Pinterest Inspired Pantry Remodel

Something about the New Year gets me itchin' to clean out and organize EVERYTHING! I am not an organized person by nature. I want to be, but as a busy mom with 5 kids, the clutter tends to overwhelm our house. Every year it seems my resolutions include organization. I have not kept it a secret that I have a Pintrest obsession... I am convinced that Pinterest is the solution to pretty much any problem I have. It is therapeutic and it gives me hope for my unorganized home! I am constantly starting a conversation with "Guess what I saw on Pinterest today?" It makes Matt cringe and my kids roll their eyes.

So in honor of the New Year, I have been on the hunt for the best organization pins. I have spent many blissful hours over the last couple months finding solutions for clutter, unorganization, and to be honest, just plain ugliness. One thing I saw over and over was the use of glass jars with chalkboard labels in the pantry.

PINspired by this idea, I went to Hobby Lobby and bought several sizes of jars with metal lids and self adhesive chalkboard paper. (Hobby Lobby often runs a 50% off glassware sale- so the jars are very affordable! I have made it a habit to grab a few every time I go so I can gradually build up my stash.)

When I got home I went to work and cut out several cute labels and started organizing some food into my new fun jars. Excited I placed my new jars in my old pantry- and was disappointed that my pantry didn't instantly look like all the pins I kept finding.


This is a snapshot from the doorway of my 100 year old farmhouse pantry:

Chaos. Unorganization. This pantry does not scream to me to "cook something"... instead it makes me happy that I can just close the door and not look at it anymore.

Lucky for me Pinterest has a solution for this!

(and I have found hundreds of drool worthy examples- you can check them out here)

I completely emptied the pantry and got to work. I painted all the wooden shelving black. The shelving is old and rickety and since we are not planning on replacing the wood anytime soon, I decided a good coat of black paint would camouflage the flaws and give the pantry an instant face lift.

I had found a roll of pretty textured wallpaper on the top shelf of a closet when we first moved in, and I have been saving it for a special project. I decided to wallpaper the walls behind the shelf.

Matt and I spent a weekend working on this project, and I LOVE the results!

Here are pictures of the new pantry:

here is a closeup of the wallpaper:

I know the flash put a glare on it, but you can see the pretty detail! I love it!

See the shelf at the top with the notches? I *think* that is for drying herbs? If anyone knows, please tell me.

Now that the pantry is finished (minus the new wood floor we will be putting in sometime this year) I am taking the opportunity to go through all the food that was in the pantry and to clean out and organize it.


Here is the final project: My Pinterest Inspired Dream Pantry!!!

There are still several things that I would like to end up in jars, but I will continue to grab a few every time I go to Hobby Lobby until I have enough.

Everyone that has seen it is very impressed, especially me! I love my new farmhouse pantry! :)

Tribute to The General

Sad news at the Funny Farm- our beloved flock king, General Tso passed away the other day. It was unexpected and very sad. I don't know how old he was, but he was in the first group of chickens we brought to the farm 2 years ago and he was already full grown. Simon went into the Barn to do evening barn chores and found him already dead. There were no signs of illness or injury.

 "The General" was everything we wanted in a flock protector: he was unselfish, alert and always looking out for his harem. The whole family loved and respected him because of his amazing work ethic. There is now a huge hole in the flock hierarchy and I am not sure that any of the younger roosters could ever replace The General.

I am sure his original "wives": Road Runner, Annie Banany & Ditzy are very sad without him. They were always close by. I loved his crow- even though a lot of people find rooster crowing to be a disturbance, I always loved hearing him. Wherever I was in the house or around the farm, when The General would crow it would bring a smile to my face!!

Occasionally we would catch him and cuddle him, and even though he would put up a half-hearted struggle, he didn't seem to mind our affection!!

We are really going to miss him. I have thought of him several times in the last few days and I just keep wondering what will happen in the flock without him? We have had many roosters come and go over the last couple years, but none of them were even close to The General's quality or leadership. The farm has lost an amazing member and we won't forget him.

So Thankful

Well December starts tomorrow and I am shocked at how quickly the year has gone.

I know a big part of it flying by is because of the addition of Gus to the family!!

I can't believe he is almost 9 months old and
 he is learning new things almost every day.
He is crawling like a pro, and cruising around the furniture.
He even says "dada" and possibly "mama" (we are working on that) ;-)

Unfortunately, Gus has been sick quite a lot lately. 

In the last month alone he has had 2 separate colds, Fifth Disease 

(a viral infection that causes rash and fever) and now a stomach flu. 

