Sunday, September 30, 2012

Blue Spring

A gorgeous blue gem is located ten miles west of Eureka Springs, Arkansas on Highway 62. Blue Spring is a quiet getaway into the natural world. There is over a mile of trails winding through the 33 acres of the Blue Spring Heritage Center.

The gardens range from an indigenous woodland garden to a healing Medicine Wheel.

Historical Blue Spring is a natural wonder that pumps 38,000,000 gallons of water each day. 38 million? Yup. There are 38 million gallons of some of the purest and coldest water in the region flowing from this spring into the stocked trout lagoon and then into White River.

This area has an incredibly rich history. I recommend beginning your tour with the historic film and museum. An archaeological dig of the small bluff shelter confirmed American Indian artifacts dating back to 1700A.D. In fact, the bluff shelter is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Blue Spring Heritage Center is open from 9 am - 6 pm every day from March 15 through Thanksgiving. 

Autumn is perfect for hiking and Thanksgiving will be here before we know it!  Visit Blue Spring today!

Happy hiking!  ;-)  -Marci



Wednesday, September 26, 2012

Are You a No-Reply Blogger?

Well, I was a "No Reply" Blogger but had no idea!

Thank you, Danni  at  Siloh Hill Farm  for telling me! 
(A real friend will tell you!)

 In the wonderful world of bloggy land I found

 
 
There are wonderful directions at  Pleasant Home  to fix my "No Reply" status and now beautiful bloggers everywhere can respond to all my crazy questions!
 
If you would like to double check your blog, head over to  Pleasant Home !

And, thanks again,  Danni !  I love your  Inspiration Cafe !
 
Happy blogging!  ;-)  -Marci
 

Tuesday, September 25, 2012

20 Days 2 Clean Tips

Thank you, Anne of Domesblissity , for the inspiration to organize and clean!
 
Anne is giving credit to Katrina at The Organised Housewife ! Thank you, Katrina!
 
Katrina has thrown down the challenge...
 
 


...And WOW, can Katrina throw down a challenge!
She gives lots of direction on what to do each day and even gives you weekends free!
 
I've been somewhat lazy in the photo taking department, but wanted to give a couple of tips of my own.


1.  Take 'give aways' to Good Will 1 box at a time. 

As each room has been cleaned, there has been a bag or box of items for Good Will Donation.  It is so much easier to take one box per day.  (I usually wait until my car looks like it is owned by a messy homeless person before going to Good Will.  Then unloading is one monster of a hassle.)

2.  Check out PaperBackSwap.com

If you have lots of books, this is a fun way to give *and get* books.  Any titles that you don't think you'll read again soon, post them on the website.  For each book you send, you get credit to recieve a book!  It's a nice way to keep your bookshelf tidy but still read lots of books!

I'd love to hear how you keep your home tidy!

Happy organizing!  ;-)  -Marci

Monday, September 24, 2012

Arkansas Missouri Railroad

The Arkansas Missouri Railroad offers a train ride from Springdale to Van Buren, Arkansas. 
 
 
The tracks run right through our beautiful Ozark Mountains. 
 
 
 We were excited to purchase tickets and take the most energetic six year old we know on a little adventure. 


The conductor told us this particular car was originally built in the 1920's and later restored.  It was beautiful.

 
Our tickets were for the Vista Dome car.  It's a double decker car and our seats were in the top.

 
We were surrounded by windows, windows, windows.

 
Arkansas is so beautiful and our second story view was spectacular.
 
 
The train wound slowly through our gorgeous hills,


 beside streams,

 
under highway overpasses
 
 
through tunnels, (dark tunnels)

 
and brought us to the lovely town of Van Buren.

 
The ride took just over two hours.

 
Then we had three hours to visit downtown Van Buren.

 
This part of town has old, charming buildings.


Our favorite spot was a book store that had a wonderful children's section.  Now that Mr. Big Stuff can read, we sat down and read books to each other.

 
Our train then chugged and puffed back over the hills, 
 
 
near the bluffs,
 
 
and between the beautiful trees.
 
 
We left Springdale at 8:00 am and returned at 4:00 pm.  It was one of those clear, sunny days where the morning low was 42 and the afternoon high was 79.  We wore lots of layers which were added and removed depending on the sunshine and the air conditioning!
 
As my dear friend, Joyous, likes to say... 
 
We were deliciously exhausted.  It was a sweet adventure we won't soon forget!
 
;-)  -Marci

Sunday, September 23, 2012

Tu - Tus

Would you like to see one of Chubby Fashionista's birthday gifts?
 
 
She already loves pink!


I've been making Tu - Tus for a while, but this pink and green one just might be my favorite!     

 
Well, maybe the little girl wearing it is my favorite! ;-) She's pretty special!
 
 
The yellow and black tu tu is for a baby shower in October.  If you would like to see the lil Super Model wearing, click HERE!

 
The traditional pastel tu tu was another baby shower gift this Summer.


Lavender and soft pink are so pretty together!



Polka dots just make me smile! 

 
So, here's my tu tu making method...
 
 I purchase one of the kits with the tube top and two colors of tulle already cut.  To that, I add a 10 yard roll of tulle in a complimetary color and usually some type of ribbon.
 
 
I pretty much follow the directions on the package.


 
My favorite pattern is
 
2 strips of one color from the kit
 
2 strips of the other color from the kit
 
1 strip of the added tulle


Repeat.

 
Keep going all the way around the tube top!
 
As for the ribbon, it gets used somewhere near the top. 
 
