have yourself a vintage little CHRISTmas...

I thought y'all might like to see my Christmas decor...

I don't know if I told you...

but...

Little Sis & I traded rooms...

so now I'm in the basement...

(I love it, by the way!)

I didn't put any lights on my tree this year...

(I know I'm crazy!) ^_~

I strung my big vintage style colored lights from the ceiling.

Here is a closeup of my knitting nook!

It's quite cozy...

though it's really hard to knit when kitty keeps

trying to jump on my lap!

Check out the cool mason jar lamp

my friend Miss A made me!(Above)
tee hee...
I think I'm purdy funny!
^_^

I hope you enjoy these photos!
(I have put "antique" and "spotlight" effects on them.)

P.S.
Did you know yesterday (the 16th) was my 1st anniversary of blogging?!?!
Well it was!
^_~

Have a very Merry CHRISTmas,
if I don't talk to y'all before then!

Much Luv,
~The Hickory Hill FarmGirl ^_^

My favorite little model...

Today I did a "photo shoot" with my niece Abbey!

The camera loves her!

...and she loves the camera!

(She kept trying to grab it!)

^_~

Though when she saw

big brother Wesley

playing in the snow...

She tried to escape!

...but overall I think she had fun!

Both of the baby dress shown here

are avaible for purchase at my etsy shop!

a vintage farmhouse Christmas...

It's been way too long since my last post...

I'm soooooo sorry! :(

You may have seen on my sister's blog Blessings_in_AbunDANCE...

She and I are going to be participating in a small craft show this Saturday!

It's at Aunt P's coffee shop

"the coffeE cup"

at 505 Edward Street in Henry, IL.

(From 9 AM- 3 PM)

Hope to see you there!

(If you're from my neck of the woods!)

^_~

Tanner's '09

Mums on a crate...

note what the crate says!

Wes on the vintage fire truck...

Thanks!

Thanks to everyone who prayed for me (& Momma!)

I'm doing very well.

All I had to do was go in to the hospital....

take a pill of radioactive iodine...

then stay home for a week.

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In other news...

I just listed a lot of 3 vintage magazines on etsy

1 Better Homes & Gardens

2 American magazines

Here is one:

...

Well...

tomorrow is the day...

at 12:30 I'll go take a pill of radioactive iodine...

Then I'll be housebound for a whole week..

(which I'm actually looking foward to...I love being home)

I'm not nervous at all...

(probable because a lot of people are praying!)

Momma is nervous though...

Please pray for her...

^_^

The Town and COUNTRY Bag...and a prayer request...

I'm pretty excited about my new bag on etsy!

It's a new design...I like it much better than former attempts.

^_^

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Also, yesterday I went with Dad down in our woods...

he drove the lawn tractor down...

I road in the wagon!

hee hee hee...

Sorry it still amuses me!

Mom made me ride down...

because recently I've went to an endocrinologist...

it turns out I have hyperthyroidism...

which means my thyroid is putting out too much thyroid hormone...

which makes pretty much everything my body run too fast...

including my appetite (bigger clothes size)...

and my heart...

hence I can't walk up the hill, because

my poor heart is working harder than it should anyway...

I would appreciate prayers from those of you who know the Lord.

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Well...anyhoo!

It was so beautiful down there!

I picked up some leaves for my fall decor.

Let me know what y'all think of the new purse design.

(As always, they are available for custom order!)

Autumn Homespun

on etsy !!!

Poultry Pics!

I thought this one turned out really well!

Stinky (the rooster) looks like he has a fro.

ha ha! ^_^ ha ha!

This little hen is my favorite!

"Do you mind?!? I'm trying to eat!"

and...(!)

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The 1st Americana egg!!!

(Isn't it cute?)

This is all I have time to post for now...

check back to see the vintage goodies

I got at my favorite antique back on Labor Day!!

Sorry!

I'm so sorry I haven't written a post for such a long time! I'm planning on writing a long one with *lots* of photos...if I get time today.
First I have to:
*Make/Can Spiced Tomato Sauce (before it gets too hot in here!!)
*Finish my niece Abbey's new carseat cover. (Photos to follow!)
*Hem some pants for my Great Grandma (An excellent seamstress in her own right who has handed over her handwork to me...she's 88!)
Soooo I better quit "fartin' around" on the 'puter and get goin'!!!

<3 Michelle

Cute~sters!

We're new!

and we're on

birds of the air's

etsy_shop!

Did ya miss me?

Whew!

Sorry it's been so long!

Aug 15th was my birthday,

and since then it seems like

I've been super busy lately!

Hmmm...

I haven't really much of anything to say...

so...

I guess you can just look at this silly old picture.

^_^

"Wanna start a band?"

hee hee! ^_~

Y

FG Choretime apron(s), Iowa, Antiques, Bed & Breakfast...whew!

