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Exciting Announcement!
Her big news?....
The announcement of her quarterly published, emagazine,
Parisienne Farmgirl Magazine!
Don't you just love the name?
Have a listen to Angela as she tells us all about it with her cute self in the video below.
(you can turn off the music on my blog on the very bottom right of my page)
I've had the pleasure of exchanging emails and telephone calls with Angela and her incredible mother Joy, and cannot say enough good things about them. They are truly amazing women. For those of you that have not had the pleasure, the mission statement for this online publication speaks volumes. Doesn't that sound wonderful?!
Throw into the mix Angela's skillset that defines her as a modern day Renaissance Woman....cooking, gardening, decorating, parenting, DIYer, photographer, writer, and above all else a woman of God, and it's easy to see that this online e-magazine is destined to be wildly successful. And did I mention that her family is just dreamy?...
It won't be long until we're all saying, "I knew her when". :-)
But first, will you help me get the word out by sharing on your blog or Facebook page? You can find out all the details and be among the first to subscribe by hopping over to the website.
Angela is also looking for contributors and photographers for specific topics, if you have something exciting to contribute, be sure to contact Parisienne Farmgirl Magazine.
Congratulations Angela, I can't wait to see the first issue my friend!
Horse Play
When I was 11, I worked doing various small jobs and chores, saving my money until I had enough to buy a book. It was the first book that I ever bought for myself and I can still remember how excited I was on the day that I had saved the $9.60 to buy it. The title of the book.....
“The Big Book of Favorite Horse Stories”.
It was a big fat book with many stories and I read it cover to cover, over and over again. My crazy love affair with horses began at an early age and only grew from there.
Perhaps it’s their beauty and spirit,
perhaps the mix of strength and gentleness,
perhaps because that they are all heart,
whatever it is....
they move me.
As much as I love horses, oddly I've never done an equestrian themed room before. Perhaps because I was saving it for the Farmhouse that I knew we would one day have. :-)
Several months ago I shared a sneak peek of a bedroom reveal with you and then life stepped in and sidetracked things with the blur of the Holiday show season. Well, I’m back on track and have finally taken some wide photos of the room. I'll share them with you in the next Farmhouse Friday post. How about you......are you a fan of all things equestrian?
A Sweet Gift
I'd like to share one of the most thoughtful Christmas gifts I received this year. My darling friend Sharon gave me an amazing Daily Devotional titled, Jesus Calling, written by missionary Sarah Young.
For most of my young adult life I used a Daily Devotional, but in recent years, it’s something I’ve strayed from. Not by choice mind you, I had just gotten out of the habit. Has that ever happened to you?
It was only after this first week of devotions that I realized just how much I missed this in my daily life. And, how much of a difference those precious "one on one" moments with God in the morning can make in my approach to the world and situations. Sharon's sweet gift was exactly what my spirit needed, and the gentle nudge I needed to get my spiritual walk back on track.
A little side note about the sweetness of Sharon. If you visited the Shoppe during this past Canton show, then you may have noticed a cast/boot on my foot. The day after Christmas, 2 days before the Canton show, I broke my foot. Not an accident, but rather the result of overuse on a stress fracture when I should have been taking it easy. (Take those calcium supplements ladies and listen to your body when it hurts.)
When Sharon learned of my injury, she immediately sent an email….not just sympathy, but an email asking if there was anything she could do to help….send people to help at the store….that she would work the floor for me, whatever I needed....she was there for me. Considering her busy work schedule, this meant all the more.
May we all have friends such as this in our life, they shine like diamonds. Not just because they are a treasured friend, but because they offer a shining Christian example for our own lives.
Proverbs 27:17 - "Iron sharpens iron, and one man sharpens another."Do you have a "Sharon" in your life?
Fabulous Farmhouse Find - Farmhouse Friday #19
Over the past few weeks I’ve scored some pretty amazing things at some cool new hunting spots. Most are for the Spring transformation of the Shoppe that is just around the corner. But a few…..a small few…..
will never make it further than the Farmhouse on Main. :-)
Case in point….
By far the most amazing pair of corbels I’ve ever snagged!
I told you....cool hunting spots!
Actually it was my darling hubster that spotted these first.
Great job skippy!
You can’t tell by the photos, but these bad boys are HUGE!
And would you just look at the detail!
And my favorite thing about them……
that delicious pale blue color.
I already have plans for these beauties, but that’s another post. J
What would do with them?
Link up or comment below and tell me everything!
I'm linking up with Vintage Inspiration Friday.
