Dad

Just wanted to let you know my dad had an operation last week and he's doing really great! He had a valve repaired in his heart. The doctors told him he may have to have it replaced, but during surgery they were able to repair his so now he won't need the valve replacement. He's very happy about that. The doctor thinks this is something he was born with, but now since the surgery, his heart should be stronger than ever.
Please pray for his continued healing from the surgery as he's a little sore from it.

I probably won't be posting as much as usual, but I did purchase a few things and will be posting those soon.

This is one of my favorite pics of my dad and me. My mom took this pic of us when I lived by the beach in Florida.

Time Out

I'm sorry, I won't be posting  much this week,

due to a personal family matter.

The Glass Castle Review

The Glass Castle is an easy read and one of those books that you must finish because you can't wait to find out how it all pans out.  It's a true story, which makes your jaw drop almost the whole time you're reading it.

I said I would give you my opinion on it when I was finished reading it, so if you haven't read the book yet and don't want the ending spoiled, I wouldn't read any farther than this!

My heart broke as I read this book, it was so hard to believe that children can be so neglected by their parents. I have a very hard time hearing or reading anything about child neglect and when I got half way through the book, I wasn't sure if I could read anymore.  I actually had to force myself to continue reading because I really wanted to see how all the children turned out. I knew Jeanette obviously turned out well since she was the author.

The whole time I was reading the book, all I could think of was how the parents were a cancer that would infect anything or anyone they came in contact with.  The children had to raise the parents because the parents weren't responsible enough to raise their own kids.  I know Jeanette and her siblings loved their parents dearly, but I had a hard time finding any sympathy or pity for them at all.  They turned everywhere they lived into a dump.  The children had 2 choices, they could fight in any way they knew how to pull themselves out of that dump or they could sink away into it with their parents never to escape.  I was so delighted to read that the 3 oldest children chose to swim instead of sink.  On an upside I did learn that some of my whining about things in life is so silly compared to the hardships these young children endured.  I've learned to look at things a little different. Especially food, the way they would scrape to get by like having a stick of butter being their only meal at times. Let's not talk about the lard sandwiches.

I guess you could say this book really touched me and it's a book that I will continue thinking about days and weeks to come, most likely even years.  The message and words are something I just can't shake off. You know that feeling? It just sort of stays with you.  It's a good thing, too.  My review may sound negative, but I'm glad I read the book and don't regret it.  I would recommend this book for sure. There were some very funny parts where I was laughing hysterically.  I've never had a book bring that kind of laughter out of me. 

I'll probably not read anymore of Jeannettes books any time soon, I think I need something a little more light hearted to read next.  I'll definitely read more of her books in the future though. I have one of her books called Half Broke Horses that I'll read later. 

If you've read The Glass Castle, I would love to hear more details of what you thought of it.

Hydrangea Decor

I finally got a better shot of my fireplace with the dried hydrangeas in it. Yesterday was cloudy so I wasn't able to get decent pics of it and I'm too lazy to set up the tripod to get the lighting right on my camera. :p

 They are such a pretty color when they're first picked and dried, but over time, they start to lose their color and turn a pale beige.

  I got a lot of compliments on these at the Housewarming, too.

Here's a photo of my moms hydrangeas before they started blooming real good.  She's the one that picked them and dried them out for me.  She said you just cut the stems real long and put them in an empty vase and let them dry out. Then use them for decor.

Hydrangeas are my favorite flowers.

Here is the inspiration photo that inspired me.

Oh, and the mirror over my fireplace, that is the mirror I used from the dresser in my guest  room.

I'm STILL looking for an armoire to put in this dressers place in the guest room. 

I know I'm going to find something great!

I love love this PB armoire, but I'm still going to look for a used one at thrift and antique stores.

I might do a little fall decorating this weekend.

The weather is really putting me in the fall mood.

What kind of decorating are you doing for fall?

*Edited:  I put a new link at the top of  my blog under the title.  A link to my recipes. Hope you enjoy.

