destination: unknown

December 3, 2012

for thanksgiving, we did what we always do. we did what is tradition in the sikes family. we went to our 3rd-generation family farm in arkansas.

{crossing the state line...smokey & the bandit-style}

it’s kind of like a redneck prenup…when you marry a sikes, thanksgiving at the farm is non-negotiable. and this is why.

{on the banks of the little river...where heaven meets earth}

 

{the road to the cabin}

 

{early morning fog on the farm}

it’s where the gypsy met the cowboy

and in true gypsy fashion, we took several days to get there…because truly, the best roadtrips have no destination.

we realllllly got held up in good ole east texas…our old stomping grounds. where majestic pines reach into the heavens and the fall colors are pictureseque…amazingly beautiful this time of year.

let’s just say it took us 2 nights & 3 days on the road to travel about 320 miles…

to us, roadtrips are measured by the number of griswald-esque moments.

including but not limited to…

football stadiums…

{stopping to admire possibly the coolest high school football stadium ever. jacksonville, texas}

museums…

{the east texas oil museum. seriously cool}

thrift shops,

{the kids scored some goodies...camo, old wranglers, homemade angels, and magic tree house books}

and fried catfish…

{oh good lawdy...fried goodness. come to mama.}

 

and of course a trip to east texas wouldn’t be complete without a stop here…

{not that we made any purchases here or anything...}

and then…we all got a little teary when we stepped through these doors…

 

{the restaurant that built us.}

OK…that’s a bit of an understatement…we bawled like babies.

“people used to take roadtrips to have a good time, not to make good time.” -sally the car, cars movie

and finally…we were off to arkansas for a little nature therapy…bald eagle watching, hunting, hiking, river wading, 4-wheelin’, and priceless family fellowship…

{the cabin. oh, the stories it could tell...}

{cabin decor. years of shirttails cut-off from missed shots}

it’s what you might call a downright good ole time.

and lest i forget the food…

aunt alice’s homemade rolls (honey  hush), our cousin robert o’s (he’s so cute it oughta be illegal) caramel apples & fudge…

and more food than you can shake a stick at…(although i pretty much go straight for the rolls and commence upon challenging myself to eat at least half a dozen at one sitting)

here’s to my granny…mama to 7 boys, nurse, farmer, wife, cinnamon roll baker extraordinaire…

and although i have many years of practice before i can proudly carry on her bread kneading prowess, her legacy of love is alive and well at sikes farms.

here’s to long roadtrips and taking the realllllly long way to get there. here’s to family. and bread. and knick knacks from the crisis center. here’s to east texas and arkansas. and biscuits. and pink liquor stores. and pine trees. and oil wells. and rolls. and lone star beer. here’s to the stars at night that shine extra bright in arkansas. and to unknown destinations. here’s to god’s great amazing beautiful world.

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40 Comments

  • Reply Holly F December 3, 2012 at 11:26 am

    Amen and amen

    • Reply Rebecca December 4, 2012 at 7:33 am

      iLove the pic’s- Love you guys.miss you on HGTV,hurry back ya you hear

    • Reply antonia December 4, 2012 at 10:56 am

      beautiful is it wierd but when I read this I somehoe hear it with a southern twang!lol

      • Reply loretta hanscome February 15, 2013 at 3:19 pm

        Do not know where to ask this but when/if season two will air?

  • Reply Jo Nell Lamascus December 3, 2012 at 12:44 pm

    Enjoyed the photo’s. What a wonderful trip y”all must have had. Also what a beautiful place.

  • Reply April December 3, 2012 at 12:50 pm

    pics so lovely made me escape my day for a beautiful moment. love ya’ll bunches!

    • Reply Jolie December 4, 2012 at 9:40 am

      well hot dog…coming from you, that’s a HUGE compliment! XO!!!

  • Reply Barb Nichols December 3, 2012 at 12:58 pm

    Thanks for sharing your wonderful family! I love, love, love your show and you make my husband and I feel like we know you and want to hang out with you! Your ideas are fabulous and you have truly inspired us!

