Flowers Anyone?

It was a very busy day for me unpacking all those boxes, pricing, and waiting on customers...but was it fun! I love my job!. I have so many wonderful people who come and visit me. I enjoy helping with arrangements, whether it be a floral arrangement in a "water pitcher" as I did today for Lori, or a wall or garden arrangement.

Fun Fun Fun!

SO!!!! Here are promised pictures. I have to tell you  that some of the flowers are gone already! I was amazed that as soon as I pulled them out, they were snatched up. I will be reordering though, and they do come fast from that company if they have them in stock! 

Lighted twigs...burn for 10,000 hours. These are tall, I will be getting smaller ones in. They are on backorder for now.

FLOWERS!!!!! They are hot hot hot right now!

Still plenty of the Family w/ flower and Dream w/ flower left.

A few new signs came in. "Friends Gather Here" ONLY $2.50!!!

Take a look at the floral candle wreath, these are wonderful. As you can see, they double as a bird's nest!

Check out the new plates/platters and signs!

I also have some new linens. If you need a cheery table runner for spring, you can find one at

Bittersweet Farm!

Hope you enjoyed browsing...Happy May Day...I hope you find flowers on your door tomorrow!

YES This is BITTERSWEET FARM'S Ever~Changing Blog!

I apologize for the continual changing of my blog if you like to be able to pop in and recognize me. I am having a difficult time defining my style.

I don't really see it as PRIMITIVE as most primitive styles. I also don't want to come across too CUTSIE as my polka dots on turquois background were looking...

I have been asking myself, "WHAT DO YOU CALL YOUR STYLE?" because it isn't Pottery Barn (though some things work with my style) It isn't Primitive as much as country, but it isn't country like the former "country" and it isn't bright like the new "Country Living" magazine...which most of my customers have dropped...just not fitting "country" as we are defining it.

When I shop, I look at Colonial, Primitive, and ....hmm, I guess the word that keeps coming to mind is "Farmhouse".

If I could coin a "name" for my style, it would be
COUNTRY FARMHOUSE style.

I have given this much thought lately, and I think I that name fits. Perhaps partly due to us being in the Upper Midwest, near the Twin Cities, having a legacy of farming, but a diminishing number of "working farms". So my customer base is broad in the sense that many of us have farmhouses on "former farms"...

But many of my customers have lake homes, cabins, or live in town and like a little "farmhouse".

Since I grew up on a farm (yes, milking cows, baling hay, and all that goes with that) I have gravitated toward keeping the warm and comfortable, but also liking a neat look. I think of my grandma's farmhouse with her country garden, flowers welcoming you into the back entrance, and the fragrance of baking cinnamon rolls on Sunday morning after church. I also recall the stained wood of the farmhouse chairs that I happen to have in my own kitchen now! Though my decor looks nothing like grandma's, it gives me the feeling of family and home that I had when we were there.

So, bear with me as I continue to discover new blog templates, and try to find my "true colors" in blogland!

AND BY ALL MEANS COME OUT TO THE SHOP. I HAVE EIGHT BOXES OF NEW MERCHANDISE THAT I WILL BE PUTTING OUT OVER THE WEEKEND...

More wood flowers!!! Those have been the rage!

More 1803 candles...and I cannot tell you how awesome some of the new fragrances are! I love Dandelion Wine, Summer Spice, and Spicy Marmelade...Friendship is the ever-popular "oldie"...if you haven't tried it, you should, your whole house will be fragrant with any of the 1803 soy candles.

More floral, wood plates, battery operated candles/ tea lights, and garden stakes. I will try to get pics up tomorrow so check back!

Fun Stuff

Tuesday was the gift market...I am very excited about the new things that will be coming! The jewelry has been a big hit, so I ordered more. The bracelets have been the most popular. They make wonderful gifts for Confirmation, graduation, or for yourself! ;) I found bling rings this time too! They are stretchy like the bracelets, so one size fits all! I LOVE them!

