Yoo Hoo, gals! It’s time for a gab-fest! Girl-Talk with the Sugar Pie Sisterhood  is up and running! Woo Hoo! So come on and share your favorite recipes,  ideas for staying healthy, decorating, gardening tips, motherhood thoughts, must-have products, housekeeping hints, beauty secrets, holiday ideas, crafts, great books you’ve read…tell us about farm life…raising chickens…making homemade soap….what’s a quick and yummy meal or dessert that has become an old standby and a family favorite? What’s your favorite scripture from the Bible that has brought you comfort and joy?  What are you having for dinner tonight? What are you growing in your garden? What bountiful harvest are you going to can this summer? How do you stay joyful? How do you stay organized?  We all want to know!

Of course if you have any questions regarding any of these areas, ask away, I’m sure there are a lot of homemakers in our Sugar Pie Sisterhood that would love to share their experiences and advice.

To jump-start our sisterhood idea exchange, I’m having a give-away! The more you post in the Girl-Talk Forum the more chances you have to win! Think of each post as a raffle ticket, the more you share a thought or idea, the more “raffle tickets” are added into the drawing with your name on them! There are four fabulous farmhouse prizes, winner takes all! The winner will be announced on May 2, 2009!

1. Down-on-the-farm apron: This corn-on-the-cob yellow apron is dotted with bright cherries and trimmed in ric-rac and a flirty ruffle. It’s a farm-girl’s joy!  It’s hand sewn by Lynn Jeffries from The Handmaiden’s Cottage.  Lynn is a fabulous seamstress with the cutest aprons around! Click here to go to her Etsy shop! . Wearing a pretty apron just puts me in a cheery mood! It makes sweeping my front porch (with my handcrafted broom from Silver Dollar City) actually enjoyable! Of course I always love the chance to step outside for some fresh air and to hear the rooster a-cock-a-doodle-dooin’  across the valley.  Ahhh…the country life!

2. Paula Deen’s The Deen Family Cookbook: This brand spankin’ new cookbook by Paula Deen is full of down-home goodness through and through! It’s chock-full of color photos and homey stories and family memories that Paula is known for!  I LOVE a cookbook with stories! One of my favorite things to do in the evening is to sip a hot cup of something yummy and read cookbooks! And don’t you love having pictures of what the recipes are supposed to look like? This book has it all! As the title denotes, this is a “family” cookbook with recipes from all her kin, such as, Meemaw’s Texas Tumbleweeds Candy, Bubba’s Tiny Chocolate-Key Lime Pies, Aunt Peggy’s Old Fashioned Meat Loaf and Michael’s Slow Cooker Chicken “n’ Dumplings and so much more! Y’all know I love everything Southern….well Miss Paula Deen is as Southern as they come, y’all!!

Isn’t Miss Paula just the cutest thing “evah!”

3. “Sugar Pie” Cupcake Apron:I could not pass this adorable apron up! It’s pure pink and chocolate confection! The cherry on top is the sassy red ric-rac and the hand embroidered “Sugar Pie’ on the pocket!

This cutie-patootie apron is also made by Lynn Jeffries from the Handmaiden’s Cottage if you want one, she will add  your own personalized name on the pocket, click here to go to her etsy shop.

4.  An adorable “Sisters” broach! I’m pretty sure these two little gals are chatting about girly things and reading about how to make a cozy home!

One of you “Sugar Pie Sisters” is gonna win all of these goodies!

Just before you head on over to the Forum, I wanted to share my little day trip that I took last week with my sister-in-law Linda (I’m married to her hilarious brother! That boy has been making me laugh for thirty years! It will be 31 years in June!)

We headed west of Springfield Missouri about an hour to the little town of Bolivar. Our first stop was this adorable red barn…Pappy’s Antiques and Cakery! So Stinkin’ cute!

Why Can’t I live here?

Take a peek inside…lot’s of neat stuff!

I wonder how many pies were made with those rolling pins? How many meals  were cooked on this stove…how many biscuits were baked in that sweet little oven?

Farmhouse Romantic!

Lots of antique eye candy everywhere!

