Old and New Again

This was one of my grandmother's aprons. I have two of them. She was born in 1898 and died in 1984. My aunt, a talented seamstress, made all of her aprons and I have always loved the colors of this one. It is in need of some repair from hanging and a good soak but I treasure it. Grandma always wore an apron and I wear one whenever I am in the kitchen. Sloppy cook.

Clearance Susan Branch calendar. Love her illustrations. My recent thrift store find. I needed a new bread box and snatched this one. I decided to paint it as it has some stains on top.

I used some leftover paint and distressed it a little. Not sure I like it so dark but for a $1.25 it is good enough and hold lots of bread and bagels in there.

Linking to:

Ruby Tuesday

Today's Creative Blog

BNOTP Link Party

Coastal Charm

Brambleberry Cottage

Vintage Thingie Thursday

Diane 1876

Work Boot Flower Pots, Container Gardening

Work boot flower pots.

These boots may be ready for the trash for some but for me these boots that were my husband's, represent a whole lot of what is good in my life. My husband works harder than any man I know. Now, before I offend anyone, I know there are lots of people out there working hard like doctors and our military guys,  but for me and the people I know, my husband works so hard for us. He is a lineman for our utility here and he works long, hard hours and many out of town. There is actually a poem called "The Lineman's Wife". In it there is a line about how when everyone else is getting ready for bed, safe in there homes, sheltered from the storm, our husbands our heading out on a call. It is so true. Mostly I guess this post is for him. I want him to know how much I appreciate him. So back to the boots. These are some old boots that were once owned but my father in law. When hubby needed some new boots he went and pulled these out and said he'd wait as he knew the kids needed things for school and then he waited again as he knew it was Christmas. Finally, after Christmas, watching him actually try to sew these up, I told him it was time for a new pair. So when the new ones arrived I could not toss these, so I told him, "Honey I will plant flowers in your boots" And I did.

Update: I showed my hubby this post and he responded in his usual manner. He didn't say anything but just looked at me like, "Uh what should I say to her....and then....thanks."

Ready for Spring

The problem with my rushing holidays and decorating so early is that I am ready to start decorating for the next holiday before the current one has passed. So here I am actually shopping the garden for spring decor to bring in the house. My favorite little shop has the cutest spring display up right now so I am trying to channel some of their cuteness. I say the word cute too much but I don't know what else to use as it is perfect for so many things. Cute bunnies, cute clothes, cute babies. You know what I mean?

This little bird bath was a $3 find but has rusted some being outside but I think I like it this way better.

Don't you love moss? I just adore it. My patio is shade all winter so it gets mossy green and I love the color.
I nurture it like a plant and don't wash it off until the summer sun does that for me.

Yeah for the Rain

Yeah, the rain is back and so is cooler weather. We haven't had rain since New Years and it is a perfect day to snuggle up and take a nap and that is what I am about to do. My hubby is home and all my kids are in the house and I am going to listen to the rain and drift off. Enjoy your Sunday everyone.

Chocolate Valentine Pretzel Rods

My daughter was having a friend come to spend the night, so I thought I would make a special Super Easy Valentine Dessert. Here is how to make white chocolate covered pretzels and customize for holidays.

How to make chocolate covered pretzel rods:

Ingredients

• pretzel rods
• white chocolate chips 
• some sprinkles (We love these)
• wax paper
• cookie sheet

Instructions

You just heat and melt the chips. I did mine in the microwave and the secret is to not heat them too much or you loose the smoothness of the chocolate. Heat and while the chips still have their shape start and keep stirring. The heat will melt them all and if you need to heat a few seconds more you can.

Then just coat the ends with the white chocolate and sprinkle on some super cute sprinkles and wa-la!

Cool the chocolate pretzel rods in the refrigerator for about a half hour.

You have these. Aren't they cute? I cooled mine for a short bit in the fridge and we scarfed them all down after dinner. So yummy. Some of them came out a bit thick as this was an easy kids dessert activity and they loved adding more chocolate but made all the more delicious.
Visit our Recipe Page for more delicious meal and dessert ideas.

Frugal Challenge Update and Cleaning with Baking Soda

I have to just share the wonders of cleaning with baking soda in this Frugal Challenge Update and Cleaning with Baking Soda.  Like many of you I am always looking for more natural, less toxic cleaning solutions for my home. 

I have a daughter that is very sensitive to chemicals among other things so I decided to try baking soda for cleaning our kitchen. WOW is all I can say. I really didn't expect much as I am used to cleaning with soft scrub type cleaners to keep my tile clean. Below you can see normal counter crud with a sprinkle of baking soda. It worked wonderfully. I am sold.

 Here's a free baking soda sprinkle container they sent me from a free offer.

Look at my counters. I swear they shined.

Here's the typical caked on crud on my crockpot.

