News and Recipes Blog

When I was a child I had no interest in dinosaurs. My interest was digging in the soil around my house planting things. I would even plant sticks with great hope. My mother eventually bought me Marigolds. She would let me plant flowers outside the screened in porch, strategically placed around the birdbath in the middle of our circular driveway. I was about 10. Looking back, I realize she was letting me explore in my own way and develop my own interests. I remember the smell of the Marigolds when they would grow into big clumps over perfectly positioned rocks and the scarlet...

With the holidays upon us you are probably thinking it's time to bake!  With all those goodies you are making, you may want to have a little get together to share all your hard work. Pulling together a Sweets Station is easy and just takes a little effort to take it from Good to Wow! If you watch this week's "What's InSTORE Fridays" segment, I'll show you how to make Candy Cane Reindeer and also how to up your cake cred with Reindeer Sugar Cookies! Watch it here (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iUklRb6jBQw). For a good mix of sweets, you should offer cake, cookies and...

I hope you watched the segment on making a door swag for the holidays. (If not, check it out here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mAmDOQKwjFA). Ever since I can remember, I have been making wreaths - actually making wreaths. I would go out into an open field behind our house where there is lots of broom sage. I would cut it into long lengths and make the wreath frame right in the field by wiring the long bundles together and shaping it as I went along. Then I would take it home to add pinecones and a bow. My first wreath, primitive as it was, I...

When I was little and Christmastime came around, my brothers and sisters and I would get more excited by the day! One year when Christmas morning came, I remember my brother and I got matching red spider bikes with the big ape hanger handlebars! Another year I got the Shoot 'Em up Cowboy game where you would aim and shoot at the hat and it would fly off. Hit his hand? Off came the gun. Hit his buckle? His pants came down!  Hours of fun! But after all the big items were opened and oohed and aahed over, we settled...

It was cold, rainy and very windy this morning so we filmed inside the Historic Brattonsville Gift Shop! I have these 2 tall pottery vases in the store that lend themselves to the perfect flower arrangement using minimal objects.  Some folks think more is better, but I show you how to get the wow factor with just a few stems. You can use whatever you find on the trail or in your garden, but here are a couple of tips: 1.  Cut mums can last a long time out of water so they are a good choice when you don't...