A Stroll Through My Neighborhood

It is becoming perfect fall weather. It's not hot and humid anymore, but still warm with a nice crisp breeze in the air. Little Foot and I love to go walking through my neighborhood.  The neighborhood was the  main reason I chose to buy this house. I thought it was the most beautiful neighborhood in all of Mount Airy.  It's not right near Main St. or where everything's at, yet it's still in the city limits, but just tucked back away into the beautiful overgrown majestic trees.  Ever since I was a little girl, I've always wanted to live in one of those neighborhoods where the trees grow across the road like a canopy as you go through them.  It's just so inviting and peaceful.

I went for a stroll this morning and snapped a few pictures. I've been wanting to do this for a while so I would have some nice photos of the neighborhood.  I even took a couple of pictures of some homes in the neighborhood that I like, but they came out blurry.  I was walking Little Foot and trying to take pics at the same time, I'll have to go without him so I can concentrate on some better pics next time.

The roads wind all around the place, with hills and valleys all throughout.

That's my neighbor's dog up ahead, he went on a little stroll with us.  You can already see fall leaves on the ground, I can't wait until the leaves change into their beautiful reds, oranges and yellows.

I even met a new neighbor I hadn't talked to before on my little walk this morning.  Everyone around here is so friendly, a bunch of really great neighbors!   I would have taken more pics where there are homes, but everyone has their signs out in their yards for who they're voting for, so it looks a little cluttered right now with that everywhere. I'll take pics after the elections are over.  

Hope you have a wonderful weekend.

The Glass Castle

Here is what I'm reading right now.  The Glass Castle, by Jeannette Walls. I just started the book a couple of days ago. I can't say what chapter I'm on because the book doesn't have any chapters.  I'm at the beginning stages though.  It seems to be a good book, so far the parents seem to be a little *off*.  I'll give a review when I'm done. 

No spoilers, please!

Have you read any good books lately? What are you reading now?

I'm not working on any projects around the house right now, taking a little break. I took some pics of my fireplace yesterday, but they came out underexposed, so I'll try again today when the afternoon light is in the room.   

Clean Eating Tuna Melt

Clean Eating Tuna Melt

 6 oz. can tuna in water
3 Tbsp. celery, diced
3 Tbsp. red onion, diced
2 Tbsp. carrots, diced
2 Tbsp. tomato, diced
2 Tbsp. apple, diced
1/3 c. nonfat Greek yogurt
1½ tsp. white wine vinegar
½ tsp. dried oregano
¼ tsp. parsley flakes
1/8 tsp. pepper (and salt if desired)
2 slices whole wheat bread
2 slices tomato
2 (1 oz.) slices reduced fat Swiss cheese

Instructions:

Stir together first 11 ingredients in a medium bowl until well combined.

Divide tuna salad equally among both slices of bread. Top each with 1 slice tomato and 1 slice cheese. Broil topped bread halves for 5 – 10 minutes or until lightly browned. Makes 2 servings.

Nutritional information: (per serving): Calories: 340, Fat: 4.5 g., Carbs: 31 g., Protein: 41 g.

Recipe from Cleaneatingonline.com

Lou's Photo of how hers turned out.

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Tuesday dinner across the miles 

This was delicious!!!!  My pictures never do these meals justice.  I made this for lunch today instead of dinner because today's my mom's birthday and we're taking her out for dinner tonight. Lou and I have also decided we're going to start picking breakfast recipes to make for Tuesdays also.  Just to mix it up a little. I love experimenting with breakfast foods, you know how boring breakfast can become by eating the same ole, same ole.

This meal was cheap, easy and no cooking involved.

At the last minute I decided to use fresh herbs instead of dried ones.  I had most of these ingredients here at my house already, so I didn't have to buy much for it.  I also added a touch of sea salt.

Healthy and delicious!

I highly recommend this recipe! It's one of the best ones I've had since we started doing our Tuesday meals.  Hope you enjoy it, Lou!

New Roman Shade

I finally got a shade for my bathroom. There were originally plastic blinds all throughout the house when I bought it.  I've tried to replace almost all of the blinds, but I have been really picky about what I use in the bathroom and bedrooms.  For the bathroom I had to make sure it wasn't see through, because in the winter when all the leaves are off the trees, there is perfect view of my neighbor behind me.  I don't want to be putting on a show or anything, ha! For the bedrooms, I want to make sure I get something thick and insulated, too. Right now there aren't any shades in the guest room and there's the old plastic blinds still in my bedroom.