I found something red that I liked! An old General Store Coffee Mill. It did not fit my budget, so I had to leave it there….I know it’s crying for me.

Farmhouse Kitchen goods.

Love all of that white-ware! Platters, bowls, cake stands, pitchers….so farmhouse-y!

Here’s Linda paying her two  dollars for two vintage silver butter knives.  The gal behind the counter is the Owner and Cake Baker of Pappy’s Antiques and Cakery. Her nickname is Cupcake! She is as sweet as one too! The phone number for Pappy’s is 417-777-2253.

I also purchased two silver butter knives for two dollars! Linda and I both liked the extra long and wide blade, perfect for spreading sweet cream butter on toast or making peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. For such a small price, it’s fun to have a few vintage pieces to use in our everyday life. It’s fun to think of the stories they could tell! It’s the simple things in life that bring joy isn’t it? The markings say Alaska Silver!

My other purchase was this Milk Glass barnyard rooster! I think I’ll name him Jim Ed.

Talking about cakes with Miss Cupcake from Pappy’s, made us hungry…so we headed to the town square to have lunch at The Country Hearth Tea Room…

We opened the door and saw this darling idea! Inspiring words courted us as we stepped up the stairs to the charming Tea Room!

So charming!

We had the most delicious chicken salad sandwich evah! There were grapes and pecans in the chicken mixture and the bread was grilled cinnamon raisin bread! I never would have thought of that kind of bread, but oh my goodness it was sooooooo scrumptious!! Paired with Apricot Iced Tea and fresh fruit…..well, let’s just say it was dreamy!

Here’s a closer look! The bread was crispy and warm, while the chicken salad was cold and full of flavor! We kept saying MMMMmmmm…this is so good!

They had cake…..somebody had to eat it….so we volunteered. Two flavors were singing our names…

A layered Lemon Sponge cake….tart and sweet….cool and so refreshing….

And a fabulous Double Chocolate dream of a cake…..

So moist and creamy…it melted in our mouth!

The town square was our view out of the window! We got to watch small town life in action! This is the courthouse in the middle of the square. They have a tribute to World War 2 veterans.

Horton’s department store was having a sale.  This was the hub of shopping before the malls sprang up everywhere!

This old feller, (let’s call him good old Jeb) was crossing the street with his rifle. Not something you would see in Californy, (where I’m from!). He was heading to the bullet store…probably needed to stock up on some buckshot to scare away those pesky possums from gettin’ to his chickens.

This town (Bolivar, Missouri), and the Court House, with it’s clock tower, reminds me of the movie Back To The Future! Across the street was Dan and Stan’s Pharmacy and down the road a piece was a cute beauty parlor called The Snip ‘n’ Clip. Ain’t that cute?

On the way home we stopped at a few more antique malls and enjoyed the country scenes along the way….

Well gals, thanks for stopping by….now you just gotta scoot on over to have a little Girl-Talk with your Sugar Pie Sisters! Remember the more you post in the GIRL-TALK FORUM the better chance you have of winning all of those goodies!

I will be naming the winner on May 2, 2009!

I sure do appreciate all of your sweet-as-sugar-pie comments! Keep them coming! They really make what I am doing here at Sugar Pie Farmhouse so worth my time and effort! I love hearing what you have to say! If you like what you see please let me know! When you leave a comment, I would love to know where y’all are from!

God Blessings and hugs to y’all!

Yee Haw!

Aunt Ruthie

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I know what’s sweeter than Micky D’s Sweet Tea!

It’s YOU my Sugar Pie Sistas! ( If you’ve had Mc Donald’s Sweet Tea you know it is the sweetest tea “evah”! You can find it in most of the Southern states, and may I say, it is delicious!) Anyhoo! Thank y’all so much for your wonderful comments, cheer-leading me on as I endeavor to bring you down home goodness from my heart to yours!

In this post I want to share  with you my down-home love for chalkboards! In fact I have them all over my house proclaiming all kinds of messages of love and joy! Some have scriptures, quotes, and  love notes. I use them to show off the menu for  get-togethers, or a warm “Welcome Home” greeting.  I write instructions like “don’t forget … Violin Recital Sunday…3 pm!”. And I love writing seasonal messages for all of the holidays…it just seems to add a special sparkle in the air! Little reminders of all of the fun to come! They help to set a happy tone in the home!

