All Posts By

lori@farmfreshstyle.ca

In Thrifting with Farm Fresh

You Sought & You Found

This thrifting challenge has been a blast!  So many of you took part!  And the best part is I have some new places to go check out!  Let’s see what all you found with your $20!!

I’ll start by backing up a bit first….in case you missed it!!  Winter is long and yard sale season seems soooo far off yet so I decided we needed to have some fun!  A thrifting challenge was in order!  You can read about the challenge HERE and the first update HERE.

Alrighty – let’s see some scores, shall we?

First up, I have to share these YouTube videos from Jann over at Cobwebs and Cords.  I’m just thrilled beyond thrilled that this challenge made it into a video!!  How fun, right? HERE is the first video about accepting the challenge and HERE is the footage from their day out and what all Jann scored…including a Hub Grub lunch 😉 !!!  Now I want to collect those dishes…I love the graphic floral design of them!

Next up, sweet Sheila of The Road to Waterside took part, too.  She hit up the Moncton ReStore and it looks like she’ll be ready for Easter with those sweet wooden rabbits!  The wooden board that everything is sitting on is an old cutting board that she plans on making into a sign, too.  I’m hoping that she’ll share that completed project with us!!

Next we’re going to jump to Cape Breton to Marlene.  There’s no $20 selfie, only neat finds!  She found some prints to add to her collection, and did you notice that turquoise creamer??  And then a sweet glass tray and a pretty, printed box.

Let’s stick to Cape Breton and hop up to Sydney area to see what Krista found!  She is a thrifter by nature, we go back and forth over our love for vintage goodies regularly! When Krista posted her finds on Instagram, she challenged us to give our guesses at the prices she paid.  I was off, waaaaay off!  I knew her budget was $20 and my guesses were way over!  But guys, look at the rolodex!  How awesome is that?? And I love that she picked up the glass dish to help reduce her use of plastics!

Closer to home, Lori, whom I’ve known for a very long time, went thrifting with her Nan.  Now, if you know who that is, you know that Lori went thrifting with the original thrifting queen.  I have been in awe of the scores this entire family have landed for many years.  In fact, Lori’s Aunt Viv and I have spent many Saturday’s out hunting yard sales and the such together.  Lori posted a Boomerang of her $20 selfie and sadly, it took me about a dozen tries to capture this:

Next up we skip over to Truro to Sam.  But Sam didn’t go alone.  Because thrifting is more fun with a friend! Sam and her friend, Suzanne, tackled the challenge together. I think this might be my favourite $20 selfie:

Sam and Suzanne both sent me other selfies, too, but I’m sticking to this one!  Here are Sam’s scores:

I think she got the rest of the plates Jann mentioned in her video!!!  And a Batman figure because why not, right?

Suzanne scored a killer outfit.  That necklace!!!

Holly snagged some great home decor finds!  Look at that mirror!!  And then some brass candle sticks, too!

And last, but certainly not least, Alena! She’s been busy re-doing her living room and had a specific list of items she wants to find for the makeover.  Brass candle sticks, plant pots and the perfect big art, but alas, all she bought was some brass hanging flower pots.  But, as a bonus, her mom did have a few brass candle sticks that she gave her for her mantle! So, she only spent $14.95 so far…I wonder if she’ll let me share her makeover when she’s done….

I’m so happy with the finds that everyone has shared so far!!  If you have taken part, please send the picture over!  We all want to see your new treasures!

I’ll share the rest of my finds soon!  And Hannah’s special find, too!

Colourfully yours,

Lori

 

1 In Adventures/ Blogging

Illuminate Photography Workshop

This past weekend was the first ever Illuminate Photography Workshop and it was fabulous.  If you have kids and a camera, I highly recommend that you take the time to take this workshop so that you don’t miss out on capturing those precious moments.

The workshop was held in the stunning Truro Library, in the midst of the pouring rain.  But it did nothing to dampen our spirits.  We got started right away, introducing ourselves and talking a little about the reasons why we want to learn to take better pictures.  Then Christine and Morgan got right into it, taking us through the basics of switching our camera over to manual so that we can have more creative control over how we take pictures.