I got this roman shade at Country Curtains.
Insulated Essex Roman Shade

Here was how it looked before, although you can't see the plastic blinds behind the valance.

I want some insulated light bamboo shades for the guest room and some insulated roller shades for the master bedroom.  My search continues.

Open House Sunday

I spent the weekend cleaning and preparing for my House Warming/Open House get together I had on Sunday.  It went well, I had invited some neighbors that live here in the neighborhood, so it was nice to get to meet them all.  A few others came as well, there was a steady flow of people coming and going.  It was fun!

Here's the little snack I prepared. I also had some chicken we cooked on the grill here to eat.

I did the chocolate covered strawberries again.  This time I got a little more creative with them and drizzled some white chocolate across them.

I had it set up in my little kitchen area.  There were drinks and wine also.

Thank you mom, Lisa & Megan for all your help with the Housewarming!  

My house is very clean now! We scrubbed this place from top to bottom! Let's see how long it can stay this clean. lol

I'll take a few more pics and post later, I got my roman shade up in the bathroom and a bunch of dried hydrangeas I put in the fireplace like I have been wanting do from this inspiration picture.  I'll post them later. 

Inspiration Dreams

I was looking around Decor Pad at some of the beautiful homes and thought I would share a few of my favorites.

I love this blue furniture piece.

I have entertained the idea of wallpapering one of the walls in my guest room.

I would also love to get a hood for my stove like this.

This looks so serene.

I  love simple bright kitchens.

Perfect.

I've really been drawn to blue accents lately.

I must organize my garden sheds.

Ok I don't think I'll ever be this organized.

I would love hydrangeas all around the front of my home, but they are unsightly in the winter.

I would also love window boxes, but after my experience with gardening and plants this year, I'm afraid I don't have the special touch to keep anything alive in them.  I know, practice makes perfect.  I'm hoping to buy a bunch of flowers and plants to put around my front door and deck tomorrow.  I'm trying to get my house all cleaned and organized because I'm having an open house/housewarming this Sunday.  I'll report back on how it went.

New Orleans Red Beans and Rice

1 Tbsp olive oil
1 large onion chopped
1 large green bell pepper chopped
2 celery stocks chopped
3 garlic cloves minced
1/2 lb boneless ham-steak trimmed, diced (I used turkey kielbasa)
2 tsp creole seasoning
1 can red kidney beans 15oz (I used dry red beans soaked over  night)
1 can whole tomatoes in puree and coarsely chopped (28 oz can)
3 cups hot cooked brown rice
6 scallions thinly sliced

1. Heat oil in large skillet over med-high heat. Add onion, bell pepper, celery, and garlic; cook stirring frequently until veggies are crisp-tender, abt 8 min.
Add ham and creole seasoning, cook, stirring frequently until ham is heated through 1-2 min.

2. Transfer ham mixture to 5 or 6 quart slow cooker, stir in beans and tomatoes. Cover and cook until veggies are tender 3-4 hours on high or 6-8 hrs on low.

3. Divide rice amount into 5 or 6 shallow bowls. Top evenly with bean mixture. Serve sprinkled with scallions.

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Ok so the picture doesn't do it justice!  Lou wouldn't even let me see her picture she said it came out so bad. lol  I must admit, it was very flavorful... as you can imagine a New Orleans recipe might be.  I was surprised at all the celery and peppers it called for, it was a very chunky dish.  I made a spinach salad to go with it.  I am comfortably full and satisfied, what else could you ask for from a meal.  

Thank you Lou for the recipe!

(For those that don't know, I do a dinner once a week across the miles with a friend that lives in FL.)

*I had to turn comments off on this post because of all the spam it was receiving.

To Do List for 2010 crossoff

This is a little glass bowl I purchased at an antique store recently.  As you know, not everything in an antique store is actually an antique, but when I saw this I had to have it.  I got it for a steal and when I got it home, I turned it upside down and noticed a sticker on it.  It says Pottery Barn!  lol  Wouldn't you know it, I can't seem to get away from PB.  I'm sure it would have cost 10 times more at PB, so even though it's not an antique, I got a great deal on a beautiful glass dish.  Don't you love it when that happens :)


The following list is one I made back in January of this year. I just want to check off what I accomplished so far.

