Junque In Your Trunk

This weekend was our Annual Summer Farmgirl Sisters Cottage Sale took place and the addition of our new barn added to the atmosphere and fun of the event.  

Our cottage had new look, a little more vintage, lots more room to rummage through the fun, the antiques and collectibles.  So many new pieces of furniture including a to die for butcher block that sold right away, and dozens of new shabby chic items, made it a very fun sale.  We had a lot of repeat visitors who have become farmgirl friends, and many, many new shoppers, including our new friends, The Prairie Chicks who drove down from Lebanon, MO, and arrived at 7:30AM, which means they had to have left home around 5:30AM!  Wow, talk about dedication to the art of Barn Sale shopping!

our Farmgirl Sister Jan brought in such cute things, and worked everyday even with her back out, I love my "sister" Jan, a friend for 15 years now....

and the added space of the new barn, allowed for more furniture and treasures

The best part of the weekend was Saturday when we hosted our first Junque in Your Trunk Sale and our friends who came to sell brought such fabulous treasures.  They were shopping among themselves as they set up!

Renee and her Mom brought such cute things, and her Mom’s treasures were Country and Primitives and she told me she was downsizing and soon to switch to a Shabby Chic décor, she was so sweet and we just love Renee and all the support she gives the Farmgirl Sisters.

Our newest Farmgirl Sister Lynn was unable to participate this time around, she had a previous commitment and was missed, but oh the treasures she brought to the cottage were scrumptious.  We look forward to having her touch in our October sale.

Our friends from the Memory Barn in Kimberling City loaded up their fabulous vintage farm truck with such treasures, WOW!  They made a great cornerstone to the set up.

It was hot, hot, hot and we’re sure that put a little damper on shoppers, and we were all pretty wilted by 2:00PM, but what fun we had.  It was great camaraderie and everyone shared such fabulous ideas for our October sale!  It will surely be bigger, better, and more fun.

Here are some pictures of the fun

We are revamping our calendar for October, and our sale dates will be September 29 and 30 for the Cottage and Barn Sale, and our Junque in Your Trunk Antique Faire will be Saturday, October 1, so mark your calendars now. 

Our Memory Barn friends are hosting their annual 4th of July weekend sale in Kimberling City, head out Hwy 13 to DD Hwy and follow the signs about 1.5 miles and you'll find their quaint setting on the right!

Our Prairie Chick friends are hosting their Barn Sale on Saturday, June 18, 7AM -2PM, off Hwy 32 in Lebanon, MO, follow the signs about 1.5 - 2 miles out.  We'll see you there!

Those that want to participate in our Junque in Your Trunk Antique Faire on Saturday, October 1, contact us soon, space is limited, and filling fast!

'til next time,

Stormy

PS and not to be forgotten, a very special thank you to Farmgirl Mister, Jim who really stepped up and helped make this sale a success, went above and beyond the call of Farmgirl duty.

Stormy (not Julie) and Julia

Long before the movie Julie and Julia, I loved Julia Childs. She was on my list of people I most wanted to meet, along with Frank Sinatra, Jackie Kennedy and Mikail Barishnikov. I can’t even tell you when that began, I’m certain it was before my ‘tween years, when I would watch her on television and wonder how this - not model perfect, Donna Reed, Father’s Knows Best Mom with perfect hair crinoline under her skirt, perfect wave in her hair - woman was on television in her own show, cooking and making me love her with each new segment in her show. Dropping a chicken, flubbing an omelet, that not so melodic voice, I loved it all!

I am 5’10” and have never enjoyed that perfect weight, and here was this woman who carried herself in such a way that you thought about her grace, but you didn’t think about her physical appearance at all, you just thought about this great woman and what she was saying.

Then came the movie, and even with a Hollywood spin, I was enamored with her even more – and Meryl Streep’s performance was so on the money. I love that Julia’s husband loved her like he did, and that everyone who knew them, knew they we so in love with each other.

So why do I bring this up? Because I love to cook, I love to put on an apron and bustle around the kitchen and create new things, bake, and good old fashioned farm fare is my passion, and yet somewhere over these past few years, I have lost my passion, my bliss.

I have dozens and dozens of cookbooks, tucked in cupboards and stacked in piles and on shelves. I can just sit a read a cookbook like others pick up a magazine. The favorite thing about my kitchen is the small corner fireplace and comfy chair. Perfect to sit and read and peruse recipes for my next creation.

I really love old cookbooks, and really get a chuckle from the illustrations and “helpful hints” these vintage gems contain.

My passion for cookbooks began when I received my first cookbook when I was about 8 or 9, and I received Betty Crocker’s Cookbook for Girls and Boys. I still have it to this day.

Second to the wonderful contents of old cookbooks is the comfort of an apron. Tying on an apron somehow makes you feel like the queen of the kitchen, of the home. Perhaps it’s those old family television shows when every mom wore an apron and pearls, and that was reinforced for me by the apron and pearls worn by Julia when I stumbled upon her show one afternoon after school.

The concept of the movie, the blogging her way through Julia Child’s recipes, life, and passions opened a passion in Julie…………………….and in me. Watching the movie for my fifth or sixth time, I am consumed by Julie’s words as she blogs, and how the blog changes her life.

So where is this rambling blog going? Well, I am challenging myself, much like Julie did, and rather than working my way through someone’s cookbook, I am going to do something that I have wanted to do for years. I am going to write my own cookbook.

So I have gotten down my recipe box, laid out several spiral notebooks and pens (I work better that way than I do on a computer), picked out five fabulous vintage aprons, and put my string of pearls next to my favorite tea cup.

Six months from today, I will have 50 recipes created, tested, and ready to share in my first ebook, ready for any of you that are interested. From my fabulous stuffed meatloaf to my mixed “bumble” berry cobbler, a taste of good old fashioned farm cooking will be on-line and ready. Let the clock begin!

Bon Apetite!

Stormy

A Farmgirl Sews

Farmgirls are strong, hardworking, fun-loving, friendly, and creative. We are passionate, compassionate, and we have an intensely romantic side. Whether we wear overalls and a cotton shirt, or long skirts with pantaloons, there is romance in how we live and all we do and how we live our lives.

Recently I came across a bounty of old sewing patterns and I had so much fun sorting through the bags and bags of envelopes while deciding how I would use them.

Many ended up as tissue paper to wrap treasures purchased at our Cottage Sale this past weekend, and the instruction pages were pulled to use for craft paper and fun gift wrap paper. Empty envelopes were saved for scrapbooking and tag making.

However, nearly two dozen spoke to my Farmgirl heart. Patterns of jumpers, shirts, dresses, overalls, and even nightwear - all from decades past and present - ended up in a pile that I just couldn’t bear to take apart. There are long and short skirted, jumpers that can be adapted in length or embellished, a variety of dress styles, blouses and more. There is even a fabulous Wedding dress pattern that you can just surely envision a Farmgirl Bride marrying the man of her dreams and celebrating in the best barn party ever!

Here are some of the favorites, and you’ll find them all ready for you to purchase at www.farmgirlsisters.com at our on-line Cottage store.

One or two I will keep so that I can make them up and sell the finished products for you buy and wear! I only wish I could copy the patterns so more and more of you could enjoy them, however, remember Farmgirl Sisters respect copyright laws! But I promise to search them out where ever I go, and will keep adding them to our store.

To see them all, visit our website at www.farmgirlsisters.com, they will all be posted in our on-line Cottage Store over the next few days.

Happy sewing…………..