Also on the way are baskets, floral, birdhouses, signs for garden and for in your house, FLOWERS (have been so popular, I have reordered twice already!)

Surprise sale: 20% off everything Saturday, April 24th!!!!

Still Here!

Yes, I have been a little scarce...due to planning our "baby's" graduation party! *sniff*!  

Wisconsin sytle graduation parties we discovered, are times to do major projects around the house. (We are Minnesota transplants) We used to laugh at people here getting ready for graduation because they always had to "put on a deck" or redo the living room. HA! I guess we are officially Wisconsinites now, because we have been moving our bedroom upstairs in order to create the "sitting room" we anticipated we would do when the nest was empty. We are just doing it a little early!

I have had a blog up all day for inspiration, I thought you might like looking at the pictures as much as I do, so I will share. Visit here: A Primitive Place ! You are sure to enjoy it!

So far we have taken the twin bed out of one room, put the full bed in there, then moved our queen up to our new room, the full is in Kayla's old room and the twin is going in our sitting room as a type of futon. It is such a cute bed, I don't want to get rid of it, so decided to load it with pillows, and it can double as a "guest cottage"!

So I FINALLY painted over the awful green on the lower half of the room mentioned here. & I love love love it! I will post pics when the makeover is complete. I also ordered an oversized chair for in there. I anticipate starting my days in my comfy chair instead of at the kitchen table... = )

BTW, I have to sell the armoir shown in our "old" bedroom, because I don't have a place for it. It makes me sad because it was a "special piece" DH made for us while we were remodeling. So you can check it out if you come out to the shop! It would be wonderful for a TV also. We can add shelves to it if you are interested in it for your entertainment center.

Stay tuned for pics! And do come shopping at BITTERSWEET FARM...lots of new things coming in all the time!

Boxes of Bunnies and Bees

LOOK WHAT JUST CAME IN!!!

Ornaments...Plant pokes...

Fun Stuff!!

Transitioning

tran·si·tion   /trænˈzɪʃən, -ˈsɪʃ-/

–noun
1.movement, passage, or change from one position, state, stage, subject, concept, etc., to another; change: the transition from adolescence to adulthood.
 
Or...from winter to spring...or from a mother of young children to a mother of adult children...
 

The word  "trasnsition" popped into my head this morning after going out to the post office to mail a package and realizing that after the past few days being 60+ degrees and sunny, this morning the thermometer on my rear-view mirror said "ice" (which means cold. ~Or 25 degrees, cloudy and windy.)

 

Then the connections formed in my mind, marrying my life stage with the change of seasons. One day is exciting (warm and sunny) and the next day I need to set my mind to focus on the positive because it is cloudy and cold.

 

Excuse me for being stuck on the same subject of my nest emptying. The reality is drawing ever nearer, and it truly is bittersweet on this farm! I am soaking up every minute of Ethan's high school experience, just as I soaked up the sunshine the last few days.

 

On the days when I am contemplating what it will be like next fall with no one to wake up to, (Dale leaves early) and "what will I do with all those empty rooms upstairs?"...I have to set my mind to focus on the positive.

 

Serenity is found in focus...on the new beginning rather than the ending. I have found this to be a great comfort when I have lost family members too. Focus on their new beginning instead of my loss.

 

So for today, though I have to put my coat on to walk out to the shop, I will focus on the days ahead where the daffodils will pop up, and the leaves will make their entrance to color the landscape once again!

 

If you come out to Bittersweet Farm, you will find a variety of spring flowers, baskets, candles, and eggs in the shop (and lots more) to bring sunshine into your home as you transition your decor! And on this chilly day today, enjoy fixing your gaze on the anticipation of new life ahead......

Flowers? Oh My!

SPRING OPEN HOUSE!!

It is hard to believe that we are finally on the brink of spring. Of course it always means a little lime-colored mud on the driveway, but it comes up off the floor quite well (:-))

You are sure to find something to brighten up your house...and a little chocolate on the side!

See previous posts for more photos!

Hours: Friday 10-5 and Saturday 10-4