Dressin' Up.......

I have been so excited to tell you about this new adventure that I, along with my mom, and good friend Bonnie are on. We teamed up to open an upscale consignment boutique, Dressin' Up. In case you are wondering how we are going to run all of these stores, I don't think I have ever mentioned how our stores are set up. Bonnie owns the whole building which she beautifully restored and in this building you will find her gift shop called Outside In, and a salon called Reflections on the ground level. Then in the upper level, you will find us, Backyard Candle Co. and now Dressin' Up across the hall! Originally, the two stores upstairs were apartments. We do ALOT of helping eachother out and so there is ALOT of running up and down the stairs, but we love it! I will post a picture of the outside soon so you can see how cool it is!

We are hoping to open next week, June 2nd but we still have a lot of work to get done before then. Our town doesnt have any stores like this and with times being so tough for everyone, we thought consignment would be the way to go. That way people can get name brand clothes at affordable prices.

Isn't the brick wall awesome! One day last winter, Bonnie and I were bored and tore into the paneling that was there to expose the brick. Who am I kidding, I mostly watched. Seriously, I have never met a woman who can work as hard as Bonnie can. She can and will do ANYTHING!!!!

This chandelier is soooooo cool and this picture doesn't even begin to do it justice!

We are continually taking clothes, so if you live in the area, and have clothes you would like to bring in we would love to consign them for you! The store hours will be the same as Backyard hours which are: Tues-Fri: 10-5 and Sat. 10-3. We will be closed on Sunday and Monday.

Scratch That........

Over the holiday weekend, my bestie Lori invited me to her house for dinner and to meet her Aunt Connie who was visiting from Chicago. You see, I LOVE good food and Connie is a FANTASTIC cook. I have heard Lori rave about her numerous times, but had never been able to see for myself until the other night. As soon as I walked in, I knew she was whipping up something wonderful in the kitchen cause it smelled sooooo good. I felt like I was attending a cooking class as I watched her as she slice and dice making it all seem so effortless. The best part is Connie wrote an amazing cookbook called "Scratch That". Not only is it filled with wonderful recipes, but it has a TON of helpful hints. I even bought a few to sell in the store. I know that you can find it at Barnes and Noble or on Amazon, but you can also go directly to her website at www.conniefairbanks.com to purchase one as well.If you are a foodie and love to cook, you are gonna love this cookbook! I bought one for myself and one as a gift. Connie is the real deal. She dosen't claim to be a proffesional chef, she is a "home chef" who just want to share her love of cooking with others.

Isn't the cover beautiful! She did all the photographs herself and all the photos in the book are taken in her downtown Chicago loft.

She even put in a wine and beer section to help you select the perfect match to your meal. If you have been looking for a new cookbook to try, this is the one. It will be the perfect addition to your collection! If you do, tell her Tricia sent you! :)

Bits and Baubles.......

I hope everyone is having a really great Memorial Day weekend! The weather here has been AWESOME!!!
I thought I would just show a few new pictures of the store today. LOVE the pink lanterns and if you haven't tried Cucina in your kitchen, you need to, It smells sooo good!

We just got a ton of new matches in. When giving a candle as a gift, people tend to throw a box of matches in with it.

Just a quick post, to show you what is going on at the Backyard Candle Co. Enjoy the rest of your holiday weekend!

My Little Helper.....

I would like you to meet Taytum.......

She is my friend Lori's daughter and one of my biggest helpers at the store. She loves to come up and help me make candles. Her job is usually putting the wicks in the jars for me. I secretly think she just loves hanging out with me!!! Ok, maybe not, but she is such a sweetie and is ALWAYS willing to help. Unfortunatley, because of everything going on with her family (thanks again to all you prayer warriors out there) she has'nt been able to come in as often.

