3/25/2013

A New Catalog

         I'm not sure if this is new or not, but it's the first one that I have gotten. Williams-Sonoma     agrarian catalog. This is my favorite. I actually got a smile on my face when the kids gave it to me (they get the mail).
   
   I have gotten their cheese and mustard kits. I would love to have the chicken coop on the left.

  
    This is so inspiring for spring and my side yard. Now if only it would stop snowing and warm up.


  Check out William-Sonoma's Agrarian section. They have so many inspiring pictures and ideas.

Christine

Sunburst Mirror

I have wanted a sunburst mirror for so long now. But, they can be really expensive. 
Like this one that I keep looking at but just can't bring myself to pay that much for a mirror.   
Last week I took down the collage of pictures and letters that I had hanging above the piano. 
You can see it here and the latest version here. My original plan was to make this sunburst mirror.
  This mirror is from 364 Living blog. If you haven't check her blog out yet you should it's really cute.
Anyway, I went to Home Depot to get the supplies and walked past the small mirror section. 
It's just an end cap. I was looking at one of them for the bathroom when I spotted a Martha Stewart sunburst mirror. 
And the best thing was the price under $40 and very similar to the one above. I threw that thing in the cart so fast. 
I was so excited. I got a sunburst mirror and all I had to do was pound in a nail. 



I know the lamps are a little off. The one on the right got knocked off. I need to fix it and do something 
with the lampshades. This was all the decorating I've gotten done in the last two weeks. The kids were sick last weekend with colds, sore throats and then they gladly passed it on to me. I haven't felt this sick in a long time. This weekend was the worst. The sinus headache is finally going away. Hope everyone else had a better weekend then we did.

Christine
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            





3/22/2013

The Search Is Over



View from the driveway

Yes, the search is over and reality has set in.....we closed on this little "cottage" (cottage sounds so much better than "foreclosure" or"fixer upper") 1 month ago and we are in full renovation mode!  I have always wanted to remodel an older home and usually would just brush people off when they would say "DON'T DO IT" or "you might want to think twice about doing that!"  I understand now what those people meant....it is fun, challenging and a HEADACHE.  Just being honest!

Here is a little  "Before" tour....

Front Entry and Dining Room...Notice the wall to the right, it's gone now :)

 Kitchen....yikes!  Just sold those cabinets and appliances on Craigslist!


Master...the door opened to the Kitchen!?!  Not anymore!


Master bath.....gutted completely! Thank the Lord!

Family Room....I don't even recognize this picture, it already looks so different!


Front Bedroom...wow!  needs something...don't you agree? :) The back bedroom looks just like this.



I have much to share, but this post is just about what we started with and to give you a rundown of the things we have done in this first month....

~All trim, doors, flooring and light fixtures are gone

~ Two walls down...one separating the dining from the family room and one separating the kitchen from both the dining and family...basically, went from rooms sectioned off to an open floor plan...Love that!

~Door moved in the Master Bedroom and master bath gutted (Speaking of the Master...guess what the foreclosure company did...PAINTED OVER WALLPAPER!!  It had to be stripped which was SLOW and AGGRAVATING!) More on the Master, later

~ Gutted the Kitchen and added a little wall which I will show you about in the Kitchen post

~Started installing the TONGUE and GROOVE  BEAD BOARD CEILING!!  So very excited about that....we are putting it through the entire house!  No more popcorn ceiling!

 ~ Moved, took out, added lights and outlets...behind the scene things that have to be done but don't really seem too exciting

~Drywall where needed, Patching and Sanding

~Moved the air conditioner unit from the closet in the dining room to the attic


It has been therapeutic for me to make this list because some days it seems like we aren't getting anywhere but in reality we have accomplished a lot considering the 3 children running around and it being the beginning of pool season here in southeast Georgia.  My husband is going wide open trying to balance his business and all this renovation! Fortunately, we don't have to live in the mess...

So, this is where we are right now....when we sold our other home we really didn't know what our next move was going to be...we went from building a new home (even had a contract at one time on 5 acres) to putting a contract on a large move in ready home...to a contract on a large Pink Victorian that needed an even larger amount of work ( God Bless, our Realtor).  In the end our our frugal (Dave Ramsey) side won out. We opted for the smaller, foreclosure in an older established neighborhood, with lots of trees and a constant marshside breeze, and with an even smaller price tag! The best thing is  that we are going to be able to transform it into a warm and inviting haven for our little family. 

I am excited to be seeing all my ideas coming together.....and, I hope you will enjoy the journey with me! 


Rhiannon  

3/21/2013

Too Cute ~ Mini Pop TartsVia




It is supposed to be spring but if you look out my window right now the snow we have falling and piling up would tell you winter is just beginning. What else to do on a cold winters spring day than get on the internet.
So, I  was looking around....blogs, pinterest, etsy, etc., and came across this picture. These are just the cutest little things! I have made homemade pop tarts before { thanks to Christine } and just loved them. These little mini's were just too cute not to share. They will be making a appearance in my kitchen soon! Here is the recipe.

Via ~


Enjoy

Mary Elizabeth

3/15/2013

Friday's Treat ~ Caramel Cupcakes with Caramel Frosting


It has been entirely too long since my last post. I have been making them still just keep forgetting to post about them!  So here is the latest....:) these little cakes are really good. The cake itself is really moist and tender and has really good flavor. It is definitely not an overwhelming caramel flavor in the cake but more of a slight hint. The frosting is basically a brown butter glaze ( have you ever made a brown butter glaze? one of my favorites! ) but the process is a little bit different. You can click here for the recipe.




I put lots of frosting on them so it would kind of fall over the sides like it did in the actual recipe pictures. 




I also ended up beating the frosting in the mixer with some powdered sugar to make it thicker. I think if I was putting it on a cake it would have been fine but I needed something a little bit "sturdier" for the cupcakes. 




Don't let the caramelization  process scare you away from making this. It took just minutes and as long as you stir it and keep an eye on it it really is very easy.




Have you made anything new recently? Leave a comment and let me know what it was.....always looking for some new ideas!!

Have a great weekend!

Mary Elizabeth

3/01/2013

Homemade Flaked (Rolled) Oats

Ok, I started writing about milling the flour and then realized that I still haven't taken a picture of the milled wheat. I have a bunch of pictures except of what it looks like after it's milled. Hopefully, I'll remember to get a picture tomorrow when I make bread again. So, I'll post about flaked oats instead. Okay, homemade flaked (rolled) oaks is so good. Once you have eaten you will never go back to store bought. Every article that I read about flaking your own oats mentioned this. Now, I can truly attest to this. I bought store bought this week because I haven't been able to go to go to my suppliers (she lives an hour and 1/2 away, we have been having vehicle trouble). I made hot oatmeal on Thursday and nobody would eat it (including Brian and I). It was gross. This is a little time consuming though, because I only have a hand crank. If I had it to do over again I would buy an electric flaker.

Put the oat groats in the top. Turn the handle and the rollers flatten the oats. Great job for the kids. All I have to do is tell the boys that it will make their muscles big and then they are all about it.
 


Above shows the three different settings on the flaker. It's hard to tell the difference in the pictures.


Cinnamon Apple Oatmeal is a favorite at our house. I add the cinnamon apples (post coming about that soon) that I dehydrate. It's really good. And better yet, it's really good for you. No chemicals/preservatives or words that you can't pronounce.

Christine

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