tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-71071663051950421102024-03-14T01:13:54.944-05:00Craft in a Northern TownCooking, crafting and raising a family...all in a northern townJill @ Craft in a Northern Townhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17352269206169302592noreply@blogger.comBlogger93125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7107166305195042110.post-57395787140396184622015-10-06T00:18:00.000-05:002015-10-06T00:18:36.428-05:00Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins and Costco Flowers<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">According to Blogger, my last published post was February 26, 2014. Huh. I knew it had been a while, but it didn't think it was THAT long ago. Oh, well. Life happens. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">RC is in 4th grade (how the hell did THAT happen?) and brings a snack every day. Most of the time this snack consists of granola bars and fruit snacks. I've been trying to think of things for him to take that are easy, tasty (i.e. have chocolate in them) and aren't totally horrible for him. I've made <a href="http://www.yammiesnoshery.com/2013/09/healthy-100-calorie-double-fudge-banana.html#more" target="_blank">these double fudge banana muffins</a> from Yammie's Noshery and they are fantastic. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;">I was telling my mom how awesome those fudge banana muffins were and she mentioned the pumpkin chocolate chip ones she made when we were kids. I asked for the recipe last week and finally got around to making them this week. And, they are a hit! Seriously, how can you go wrong with pumpkin AND chocolate chips. It's a match made in heaven. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;">They are super easy and very tasty.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;"><strong>Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins</strong></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana;">1 Box Spice Cake Mix </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana;">1 C pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana;">2/3 C water</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana;">2 eggs</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana;">6 oz chocolate chips</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;">Mix cake mix, pumpkin, water and eggs together. Stir in chocolate chips. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;">Bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Makes 12-16 muffins. (I use an ice cream scoop to fill the muffin tins and got 16 out of this batch.)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;">This was my attempt at food styling. I took a large plate, a cereal bowl turned upside down and a small plate and put them on a beverage stand my sister got for me on clearance at Target. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;">On a totally different topic, I love Costco flowers. I'm no <a href="http://tulipina.com/" target="_blank">Tulipina</a>, but using these flowers makes me happy. (Her arrangements are amazing. Her Instagram feed just makes me happy everyday.)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;">Our grocery store chain, <a href="https://www.hornbachers.com/departments/gift-card-floral.html" target="_blank">Hornbacher's</a> does a good job too, but Costco has some fantastic $15 flowers. These are the flowers DH and the kids brought home today. DH was surprised at how full it was. He almost bought two thinking they would make a small arrangement at home. I love them. I think they are perfect. I use a trick I read in my Better Homes and Gardens magazine a couple of years ago. I make a scotch tape grid and fill it in. They always turn out awesome. (And since it's almost Halloween, you have to have Halloween salt and pepper shakers. These guys make me smile.)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;">Hope everyone is enjoying the cooler weather and beautiful colors this fall. I've also been thinking about the southeast since we have friends and family that are getting a lot of rain and flooding. Stay safe!</span><br />
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</span><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><span id="goog_1576597161"></span><span id="goog_1576597162"><br /></span></span>Jill @ Craft in a Northern Townhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17352269206169302592noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7107166305195042110.post-44449657442301446772014-02-26T21:07:00.001-06:002014-02-26T21:07:31.004-06:00Book It!<br />
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Anyone remember the <a href="http://www.bookitprogram.com/">Pizza Hut Book It reading program</a>? Did you know it’s still around? I had no clue. I was thinking about writing a post on the books I’ve read lately and it popped into my head. My sister and I were champion Book It-ers. It was a treat to go to Pizza Hut when we were young, so having our Book It coupons was great. Pepperoni personal pan pizza please! <br />
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Which made me wonder, what if we had a grown-up Book It program? Where the reward was free wine instead of free pizza? That would be awesome! Count me in! <br />
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Until that happens, I guess I’ll have to settle for paying for my wine. <br />
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Every six weeks or so a group of us get together to talk books. We meet a restaurant (or resternaunt as Peach likes to say) so no one has to cook or prep or chase after kids and we chat about the book we read. We gather around with our Nooks, Kindles and iPads pulling out favorite quotes and questioning character’s decisions. I think each of us has our own genre that we tend to read the most, but we all come together to pick out something that we may not have picked on our own. <br />
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Since joining this lovely group of ladies, we’ve read:<br />
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<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Language-Flowers-Novel-Vanessa-Diffenbaugh-ebook/dp/B004J4WLB4/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1393352053&sr=1-1&keywords=the+language+of+flowers">The Language of Flowers by Vanessa Diffenbaugh</a><br />
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/East-Penguin-Twentieth-Century-Classics-ebook/dp/B001BC5HXG/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1393352073&sr=1-1&keywords=east+of+eden">East of Eden by John Steinbeck</a> </div>
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<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Bastard-Istanbul-Elif-Shafak-ebook/dp/B001AYCDJQ/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1393352098&sr=1-1&keywords=the+bastard+of+istanbul">The Bastard of Istanbul by Elif Shafak</a> <br />
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<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Distant-Hours-Novel-Kate-Morton-ebook/dp/B003V1WTMM/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1393352115&sr=1-1&keywords=the+distant+hour">The Distant Hours by Kate Morton</a> <br />
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<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Gone-Girl-Novel-Gillian-Flynn-ebook/dp/B006LSZECO/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1393352129&sr=1-1&keywords=gone+girl">Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn</a> <br />
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<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Light-Between-Oceans-Novel-ebook/dp/B0064CL1T2/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1393352143&sr=1-1&keywords=a+light+between+oceans">A Light Between Oceans by M.L. Stedman</a> <br />
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<a href="http://www.amazon.com/House-Sand-Fog-Andre-Dubus-ebook/dp/B00421BN7M/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1393352158&sr=1-1&keywords=house+of+sand">House of Sand and Fog by Andre Dubus III</a> <br />
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<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Tell-Wolves-Im-Home-Novel-ebook/dp/B005QPI9ZW/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1393352172&sr=1-1&keywords=tell+the+wolves+i%27m+home">Tell the Wolves I'm Home by Carol Rifka Brunt</a> <br />
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<a href="http://www.amazon.com/House-Scorpion-Nancy-Farmer-ebook/dp/B003L77USE/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1393352191&sr=1-1&keywords=the+house+of+the+scorpion">The House of the Scorpion by Nancy Farmer</a> <br />
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<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Giver-Lois-Lowry/dp/B00AHG3UYA/ref=la_B000AP6Y8C_1_6?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1393352382&sr=1-6">The Giver by Lois Lowry</a> <br />
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<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Orphan-Train-Christina-Baker-Kline-ebook/dp/B0089LOG02/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1393352652&sr=1-1&keywords=orphan+train">Orphan Train by Christina Baker Kline</a><br />
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There are some goodies in that list. And a couple that I wasn’t a fan of <cough (House of Sand and Fog) cough>. But they have all helped me to branch out into books I may not have read otherwise. Our next two books are <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Defending-Jacob-Novel-William-Landay-ebook/dp/B0050DIWFC/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1393469389&sr=1-1&keywords=defending+jacob">Defending Jacob by William Landay</a> and <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Hangmans-Daughter-Oliver-P%C3%B6tzsch-ebook/dp/B003P9XMFI/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1393469490&sr=1-1&keywords=hangmans+daughter">The Hangman’s Daughter by Oliver Pötzsch</a>.</div>
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Along with the book club books, my Kindle has been getting a workout recently between traveling for work and vacation (Ah, Mexico, how I miss you!). Here’s what I’ve read lately:</div>
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<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Undomestic-Goddess-Sophie-Kinsella-ebook/dp/B000FCKBCU/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1393353376&sr=1-1&keywords=undomestic+goddess">The Undomestic Goddess by Sophie Kinsella</a></div>
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<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Kitchen-Daughter-Jael-McHenry-ebook/dp/B0043RSJQS/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1393353414&sr=1-1&keywords=the+kitchen+daughter">The Kitchen Daughter by Jael McHenry</a></div>
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<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Splendour-Falls-Susanna-Kearsley-ebook/dp/B00F8HUAFA/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1393353432&sr=1-1&keywords=the+splendour+falls">The Splendour Falls by Susanna Kearsley</a></div>
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<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Lost-Lake-Sarah-Addison-Allen-ebook/dp/B00F1R9AWG/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1393353454&sr=1-1&keywords=Lost+lake">Lost Lake by Sarah Addison Allen</a> </div>
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<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Barefoot-Season-Blackberry-Island-novel-ebook/dp/B006YAB806/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1393353471&sr=1-1&keywords=barefoot+season">Barefoot Season by Susan Mallery</a></div>
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<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Dressmaker-Kate-Alcott-ebook/dp/B005IEGU2U/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1393469596&sr=1-1&keywords=the+dressmaker+by+kate+alcott">The Dressmaker by Kate Alcott</a><br />
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Sarah Addison Allen is one of my favorite authors. I gobble up her books as soon as they come out. Right now I’m reading <a href="http://www.amazon.com/White-Queen-Philippa-Gregory-ebook/dp/B002L6M27K/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1393353507&sr=1-1&keywords=white+queen">The White Queen by Philippa Gregory</a>. I’ve had it and <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Red-Queen-Philippa-Gregory-ebook/dp/B003LL3KQQ/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1393354584&sr=8-2&keywords=the+red+queen">The Red Queen</a> on my list for quite a while and finally bit the bullet. (To see what else is on my to-read list, check out my <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/7590015-jill">GoodReads page</a>.) </div>
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Whew. That’s a lotta books. I deserve a glass of wine just for writing about all of them!</div>
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Oh, one last thing…so excited about the new <a href="https://www.facebook.com/OutlanderTVSeries.starz">Outlander</a> series on starz! Loved those <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Outlander-7-Book-Bundle-Dragonfly-Voyager-ebook/dp/B009C9C77E/ref=sr_1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1393353828&sr=1-3&keywords=outlander+series">books by Diana Gabaldon</a>. </div>
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What books are you reading? Anything I should add to my list?</div>
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Jill @ Craft in a Northern Townhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17352269206169302592noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7107166305195042110.post-18428930922181175262014-02-24T13:45:00.000-06:002014-02-24T13:45:12.894-06:00Knock knock...anybody out there?I thought about doing a big update post on what's been going on the last <strike>9</strike> 10 months (I started this post back in January. Sigh.), but <strike>I'm too lazy to edit all those pictures</strike> it was too hard to think of everything.<br /><br /><br />So, I'm using this post as a fresh start! <br /><br /><br />Around the first of the year, I was thinking about all of the stuff I want to do and what I want to be when I grow up. As luck would have it, the interweb was full of ideas on how to make the most of 2014. Too many ideas. To the point where I just tuned it all out. Until I came across <a href="http://theartofsimple.net/simple-new-year/" target="_blank">Tsh's post</a>. It wasn't really about resolutions, but more about keeping it simple. It was just what I needed. I also re-read <a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/B005F0H7BK/?tag=mh0b-20&hvadid=2478760192&ref=pd_sl_3gw14boqai_e" target="_blank">Tell Your Time</a>.<br />
<em>(I have a confession to make. I like to think of myself as a spontaneous, go-with-the-flow, free-spirit. I mean isn’t that what “creative” people are supposed to be? But the truth is, I’m kind of Type-A. I like things neat and tidy. And lists. And instructions. And plans. And organization. So, reading stuff like that helps me to focus.)</em> <br />
After digesting them and making a few notes (yes, I took notes), I realized how much I miss blogging. It’s fun to write about what’s been going on at our house. It’s not like I’ve stopped being crafty. I’m still making pillows, spray painting lamps and changing stuff around the house. I just stopped writing about it. So, I'm going to try to balance it with all the other stuff we've got going on as a family, and hopefully I can make it work! <br /><br />Wish me luck! Say a prayer! Keep your fingers (and toes) crossed! <br /><br />There are a couple of little things that I do want to share. I just can't help myself.<br /><br />I was the "photographer" at my brother's wedding last fall. It was outside and soooo pretty. Here are a few of my favorite shots. <br /><br /><a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-PJXN6sNA2pI/Uwufd1htWKI/AAAAAAAAA0o/_r-w65X3ItU/s1600-h/weddingcollage%25255B8%25255D.jpg"><img alt="weddingcollage" border="0" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-LAxsxy2fcJ0/UwufetAK6qI/AAAAAAAAA0w/eUvQSyAQ34k/weddingcollage_thumb%25255B4%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" height="480" style="border-width: 0px; display: inline;" title="weddingcollage" width="480" /></a><br /><span id="goog_93594262"></span><span id="goog_93594263"><br /></span><br />And, I made a cute little printable while on Christmas break. I did search for Irish blessings and then used the <a href="http://www.picmonkey.com/" target="_blank">PicMonkey</a> free design feature (it rocks!)for the graphics piece. <br />