I also have to say, that she has been an AMAZING little helper to her mom these days. She is the only girl and has 3 brothers. Cale, (Sawyers best friend) her older brother, and Oliver and Jaixen are her little brothers. She is a little mother hen to the little boys. Lori and her kids have been through soooo much, but they keep on keeping on and every day gets just a little easier. I could'nt end this post without mentioning Taytums VERY unique sense of style. She LOVES clothes and comes up with some very interesting outfits. But my favorite is when she wears jeans with her dresses or skirts. SOOOOO cute!! One day, she wore her tutu over jeans to school! How cute is that???? What's great about that is she does'nt care what other people think, if she likes it, thats all that matters. She is a special little girl who is very loved! Please continue to keep this family in your prayers.

A Little Of This & A Little Of That........

Ya know how yesterday I told you that I love the sound of trickling water, well I have a small fountain inside the house too. My friend Bonnie, who owns the store Outside In, actually made this little cutie. Her shop is downstairs from mine and its filled to the brim with unique goodies like this. I just got my order from http://www.coastline.etsy.com/ (which is one of my new favorite etsy stores)the other day, and don't you just love the little burlap coasters? I had them made with numbers 1-4. The black and white photo in the corner is of my grandma and grandpa when they were young. I have always LOVED this photo!

This burlap basket is also from Coastline. I am in love with burlap at the moment.

I totally stole this idea from Rebekah at http://www.littlebyrdvintage.blogspot.com/ . I found this mailbox for only $3 at the flea market a couple weeks ago and hung it in the entryway. I think it is such a clever idea, thanks Rebekah!

I hope you have a great day, and if you can get out and enjoy it! The long holiday weekend is coming!!!!

Outdoor space......

I took some time this morning to take some photos of my outdoor space. If you are anything like me, you enjoy seeing the world that people live in so that when thinking of them, you can picture perfectly where they spend their time. For example, when talking on the phone to someone do you picture where they are in their house? I hope I'm not the only one who does that, otherwise, it might sound kind of strange. Any way, we live 4 miles out of town, which I LOVE , on the farm where my husband grew up. We don't live in the house he grew up in, we actually live in the house next door, which is still part of the family farm. It was at one time referred to as the "honeymoon house." Apparantley, lots of newlyweds lived here. It was also the hired hand house, where the hired hand and his family lived. I think I mentioned before that it sat empty for 20 yrs or so before we decided to COMPLETELY renovate it. There was NO landscaping to speak of, so we had to literally start from scratch. I am blessed to have many good friends and family who would give me starts of flowers, cause we all know how expensive it can get. This little yellow flower is my absolute favorite. It's called an old fashioned button flower. It was given to me by my friend Nancy who got her start from her grandmother. I think she told me once, you can't even buy this anymore, but that was several years back, so I could be mistaken. I have no idea what this is, but I think it's pretty anyway.

When standing on my front porch, this is the view. Right on the other side of the tree line is a new development called "waters edge." There is also a creek that runs through the tree line and is home to wild turkeys, TONS of deer and the trees are home to a family of bald eagles. One day when looking I saw at LEAST 20 deer in the field. We planted lilac bushes all along the fence, and can't wait for the day when they are huge and full of lilacs!!!

This is my front porch. It is small but cozy. Ilove to lite the chanelier in the evening, it is so pretty.

I love the sound of water trickling, so I made this little fountain a few years back.

This is the old dry sink where my fountain sits.

The weather has FINALLY turned and it feels like spring. This is my favorite time to use the porch cause there are'nt any bugs yet. In the middle of summer, the bugs can get pretty bad out here. YUCK!!! I think I am gonna go sit out there now for a bit before I head off to the store. Have a great day!!

NOOOOOOOO, Not my Izzy AND George!!!!!!!!!

This has been a very emotional week of season finales! First with Lost and NOW with Greys Anatomy! Seriously how much is one person suppose to take!!!

Watch This.....