In the last few years a lot of medications for infants and babies have been taken off the shelves and so besides Tylenol, there isn't a lot to give a miserable baby. I have spent a lot of time lately researching some natural home remedies we can use for him and our whole family. As I experiment, I want to share what is working and not working for us on the blog. Stay tuned for more of that!!

Pinterest has been a a great source of info for me as I research and

 I find I am on it all the time lately! 

I have soooo many ideas for the farm and Pinterest has only added fuel to my fire. What a fantastic resource for anything imaginable! Right now while the ground is frozen and there is snow covering the farm, I can pin to my heart's delight all the beautiful flowers and vegetable ideas I can find! 

I am gardening vicariously through Pinterest this winter!!!! ;-)

I am impatiently counting the days for Spring to come back so I can get outside and get busy with so many great new ideas. 

 Thanksgiving was last week and I have been feeling very thankful 

for our many, many blessings. 

The farm is my childhood dream come true, and instead of "getting it out of my system" as my family hoped, I know for sure this is where I want to be 

for a long, long time. I LOVE everything about the farm! 

I am so thankful for my kids and that they are growing up out here in the country and experiencing all of these wonderful things!!! One of the things we did this year as a family was make this "thankful tree" with all of our hand prints. (of course I got the idea off of Pinterest!) I was so happy with the way it turned out, but also surprised at how big my kids hands are, they are growing up too fast. I am trying to enjoy every day with them, because one day they will be grown and gone. I am so thankful I can be a stay at home mom to them and be present in their lives every day!!

Speaking of the kids growing, back in October the kids took a group picture and we just got it back. It is especially special because it is the first (professional) picture of all 5 kids together since Gus was born. I just have to share!

L to R: Simon (13), Anabelle (6), Julianna (14), Gus (7 months) & Oliver (12)

That pretty much wraps up this blog post. Just wanted to check in since it has been a few weeks again. Everything on the farm is normal-

 except I can't help but feel the animals are all cold. 

Maybe during this long winter I will find a tutorial on Pinterest 

to make all the animals sweaters? 

♥ Happy Holidays Everyone!! ♥

Family Bonding

Antiques & Junk Shopping

This past weekend was an event I look forward to all year long. Every fall there is an Antique sale outside of Mayville. They fill up their barn with fabulous old finds and their prices are AMAZING!!! Every year that I have gone I have found awesome items that have become important pieces in my home decor! This year I was ready weeks in advance with my calendar marked and my money saved up. I invited some of my dear friends (Leslie & Shyla) to come join me and we all brought our kids, our mini vans and we lined up early to get the best finds. Part of the fun is standing in line outside the barn craning your necks to see what treasures lie inside. You can't go inside until 9am sharp, but you can look from the door all you want. They pass out pages of "sold" stickers so you can tag your big items without slowing down- and me & the kids strategized while we were waiting as to which items were the most important to get to first! There was a cool vintage black cupboard that we could see and I told Simon to run for that first.

 Do I need a cupboard? No. 

Do I have a place to put it? No. 

Did I know the price when I asked him to tag it as sold? No.

Did I buy it without hesitation anyway? Yes.

See that crock in the picture? 

Simon saw that piece of Red Wing Pottery "on the way" to the 

cupboard and asked me if I wanted it. Umm, yes please!

Matt and I became familiar with Red Wing a few years ago when we visited the town in Minnesota while going to the 100 mile yard sale along the Mississippi River. Red Wing pottery is quite collectible and can be pretty expensive. This piece was only marked $7 because the bottom was broken out. It is stamped December 1915 & besides the bottom part & a missing handle, it is in really nice condition.

Julianna spotted a black framed mirror from the doorway,

 and that along with a cool glass jar were her first targets.

(Does anyone know what exactly that was used for??)

  

When it was finally time to go in and shop, I grabbed the garden arch first 

(at at the CRAZY price of only $10 I think it was probably the best value of the day!)

Then I snagged a few other cool odds and ends....

A printer tray- a super find at $7

A wash board, a bench, a flower box, other glassware...

I went a little nuts!!

I got this chunky throne like chair too. 

What am I going to use it for? No clue- but it is fun to sit in!

And this heater of some sort? I don't know what this is at all, but it was only a couple bucks and I think I will use it in my garden as a plant stand. 

(again, if you have info here, please tell me about it!)

  

Oh yeah, and this trunk simply because it is piratey. 

I also got a small brown desk & chair that might be perfect in my upstairs hallway.

We left with a full van and arranged to come back for the big pieces later!

Next stop?

We came to the farm to unload all the goodies and the kids played with the animals

Shyla's kids were pretty excited and were quick to explore and make friends!

After hanging at the farm for a bit- we were ready to hit the road with an empty (again) van and a travel mug of coffee. Our next stop was "Junkerama" a junk & antique sale in Gardner. Twice a year they put on an event, and it just so happens that their fall sale was on the same day as the Mayville sale. 