The dark pink ribbon is pretty wide and is threaded all the way around the top.
 
 
 
The white ribbon is laced back and forth up the front, kind of like a corset.
 
 
The black ribbon is just a simple bow.
 
 
There are so many tu tu tutorials (sorry, couldn't resist the pun) posted in blogland, I didn't spend much time on this tutorial.  If you have any questions, just let me know at 
 
stone (dot) cottage (dot) adv (at) cox (dot) net
 
I'll be glad to answer any questions!
 
Maybe this post will give you a new idea for all the sweet princesses in your life!  I'd love to hear about your favorite tu tus!
 
Sending you hugs!  ;-)  -Marci
 
 

Thursday, September 20, 2012

Lake Leatherwood

 Let me tell you about a favorite camping spot... 

Lake Leatherwood, Hwy 62 near Eureka Springs, Arkansas

My birthday happens to be the last average frost date for our area, mid April. My perennial gift request is a camping trip with our family.  It’s strange to think about camping with the family when our children are now grown and far away. These days it is just Handsome Husband and me. In our old age, we have traded the tent for a travel trailer.

Lake Leatherwood is a favorite spot for spring camping trips. It is owned by the City of Eureka Springs. The dam for the lake was built in the 1940’s and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It is one of the largest hand-cut native limestone dams in the country. It is beautiful and makes up a portion of their approximate 15 mile trail sys-tem. Visitors can hike across the dam for a lovely view.

There are tent sites, RV sites and cabins available. Canoes and paddleboats are ready for the water worthy. Our children would spend hours canoeing slowly around the shallow end of the lake looking at fish and turtles. Fishermen can expect blue gill, crappie, bream, large mouth bass, and channel catfish. Boating is allowed, subject to a no wake requirement. The swimming area hosts a large rock platform for kids who like to make a splash.

The 1600 acre park supports many species of wildlife. We have seen heron, geese, deer and turkeys. The woodlands showcase gorgeous wildflowers, mushrooms and moss.

If your family looking for a fun day trip or overnight camping, consider Lake Leatherwood! 

;-)  -Marci

Sunday, September 16, 2012

T-Shirt Makeover #6 Boat Neck


If you would like to see the other five T-Shirt Makeovers, click  HERE !

You might remember the fun  Yards and Yards of Yard Sales  shopping spree where I found this cool (but floppy) T-Shirt!  You know how I love a good T-Shirt makeover!


What do you think? 



I love having a new graphic T!

I found a pattern review at Susie Homemaker (or so I think) .  (What a great name for a blog!)  Then I found an Ah - MAY - ZING tutorial at Family Ever After  by Abby at Sew Much Ado .

And so the adventure begins.  I documented the whole thing. 

Ummm...  Some of my pictures are not in focus.  EESH! 

I begin by laying the floppy T as flat as possible. 


Then I placed a Tshirt that I like on top.  Since most of the bulk will be cut from the shoulder, I want to see how much to cut.  OK.  'Looks like quite a bit of fabric up there on those shoulders, but not enough to just cut straight across the top. 
 
 
 Here's where the pictures go wrong.  'Sorry for the drawings. 
 
If you can see the green line, the collar and sleeves were whacked and about one inch was cut from the shoulders.
 
 
Since this will be a boat neck, I need a straighter line across the neck.  Using my handy dandy yard stick and chalk, I drew a line from the middle of the shoulder to the edge of the cut collar.  (I hope you can see the purple lines on the drawing.) 
 
 
 

Then I cut along that purple line.  'Got the idea? 


Next, a 5/8 inch seam was made across each shoulder.  The seams were ironed.  Beginning on the edge of the shoulder, I top stitched 1/4 inch across the entire front and then across the entire back.  This made the shoulder nice and tidy and also hemmed the top. 



This shirt was pretty big on me.  I took a 5/8 inch seam on each side, then trimmed away the extra fabric.  The sleeves were cut to fit and sewn back in place. 



Done!



 
I'm diggin' the boat neck,

 
 
and the length.
 


It definitely screams "M A R C I"!      Hey, that's me!  ;-)  -Marci

BTW...  This is what I wore to a car show.  One of our neighbors has some kind of fancy Corvette.  It was fun to look at cars and visit with friends, but I really don't know a thing about cars. 

Lots of people complimented my cool, new, graphic, boat neck T!  It was a good day!  ;-)  -Marci

Thursday, September 13, 2012

20 Days 2 Organise and Clean Ur Home

This  Organised Housewife  challenge has been so motivational!
 
Thank you,  Katrina !
 
 
 
What have I done lately?
 
Curtains, very dusty curtains, have been washed and re-hung.
 

 
Yup, the ones in the kitchen, too!
 
 
The vanity in the bathroom has a 'new' basket and is all spiffy.  I use the term 'new' loosely.  There were three of these baskets sitting on a shelf, empty.  So, it's really a 'new-to-the-bathroom' basket!
 
 
What a difference a basket makes, huh?

 
I like bible study, reading and drawing before falling asleep, so my nightstand was a train wreck.  Not anymore.

 
That's better!
 
 
This flower pot organizes my pens, pencils and markers.  They were just loose in a drawer.

 
The books have been narrowed to two tidy stacks.  Yes, there are three translations of the Holy Bible on my night stand.


Side note...  Charles Summey is one of my favorite local artists.

 
Two of his prints hang beside our bed.  These happen to be Autumn ones.  I love the colors!


Thanks again, Katrina ! 



This  challenge  has been wonderful for our home! 

;-)  -Marci