We've Been Featured in Romantic Country Magazine
This was such a sweet show with visits from so many dear friends that it keeps me mindful of the thing I love the most about this business.....our customers/friends! It was through, and thanks to, several excited customers and Canton vendors sharing with us, that we found out that we are featured in the current issue of Romantic Country magazine. We knew a feature was coming up, we just weren't sure when, so exciting! Thank you so much Romantic Country magazine, especially Mary Forsell, for the lovely feature. And also a big thanks to sweet Carol Spinski who took photos of the Shoppe during her visit to Canton last summer and then later submitted them to the magazine. Thank you Carol!This edition is packed full of eye candy including a beautiful spread on fellow blogger Rebecca Ersfeld's gorgeous home.....just amazing! If you haven't already, be sure to pick one up.What an amazing year this has been for the business, we're so excited to see what 2012 holds!
2011 - What a Year!
Without a doubt, no exceptions, 2011 has been the best year ever for the Shoppe and for us personally. So many wonderful events and milestones took place this past year that it's hard to name them all, but I hope you will indulge me as I reflect on a few of the highlights.....Things such as our 3rd Annual Spring Serendipity Market. You blew us away with the turnout! In May, Southern Living magazine gave us the honor of being named one of the top 5 places to shop in Canton. We have our amazing customers to thank for that!
The following month in June, FD Luxe Magazine named LaurieAnna's Vintage Home as one of the 50 Best Stores in the State of Texas....what an honor! We're still smiling about that one!
In July, we indulged my vintage home addiction and bought our sweet Farmhouse on Main. Oh the projects....happy happy joy joy!
That farmhouse love stimulated the beginning of Farmhouse Friday's here on the blog in August, which has been a big hit! And, once again you amazed us with the turnout!
In November, we took the show on the road to the Mistletoe and Magic show in Tyler, Texas.
And, then finally in December...we were honored with another magazine feature!!
I will share all the details on that tomorrow!
Amazing amazing amazing.....what a year!
Thank you so much to all of our customers and friends for supporting us this past year.
You are the reason we do what we do!
We have crazy BIG business plans for 2012 and are so excited about the New Year ahead!
Wishing all of you a healthy, happy, and prosperous 2012!
P.S. Thank you for the record setting 315 entries for the giveback! The winner of the $100 LaurieAnna's gift certificate is Vickie J! Congratulations Vickie, email us at sales@laurieannas.com to claim your prize!
A Merry Christmas Giveaway!
The holidays, lots of projects, and time with family and friends is keeping me happily busy these days.
I do love this time of year, but I'm behind on many things including the blog. So, we will resume Farmhouse Fridays on January 6th when life returns to some normality. :-))
Meanwhile, I'd like to share a giveback with you.....a little something to say thank you for reading and supporting us as you do.
The giveback?.....
A $100 LaurieAnna's Vintage Home gift certificate.
For those of you to far away to visit the Shoppe in person, don't fret because you can shop online!
How do you enter?
Simply leave a comment here on the blog.
The winner will be announced on New Year's Day!
Until then, wishing you and your family a very Merry Christmas Season and praying that all of us remember that Jesus is the reason for the Season.
Have a Happy New Year everyone!
P.S. First Monday is this week, BIG SALE.....come see us!
WINTER SALE!
Two important reminders.... One.....it's time for Canton First Monday.
And two..... it's January.
If you shop with us then you know exactly what those two things mean....
BIG SALE!
Join us this First Monday for BIG SAVINGS...
50% OFF all remaining Christmas
50% OFF winter clothing & head wraps
20% OFF almost everything else in the store.
The fun begins this morning at 9am.
Hope to see you here!
If you haven't already done so, don't forget to enter our giveaway for a $100 gift certificate HERE. We will announce the winner on Sunday, January 1st.
Have a wonderful weekend and a Happy New Year!
Featured Farmhouse, December - Parisienne Farmgirl
As you recall last month we visited with Joy Waltmire the SavvyCityFarmer in the suburbs of Chicago. What a treat to meet Joy AND see her adorable farmhouse! While there, Joy mentioned her daughter was following in her footsteps so we decided to pay her daughter Angela a little visit.
Angela, like her mom, lives in the country burbs of Chicago, Illinois. She is a wife and mother of four little ones: Aidan 6.5, Amélie 4, Juliette 22 months, and Julien 13 weeks who were all birthed at home with the help of a midwife and her husband.
