Ride along as we discuss all things cowgirl! Take a ride and join the fun as we chat about life, recipes, travel and so much more! Saddle up! Let’s ride.
Veterans Day or Remembrance Day Let’s saddle up today, I’ve got a new Tail for the Trail to share with you! If you have followed this blog, you are probably realizing by now that I LOVE travel, I was recently blessed to return to beautiful New Market England for a quick trip. Travel opens our eyes to how others live, I think that’s the part I love the most. I want to share a little bit about what I learned about Remembrance Day in the UK. First of all, the UK does this day right, every where you go you will see these little boxes of red poppies, you simply make a donation and take a little red poppy. The money raised goes to help support veterans in the UK. During our journey to New Market, Suffolk, we visited an old church on the outskirts of Oxford and saw these clear plastic people sitting in the church pews. We had no idea what they were for, we guessed maybe they were holders for church members. As we traveled on to New Market, Suffolk, the race horse capital of the world we would soon learn the meaning of these plastic silhouettes. After a few days at Tattersalls, the main auctioneer of race horses in the United Kingdom and Ireland, we decided to take a look at the new National Horseracing Museum at the Palace House. I will share more about the museum in a later post. As we walked in we were greeted my another one of these plastic people. This time he has one of those little red poppies on his invisible lapel. What are these plastic people for? As I turned around and on the wall was my answer… England certainly has the right idea, commemorate, educate and heal. Thanks for saddling up and riding along today, if you are a Veteran a heart felt thank you for keeping our countries free. If you have a red poppy wear it proudly, I sure have been! Please feel free to leave a comment to thank a Vet today. I leave you with this poem. ...
read moreBack in the Saddle Again… First of all my sincerest apologies for being away from the blog for so long! It feels great to be back in the saddle so to speak and be writing again. Thought I would give you a little music for the ride today. I have lots to share so saddle up, let’s go! My last post I introduced you to Poco Willie, or should I say run away Willie! I absolutely love him, he is a sweet, kind, gentleman but you wouldn’t believe what he did! He ducked out of the trailer after a ride at my dear friend Nancy’s house and ran down the road through her neighborhood!! Thank God for a couple of quick responding neighbors that caught him. I was so relieved that he was okay and that nobody got hurt. Since then we have worked repeatedly on loading and unloading in the trailer. I have not had the opportunity to leave home and give this a try elsewhere but it’s gonna happen soon and I expect things to go much smoother. I will keep you posted on that voyage. Besides Being Back In The Saddle I have been focusing on the My Western Heart Etsy shop. It has been keeping me very busy and I have had to make some changes to the products that I will be offering. After much thought and consideration, I have decided to put The Rockin Farm Chick – Vintage Farm Collectibles on hold at this time. While I will still be dabbling in collecting vintage treasures, it will not be my soul focus at this time. Sometimes we just have to regroup and try something new. Currently I will be focusing on some new products that have been well received by many of my customers. I was so thrilled to receive this awesome review from Cher at LOL Cowgirl Western Designs after she purchased her second necklace from My Western Heart. All of our handmade necklaces will now come in handmade tiny cowgirl bling boxes, perfect for easy gift giving. And if you need a handmade greeting card we can add that on too. Sure will make gift giving a cinch! I am sad we didn’t get more goodies in the shop for Valentine’s day but there is always next year. So stay tuned, the Etsy shop will be stocked up and completely ready to roll very soon, I will be making an announcement here at My Western Heart and all over social media when she is up and running full speed. In the mean time, if you would like to purchase one of our handmade necklaces, please join our monthly barn sales at our Facebook group page, www.facebook.com/groups/MyWesternHeart please head on over we would love to have you. You will have to join the group, but we would love to have you! The group page is where I preview new shop items, have unique guest vendors and have a whole lot of fun! I even do giveaways and will have special My Western Heart Etsy shop coupons that you will only be able to get in the group page. Well that’s it for today, hope you enjoyed the ride, I’m sure glad to be back in the saddle and hope you are too! Until next time, happy, healthy trails!...
