I took some time to go visit my family in Arkansas the past few days. I just have to get back "Home" to decompress and enjoy life outside the big city of Houston.

The best and quickest route is US 59 all the way to Carthage then jaunt over on US 79 to I-20, around Shreveport/Bossier and then up the country highways to south Arkansas. But, today I felt a little adventurous and decided to veer off the beaten path some since I had all day to get back. I drove south out of Greenwood, LA on State Hwy 169. This was the best decision I had made in a while. Winding, shady highway with beautiful homes, picket fences and interesting sites. When I got a few miles south of Greenwood I came to a fork in the road...decisions, decisions. I took the left and, I think, the one less traveled. Thanks Robert Frost for the inspiration. :) I am so glad I did because I went through Keachi, LA, founded in 1858. You can read more about it here. For a town of less than 400 people, it has 11 sites on the historic register and a home that is the perfect example of Greek Revival architecture.

My only regret is that I did not stop to take pictures because it was raining. The historic buildings are in dis-repair and the Greek Revival home is one of the worst, including a grown up yard. The picture here is from 2009 and in the past 4 years the whole property has gone down a lot more. Although, it would make a perfect haunted house. I hope to go through there again on the way to or from Arkansas and take pictures of all the interesting sites.

After leaving Keatchi, I traveled on to Logansport, LA and Joaquin, TX making my way back to US 59. It took me an extra hour but it was well worth it.  I would have kept traveling on a different path, but I had my eye on a fabric shop in Garrison called Love Bug Fabric and Quilting and was determined to stop there. I stopped, alright....almost two hours I spent in there. The owner was very friendly and talkative. We talked about the quilt market, longarms, family and teaching.

I also left there with a quilt kit of purple and green fabrics that includes a Japanese panel insert. This is going to be a Christmas gift for a relative who loves the color purple.

Before my journey really got started, I stopped at a little flea market on the Arkansas/Louisiana line that has excellent prices. Below are some of my finds.

Pinterest!
Where have you been all my life? I joined Pinterest probably over a year ago and thought it was kind of neat. It's great to see what other people are making by hand and what new ideas are churning out there. But, about a month ago a gigantic light bulb came on and I realized this where I can keep ALL my inspiration. I have bookmarks, blog rolls, Evernotes, and Print Friendly PDFs all over Virtual creation. If something sparks my memory and I think, I want to make that and I think I have it saved in one of gazillion places. Let's go FIND it! It takes me forever and by that time I am too tired to make it. :)

Thank you Pinterest for helping me clean up my act! And the cool thing about it is, I don't just Pin and Forget. I actually go back and look up my pins and try them out from time to time. For example:

T-Shirts folded and then stacked vertically in a drawer instead of laying one on top of another. This is GENIUS! Mine don't look quite as neat as these, but I am a bigger person and wear big t-shirts so I have to squish them a little to get the drawer to close. But, now I can see all my t-shirts at once.

Custom Pressing board. I have been meaning to make one of these for a long time. Thanks to some inspiration from Pinterest and my lovely husband informing me that Lowe's sells precut plywood, I got busy Labor Day and made this one. It is 2' x 2' and as you can see fits nicely on top of Baron's kennel. He's my quilting and sewing buddy, so his kennel has to stay there and I work around it. Here is one of many I saw on Pinterest as inspiration: Riley Blake's Pressing Board.

I have also tried a few recipes:

General Taos Crock Pot Chicken : This had a great flavor but does not call for enough liquid. I skipped the veggies and that might have helped but I think I would still add some chicken broth or water.

Crockpot Spaghetti: This turned out really well, even without the alfredo sauce, which I didn't have on hand. I added seasoned ground beef and some leftover meatballs. It cooked about two hours while we were in church and it was perfectly cooked when we got home. Great Sunday Meal.

Egg McMuffin Knock-Offs: This recipe was awesome! I baked the eggs in ramekins but will be buying a muffin top pan soon because I don't have enough of the right size ramekins to make six at at a time. Much better than McDonalds and can easily be modified - scramble the eggs, different cheeses, different meat or no meat. The possibilities are endless. Oh, and they freeze perfectly wrapped in wax or parchment paper. Pop them in the microwave for about a minute and ENJOY!