Check it out!

When I was a child, going to the library was an event. My mom would take us to our local branch of the public library on a regular basis and we'd check out as many books as we could! I was, and still am, a voracious reader! I even remember renting a VCR and movies from there as a child. That was always a real treat!

As an adult, I still love going to the library. It's exciting, you never know what you're going to find! Nowadays, you can get almost any type of media there, including magazines, DVD's, and CD's. The main library, in downtown Fort Wayne, even has a 3D printer available for use! And a Dunkin Donuts! Most libraries offer story times and crafts for kids, and book clubs for adults! Our library even offers online access to websites such as Freegal, where you can download songs for free at home.

And these are not your libraries of old, with card catalogs and mean old librarians telling you to be quiet. At my public library, everything is computerized now and user friendly. It's also more of a meeting place and more akin to a Barnes & Noble with places to sit and read.

I am always in the midst of a book, yet I don't actually own very many because I exclusively use the library. Books are expensive, and there is no way I could afford to support my reading habit if I had to purchase them. My life would be very dull without my public library!

Today kicks off National Library Week, and I urge you all to "check out" your local library. You never know what you'll find!

One of my recent library scores! The original Entertaining by Martha Stewart, a brand new cookbook from Food Network, and a really cool and inspiring book by the founder of the website Habitually Chic, Heather Clawson. And of course, a Jen Lancaster book! I love Jen Lancaster! I am on a mission to read all her books, she is so funny! Most are hilarious memoirs, but she also writes fiction. She's also a local girl from Huntington, Indiana!

These are all books just on interior design, decorating, and styling your home! You can pretty much find anything at my public library, and if you can't you can even ask them to purchase it!

My library has a good mix of old and new items! The librarians are always purchasing new items, many times on the day it comes out, so they always have the newest books and movies! And they're free!!!

Some of the magazines you can get. They have back issues that I love going through too. I actually love seeing things in magazines and then finding the exact article/picture on Pinterest now. You know, since you can't tear out sheets from magazines at the library!

 Happy Hunting!

 

Spring is springing in my yard!

 

Spring is definitely giving Fall a run for it's money as my favorite season!

I just love seeing all the flowers, trees, and even the grass come back to life after a long, cold winter. Even though the past two or three winters haven't really been all that bad, winter always seems to stretch on forever. It doesn't help that I keep seeing everyone on Instagram flaunting their beautiful Spring weather! Which, by the way ~ I am on Instagram now! Follow me and my daily shenanigans @sweethome.indiana!

Here in northern Indiana, you never know what you're going to get! We have crazy weather! For example, it's supposed to snow an inch tomorrow, and yet on Sunday, the forecasted high is 72 degrees. See what I mean?

I am ready for the weather to be nice permanently! I want to finally shred my winter coat and bust out my spring jacket!

This strange weather definitely effects my plants. Earlier this year, the foliage was blooming about a month ahead of schedule, but after about a two week long freeze, we're closer to where we should be. The frigid, wintery spell slowed down my daffodils and unfortunately, looks like it fried my two newest hydrangeas. Their leaves went from a bright, vibrant green to brown and I'm just hoping they make a comeback because they were really cool!

Here's a little tour of my yard from this past weekend. With all this rain we've been having this week, things are really starting to green up and bloom! I just hope that the coming frost and low temps don't do any more damage!

A beautiful white hyacinth covered in dirt from all this rain!

Too bad everything can't bloom at the same time! This corner would be magical.

Love these pink hyacinths!

I am planning on planting tons more daffodils here this Fall.

This is a shot of my creek looking down through my neighbors area. See all the greenery sprouting on the left side of the bank? Those are gorgeous orange daylillies that they completely cut down last year! I'm glad to see they are making a comeback, but I just hope they don't do it again this year.

Just in case...I transplanted some daylillies from my front yard to my side of the creek bank last fall! Hahaha!!! They do look amazing when they are left to bloom along the creek!

