Maple Syrup Festival

Another outdoor winter adventure in Ohio is to attend a maple syrup festival. This year I visited Hale Farms to enjoy the tapping of fresh maple syrup. Of course it was another cold winter day though.... but we braved the cold and enjoyed the pancakes. The farm was available to tour as well as watch demonstrations.... There were things made with Maple syrup I never even imagined!

Girl's Day at the Winery!

What better way to spend a Saturday than with a great group of gal pals enjoying wine? I can't think of one.... especially on March! A group of four of us met in the middle and spent the day at a beautiful winery in Canton, OH called Gervasi. At first we thought the GPS had to be taking us to the wrong address since we were in a residential area but once we found the arch and drove down a long drive, we were quickly introduced to the impeccable grounds of the winery. I could only imagine how much more gorgeous it would have been if it weren't the dead of an OH winter.....

 We spent the entire day there. There are several venues actually on the grounds and other than the hotel, we visited them all. We began with lunch in the "Crush House" followed by a tour that concluded with a wine tasting pairing.....

 We then did some shopping in the store on grounds and had dinner at "The Bistro".

 Our evening concluded with a bourbon tasting in the "Still House" which was clad out to look like an old speakeasy.

 It was a wonderful day with the gals. I would definitely recommend a visit to this winery.... I even plan to try to get back there myself in the fall. I came home with quite the haul as well!

Happy 90th Birthday!

I have been very blessed in my life to have known all of my grandparents, some great-grandparents even, and to have had step-grandparents who were just as doting as the real thing. I am even further blessed to still have one of those grandparents alive. My Grandma Jane is the epitome of the Southern Heritage side of the family right down to the sweet southern accent she still bears.

This year Grandma turned 90! We decided to surprise her with a family get together at a cousin's house telling her we were picking her up to go with us out to dinner. Once inside and she saw all of our family, it took only a second before the tears welled up. She was so touched and surprised! It was just a small gathering but it meant the world to her.

Over her 90 years, she had been through a lot.... lost brothers in the coal mines, divorced, raised my father, was widowed twice, and is her last remaining sibling of a family of 12. She lived through the depression, worked many years as a nurse, and learned to drive when most women didn't....it was only fitting to celebrate her many years and all she overcame.....

I made the arrangements to be "girly" while still fitting her country style. The candles are decoupaged with actual photos of her through the years.

 Including her own baby photo and one where she is holding my dad after he was born.

We even made sure the wrappings her gifts were in were fitting to her roots and style.

Cheetah Truck Holiday Top

OK can we just say I am in LOVE with this holiday top I got this year! How absolutely cute is this design of the little red truck being in leopard print?!?!? I have worn it so many times already.... it runs generous so I do wish I had gotten a smaller size but it washes well and I am so happy with my purchase! Thank you babychloescloset (DM her on instagram to get yours!)!!!!!!!!

First I wore it to my bocce Christmas party styled with a faux fur vest....

Then... even though you really can't tell it's the same top... I wore it with a plaid puffer vest to take Dante to see Santa Paws!

Then today I wore it again, even more casually... styled with a leopard Miss Me belt, Levi's and my Ariat Fat Baby boots to finish up my Christmas shopping!

Holiday Shopping

Despite my English "snobbishness" for brands and Italian affinity to "high end", I have discovered two new treasure troves for shopping during this past year...both of which may seem odd... but are wonderful stores I highly recommend for gift shopping.

The first is Tractor Supply Company.... I know right! But I am dead serious! While they are not full of the same decor and holiday zeal as my second recommendation, they are full of wonderful gift ideas from cute clothes, boots, scarves and gloves, right down to farm house decor items...... and how can you beat this cute gift wrap I used from there this year?!?

The second store that has become a new favorite is Petitti's.... I know they are a chain here in Northeast Ohio but unsure exactly how far they reach. If you have one anywhere near you, I highly recommend you stop in... it is NOT your neighborhood nursery anymore! I actually bought quite a few gifts here this year and their holiday displays far beat any department store I visited this year!

Comment below... what new gold mines did you find this ear for holiday shopping?

A Buffalo Check Front Porch

The first thing to get decorated entirely for the holidays each year is the front porch for obvious reasons.... it needs to be done while the weather still holds out in Northeast Ohio and it's the first thing people see. With Buffalo check being so popular this year and this gorgeous ribbon I found I Sam's Club this year I was inspired to go all out in red!

My mom is the best bow maker ever so I of course recruited her to tie all these gorgeous bows. I pulled the old sled and skates from the back of my parents garage as well and picked up the throw from Five and Below this year.The package on the chair is actually a grape crate wrapped up. I took my normal leopard welcome mat and put a Dollar Store red welcome mat over it to add color. The wreath on the front door was made by myself several years back now but the cotton was added last year. The garlands and wreath on the railing is also reused from years before and simply updated with the new ribbon. The new red truck welcome flag came from JoAnn's this year.