A New Season!

Opening Day at The Farm is March 1st of every year.  And as usual, it's good to be back! 

Our very first customers of the 2013 season!

Farm bride Rae with her peeps.  Rae recently blogged about us too! 

Kathy & Karel, two of our  favorite visitors.  It's so good to see everybody again!

Thank you to all our visitors for joining us at The Farm :)

Farm Mail

Thursday, February 22, 2013
 
Hello out there! Well, they say there’s this big storm coming, so I thought it was the perfect day to stay at the house and send you an email. (I’ve secretly wished for a big snow-in, but when I say that, people look at me like I’m crazy!)

We’ve been having a ball at the shop: of course we’ve changed it all around, gave it a good cleaning, and deliveries come almost everyday. (It’s like Christmas, opening the boxes!) You’re gonna love what we’ve found!

I want to make sure you know that Opening Day is Friday, March 1 this year. We have a little something for the 1^st 13 people of 2013. And then we’ll do something special on that Saturday too, for the folks who work.  

Just come see us when you can ~ it’s been a long winter and we miss you!

Gail, Cheryl & Jean

Hellebores.  No worries--they're very happy, even in the snow :)

Sewing Saturday

You might think that things at The Farm are quiet during this winter season while the shop is closed, but we've been busy! Gail went shopping at market a few weeks ago, the plant order has been placed, the shop is swept clean and new displays are being planned, lots of guests are bed and breakfasting in The Loft. . . And  we also made some time for a little sewing with a lunch of chicken & noodles.

Cheryl got some fun new retro glasses.
 We all wanted to know where she got them.

Barb's embroidery--Can you tell she has a grandbaby that she adores?

Knitting by Jean. . . 

It was a fun morning at Gail's.  Great company, great food. . . 

Looking forward to seeing you all March 1st!

Photography at The Farm

 These beautiful wedding photos of Aaron and Ashley were taken by Lane Fowler of Willow Lane Photography.  Rae and Austin on the right were married here last summer. So glad they all stopped by to visit The Farm!

2013

Sixty degrees one day, ice the next :/
Well, that's January, right?

The hellebore's are budding up, it's still light (at least a little bit) at 5 pm, and the mailbox is overflowing with seed catalogs!  Sounds about right, doesn't it?  Happy 2013!

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 :)