This was my muscari two weekends ago...

And this is it a week later! What a difference! I love muscari!

You can just begin to see the pinkish tint of the Redbud tree blooming from afar. Pretty soon, this will be covered in bright pink blooms!

The peonies are getting ready to leaf out already! This is my Bartzella Peony, which is bright yellow with an orange center!

A cardinal!

The tulips are poking their heads out!

The hosta in the back is coming back to life! This lamb's ear in the front is getting taken out asap! When I bought it last year at Mains, it was tiny and almost dead. It quickly took over the whole area. I like it, but I had no idea it was so invasive!

A purple hyacinth just popping out in my front bed!

My daffodils did better last year I think, but it looks like there are a lot more yet to bloom.

My $4 forsythia from Walmart! I wasn't even sure it would come back and here it is, complete with a few blooms!

After some research, I think these are cherry blossoms! I love this tree/bush! I have several little ones along the creek I've discovered and it just makes me so happy!

Happy Spring!!! 

 

Hoosiers for Yuengling Rejoice!

Only two more days and Hoosiers for Yuengling can rejoice!

Yuengling Beer, brewed at America's oldest brewery in Pottsville, Pennsylvania, will finally be available for sale at liquor stores in Indiana for the first time ever. It's already been available on tap at several Indiana restaurants for about a month now.

Prior to that, Hoosiers wanting Yuengling had to travel as far away as Tennessee or Florida, and most recently Ohio, to get a taste of their favorite beer. Some people were even making beer runs to Pennsylvania, Smokey and the Bandit style! This beer has a hardcore following!

People all throughout Indiana have been pleading for Yuengling to bring their beer to our state for years. Someone even started a group called Hoosiers for Yuengling that was actually a big reason why Yuengling chose to come here!

My husband loves Yuengling. A few years ago, we were in Pennsylvania and we took a slight detour to Pottsville for one of their free brewery tours! It was actually one of the highlights of our trip! It was very interesting to see how the beer was made and to learn the history of the place. And, they give you free samples at the end of the tour!

I just have to say, I definitely proved my love for my husband that day! I usually only wear flip flops in the summer and that was all the footwear I took with me on that trip. The brewery required everyone to wear real shoes - no flip flops - in order to take the tour. Apparently, a lot of people run into this problem and the brewery had an entire room filled with old, used shoes for people to wear so they could take the tour.

I am a major germaphobe, and to even think about putting on a pair of shoes that several other people had worn and sweated in and stunk up made me sick to my stomach. The only other choice was not to go on the tour. And we had not come all that way not to go on the tour. My husband was pleading with me to put them on and I knew I just had to. So, I did. The things you do for love!

If you are ever near Pottsville, I highly recommend stopping by the Yuengling Brewery and taking the tour. For the money, it can't be beat! Just make sure you don't wear flip flops!

The brewery from afar. I love the hills in Pennsylvania! It's pretty flat land here in northern Indiana so mountains and hills are always a welcome sight! There's just something extra charming about the hills of Pennsylvania, it's so full of history there and a lot of the buildings are so old!

The outside of the brewery. They've been making beer here since 1831!

A plaque on the side of brewery.

The bottle filler. On the day we were there, they were making cans of their Yuengling Light Lager.

You can see the cans traveling across the brewery at the top.

The cans moved so fast in some areas you could barely see them!

Here's a slowed down shot of the cans on the move!

The old brewery is built right into the Pennsylvania hills. I loved this area. You can really see the history here.

They have a nice gift shop and a bar for the free sample tastings. They give rootbeer samples for those who don't care for beer, or can't drink it. Kids are also welcome on this tour!

Back here in Indiana, signs like this are everywhere!

This was at Kroger, my husband took a picture with it, but he didn't want me to put it on the blog.

Liquor stores are gearing up for the April 3rd release date! It seems it's all anyone can talk about!

My husband's first glass from Buffalo Wings and Ribs last month! We need to some of these glasses!

Cheers!