read moreLet Me Introduce You To The New Horse As most of you might know, my side kick and riding partner in crime Jake had to be retired earlier this year due to a respiratory illness. A sad day indeed for me as I have spent the last 12 years riding and hanging out with Jake exploring trails, riding parades and teaching my kid how to ride with this amazing horse. He has been a solid partner to say the least. Since I still have some rides left in me, I set out a few months ago for a new horse, you can read all about that in the May 2016 post. Today I thought it would be a good day to move away from travel and introduce you to my new fella. Finding a New Horse Is Not Easy After some searching, okay, lots of searching and many dead ends, I found him. He is nothing like I have ever had. I have always had sorrel horses, not because I am partial to them it just seems to have worked out that way. Sure I have had a few bays and a wild Appy that I grew up riding, but mostly sorrels with a white blaze or star… and then comes this guy, he’s a grey, he’s big and he’s got a hella lotta mane. So that is the first issue because… Nothing against grooms or riders that love to spend time grooming and making their horses pretty, once in a while, on parade day I do that too, but for the most part I am way too busy to make a big fuss over how my horse looks, I can hardly get my own hair done let alone my horses. I mean I get the main parts cleaned off, hooves cleaned out and away we go, I like to spend more time in the saddle that on the ground grooming…that’s just me. Good bad or otherwise. So when I met my new horse, he was all gussied up, pretty as can be with long braids and a shiny clean coat. I realized right off the bat that he uses more product than I do! I had driven 2 hours to see him because I liked not only the videos I saw of him, but I also liked his owner. She was easy to talk to, had more horse experience than I ever will and was the real deal. Sometimes buying the horse is as much about the owner as it is the horse. We took our first ride, I was a little wobbly cuz I am not the rider I use to be, lets be real here, but I managed to stay on and we made it. I liked him, he felt right. Long story short, after convincing Boss Man he was the horse for me, we brought him home. We are both still learning about each other, sort of the dating phase. We ain’t married yet, not like me and Jake, those things take time. The more rides we have the more I like him. A New Horse Takes Time As far as the grooming thing, I’m finding it sort of fun, I like his products and get a kick out of how nice he looks,...
read moreMontana Howdy My Western Hearts, ready to saddle up today and head off to beautiful Montana? I am gonna keep the words to a minimum today, because there is not any words I can say that can begin to explain the beauty in Montana, here goes, enjoy the photos. Montana They Don’t Call It Big Sky Country For Nothing And yes, a river runs through it, actually many rivers run through it, Blackfoot River, Flathead River, Bitterroot River and here is the beautiful Kootenai River. Green meadows are everywhere And barns, old barns, new barns, big barns and little barns and so many flowers. The loveliest snow capped mountains are everywhere. So much eye candy for the soul…and ya don’t gain a pound. And oh so many cute little calves…I was in cow heaven I tell ya! If you ever get a chance to visit Montana, you will be so glad you did. It is such a special place and the beauty is all around. Thanks for saddling up today and riding along, next time we will continue our journey and share our photos of Banff National Park in breath taking Alberta Canada, believe me you don’t want to miss out, this is truly one of the most beautiful places in the world…my mom said so. Until next time, happy, healthy trails! ...
read moreBanff National Park Howdy My Western Hearts today I will share with you more of our summer travel as we left Montana and explored Canada. Undeniably Banff National Park is one of the most beautiful places I have ever been to. When I saw photos online, I thought they had been photo corrected or “photoshopped” but when you step into Banff you quickly realize the photos probably have not been altered. The sights at Lake Louise were spectacular! We left Montana early in the morning, I was on deer patrol, barely awake but I managed. Boss Man always like to get an early start, like 4 am early…I am not even sure the deer were up that early. We soon came to Eureka Montana, not much happening here either…because it is too freaking early Boss Man! But that’s how he rolls… Thank goodness for coffee, strong beautiful coffee! Once we made it through the border crossing we came to this very tight spot in the road… Yikes…good thing Boss Man is a good driver. But as soon as we squeaked through, this is what we saw… And it gets better… But wait there is more…but you will have to wait until next time but I will leave you with one of my favorite Neil Young songs, “Four Strong Winds”, just click here to listen. There is just something sort of spiritual about listening to Neil Young when you are in Canada. Next time I will show you around the most spectacular lake I have ever seen, Lake Louise and even more beautiful sights. Stay tuned and thanks for riding along today, see you next time when explore beautiful Lake Louise. Until next time, happy healthy trails! Your trail boss, Lisa...
