My favorite color is October.

 I love October.  Profound, I know. But really, I LOVE October... the colors? Yes. But I also love the warm days and cool nights, the scent of crisp drying leaves, hayrides, pumpkins, sweaters, boots, soups and stews, caramel apples, pumpkin pies and orange skies. My dahlias are at their best and the field of corn in front of my house is in its glory drying to a mixture of green, brown, burgundy and gold.

 
Every year I look forward to October for all of these reasons, and every year I am more surprised by how quickly it arrives.  I feel like 2014 just began - and now we are nearing the end.  It is absolutely true that every year goes by faster and faster as we age.  All the more reason for me to slow down.  October's sheer beauty forces me to stop and look and just be in the moment.

 

 Thank you October.
xoxo

PS:  Pear of Hearts Farm on Facebook Hope you LIKE it!

Hello September!

Well hello there September!  Nice to see you again - although you didn't have to go and rush summer away like that so soon... but, truth be told, it is always nice to see you.  Mild days and cool nights are always welcome here.  Although less daylight isn't on the top of my list, it is nice that my chickens want to go to bed earlier - so I don't have to wait around to lock them in their coop.

August has been one busy month for me.  As I mentioned in a previous post, I opened a booth at a local antiques market -The Morgantown Market, in Morgantown, PA  https://www.facebook.com/morgantownmarket?ref=br_tf.  It has kept me busy going to auctions, thrift shops, and flea markets - to keep unique and fun vintage items stocked in my booth - and, even a few more in my home!  (oops! hazard of the trade, I suppose...)

One of the reasons I opened the booth - was to find a good way to sell the furniture I've been rejuvenating.  Unfortunately, with a 5'x8' booth, there are only so many pieces I can fit in - so, in turn, my home is bursting at the seams with lots of extras just waiting for their coming out party - like debutantes!  I'm a little disappointed that my furniture isn't flying out of the shop - but, truth be told, I only have 2 big pieces there and for the one perfect person to come in, fall in love, and take it home - takes time.  It's only just about the 3 month point now - and I have sold a handful of smaller furniture items like a chair and a sewing cabinet.

This cute little sewing cabinet sold really quickly.  I brought it home in sad shape from an auction and gave it some TLC, a new outfit, and some jewelry.  She was irresistible!

My small items, on the other hand, are selling pretty well.  Many of those items are antique and vintage.  Some are home made.  I have a knack for finding 4 leaf clovers, so whenever I do, I pluck it out of the ground and pop it into one of my gigantic books to press and dry.  After that is done, I mount and frame them.  I've given a few to very special people and the rest have gone into my booth.  They seem to be a big hit.  I'm not surprised.  Who doesn't want a little good luck around?

There's one of my framed four leaf clover's up on the shelf!

All this being said, I've found that once you get into the antiques business, you meet a lot of interesting and like minded people.  Some are purists, some are funky, some are creative, and some just want to give new life to great old items (or junk- it depends on your perspective).  Some, like me, are a little bit of all of these.  Through the Morgantown Market's owner, I met a woman who is involved in another business called Home Eclective - located in Downingtown, PA.  This place is pretty cool.  Essentially, it's "a group of local artisans who love the art of creation and giving found treasures a second life and a new home." (Quote taken from their facebook page).  Well, I think that sounds like me!  Here is a link to their Facebook page:  https://www.facebook.com/WCHomeEclective

Anyway, this weekend they are having an "Open Weekend" and I am going to be selling my furniture and other finds there!  I am both excited and nervous.  I'll be getting all these completed projects out of my home... Will people like them or hate them?  How much should I charge?  Is $ too much or too little?  Will I make enough to cover my expenses and continue on doing what I truly enjoy?  Lots of questions, I know... Time will tell.

Here are some of the items I'll have for sale there:

In the mean time, I've started a Facebook page for Pear Of Hearts Farm - if you are so inclined, check it out (and LIKE it!)  https://www.facebook.com/pearofheartsfarm  I haven't been the best at consistently posting on my blog - but really want to get better at that.  I do find that my Facebook page is a sort of Cliff Notes for my blog.  At least it hits the main topics!

Until next time - be grateful and kind and happiness will follow!

How sweet it is.

So, I finally got around to harvesting the honey from my poor bees that didn't make it through last winter.

Well, in truth, I can't really call it a harvest - because it was the honey left over from my hive of bees that sadly froze to death over the winter.  Being a young hive, my mentor suggested that I leave them plenty to make it through the winter. Well, I did, and they ate a good portion of it - but the brutal winter of 2013-2014 was too much for my little Italians to handle.

I gave the deep supers of honey that were left to my 2 new hives this spring to give them a good start.  The rest - about 10 or so pounds - I put aside (in my dining room for MONTHS) until I was able to find an extractor to borrow or buy cheap.  I was unsuccessful at that - so I ended up shelling out the $500+ for a new one of my own.  It was painful - but this big purchase is going to force me to stick with the bees through good times and bad!  My husband keeps asking why I choose such expensive hobbies (bees, chickens, organic gardening, etc...) and - I don't know... I guess the fun stuff just costs a lot - and besides, if I am lucky, I can make it profitable some day.

I began the harvest by uncapping the frames of honey and then putting four at a time into my extractor.  Then, the fun part was cranking the handle to literally use centripetal force to spin the honey out of the frames. I think I was a bit overzealous - as I got a blister on my hand!

Here is the pure golden wildflower honey being emptied from the extractor into the filter bucket.  The honey is slowly going through a fine mesh filter at the top of the bucket to remove any impurities such as wax or bee parts.  It may not sound very appetizing at this stage - but pure honey is virtually free of bacteria and can last indefinitely.  It also has been used for centuries for it's healing properties.  Sweet, huh?  ;)

After going through the filter, I let the honey sit in this bucket (covered) for a minimum of 24 hours for the air bubbles to settle - so my final product of bottled amber honey is clear and beautiful.

