For over a year and a half, my husband and I have been working on building an addition … a “porch” of sorts that would multi-task. Our house is small and we needed a dining room that could seat 8-10 people. But, it also needed to serve as a mudroom. The challenge was to make it pretty and practical. The absolute deadline was Christmas 2012 because it was our turn to host the holiday get-together for my family. We did it! I love my new sanctuary … C’mon on in and have a look …
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Have you ever had a hankering for something that really wasn’t all that important, but even so, the flicker of it remained alive on the far back burner in your mind? An antique step-back cupboard is something I’ve wanted for many years! I saved several photos from country magazines. I thought that maybe I might find one someday. The other thing was this: Ultimately, it would have to wear a coat of vivid indigo blue that was so popular in the late 1800s. Then, one day while visiting a friend, there stood a sad old cubby in a corner of his workshop. It was cement gray and held together with plywood. It had no back and was as crooked as a country road. But, in it, I saw a dream come true. (Above)
If only we had time for all the things we want to do! Here’s hoping you’re back up to speed soon!
Terry says: Have a peaceful and blessed Christmas my friend!
Marla says: Beautiful job!
Joan says: Oh what a lovely visit we just had – you always encourage, peak ideas and make life a joy. So happy Dove did so well – you did the right thing, they so amaze me with their closeness. What a wonderful ‘cubby’ – hmmmm IDEA!!! So sorry you had that awful cold – do take care so it doesn’t come back on ya and no matter when you get your porch pic’s out – I know it will be worth the wait. I too have a print like your farm girl friends – it always hung in my childhood bed room – I was told ‘like the sheep dog watching over the sheep – God too will watch over me’. Take care, God Bless, Merry Christmas
cora jo says: Sheri, If we didn’t have dreams of those favored things, what would we do with ourselves!? Praying your cold is long gone. Hoping for a peaceful Christmas for you, for me, and for all. Letting the merry gentlemen rest, I am up for the challenge of getting the things done. Our family (grown kids) have agreed to put $ in a hat and send it to a worthy charity…we’ve chosen one that will give chickens (or a goat if we can afford it) to a family around the world somewhere…even in the US. Rest. Enjoy.
Betty Benesi says: Ah a kindred spirit who believes in rescuing old furniture and hurt animals, a woman after my own heart. Your porch will still be there. Sometimes we just gotta let it go.
Be healthy and enjoy the Holiday just as it is! We always want perfection, but it’s really overated. Best wishes!
Hi Shery!
I so enjoyed this lovey dovey post… What a beautiful ending to your rescued dove story.That cupboard of yours is going to be fabulous!!!What a find! I so love it when those back burner dreams jump up and surprise us by coming true when we least expect it and sometimes when it’s most needed to keep us believing! I can’t wait for your porch unveiling… So nice to see you and the girls together… Can I move in? 🙂 🙂 🙂 Everything looks so cozy and homey!!! Get some rest so you can wrap up that nasty cold!
Lots of love to you and yourn!
Deb ( your beachy blog sister in the east )
xo
Joni says: I loved your post. I am like you when it comes to those old pieces. I am forever picking up pieces and dragging them home to ready up for my country kitchen and house. I am very fortunate to have a real Hoosier Cabinet in my kitchen and it has had a number of uses over the years. It now holds my herbs and herbal teas. So happy for the lovey dovies. We have them too. We also have swallows who come in the spring. I have learned that they come 14,000 miles from Argentina to Arizona to raise a few families each year. This past April they flew in and one of them flew into the rail of the front porch and died. It broke my heart. The one was alone for about a week and then disappeared for a while. But pretty soon came back with a new mate and raised several families. Thanks for such a delightful visit.
is a certified farmgirl at heart. She’s happily married to her beach bum Yankee husband of 20 years. She went from career gal to being a creative homeschooling mom for two of her biggest blessings and hasn’t looked back since. Debbie left her lifelong home in the high desert of Northern Nevada 10 years ago and washed up on the shore of America’s hometown, Plymouth, MA, where she and her family are now firmly planted. They spend part of each summer in a tiny, off–grid beach cottage named “The Sea Horse.”
“I found a piece of my farmgirl heart when I discovered MaryJanesFarm. Suddenly, everything I loved just made more sense! I enjoy unwinding at the beach, writing, gardening, and turning yard-sale furniture into ‘Painted Ladies’ I’m passionate about living a creative life and encouraging others to ‘make each day their masterpiece.’”
is a “MaryJane Farmgirl” who lives in a large metropolitan area. She is a lawyer who has worked in both criminal defense and prosecution. She has been a judge, a business woman and a stay-at-home mom. In addition to her law degree, she has a Masters of Theological Studies.