read moreWell we made it out of the campsite with out a scratch! We were on the road again at 5 am! What the H@#& was Boss Man thinking! Our destination today, Idaho and Montana! After about 3 or 400 more hours of driving Boss Man decided it was time to eat, we pulled into a little place called Dubois Diner, it didn’t look like much on the outside but man I just fell in LOVE with the inside… and the food!!! It was so good, I mean ‘ol fashioned home cooked goodness. Can ya smell the bacon and taste the coffee! Let’s take a look inside! Right off the bat, if you walk into a joint and they have a sign that says “Eat, Sleep, Ride” you know you are in the right place! Surrounding the entire place was one of a kind real brands, they were also branded into the counter top When we walked in the place was hopping with customers but luckily it cleared out a bit so I could get a few pics They have so much cool cowboy memorabilia and the icing on the cake, the TV was playing True Grit, who doesn’t love to watch a little western while your eating your grub? On the way to the rest room, I spotted this, my kid couldn’t believe that a restaurant would have a phone for it’s customers, man I felt old. The food was so yummy, I had the special of the day, farm fresh eggs mixed with grilled veggies, nicely toasted sour dough bread, yummy hashbrowns and the best dang cowboy coffee! While we waited for breakfast they had some funny books on the table, naturally I had to pick up this one and take it home. I will share more of this book later. Breakfast was great, service outstanding and yes I would come back again! If you are ever in Dubois Idaho, swing by and have some good home cooked food at the Dubois Diner, you will be glad you did. This place rocks! That’s it for today, not sure what I am gonna write about next, it will either be more on Montana or I will introduce you to my new horse. You’ll just have to come back and see! Thanks for riding along today, until next time, happy healthy...
read moreGood Morning My Western Hearts! Well I am back in the saddle once again and ready to share some photos of my summer travel adventure. Grab a cup of coffee or what ever you like and sit on down and let me show you a few pictures. I know we are all busy these days so I will just post a few pictures here and there. Okay, lets saddle up and head north to Montana. Every trip needs a mascot, here is ours, she has seen a lot of country with us, she just sits and bobs her head. I think we need to name her…we name everything else, our boat, motor coach and cars…will have to think about this. We traveled many miles our first day, the scenery through Utah and Nevada was amazing! The red steep rocks of the Virgin River Canyon were amazing! These photos don’t do them justice Sorry this was while we were driving, Boss Man was on a mission to go as far as we could on our first day…he never stops to take a picture…Men! When we travel we always have a few of our dogs with us, on this trip, the “Ranch Pups” did not get to come, we brought older more experienced travelers along. Summer travel with dogs is much more fun! This fella has been taking many road trips with our family over the years, his nick name is Montana Cody And this girl has been traveling since she was 4 months old, a real trooper! She loves to kayak and boat. Our trip ended in Utah, we drove over 600 miles in 1 day, Boss Man was so tired at the end of our journey that when he asked me to get out to guide him into the camp space he didn’t listen when I yelled STOP!!! Resulting in a loud bang and a broken reflector. Poor guy he was tired after driving all day, I was the lucky one sitting shot gun and taking pictures. That’s it for today, thanks for saddling up and coming along. Next time we will be stopping in a country diner in Dubois, Idaho, loved this charming little place, cowgirls dream, good coffee and awesome breakfast. The decor was cowboy cool. See ya next time as we continue our summer travel to beautiful Montana! ...
