There is no place like home

Vintage Quilts

2012-01-21T15:15:00.003-06:00

My sister-in-law and I went to a few Estate sales yesterday. I fell in love with 2 beautiful quilts, but left without them. When I went back today, they were 25% off!

I don't know how old they are, but I'm really hoping they are from the depression era. Can anyone tell?

This one is my favorite. I love the red and yellow.

Hand stitching on the reverse.

I put one on the stand in my bedroom.

And the other in our family room. Now we just need some cold weather, so we can cozy up underneath them!

Thanks for stopping by!

Flowers in Winter

2012-01-16T09:21:00.001-06:00

My little crocus plant bloomed this weekend!

"No matter how long the winter, spring is sure to follow."

Sunday Afternoon

2012-01-15T14:29:00.002-06:00

A beautiful loaf of homemade bread...a gift from friends at church.

Along with a hot cup of coffee...makes the perfect Sunday afternoon snack.

Weekend Chit-Chat

2012-01-13T21:41:00.002-06:00

Hello! I'm so glad the weekend is here. I had a busy week and finally got down all of our Christmas decorations. Remind me to get an artificial tree next year, I had pine needles everywhere! This past Thursday evening, my sister-in-law and I went to my monthly neighborhood Bunco game. Have you ever played? It's lots of fun.

I took fruit salad, banana bread, lemon tea bread, and chocolate truffles (thank you Whole Foods!).

We don't have any major plans for the weekend. Grace is having a couple of friends over and I'm going antique shopping with a friend on Monday. I'll be sure to share pictures if I find any new treasures. Until next time...

Christmas Decorations - In January!

2012-01-08T16:43:00.002-06:00

Hello and Happy New Year! Thank you for the warm welcome back to blog land. I'm really late in sharing Christmas pictures, but my mom especially wanted to see them.

I found this old sled at a local antique shop this past November. The sign was a find on the same trip and I thought they were cute together.

Entryway reindeer.

I made a mantle banner using old Christmas cards.

Kitchen hutch ice skating scene.

Our Christmas tree with a wonky top and star.

The girls thought it would be funny to put the entire package of Oreos out for Santa. Don't they know our house isn't the only one he visits that night? ;0)

The kitty is a new addition to our family...I'll introduce him soon! Hope you all have a wonderful week ahead and thanks for stopping by for a visit!

Happy New Year!

2012-01-01T20:25:00.004-06:00

Happy New Year! One of my New Year's goals is to blog once a week. I thought today was a good day to start.

A new beginning is perhaps the best time to say…
It’s so nice to know you…
And here’s wishing our friendship
continues to grow in the days to come.

Entryway Decorations

2011-10-26T14:46:00.002-05:00

I added a simple pail of mini pumpkins to my entryway table.

A tiny bit of color among all the greens and browns.

Today's high is 83F, but tomorrow it's going to be 55F. I can't wait!

Back Home

2011-10-24T09:11:00.002-05:00

It's a beautiful Autumn morning and I'm ready to start the week. We returned home from our trip to Florida late Saturday evening. Yesterday was spent cleaning, dusting, vacuuming, and on endless loads of laundry (finishing up the last 3 this morning).

I also put out a few more fall decorations and I will share pictures soon.

My oak tree got a bit of a head start on me.

Welcome October

2011-10-01T11:40:00.002-05:00

Happy October! My favorite month of the year is here and the temperatures in Texas have finally dropped down into the 80's. :0)

Thank you to all who have left messages and sent emails. We are doing well and had a good start to our school year. We are preparing for a family wedding - I'm getting a new sister-in-law! She spent this past month at my house and has become a great friend. She's crafty too, so we have lots of fun together.

I'll try to be better about posting, even if it's a quick hello!

Simple Little Pleasures for Tuesday

2011-06-14T13:42:00.001-05:00

Today I'm enjoying flowers from a friend and a stack of old Victoria magazines to look through.

"I believe the nicest and sweetest days are not those on which anything very splendid or wonderful or exciting happens, but just those that bring simple little pleasures, following one another softly, like pearls slipping off a string."
— L.M. Montgomery

New Kitchen Remodel - After Pictures

2011-06-05T19:17:00.005-05:00

Phillip and I worked all weekend and got everything moved back in. We love how it all looks!

I've ordered place mats that are the same color as the curtains. I think they will blend in better than the solid red.

Inside hutch light on.

Upper and lower lights also on.

