Category: Uncategorized

I love my flower gardens. It’s taken me several years of being an adult and having my own home, but I really do love them now and I’m so enjoying taking care of them each year and watching them grow and develop!  When we moved into our home almost 4 years ago, the yard had been overrun by flower gardens…I mean seriously overrun.  There were more flower gardens than yard and due to the owners health they really hadn’t been given attention for quite some time.  Fast forward four years and we’ve eliminated a couple of those gardens (probably to the dismay of her family) in exchange for grass for our dog and boys to enjoy.  We’ve attempted to wrangle it down to one “wild” bed (it’s going to get tackled in the next year hopefully), two perennial beds, window boxes, and added a couple raised flower beds.

There are still a lot of flowers and I love it even more.  This spring I would say I’ve enjoyed working on and developing my gardens more than ever (Yes, I said “mine” as flowers are not T’s thing!!  He focuses on the vegetable garden!) So, what did I plant this year?

Continue “Flower Gardens: May 30th”

It’s Friday and that means I’m featuring another fantastic business in Franklin County! This time it’s one of Hampton’s Specialty Shops: Cornerstone Cottage and owner Judy Wrolson!  Cornerstone Cottage is a great little shop on main street of downtown Hampton full of all sorts of treasures.

When I interviewed Judy about how she got started, she said that she has always been a crafter and sold her crafts around town at craft shows and through events with Franklin County Cottage Industries.  They focused on building their businesses through education, promotion, and building their brands.  They had also been working on taking over the gift shop at Dudley’s Corner at the intersection of I-35 and Highway 3.  Within several years, three of the members had established their own brick and mortar industries.  She excitedly opened her store on September 11th, 2001.  She won’t ever forget that day for more than one reason!

Continue “Friday in Franklin County: Cornerstone Cottage”

Colossians 3:16 – “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God”

Woofta, it’s been awhile since we’ve seen Random Monday Thoughts (the last one you can find HERE), but I actually missed doing them, so they are back for now!  I think it’s good sometimes to sit back and reflect on

Matthew 7:24 – “Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock.”

Have a small business? Have a Facebook page, but not sure what you should be posting? Out of ideas of things to post? Not sure what to try or put out there?  It’s happened to all of us and I’m here to help you!  Here are 5 posts that I highly recommend you use for your page!  I’ll try to make this as simple as possible!

Continue “5 Facebook Posts You Need!”

It’s graduation time here in North Iowa and I can’t help but think about R graduating in a short 3 years…or about how I felt 16 (gasp!) years ago when I graduated.  I also can’t help but remember when I was the graduate.  There are so many mixed emotions.  There is part of me that feels like those days were just a year or two ago and the other part of me feels like a lifetime ago.  I suppose that’s because it was a lifetime ago.  Wait…how did I get this old??

But, I digress…

Dear Graduate, 

I have several things to say, so bear with me if you would.  The next week or two is going to evoke a lot of emotions…sadness, happiness, pure excitement, and fear.  You’re not only going to feel these emotions in the next week or so, but the next several months as you prepare for the next step in your life.  So, here are a couple things to keep in mind as you move forward.  

Continue “Dear Graduate: A Letter”

Psalm 95:5-6 “The sea that he made belongs to him, along with the dry land that his hands formed. Come! Let us worship and bow down; let us kneel in the presence of the Lord, who made us.”