read moreDestination Wedding Santa Ynez, California Having a destination wedding is such a popular thing to do these days. I mean really how fun, to run off and get married and invite friends and family. A few weekends ago, Boss Man and I were invited to a lovely destination wedding in beautiful horse country Santa Ynez, California. For us it was a short 2 and half hour drive and we were able to enjoy the ocean view on our way up as we ducked into the little town of Santa Ynez. The bride and groom were amazing, they had every detail taken care. The wedding was held at a lovely winery, a perfect evening, unless… Traveling to a Destination Wedding Unless you live on the other side of the country, this could complicate things a bit, but still worth it. If you can make it, it is worth the travel. As I mentioned travel for us was not far, but it still had it’s challenges such as busy southern California traffic which delayed us about 1 hour and caused some stress but we made it to beautiful horse country. Destination Wedding and Child Considerations When planning a wedding there is always the question of…should or can children come to the wedding. Depending on who you ask, you will get different advice and opinions. Sadly we had to present to the wedding childless but on the other hand it was a nice reason to take a break from our day to day life with a little one and get away and have some adult time. Special Guests and Making Arrangements Destination weddings are exciting! Except when you have some special considerations due to health or limited mobility. Sometimes what is not realized by a bride and groom is grandma and grandpa might not be as young as they once were and getting to a far off destination can be a daunting task. An elderly woman at the wedding almost cancelled her trip, bless her heart, she felt over whelmed just getting packed up, she was afraid she would leave some item of utmost importance at home and lugging her oxygen unit was no fun. She said she was so pleased to be there once she was there, but it was the getting there that was no fun. Added Cost for Guests Attending a Destination Wedding Lastly, one more thing to consider for your guests if you are planning a destination wedding is cost. Guests will most likely need to have hotel accommodations, and while food will be served at the wedding itself, one will need to purchase most likely a meal or two on their own. Overall I think having a destination wedding is romantic, charming and adds a sense of adventure to a wedding but it is important to consider all yours guests and their unique needs. I felt blessed to be at this wedding and truly had a great time, I love to travel but it is not for everyone, I thought I would just throw this out there, what are your thoughts on destination weddings? Would love to hear your thoughts or experiences. Until next time happy, healthy trails!...
read moreMy Western Heart May 2016 Howdy my western hearts! Things have been so crazy here as I have been trying to become a legend…well heck a gal can try! Here is a quick update on our latest adventures, travels and treasures. Jake is still in retirement and he is some what enjoying it, he had his shoes pulled a few weeks ago, so it is official, when the shoes come off…it’s time to retire. He hangs out at that ranch and keeps all the other horses in line, eats carrots and is just good ol’ Jake. He seems to be liking his second retirement but I know he would prefer to be out on the trail any day. So without a horse I had to make a decision, a hard decision..to start looking for a new horse. I felt so bad but… I started looking for a new horse to ride several weeks ago, man what an ordeal. My dear friend Rachel always says “shopping for a horse is like shopping for a wedding dress….sounds like fun, should be fun…but…it’s not” So finally after “kicking a lot of hooves” I found a new friend. He is a big,quiet fellow and I will introduce you to him next time. I had to ride a lot of horses, call many people and travel many miles to find him. Buying a horse is scary but one of the things I liked most was the gal I bought him from, she was the real deal, a true horse woman through and through, not a wanna be trying to sell me the wrong horse. As much as I was looking for the right horse, she was looking for the right owner. So for me, she was a huge part of they buying experience, we spoke the same language so to speak. So hang tight, I will have photos and a whole lot more in the next post. Some exciting news with our Barn Sales, things are really starting to take off at our Barn Sales on our Facebook group page, if you like vintage farm collectibles come on over and join in the fun! We have great deals and lots of fun, check us out at www.facebook.com/groups/TheRockinFarmChick. We will have 2 more sales in June and will be taking a short break during July and part of August as we do some travel, speaking of travel. This summer My Western Heart will be putting our passports to good use when we travel to Canada,specifically Banff National Park. I can hardly wait!!!! We will be posting photos of our travels during July and August on our Instagram account, you can look us up at www.instagram.com/MyWesternHeart . Hopefully during our travels we will find some unique treasures to share at our Barn Sale, we hope to have a Barn Sale in August or beginning of September, stay tuned. It has been a crazy busy month and we look forward to sharing more next month on our travels, trails and treasures. Until next time, happy, healthy trails!...
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