I took so many notes!!  I can’t wait to put some of these tips and tricks into practice.  But wait!  They had it planned so we could get some practice in! They had arranged for some models to come to the library so we could watch Morgan and Christine shooting.  They talked us through what they do, how they interact with the kids and lots of hands on experience for us, too.

While we walked around the library, I couldn’t help but snap a couple quick pictures of the detail in the library….I am who I am, right?

When you are taking a workshop, the course content is one thing.  But Christine and Morgan had planned out so much more than just the information for us! They had arranged for snacks, a tasty lunch and a bag of goodies for us, too!  Coffee, tea, fresh baked cookies, crosssiants from Red Knot Bakery for snacks.  Then lunch was put together by Sylvia of Supper By Sylvia – salad and wraps! Soooo tasty!

Our goodie bags were filled up with lots of local love.  Tassel earrings from Assez DeNoeuds, a scrunchie from West Everly Co. which Hannah has since claimed, a coupon for presets from Casa Presets, a handy notebook and pen, chocolates from Appleton Chocolates and a free 11×14 print from Carsand Photo Imaging { my favourite place for prints!! }  So much goodness and completely unexpected!

If you want to improve your skills in the photography department, I highly recommend following the Illuminate Photography Workshop FB page so you don’t miss out on any upcoming workshops.

I’ve moved my camera to a handy location and hope to snap some of the everyday moments with the girls. Sometimes I need something like this course as a kick in the butt to motivate and inspire!

Colourfully yours,

Lori

1 In Decorating/ Life

Valentine’s at Rachel’s Place

There’s a fancy little restaurant in our area that’s only open certain nights.  We were fortunate enough to get in for their Valentine’s Day Special. I thought I’d share our night out with you. 😉

We’ve eaten a few times at this little diner called Rachel’s Place, it looks an awful lot like my parent’s house, although it seems to be ran by small humans that look a lot like my children but it can’t be them as one goes by the name Rachel not Lena. Anyway, the food is always delicious and the service is great.  So when we heard rumours about Valentine’s Day, we knew we wanted to go!

Over a month’s worth of planning went into this special evening.  Lots of text messages flew between Mom { Head Cook } and Rachel/Lena { Head Event Coordinator }, Pinterest was scoured for novel ideas of perfect decorations and tasty beverages.  Items from our house would disappear, only to re-appear at Rachel’s Place.  Whispers would be shushed so no secrets were let out of the bag too early.  Hannah used the majority of her #thriftingwithfarmfresh budget on this big night….decorations and a fancy new dress!  The bar was set high!

After weeks and weeks of planning, finally, it was the day of Valentine’s Day at Rachel’s Place.  I showed up earlier than my handsome date, giving me the chance to photograph the big event.  The decorations didn’t disappoint.  From the minute you pulled in the driveway, you knew you were in for something special!

The menu was definitely extra special for Valentine’s Day.  Cupid’s Float, heart-shaped rolls even!!  A tasty salad followed by meatballs on rice.  All so delicious, 5-star review for the cook!!

It was all so delicious, when I was offered seconds, I thought about it but had heard rumours about lots of choice on the dessert menu, too, so I opted to hold out for dessert instead.  I’m so glad I did!

All in all, it was a lovely evening together with my family.  We all talked about how much work and planning went into the evening and how we all wished it could last longer.  But we will always remember this special Valentine’s Day, it was one for the books….err, the blog!

To Mom, who worked along side the girls and let them run with an idea born out of their imaginations, thank you for cooking for us, yet again, and being such a fabulous sport in all of this!

To Lena and Hannah, I love your imagainations and ability to pull together an amazing dinner, complete with every last detail planned out.  I couldn’t be more proud of you both!

I hope that you all were as spoiled as we were last night!

Colourfully yours,

Lori

 

In Make Something

Cream Puffs Say I love You

Cream Puff is a term of endearment, right? Okay, that might be a stretch, but they certainly say I love You!  And since it’s Valentine’s Day, they’re the perfect treat to make your special Valentine!

