Our main joie de vivre is our animals and we have quite a few here at Tanglewood Farm!  I thought I would take a moment to give them the recognition they deserve ;-)

First and foremost, let me introduce you to my horses! 

Rocky is my 10 year old Thoroughbred. Retired off the racetrack and adopted by Canter MidAtlantic, Rocky found a new life and career as an event horse here at Tanglewood Farm. He was actually living on the farm when we bought the place, in training with the horse trainer who was living on the farm at the time. My mom watched him every morning out her kitchen window and fell in love. While Rocky turned out to be a bit too wild for my mom, he has turned out to be my best friend and partner and I ride and compete Rocky at lower level eventing competitions in the area.

Clifford is my mom's 15 year old Quarter Horse Paint. Another horse who was living at our farm as a boarder, my mom loved his sweet face and gentle demeanor. He was added to our herd in 2016 and is Rocky's best buddy, although he acknowledges that Rocky is boss.  Clifford enjoys long walks on the Moss Foundation, lots and lots of food, and chewing on fence boards.

We are absolutely obsessed with our golden gals! All buff orpingtons, as of this post, we have 7 hens. Rose, Shirley, Sophia are the adults, and Fly, Bucket, Bridle and Kiki are our youngsters. All laying eggs...some more so than others! Occasionally I have to scour the barn searching for their newest egg hiding spots! The Golden Gals love attention and have never met a stranger, or a berry they didn't love!

Bootsie Callico "Bootsie" is a Lionhead/New Zealand mix. She joined our family on Christmas morning 2018 and is a sweet lovable little fluff ball! She lives outside most of the time, with her chicken friends nearby. 

Tanglewood loves dogs! Especially ones who don't chase our chickens ;-) Above are just a few of the resident dogs  - Brody the Schnauzer, Maddy the Bichon-Shih-tzu and Louis the Maltese Bichon.

The above, and many cats, other horses and dogs, (and people) are the Tanglewood Farm crew! 

I finally did it!!!! I ignored all those voices in my head telling me to do something practical, telling me to go back to an accounting job, telling me to stop being selfish, telling me that it's too expensive or too frivolous or too scary...and I ENROLLED IN CULINARY SCHOOL! I am so excited and happy to announce that despite numerous logistical roadblocks (babysitters, the stomach flu, part-time B&B help, kid's school and swim classes, horses) I survived my first week in the Baking & Pastry Arts Program at Sandhills  Community College! 

I am most likely the oldest student in my classes by about 15 years, but you know what?! I don't care! I love it! It's so amazing to be sitting in a classroom and to actually be interested in the lecture! Don't get me wrong...I've always been a studious person, taking my classes very seriously...but let's face it, accounting and finance courses when twenty years old did not exactly hold me by the seat of my pants in fascination and intrigue! But this is different. I really am interested in how the first breads came about, and the different between baking soda and baking powder (Baking soda needs an added acid such as vinegar to become reactant, baking powder includes an acid and can react without additional help.) Who knew!?!

I am enrolled in the Baking and Pastry Arts program certificate program. This means I won't finish with an associates in baking which I am fine with (my goal isn't to start collecting more degrees!) but I will be able to take 1-2 courses per semester and finish at my leisurely pace. My first semester is Baking 1 and I am so excited to share my experiences and my newly learned skills on this blog and with my wonderful B&B guests.  
This week we had a 5-hour long lecture but next week we will be diving right in to yeast breads...a favorite of mine! I'll be sharing regular updates about my culinary school experiences along the way! 
Stay tuned!

I NEED THESE IN MY LIFE! HOW CUTE ARE THESE?? 
my weekly must-have list for all things cute and farm-y;-)

I'm always on the lookout for cute aprons and other farm-ish household goods. Here are a few things I don't think I'm going to be able to live without ;)



Ulster Weavers Rooster Apron - this is TOOOOO cute and as many of you know,  I LOVE anything with chickens! 
Chicken Scratch Potholders - a little bit of chicken is a good thing! 
For Fox Sake Mug - this is my all time favorite coffee mug! It makes me smile every time I use it!
Rooster Chalkboard - this would look perfect hanging in my kitchen! You could use it for menu planning, a grocery list, notes to your family! I'm definitely adding THIS to my shopping list!