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February Greetings Farmgirls! Valentine’s Day is just around the corner and I’m feeling a tad bit guilty that I haven’t come up with just the right gift for my sweet yankee for * love day * yet. Instead, my heart is all a flutter over my newfound love interest *PINTEREST* and my passion for the color RED! I promise by the end of this post you’ll be ” FIRED UP ” for the color RED too!
WARNING… Readers BEWARE! You might end up a ” pinner ” too!
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”.
Red…yes, red! My barn isn’t red, but it’s roof is. It’s become a landmark for giving directions to people. Love it!
How fun! We have " The little red School House " as a landmark for directions to our house too! Thanks for reading! xo Deb
I am right there with you !! I love red too, and have fond memories of my red car (a sporty T1000) back in the day !!!!
Also, I have had a longstanding love affair with red barns…thanks, that was a great visual, a vibrant creation of LOVE !
Hi Laura, Honestly, there isn’t enough space in the world to share how much I love the color RED! I wonder, is there a book devoted just to the color red? Must be? Hmmmm??? Thanks for reading and for your note! xo Deb
Love….love your red post today girlie!! Oh happy day!
Happy Day to you too Johnalee! Thanks for stopping by! xo Deb
Wow, Deb! First of all I have to say that you were one gorgeous bride. LOVE the red and absolutely LOVE Pinterest. My front door is also a maroon red. Used to be more of a barn red and I changed it when I had the house painted. I do often think that it should be a bit brighter, perhaps!
I still have a pair of my mom’s red lace-up cowboy boots, size 7M. They are too small for me or I would be wearing them! I just want them to go to someone that appreciates the history…
I really enjoyed your blog today and it brightened my day!
Awe, thanks Jan!! Our front door is red too! Dust those red boots off and set them out on a bookshelf… My mom has a RED pair that are too small for her now too, but she had some boot skootin’ fun times in them. We came across them when we re-did her room and found a place out in the open for her to enjoy them! Thanks for reading! xo Deb
Thanks for the nudge, I had never put my – OH yeah!!! RED is my go to color fetish – into this context but as a matter of fact I am preparing to make embroidered RED stitching pillow cases – Good Morning – Good Night – just for a POP on my bed or guest bed. RED, doesn’t it just feel good? I hope you have a happy RED day everyday.
Hi Joan! A DOSE OF RED everyday, is sure to KEEP THE BLUES AWAY ! I love red embroidery!
Thanks for reading! xo Deb
Deb, I think you started that book devoted to the color of RED right here!! You planted the seed, let it grow !! xo
GREAT MINDS! I was thinking the same thing! Thanks for the encouragment! XO
I too was sucked into the Pinterest vortex. So much fun, but the hours do pass quickly if you’re not careful. Red is my absolute favorite color…even have a board dedicated to it.
I live in CA, far from any farms; but finding all of you at MaryJane’s has confirmed that I’m not crazy!! I’m a farmgirl at heart, plain and simple. My goal now is to get out of the "big city" and experience some wide open spaces.
Thanks for the encouragement!
Hi Maria, Yes, I have to be careful about too much " Pin time " myself !MaryJanesFarm is just the best place in the world for encouraging farmgirl dreams! Glad you are here and thanks for reading! xo Deb
I want to repin every one of those!!
I know… aren’t they great? Thanks for reading! xo Deb
Love your fiery RED post … so many beautiful things you’ve pinned! Pinterest is fun and a great source of inspiration.
Blessings,
Catherine 🙂
Hi Catherine! Well, thanks… it wasn’t too hard to get " swept away " pinning all that lovely red! I do find it inspiring too! Thanks for reading! xo Deb
OH, I LOVE the color red. It is my favorite color…really truly. There’s a photo of me when I’m not even 2 years old yet, walking with my father, wearing a red jacket 🙂 🙂 Plus, I love Pinterest, too…so much beauty and vintage cuteness to find there 🙂 Love and hugs from the ocean shores of California, Heather 🙂
Hi Heather! What else is a girl to do when its’ too cold to walk the beach? Pin of course! Thanks so much for your note! xo Deb
I seldom wear red, because I have this notion that it would clash with my red(ish)hair. But I’d definitely wear the boots!
I love the barns and coops in red, too.
Hi Lisa, Those red boots rock don’t they? Thanks so much for your note! xo Deb
Red is such a happy color! I’d never thought to use a screen door as a garden gate, but I love it! And, of course, it must be red. Thank you!