We got there around lunch time, but there was still plenty of great finds!!

A potting bench, a wishing well, a copper boiler, an old wash tub, 2 birdhouses, a cream can, a handmade side table and a rusty crate later- my van was full AGAIN!!

   

After we got home- I arranged everything on the lawn for a fun picture!!

Such a FUN FUN FUN & successful day!

Junk hunting with good friends and finding amazing things at amazing prices 

made the day absolutely perfect!

(we even had a lot of fun with all our kids with us!)

I can't wait til next year when we can do it all again!!!!

"Chocolate" Kisses

Today was such an exciting day at the farm! 

"Cocoa" and "Snickers", our new miniature horses arrived this afternoon and we spent the day welcoming our new babies to the farm!! We fenced in a section of pasture for them and the kids took turns leading them around the yard. They were born in May of this year, so they aren't even 5 months old yet... they are ABSOLUTELY adorable! The term "love at first sight" definitely applies to these little sweeties! The kids are all so excited to finally have horses out here- and I feel a little bit safer having them learn how to take care of minis instead of full sized horses as beginners.

It was pretty funny watching the other barnyard animals curiously inspecting the new tenants. The kittens approached first and lost interest quickly. The guineas raised a ruckus but eventually went about their foraging. The goats seemed a little put off, especially because we put the minis in their goat yard while we finished off the pasture area. They went inside the barn and stayed there until we took the horses back out. It will be interesting to have a new species on the farm!

 our little filly- Cocoa

our little colt- Snickers

I am excited to get to know the babies and see how they fit into our Funny Farm!!

Coming Soon...

We are so excited to welcome Cocoa & Snickers out to the Funny Farm this weekend!!

Found these adorable mini's on craigslist this week and after talking to the seller, 

we are very excited to purchase them and add them to our family. 

The kids especially!!

Will update again after they arrive!

Playing Catch Up

Ok so I completely busted my New Year's resolution to blog more... 

It has been 9 months since the last post. Sheesh.

The farm is still here and we are having a blast and excited for fall-

 life has just been busy and blogging got put on the back burner. 

Some changes around here? 

The biggest one is GUS!

Gus was born March 11. 2012 and is a JOY to our family!!

At 6 months old, everything is exciting and interesting to explore. He LOVES to be outside on the farm and he especially loves to play with the kittens (who seem to love him too, despite his tendency to squeeze them)

*********

In other news, we added Gracie to our goat herd earlier this year. 

She is a 2 year old Nigerian Dwarf doe and we are hoping to breed her soon!

Gracie gets along with the boys too, which is a relief!

We also acquired Ginger- Julianna's new bunny. 

She roams freely during the day in the "hen pen" and loves the freedom to hang out with the chickens.

We also got 15 new "chicks" in the spring,

 that are now old enough to start laying eggs.

3 of them were actually hatched by 2 of our Silkies that finally went broody in the spring and made a joint nest that they took turns sitting on. (haha!) 

                                    and a few chicks turned out to be roosters-
                                         this one is my favorite of the bunch!

We also got 5 new guinea keets to replace the one's we lost last fall, they are already fully grown as well and they roam the farm making a ruckus!! I laugh every time I hear the barking start.

Last but not least, we have 6 new kittens on the farm. 

2 from Lulu, 1 from Tiny and 3 we rescued from the side of the road. Lulu disappeared when her kittens were about 6 or 7 weeks old, and Tiny adopted them as well as the 3 orphans. She was pregnant at the time, but started nursing all 5 of them anyway. Not long after that she had her own babies, but one of them didn't survive. The other one "Tick" is absolutely adorable and we LOVE her soooo much! She got her name because she would be the only kitten nursing when she was a newborn and she was the roly'est poly'est kitten we had ever seen! She looked like a swollen tick with a milk mustache :) All 6 kittens love each other and play together now, and Tiny proudly claims all of them as her own. 

Oliver & Ticky

*****

This summer we also started the huge Garden project. I have been dreaming of a "Therapy Garden" in the center of the circular drive since we moved here. My wonderfully handy husband started constructing it in July and we spent MANY, MANY hours over the next couple months working on it. There is still a long way to go, but I am very happy with the progress we made and next year we hope to add lots more to it!!

Here is the original sketch I made 

(we have made some changes- but this is basically the idea)

Here are some of the construction pics:

                                                   my herb garden!

                                  and my FABULOUS garden entry arch!!!

Anyway just wanted to jump on and post some pictures and the important news from The Funny Farm. Perhaps the next post will be sooner than 9 months from now ;-)