Little Loo Like New

When a well used space feels dark, cramped, and outdated, there are only so many times that you can say "I like it, it's cute!" before you get fed up and rip into it.  At the end of last summer, despite the unrelenting heat and humidity, we finally said good-bye to the floral wrapped first floor bath and transformed the space into this:

Easter Brunch Ideas

Time to put a spring in your step if you're planning brunch for your family bunch this upcoming Easter.  The morning should be simple, sweet, and oh so savory to welcome the longer days and warmer sunshine!

When I think of what to make for Easter Brunch, my go-to is Lemon Blueberry Bundt cake. I first found this gem on the cover of the Family Circle many moons ago.  This recipe is definitely in the book (Secret Ingredient Is Love) and has been much loved in our house by many friends and lots of family.  This is so not your grandmother's hot cross buns! 

photo source: http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/lemon-blueberry-bundt-cake-10000001976647/

CSA or seed a tray?

My mother and grandmother both loved to garden.  I grew up composting, digging (with spoons even), looking for worms, and eating rhubarb with sugar out of paper bags on a fresh cut lawn.  But for some reason, try as I might, my green thumb is rather yellow and my crops are crap!  There, I said it!  That felt good;)

I'm done with blame.  I've reasoned that the restrains on my time, the lack of sun, the dog and kids are the cause of my harvesting downfall.  But the truth is that I don't know what I'm doing-right or wrong, and what results is mediocrity at best.
Sometimes we're good at what we know, and what we don't know remains an enigma. Despite my best intentions and thorough research, my success in gardening is limited to a few crops of lettuce (success!), and some leggy tomato vines that can't quite produce.

That being said, March always finds a way to re-ignite the fielding fire within my soul. It's always this time of year that I struggle to decide if I will take on another real time relationship with mother nature, and conquer my recurrent fears of failure.  Soon it will be time to commit, but am I ready to bust out the greenhouse?  Yes, I have a greenhouse:

Spring Ahead on the Mantelpiece

Last week, while the meteorologists babbled and agonized over their non-predictions of the  storm that ended up dumping more than 2 feet of fresh white snow on our doorsteps, I ignored the hype by changing out my mantelpiece for spring.  The sun before the storm was pretty and warm, and I almost believed them when they said that we might just get 4-6 inches!

Winter

Listening for signs of Spring

Waiting

Rejoice!

It's Spring!

Chill Tumblers

Is a glass just for sipping?  Of course not!  One of my favorite things to collect is glass, and I've found so many pieces that I really enjoy.  Art deco and depression glass are some of my favorite finds, especially at a bargain price.  That's why I was thrilled to find these beauties at The Goodwill Store for $0.69 each!

Perhaps the photo doesn't do justice to their elegance, but once their true (re-)purpose is shown, their allure is hard to resist...

Having Fun With "Thirty-One"

My fascination with "Thirty-One" started innocently enough, as most soon to become obsessions do. 

My neighbor and good friend puts on a vendor party every year right at the start of the holidays, allowing friends and family to come together and shop in the comfort of her home.  Items sold are either hand-made or catalog quality, and shown by some of the hardest working and stay at home mom's in town.  Last year, I had my tutu table turning profits (more on that later), and this year "Thirty-One" was well represented.  Within minutes, I found myself oohing and ah-hing, and "needing" enough to convince myself that hosting my own party would be the perfect way to get more, more, more...

The Secret Ingredient Is Love

Where do you put all those recipes that you love? 

If you're someone who entertains with emphasis on food, if you love to cook, if you're someone who has to eat, or if you need to feed people daily, at some point in your life you may find that you need to corral all those carefully chosen and cherished collectible recipes.

I started jotting down recipes when I was in college.  I lost my mom when I was 19 and realized then that, although she was an excellent cook, I never got the chance to share any of her experience in the kitchen.  Since my very first  Thanksgiving turkey cleaned (ugh!  no one told me about the neck) and cooked that year, I've been asking for and writing down recipes for practically everything I've ever made in the nearly 20 years since...And I do so love to cook!

Some of my favorite recipes are written on the back of scrap envelopes that I recycled from the mail.  I can  search the print and find the date stamped on the front, and it helps bring back the memories of that time and place.

When I was getting married, my bridesmaids threw a bridal shower with a request to all attending to bring a copy of a treasured recipe for my growing collection.  I still have most of those index cards in my collection today.

Several years later, my friends and I gathered together one night to share our best recipes, and find the best way to organize them for our own use at home.  The result for me, was a 3 ring binder that I recently realized had seen better days.  Well used, and much loved, my book needed a new look:

 

“There are things you do because they feel right, and they make no sense, and they make no money, and it may be the real reason we are here:

To love each other and to eat each other’s cooking and say it was good.”

 www.storypeople.com