<a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-A1hlPicUMFI/UwuffUCGAlI/AAAAAAAAA04/euRK9ZMdq50/s1600-h/blessing%25255B4%25255D.jpg"><img alt="blessing" border="0" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-DdaNMBmXQP8/Uwuff58EdxI/AAAAAAAAA1A/tzRNgEGM8N8/blessing_thumb%25255B2%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" height="480" style="border-width: 0px; display: inline;" title="blessing" width="480" /></a> <br /><br /><br /><br />P.S. Did you notice the new blog header? What do you think?<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><span id="goog_1903782731"><br /></span><br /><span id="goog_816736860"></span><span id="goog_816736861"><br /></span><br /><span id="goog_1903782732"><br /></span>Jill @ Craft in a Northern Townhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17352269206169302592noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7107166305195042110.post-11192812814762279042013-04-14T22:49:00.000-05:002013-04-15T10:01:35.880-05:00Who do you belong to?<br />
This is what’s its doing here today. April 14, 2013 and it’s a blizzard outside. Gross. <br />
<a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-6FZLm_rwnEE/UWt2MGnjmkI/AAAAAAAAAxA/4hS3KHHmQpI/s1600-h/winterwillneverend%25255B4%25255D.jpg"><img alt="winterwillneverend" border="0" height="484" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-vLCaq0Q-KKk/UWt2OROW5_I/AAAAAAAAAxI/n5zZWkOr0I0/winterwillneverend_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-width: 0px; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="winterwillneverend" width="286" /></a><br />
But, on the bright side, all my homework is done, the house is clean, the laundry is humming along and the kids are playing. <br />
<br />
I puttered around the house after we got home from church and as I was putting away a cookbook, I came across one my mom and dad got us for Christmas. It’s a family cookbook put together by one of my dad’s cousins. And to my surprise, not only does it have some great recipes, but it’s also got some great family history incorporated in it. <br />
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Here’s the cover:<br />
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<a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-8b2RDeM2gUU/UWt2OwNGXPI/AAAAAAAAAxQ/7Hd6AC_abh0/s1600-h/cookbookcover%25255B4%25255D.jpg"><img alt="cookbookcover" border="0" height="484" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-SAOIdHaQdXg/UWt2P1ChR_I/AAAAAAAAAxY/zAlkpsMDbRI/cookbookcover_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-width: 0px; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="cookbookcover" width="309" /></a><br />
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My great-grandma is Jannet (pronounced Janette) and she was my dad’s grandma. <br />
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Here’s a picture of her a little bit older (from a page in the cookbook):<br />
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<a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-A9i6FmrhfNs/UWt2Q2FzpNI/AAAAAAAAAxg/WohnJaWUF1A/s1600-h/great%252520grandma%25255B3%25255D.png"><img alt="great grandma" border="0" height="364" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-ZR-vq6hg6lQ/UWt2Rv19NWI/AAAAAAAAAxo/b8B-nwnNd-o/great%252520grandma_thumb%25255B1%25255D.png?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-width: 0px; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="great grandma" width="644" /></a><br />
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These old picture crack me up. They look so stiff and stern (and maybe they were). <br />
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Every other page has a picture or story about the family and all of the recipes are “family” recipes. Each includes the author and who they belong to. (Don’t you love going to family reunions and being asked who you belong to?)<br />
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My grandpa died when I was 7, but my dad and my mom have told me all kinds of stories about him. I wish I would’ve gotten to know him as a grown up. <br />
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<a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-g7fpk1tsqtU/UWt2SjmYPnI/AAAAAAAAAxw/815-ctSnMkI/s1600-h/grandpa%252520moore2%25255B3%25255D.png"><img alt="grandpa moore2" border="0" height="364" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-bQ8UCt2CQvk/UWt2TFa6arI/AAAAAAAAAx4/8XJVo-L4Dws/grandpa%252520moore2_thumb%25255B1%25255D.png?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-width: 0px; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="grandpa moore2" width="644" /></a><br />
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One of my favorite bits I came across was about scones. (Oh, how I love scones.)<br />
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<em>“Scone: This is an old Scottish every-day recipe meant to be made on top of the stove as contrasted to the fancier Scottish and English scones made with eggs and cream and cooked in ovens. (Stoves with ovens would have been rare among he early highland crofters.) It is usually cooked in an iron skilling and served warm with butter and honey. </em><br />
<em>It has been said that in the olden days, a good Scottish Homemaker seeing visitors coming down the road could have a fresh scone mixed up and on the stone plus water on in the time it took her husband to meet the guests at the door, take their coats and invite them in for a cup of tea.”</em> <br />
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I’m a sentimental person and this just tugged at me. <br />
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One more picture, cause all I see is my brother in my grandpa in this one. (My grandpa is in the plaid shirt and grandma is to his right with the awesome glasses.)<br />
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<a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-0jtYht1VJMA/UWt2TkcxRAI/AAAAAAAAAyA/W19AmqBtdGo/s1600-h/myfamily%25255B4%25255D.jpg"><img alt="myfamily" border="0" height="484" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-qeSCtCRWyqg/UWt2UEzdWtI/AAAAAAAAAyI/BlA8o56dl-k/myfamily_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-width: 0px; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="myfamily" width="288" /></a><br />
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This was probably taken in the mid to late 1960s. When I asked my dad why he wasn’t there, he figured he’d reached the age where he was too cool to go to family reunions. Remember being that age? <br />
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If you’ve got old recipes or cookbooks, read them, pass them on to your kids. There’s nothing better than reading through your own history. Every little tidbit helps to understand where you come from and who you belong to. Jill @ Craft in a Northern Townhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17352269206169302592noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7107166305195042110.post-12500968688790574592013-01-03T21:11:00.000-06:002013-01-03T21:11:47.633-06:00hi.<br />
No post since July. I know. I’m a horrible blogger. We’ve had a very busy house the last few months. And sometimes living life is more important than documenting life. <br />
Anywho, here’s what’s been going on.<br />
<strong>August</strong><br />
Peachy turned 2. RC started first grade. And I went back to school. At 36. What was I thinking? Oh, yeah. I was thinking maybe it was time to get a degree. So, I enrolled in an online degree program. So far, so good, but it doesn’t leave much free time after working full time and trying to keep things together at home. Sparky’s been great though. He knows just when I need encouragement and support. <br />
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<a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-jL5Xm0lDH54/UOZFJkJ38-I/AAAAAAAAAsk/EpTAX6sOTLE/s1600-h/DSC_01249.jpg"><img alt="DSC_0124" border="0" height="426" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-ZvPsHTJJ-D4/UOZFKIhyZ_I/AAAAAAAAAss/D4CB-niJcaY/DSC_0124_thumb6.jpg?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-width: 0px; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="DSC_0124" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-j1jT5elPsDs/UOZFKnHWaeI/AAAAAAAAAs0/ekqXeP9dAng/s1600-h/DSC_02019.jpg"><img alt="DSC_0201" border="0" height="480" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-S1O0IKft45E/UOZFLLnmt3I/AAAAAAAAAs8/BYbUwUGPtrY/DSC_0201_thumb3.jpg?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-width: 0px; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="DSC_0201" width="319" /></a></div>
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I also did a little transformation on an old candle stick and table top. I decided to try my hand at making my own chalk paint. I’m not sure if I’d do it again. It’s ok, but not the exact look I was going for. Definitely good enough for now though! (<em>And now, a few months later, I’m ready to repaint it something lighter and move it to a different spot.)</em><br />
<a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-l1gxR2UYJao/UOZFMG9Bi1I/AAAAAAAAAtE/qPgH8ose9PM/s1600-h/DSC_0279%25255B4%25255D.png"><img alt="DSC_0279" border="0" height="426" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-1BjzBrmORJM/UOZFNICTsbI/AAAAAAAAAtM/lrro4-dNMcU/DSC_0279_thumb%25255B2%25255D.png?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="DSC_0279" width="640" /></a><br />
<strong><a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-RxX-DEBL3kc/UOZFN1deFRI/AAAAAAAAAtU/fsLxE06Tnfg/s1600-h/side%252520table%25255B4%25255D.png"><img alt="side table" border="0" height="480" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-rvg-ShSczBU/UOZFOgzx_6I/AAAAAAAAAtc/MLSzEbdVg7Y/side%252520table_thumb%25255B2%25255D.png?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="side table" width="319" /></a></strong><br />
<strong></strong><br />
<strong>September</strong><br />
My SIL got married! Yay! RC was the ring bearer and Peachy was the flower girl. And I took the pictures. (Yikes! I was pretty nervous, but they turned out great.) It was a beautiful fall day and we had a wonderful time. <br />
<a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-x29S0HOBCYs/UOZFPI7FRFI/AAAAAAAAAtk/VE7NVDXyfr8/s1600-h/park%25255B5%25255D.jpg"><img alt="park" border="0" height="426" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-s2M2ddU4AIs/UOZFPrBnF_I/AAAAAAAAAts/6bfn9YLDM8s/park_thumb%25255B2%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="park" width="640" /></a><a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-qcT-Ka-BHgY/UOZFQgPHJ6I/AAAAAAAAAt0/0dTj6yZKCPw/s1600-h/pickup%25255B4%25255D.png"><img alt="pickup" border="0" height="426" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-43a0dmiGWWQ/UOZFRevjSLI/AAAAAAAAAt8/yby_RKb7PTI/pickup_thumb%25255B2%25255D.png?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="pickup" width="640" /></a><a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-1pd3AaalAjs/UOZFS3--gqI/AAAAAAAAAuE/PjC4WaGrVaw/s1600-h/rings2%25255B4%25255D.png"><img alt="rings2" border="0" height="426" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-dCwQ3ZGCxxA/UOZFT7LWk2I/AAAAAAAAAuM/zwecA3_ytAo/rings2_thumb%25255B2%25255D.png?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="rings2" width="640" /></a><br />
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We also did a little DIY in late September. The main floor half bath was driving both Sparky and I ca-ra-zy. The closet and it’s door just weren’t working. We purged, painted and hung curtains. We’ve still got some accessorizing to do, but really love the way it turned out. <br />
<a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-tD_f7MWrTWA/UOZFUqtQvUI/AAAAAAAAAuU/L9anc4AtUdk/bathroom%252520before%25255B4%25255D.png?imgmax=800"><img alt="bathroom before" border="0" height="480" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-4_kx6iC3j90/UOZFY8WL4BI/AAAAAAAAAuc/xqXhLEiCcok/bathroom%252520before_thumb%25255B2%25255D.png?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="bathroom before" width="319" /></a><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-Esjuf_a8DEw/UOZFZ3WTykI/AAAAAAAAAuk/Sj86js7OOkI/s1600-h/bathroom%25255B4%25255D.png"><img alt="bathroom" border="0" height="426" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-eeEkXRgBpOo/UOZFbwPlQ-I/AAAAAAAAAus/7sg9MqNpVnI/bathroom_thumb%25255B2%25255D.png?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="bathroom" width="640" /></a><a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-SX2-jCw2BH4/UOZFcmKnptI/AAAAAAAAAu0/ZRUaH9OQNPw/s1600-h/DSC_0651%25255B4%25255D.png"><img alt="DSC_0651" border="0" height="480" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-2tpJHUA4h-0/UOZFdKIwybI/AAAAAAAAAu8/INwtMydUxRY/DSC_0651_thumb%25255B2%25255D.png?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="DSC_0651" width="319" /></a><br />
<strong><a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-Aj4Ggzxs5R0/UOZFeLH9YII/AAAAAAAAAvE/IZi8IIkX-z4/s1600-h/closet%25255B8%25255D.png"><img alt="closet" border="0" height="480" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-Bu2CYoUz1bw/UOZFe1wOibI/AAAAAAAAAvM/pIl-HUAECrg/closet_thumb%25255B4%25255D.png?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="closet" width="319" /></a></strong><br />
<strong>October</strong><br />
We decided it was time for a party. So we had an adult only costume party. It was a blast. Sparky and I were The Bundys. I had a lot of fun doing some spooky decorations. Vivienne at <a href="http://www.thevspotblog.com/">The V Spot</a> was my inspiration. She’s got great Halloween decorating ideas! No pictures of the party itself…needless to say some of the guests wouldn’t appreciate their pictures posted all over the interwebs. <br />
I spray painted some branches from our yard black, spray painted a faux pumpkin white then used $1 Store spiders, bats and webs to finish it off. The raven is from Wal-Mart, the lantern is a left over from my SIL’s wedding, and the candelabra is from TJMaxx. The skull candle holder was a prize Sparky won for best costume at a Halloween party a couple of years back. He was a great Fred Flintstone. (Oh, and the mirror is a new addition over the buffet. We bought it from a friend of my SIL’s for pretty cheap and spray painted it white.)<br />
<a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-sD4mJ8PBIzc/UOZFfjU-7FI/AAAAAAAAAvU/ZZNDDMv7dbE/s1600-h/entry%252520table%25255B5%25255D.jpg"><img alt="entry table" border="0" height="426" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/--ZToGFIg3KQ/UOZFgOGOKSI/AAAAAAAAAvc/6bdPWxWvM3o/entry%252520table_thumb%25255B2%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="entry table" width="640" /></a><br />
<strong>I’ve been updating the Irish blessing I keep by the door for each season/occasion. It’s been fun seeing what’s out there. I do a Bing search and type it up in Microsoft Word. Then, I use the same white frame and just swap out the blessing and mat (aka scrapbook paper). </strong><br />
<a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-NT5DNi2Onu4/UOZFgkYlAxI/AAAAAAAAAvk/XGr0NI3sCq0/s1600-h/irish%252520blessing%25255B11%25255D.jpg"><img alt="irish blessing" border="0" height="480" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-DyBtiBxSkrg/UOZFg45ipqI/AAAAAAAAAvs/sOEDS_yfyLg/irish%252520blessing_thumb%25255B5%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="irish blessing" width="319" /></a><br />
<strong></strong><br />
<strong>November</strong><br />
Thanksgiving really snuck up on me this year. We hosted my parents and my SIL’s family. The day before I scrounged around the house to find some fall-ish, Thanksgiving-ish decorations. (I should’ve taken a picture of the table all set! It was really pretty. Sigh.) I ended up with burlap, fake leaves, and gourds. <br />
<a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-iM3xJtnY6Tc/UOZFhYfQpaI/AAAAAAAAAv0/0giqVHsbQEs/s1600-h/DSC_0829%25255B7%25255D.jpg"><img alt="DSC_0829" border="0" height="480" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-ubs6QoBR8MA/UOZFh_KCZ3I/AAAAAAAAAv8/8k6zmg-wff0/DSC_0829_thumb%25255B4%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="DSC_0829" width="319" /></a><br />
Right before Thanksgiving, I broke out the craft paint and had the kids paint some pictures. I chose fall colors for them to use (green, red, yellow, orange and bronze) and let them go to town. Then, I punched a hole in them and used some twine to hang them up in the dining room. They definitely aren’t hung perfectly straight, but I like them! And RC was so proud to have them hung up.<br />
<a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-KYC0AmEm5NM/UOZFiYzIKqI/AAAAAAAAAwE/iyoTU69dOEg/s1600-h/art%25255B5%25255D.jpg"><img alt="art" border="0" height="480" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-NzX1HHCDnpc/UOZFi2fR_aI/AAAAAAAAAwM/k4AWOyPA7vw/art_thumb%25255B2%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="art" width="319" /></a><br />
<strike>And now, Christmas is only a few weeks away! AAAAAAA! </strike><br />
<strike>Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving!</strike><br />
And now it’s 2013! Yeah, I started this post a month ago and just got back to it. <br />
Christmas was awesome. We had Sparky’s family here on Christmas Eve and then went to my sister’s on Christmas Day. Sparky’s sister from Florida was up and my brother and his fiancé came from Montana. Lots of laughs, lots of wine and lots of Farkle and cards. It was great. <br />