I have loved eclairs and cream puffs all my life.  But, I never had attempted to make them until now – I figured they were way to complicated and hard to make.  I’ll admit it, I was wrong!  They are surprisingly simple to make.  And tasty to eat….

Everyone who worries about eating raw eggs, ignore the next sentence, it isn’t for you.  All you who enjoy licking the spoon when you bake, I will warn you, you won’t like the taste of this.  I promise, it tastes like glue.  Wait for the filling or topping, it’s worth it.

Here’s the recipe that my friend, Terrie, sent to me when she mentioned she had made Cream Puffs.  I whipped up a batch and we’ve been enjoying them since!!

Cream Puffs

In a saucepan:

Boil 1 cup water

Add 1/2 cup butter

Bring to a boil again

Add 1 cup flour

Mix until it leaves the side of the pan

Remove from heat

Add 4 eggs, one at a time

Beat until smooth

Drop spoonfuls onto cookies sheet

Bake at 375* for 30-40 minutes

Filling:

Beat 500ml of whipping cream with 1 package vanilla pudding mix until thick

Topping: 

Mix cocoa with icing sugar and water { I honestly just wing this }

Once cream puffs are cool, cut in half with a sharp knife and spread with filling.  Put the top back on and spread the top with the chocolate icing mixture.  Try to share….

Because I wasn’t serving them all at once, I didn’t fill them until just before we ate them.  I put the cream puffs in a sealed container and tucked the filling in the fridge.  That way they stayed fresh and didn’t get soggy.

This is definitely a recipe I will  make again.  Especially if we have company coming or I need to bring a treat to an event.  They were surprisingly simple to make and make a big impression!

How about you, do you love a good cream puff?

Colourfully yours,

Lori

 

In Adventures

Illuminate and Decoy Theatre

Learning new things is always fun!  I’m well into my 40’s and I still want to try different things and get experiences.  And this month I’m involved in two different things that will stretch me and I’m pretty pumped about both!

My friend Christine, of Wonkyeye Photography, and her friend Morgan Webb, of Morgan Webb Photography, are putting on their first Illuminate Photography Workshop and I’m so looking forward to going!  I’ve taken classes from Christine before and her skill and ability to capture her life and the lives of her clients still astounds me.  One would think that after being exposed to Christine’s work all these years I wouldn’t be amazed by her talent but I always am.

Totally stole this picture off their FB Page!!

I want to work on improving my own photography skills so this is super exciting!!  I’m looking forward to soaking up allllll the knowledge I can and putting it into practice.  I was scrolling through their FB page and man – I’m going to be learning from the best!  Added bonus? It’s at the gorgeous Truro Library and my other friend, Sylvia, is providing our lunch!

I’m really hoping to get the boost and refreshed perspective to pick up my camera and play more.  I find I’m only ever shooting because I need a picture of this, that or the other thing for the blog and I’m not shooting for fun or to try new things.  And I miss that creativity behind the lens.

There’s something else, too…but let me start by saying…I have zero theatre experience, zero set design experience and yet, here I am, set designer for an upcoming production in Truro in March!  I’m beyond excited and thrilled with the amazing team I am working alongside.

Yep, stole this one, too 😉

The theatre company is called Decoy Theatre and on March 7 & 8th, they are presenting Daniel MacIvor’s Marion Bridge.  No surprise, I had never heard of Marion Bridge before but I’m learning!  I’m currently collecting props for it and it’s fun to read through the script, pull a list together of random things, think about what they would actually be, as far as the time frame and demographic of the characters then go on the hunt.

Sam Madore and Jennifer Johnson are the amazing women behind Decoy Theatre and I’m thrilled to be working on this with both of them.  I’ve already learned so much and I can’t wait to see the production come together!  I watched a run through of the first Act and even though I know what happens, I still cried!!!  The actresses are just so incredible!

I hope you’ll consider booking into the Illuminate Photography Workshop, I hear there are a couple of spots left for Saturday, which you can book HERE.  And please come out to support this amazing theatre group in March, you can snag your tickets HERE.

I hope you stretch yourself and learn something new!

Colourfully yours,

Lori