    • Reply Jolie December 4, 2012 at 9:40 am

      barb and husband!!! thank y’all sooo much!!!!! i love hearing “we fee like we know you” type of things!!! mission accomplished! XOXXO!

  • Reply Mica crow December 3, 2012 at 1:03 pm

    I have lots of fun times at the cabin as well y’all should’ve let me know y’all was in

  • Reply Tracy Bradley December 3, 2012 at 1:04 pm

    What a beautiful story about the love of your family!!!! The Sike’s family is just golden… Many moon’s ago when I met y’all at Canton I immediately knew what wonderful people I had stumbled into for a little shopping & visiting!!! I love how the business has grown & evolved but your success is due to y’all staying true to your family roots & values!!! Thanks for the road trip today!!! Smiles & Blessings Y’all !!!!

    • Reply Jolie December 4, 2012 at 9:39 am

      tracy…thank you so very much for this post!

  • Reply Eleanor Pigg December 3, 2012 at 1:11 pm

    That does look like heaven meeting earth, your cousin is so cute it should be illegal and that was like watching a dream! Also I would have forgot to watch Blake if not for you. Loved the real sticks in the caramel apples . You guys must have a Cowgirl Country Christmas Holiday Special .

    • Reply Jolie December 4, 2012 at 9:38 am

      oh goodness eleanor! a christmas special would be sooo fun! it would be an HGTV honkytonk holiday for sure!!!

  • Reply Suzi @chores and chandeliers December 3, 2012 at 1:24 pm

    Beautiful.
    Stunning.
    Yummo.
    Inspiring.

  • Reply Rene' Foust December 3, 2012 at 1:35 pm

    I second that

  • Reply Brittin Russell Murphy December 3, 2012 at 2:34 pm

    Hello

    I know what woman who had those 7 boys……Aunt Babe is what we called her!!

    My name is Brittin SoRelle Russell Murphy and your Granny (Aunt Babe) was my great-grandfather’s (Ernest Smith…we called him Papa) baby sister. My middle name (SoRelle) came from your Granny and my Papa’s daddy…Wilie (not sure if I spleed this right) SoRelle Jones Smith. Glady’s Marie Smith Crank is my grandmother (still living) who is Ernast Smith’s daughter. My mother is Glady’s Mary Crank Russell Nash who is one of Marie Smith Crank’s 3 daughters. Her other 2 daughters are June Marie Crank Alexander and Virginia (Ginger) Maxi Crank Haltom. Ginger was named after one your daddy’s brothers…..Max. My mom said your daddy will know who they all are.

    With all that said….I belive this makes you my 4th cousin!!

    I love your show and what you do! I would love to meet you someday. My mom has been telling me all about your family and where you grew up. She knows a lot more that me!

    Take Care,
    Brittin

    • Reply Jolie December 4, 2012 at 9:36 am

      wow brittin!!! thanks for the family tree info! i do recall that granny was referred to as aunt babe…but i had long since forgotten until i read your post! thanks sooo much, cousin!!! XOXOXO!

  • Reply Kasey Parker December 3, 2012 at 2:47 pm

    I love the Tomato Bowl, my family is from Maydelle right dwon the road from Jacksonville. So it was great to see places on here that I know very well.

  • Reply Lea December 3, 2012 at 3:25 pm

    I remember the Tomato Bowl well too Kasey. I grew up in Rusk.

  • Reply Vickie December 3, 2012 at 4:52 pm

    What a great post. Your pictures are fantastic

  • Reply lisa December 3, 2012 at 5:22 pm

    Thank y’all for sharing such wonderful times and memories!

  • Reply Allison A. December 3, 2012 at 5:41 pm

    Amen! I so miss home now.

  • Reply Cyndi December 3, 2012 at 6:52 pm

    I loved reading about your cabin trip and yearn for more information. Can you please explain the shirt tales from missed shots hangings! SO Cool! I love it!

    Your cabin is fabulous and I love fall road trips too. I agree about stopping at EVERY neat place and exploring!