<a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-i4pYw6Z7G54/UOZFjZcGUBI/AAAAAAAAAwU/sxA7_NdsFyY/s1600-h/DSC_0910%25255B5%25255D.jpg"><img alt="DSC_0910" border="0" height="480" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-NUWSvVDg6R0/UOZFj8KlVmI/AAAAAAAAAwc/eXdkQmIV2Vc/DSC_0910_thumb%25255B2%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="DSC_0910" width="278" /></a><br />
I had a 2 week break from school and also took 2 weeks off of work. I was actually at home pretty much the whole time with my kids. From December 22 until January 2. Other than maternity leave, I think that’s the most I’ve been home with them. Gosh, that sounds horrible. And a couple of those days, my <a href="http://3-of-mine.blogspot.com/">seester’s</a> kids and my SIL’s youngest was here too. 6 kids 9 and under. 1 – 9 year old, 1 - 8 year old, 2 - 6 year olds, 2- 2 year olds. Yikes! I don’t know how SAHMs do it. I honestly don’t. They had so much fun though! All of them were asking when they’d get to see the others again.<br />
After everyone left and the kids went back to school and daycare, I had 3 whole days to myself. 3 days! 2 of them are gone. And not much but laundry and workouts have been accomplished. Where does the day go? I have one day left. And I don’t really feel like doing anything. We’ll see how it goes. <br />
I hope everyone has a great 2013 and I’ll try to pop in every once in a while, but can’t make any promises. Applied Statistics and World Religion are in my near future. Oh, and I guess I better get back to work too. <br />
<br />Jill @ Craft in a Northern Townhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17352269206169302592noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7107166305195042110.post-50976528546569660112012-07-24T21:45:00.000-05:002012-07-24T22:46:20.718-05:00The whole 6 yards<br />
After moving into our house a little over a year ago, we didn’t do much to the outside. We (meaning mainly Sparky) had done so much work remodeling the inside that we decided the outside could wait. Remember the <a href="http://craftinanortherntown.blogspot.com/2011/07/well-duh.html" target="_blank">jungle</a> I showed you last year? Yep, still there. <br />
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This summer though, we’d finally had enough. The deck was falling apart and the bushes in the front were taking over in the front of the house. Both of us HATED the front “flower” bed. It was full of rocks and weeds, 25+ year old nasty junipers and other random bushes. Why oh why did everyone plant junipers in the late 70s and early 80s? I can’t believe they looked any better back then. And the smell. Blech.<br />
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I thought that I had all kinds of pictures of the front of the house. Do you think I can find any? Nope. So, bare with the befores. One is scanned from the original sales flyer and one is in the winter. But, hopefully, you’ll still get the idea.<br />
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Imagine almost another 2 years of growth on these things!<br />
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Anyway, we’d talked about tearing just the junipers out and trimming the rest. But I finally said, I don’t care if everything goes. It all looks like <span style="color: #666666;"><strike>sh</strike></span> crap and I'm tired of looking at it. So, that’s what Sparky did. <br />
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I came home from work one day to see this. (These are the pics Sparky took with his cell to send to our family to let them know how crazy we are.)<br />
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And it was WONDERFUL! You could actually see the front door! (You could also see how crappy the front porch is, but that’s a story for another day. Oh, and there's Peachie. Hi Peachie!)<br />
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But, what do we do now? You can see the front of the house, which is great, but now you can also see all the weeds, craptastic rock and is that the foundation? Yikes! The lowest part of that space was right next to the house. Not good. That means, whenever it rains, all the water is going towards the house instead of away from the it. Time to pull out those stumps and get some fill in there! Sparky attached some chain things to the stump and yanked them out with our Jeep. <br />
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Ugh. That looks like a.lot.of.work. <br />
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This is the juniper root ball. I was told it was really heavy. All I know is that I'm glad it and it's nasty green, pee smelling greenery are gone. <br />
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We cleaned up the rock as best we could and called up our friends at <a href="http://www.patioworldusa.com/" target="_blank">Patio World</a> to deliver 6 yards of screened black dirt. Do you know how much dirt 6 yards is? 16,200 pounds. I think the pile was about 4 feet high. (I should’ve taken a picture, but honestly, we didn’t want a reminder of how much dirt we shoveled.) <br />
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First thing we did was fill in the big holes left behind from the bushes. Then, we started filling in the big gap near the foundation of the house. I won’t lie. It sucked. I’m not made for manual labor. It was hot and it made my back hurt. At one point, Sparky said, “My old man taught me how to do a lot of stuff. The <insert bad word>. If he hadn’t, we could’ve hired all this stuff out.” To which I replied, “If he hadn’t, I wouldn’t have married you.” We work really well together, so while it wasn't the way we'd prefer to spend a day off, at least we were together! And we treated ourselves to a couple of adult beverages and awesome burgers in the nice cool air conditioning of <a href="http://jlbeers.com/westfargo/">JL Beers</a> afterwards. (Mmmm, the Humpty Burger. Heaven!)<br />
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Anywho, once we had the holes filled and the gaps filled, we moved on to the rest until finally, after a couple of hours, we had this:<br />
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Hallelujah! <br />
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It looks so.much.better! I don’t know if I’ve ever been so happy to see a bunch of black dirt and no plants.<br />
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Although, I wasn’t as thrilled to see it on my feet. For once I was actually wearing real shoes and not flip flops. Obviously, since the dirt goes so well to my wonderful flip-flop tan line. Don't you agree? <br />
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Did I really just posted a picture of my dirty feet? My mom will be so proud! (Makes me giggle thinking about it.)<br />
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We’ve got other plans for the front of the house. Some will happen this year, some probably won’t be until next year. We definitely want to get some mulch down. We might plant a couple of things this fall to add some color. We WILL NOT be filling up the entire space. Just nice, average sized plants that won’t get out of control and are fairly low maintenance. <br />
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Maybe something like this:<br />
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We’ll see what we can find this fall. <br />
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Eventually, the front porch is coming off and a lovely stamped concrete patio is going in. I’ve got this great picture in my head of what it will look like…we’ll see if it matches reality. <br />
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We do have a new deck that I’ll share the details about soon. We LOVE it!<br />
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(And, I know that I have before pictures of the deck. I found them while looking for pictures for this post.)Jill @ Craft in a Northern Townhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17352269206169302592noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7107166305195042110.post-73702207726681432432012-07-16T01:54:00.000-05:002012-07-16T11:59:23.681-05:00Can I get $1?Funny how life gets in the way of everything else.<br />
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I write blog posts in my head pretty much everyday. Even more than I write Facebook status in my head, which is saying a lot. <br />
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I have a lot of projects and updates I need to be post, but they’ll have to wait for another day.<br />
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Today, I’d like to talk about auction sales. The last auction sale I went to was for my great-grandma. I think I was 5 or 6. I don’t remember much. It was hot. Mom wasn’t there so I got to eat and drink whatever I wanted. <br />
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My second auction sale was Saturday, July 14th. And it was a very different experience. <br />
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But, let’s start at the beginning. 18 months ago, my wonderful FIL passed away unexpectedly. He was in a horrible accident and left us way to soon. I loved him. He was a great man. Kind and funny. I was very lucky to have met him and know him for 13+ years. When I met my husband, my FIL was a contractor. He had a construction company, doing remodels, managing rental houses, finding great deals wherever he could. Before that he was a shop teacher. And I swear he knew everyone from South Dakota to Canada, Montana to Wisconsin. You might think that’s an exaggeration, but I’m not kidding. He never knew a stranger. And everyone he met immediately loved him. <br />
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He did have faults, though, and one was a big one. He liked junk. And he had a lot of it. <br />
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So, while I loved him, I also cursed him. He had so.much.stuff. Too much stuff. At least to someone going through it all, it seemed that way. Buildings on the farm, buildings in town, lots here, lots there…all of them full of stuff. All full of <strike>crap</strike> treasures. But it wasn’t just his stuff. He also had his parent's stuff, his in-law’s stuff and his uncle’s stuff. Add that all up and you have a lot of stuff. Stuff to sort, stuff to throw, stuff to keep and stuff to sell. Stuff, stuff and more stuff. Hours, days and weekends worth of stuff. <br />
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Sparky, his mom, his sisters, BIL, nephews and I have spent quite a few days moving, sorting and throwing away all this stuff. And for what? To get ready for an auction sale. And this was no ordinary auction sale. Vehicles, tools, antiques, appliances, cabinets, paint, shovels, rubber boots. You name it, we had it. A junk lovers dream. Obviously, family gets first shot on stuff. The good stuff. The stuff my FIL pulled out of old barns, rental houses and anywhere else he found something he thought could be reused. The stuff he built, the stuff he treasured, the stuff he thought was good enough to bring home. The stuff he wanted to fill up his bins and buildings and yard with. <br />
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This is my some of my good stuff:<br />
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<a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-bwaal0HXAmw/UAO2-QOrS4I/AAAAAAAAAlU/4qV0kRVD3l4/s1600-h/DSC_0197%25255B9%25255D.jpg"><img alt="DSC_0197" border="0" height="265" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-D_sz4fpyyfY/UAO2-6vcDmI/AAAAAAAAAlc/rLLx8F8Q42o/DSC_0197_thumb%25255B3%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="DSC_0197" width="400" /></a><br />
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It's great stuff. Stuff that makes me happy. Stuff that I know will go great in our house. Stuff that means something. Stuff that Sparky agreed could come home with us. <br />
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And this is what the a stuff at the auction looked like:<br />
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<a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-3rA4weKkE8s/UAO3BTBgxgI/AAAAAAAAAmE/DOM_FTiPo2s/s1600-h/DSC_0188%25255B5%25255D.jpg"><img alt="DSC_0188" border="0" height="265" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-TwxFCgC-XIY/UAO3B9AiwTI/AAAAAAAAAmM/taOz5mmOiLQ/DSC_0188_thumb%25255B2%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="DSC_0188" width="400" /></a><br />
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North Dakota in July can go a couple of ways. Hot and humid and no wind. Or hot and kinda humid and 50 mph wind. (Awesome either way.) We ended up with hot and humid and no wind. And still ended up with a great turnout. <br />
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We had people in the yard (Sparky’s mom and dad had about 7 acres) at 9am. The auction didn’t start until 11am. (And that's with folks checking out the yard all week.)<br />
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The <a href="http://archives.umc.org/Directory/ChurchDetails.asp?FAC=49648&strLong=-98.85719&strLat=48.11277" target="_blank">church ladies</a> served a great lunch with homemade fried donuts. (Seriously, if you’ve never had them, come to ND, ask someone to make them for you…you won’t regret it. Bring sugar.) <br />
Like I said, it was a great, sweltering hot, miserable, day. <br />
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This is what it looked like when we left on Sunday. <br />
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<a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-Qe1mWLgbVac/UAO3UaKQjaI/AAAAAAAAAo0/gWxYvQnOi_M/s1600-h/DSC_0202%25255B5%25255D.jpg"><img alt="DSC_0202" border="0" height="265" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-zqFgThQnCes/UAO3Uwfh00I/AAAAAAAAAo8/hyEb62L6Ks4/DSC_0202_thumb%25255B2%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="DSC_0202" width="400" /></a><br />
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And, while it may look a little sad. All of us were so freaking happy. Almost all of the stuff was gone. My MIL said she wanted to hug every person walking to their pickup or car with a box of stuff. Many, many pickup loads left the yard that day. Many people found treasures to <strike>torture</strike> pass on to future generations. (Including my dear dad, sigh.)<br />
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After this experience, I know I could easily become an auction sale junky. Waiting to get my next fix. My only caveat is, to get the good stuff I just show up and show the auctioneer my number.Jill @ Craft in a Northern Townhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17352269206169302592noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7107166305195042110.post-11116251077622597952012-04-30T13:01:00.002-05:002012-04-30T13:01:51.088-05:00Flutterby Wreath<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">When I saw this wreath from </span><a href="http://apumpkinandaprincess.com/" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A Pumpkin and A Princess</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">, I pinned it right away because I knew I wanted to make one like it!</span><br />
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<a href="http://pinterest.com/pin/274860383478117302/" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="382" src="http://media-cache4.pinterest.com/upload/274860383478117302_XRC4XP0G_c.jpg" width="564" /></a><br />
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Source: <a href="http://apumpkinandaprincess.com/2012/03/spring-moss-wreath.html" style="color: #76838b; font-size: 10px; text-decoration: underline;">apumpkinandaprincess.com</a> via <a href="http://pinterest.com/jillsuzc/" style="color: #76838b; font-size: 10px; text-decoration: underline;" target="_blank">Jill</a> on <a href="http://pinterest.com/" style="color: #76838b; text-decoration: underline;" target="_blank">Pinterest</a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I went to round up some materials. First stop, was the Dollar Store. They had NADA. I don’t know if some are better than others, but ours doesn’t have anything for wreaths or floral or craft stuff. Ticks me off. Luckily, right next door is Hobby Lobby and I had a coupon. (I love that I can just show them the email on my phone for the coupon! Love it!)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">(If I’d been thinking while I was at the Dollar Store, I would’ve picked up a pool noodle to use as a wreath form ala </span><a href="http://thriftydecorchick.blogspot.com/2012/03/grass-is-greener-on-door.html" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Thrifty Décor Chick</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">.) </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Anywho, I ended up getting what I needed and was ready to get started.</span><br />
