiful Monday morning. There are some painful 1970s memories going on in those rooms, so I will save it for when I can show the before-and-after in the same post. 

Happy Monday, girls! 

I am off to start my workday! Paintbrush, here I come!

I'm over at Vintage Junky today!

Just checking in to say hello to everyone! I really thought life would slow down a little and I would have more time to blog when my show season ended a few weeks ago...but the whirlwind continues!

I am a busy little bee setting up an Estate Sale at my hubs grandmother's home and planning the updates to her cute little bungalow in hopes of a quick sale when it is finally on the market. So don't forget about me! I will show you some of my projects as I go through the process of updating her cute little home. Sorting through 85 years of "life" has been all-consuming the last few weeks. But I am finding some amazing things I will be adding to my Etsy shop over the next few weeks!

And for some fun news...come see my post over at Vintage Junky today! Michelle is doing a fabulous series every Wednesday called "What I Keep" and I am spilling the secrets of the finds I just can't seem to part with! I'm even going to add a few new goodies to my Etsy shop in honor of the occasion!

I'll be back soon! I just need to get through this Estate Sale this weekend so I can breathe again!