Something Big is Coming....

TDIPT Mercantile will be celebrating it's annual Holiday Open House during the month of November!

We hope you'll join us, as we'll have holiday offerings galore from our talented artists, as well as a generous giveway!

See you there in November.

a Missouri Autumn like no other...

We've been taking short day trips around northern Missouri in the last few weekends of October, trying to capture all the beauty that God has blessed us with.

I truly can't remember such vibrant colors in many seasons past, so I can only attibute it to all the rain that we got through the year.

And just like life, there is a lesson to be learned here for me .... no matter how much we complained on every single motorcycle trip we took over the summer, about getting rained on / rained out, our endurance paid off and our reward is evident this fall.

Witness the beauty with me:

HAPPY AUTUMN FROM MY HOME TO YOURS ♥

Suitable for Framing!

Last summer, we took a bike trip out to Tennessee to visit some of hubs kin and had such an awesome time!

Unfortunately I think it was the last day of our stay that Darrell cracked their toilet seat. Their home is so beautiful and hubs felt just terrible about it, but Larry and Patti were more than gracious about the whole thing.
Darrell wanted to make sure and get a replacement, but had a sneaking suspicion it wasn't the last time he'd see that purdy ole ring!

Lo and behold last week, a package arrived from his brother - Larry went and immortalized Darrell - a frame fit for a KING! ♥

I told Pat that I love all forms of art - even when it's circling the tank. I love the lengths that Larry went on his creation - right down to the toilet paper border around the photo.

So dont be surprised when you see this new artframing showing up around the flea markets and craft shows! You can say you saw the original right here, folks! :)

Calling on YOU...

I just went to the Breast Cancer site for my daily "click for a mammogram"

and was alarmed to see that they are PLEADING for MORE CLICKS!

The

7th Annual Pink Ribbon Challenge

is in full swing but there are only 19 days left to participate

and the breast cancer site has reported they are only at 30% of their goal!!

Now, I dont know about you but for me, that is just unacceptable.

It's such an easy thing to do...

visit the

BREAST CANCER SITE

and click the pink ribbon!

It's just that simple ♥

But wait...

do you leave yourself notes and emails and pop-up reminders daily?

I know I have to, and now, the Breast Cancer Site now has an option for you to sign up for a daily reminder to be sent to click for a mammogram - and you get a free pin to seal the deal!

Does it get any better than that??

Giving Thanks

Just a note to share my TDIPT Mercantile offering for October - and this gal is just in time for the Thanksgiving season and the TDIPT upload tonight!

I love creating this simple pilgrim, who always resonates a peaceful heart and humble spirit of prayer.

If you are interested, drop me a note ♥

EXTRA! EXTRA! Read All About It....

Today is the beginning of our Birthday Celebration,

which runs from October 13th - October 20th!!

It's hard to believe that To Dwell In Primitive Times (TDIPT) is celebrating their 3rd Birthday!

This group has been such a blessing to me over the years.

I have formed true bonds and made great friendships with some genuine and wonderfully talented artists that I treasure as much as my "real life" friends.

Anyway, back to the point of my headlines....

We are celebrating in a big way by hosting festivities packed awesome handmade gifts (from some of the best artisans out there) that will be given away from October 13th - 20th!

I have donated one of my Santa masks for the celebration - so I hope you will be sure to get your name in the hat! Dont delay ... make your way over to the TDIPT blog today !

This is one gig you don't want to miss out on ♥

Took a lil ride yesterday

and had a great time - it was a lovely fall afternoon in Missouri!

We met up with my bff from high school, who I am thrilled to reconnect with after 30 years. Had some lunch and took off for a ride in the country. The colors are just starting to pop in my neck of the woods and you have to look quickly, they don't stick around long in northern Missouri.

There was a Fall Apple Festival in a quaint little town not far from me. Weston, Mo. actually holds alot of my family history and there are still quite a few businesses running under the Vaughn name there.

We found a place to park in this normally sleepy little town that was bustling with activity and it just happened to be right in front of a tobacco drying barn. If you have never seen tobacco drying, it's actually quite captivating (at least it is for me). I would love to have a stalk or two hanging in my house. The aroma is so rich and sweet ... I stood inside the door for several minutes just looking at row upon row of the wonderful stuff. There are several drying barns in the area and I'd love to find an owner of one to see if I could buy a stalk or two!

The best part? Always the dogs, don't you think? They seem to always give any celebration the "awwwww" factor!

With that, I'll leave you with a simple emotion to share today:

Project reStart

A group of us from the office volunteered to serve lunch at a community outreach for homeless folks and families with no place to turn.

This program is called reStart and their intent is to provide shelter and food to folks and help them get back on their feet and into a home of their own.

It was such a blessing for us to go down and serve lunch and visit with the good people that work there and live there. I can't think of a better way to spend a few hours on a Sunday afternoon.

Hubs went along and before I knew it, he was washing dishes with the crew, and helping out wherever he could find a need.

He's a keeper!

I met alot of new friends today and one that really touched my heart was named Xavier. He is 5... going to be 6 soon - and I promised to come back and visit him soon.

who'd a thunk it

If you are like me, once in awhile you create a piece that you would rather keep than sell, but being a business woman, you feel like you should put it up for sale anyway.

That's how I felt about my latest Scarecrow on the TDIPT Mercantile. Yesterday, I spent the day decorating my house and realized I had the perfect spot for this guy that has been tugging at my heart for a couple of weeks now.

I think it was destiny... don't you?

Employee Appreciation Day

Have I mentioned lately that I work for the best company EVER?

It's true, they genuinely care about all of their associates and treat us like gold! Today is Employee Appreciation Day and the morning started with breakfast being catered, including pancakes, eggs, sausage, juice and fresh fruit.

These are a few random shots to share of folks I work with -

My sweet friend, Morabia is showing a little flair for the "birdie".

Everything was delightful but the best was to come after the meal. We had a little contest to see who could make the most creative pancake. You could do any design you wanted but you were only allowed one flip of the spatula and it was judged by applause.

We had everything from palm trees to T-Rex dinosaurs, Spongebob Squarepants to Mr. Bill! I was going to show my witty side and decided to pour a lightbulb ... thinking it was a "Bright Idea"! lol... needless to say, I didn't win but a big congratulations to Amy who poured an awesome butterfly and decorated it with pineapple, peached and strawberries!

This afternoon, the ice cream man will make the rounds.... yippeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

I Scream - You Scream - We All Scream - for Ice Cream!!

Let's Do Lunch....

Who'd a Thunk It?
Two of my very dearest friends share the same birthday and in honor of these girls, I'd love to do lunch with both of them!

Happy Birthday to my treasured friends -

Carol of Nostalgic Folkart

and

Peanut of Countryfolk Keepsakes

If you have a minute, wont you drop by and send them a birthday wish? I'm sure it would make their day!!

Love you guys so much!
God has blessed my life with YOU ♥

What a weekend!

We rode down to Ozark, MO early Saturday morning to attend a Bike Blessing at a fellow BFC (Bikers for Christ) chapter church. Their Sunday morning gathering and service was called Bikes, Bibles and Blessings.

We made great time going down, and were almost to our destination when the rains moved in on us. I dont think we have been on one ride this year without it rain and you would think I'd be used to it by now. Rain or not, we weren't about to let that stop our fun!

It was a great time visiting our south Missouri friends and spending time with them. God blessed our Sunday with nice weather (eventually) and a fantastic turnout of about 275 folk at the church.

We even made the local news ... check it out here.

God was Honored and Glorified!