    The children are growing so fast and making memories with your family like you did as a children. Keep these posts coming, I love your adventures!
    Smiles, Cyndi /frstyfrolk

    • Reply Jolie December 4, 2012 at 9:35 am

      hi there cyndi! long time, no see sweeet friend! it’s been a tradition since my dad was a boy that if someone shot at a deer and missed, they then had to cut off part of their shirttail, sign it, and hang it for all to see. it’s almost an honor nowadays to have part of your shirt hanging on that old saw blade! XOXOXOX to y’all!!!

  • Reply Liz Bryan December 3, 2012 at 6:59 pm

    You girls have a wonderful life! I love your designs. Wish you lived close to Florida. I need help in my craft room. Anyway, keep up the super good work and cool trips!

  • Reply Cathy Guess December 3, 2012 at 9:21 pm

    THANKS for sharing your Road Trip Adventure and sharing your family Thanksgiving with your “Junkin Fans”!!! Ya’ll Rock and have such a wonderful Life!! Enjoy this Holiday Season!!!!
    Cathy aka GGJ

    • Reply Jolie December 4, 2012 at 9:33 am

      glad you liked our adventure, cathy!!! happy holidays to y’all tooooo!!!

  • Reply Suzy December 4, 2012 at 4:08 am

    No matter what you guys do, it’s always an artistic spectacle. I’m a city girl who has lived in the big cities of the world, NY, Paris, Washington DC, San Francisco and LA. But seeing how you deconstruct a place I’d never think of visiting makes me want to visit!!

    • Reply Jolie December 4, 2012 at 9:32 am

      thanks sooo much suzy!! we’d like to hop along with you on some of your travels…never been to paris!!!XOXOXO!

  • Reply Karyn December 4, 2012 at 10:05 am

    Love this post…it was like taking a little trip while drinking my coffee!

  • Reply Kammie B. December 4, 2012 at 3:00 pm

    I loved all the pics! Looks like so much fun. We always rush when we take a road trip, but it would be fun to actually stop at all the places you see that look interesting. Just wondering, where was the family pic of ya’ll in the rocks/water taken? I attended a photography workshop last year at place called Little River Country Club in
    Winthrop, Arkansas and there was a place that looked very similar to ya’lls pictures.
    P.S. Isn’t Arkansas great? Woo Pig Sooie!! 🙂

  • Reply Beja @ Howdy Honey December 5, 2012 at 8:08 am

    I totally get what you mean! I recently blogged about my trip to my grandparent’s farm in East Texas where the piney woods reach heaven. I love that you got to see your kids in your places of love AND you got to create new memories. LOVE!!!

    XXXOOO,
    Beja

  • Reply Carrie December 5, 2012 at 4:08 pm

    I hear ya sista! I’m a Texan born and raised but thanks to my grandparents have vacationed in Arkansas since I can remember. We have a cottage built around an old log cabin and we Texan cousins have congregated in Arkansas for many Cousin Canoe Trips on the Buffalo. Check out Jasper, Arkansas when you next venture over there. It’s a heavenly little town!

  • Reply Debbie December 6, 2012 at 10:52 am

    We live in East Texas:) I LOVE this post!

  • Reply Sandi ~ A Cottage Muse December 6, 2012 at 12:21 pm

    I’ll drink to that! Thanks for sharing your little piece of heaven on earth!

  • Reply john December 17, 2012 at 1:10 pm

    love the picture of Janie in the window of AJs taking the pic! Miss you crazies.

  • Reply Kim c January 1, 2013 at 11:49 am

    Ok I have to know Jolie where did you get or did you make the plaid shirt with army on front in green? Love all yours stuff and dos, I’m a tx born gypsy living at the ok/tx border xoxo

  • Reply Kelly Hosford Patterson January 20, 2013 at 1:30 am

    My family has a similar reunion every summer @ Lake Tahoe. I spend the rest of the year homesick for a place that only exists one week a year.

  • Reply Michael February 21, 2013 at 8:34 pm

    Jolie;
    You are so friggin sexy! You make a pair of jeans look wonderful on that body of yours.. YUM

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