She also writes the lifestyle blog, Parisienne Farmgirl, where she uniquely combines the two worlds she admires most - Parisian life and farm life thru design, styling and cooking. Her work has been featured in Fifi O'Neils Romantic Prairie Style, Artful Blogger Magazine and Where Women Cook. Drawing from her stays in Paris and inspired by her lineage of farmers' wives she combines both styles to just about everything she puts her hand to including her thoughts on all things French, Cooking, Design, Gardening, God, Motherhood, and the occasional conservative rant.
And as we say in Texas, the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree. So get yourself a cup of coffee or hot chocolate and settle in. You are in for another treat as we bring you the farmhouse of Parisienne Farmgirl! How long have you lived in your farmhouse and when was it built?
We have lived here for almost ten years. We are the forth family name to live here. The plat of survey for our house says "1840". The historical society in town confirmed this for us. I love knowing how long this house has been standing here. Funny thing is, as much as we love it we just put a "for sale" sign in the yard. It's time for us to be on a farm!
When did you realize you had the decorating gene? Did you discover decorating at an early age? And how long have you been working on your farmhouse?
I have always enjoyed all things artistic and creative. When I was little it was important for me to enjoy my surroundings. I would get my room all clean and rearranged (dragging furniture from corner to corner) and then I would come downstairs and say, "Mom is there anything you aren't using right now?" She would then give me doilies, frames, and miscellaneous trinkets to use in my décor. Those are sweet memories for me.
I have been working on this farmhouse since before we even closed on it! I got permission to work in there before the closing... it was such a wreck… I couldn’t wait till our May closing to begin.
Your decorating style is somewhat different than your mother’s.
How would you describe your decorating style?
I call my decorating style "Parisienne Farmhouse" - it is different from my Mom, though we do love much of the same things. My style has been Parisienne Farmhouse for years because I love the sparse, rustic look of the Provencial mansions and farmhouses and I also love the cluttered, collected look of a Parisian Apartment. The homes in Province have that dreamy indoor/outdoor feeling, with large rustic pieces and the occasional glitz. In my mind a Paris Apartment has wonderful fabrics... velvet, satin, crystal chandeliers, antiques and modern pieces together and a hint of old Hollywood. Combining the two looks thrills me. They both speak to me and both have a legacy of antiques and pieces handed down from generation to generation. I would say that the first floor of our house has more of the farm influence and the upstairs is definitely more glamorous.
When I think of decorating in the French farmhouse style I usually don’t think of using color so boldly…tell me about all the color in your house.
That's understandable, I think maybe that's because there is a lot of all white decorating going on out there under the style name of "French Farmhouse". That's why I call it "Parisienne Farmhouse" :). It works, cause our house is in town... were I out in a sprawling ranch in the country I might lean more towards a more subtle Provencal aged palette but for now I love, love, love color. I love to use it creatively like in our bedroom we painted the ceiling a wonderful shade of dusky teal (if that isn't too much of an oxymoron!) and then repeated that color in the closets that have French doors. I love seeing the color repeated in those little spaces. I did recently paint my bright yellow kitchen a lovely shade of off white. With a fourth baby I needed a touch more serenity!
How does one go about adding all these different colors and still achieve a pulled together vintage look?
Vintage items have a lot of color. I like to tease on my blog that design isn't all chippy white paint. That's definitely one of the looks but there are so many looks that "vintage" can offer. Often it's a bit faded but the color is there. I keep my vintage look with second hand furniture. All our furniture has "legs". We don't have any big lounger sofas since we don't watch T.V. I think that is the main thing that keeps a vintage look against the splashes of color.
What does “decorating for Christmas” mean to you?
I don't like new Christmas décor (go figure). I'm crazy for Shiny Brite ornaments (I have hundreds), tons of fresh greens and white lights. Sort of New England meets Mad Men.
Christmas Mantle - Farmhouse Friday #18
Christmas decorating is underway at the Farmhouse on Main.
The portrait of Great Grandpa Fritz led the way.
Then the beautiful cedar tree in the yard joined in with some lovely snippets.
Aren't the gorgeous lavender/violet berries just amazing?
Only God could make something so beautiful and fragrant.
My pretty aqua chairs were all too happy to have their photo taken again. :-))
And, I'm really digging those oversized wood keys.
Aren't they fun?!
Mercury tree stocking holders....
perfectly at home.
And, how about these pretty white suitcases,
(a find from my darling friend Denis)
and stockings that look as if they were color matched for the fireplace tiles. How on earth did that happen?... :-))
Beautiful mercury acorns mixed with more cedar snips.
Love love love!
Other festive details include...
Merry winter snowmen...
that always make me smile. :-))
Snow covered pine tree
tucked inside of a metal urn adorned with words about friends.
Pencil pine trees wrapped in burlap,
and apothecary jars filled with favorite ornaments.
