An inside day....

It's another cold ole day in our part of the world.  Just checked the thermostat and it's 11 degrees....yikes!  So think I'll just put another log on the fire and stay in.

Think I'll bake a batch of my new favorite cookie.  They're light and crispy and very good with hot chocolate or a cup of tea about 3:00 in the afternoon.....

Also will make bread which I love doing.  I never buy bread anymore and it's made a difference in the way I feel.  Have you ever looked at the ingredients in a loaf of bread.....scary!  It's no wonder it lasts so long in the bread box.

Judy and I went to St. Louis this weekend and did a little shopping a long the way.  Found a few things to brighten up my space at Leola's.  We always have such a good time in St. Louis.  So much to do and so little time.  Shad and Rob (Judy's son & his partner) are the best guides.  Basically, we ride and they drive and they know the best places to eat and antique.

A few of my treasures.....

Linda works at Leola's tomorrow so think I'll go re-do my area.  I've had a fireplace mantle on the wall for so long and it hasn't sold even after marking it down.  Think I'll bring it home and replace it with a table I recently purchased.  One of these days I'm going to have another garage sale and clear some things out but probably won't be for awhile.  We have more frigid weather on its way next week.

Have a great weekend!

Our amazing open house.......

We had a most amazing open house at Leola's.  It seems everyone is so ready to get into their yard & garden.  And with the weather we've been having, who wouldn't be.

Love the old chicken feeder! 

Sorry that it's kind of fuzzy but loved all the galvanized pails on Pam's wall.  We must have sold a dozen watering cans.  I'm thinking about putting my tomatoes in galvanized tubs this year to keep them from getting the "leaf wilt" disease that seems to be in my soil.

One of Pam's many pillows.

Linda's birdhouses made from old mailboxes. 

I purchased one of Judy's metal bins to keep near the garden.  It will hold my gardening tools.  They're heavy so I won't have to worry about dumping everything in the dirt. 

I'm always so amazed at the ideas that the women of Leola's come up with.  They work so hard to keep the store fresh and to offer things at an affordable price.  If they charged for the actual hours they spend at this, no one could afford it but we all love what we're doing and are determined to follow our bliss.

We also are amazed and want to thank our wonderful customers who come from KC, St. Louis, Little Rock, Tulsa, Branson & all the surrounding areas........we couldn't do without your support.  We're so grateful that all those visitors are back that are headed to Branson.  We've had the same ones visit us year after year.  Loyalty seems hard come by in this day and age but Leola's has no shortage of it.

It's going to be 80 degrees today so I'm headed to the yard.  What a blessing this weather has been.  Have a great day!

Happy Friday......

Love it when I can  hang my sheets on the line in January.  There's nothing better then laying down on line-dried sheets.  The smell is amazing!  Can you see the green in my lawn?  We're to have another day of this and then some cold is to come back.  I'd rather get it over in January and have a great March but Mother Nature didn't ask me.

It was a good week to get out and search for new merchandise so sisters & I took off for a day of antiquing.  We had so much fun.  First stop was in Sarcoxie at a place that has a little bit of everything.  They were just so rude!  Why do people feel the need to treat others the way they do????  It ruined the whole experience.  We ended up spending quite a bit of money with them but didn't seem to change their attitude.  Anyway, it ended up giving us lots of laughs going down the road when we started repeating our conversations with them.

After enjoying a coney at Sonic (we know how to live) we headed to Anderson and a much better experience.  They were very nice and we had so much fun checking them out.  Then we had to unload everything and repack.  It was a tight fit but we got it all in.

That's Jean using the architectural piece as a wind block.  It had to go through the center of the car.  Luckily, Judy is a good driver and didn't have to slam on her brakes.  We made it home fine with nothing broken.

I'm still working on my Christmas but figure it will all get put away at some point.  It's the dust on the furniture that concerns me most.  Thank the Lord that I don't have allergies.

Have a great weekend!

Leola's 2nd annual Farm Sale....

You would never believe the merchandise the women from Leola's have pulled from their homes, garages, barns, storage bldgs. & the shop and brought to the sale.  It's going to be amazing & really great prices.  It's at sister Linda's farm -- 1010 N. FR 185.  It's only being held on Friday, July 8th from 8:00 to ?.  Thought you might like a little preview.