 I purchased 2 cases of 12 bottles (wishful thinking) - and couldn't resist the punchy red caps!  I also filled one lonely glass honey bear - which I recycled from local honey I purchased a while back. (There was no way I could toss that cute little bear in the recycling bin!)

Here's a look at my modest first harvest of honey - coming in at just under 11 pounds.  Unfortunately, it is not enough to sell - just barely enough to share with my family and the rest to our pantry until my (hopefully) first BIG harvest... next year!

By the way, from this harvest, I also was able to obtain some beautiful bees wax.  I'll write a future post on how I rendered the wax and what I plan to do with it.  You'll be learning along with me as it's all new to me.  I am, after all, a "new-bee!" 

What do you think of my pretty labels?  I just love them!

I promised to get you up to date on more of what I've been doing over the past several months and here goes.  As mentioned in my last post, it was a brutal winter here in South Eastern, Pennsylvania.  That gave me a lot of time to spend on Pinterest looking at hundreds of furniture makeovers inspiring me to do some of my own. And do some, I did! 

Here was my first of many projects done at Pear of Hearts Farm.  This was done in February of this year.

It's a solid maple vanity set - complete with a bench seat... I picked it up at a furniture consignment shop about 30 miles away.  It was a splurge for me at $150.  Sorry but I forgot to snap a before picture of the bench. (I'm pretty new to this blogging thing!)  The piece is very sturdy, very heavy, and has pretty lines - I especially love the turned legs.  Although it was probably made in the 1950's, it has a classic style that will go beautifully in my bedroom near my empire chest with similar turnings on the legs.

Like my pink socks?  ;)   Also, please excuse all the junk in the pictures - we had recently moved in!

Because the top of the vanity had a veneered finish which was quite chipped, I sanded it back to the bare wood. 

I just love my orbital sander.  It makes quick work of challenging jobs.





Below shows the entire top sanded down to bare wood.

The wood I found under the veneer was really lovely!  I just used Danish Oil in Cherry to bring out the beautiful grain.  I love the way it warms up the top and it goes well with my other bedroom furniture.












Next came the rest of the piece.  I decided to go with an almost black/midnight blue color that would contrast nicely with the top and with our pine floors.  I made my own version of chalk paint with flat paint from my local big box home store mixed with a little plaster of Paris and a splash of water. It was an "oops" paint that I purchased for a song!  Good thing I love the color.

 Here's the matching bench that I forgot to take a before picture of.  (And there are my washer and dryer waiting to be installed in the new house.  Thankfully they are in now!)

The home made chalk paint was such a thick lovely consistency that I only needed one coat.  Next, I distressed the paint to allow the maple to show through in selective spots and finished the entire vanity, mirror, and bench with 3 coats of wax. I found the knobs on ebay - they are fantastic.

Here is the bench completed with a fun fabric I picked up at my local fabric store.  I wasn't sure about it - but am going to live with it for a bit to see if it grows on me... It is easy enough to change if and when I choose to. Besides, we haven't gotten around to painting the bedroom yet - and I plan to go with a complimentary color.

I wanted to get a good shot of the entire piece but was too embarrassed to show my messy bedroom in the mirror's reflection! I have to learn some photography and/or styling skills to hide that - because I tend to have a lot going on in my home at any given time...


In the end, I am quite happy with the final result.  I feel special every time I sit here to do my hair and make up... which isn't often enough - as I'm a stay at home mom. (Which, by the way, is much harder than my former full time job of nearly 20 years!)

Well, it seems as if I started this blog and then went MIA... It's true, I began with all of the best intentions and then the move, the winter, and most of all - the overwhelming options of what to do next pretty much took me for a loop.

We made the move in late January - just in time for the coldest, snowiest winter to hit.  And it hit us hard - and won in a knockout.  There is a small farm nearby that I drive by often that at one point put up a white flag with a sign reading, "Okay winter, we give up. You win!"  That was wonderfully funny - and TRUE!

But now, here we are and it is officially summer. So, where have I been, and what have I been up to?  Well, lots of different things.  Because my husband is a workaholic and we are in the process of renovating our old house to get ready for tenants - not too much has happened here at our new farm.  We have been toying with lots of different ideas of what to grow here - and yes, there will definitely be some pears - but we ran out of time to truly start farming properly this year - so we are allowing a local dairy farmer to grow feed corn on our property.  He and his brother are wonderfully kind and friendly - and have proved to be a great resource for our many questions. My husband and I decided that it would be wisest to gather as much information and educate ourselves as much as possible before investing in a crop (or crops) to grow on our new little kingdom.

So far this year I have gotten 15 new chicks, started 2 new beehives and we have started to build a new big and beautiful chicken coop and run.  Besides that, we have been doing major repairs on our roof - and did I mention that my husband is typically away all week for his business?  Needless to say, things are progressing slowly (but surely).

That has left me alone with my 3 year old a lot - and I have to admit that while he is the BEST thing that has ever happened to me and I love him more than words can say, he can certainly exhaust this 40-something mommy!

In my first blog, I showed you a table I rejuvenated - and since then I have done LOTS of other pieces.  Some for my home and some for my new endeavor - a booth at a local shop called The Morgantown Market - located in Morgantown, PA - please check out (and LIKE) their Facebook page! HERE My spaces is just a 5'x8' area that I have filled with "a mishmash of homegrown, handmade, vintage, and rejuvenated items to bring life and love to your home."  It's kept me quite busy shopping, creating, rejuvenating old pieces, and keeping all of the stock inventory records.

Please forgive me for my period of being MIA... I have lots of things to share coming up - so stay posted!