Let It Snow!

Is this not the cutest little snowman to ever visit The Farm?!?  
Here he's staked out over a Swiss  & Green Onion cheese spread that's been known to bring rave reviews from family, co-workers, and even a three-year-old grandson.

Combine 3 cups (12 ounces) finely shredded Swiss cheese with  1/4 c chopped green onions, 1/2 tsp salt, and 1/4 tsp white or cayenne   pepper.  Mix in just enough mayonnaise to hold it all together--about 1/4 to 1/3 cup. Serve with your favorite cracker.   The grandson's favorite is Multi-Grain Club Crackers :)  

Christmas Open House 2012

The Cinnamon Cranberry Punch was a hit.  So were Shannon's cookies and muffins--especially the red velvet!

Cinnamon Cranberry Punch

Steep 4 regular tea bags in 1 quart of water for five minutes.  Add 2 cups sugar and 1 cup red hots.  STIR!

Add another quart of water, two 64 oz bottles of cranberry juice, and 2 cups of pineapple/orange juice.

Serve cold for punch.  Or serve warm with a cinnamon stick.  And if you share with your friends, they'll ask you for the recipe :)

December 2012

It was great to see so many of you on Small Business Saturday!  We were thrilled by your show of support. Thank you so much for shopping small with us and with our fellow small businesses . . .  

If you're still working on your shopping list, if you want to avoid the crowds, or if you just need a drive out through the country--here's our calendar for the rest of 2012:

Christmas Open House: Saturday Dec 1, 10-5 and Sunday Dec 2, 1-4

Make a day of your visit and stop by Morningstar Cafe and Merchantile for lunch or desert.  We love the crepes and the carrot cake!  say hi to Katelyn for us--we love her too :) 

Closing House: Saturday Dec 15, 10-5. This is the last day for the season, with most things on sale or clearance!   

Opening Day 2013:  March 1. 

Christmas Open House At The Farm!

To our Friends ~

I hope this finds you well, and preparing your heart and home for the holidays ahead. In spite of some rough waters, we still have much to be thankful for. I pray God’s rich blessing on you all!

We are SO grateful that we get to go to work each day and have fun creating an incredible experience for you to do some holiday shopping! Last week, ‘Winter Woodland’ & ‘Christmas Past’ appeared. Tomorrow, we start on the ‘Enchanted Forest’.

We have gathered all Fall merchandise and marked it down, in case you need something for Thanksgiving. Of course, we’ll be enjoying that day with family, but the rest of the week, hours are the same.

Christmas Open House: Saturday Dec 1, 10-5 and Sunday Dec 2, 1-4.

Closing House: Saturday Dec 15, 10-5. This is the last day for the season, with most things on sale or clearance! We re-open March 1. Thanks for another great year!

Gail

Hours – Tue thru Sat, 10-5 (March 1 thru mid-December)

Phone – 217-632-2888

Web – www.visit-thefarm.com

Facebook - Visit The Farm

Another Way to Pin

Are you pinning on pinterest??  Us too.  Especially those inspiring pictures of projects that we want to make ourselves.  Here's another way to keep up with those pins too.  This altered book was purchased at Studio on Sixth.

Not sure what the original book was about.  Google it, and you'll find it was once a play.  A woman named Pam gave it a so-so review on her blog.  But altered, it makes a great pinning book for inspiration. Wonder what Charles Sherman would think about what we've done to his book??

Next summer's container inspiration: 

 pink mandavilla vine with a white petunia ruffle. . . 

And all kinds of ideas for the brides that have been booking The Loft.

 In years past, we "pinned" by clipping pictures and recipes from magazines.  And yes, we LoVe pinning on the computer.  But sometimes, we just want a little book to hold our ideas for us :)

Farm Mail from Gail

It’s finally here ~ glorious Fall!!!

I am SO grateful (and a little surprised) that we are seeing such beautiful autumn color after that brutal summer we had! Our garden certainly did a turn-around after a 5” rain. I like to nestle a bright orange pumpkin down amongst the (very happy) purple alyssum for a great color pop. And I must admit – I’ve never been so delighted to go out and pull weeds from pliable soil in pleasant temperatures!

But on to inside ‘chores’. You should see what Cheryl’s been doing with the beloved pumpkins. ‘Be-jeweled’ is all I can say! You’ll have to come to Open House to see! And our new Farm Girl, Jean, puts her own fresh twist on the little darlings too. 

 Of course, we’ll have all styles of seasonal home décor, from glittery to gorgeous. So, I hope you can join us – we’ll have the usual spread of goodies, plus Shannon will be here with CUPCAKE tasting! And Shelley will be demonstrating her wonderful rug looming.

Fall Open House: Saturday Oct 6, 10-5 and Sunday Oct 7, 1-4.

Plan ahead: Christmas Open House: Saturday Dec 1, 10-5 and Sunday Dec 2, 1-4. 