Just to warn y'all...this is a looooooong post! ^_^

Just listed:
(New sizes!)

Small,

Medium,
&

Large

on

etsy

!!!

I've had a CrAzY busy weekend/ beginning of the week...
Friday we drove out to Iowa for a wedding...

Stayed over night...

Had a fun time!

Sorry for the creepy-ness of this photo.

It was so dark in the hotel room that my pics didn't come out very well.

Stopped for lunch on the way home at

the Iowa Machine Shed.

It was so Gooooood!

I loved the decor...

the waitresses all wore overalls!

(didn't get any photos of them though, woopsies!)

Here's my sister Beth and my niece Abbey...

Isn't she the cuteness!
We had to stop at this antique mall, too...

it was in a beautiful old building...

My momma & daddy...

Lil sister...

I didn't get anything but there were plenty of things
I wouldn't have minded taking home! ^_^

Last night (Monday)
Two of my sisters (Aimee and Kelsey), my cousin Hannah, and I stayed overnight at Mission_Oak_Inn

"A Country Bed and Breakfast"

in Henry, IL.

It was soooo nice!

I (like a dummy) didn't bring my camera so no photos...

Just click on the link to their website to look at their beautiful photos!

For dinner last night we had chicago style pizza...it was amazing!

For breakfast...Banana Split Crepes!

To die for!

I highly recommend!

The Cowgirl Apron

New!

On...Etsy!

and the winner is...

Christy Lee!

Congratulations!

I hope you enjoy your goodies!

Y

!!!

Today is the last day to enter the Give~away! I will draw tomorrow at 8 am. (Central time)

Get you comments in before midnight tonight!

Just thought i should add...

(Here's another sample from the vintage magazine in the give~away! ^_^)

To be in the give-away drawing you MUST leave a comment in the prior post (here) ...being a fan on Facebook is just extra credit. (I don't want to enter people that don't want to be entered!)

give~away...GiVe~AwAy...GIVE~AWAY!!!

Okay...

here's the scoop...

3 fab vintage finds for 1 lucky winner!

Just leave a comment below this post for a chance at winning.

If you are a fan of birds of the air on Facebook

you get entered again!

Here is the link for Facebook... ^_^

I will draw the winner on

Saturday 8-1-09!

YAHOO!!

Don't you just LUV these vintage decals?

This sewing book is from 1960.

It is very informative for new sewers...

you could also use the fab illustrations

inside for mixed media art & whatnot...

Here's a sample of what's inside~

and..

a vintage Collier's magazine from January 13, 1951...

it has the cool cowgirl picture from the previous post,

and much more!

Here's another beautiful illustration in there~

yippee-ky-yay!

Coming soon...

a give away!

Hooray!

Are those my legs...

Or am I riding a chicken?!?
^_~ heeheehee!


Oswald & I
at the 4th of July carnival in Henry, IL.

I need me one of these babies!

it's PINK!

^_^

A dozen mini pies for the 4th of July...

Pies are one of my favorite things to make...

I used to work at little bakery...

I was the "Pie Lady" ^_^

My secret for old fashioned pie goodness is LARD CRUST!

My Grandma Linda gave me her recipe for lard pie dough...

it's the BEST!

One of the greatest things about it is it makes 5-6 crusts.

It only took one batch of dough for all 12 mini pies.

Grandma Linda's Lard Pie Crust

5c flour

4t sugar

1/2t baking soda

1/2t salt

1 1/2c lard (I use Field)

2 egg yolks

Ice water

Combine dry ingredients and cut in lard. Put egg yolks in a 1c measuring cup.

Beat with a fork until smooth. Blend in enough cold water to make 1 cupful.

Sprinkle gradually over flour mixture. Toss with a fork to make a soft dough.

Roll out as usual. Be careful to handle as little as possible, or the dough will be tough.

Make 5-6 single pie crusts or about 12 mini pie crusts.

Hickrory Hill FarmGirl's Apple Pie

6c peeled, cored, & thinly sliced granny smith apples

1/2c sugar

1/4c brown sugar

2 T flour, heaping

1T lemon juice

1/2t cinnamon

1/4t nutmeg

Mix it all together in a large bowl and let it set

for a few minutes while you prepare a single crust,

and crumb topping:

*1/2c flour

*1/2c brown sugar

Mix together in small bowl,

cut in

*1/4c butter.

Give the apple filling another stir and plop it into the unbaked crust,

and cover with the crumb mixture.

Bake at 375 degrees F

for 40 minutes covered with foil

then

20 mintutes uncovered.

(Or til it's bubbling in the middle)

Tip: Put the pie dish on a baking sheet so it will catch the drips.

Enjoy!

~The Hickory Hill FarmGirl

^_~