“Mustering up the courage to do the things you dream about,” she says, “is the essence of being a MaryJane Farmgirl.” Learning to live more organically and closer to nature is Rebekah’s current pursuit. She finds strength and encouragement through MaryJane’s writings, life, and products. And MaryJane’s Farmgirl Connection provides her a wealth of knowledge from true-blue farmgirls.
an old-fashioned farmgirl with a pioneer spirit, lives in the White Mountains of New Hampshire. As a “lifelong learner” in the “Live-Free-or-Die” state, she fiercely values self-reliance, independence, freedom, and fresh mountain air. Married to her childhood sweetheart of 40+ years (a few of them “uphill climbs”), she’s had plenty of time to reinvent herself. From museum curator, restaurant owner, homeschool mom/conference speaker, to post-and-beam house builder and entrepreneur, she’s also a multi-media artist, with an obsession for off-grid living and alternative housing. Cathi owns and operates a 32-room mountain lodge. Her specialty has evolved to include “hermit hospitality” at her rustic cabin in the mountains, where she offers weekend workshops of special interest to women.
“Mountains speak to my soul, and farming is an important part of my heritage. I want to pass on my love of these things to others through my writing. Living in the mountains has its own particular challenges, but I delight in turning them into opportunities from which we can all learn and grow.”
Dori Troutman is the daughter of second generation cattle ranchers in New Mexico. She grew up working and playing on the ranch that her grandparents homesteaded in 1928. That ranch, with the old adobe home, is still in the family today. Dori and her husband always yearned for a ranch of their own. That dream came true when they retired to the beautiful green rolling hills of Tennessee. Truly a cattleman’s paradise!
Dori loves all things farmgirl and actually has known no other life but that. She loves to cook, craft, garden, and help with any and all things on their cattle farm.
describes herself as a goat charmer, chicken whisperer, bee maven, and farmers’ market baker renovating an 1864 farmhouse on an Ohio farm. With a degree in Design, Mary says small-town auctions and country road barn sales "always make my heart skip a beat thinking about what I could create or design out of what I’ve seen.”
Rooted in the countryside, she likes simple things and old ways … gardening, preserving the harvest, cooking, baking, and all things home. While you might find her selling baked goods from the farm’s milkhouse, teaching herself to play the fiddle, or sprucing up a vintage camper named Maizy, you will always find her in an apron!
Mary says, “I’m happiest with the simple country pleasures … an old farmhouse, too many animals, a crackling fire, books to read, and the sound of laughter … these make life just perfect.”
is a budding rural farmgirl living in Palmer, the agricultural seat of Alaska. Alex is a graduate student at Alaska Pacific University pursuing an M.S. in Outdoor and Environmental Education. She lives and works on the university’s 700 acre environmental education center, Spring Creek Farm. When Alex has time outside of school, she loves to rock climb, repurpose found objects, cross-country ski on the hay fields, travel, practice yoga, and cook with new-fangled ingredients.
Alex grew up near the Twin Cities and went to college in Madison, Wisconsin—both places where perfectly painted barns and rolling green farmland are just a short drive away. After college, she taught at a rural middle school in South Korea where she biked past verdant rice paddies and old women selling home-grown produce from sidewalk stoops. She was introduced to MaryJanesFarm after returning, and found in it what she’d been searching for—a group of incredible women living their lives in ways that benefit their families, their communities, and the greater environment. What an amazing group of farmgirls to be a part of!
Suburban Farmgirl Nicole Christensen calls herself a “vintage enthusiast”. Born and raised in Texas, she has lived most of her life in the picturesque New England suburbs of Connecticut, just a stone’s throw from New York State. An Advanced Master Gardener, she has gardened since childhood, in several states and across numerous planting zones. In addition, she teaches knitting classes, loves to preserve, and raises backyard chickens.
Married over thirty years to her Danish-born sweetheart, Nicole has worked in various fields, been a world-traveler, an entrepreneur and a homemaker, but considers being mom to her now-adult daughter her greatest accomplishment. Loving all things creative, Nicole considers her life’s motto to be “Bloom where you are planted”.
Awesome sums it up:) Shery you not only a wonderful friend, you are a very talented entertainer:)
the wait was worth it. Loved it all. So many treasures. enjoy!
That’s a terrific looking room you have there and your hard work paid off splendidly. I hope and yours have a wonderful New Year with a new screened patio on the horizon.
Shery … Your porch is magnificent. You should be so proud of all the hard work you and Lynn did to make it all come together. What a pretty place to have a party. I was especially touched by the typewriter … I made my living as a school secretary, starting in the early 1970’s with an electric typewriter and, of course, ending my career using computers! Thanks for sharing your beautiful place … and Happy, Healthy NEW YEAR! God Bless … Carol
Shery: Thanks for sharing your wonderful porch and Christmas decorations. Looks real "spiffy" gal. Keep up the good work for 2013. Wish we could visit in person. Bonnie in Minnesota.