Hours – Tue thru Sat, 10-5

Phone – 217-632-2888

Web – www.visit-thefarm.com

Blog – www.visit-the-farm.blogspot.com

Facebook - Visit The Farm

Chicken-Watching For the Soul

This bench was placed just so visitors can 

sit for a while and catch the next  show. . .

Watching chickens is a hoot!  If you're in a good mood, they'll make you laugh out loud.  If you're feeling down, they're sure to make you smile.

 Constant hunting, pecking, scratching, socializing. . . 

funny little jerky moves. . . 

and fast as lightening if you're trying to catch a good photograph!

 So next time you visit The Farm, be sure to take

 a few minutes to check out the daily  show :)

Fall Signs Continued

It's Fall  at The Farm :)  YaY!

This is the yummiest jelly ever--Apple Pie from Shannon Berry.   

A little scoop on one of Shannon's cinnamon cookies?  Sigh . . .  

And of course, pumpkins! 

And the shop is filling up with new fall designs.  

It's been a long hot summer, but joy comes in the fall :)

See you soon!

 

Fall Signs

 

Signs of fall are showing up at The Farm. . .   Rain (what a relief!) and pumpkins (our favorite!). 

Preserving Hydrangea Blooms

Check out Barb's front garden--She has a bumper crop of Kent's Beauty oregano along the driveway.  Beautiful!

We went to visit Barb a couple of weeks ago to check out her  hydrangea blooms.  Her oakleaf had blooms a foot long!

Barb says this is her best hydrangea summer ever, most likely thanks to the mild winter.  So we thought we would try our hand at preserving some blooms while we had such a great harvest.

 (Hydrangea + glycerine + water + blue stem dye) x a little bit of time = preserved blooms.  It sounds so simple.  We've consulted the manual from the big name dye manufacturer and we've had a lesson from expert Deb Damhorst of Ohio Street Originals.  But still, we keep having mixed results.  Next time, we're going to try adding more blue dye.  And maybe a little less than 50-50 glycerine. 

So we'll keep trying.  In the meantime, there's peach crisp & good friends :)

Jean, Barb, Gail, & Cheryl

Cherry French Toast From a Michigan Garden

Yes, we're all hot hot hot these days.  But as Gail says, we're thankful we can water the garden until the rains come again.  In the meantime, how about some Cherry French Toast?

This recipe was recommended by PJ, who visits The Farm every time she's in Springfield.  Here's a little glimpse of her Michigan garden.

 Love this little angel basket garden.

And here's her recipe:

Cherry French Toast
1 loaf of thick-cut bread -- Lay out the bread in a 9 x 13 pan.  PJ kept hers in slices, the picture shows the slices cubed.

Mix together -- 6 eggs, 1 cup half-&-half, 1 1/2 cup milk, 1 t vanilla, 1/2 t nutmeg, and 1/2 t cinnamon.  Pour over the bread.

Sprinkle 1 cup pecans and 1 cup dried cherries  over bread and egg mixture.

Cover well and refrigerate overnight.

Mix 2 T butter, 3/4 cup brown sugar, and 2 T dark karo syrup.  Sprinkle over cherries & pecans.  Bake 350 for 45 minutes without covering.

If you're a Farm visitor and would like to share a recipe and a picture of your garden, leave a comment or e-mail us. 
We'd love to hear from you :)

News from Gail

Just heard from Mark McDonald of "Illinois Stories" - they're gonna air The Farm's story 3 times! Thur @ 7pm, Sun @ 4pm, and Mon @ 6:30pm... yay!!!!!

Spring 2012

We cannot get over the incredible lushness of the garden this year!  Thanks to the mild winter, our early early EarLy! spring and some good rains--every plant seems fuller, brighter, and more oh-my-gosh beautiful this year. 

 These blue hydrangea are like old friends that return to visit us every summer. Welcome back, friends. . . you're looking good this year!

okay, okay--but you gotta admit the color combo is good :)

 Have you ever tried to photograph a chicken?   They are quick!  These little guys came to us the last week of April and they are loving the coop & run that Eric remodeled for them.

The vine on the fence is bittersweet--it's looking great too.  We can't wait for a super-harvest of mother nature's red-orange-yellow bling to go on the pumpkins!  Well really, we've got lots of summer to enjoy before the fall comes, but it's fun to look forward too. . .

When was the last time the lavendar looked this good??  It's been a while. . .

 The peonies bloomed by the bucket-fuls this spring.  And the season lives on, thanks to the power of air-drying. . .

  The fairy roses outdid themselves--the bundles are filling the ceiling already!   YaY!

 The Loft is becoming very popular with our guests. Eric has been hard at work finishing the downstairs area of the barn and a new tent will be installed in the next few days.  It's wedding season at The Farm!

 Be sure to come out for the Acts II, III, and IV of this season's  mega garden show! Hope to see you soon <3