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<a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-4dhiuuLpmkY/T53nHeB06YI/AAAAAAAAAjQ/9YaAqcLPKjg/s1600-h/DSC_0005.jpg"><img alt="DSC_0005" border="0" height="480" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/--5_sGzYDIrs/T53nHmAIvgI/AAAAAAAAAjY/d-WQbFHXV2M/DSC_0005_thumb.jpg?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="DSC_0005" width="599" /></a><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I started by cutting the moss into strips, then began the oh-so-fun process of hot gluing it around the wreath. Moss is messy. It gets EVERYWHERE. And, you will burn your fingers. Unless, you are a smarty like me and use a tool other than your fingers to press the moss on the wreath. My tool of choice? A pencil. It was there AND it worked like a charm.</span> <br />
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<a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-L8MjFASxvec/T53nH1o-dQI/AAAAAAAAAjg/N8_tvF-3-IA/s1600-h/DSC_0006.jpg"><img alt="DSC_0006" border="0" height="480" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-phuAjiyrXaM/T53nIVv-nSI/AAAAAAAAAjo/sUMvA5noz2o/DSC_0006_thumb.jpg?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="DSC_0006" width="601" /></a><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Once I got all of the moss glued on, I stuck in the butterflies. I didn’t glue them, I just poked them into the wreath form.</span> <br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">(I almost got fuschia butterflies instead of the pale yellow. They would've looked great. Maybe I still will since they are just poked into the form.)</span><br />
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<a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-B-ur9SkORag/T53nKtX-6iI/AAAAAAAAAkA/wW20XyRGUO8/s1600-h/wreath%25255B7%25255D.png"><img alt="wreath" border="0" height="215" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-gAYqt3OdMTE/T53nLO9h5xI/AAAAAAAAAkI/0cMZpDCRo80/wreath_thumb%25255B5%25255D.png?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="wreath" width="640" /></a><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I'd never worked with sheet moss before (the paper backing surprised me) and was glad that I got the big roll and not the small package. I ended up using almost the whole thing. I know I already said it's messy and you'll burn your fingers, BUT it looks so cool once it's done! It took me about an hour and the mess and burns were all worth it.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I hung it using a little white ribbon over the buffet in our front room to add a nice little spring touch.</span><br />
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<a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-z3b9xgaBtWQ/T53nLc2iYOI/AAAAAAAAAkQ/GNzq-sh6KN4/s1600-h/DSC_0182%25255B2%25255D.jpg"><img alt="DSC_0182" border="0" height="480" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-efd_Q6uN3Cc/T53nLhFFCuI/AAAAAAAAAkY/HI3ixYF9qVY/DSC_0182_thumb%25255B2%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="DSC_0182" width="517" /></a><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Also, on the buffet is a poem about the seasons I wrote back in junior high. I found it while cleaning out and organizing the basement. I typed it up and stuck it in a frame. I’m thinking I can change out the background paper for the season and keep it around all year long.</span> <br />
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<a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-DGl8q1hYmM0/T53nL6EMJRI/AAAAAAAAAkg/PEU-RAHSDi0/s1600-h/DSC_0184%25255B5%25255D.jpg"><img alt="DSC_0184" border="0" height="331" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-ofLkgDXhvDY/T53nL64HOLI/AAAAAAAAAko/X8-Qbu65k6k/DSC_0184_thumb%25255B2%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="DSC_0184" width="640" /></a><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Along with the poem is a vase filled with lentils and moss with some fake flowers shoved in it, an old Norwegian bible that came from Sparky’s grandparents house, </span><a href="http://craftinanortherntown.blogspot.com/2011/05/tweetie-bird.html" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">my fat little bird</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> and cake stand with a little greenery under a cloche. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">(I am purposefully not mentioning the silver touch desk lamp. It’s temporary until I get a bigger one. I have one ready to be spray painted that I got at a thrift store, but I can’t decide on a color. Or if I want to use that one there. Decisions, decisions.)</span><br />
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<a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-xiDS5IkX1M8/T53nMBGryII/AAAAAAAAAkw/ewAZy5c2Te0/s1600-h/DSC_0187%25255B6%25255D.jpg"><img alt="DSC_0187" border="0" height="555" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-vkQjgqyAhqs/T53nMroqOWI/AAAAAAAAAk4/RNLRKuCqmWM/DSC_0187_thumb%25255B3%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="DSC_0187" width="506" /></a><br />
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<a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-z3b9xgaBtWQ/T53nLc2iYOI/AAAAAAAAAkQ/GNzq-sh6KN4/s1600-h/DSC_0182%25255B2%25255D.jpg"><img alt="DSC_0182" border="0" height="480" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-efd_Q6uN3Cc/T53nLhFFCuI/AAAAAAAAAkY/HI3ixYF9qVY/DSC_0182_thumb%25255B2%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="DSC_0182" width="517" /></a><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I don't anticipate changing this up much over the summer. Maybe a couple of tweaks here and there.</span> <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We did pick up a mirror from a friend of my SIL's that will look great over the buffet. I just need to give</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> a coat of spray paint. At some point, I also need to do something about the hardware on the buffet. One is broken and one doesn't match the rest. It just hasn't bothered me enough to do anything about it. </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Yet. Oh, and the lamp. Hopefully a different lamp. Hmmm, so maybe it will change a bit over the summer. We'll see how ambitious I get.</span> <br />
<br />Jill @ Craft in a Northern Townhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17352269206169302592noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7107166305195042110.post-46397741448208718932012-04-01T21:20:00.000-05:002012-04-30T12:29:19.944-05:00April Fools?This isn’t an April Fools prank. This IS an actual blog post. Amazing, I know. Just doesn’t seem like I’ve had enough time to sit down and write one. But hopefully, spring will put a little spring in my step and inspire me to get going on all the projects I said I was going to get done. Like, the <a href="http://craftinanortherntown.blogspot.com/2012/01/little-progress.html">front room</a>. Not much has changed there since my last post. Lots of ideas, no execution. Bah.<br />
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We have been doing some work in the craft room. We’ve got the treadmill and the XBox+Kinect in there along with my crafting/decorating stuff, so it’s getting used more by the whole family than it used to be. But I’m saving that for another post. Hopefully in the not too distant future. It involves paint, sticky tiles, free furniture and fabric. (I was going to post a picture of it from when we first moved in, but I can’t find it on this computer. GRRR.)<br />
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But, I did get a couple of little projects done this weekend. I was able to get out the spray paint! Yay! It was 70 degrees. In North Dakota. In March. That just doesn’t happen. <br />
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I have a bajillion picture frames. I think it’s an addiction. Frames on clearance? Buy ‘em. Frames at the thrift store? Buy ‘em. It’s a sickness. But, as a result, I had some picture frames that I wanted to change up.<br />
<a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-u0RtI_Glw_8/T3kMmJcDMOI/AAAAAAAAAiA/kdGRMnFo2hM/s1600-h/DSC_0354%25255B6%25255D.jpg"><img alt="DSC_0354" border="0" height="320" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-9iNmjw2bvYg/T3kMmf6LGmI/AAAAAAAAAiI/VlJ3Qpm7zDw/DSC_0354_thumb%25255B3%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="DSC_0354" width="400" /></a><br />
I’ve seen a “He is Risen” printables out on quite a few blogs and decided to do my own. I really like the way it turned out.<br />
<a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-UaLBoj-Z8rI/T3kMm7zjCRI/AAAAAAAAAiQ/tbjkoCH7hRY/s1600-h/DSC_0392%25255B5%25255D.jpg"><img alt="DSC_0392" border="0" height="269" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-1Qny7RoiGxs/T3kMnNsYLOI/AAAAAAAAAiY/deY4xSeFWEM/DSC_0392_thumb%25255B2%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="DSC_0392" width="400" /></a><br />
I’ve also always wanted an Irish blessing hanging in our house somewhere. Lo and behold, I get an email from <a href="http://stores.theirishjewelrycompany.com/StoreFront.bok">The Irish Jewelry Company</a> and there it was!<br />
<a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-20ZP7hr5RJI/T3kMnanIQHI/AAAAAAAAAig/WNLucYlzDVI/s1600-h/DSC_0380%25255B5%25255D.jpg"><img alt="DSC_0380" border="0" height="258" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-z96p7FHdTFI/T3kMnmYDgOI/AAAAAAAAAio/HCc5F3z0jL8/DSC_0380_thumb%25255B2%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="DSC_0380" width="400" /></a><br />
<a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-S1WIeprUkB4/T3kMn99j8FI/AAAAAAAAAiw/K9ntUvlHcTw/s1600-h/DSC_0376%25255B5%25255D.jpg"><img alt="DSC_0376" border="0" height="259" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-VlNoXb2wbrk/T3kMn5YsgeI/AAAAAAAAAi4/FCyne1tEoHE/DSC_0376_thumb%25255B2%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="DSC_0376" width="400" /></a><br />
I like how it adds a little something by the front to door to welcome people when then come in and also let them know we are thinking of them when they leave. <br />
<a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-Nui3pKsZKGU/T3kMoXJ-33I/AAAAAAAAAjA/SX6gRD52CC0/s1600-h/DSC_0390%25255B5%25255D.jpg"><img alt="DSC_0390" border="0" height="348" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-iTw-yI6aqFc/T3kMooXvajI/AAAAAAAAAjI/1R3GuWyZZZQ/DSC_0390_thumb%25255B2%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="DSC_0390" width="400" /></a><br />
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It feels good to create stuff again. Hope you were able to pull a good prank on someone today! By the sounds of it on Facebook, a couple of people on know pulled some good ones. <br />
(Geez, that plant is looking a little sad. Maybe I should go water it and prune it a bit.)<br />
Linking up with:<br />
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<a href="http://www.thriftydecorchick.blogspot.com/" target="_blank" title="TDC Before and After"><img alt="TDC Before and After" src="http://www.homestoriesatoz.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/beforeAndAfterButton_thumb1.gif" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.bystephanielynn.com/search/label/Link%20Parties" target="_blank"><img alt="UndertheTableandDreaming" border="0" src="http://i693.photobucket.com/albums/vv298/theliebertfamily/party.png" /></a>
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<center><a href="http://notjustahousewife.net/" target="blank"><img border="0" src="http://i492.photobucket.com/albums/rr283/StacyRisenmay/linkypartybutton-1.jpg" /></a></center></div>
</div>Jill @ Craft in a Northern Townhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17352269206169302592noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7107166305195042110.post-5885647117214745062012-02-01T21:09:00.002-06:002012-02-20T10:17:03.960-06:00Drum Shade Makeover<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">You know, when you have an idea and then it comes out even better than you thought it would? Yeah, that totally happened with this project. I'm so freaking excited about it!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I've been trying to figure out what to do with the lamps in the living room. They have black bases and red drum shades. We got them at Pier One a few years ago, so they weren't cheap. I didn't want to buy new lamps, but the red shades just weren't working any more. I did look around to see if I could find reasonably priced cream drum shades, but no such luck. I think the cheapest I found was $40. No thanks!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">(I was so excited to get started, that I didn't take any close-ups of them before I started. Ooops.)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">What to do, what to do. I thought about spray painting them. I thought about wrapping them with ribbon. Then, I saw this from </span><a href="http://www.atthepicketfence.com/"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Heather at At The Picket Fence</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> and a lightbulb went off (har de har har...I couldn't help myself).</span> <br />
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<a href="http://pinterest.com/pin/274860383477741934/" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://media-cdn.pinterest.com/upload/274860383477741934_1J3zvn8q_c.jpg" width="399" /></a></div>
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Source: <a href="http://www.atthepicketfence.com/2012/01/drum-shade-chandelier-tutorial.html" style="color: #76838b; font-size: 10px; text-decoration: underline;">atthepicketfence.com</a> via <a href="http://pinterest.com/jillsuzc/" style="color: #76838b; font-size: 10px; text-decoration: underline;" target="_blank">Jill</a> on <a href="http://pinterest.com/" style="color: #76838b; text-decoration: underline;" target="_blank">Pinterest</a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Not exactly the same thing, but close enough!</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> And, I just happened to have some fabric that I needed to figure out what to do with. (Remember the</span><a href="http://craftinanortherntown.blogspot.com/2012/01/little-progress.html"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> fabric I bought to recover the thrift store chair</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">?) Perfect for this!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I followed Heather's tutorial pretty much to the letter. I cut the fabric, then used a hot glue gun to attach it to the shades. Holy transformation Batman!</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUyHtEtzAfCVz-0JI3ZkJ47IjxwLI6JttPdDwKE2FoVT8VgQUQnwlYKCRZpvdmrhxFhKBvhXs9yGA9C2cVQplj5jUN1gO2aUQwVNU5PlwySIVK1foGO6eM3gZ9OmTh6MgfIJ8v8Ze1eTdH/s1600/shadesafter.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="324" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUyHtEtzAfCVz-0JI3ZkJ47IjxwLI6JttPdDwKE2FoVT8VgQUQnwlYKCRZpvdmrhxFhKBvhXs9yGA9C2cVQplj5jUN1gO2aUQwVNU5PlwySIVK1foGO6eM3gZ9OmTh6MgfIJ8v8Ze1eTdH/s640/shadesafter.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I needed to do a little trimming to clean up on the inside of each shade.</span> <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQIpypgXeMlVfLgZXSo3tpswV3jR8A-X13GZp1le6UIqpZfgSqmLlvmsutSCGU0Dhzdh_RajPMtM8kheB6MCDwBGzwCkLAuHMaHdba6Mng3QNOZYYKdzg9cXTlNGacYGwn-rWWtVlnBTXq/s1600/insideofshade.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQIpypgXeMlVfLgZXSo3tpswV3jR8A-X13GZp1le6UIqpZfgSqmLlvmsutSCGU0Dhzdh_RajPMtM8kheB6MCDwBGzwCkLAuHMaHdba6Mng3QNOZYYKdzg9cXTlNGacYGwn-rWWtVlnBTXq/s640/insideofshade.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I trimmed up the excess fabric, then glued some cream grosgrain ribbon around the cut edge.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0aCGldX0YcbL3Wr9uSkNrhb9m3wZ53VhmnOra8ZnQpkxXIHSMN4yP95vhIH9H5X0IGcT8MCBLXvAQMFqXgelq1YfSttX73MAEo6K39rypm1tqc46A1qONbpIBw9emFc5qil5dE3fkkPEf/s1600/shadewithribbon.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0aCGldX0YcbL3Wr9uSkNrhb9m3wZ53VhmnOra8ZnQpkxXIHSMN4yP95vhIH9H5X0IGcT8MCBLXvAQMFqXgelq1YfSttX73MAEo6K39rypm1tqc46A1qONbpIBw9emFc5qil5dE3fkkPEf/s640/shadewithribbon.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And here they are back on the lamps. LOVE!</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEja28LaaTkMHMkzJG_nGjTY4PI5GcGEDmksKATpJFmwWhF19DSp2SWmtFPCCaVgWAQwp5XV6swjvUZXAad9KdIk3f2SghLBaF204Hj3sAQSUuzyAs7FyXQibrqRjtnWN4hfXoMJ5VC59Pyu/s1600/smalllamp.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEja28LaaTkMHMkzJG_nGjTY4PI5GcGEDmksKATpJFmwWhF19DSp2SWmtFPCCaVgWAQwp5XV6swjvUZXAad9KdIk3f2SghLBaF204Hj3sAQSUuzyAs7FyXQibrqRjtnWN4hfXoMJ5VC59Pyu/s640/smalllamp.jpg" width="444" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Sigh. I'm so happy. It's the little things. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">One more thing off the list! </span><br />
<ul>
<li><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Paint and reupholster chair
(which I've never done before)</span></span></div>
</li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Three new (or new to
us) side tables</span>
</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><strike>New lamp shades or