Love your new porch and all the lovely furniture. So nice and country like. HAPPY NEW YEAR TO YOU AND ALL YOUR FRIENDS. God Bless you.
Oh HOOORAY you have a most wonderfully, beautiful ‘old’ room. You two should be right proud for sure – such a lot of work and well worth it. Thanks for sharing the pictures – you really know how to stage. And I must say – y’all have way too much fun up there in the cold – our area is just getting built up so maybe here soon we can have some get togethers and dance hand in hand. Happy New Year to you and yours and I can hardly wait to hear from you next time. God Bless.
Thank you for the beautiful New Year’s gift!
What a treat to see your new porch, homemade and so sweet!
Too beautiful for words, and so inspiring to create new cozy spaces!
"Though no one can go back and make a brand new start, ANYONE can start from NOW and make a brand new ending…….Carl Bard
Happy New Years From Diana in Noel Mo!
Oh my I love your addition!!! I live in California and I too love country and I have a good
all American quarter horse. I love your old style which takes us back to simpler times and
is so charming. Oh yes, red is the best color to awaken a room and your wood pieces are
rustic and strong. Shery tell your husband he did a wonderful job. Enjoy your new place and God bless you in 2013! Happy Trails.
You’ve done yourself proud Shery my friend. Have a blessed 2013.
Shery, your porch is beautiful and I absolutely love it! The Christmas decorations are gorgeous. I know you are going to enjoy it for years to come. Wishing you a Blessed and Happy New Year.
Shery…
What a beautiful place to enjoy a Christmas! Love the finished porch and I’m sure it will give you grand memories.
The dance looks like a superb time was had by all. Small community get togethers just can’t be beat. The rodeo ball was truly a western way of greetin’ the New Year.
Thanks for sharin’!
Kim M
Your porch is awesome! Just think of all the fun family & friends times you will host. Happy New Year from NC!
Shery,
Your porch is beautiful! You really have the touch when it comes to decorating. I’m saving this post for inspiration for some of my own projects. Thanks for sharing. Happy New Year!
Jeanette
Oh Shery, it all looks so perfect.
So proud of you and Lynn for building such a warm and cozy porch (wish I had one like that … someday)!
Thanks for all the pics, it was like all your fans were there enjoying your Christmas feast with you. The cake sounds great … may try that myself.
Wishing everyone a great 2013,
take care, Marcie
Simply WONDERFUL…You amaze me with your creative abilities and your ability to visualize and plan your projects! I think that it’s good for us to see what you do and to give us that added PUSH to accomplish something wonderful in our own domain! I have been waiting for the unveiling of your porch room…Thank you for sharing!
It is because of YOU that we are working on a vintage travel trailer this winter. You finally pushed me over the edge and made me commit to a project that I have wanted to do for a long time. I also ran into a ‘spare’ that is plopped out in back for after the ‘Montana Cowboy/Cowgirl’ trailer gets done..
Here’s to many more projects that make life worthwhile! Happy New Year!
Hi Shery! Well, you’ve done it again~~~the party porch is totally adorable!! You are my decorating, "farmgirling", repurposing, inspirational fairy godmother! Thank you once again for sharing your heart & homey hospitality. I feel like I’m right there enjoying the party & your friendship. Can’t wait to see what you bring us this new year:0). Speaking of~~~Happy New Year~~~may you & your family & friends have good health, love, & Blessings from our Lord.
XOXO, Linda Sister# 971
Shery your porch is to die for! I love it, and it is in my favorite colors. Red and Blues. You and your husband should be proud of your project and just in time for your Christmas gathering. How perfect. It has been cold here in Michigan but in our area, which is called the snow belt, we have hardly any snow on the ground. Wishing you a very Happy New Year!
It’s just wonderful! Love it. Really like the red wall too!
My husband and I do most of our projects with recycled things also.
And a very Happy New Year to you, Shery. I too, sport a new "porch" which is windows on 3 sides and my sewing things live there. Ah. so sweet.
Love your porch project. I’ve been going back and forth on whether to add a wrap-around porch to my home or update my over 30 year old kitchen/bath/utility room area. My concept for a porch, was to use as part of my agri-business, antique/vintage storage and, of course, family & friends gatherings. As much as I would love to have a new country kitchen, I’m still leaning toward the porch.
Oh My Gosh, you are amazing. I am continually inspired by you.
We are working on a home, have been living in a yurt (illegally) for 5 years and I DON’T MISS A SINGLE ONE OF YOUR POSTS…..thank you for a year of inspiration. I follow you on pinterest for even more inspiration too!
Your porch is beautiful, just like you.
Happy New Year,
Terces
After looking at a handful of the blog articles on your website, I seriously appreciate your way of blogging.
I saved it to my bookmark webpage list.