*sigh*
The farmhouse is smiling.
And, so am I.
:-))
Hope things are looking festive around your home.
Link up or comment below and tell me all about it!
I'm sharing over at Common Ground and My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia.
He's Home....
My Great Grandpa Fritz has found his place atop the mantle at the Farmhouse on Main.
He was an accomplished pianist and horseman in his youth, just like my grandfather, and later owned a successful mercantile.
Although he passed before I was born, he lived colorfully and vividly through the beautiful memories shared by beloved grandfather.
Wasn't he a handsome lad?
From the bow on his collar,
to the buttons on his boots.
From the the wonderful vintage, chippy frame,
to the aged water stained background,
and most especially,
-
-
-
to his confident little attitude.
I love everything about this large portrait.
But mostly, I love it because my grandfather loved him so.
Welcome home Great Grandpa Fritz.
Aren't these the details that make our homes ours?
Love at First Sight - Farmhouse Friday #17
These chairs were among our finds during our trip to North Carolina a couple months ago. I love love love them!
For me, the soft aqua paint on the frames mixed with the vintage tapestry fabric are the perfect combination to create a fresh vintage look.
I didn't have any of our paint chips, or a fireplace tile with me during our trip, but I knew that they would be perfect for the farmhouse....I just knew it. Do you do that too? See something and just know it will be perfect?!
I was so sure they would work that I had a sold sticker on these babies within 2 minutes of spotting them. (Please forgive the cell phone quality of these pics.)
Although I must confess I wasn't at much risk of losing them, these poor gems had been marked down and shoved to the back of an upholstery/fabric shop. It's as if they were waiting there for me to find them.
If you've been to my Shoppe, then you already know that I love white and neutrals. But, I've been craving color lately. Any other white furniture lovers feeling that?
As for the color of my new vintage funky little chairs.....well just take a look at them in their new home.
They look as if they were designed specifically for those 120 year old fireplace tiles!
And look how they pull that blue ceiling right down into the room.
My chair love prompted me to get out the sewing machine and create a little something for these gems. More to come on that.
As our close friends know, we are much further along on the farmhouse than I've shown you just yet......but I'm trying to catch up here on the blog.
Hope I'm not boring you with this "show it to you as we go" room reveal. Thought I'd try something different....I like getting to share the details, and especially like hearing your thoughts as we go along.
So tell me, are you sharing in my chair love?
Okay, up next.....a chandie!
P.S. It's First Monday weekend, the Shoppe is open until Sunday! Come see us!
Link up below and share some farmhouse love! I'm also sharing over at Common Ground!
Seeds of Inspiration
It all began right here.
With the original Majolica tiles around the fireplace.
The above photo was taken when we first viewed the property. I immediately spotted the majolica tiles and fell in love with the colors. I knew then that we would paint the ceilings blue, although some friends didn't get it when I shared my plans. :-))
Throw into the mix a piece of the original wallpaper, and you can get an idea of the original colors used in the decor for this 1894 farmhouse.
These were the seeds of inspiration for my color choices of blues, creams, golds, grays, and taupes for the Farmhouse on Main.
Several of you noticed the freshly painted blue ceilings when I first shared the newly painted space.
I'm completely in love with the beadboard ceilings, but love them even more now that they are blue!
Wallpaper would have been a good fit for this historic farmhouse, and no doubt lovely. But, wallpaper is such a big commitment of time, energy, money, and more importantly, design restrictions, that I would rather add pattern with things that are less permanent.
Speaking of pattern, wait until you see the "traditional meets funky" wingback chairs I found, they're coming up!
I'm having a ball decorating our new place!
P.S. The December Canton show begins on Thursday morning at 9am, get your shopping game on!
Feeling Blue
Old Southern homes are loaded with character and signature embellishments that just ooze Southern charm. One such feature you will find in many Southern historic homes are blue porch ceilings. Referred to as haint blue. There are many stories as to why Southern homeowners painted porch ceilings blue. They range from the notion that it brings good luck, to evidence that it can deter insects.
We've painted the porch ceiling blue in all of our past vintage homes.
But for reasons that are far more simple.
I just love how they make me feel. :-))
Our Farmhouse on Main was no exception, but this time we brought the blue ceilings inside to the foyer, parlor and dining room.
I've spied blue ceilings in recent years on coastal style homes, but love it inside of our Southern Farmhouse too.
There was something very specific that inspired me to paint the inside ceilings blue, I will share it with you in the next post.
By the way, blue porch ceilings are no longer found only in the South. :-))
What are your thoughts on blue ceilings?
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