redo the current ones</strike></span>
</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">New lamp</span>
</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><strike>Hang
curtains</strike></span>
</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Update hardware on
the buffet (there is a reason there's no close up of it yet)</span>
</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Hang
artwork/mirror/pictures above couch/buffet/bookshelf</span>
</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">New lamp for
buffet?</span>
</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">New pillows for
couch</span></span> </li>
</ul>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Linking up with: </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><a href="http://www.findingfabulousblog.com/2012/02/frugalicious-friday-giveawayshabby.html">Frugalicious Friday at Finding Fabulous</a></span><br />
<ul>
</ul>
<a href="http://www.bystephanielynn.com/search/label/Link%20Parties" target="_blank"><img alt="UndertheTableandDreaming" border="0" src="http://i693.photobucket.com/albums/vv298/theliebertfamily/party.png" /></a>Jill @ Craft in a Northern Townhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17352269206169302592noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7107166305195042110.post-18105212130365242622012-01-22T16:47:00.002-06:002012-01-28T15:35:56.817-06:00A little progress...<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I've got a little progress to share on our family room that I first showed you </span><a href="http://craftinanortherntown.blogspot.com/2012/01/picture-perfect-room.html"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">here</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In that original post, I showed the floorplan we were going for and it involved a couple of occasional chairs. Since I'm already planning on tackling one DIY chair, we decided to buy the other two. And we LOVE them. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We got this faux leather one at our local </span><a href="http://www.thefurnituremart.com/"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Furniture Mart</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">. I wasn't sure I'd like a chair with no arms, but it's really comfortable.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi22aSwV2m5hzI6m9ix1WEvEfAc6tlJaHzc_i27VSZiyO70NZFUSjp7lNaOjDlC84tKWmN4FBskCA5LiZxD7jUgzATJvJsQCUIW7dhYJ4uC0EKAWCUNOgbdQQFd5o_2z9Tol6jcIt2Qe1xu/s1600/chair.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi22aSwV2m5hzI6m9ix1WEvEfAc6tlJaHzc_i27VSZiyO70NZFUSjp7lNaOjDlC84tKWmN4FBskCA5LiZxD7jUgzATJvJsQCUIW7dhYJ4uC0EKAWCUNOgbdQQFd5o_2z9Tol6jcIt2Qe1xu/s400/chair.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And this little lovely came from </span><a href="http://www.target.com/p/Dolce-Upholstered-Accent-Arm-Chair-Grey-Strands-Sterling/-/A-13625353"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Target</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">. Yep, Target.</span> </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBiflstlaCvUfxysg0BHKI8AHi50wnUzcAJeXCRqWrsqvmrrIc_5JI2LF4ckkCCrfMqFiXCSJ3RxVfAeAiF7-ibBeTuELoUun7AfnTt1YQFb1JKZPdCvVZTftzlsIkeQ4ctUPjEjIxGy1L/s1600/chair2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="372" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBiflstlaCvUfxysg0BHKI8AHi50wnUzcAJeXCRqWrsqvmrrIc_5JI2LF4ckkCCrfMqFiXCSJ3RxVfAeAiF7-ibBeTuELoUun7AfnTt1YQFb1JKZPdCvVZTftzlsIkeQ4ctUPjEjIxGy1L/s400/chair2.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">During the chair shopping process, I realized that while I love the look of high contrast, bright, patterned furniture, actually buying it and having it in my house scares the crap out of me. "Hi, my name is Jill and I'm scared of bold patterned furniture."</span><br />
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<em><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A little side story, Sparky and I were talking about the chairs we bought and the colors that we are going for in this room. I pulled out the fabric for the chair I plan to redo to see how it would go with everything else. When I asked him what he thought, his response was "it's nice." And then said, "Is nice really what you are going for? I thought this was going to be a fun room. So far, there is no fun Jill in this room." And that folks, is why I married this wonderful man. He gets me. And he pushes me to do things I'm scared to do. But,now I have to find new fabric for the chair. And I'm not having any luck. It's out there somewhere, I know it is. </span></em><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Ok, back to the rest of the progress. Sparky got the curtain rod and curtain hung for me. (I hate hanging curtain rods. I've only done two. He's done a bajillion. He could do that bajillion in the time it takes me to do two.)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The window is eight feet long. And low. And not centered on the wall. Awesome! Anywho, I had gotten the striped curtains at, you guessed it, Target, a looonnng time ago for a different room in the house and they didn't work. And I never took them back</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">. I suck at taking stuff back to the store if it doesn't work. This time though, it paid off. It's hard to tell in this picture, but the stripes are actually a couple of different shades of green.</span> <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjblPMtQ8H2ec1p2drphCcxaWNLy1q9uNG1kQaPxkV7gsDvLpyp0j_U6y74SeWBrN-vGSKGXSI1TSNVKRTtbyGqT3eCCDmX4Qnb2BGKSyc6AdNj2tNsFLZ1TDcvKfhPmFLtwkHpjXb1pXcQ/s1600/curtains.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="397" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjblPMtQ8H2ec1p2drphCcxaWNLy1q9uNG1kQaPxkV7gsDvLpyp0j_U6y74SeWBrN-vGSKGXSI1TSNVKRTtbyGqT3eCCDmX4Qnb2BGKSyc6AdNj2tNsFLZ1TDcvKfhPmFLtwkHpjXb1pXcQ/s400/curtains.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The sheers are also from Target and I love the medallion design. (Side note, it's VERY hard to take a picture of sheers when there is bright, white snow on the ground and the sun is shining). </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkqXCa2FyjGcZ1M40pR-iFtsj7F5gXPYVdHiZcGCWs0TwUben1edWP7B-OM6ZfHfygMeO7i3ykdBs7BJ0ya9-yWozwe9rr6aaU0pFRbMiXttLwqFdNzLOJg8C4TY_ALP6uDd_YJwyhqU-k/s1600/sheers.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkqXCa2FyjGcZ1M40pR-iFtsj7F5gXPYVdHiZcGCWs0TwUben1edWP7B-OM6ZfHfygMeO7i3ykdBs7BJ0ya9-yWozwe9rr6aaU0pFRbMiXttLwqFdNzLOJg8C4TY_ALP6uDd_YJwyhqU-k/s640/sheers.jpg" width="444" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We also got a little something hung up on one of the bare walls. Oh, how I love stained glass windows!</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2S-hj5qQ5gFeN_PGXitL3gSg0MQ3mPXlQ9Mk9uWUBtg2M18k8Fhi0SXEHsMA-SQMpvGjNH4QsrrZ9ltW2jS6K1dzO-cnmeX7DJ4OytJkE3jQIBLQnJWt2Co5eHnfGuvk856TIVSSS78Cp/s1600/stainedglass2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2S-hj5qQ5gFeN_PGXitL3gSg0MQ3mPXlQ9Mk9uWUBtg2M18k8Fhi0SXEHsMA-SQMpvGjNH4QsrrZ9ltW2jS6K1dzO-cnmeX7DJ4OytJkE3jQIBLQnJWt2Co5eHnfGuvk856TIVSSS78Cp/s400/stainedglass2.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This lovely hung in the house Sparky grew up in. My MIL gave it to us when we were cleaning out his dad's shop. Sigh. It just makes me smile looking at it. And yes, this is the "back" side of the window. We liked it better than the front.</span> </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUrkaalWivk3Szo8PNYLMIFarbSGbxa9ZZrTtEtiNziwemKLqa0OxGeh0uCAouZbGLt_q-l3bit3LE3NkNWDzb5Mp-J_HPuKj6mVYadjEpMvPwo0q89Rr68VjCqr2DrbG71JNCPMEG1WCV/s1600/stainedglass.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="428" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUrkaalWivk3Szo8PNYLMIFarbSGbxa9ZZrTtEtiNziwemKLqa0OxGeh0uCAouZbGLt_q-l3bit3LE3NkNWDzb5Mp-J_HPuKj6mVYadjEpMvPwo0q89Rr68VjCqr2DrbG71JNCPMEG1WCV/s640/stainedglass.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And here are a couple of shots of the whole room.</span> </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipkJPxjWaCZ7OJ2bFM0y3PFy68pCn70Vt5aZxPrBV4idPCfAfaECGvuBdhD_zx7tVvzgue-BKRzPbVttj57fbM6BjM9Vv1tSG19GZijMTQI6QtgCiV7rmKeYxh-6nN9DWJAFNYKev3rGlZ/s1600/entireroom.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="378" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipkJPxjWaCZ7OJ2bFM0y3PFy68pCn70Vt5aZxPrBV4idPCfAfaECGvuBdhD_zx7tVvzgue-BKRzPbVttj57fbM6BjM9Vv1tSG19GZijMTQI6QtgCiV7rmKeYxh-6nN9DWJAFNYKev3rGlZ/s640/entireroom.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhG3T_ECBkNcNcI9u4c9ZDtK64PPIsktfY5Stcft2Bfo4gVRhlr8K-72pupQbT4iLR47ATxe8wk7LEfomaEtH_AjdKVb7ZE4RgcwCO3EIflVkB7ffmXKnwAUvrGRreyQFc63t4-w7a29i4c/s1600/entireroom2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhG3T_ECBkNcNcI9u4c9ZDtK64PPIsktfY5Stcft2Bfo4gVRhlr8K-72pupQbT4iLR47ATxe8wk7LEfomaEtH_AjdKVb7ZE4RgcwCO3EIflVkB7ffmXKnwAUvrGRreyQFc63t4-w7a29i4c/s640/entireroom2.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Even though not a whole lot has changed, it's amazing the difference these few things have made. This is slowly, but surely becoming one of my favorite rooms. I'm sitting in it writing this post as a matter of fact. And, it's where I hosted </span><a href="http://craftinanortherntown.blogspot.com/2012/01/i-hosted-our-first-wine-club-of-new.html"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">wine club</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> last week too. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">You might notice an extra lamp on the far end of the couch. We needed a little more light in that corner, so I grabbed one of those cheapy three legged tables and an extra lamp. It really makes a big difference!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">We've still got a ways to go, but at least it's progress!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Paint and reupholster chair
(which I've never done before)</span></div>
</li>
<li>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Three new (or new to us) side
tables</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">New lamp shades or redo the
current ones</span></li>
<li>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">New lamp</span></li>
<li>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><strike>Hang curtains</strike></span></li>
<li>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Update hardware on the buffet
(there is a reason there's no close up of it yet)</span></li>
<li>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Hang artwork/mirror/pictures
above couch/buffet/bookshelf</span></li>
<li>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">New lamp for
buffet?</span></li>
<li>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">New pillows for couch</span></li>
</ul>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I've got an unrelated project I'm working on too. Here's a little sneak peak:</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisFY4kvOMLckA_hvkOcc4qz9EC2m0EMa0FhO1T9adQ9ifkQq3QY3aUuI5ih6idDjcQ1E3jzC6AHylbQzYqlT-deMJfXv-d4-jkDBWfqPymjsgg2FRFRzWzA42NWvdb0rvefjwUgDlHIGwC/s1600/corks.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="347" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisFY4kvOMLckA_hvkOcc4qz9EC2m0EMa0FhO1T9adQ9ifkQq3QY3aUuI5ih6idDjcQ1E3jzC6AHylbQzYqlT-deMJfXv-d4-jkDBWfqPymjsgg2FRFRzWzA42NWvdb0rvefjwUgDlHIGwC/s400/corks.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It's looking awesome! I can't wait to show it to you when it's done!</span></div>
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<center><a href="http://funkyjunkinteriors.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"><img alt="Funky Junk's Saturday Nite Special" border="0" src="http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b243/signmakergirl/satnitenew150w-1.jpg" /></a></center>Jill @ Craft in a Northern Townhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17352269206169302592noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7107166305195042110.post-89692224133195719672012-01-14T20:44:00.000-06:002012-01-14T20:46:51.515-06:00Wa, wa, wine club!<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I hosted our first </span><a href="http://craftinanortherntown.blogspot.com/2011/10/start-your-own-wine-club.html"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">wine club</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> of the New Year this past week. And took no pictures. Grrr. I had planned to take pictures before everyone got here, but I ran out of time. (I was channeling my inner <a href="http://reluctantentertainer.com/">Reluctant Entertainer</a> and wanted to include the pictures in this post.)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Anywho, it was red wine this go round. I didn't give a specific varietal, it just had to be red. The girls must have been itching for a night out, cause there were 11 of us this go round. And that means a $55 pot! Woo hoo!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I had a pretty cheese board (wish I had a picture to show you) with brie, sharp cheddar, smoked gouda, havarti and goat cheese. Cheese can get spendy, but you really don't need a whole lot of it. Even with 11 people, I had TONS of cheese left. I also had </span><a href="http://www.darefoods.com/flavour.aspx?id=29&fid=76&lang=en"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">crackers,</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> and a sliced baguette. Along with the cheese and bread, I had apples (great with the havarti), Ikea Lingonberry preserves (great with the brie), nuts and </span><a href="http://www.samsclub.com/sams/shop/product.jsp?productId=prod2200380"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">mini-quiche</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">. One of the girls also brought pita chips and a great parmeson artichoke jalepeno dip. And of course, no wine club is complete without </span><a href="http://www.hersheys.com/bliss/products.aspx#/HERSHEY'S-BLISS-Dark-Chocolate"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">dark chocolate</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The wine selection was all over the place.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVBX2vXiqld8_QLe8-zmKeZ1mnXYyGI3uB5miw_8WsCafQX6H5RfhUjar-atwj2vCeLLRl8lXUqHAZ-blntgdyTguppAPvURlo1AuhHkisnbVZvbtsIjWFZjA9dsP8mxjOgzlA-viOtjFu/s1600/allwines.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVBX2vXiqld8_QLe8-zmKeZ1mnXYyGI3uB5miw_8WsCafQX6H5RfhUjar-atwj2vCeLLRl8lXUqHAZ-blntgdyTguppAPvURlo1AuhHkisnbVZvbtsIjWFZjA9dsP8mxjOgzlA-viOtjFu/s640/allwines.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><a href="http://redtruckwine.com/red-truck-2008-California-Red-Wine.html"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Red Truck California Red</span></a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><a href="http://www.mariettacellars.com/our-wines/"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Old Vine Red</span></a></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><a href="http://cosecherosycriadores.com/cosecheros/?idc=83"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Infinitus Cabernet Sauvignon Temperanillo</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><a href="http://www.boglewinery.com/ourwines_merlot.php"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Bogle Merlot</span></a></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><a href="http://www.apothic.com/wine.html"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Apothic Red</span></a></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><a href="http://www.montevina.com/barbera.php"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Montevina Barbera</span></a></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><a href="http://www.santarita.com/international/our-wines/120/carmenere-4/"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">120 Carmenere</span></a></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><a href="http://www.aubert-vignobles.com/saint-antoine.php?specid=7&langid=1"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Chateau Saint Antoine Bordeaux Superior</span></a></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><a href="http://menageatroiswines.com/red.php"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Menage a Trois California Red</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><a href="http://confectionerswine.com/wines/chocolate"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">ConfectionsChocolate Red Wine</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> </span> </span> </span> </span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Our wine club is a mix of red and white wine drinkers so it's always fun to <strike>make them drink red wine</strike> get everyone together to try new things. With that many people, there wasn't much left of a bottle once we all got a taste. A couple of the girls, er, ladies were appalled at the amount of wine that got dumped. It's just part of the deal. Something you have to learn to live with, or if you really feel that bad about it, I guess you have a glass of the dumped wine. Not that anyone would ever do that. (Not me, by the way, but it did happen. Blech.)