Thornville Farmer's Market

photo courtesy of Flickr If you haven't been yet...you have a few more Saturdays to get there. The Thornville Farmer's Market, adjacent to the firehouse, is open every Saturday from 9am until noon or a wee bit earlier if the goods are gone. Make sure you pick up some of Shellee's homemade basil pesto sauce. I've almost finished my jar and have savored every bite. Tonight I tossed a large spoonful with chunks of homegrown tomato, baby buffalo mozzarella, a chiffonade of basil leaves and a sprinkling of sea salt. Only one spoonful remains. Hmm...how to enjoy the last one? Before I buy another jar...or three. She mentioned it was in the air to start baking bread too. Think she'd notice if I camped out in her backyard?

The countdown begins...

Don’t miss the 2009 Country Living Fair! Back in Columbus,Ohio again!

Tickets are always available during the Fair at the box office but DISCOUNT advance
tickets and EARLY BIRD tickets are only available until September 14! For as little as $15 for a weekend pass - you get 3 days of shopping, learning and activities.

Check out a list of guest and presentations here. Exhibitor list here.

Click here to purchase discount advance tickets online or call 1-866-500-FAIR.


Here's a few attendee comments from the 2008 Country Living Fair at Ohio Village:

My mom and I attended the Country Living Fair, all I can say is WOW!!!!!!!
Came all the way from Wisconsin. It was well worth the 12 hr. trip.

Loved the location, setting- came from upstate NY and loved all of it!

CLICK HERE to read more.

Fair Hours: September 18-19-20 - 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. each day. Rain or Shine!
Most exhibits under cover in buildings and tents.
Location: Ohio Village at the Ohio Historical Center, 1982 Velma Rd.,
I-71 at Exit 111 (17th Avenue), Columbus Ohio. Across from the Ohio State Fairgrounds.Tickets:

One day $12 door/$10 advance*
Weekend Pass $20 door/ $15 advance*
Early Bird Weekend Pass $30 advance only.*
Enter Friday and/or Saturday at 9 a.m. and beat the crowds!

Fair special subscriptions $5, if purchased with a ticket or at the fair. There will be many locations at the Fair to purchase a special subscription. Bring your address list, makes a great gift! (can be used to extend a current subscription too)

*Regular Parking Fees apply - $5 per day per car

Lodging: Click here to download a 2009 list of some nearby lodging.
Use the list as a guide. There is literally tons of reasonably priced lodging near the fair including four hotels that have set aside a block of rooms for Country Living Fair at a special rate: Extended Stay Deluxe, Ramada Plaza, Hyatt Capitol Square and Holiday Inn Express. Country Inns & Suites are offering a special Country Living Fair 15% discount in all of their 6 hotels in the Columbus area.
Details on lodging list.

It's going to be great! Fair info @ www.stellashows.com

One of my favorite things...and the industrial rage!

Just had to share this photo. Snapped it 15 minutes ago while standing in my kitchen. Our back door is open and the most wonderful breeze filled the curtain blowing it into the dining room. One of my all time favorites on my Top 10 Simple Pleasures list...I absolutely love seeing gauzy curtains fluttering in a summer window. I'm sure it's a memory from my childhood, it always gives me the warm and fuzzies. Below is an evolution of one piece on the inventory list for Country Living. I have 5 of these to finish! (You'll have to telt your head to the left for the first one.)

This is after degreasing and power washing.

In the middle of applying "burnished bronze".

These are quite a find. A hundred uses!! What would YOU do with them?

Beautiful faded blue velvet French style sofa!!

Two matching chairs on their way to the store right now!!

NOW IN ENGLISH!! Jeanne d' Arc Living magazine!

Good news!After numerous requests JDL will begin publishing their gorgeous magazine in English!!

The 5th edition, available the end of September, promises to be just as delicious as past issues but even better because now no more late nights trying to translate Danish to English online! Don't laugh, you know you did. The September issue features 'Country Kitchens' as the theme (think 'country' as in Scandinavian Farmhouse) with articles highlighting 'moving the summer indoors' and 'a light in the dark' and also; rustic onions, wild dahlias, lovely hortensia and beautiful blueberries. As a foodie I am very much looking forward to the recipes in English! Wish I could translate the chocolate ones in previous issues! Get yours here

End of summer sale...& new finds!

The bunnies have been doing their thing ("If ya' know what I mean") they have multiplied and now need to be seperated and sent to different homes so 20% off all rabbits! Lots of other summery goods on sale now too, good time to start stashing away some Christmas presents!!
Here is a beautiful crusty, concrete statuary piece of 3 puttis holding an urn. Has that perfect, time worn patina of mossy green.
Just in yesterday! Fabulous replicas of wall mounted Mora clocks without the HUGE ($5k to $14k) price tag. I took one home to apply a different color combination of off white and soft blue. I'll post pictures when it's dry.

Wonderful wicker chaise, not just for summer! Tuck one in a quiet corner of your home, fill it with luscious pillows and watch it fill up! A sweet retreat at day's end with a glass of tea and a steamy romance novel.





EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEKKKKK! Guess what's "flying" in to the shop? Seasonal and Halloween items are arriving weekly!

Projects for wine bottle corks

Reduce (and I'm not referring to the amount of wine in the bottle), Reuse (save all the corks to do something with someday), Recycle (finally some very cool ideas!)
Originally this was created as a wine cork bowling ball but I love the idea of creating it as a piece of art for your home.
Of course as a bulletin board. Martha does one with a nice herringbone pattern.
Placecard holders.
Cute little trivet or how about as coasters?
This is my favorite, as a decorative trim around a counter, perfect for an in-home bar or a restaurant.
The pièce de résistance? A self portrait that took four years to make! I'll help gather corks but 4 years? My decorating ADD would kick in and off I would go after something shiny! Beautiful just the same.

CONGRATULATIONS DEB FROM PENNSYLVANIA!

At 4PM this afternoon Deb's name was chosen by a random number generator as the winner for my BIG BASKET GIVEAWAY celebrating my 100th blog post (any ol' reason to celebrate right?). Congratulations Deb!

Thank you ALL for leaving such wonderful comments! 133 total! What a treat it has been for me to read them! I'll keep blogging away as long as you keep reading (and please keep leaving your comments!!)...before you know it we'll be at 200 posts and it will be time for another BIG BASKET GIVEAWAY!

My basil plants give their life for this...

Corn Dip with Tomatoes and Basil
(from Martha's Everyday Living via The Today Show)
Serves 4; makes about 1 3/4 cups
1 3/4 cups fresh corn kernels (from 2 ears) or frozen kernels
1/3 cup 2 percent milk
1/3 cup silken tofu
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
1/4 teaspoon coarse salt
Freshly ground pepper
8 cherry tomatoes, quartered, or 2 medium tomatoes, coarsely chopped
1/3 cup fresh basil leaves, thinly sliced
3 cups baked white-corn chips (6 ounces)
Directions
1. Cook corn and milk in a skillet over medium-high heat until corn is tender, 7 to 9 minutes. Let cool completely.
2. Puree 2/3 cup corn mixture, the tofu, lime juice, and salt in a food processor; season with pepper. Transfer to a serving bowl, and stir in remaining corn mixture, the tomatoes, and basil. Serve with chips. Dip can be refrigerated in an airtight container up to 1 day.

Jeanne d' Arc Living, 4th edition

I have small quantity of the 4th issue available (cover pictured above). This is by far my favorite one so far. Larger pictures, beautiful vignettes and the general gorgeousness these 2 ladies are known for! Get your copy here.