Water spots on my faucet that I can never seem to totally get rid of.

Look at the shine!!

 See that shine.

Cowboy Cookies for My Lineman

My hubby has to travel for his work and has been gone all week and I am missing my man. He is a tall, dark and rugged handsome lineman, living in a house full of women. Even our dogs are female. No bother for him, he is our balance. I miss him and made his favorite cookies for him. He'll be home in 3 hours and five or so minutes.

Love from me to him for taking care of his family. I am one of the lucky ones. Gosh can you tell I miss him? Absence does make the heart grow fonder. Okay I'll stop now.

These are so yummy and basically a chocolate chip cookie with oatmeal in it. The recipe is below.

Love this too. My cookie scoop from Pampered Chef!!

Cowboy Cookies

• 1/2 lb. butter
• 1 c. dark brown sugar
• 1.c granulated sugar (you can cut these to 3/4 for a less sweet cookie but this is the orig. recipe)
• 2 eggs
• 1 1/2 tsp. vanilla
• 2 1/4 c. flour
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 2 c. chocolate chips
• 1 c. oatmeal
• (if you like nuts add 1/2 c. or so of your choice)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees and grease some cookie sheets. (I use the butter wrappers). Cream the butter, then gradually add the two sugars, beating until light and smooth. Beat in the egg and the vanilla. Mix the flour, oatmeal, salt, and baking soda together and add it to the first mixture, blending well. Stir in the nuts (optional) and the chocolate chips. Drop by scoops or about a tsp. onto the cookie sheets about an inch apart and bake 8-10 minutes or until lightly browned.

How To Make A Wine Cork Cork Board

Finding ways to use all those wine corks is easy. Crafts using wine corks are all over the internet.

My mother in law has made some crafts from corks and this cork board was a gift she gave me for my birthday one year. I am sharing how she made it.

How To Make A Wine Cork Message Board

1. Take a  regular cork board and paint the trim.

2. Hot glue in the corks until all full.

3. Add some ribbon to the back by hot gluing or using flat thumb tacks or small nails.

Easy Chicken Pot Pie

Easy chicken pot pie, the ultimate comfort food.

This time of year I love casserole type dinners. Real comfort food. A couple times a year I like to make Chicken Pot Pie. Not a favorite of my husbands but every once in a while the cook rules and I make it. What is not to love about creamy baked goodness surrounded by crust. I love pie crust. It's my favorite part.  So the other  night I craved this dish but had no ready made pie crusts in the freezer. What to do? I didn't want to roll out a pie crust. I wanted easy. Off to my Better Homes and Gardens cookbook and found a recipe called:

Easy Oil Pastry (and it was easy and yummy too)

For one piecrust...
1 1/4 c. flour
1 tblsp. sugar
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 c. cooking oil
3 tblsp. milk
In a medium bowl stir together the flour, sugar and salt. Add oil and milk all at once to flour mixture. Stir lightly with fork. Form into a ball. Press a little more than half the dough in a 9in. pie plate. Fill and then what I did was take the remaining dough and sort of crudely rolled it out and pieced a top together. It baked up so nicely.

Easy Chicken Pot Pie Filling

For the filling I used two generous cups of diced cooked chicken, half a bag of frozen mixed vegetables a can of cream of mushroom soup and half a can of evaporated milk (I was out of milk). I added some dollops if cream cheese (wanted to use it up). Baked about 30 mins at 375. I just eye balled it until it looked nice and brown and bubbly.

Prim Winter and Valentine's Decor

Yesterday was one of those January days. The sun never made it's way out and the house seems dark. Our house IS dark. With an addition that was put on the back of our house it sits long with no windows in the dining room except for one and it can seem well, dark. So in an effort to cozy it up a bit I keep lamps and little electric flicker candles on timers to come on in the winter months. Just a few shots of my day to cozy up with a blanket, tea and cookies.

I love sheep. I have little ones sitting all around the house. Don't know what it is about them.

This pillow says it all. I am "plain folk."

 It is definitely a day for these!

Secret to the Fluffiest Pancakes Ever!

I don't recall where I learned the secret to making the fluffiest pancakes ever, but it is so simple. You will want to add this easy step for light fluffy pancakes every time.

This pancake tip works with your favorite boxed mix or try with my awesome homemade pancake recipe.

 

Simple Tip To Make Light Fluffy Pancakes

Next, you add to it some sort of acid. Lemon juice or apple cider vinegar is what I use. Add a few drops for a small batch or up to a teaspoon for a larger batch of pancakes.

Now let the mix sit for a couple of minutes. Do not over mix pancake batter.  The acid reacts with the  baking soda or powder that is in the recipe and causes the mix to bubble a little bit. Now to counteract the sour you just added, add an equal amount of sugar if you'd like. That's what I do. Let the mix sit for a few minutes to get some good bubble action and then make as usual.