</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It was a close competition, but the </span><a href="http://www.apothic.com/wine.html"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Apothic red</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> ended up winning. Remember, it was one of </span><a href="http://craftinanortherntown.blogspot.com/2011/10/whatchya-buyin.html"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">my go to wines</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">? But, the </span><a href="http://www.mariettacellars.com/our-wines/"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Old Vine Red</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">, </span><a href="http://menageatroiswines.com/red.php"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Menage a Trois</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> and the </span><a href="http://www.prestigewinegroup.com/item-makulu-iswithi-pinotage-147.html"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Makulu Iswithi Pinotage</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> were close behind tying for second. </span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The </span><a href="http://www.blogger.com/-%20http://www.aubert-vignobles.com/saint-antoine.php?specid=7&langid=1"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">bordeaux</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> finished in last place. This surprised many of us, because we thought for SURE the nasty </span><a href="http://confectionerswine.com/wines/chocolate"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">chocolate one</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> would've gotten that honor. (The bordeaux was mine, but I'm not bitter. Not one bit.) To be honest, the chocolate one spelled AMAZING, but didn't live up to the smell. </span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And, it just so happened that my order of </span><a href="http://wineaway.com/"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Wine Away</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> came a couple of days before, so I gave away a bottle to one of the second place finishers. (We drew names.) This stuff is AMAZING. Get's red wine out of anything.</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We all had a great time and it was great to catch up with everyone after the holidays. We are a diverse group (well, as diverse as you can be in North Dakota), which I love! Some with kids, some without, and a couple of grandmas, all with one thing in common...a love of wine and good company. What's better than that? </span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Anyone else decide to start one? I'd love to hear how it went!</span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><em><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So, I lied about no pictures. I do have one crappy cell phone picture. Those bottle are all empty.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> (Oh, except the Rosenblum. I decided I needed to have a glass while doing dishes. Smartie. That's me</span></em>.)</span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3PbrsCzmXwSbGomg5ydKVJY4Gf5dwyHsmJG8lkOlmagnbdiI_Wcw-O9KYxXEsmZB5ano1LhxkotAhVlZJa3Mu_PVjS4g53-3jPK3jem7vxHmHNvkIibvl3iIOHX_P7XixUfNwqqhkXbki/s1600/deadsoldiers.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3PbrsCzmXwSbGomg5ydKVJY4Gf5dwyHsmJG8lkOlmagnbdiI_Wcw-O9KYxXEsmZB5ano1LhxkotAhVlZJa3Mu_PVjS4g53-3jPK3jem7vxHmHNvkIibvl3iIOHX_P7XixUfNwqqhkXbki/s640/deadsoldiers.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<br />Jill @ Craft in a Northern Townhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17352269206169302592noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7107166305195042110.post-50838496961021312062012-01-05T16:14:00.002-06:002012-01-09T16:43:12.430-06:00Picture Perfect Room?<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I don't know that I'll ever have a picture perfect room, but </span><a href="http://funkyjunkinteriors.blogspot.com/2012/01/week-of-change-part-2-picture-perfect.html"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Donna over at Funky Junk Interiors</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> put out a challenge that I think is just the push I need to get moving on our living room. I'd already been thinking about tackling it once the Christmas tree came down. So, I guess now is as good a time as ever!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This room has a lot of great potential and I want it to set the tone for the rest of our house. It faces south, but we have an overhang so it gets a nice soft light that comes in. It's a nice quiet spot to read and drink a cup of tea or to have <a href="http://craftinanortherntown.blogspot.com/2011/10/start-your-own-wine-club.html">wine club</a>. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">When we first moved in, I wanted to create the feeling of a foyer or hallway since you walk into this room from our front door. So, I had the </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">couch placed so the back faced the door. I thought at one point that I wanted to put a sofa table behind it.</span> <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTGqUlgLbyI9k0GAjdWzmvvzA8z7Rj-oId8sPTkZwlUC6I3PlWo3k6CRIYiMxyggarSN10oDtfQ8lV7Sm68rQ8nApF172s_DP9WuV_xp5F4iwF9fvV6nyLCnwhT-6NC1_i43c0EnbFGyJe/s1600/couchback.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTGqUlgLbyI9k0GAjdWzmvvzA8z7Rj-oId8sPTkZwlUC6I3PlWo3k6CRIYiMxyggarSN10oDtfQ8lV7Sm68rQ8nApF172s_DP9WuV_xp5F4iwF9fvV6nyLCnwhT-6NC1_i43c0EnbFGyJe/s640/couchback.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But, it really didn't do what I was hoping it would do. We had to move the couch to make room for the Christmas tree and after the Christmas tree was gone, we really liked the couch where it was.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It opened up the room and made it feel more welcoming. We've defnitely used it more with it arranged this way than we did before. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrWXDgBJlXub-OqQ_d0uc0cm2pOql5lDIYsRjXEXVHkAWlcFJN6RMFgmtm_09WkQk4AvyUaVC-H4lgi1aNAeqnI1YG7jX5srDqf_AmS2pvnJUET5WFTWnKevB32ryOuK___BK8MI3T69BY/s1600/livingroom.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrWXDgBJlXub-OqQ_d0uc0cm2pOql5lDIYsRjXEXVHkAWlcFJN6RMFgmtm_09WkQk4AvyUaVC-H4lgi1aNAeqnI1YG7jX5srDqf_AmS2pvnJUET5WFTWnKevB32ryOuK___BK8MI3T69BY/s640/livingroom.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But, it definitely needs some help. No curtains, the walls are bare and it's just kinda blah. Uninspiring. Boring. Blech. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">See that chair back there? Yeah, I've had </span><a href="http://craftinanortherntown.blogspot.com/2011/01/isnt-she-beauty.html"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">it for a year</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">. I've got the fabric bought and it is definitely the inspiration for the rest of the room. (Hint: it doesn't have any red.)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And yes, that is a Thomas basketball hoop stuck to the window. That's what happens when there are no curtains. And my camera bag on the buffet. Classy.</span> </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifVcnQoDFh8lZ2xXEsRvPeO067ecfSCLg8yWHFTAEQtN1JtwqRDeRL6Z3B5lNuH5QaJYpcMoT_1HwcaQyb-Gm8qCY44mTJDCI5cSFD-O5gBwfuNG-UXlChN8UFehF6JekfGtpbxmAWZtcB/s1600/livingroom3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="425" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifVcnQoDFh8lZ2xXEsRvPeO067ecfSCLg8yWHFTAEQtN1JtwqRDeRL6Z3B5lNuH5QaJYpcMoT_1HwcaQyb-Gm8qCY44mTJDCI5cSFD-O5gBwfuNG-UXlChN8UFehF6JekfGtpbxmAWZtcB/s640/livingroom3.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But now we've got a big empty space where the couch was and not much seating. We knew we wanted to leave the couch as is. It was new when we moved in and SUPER comfy (great for naps!). I've got the chair I'm going to refinish, but that's it. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">I started playing around with my kitchen chairs to come up with an arrangement I thought would work, but wanted to see an overall floor plan. So, </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I went out to bhg.com and used their </span><a href="http://www.bhg.com/decorating/arrange-a-room/"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Arrange a Room tool</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> (which is very cool, btw). I played around and finally settled on a final arrangement. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhasJkxp5-oE03_KCQk4-bXGI5Vv80Abi53gdPns14oXWPpHRRPJOJCwW6EDSp3X_VAAPShnFX7H7__zAgvHnZTcTieOIHOdpP0MUWH9MoHXi2SSE0SzbSeQhG8BYCw7y9KdBZdWNAqSux2/s1600/arrangearoomJPG.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="241" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhasJkxp5-oE03_KCQk4-bXGI5Vv80Abi53gdPns14oXWPpHRRPJOJCwW6EDSp3X_VAAPShnFX7H7__zAgvHnZTcTieOIHOdpP0MUWH9MoHXi2SSE0SzbSeQhG8BYCw7y9KdBZdWNAqSux2/s400/arrangearoomJPG.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Lots of seating that promotes cozy conversation, but still leaves it open and inviting. Yay!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I can't wait! We've got one new chair already and the other should be here this week. I've also got curtains that I thought of using in another room that are going to work really well in here. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But, there's a bunch of other stuff to do:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Paint and reupholster chair (which I've never done before)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Three new (or new to us) side tables</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">New lamp shades or redo the current ones</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">New lamp</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Update hardware on the buffet (there is a reason there's no close up of it yet)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Hang artwork/mirror/pictures above couch/buffet/bookshelf</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">New lamp for buffet?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And that's just the short list. I have some other things I want to do in there as well, but need to work them out in my head first. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Wish <strike>me</strike> us luck!</span></div>
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</div>Jill @ Craft in a Northern Townhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17352269206169302592noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7107166305195042110.post-49351401583890607862012-01-05T15:27:00.002-06:002012-01-08T14:43:37.448-06:00Christmas Memories<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">When it finally comes time to take down all of the Christmas cards we get, I get a little sad. I love looking at all those friendly faces. People that live far away that I miss so much. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Well, I don't have to be sad anymore! Thanks to </span><a href="http://www.brownpaper--packages.com/"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Kierste at Brown Paper Packages</span></a>.<br />
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<a href="http://pinterest.com/pin/274860383477666256/" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="415" src="http://media-cdn.pinterest.com/upload/274860383477666256_B3nbEzP8_c.jpg" width="554" /></a></div>
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Source: <a href="http://www.brownpaper--packages.com/2012/01/christmas-memories-binder.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+BrownPaperPackages+%28brown+paper+packages%29" style="color: #76838b; font-size: 10px; text-decoration: underline;">brownpaper--packages.com</a> via <a href="http://pinterest.com/jillsuzc/" style="color: #76838b; font-size: 10px; text-decoration: underline;" target="_blank">Jill</a> on <a href="http://pinterest.com/" style="color: #76838b; text-decoration: underline;" target="_blank">Pinterest</a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This was such an easy (and cheap) project.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I started it before I even had a binder or page protectors. After the kids went to bed one night, I got all the pictures taped onto card stock. Then, I typed up a quick description of how we celebrated Christmas this year and also the label for the front and year tabs. Next, I cut a couple of of pieces of Christmas-y scrapbook paper to fit the binder. I'd picked up a binder and page protectors at Wal-mart on my way home from work on one day this week. I think the total for all of it was maybe $6. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Quick, easy and a great way to preserve all those great Christmas cards!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">What do you do with all of your photo Christmas cards?</span>Jill @ Craft in a Northern Townhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17352269206169302592noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7107166305195042110.post-60185681061944854692011-12-12T21:41:00.000-06:002011-12-13T20:53:45.581-06:00Thank you Martha!<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The majority of the cards we get are photo cards and we love to look at them. And, every year I try to think of a new and better way to display the Christmas cards we get. Most of the time though, I just end up using double-sided tape to stick them to some ribbon that's taped to the wall. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Until this year. I think I found the one that I will actually use again next year. And it's all thanks to Martha.</span><br />
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<a href="http://pinterest.com/pin/274860383477617891/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="448" src="http://media-cdn.pinterest.com/upload/274860383477617891_Fou8TfWi_c.jpg" width="360" /></a></div>
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Source: <a href="http://www.marthastewart.com/273148/pinup-wreath" style="color: #76838b; font-size: 10px; text-decoration: underline;">marthastewart.com</a> via <a href="http://pinterest.com/jillsuzc/" style="color: #76838b; font-size: 10px; text-decoration: underline;" target="_blank">Jill</a> on <a href="http://pinterest.com/" style="color: #76838b; text-decoration: underline;" target="_blank">Pinterest</a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I picked up 10 embroidery hoops this summer at a rummage sale. Yes, I said 10. I paid a whopping $1 for all 10. I bought all they had. I knew that sooner or later I'd find something to do with them. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I didn't follow all of her steps exactly. I used regular sized clothes pins instead of the mini ones and I didn't measure the spacing between them. I just slapped them on with some hot glue. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I did try to make a bow out of ribbon, but I was tired and my brain wasn't working and it just didn't turn out right. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So, I gave up and decided to use a fake poinsettia instead. I popped it off the stem and hot glued it the top of the ribbon. Then, I used a command strip (love them!) for hanging.</span> </div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This one was so easy, that I decided to make three. (We get a lot of cards!)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">(At one point, I actually had all 10 laid out on the floor in the shape of the Christmas tree and thought about painting the whole thing green, but simplicity won out in the end.)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And here they are with a few cards. Very quick, very easy and very cheap. Just my kind of project! (And I've still got clothes pins and hoops left if I need to throw another one together or add more pins to these ones.)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Linking up with:</span></div>