I am a pretty big fan of reality t.v. Mostly just shows like American Idol, So You Think You Can Dance, The Bachelor (even though I will NEVER watch that show again after poor Melissa got dumped on national t.v.) and Dancing With The Stars. Last night on Dancing with the stars, sweet Ty was voted off. I was sad to see him go, cause he tried soooo hard and did improve a ton from the first show. I LOVE his dance partner Chelsea too. She was a contestant on So You Think You Can Dance last season, so I was so excited to see that she was picked to be a professional dancer for this seasons Dancing With The Stars. I wanted to show you my FAVORITE dance with Chelsea and Mark from last seasons SYTYCD. This dance is so cool and by the end, I wanted them to be in love in real life. I know not a thing about dancing other than its soooooo fun to watch! Maybe, just maybe, when I grow up, I will be a dancer! If you have never watched this show, it starts up again this month on Fox. It's actually something the whole family can sit down and watch together. Enjoy the video and let me know what you think!

I've Got Nothin'......

Do you ever have those days when you want to post something new on your blog but you've just got nothin'? Well that is how I have felt the last couple of days. Other than to say I had a really wonderful mothers day. My boys both sang at church and my oldest had a solo. Did I ever mention my boys can SING! I took some pictures with my phone cause AS usual, I forgot the camera, but they did'nt turn out at all. So needless to say, this post is without pictures. :( I love when my boys use the gift God gave them for His Glory. I do have to say though that singing is more Clay's thing. Sawyer is very good as well, but he does'nt like singing in front of crowds. But his big thing is sports. Especially, football, soccer and his new found love, track. His third grade class had Field Day all day last Friday and he came home with several ribbons. My husband went with the class to help out and said, I quote, "He is like a freak of nature, I dont know how he gets his little legs to move so fast." :)

I hope you had a great mothers day as well, celebrating your mother, or being celebrated!

Happy Mothers Day......

I plan on becoming "domestically disabled" on mothers day, and I hope you do the same!

Thank YOU My Friend......

I just wanted to take a couple of minutes and thank all of you, my blog friends for taking the time out of your busy lives to read my blog and then leaving the sweetest, most encouraging comments. I also want to thank you all for your wonderful blogs as well! I love reading them and my day just wouldnt be complete if I did'nt check in to see what was happening in your day. My good friend Heather summed it up perfectly the other day, she said "blog friends are like pen pals!" I had never thought of it like that before, but she is so right! Most of you I will probably never meet, but always know that I consider you a dear friend and will always be here for you! I wonder if we will be doing this so long, that we will see eachothers children grow?

Summer Like in Iowa......

This was the best weekend, weather wise, we have had here in southeast Iowa for quite some time. The sun was shining bright and there was only a light breeze, which is ideal for hanging laundry on the line! We accomplished so much that needed to be done outside but my indoors was neglected pretty bad, so I will work on that tomorow. I also wanted to share this recipe with you that I made today. I am a HUGE lover of strawberry rhubarb crisp,(we even have a candle in that scent!) and since my sister gave me some rhubarb yesterday, I decided to make some. It is heavenly served warm with vanilla ice cream! I seriously, could eat the whole thing!! It just seems so summery and that is what it felt like here all weekend!

1/2 pounds rhubarb, leaves trimmed, stalks only, cut into 3/4-inch pieces (About. 3 cups)
1 pint fresh strawberries, hulled and quartered
1/2 cup sugar
2 teaspoons of flour
For Topping:
1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/3 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
Pinch salt
2/3 cup chopped walnuts
Directions
Pre heat oven to 350 degrees.
In a medium bowl, combine rhubarb, strawberries, sugar and lemon zest. Transfer to a buttered 8-inch baking dish.
For topping, combine flour, sugar, cinnamon and walnuts, pour in melted butter and toss to combine, tumble over fruit mixture. Bake until fruit is bubbling and topping is browned.
Serve warm with softly whipped cream or vanilla creme anglaise.

One more thing, I want to thank Amy at The Maisy Report again for doing the interview with me and let you know the winner of the candle is Holly! Congrats!

*Recipe courtesy of Food Network