Minnesota Bachman's Spring Revival Ideas House

Today, on a whim I decided to go check out Bachman's Spring Revival Ideas House.  It was so inspiring.

Bachman's is a floral, gift, garden and landscaping store.  It's a family business that has been in business since 1885. Today, it has grown to be one of the largest floral and nursery operations in the world.

I haven't been there in years.  The place is huge.  I was surprised to find a restaurant in the middle of it with tables set up in the green house.  The place was packed.  It's definitely a place I'm going to go have lunch at sometime soon.

The ideas house was built in the 1920's and is where Mr. Bachman and his family lived. Designers paint, furnish and decorate the house each season.  

The house is full of great ideas for things to make, ways to decorate, interesting ways to add plant life, etc.  Each room has a theme, with a nice mix of new, repurposed and vintage pieces. 

Most every item in the house is priced for sale too.  So, if you love it, you can buy it.

Here are some photo's.  I'll show you what inspired me.

I like the way they have decorated the entrance of this shed.  The art is hanging on small shovels with rope.

Here is the back of the shed, I love the flowers.

On the outside of the shed they decorated the windows with burlap and vines, then a plank to hold an assortment of garden boots with flowers.  

A treasure chest with hand-painted word art.

I thought this window box was really lovely with all the greenery, flowers, the wood vines and I'm loving those birch rolls.

These ideas were all from the outside of the house.  Tomorrow come on back, and I'll take you on the tour of the main floor of the house for some more inspiration.

If you want to check out the house yourself, you'll have to act fast.  It closes this weekend.

Thanks for checking in,

Virginia

Trisha Yearwood's Skillet Apple Pie Made In A Cast Iron Skillet.

A couple weeks ago, I made Trisha Yearwood's recipe for an Apple Pie in a cast iron skillet. 

It was so delicious that I thought I better share it with you guys.

Believe me, you're going to want to try it.

I love watching Trisha's cooking show.

I'm inspired each week to make one of her meals.

It's really fun and so far all the meals have been awesomely delicious.

This apple pie is so easy, I actually had my 19 year old son, Stone make it.

The photo here is copied from the Food Network.

Unfortunately, my photos were blurry.

Here's the link to watch the video and get the recipe details.
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/trisha-yearwood/skillet-apple-pie-with-cinnamon-whipped-cream.html

Let me know what you think.

Sketching With My #Gellyroll Pens

Sakura Gelly Roll Pens - So Good!

I fell in love with Sakura Gelly Roll Pens a couple years ago.
I asked my sister to get them for my Christmas present one year.
I love making art with these pens.
The paint just oozes out of them in the perfect amount.
They last a long time too.
They glide easily across the page with little effort.

Plus, there's so many colors to choose from.

I buy them all:

Souffle
Stardust
Metallic
Shadow
Moonlight
Classic

You can buy them at lots of places.

Here's a link:
http://www.gellyroll.com/

Hopefully this week, I will take some photos of some art I made with them and get them posted.

Thanks so much for checking in.

What exactly is doodling?

I can't talk on the phone without doodling.  It's helps me connect to my conversation.  I'm not good at doing multiple things at a time but doodling helps me focus.  It helps me relax.  It gets my creative juices flowing.

What is your go to doodle?  

What do you scribble when you have a fresh piece of paper and a great pen in your hands?  

Start with a bunch of circles.  Fill the page with the circles, shade them, outline them,  and fill them in.

Maybe your doodle is drawing hearts, or writing your name, or the word LOVE.

My doodles always start with a circle and then I make that circle into a flower.  I like all shapes, lines, etc.  

Pattern thrills me!

I encourage you to FIND YOUR DOODLE.

It's good for the brain. 

Author Sunni Brown says doodling enhances our creativity.  

The reason for this is because while doodling we use our brain in 3 different ways.

Visually - we are seeing what we are drawing.

Kinesthetic - we're using our hands to draw.

Auditory - we are processing information by listening to what is being said.

It enhances how we take in information.  I also read that it helps our memory.  If these aren't good reasons to start doodling then I don't know what is.

It's just... fun!

My Favorite Pin Repinned

I pinned this picture a couple of years ago and it is one of the pins that gets repined on a regular basis.


My kitchen has a bay window, and the colors are similar.  I really liked the way this kitchen made me feel while looking at it.
It's comfortable, clean, has some warmth.  I like the round table, fresh flowers. 


I also really like the window treatments.


What's your favorite pin?


Do you use pinterest?


I love it.


You create all kinds of boards.


Last month, I had another Jockey Person to Person party.  What a great time.  I should have wrote a post about all the great clothes I got again for hosting.  It was incredible.  I'm so bummed that Jockey is closing down this division of their company.  I will be on the lookout for another product like it in the future.







Anyways, sorry I got off track.  Here's a board I created on pinterest to inspire me for the party.


https://www.pinterest.com/virginiajbailey/party-tonight/


I do this kind of thing a lot.  The pillows for the couch are something I'm still planning to make for my living room couch. 

I'll keep you posted.


If you haven't signed up with pinterest yet, you might want to.  If you already are, great.  Either way, follow me, so I can find and follow you there too.  I'm always on the look out for new inspiration.

Weekend Sketching and the Movie, The Hundred-Foot Journey.

I love it when I find some time to do a little practice sketching.  This one was done using gel pens. Don't you just adore the way the ink spills out of a these pens? I'm kind of pleased with the way her eyes turned out.  A little disappointed in the ear.  Maybe I should have covered it with her hair?  Oh well, practice, practice.

This was a bible verse from a couple of weeks ago in church.  Jesus was asked by his disciples which is the most important commandment of all.
Ah, interesting question, I thought, so I wrote it down. Who knew I would be using it on some art?  The second most important commandment is to love your neighbor as yourself.  If only everyone could do this?  I wonder what our world be like?

Last night, we watched the movie "The Hundred-Foot Journey."  We all were kind of surprised that we really enjoyed it. Watching others embrace their passions is so inspiring.  Yes?

Trailer for The Hundred-Foot Journey