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<a href="http://www.centsationalgirl.com/2011/12/diy-ornaments-holiday-craft-link-party/"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Centsational Girl Holiday Craft Link Party</span></a></div>Jill @ Craft in a Northern Townhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17352269206169302592noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7107166305195042110.post-54881195040933806792011-12-04T22:14:00.001-06:002011-12-04T22:23:32.793-06:00Uff da<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Obviously, the 31 days of posting wore me out. Good grief.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Since then, both my husband and I had birthdays, my mom and I went to France for a week, we celebrated Thanksgiving, and I've been to </span><a href="http://craftinanortherntown.blogspot.com/2011/10/wine-snob.html"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">the penny sale</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I've been crazy busy and totally exhausted since November 1. And now we are in Christmas Craziness mode.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I do want to tell you all about France ($4.00 Bordeaux at the grocery store!!!) and the goodies I came home with as well as a couple of quick projects I've done for Christmas. Hopefully, I'll get to them soon(since I dropped the ball with the whole front porch thing.)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I had to clean and organize my craft room this afternoon. I couldn't take the chaos anymore. I can't think, much less created surrounded by crap. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Hopefully, that will get and keep me motivated through the holidays! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">How crazy busy are the rest of you? Anything you wish you could get done by Christmas, but know it won't happen?</span><br />
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<br />Jill @ Craft in a Northern Townhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17352269206169302592noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7107166305195042110.post-73496418947764523602011-10-31T14:11:00.002-05:002011-10-31T14:11:37.069-05:00Phew...I made it<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Wow, I can't believe it's over! (And, I'm kinda relieved it's over.)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">31 Days of Wine. (Well, actually 29, cause I missed two days in there.) Still not too shabby. I crossed just about all the topics off of my intitial </span><a href="http://craftinanortherntown.blogspot.com/2011/09/31-days-of.html"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">list</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">To finish it off, here's some info to get you through Thanksgiving. </span><br />
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<a href="http://wine.about.com/od/holidayswithwine/a/thanksgivingwin.htm"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Thanksgiving Wines</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> - some great tips in here for picking wines that will go with everything from the apps to desserts</span><br />
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<a href="http://www.gayot.com/wine/pairing/holiday.html"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Pairing Wines with Holiday Meals</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> - suggestions range from $15 to over $55 if you are feeling daring...some good sounding ones on this list!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Whatever you decide, whether its something new or a tried and true, be sure to enjoy it with the people you love! That always makes the wine taste better. (Unless it's white zin...no amount of love can make that better.)</span><br />
<br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I hope that you had a giggle and got at least one new wine to try over the course of the last month. If you decide to </span><a href="http://craftinanortherntown.blogspot.com/2011/10/start-your-own-wine-club.html"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">start your own wine club</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">, I'd love to hear how it goes! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Thank you </span><a href="http://www.thenester.com/"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Nester</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> for the inspiration and thank you to the other </span><a href="http://www.thenester.com/2011/09/31-days-participants.html"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">700+ folks</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> that decided to do the same thing! There are some great topics out there if you want to check them out. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Will I do it again next year? We'll see. Can you imagine what </span><a href="http://craftinanortherntown.blogspot.com/2011/10/corks-corks-and-more-corks.html"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">my pile of corks</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> is going to look like by then? </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Cheers!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Slainte!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Salud!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Skal!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Sante!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Bottoms up!</span><br />
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<a href="http://craftinanortherntown.blogspot.com/p/31-days-of-wine.html"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjw_Pt4FSsAeZewvYHki974jMgmfy6_Vb3jAGMC6ACUr0_23ipSWbuVtL1FomPv9Cw4Ty3nD3MoYK1mP_SDhpyWf-fBdlPoE65kWXMCCPX7CtvGSvl87mszU7ZlEo7olL38F0Zebo2xjF3o/s1600/31daysbutton.JPG " /></a>Jill @ Craft in a Northern Townhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17352269206169302592noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7107166305195042110.post-38492028844591399982011-10-30T21:33:00.000-05:002011-10-30T21:33:23.339-05:00Wine-ding down<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Sunday night after a busy week. I made 48 cupcakes today. I don't do that. Ever. A dozen? Yes. 48? No. I leave that to </span><a href="http://3-of-mine.blogspot.com/"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">my sister</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">, the baker. But, our church Trunk-or-Treat event needed cupakes so I made them. And they turned out awesome. (<a href="http://picky-palate.com/2011/10/06/double-chocolate-pumpkin-cake-with-pumpkin-spice-buttercream/">These</a> are what I made. MMMM.)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Sparky made a great supper of stuffed peppers. Kids got baths, books and bed. I painted my fingernails. Black. And I love them.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Now, I'm sitting with a glass of </span><a href="http://www.redrockwinery.com/our-wines/reserve-malbec/index.html"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Red Rock Malbec</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> watching Sunday night football and trying not to wreck my nails. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We are going to have a long day tomorrow. I'm sure I'll need a glass of something wonderful to end the day and to write the final 31 Days of Wine post.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Maybe it'll be from one of these lists. </span><br />
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<a href="http://www.examiner.com/drinks-in-phoenix/dark-and-scary-red-wines-for-halloween"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Dark and scary red wines for Halloween</span></a><br />
<a href="http://12most.com/2011/10/27/12-wicked-wines-halloween-part/"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">12 Most Wicked Wines for Halloween</span></a><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Have a great Monday and I hope no one eggs your house, soaps your car or smashes your pumpkins tomorrow night!</span><br />
<br /><a href="http://craftinanortherntown.blogspot.com/p/31-days-of-wine.html"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjw_Pt4FSsAeZewvYHki974jMgmfy6_Vb3jAGMC6ACUr0_23ipSWbuVtL1FomPv9Cw4Ty3nD3MoYK1mP_SDhpyWf-fBdlPoE65kWXMCCPX7CtvGSvl87mszU7ZlEo7olL38F0Zebo2xjF3o/s1600/31daysbutton.JPG " /></a>Jill @ Craft in a Northern Townhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17352269206169302592noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7107166305195042110.post-79551777336841022422011-10-29T17:56:00.000-05:002011-10-29T17:56:27.559-05:00MMMMM...chocolate<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I love chocolate and wine almost as much as I love </span><a href="http://craftinanortherntown.blogspot.com/2011/10/show-me-cheese.html"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">cheese</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> and wine. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I always thought that I didn't like dark chocolate. It's bitter, it's too strong...blah, blah, blah. Well, that is true if you are like my SIL and like 70% cacao in your chocolate. I do not. I like a nice creamy mild dark chocolate. MMMMM. My mouth is watering. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">My favorites are </span><a href="http://www.dovechocolate.com/Product/Detail?p_id=12"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Dove Silky Smooth Dark Chocolate Promises</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">.</span> <br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In fact, I have a bag of these babies in my pantry as we speak.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">You can also never go wrong with </span><a href="http://shop.ghirardelli.com/"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Ghiradelli</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> (this is where you can find that really dark chocolate I mentioned above). And the </span><a href="http://www.hersheys.com/bliss/products.aspx?ICID=BLS1505#/HERSHEY'S-BLISS-Dark-Chocolate"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Hershey's Bliss Dark Chocolates</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> are pretty good too.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">(Of course, any chocolate is better than no chocolate. That pretty much goes without saying.)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Do you have a favorite chocolate or will any chocolate do?</span> </div>
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<a href="http://craftinanortherntown.blogspot.com/p/31-days-of-wine.html"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjw_Pt4FSsAeZewvYHki974jMgmfy6_Vb3jAGMC6ACUr0_23ipSWbuVtL1FomPv9Cw4Ty3nD3MoYK1mP_SDhpyWf-fBdlPoE65kWXMCCPX7CtvGSvl87mszU7ZlEo7olL38F0Zebo2xjF3o/s1600/31daysbutton.JPG " /></a>Jill @ Craft in a Northern Townhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17352269206169302592noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7107166305195042110.post-20101213205681572372011-10-28T20:35:00.002-05:002011-10-28T20:37:29.983-05:00What's in a name?<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I've said before that I remember wines based on their label. But I also pick them by their label or their name. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Like, the Middle Sister Wines. The graphics on the label are what initially made me buy it, but now I really like them.
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A clever wine name will also make me pick up a bottle. (What a fun job that would be! Getting to name a wine? Awesome.) </span><a href="http://craftinanortherntown.blogspot.com/2011/10/que-shiraz-shiraz.html"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Fat Bastard</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> was one of those. It made me think of the Austin Powers movies and giggle right in the liquor store.
(Although, I can't remember if I've had the Cab or only the Shiraz...I may have to try the Cab.)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I did
a search on funny wine names and found </span><a href="http://www.oddee.com/item_96809.aspx"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">this post</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">. Wouldn't you know that Fat Bastard was at the top of the list? That's the only one on the list that I've tried, but I may have to check out a couple of the others. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I also found </span><a href="http://thestir.cafemom.com/food_party/109681/15_funniest_wines_guaranteed_to"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">this list</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> on cafemom. Some funny <strike>shi</strike> stuff out there. I know that I snorted at least twice. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And I found this little video:</span>
<br />
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<div style="color: #999999; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; margin-top: 5px; text-align: center; width: 420px;">
Visit msnbc.com for <a href="http://www.msnbc.msn.com/" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(153, 153, 153) !important; border-bottom-style: dotted !important; border-bottom-width: 1px !important; color: rgb(87, 153, 219) !important; font-weight: normal !important; height: 13px; text-decoration: none !important;">breaking news</a>, <a href="http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3032507" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(153, 153, 153) !important; border-bottom-style: dotted !important; border-bottom-width: 1px !important; color: rgb(87, 153, 219) !important; font-weight: normal !important; height: 13px; text-decoration: none !important;">world news</a>, and <a href="http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3032072" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(153, 153, 153) !important; border-bottom-style: dotted !important; border-bottom-width: 1px !important; color: rgb(87, 153, 219) !important; font-weight: normal !important; height: 13px; text-decoration: none !important;">news about the economy</a><br />
<br />
<br /></div>
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Haven't tried either of them, but </span><a href="http://www.oopswines.com/home.html"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">oops</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> has been on every list. And you know how much I like a good </span><a href="http://craftinanortherntown.blogspot.com/2011/10/to-blend-or-not-to-blend.html"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">blend</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">, and </span><a href="http://joeblowwine.com/"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Joe Blow</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> has potential. I'll be adding both of these to my wine shopping list!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Anyone else tried any of the others on these lists? What's your favorite wine name? Have you had good luck or bad luck picking a wine cause the label was cute or the name was funny?</span><br />
<br />
<br />
<a href="http://craftinanortherntown.blogspot.com/p/31-days-of-wine.html"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjw_Pt4FSsAeZewvYHki974jMgmfy6_Vb3jAGMC6ACUr0_23ipSWbuVtL1FomPv9Cw4Ty3nD3MoYK1mP_SDhpyWf-fBdlPoE65kWXMCCPX7CtvGSvl87mszU7ZlEo7olL38F0Zebo2xjF3o/s1600/31daysbutton.JPG " /></a>Jill @ Craft in a Northern Townhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17352269206169302592noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7107166305195042110.post-74462204092743540022011-10-27T19:38:00.000-05:002011-10-27T19:38:11.168-05:00To blend or not to blend<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I love a good blend. I really do. It's like you get the best of your favorite wines all in one. And who wouldn't want that?</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I found a really great article on wine blends out on </span><a href="http://wine.lovetoknow.com/wiki/What_Is_a_Wine_Blend"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">lovetoknow</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">. Like, the only wines that make a true Bordeaux are:</span><br />
<br />
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Cabernet Sauvignon</span></li>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
</span>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Merlot</span></li>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
</span>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Malbec</span></li>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
</span>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Petite Verdot</span></li>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
</span>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Carmenere</span></li>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
</span>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Cabernet Franc</span></li>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">My favorite blend right now is the Apothic Red. I've mentioned it </span><a href="http://craftinanortherntown.blogspot.com/2011/10/whatchya-buyin.html"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">here</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> as a bottle that I always have on hand.</span> <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipg_xy-gdsOacI9g6GhlXCToDoOL-zsyXcrj-cV5D09SvsNrOOfGPqYE3oCQnsluqbrs6C6PvEvH3C21wZIaZ3AaaHSfdLmB_wXpAZGpfmAP7NEYM5LOotRGVB_zUTHyObgYdjR5yT4SLN/s1600/apothic.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipg_xy-gdsOacI9g6GhlXCToDoOL-zsyXcrj-cV5D09SvsNrOOfGPqYE3oCQnsluqbrs6C6PvEvH3C21wZIaZ3AaaHSfdLmB_wXpAZGpfmAP7NEYM5LOotRGVB_zUTHyObgYdjR5yT4SLN/s400/apothic.PNG" width="111" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.apothic.com/wine.html"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Apothic Red 2009</span></a></div>