Most of all I enjoy telling my family in all sorts of ways that I love them!  Happy messages help create a positive atmosphere and they remind us to stay positive! They help sweep out  negative attitudes. Good or bad, attitudes are contagious! Remember the old phrase “If mama ain’t happy, ain’t nobody happy” ? If we are grumpy, our family will be grumpy! That’s not fun!  So we need to keep sweet by thinking good thoughts. Chalkboards help. When I am having a “bad hair day” or worse, (feeling overwhelmed or blue…you know when those “Ladies Days” arrive!) my chalkboards with scriptures remind me to be thankful and focus on my blessings rather than minor inconveniences (annoying as they may be).

As a kid I remember when someone said something mean, the come-back would be “Sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt  me.” Oh my, that is sooooo not true! Words can hurt us…but they can also help us, encourage us, lift, warm and bless our hearts!

I really believe that words are like seeds…spoken words and written words. Whatever seeds (words) we plant, we will end up harvesting. If we want to harvest love, joy, thankfulness, peace,  faith and hope why not plant loving, joyful, thankful,  peaceful, faithful and hopeful words? 

Chalkboards are such a simple thing, yet it’s message can be profound and life changing. They can bring comfort, and can remind you and your family to stand strong in what you believe in.  

This idea came from The Farm Chicks in the Kitchen Book (Click here to see my video review for the Farm Chicks Book!), which is filled with so many darling farm-style ideas for the home as well as yummy recipes! It’s an old drawer that I painted on the inside with Chalkboard Paint! The great thing about chalkboards is that you can change the message for a whole new look and theme!

 Think about using a chalkboard to write words of praise to your child to build up their confidance, significance and sense of belonging.  A little drawer like this would be perfect to personalize for a child, and to place in their room. I was thinking, you could glue a couple clothespins along the bottom or sides to clip on a  family photo,  extra love notes or sticks of gum and candy! What child wouldn’t love that? What a cozy little nook of love that would be!

You may notice that the artwork and writing on my chalkboards are very clear and bright…..it’s because  I have discovered the wonderful world of Chalk Ink Markers They are the same product that Starbucks Coffee uses on their charming chalkboards!

The great thing is they come in a variety of fun colors and they’re all washable! When you are ready for a new look or message, you wash it off! You can use water, or Windex. Sometimes I sprinkle on a tiny bit of Bar Keepers Friend (sink polish) if I have gotten the color on real thick. Take a look at BEFORE AND AFTER on my pantry door…

This is the “BEFORE” with regular chalk…..(as you can see the regular chalk was starting to smear).

And AFTER with the Chalk Ink Markers! The colors are also blendable as you can see by the peaches I drew.

Chalkboards can also add a happy touch of what I call “Disney Whimsey!” (y’all know I’m a Disney girl!)

This past Christmas I hung this chalkboard (it used to be a headboard!)  in my kitchen for a little Holiday Sparkle!

You can use Chalk Ink Markers on plastic, metal, mirrors, car windows!

Gals, it’s the little things we do to make our house a home.

Don’t you just love to get together with a gaggle of gals for a little Girl~Talk? We learn so much great stuff from each other! Well, I am so excited about a new feature that I’ll be adding in a week or two…It’s a forum….Girl-Talk with the Sugar Pie Sisterhood!  This is where everyone can join in and talk about anything from cooking, gardening, beauty, decorating, Holiday ideas, parenting or anything to do with homemaking! You can share your favorite recipes, products, tips and advice. You’ll also be able to ask a question or answer a question! I know all of you have lots of great ideas to share…well, your chance is coming! Woo hoo!

To celebrate, I will be having another give-away!

Be sure to check out my new Blue Ribbon Product Review and see those chalk in markers in action!

I also wanted to remind y’all to change the address you have listed for my site from warmpiehappyhome.blogspot.com to www.sugarpiefarmhouse.com (thanks sugar!)

Blessings and hugs!

Yee Haw!
Aunt Ruthie

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