Lunch at Rainbow Trout Ranch.....

It's quite a drive but so worth it to go to Rockbridge to have lunch at the Trout Ranch.  Jean, Linda, Judy & I started off early today to take advantage of the beautiful weather and just to get away for a little while.  It got rather warm but still very pleasant compared to what we've been having.  Above is the picture of the dining room & I think maybe there are guest rooms upstairs.  It's so pretty.

Usually this has lots of people fly fishing but no one today.  Maybe it was the wrong time of day for fishing.

This little building was in the town of Drury which had a total of about 6 houses and a grocery store.  Loved the Christmas wreath and the fact that no one had disturbed it.  It's a cute little town.

We had a great day and came home with a few purchases.  We always have to stop at the antique shops along the way.  This road also has 3 old mills that we also like to visit but not enough time today.  It's always a great drive in the fall.

Hope everyone has a great weekend. 

Riding in the Ozarks......

I found this photo at a local flea mkt. & I love it.   It was entitled "riding in the Ozarks".  My theory is that it's the preacher's wife and it's taken on a Sunday after church.  She walks out of church and sees the horse and can't help herself.  She's had it with fixing lunch for the Mr. -- she's outta there!

While working at Leola's on Tuesday, I took some pictures and hoped you would enjoy seeing them.  The women are doing some incredible things right now and you need to come check us out.  Also, Brooke and Jennifer have put us on facebook and will soon post pictures there.

Aren't these the cutest kitchen towels?  They're actually big enough for a tablecloth but I'm thinking they would be really great napkins.

I know it's really hot out there right now but we're thinking fall.  Leola's fall open house will start on the evening of Sept. 9 (my 65th b'day) and will continue through the weekend.  More about that in the days to come (not the b'day but open house).

What I did on my summer vacation......

So here's what I did this week on my summer vacation.  I went with Allison and the kids to northern Missouri to take Sage to camp.  We dropped him at camp on Mon. morning -- which wasn't as easy as we had thought.  Last year Allison went with him so this was the first time to leave him alone.  He was fine with it but it kind of bothered us.

After we left him, we headed to St. Joseph to visit Aunt Susan and Uncle Mike.  We had such a good time.  Allison took the girls to the water park which is one of their public pools and also was the pool where Allison's dad worked when he was in high school and college.  It's a great facility and the girls loved it.

We also had time for a trip to the Rusty Chandelier.  I was able to find a few things but the girls enjoyed trying on clothes.

They were a riot and I might add, very good shoppers.  It's a huge store and is attached to a flea market so lots to see.

We didn't have much room in the car so I just purchased a few small things.  I could have done lots more damage if we'd had more room but we couldn't decide which kid to leave behind.

A friend had made this nosegay for Susan and I loved it.  Took lots of pictures so maybe I could make it. 

What a wonderful invention -- the car DVD. 

Hope everyone has a great 4th of July holiday.  Stay safe!!!

Is it hot or what.......

It was Monday so I worked at Leola's today.  It was a busy day plus I decided to tear up my area and redo.  I've sold several pieces lately and hadn't had the time to replace them.  I swear I need an assistant -- someone with muscles.  Tomorrow I'm going to load some things to fill in the gaps.  I have a wonderful table that I've wanted to take in.  We're having lots of travelers these days.  We've heard that, unfortunately, people who were going to the coast have decided to check out Branson instead.  We're glad that Branson is having a good year but are so sad about what's happening in the Gulf.

Took some pictures of the shop today.  Hope you enjoy.

Hope you have a good week.  It's going to be a hot one here so I'm going to try to get some inside jobs done.  I cannot take the heat anymore -- I loooooove airconditioning.

Bluebird's Vintage Market

Theresa definitely puts on a great antique sale.

Kelli and Bayli at the sale. In our family, we start them off young.

I wanted to post this morning to remind anyone close that Bluebirds Vintage Mkt. http://bluebirdvintage.blogspot.com/ is going on this weekend and they had tons of great merchandise. If you need directions, check out Theresa's blog and you can find them there.