<br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I also like the Middle Sister Rebel Red. (Maybe because I'm the middle sister and I have red hair.)</span><br />
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<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkdDE0ED7o0z17jAM23gWOIuSVAjjFv7vQMd6JNhWa_9LytWrG0V5iHwEg6eR6_-Dgbn0pUsXVMqJtm4ZnuG4KV2NsNB8d46kjH8Ww3TWpZh6QuW93fuCidA3S1OHgN6tMRsNwTyZ3mibS/s1600/rebelred.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkdDE0ED7o0z17jAM23gWOIuSVAjjFv7vQMd6JNhWa_9LytWrG0V5iHwEg6eR6_-Dgbn0pUsXVMqJtm4ZnuG4KV2NsNB8d46kjH8Ww3TWpZh6QuW93fuCidA3S1OHgN6tMRsNwTyZ3mibS/s400/rebelred.JPG" width="142" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://middlesisterwines.com/custpage.cfm/frm/44749/sec_id/44749"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Middle Sister Rebel Red</span></a></div>
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Another good one is Ménage à Trois Red (Not a big fan of their white blend though.)</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgktkSIpWdGO0llFYrGkuRj5y3prqUIblRc1G8xq5utT-38Sfzoa8rMkDgDKI-9gzLphIEjWHy7g3tGI-Cijly8m6eQHZm5pVJ1iy0IhvXpJI4tS5cx0HHW8EbWJWKD0_rGROC67GcApEL9/s1600/menageatois.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgktkSIpWdGO0llFYrGkuRj5y3prqUIblRc1G8xq5utT-38Sfzoa8rMkDgDKI-9gzLphIEjWHy7g3tGI-Cijly8m6eQHZm5pVJ1iy0IhvXpJI4tS5cx0HHW8EbWJWKD0_rGROC67GcApEL9/s320/menageatois.JPG" width="100" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.folieadeux.com/mat/red.html"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Menage a Trois Red</span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">On the white side, my all time favorite white blend is Seven Daughters White Blend (But, their red blend doesn't do much for me.)</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbhSxtcgyijYDzzrIT9ia_E5wU-7Aav_vUo_HR_ZP9ViGSRVMZDHsL1i-68YisgVcQtwmk5jyoUrX_UoUt5KbAWTir1vVT2VFD-Y7QH8q6kYJ1Q-2CW-FmfrOyyszy675_1DTxgaw-VtVA/s1600/sevendaughters.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbhSxtcgyijYDzzrIT9ia_E5wU-7Aav_vUo_HR_ZP9ViGSRVMZDHsL1i-68YisgVcQtwmk5jyoUrX_UoUt5KbAWTir1vVT2VFD-Y7QH8q6kYJ1Q-2CW-FmfrOyyszy675_1DTxgaw-VtVA/s320/sevendaughters.JPG" width="208" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://shop.7daughters.com/index.cfm?method=storeproducts.showDrilldown&productid=20f438dc-f943-de01-ea4e-79275bb03526&ProductCategoryID=205dbacc-b3b3-a777-b67d-dd3eb4ca34e6&WineryID=205DBA4F-FA44-540A-FB83-EBB436162EF7&WineTypeID=&ProductType=&wineVarietalID=&wineRegionID=&vintage=&lowprice=&highPrice=&WineBrandID=&WineAppellationID=&lowletter=&highletter=&OrderBy=PXPC.DisplayOrder Asc, P.ProductName ASC&ShippingState=CA"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Seven Daughters White Blend</span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I've had a really good Bordeaux that we bought from a friend who was selling <a href="http://www.travelingvineyard.com/">Traveling Vineyard</a> wines. We loved it and bought as many bottles as we could afford. But, I can't remember what it was called and their site won't let me search their cellar without a "consultant" name. Nuts!</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">If you are feeling adventurous and want to make your own blend, you can give </span><a href="http://www.grapestompers.com/blending_wine.htm"><span style="font-family: Arial;">this </span></a><span style="font-family: Arial;">a try. (And no, the dump bucket from your </span><a href="http://craftinanortherntown.blogspot.com/2011/10/start-your-own-wine-club.html"><span style="font-family: Arial;">wine club</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial;"> is not a blend.)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Any blend fans? What's your favorite? </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">So, there are only 4 days left of this 31 day series. Any requests for a topic? Something you wish I'd talk about? Let me know!</span><br />
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<br />
<a href="http://craftinanortherntown.blogspot.com/p/31-days-of-wine.html"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjw_Pt4FSsAeZewvYHki974jMgmfy6_Vb3jAGMC6ACUr0_23ipSWbuVtL1FomPv9Cw4Ty3nD3MoYK1mP_SDhpyWf-fBdlPoE65kWXMCCPX7CtvGSvl87mszU7ZlEo7olL38F0Zebo2xjF3o/s1600/31daysbutton.JPG " /></a>Jill @ Craft in a Northern Townhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17352269206169302592noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7107166305195042110.post-86842525354679076442011-10-26T22:32:00.000-05:002011-10-26T22:32:18.977-05:00Cork screws<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Those poor corks. What did they ever do to get screwed? (I crack myself up.)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">When I first started drinking wine, this is what I used to open my bottles. (When I say "I," I really mean Sparky. I don't know that I ever really opened my own bottle of wine back in those days. I know, I'm spoiled.)</span><br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjtR5RBkykhBC4VP4ovrCP2uouLabolr0I1CAgebteCm-0KGqLBNTH_fLOgnReo6tPe0Ul0hdqec0zX4FOw20G1_zjYDO66HS55pVaphEA6WswXOGiXcObuBpWe8vWOw1vK3htqb6Jhfm9/s1600/corkscrew.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjtR5RBkykhBC4VP4ovrCP2uouLabolr0I1CAgebteCm-0KGqLBNTH_fLOgnReo6tPe0Ul0hdqec0zX4FOw20G1_zjYDO66HS55pVaphEA6WswXOGiXcObuBpWe8vWOw1vK3htqb6Jhfm9/s320/corkscrew.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41HpOlbSPbL.jpg">source</a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But our really good friends had the </span><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Metrokane-Rabbit-Wine-Opener-Silver/dp/B000063K7G"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Rabbit</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">, so we went out and got one too.</span> </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9YF4fLZWAKrX799Vn8oXKe_9k39deDTgjwhvEZZCGJ36_zY-GrfO8j-gEOBdbdlzaU6jSJ9RR0JK5hEYrUcY663anM3FO7G6y1Litfqxm6LIFS7HS6so58rCmJ7wgdP5uKAfP9aTRYgNm/s1600/rabbit.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9YF4fLZWAKrX799Vn8oXKe_9k39deDTgjwhvEZZCGJ36_zY-GrfO8j-gEOBdbdlzaU6jSJ9RR0JK5hEYrUcY663anM3FO7G6y1Litfqxm6LIFS7HS6so58rCmJ7wgdP5uKAfP9aTRYgNm/s320/rabbit.png" width="272" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://thecrushedgrapereport.typepad.com/.a/6a00e55360baae883301053663cc6b970c-800wi">source</a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It worked ok, but had a few quirks. We ended up going back to our original corkscrew. Until...</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYDX1Odh9ybd_orHa5Fv-n9aiU_cyL2EjjY4V0idJf5YY1H22kbyQ-wmc23END5Afr5LjkCA1hk-oEJhahJgN5OjTnuet25CkgEMJdqRR8cMBQPCcsWUmDa-UOsR1QHSlQju7BOuYcQHpv/s1600/electric+wine+opener.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYDX1Odh9ybd_orHa5Fv-n9aiU_cyL2EjjY4V0idJf5YY1H22kbyQ-wmc23END5Afr5LjkCA1hk-oEJhahJgN5OjTnuet25CkgEMJdqRR8cMBQPCcsWUmDa-UOsR1QHSlQju7BOuYcQHpv/s320/electric+wine+opener.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://img.shoppingnexus.com/products/emerson-electric-wine-bottle-opener.jpg">source</a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We got this for Christmas from my SIL. (</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Can you hear the angel chorus?)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Love this thing! It's gotten PLENTY of use and is still going strong. It comes with a foil cutter which, to be honest isn't cutting as well as it did when we first got it, but still gets the job done.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">What about you? What do you use to open your favorite bottle of vino?</span></div>
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<a href="http://craftinanortherntown.blogspot.com/p/31-days-of-wine.html"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjw_Pt4FSsAeZewvYHki974jMgmfy6_Vb3jAGMC6ACUr0_23ipSWbuVtL1FomPv9Cw4Ty3nD3MoYK1mP_SDhpyWf-fBdlPoE65kWXMCCPX7CtvGSvl87mszU7ZlEo7olL38F0Zebo2xjF3o/s1600/31daysbutton.JPG " /></a>Jill @ Craft in a Northern Townhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17352269206169302592noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7107166305195042110.post-58369216237774102011-10-25T20:45:00.000-05:002011-10-25T20:45:56.739-05:00Box out<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Back in the day, when I heard the words box wine. This is what immediately came to mind:</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7USxdmatAb8pNmETiBzb8qKyxo2jNc65cMDQfCBRB1VPcA5b1OyeHMiqCbNQuC80M_XZTO5avfgNUxGBp83f8so_oIATAThCWFbk4FAv5UujmqWBauu2CwsPNT7ayABoF1tUsDzPCNiCS/s1600/franzia+white+zin.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7USxdmatAb8pNmETiBzb8qKyxo2jNc65cMDQfCBRB1VPcA5b1OyeHMiqCbNQuC80M_XZTO5avfgNUxGBp83f8so_oIATAThCWFbk4FAv5UujmqWBauu2CwsPNT7ayABoF1tUsDzPCNiCS/s320/franzia+white+zin.PNG" width="308" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.snooth.com/image/franzia-zinfandel-white-zinfandel-45/?&p=3">source</a></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I can't believe I was actually out on the </span><a href="http://www.franzia.com/aboutthewines_housefavorites.shtml#3"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Franzia website</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">. Do you know what their tagline is? "The world's most popular wine." Huh. Not all that </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">surprising I guess. I know my dad is a big fan. His favorite is their Chillable Red. (They don't even make the white zin anymore!)</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSO5QT54cXnWNK7gRxPUYf9tRy9eTYFt7mlnk9sWx5IJwj54-E_6efQrqhegrDXHYo4bcr_LpYYXKpyidZwykVgEC2sW4kFp-Pbo_GIv6tj87w4YW74HA3V3OBkbzTq-JDouxiNovXxeT1/s1600/chillablered.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSO5QT54cXnWNK7gRxPUYf9tRy9eTYFt7mlnk9sWx5IJwj54-E_6efQrqhegrDXHYo4bcr_LpYYXKpyidZwykVgEC2sW4kFp-Pbo_GIv6tj87w4YW74HA3V3OBkbzTq-JDouxiNovXxeT1/s320/chillablered.PNG" width="312" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.franzia.com/aboutthewines_housefavorites.shtml#3">source</a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I'm not a big fan of either. Surprised? Yeah, I didn't think you would be.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Box wines are a great option if you are having a big party. Just having a box of wine around with only you to drink it? Not such a great idea. It's hard to keep track of how much you've drank. At least with a bottle you know when you've drank <strike>the whole thing </strike>half the bottle. Drinking an entire box of wine in a single night is not something I recommend. (Not that I've ever done such a thing. With Franzia White Zin. At my in-laws. That's just not something I would do.)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Anywho, if you do decide to purchase a box of wine, might I recommend </span><a href="http://www.blackboxwines.com/index.html"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Black Box Wine</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">?</span> <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtBshLbIUwY7k8KSWRFsHsQtjSuhqwvMH0j5vODDrtkNe9K3hGhrwh-ctXh6ON-pxhJOsS55EXCFW1esspstHBKvOSQMIa1VVdQvzsSsziCAXlOKSDwUiwB00KcIhlvEEo8KbRZWlIlLDC/s1600/blackbox.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtBshLbIUwY7k8KSWRFsHsQtjSuhqwvMH0j5vODDrtkNe9K3hGhrwh-ctXh6ON-pxhJOsS55EXCFW1esspstHBKvOSQMIa1VVdQvzsSsziCAXlOKSDwUiwB00KcIhlvEEo8KbRZWlIlLDC/s320/blackbox.PNG" width="260" /></a></td></tr>
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<a href="http://www.blackboxwines.com/cabernet_sauvignon.html">source</a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I've had both the Chardonnay and the Cabernet and really liked them both. I don't believe I've had the Malbec, but I'm sure its great too.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Any box wine fans out there? What's your favorite?</span></div>
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<a href="http://craftinanortherntown.blogspot.com/p/31-days-of-wine.html"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjw_Pt4FSsAeZewvYHki974jMgmfy6_Vb3jAGMC6ACUr0_23ipSWbuVtL1FomPv9Cw4Ty3nD3MoYK1mP_SDhpyWf-fBdlPoE65kWXMCCPX7CtvGSvl87mszU7ZlEo7olL38F0Zebo2xjF3o/s1600/31daysbutton.JPG " /></a>Jill @ Craft in a Northern Townhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17352269206169302592noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7107166305195042110.post-57558028108313956472011-10-24T22:07:00.000-05:002011-10-24T22:07:40.323-05:00Show me the cheese!<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I think I love cheese almost as much as I love wine. And, IMHO (in my humble opinion), a glass of wine isn't complete without cheese. Really don't care much about the crackers. Just gimme the cheese! SHOW ME THE CHEESE!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I don't know what I'd do if I was lactose intolerant and couldn't eat cheese. Makes me wanna cry just thinking about it.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Smoked <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gouda_(cheese)">gouda</a> is my all time favorite. It's soooo good-a. And goes great with just about everything...reds and whites.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Another favorite is <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manchego_cheese">manchego</a>. This one typically goes best with a stronger red. The only down side is it can get a little spendy. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">You also can't go wrong with <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parmesan">parmesan</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cheddar_cheese">cheddar</a> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gruy%c3%a8re_(cheese)">gruyere</a> (a great Swiss!). </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I actually do most of my cheese shopping at Sam's Club. Waaay cheaper than the grocery store and the selection is decent. I can usually find what I'm looking for there. </span><br />
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<a href="http://wine.about.com/od/servingwines/a/wineandcheese.htm"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">wine.about.com</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> has a great list of wine and cheese pairings. One common theme you'll notice is gouda. Cause it's that fantabulous. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">What about you? Any favorite wine and cheese pairings? Or just cheese? Where do you get your best deal?</span><br />
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<a href="http://craftinanortherntown.blogspot.com/p/31-days-of-wine.html"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjw_Pt4FSsAeZewvYHki974jMgmfy6_Vb3jAGMC6ACUr0_23ipSWbuVtL1FomPv9Cw4Ty3nD3MoYK1mP_SDhpyWf-fBdlPoE65kWXMCCPX7CtvGSvl87mszU7ZlEo7olL38F0Zebo2xjF3o/s1600/31daysbutton.JPG " /></a>Jill @ Craft in a Northern Townhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17352269206169302592noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7107166305195042110.post-74305677579669493362011-10-24T09:06:00.001-05:002011-10-24T09:06:23.741-05:00Day off<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Obviously, I don't write my posts up front and schedule them since I missed yesterday (day 23).</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We had a house full of people all day yesterday for our daughter's baptism, and by the time everyone left and we got the house half way picked up and the kids in bed, I was beat. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We did enjoy a couple of bottles of good wine though, the </span><a href="http://www.louismartini.com/our-wines/sonoma-county-cabernet-sauvignon.html"><span style="color: #2288bb; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Louis M Martini 2009 Sonoma County Cabernet Sauvignon</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> and the </span><a href="http://www.ste-michelle.com/wines/columbiaValley/release/12"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Chateau Ste. Michelle Riesling</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> (and a random Moscato I picked up but can't remember the name of). Can you tell my mom (aka Anonymous in the comments) and my sister were over? And, my SIL who doesn't really drink wine partook yesterday as well! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I'll be back later tonight with another official day 24 post. </span><br />
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<a href="http://craftinanortherntown.blogspot.com/p/31-days-of-wine.html"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjw_Pt4FSsAeZewvYHki974jMgmfy6_Vb3jAGMC6ACUr0_23ipSWbuVtL1FomPv9Cw4Ty3nD3MoYK1mP_SDhpyWf-fBdlPoE65kWXMCCPX7CtvGSvl87mszU7ZlEo7olL38F0Zebo2xjF3o/s1600/31daysbutton.JPG " /></a>Jill @ Craft in a Northern Townhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17352269206169302592noreply@blogger.com0