TO DO LIST

• Get curtain rods for office
• Get curtains for office
• Paint office
• Hang pictures in living room
• Get a chair for the living room.
• Built in bookshelves next to fireplace
• Get something for wall above couch
• New front door
• Butcher block counter tops (kitchen)
• New back splash for kitchen
• New kitchen faucet
• Rug for under dining table
• Refinish ladder back chairs
• Curtain for guest room
• Shades or sheers for guest room
• black out shades for master room
• Put door on guest room
• New door knobs
• Replace coat closet door with fabric
• Rug in front of kitchen sink
• Light over kitchen sink (I bought it but haven't had it put in yet)
• bifolding french doors (between kitchen and office)

OUTSIDE

• Plant cherry blossom trees
• Plant flowers
• Paint garden sheds
• Gas grill
• Outdoor dining set
• Plant a garden

BATHROOM

• New floors (bamboo)
• Replace vanity
• overhead lighting
• Retile shower floor
• Paint
• Shade for window

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I got a lot accomplished!  I have new things I want to add to the list though, but isn't that always the case?  How are your lists coming along?  I'll continue to try to mark these off and then I suppose I'll come up with a new updated list for 2011.  I did really good on working on the inside of the house part, but I really dropped the ball on fixing up the outside.  Hardly a thing got crossed off and the list wasn't very long.  That's okay, because I know it will eventually come together.  

Sorry Lou I wasn't able to make the Tuesday night dinner last night, I am making it today so I'll try to get that posted tonight!  

I'm also planning on adding a section to my blog about the town I live in, Mt Airy (Mayberry).  I've had quite a few people emailing me asking me about what the town is like.  I'm planning on going around and taking pics of different places around here and compiling a list of restaurants, antique stores and places here that I like to go.  There will also be a section you can click on that will give you a directory of all the recipes I have on my blog.  Right now there is no way to really find them unless you just keep clicking back on each page of the blog.  If there's anything else you would like to see on the blog, please just let me know!

Labor Day with family and friends

Little Foot chasing the water hose!

I hope everyone enjoyed their Labor Day holiday.  It turned out to be a beautiful weekend. You can feel fall in the air. The mornings are chilly again and the days are still warm, but not too hot. A perfect day for a cookout!  We spent the day out on my deck, enjoying the food, wine and conversation.

I made chocolate covered strawberries.  I've never attempted this before, but I love these and have always wanted to try making them.  Not bad for my first try, next time I can get a little more creative and do white chocolate stripes or dip them in chopped almonds or coconut or something yum.  I'm going to do them again next weekend and see what I come up with.  They were the biggest hit of the day!  :)

The not so great Outdoors

I just don't seem to be able to get the outside fixed up the way I want it.  I must not have the knack for the outdoors or something.  One obstacle I've run into is that there is such a limited selection of outdoor furniture and decor you can buy here in this little town.  The weather has  not cooperated much since I moved up here either to be able to spend much time fixing up the outside. I use to practically live on my patio when I was in Florida, but between all the freezing cold we've had, the extreme heat, I've rarely spent any time outside.  That's just not like me.  I'm looking into getting my deck covered and screened in so I can enjoy outside, too.

I did get a few things done this past weekend.

I painted the trim on my shed white.

I pulled my table back out onto my patio and finished painting the bench.

Had to move the umbrella to the front of the table because of the afternoon sun.

Notice I still don't have any more chairs for it, I can't find any around here I like.

My friend Bec found some pics of some picnic table chairs that are actually made for picnic tables, so I may try to hunt some down and just order them off the internet.  I keep hoping some neat ones will show up at a Thrift store here, but it just isn't happening.

A new light for the front door.

Dad to the rescue to install it because I have a fear of electricity,

 I have got to get past that and try to install the next light on my own!

New planter.

Paint it white of course.

Planters finished and a new doormat, too.

I think the planters are a tad big for the spruces, but they will grow into it. I'm going to get some more flowers to put around the door, too.  I'll post more outdoor pics as I continue to try to get it fixed up a little more. The outside of the house needed the most work, so maybe that's why I'm struggling so hard with it.

ARMOIRE UPDATE

I had gone back to look at the armoire, the one in the 2nd picture from this post, and the lady didn't know what the price on it was.  She was going to ask the man that owns it and let me know. I haven't had a chance to go back to find out.  Maybe today I can get back over there.