Hi Nancy! I think so too! Thanks for reading 🙂 xo Deb
I love red, too! I find myself including it more and more in my house and it is always a smart focal point. Really enjoyed your article 🙂
Hi Diane! I agree… Something about red just cheers a space up whether you’re are going for a little country charm or all out modern drama! Thanks for reading 🙂 xo Deb
What a great affirmation of color. I have been a red geek for years. Red brocade drapes I made from two throws, red shutters with green cutout trees in the middle, dark red front door, maroon car, red pickup, red oriental carpets and even red flannel sheets. Living in the far north with many months of darkness red is the best color to live with to cheer you up on a snowy -40 day. Thank you for the great read. I so agree with you! :)) Marji
Hi Marji, I couldn’t agree more. You know, it wasn’t until our move to the northeast that I began using more red indoors… Out west we had so much more natural bright light that we craved soothing color indoors. Afterall, we had vibrant western sunsets to rely on for our color fix. After moving to the northeast I needed to replace the color I was missing and before I knew it I had a house full of RED! Thanks so much for reading! xo Deb
Red is vibrant, passionate, bold, love. It is such a lovely color to use in fashion as well as interior design. I liked your pics.
Hi Maria, yes, RED is ALL THAT in my book! Thanks for reading! xo Deb
OMG! I love red too. And I’m soooo excited over that red screen door in the arbor way of the white picket fence. I have an almost identical spot where I am going to Habitat for Humanity today and find me a door and paint you guessed it RED and put there. How exciting. Also my kitchen has RED ceramic tile counter tops and people kind of do a step back when they first walk in. But they end up loving it. Oh my cabinets are sort of lime green with black hardward. And my walls are soft yellow. I call it my fun place in the house. I have those painted ceramic chickens all around the top shelves. Now I would like to paint my stove red but that might clash with the other red, so I was thinking turquoise. I love color period. HA can you tell? My family does say I am a bit gaudy… I get it from my grandmother she too loved color and especially red. Also I cant wait to turn my old magazine rack into a flower planter as well. Red will make this winter dissappear quickly I think. Thanks for sharing all those beautiful pics. And you were a beautiful bride, and had on almost the same hat and dress as I wore. Made me go get my pics out and take a look again. HA
Hi Vivian! Oh I’m so glad I could help fan the flame for your love of color a little more! I love color too! I don’t think God intended us all to live with nothing but beige or HE wouldn’t have made the world so colorful! I had fun going through our wedding album too… Happy Day and wonderful memories. Thanks so much for the note! xo Deb
Amen, sister! You’re preaching to the choir :o) I’ a long-time RED fiend. However, only recently di I surrender to my alter ego and go with more BOLD redness for our home. It is in renewal mode (inside & out) as I write this. After 18 years, it is now in need of major and minor fixes. Lots of red is the gameplan. The outside was pianted red to match the barn. Inside, I have red kitchen furniture and I just order new ‘red dominant’ window dressings…buffalo check for our bedroom and Waverly ‘vintage rose’ for the living room.
LOVED the collection of photos in this article…and ESpecially the one of you as a BeeYooTiFul bride. You are so right too, the red sewing machine IS sexy. I had no idea such things existed. I bought a lovely old Singer Featherweight in basic black awhile back.
My mama dressed me in red a lot because it was her favorite color. I had to rebel, natch, but I came back to it years later. Red is POP. Oddly, I don’t wear it much for clothing — but love red accessories.
Thanks for a fun article…and I hope you have a happy RED loveydovey day. shery j ~ the ranch farmgirl blogger
Hi Shery! There you are! My partner in " RED " crime! I knew you would love this big dose of RED smack dab in the middle of a colorless winter! Like you I am getting more adventurous in my use of Red indoors too… I’ve got an upcycled project coming up for my kitchen involving RED! I had no idea about the sewing machines either.. Amazing isn’t it? Oh, I also love the buffalo check idea and the Waverly vintage rose pattern is one of my favorites! You go girl! Loved the visit! xo Deb
Hi Debbie
I love the picture of the blossoming red truck bed. I am planning a surprise birthday party for April 2017. Can you please tell me where I may find the truck or something?
Thank you
Donna
Yes, I would love to know where you got the red truck too! Planning my baby shower and would love these for the centerpieces, thanks so much!