Thank you for taking a look! I'm sure I'll be sharing close-ups of various things. I found some new treasures at the antique store last week.

I hope you all have a wonderful week ahead!

Shared for Show and Tell Friday.

Before and After Kitchen Pictures

2011-06-02T12:44:00.003-05:00

Moving in...

2011-06-02T10:58:00.002-05:00

Our kitchen is finally finished and now begins the fun of moving everything back in. It seems daunting right now, but I'm sure once we start, it will be fine.

Happy June! I'll share more pictures, soon.

Container Water Garden

2011-05-24T15:30:00.000-05:00

When we had the new patio put in last fall, my water garden had to go. I really missed it, so this past weekend, I put together a smaller version in a barrel.

We'll add some small fish soon.

It's possible that our kitchen remodel will be finished at the end of the week. I can't wait to move back in!

A Sneak Peek...

2011-05-13T19:38:00.003-05:00

The granite counters were installed this morning and I'm loving my new sink, too.

My parents are coming for a visit and are about an hour away. I've been tidying up the house and I think everything is ready for a fun weekend. I hope you have a good one, too!

A Place of Retreat

2011-05-11T14:43:00.002-05:00

It was overcast all morning and now it is pouring rain. It's supposed to continue for the next 4 hours.

I think I will stay inside in my cozy nest!

May 2011

2011-05-08T17:49:00.002-05:00

Hello! Is anyone still around? It seems like we've been in the middle of at least 1 home construction project for the past year and a half, which is why it's been so quiet around here.

We had friends over last night and we talked about how most of our back patio is a "kitchen graveyard" at the moment.

We are having our 1980's kitchen updated. We completely cleared everything out 3 weeks ago and hopefully in another 3 weeks, it will be finished.

Work in progress.

It doesn't stop us from using a small area of the patio though, at least before it gets too hot.

I also wanted to say "Happy Mother's Day" and especially to my mom, who will be here for a visit this coming week.

I hope to be around more often!

Happy Birthday, Benjamin!

2011-02-14T17:03:00.002-06:00

We celebrated Benjamin's 10th birthday this past weekend. No more single digits in our family!

We had a fun filled day that included indoor surfing (at a local mall), new toys, and sharing birthday cake and ice cream with neighborhood friends.

Happy Birthday, Benjamin!

Winter Wonderland!

2011-02-04T08:59:00.002-06:00

On Monday evening we got an ice storm and the schools (basically the whole city!) have been shut down since then. This morning we awoke to several inches of snow.

An early birthday present for me!

Happy Birthday, Grace!

2011-02-01T11:54:00.001-06:00

Happy Birthday, Grace! It's the big 13! We are celebrating with a snow day, movies, and vanilla cupcakes. We love you!

Our New Back Patio

2011-01-17T14:03:00.003-06:00

We started our new back patio project in November, finished in December, and I'm finally getting around to sharing pictures! You can see the before and during pictures HERE.

There is a hot tub on the far end, which is Phillip's Christmas present for the next 10 years!

Hopefully the pergola will keep the area a little cooler in the summer.

My favorite spot to sit.

There are fleece throws under the table for cold evenings.

Thank you for stopping by and taking a look!

Back Patio - Before and During Project

2011-01-17T11:23:00.008-06:00

We had made good use of our small back patio over the past 12 years, but we were ready for a change.

When we moved here in '99, Phillip had plans of putting in a hot tub, eventually. Now that the girls and Benjamin had outgrown the sandbox, the space was available.

Several other things got the project moving along. The wall behind the ivy needed replaced due to rotting wood, then a few months later we got termites. It was recommended that we remove all the dirt and wood chips from the sides of the house.

The work started in mid November with a new drainage system.

Extended cement slab.

New flagstones.

All finished!

Red Velvet Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

2011-01-05T21:30:00.002-06:00

The following two Valentine projects were originally posted on my Seasonal Delight's site, in 2008. I recently had requests to share them again since the site crashed, so here they are!

Red Velvet Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

Ingredients:
2 1/2 cups flour
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons cocoa powder
1/2 cup butter
1 cup buttermilk
2 eggs
1 tablespoon vinegar
1 teaspoons vanilla
2 tablespoons red food coloring

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350F degrees. Line 18 muffin cups with cupcake papers.

2. In a medium bowl combine the flour, sugar, baking soda, salt and cocoa powder. Mix well.

3. In the bowl of an electric mixer beat butter, buttermilk and eggs until combined. Add the vinegar, vanilla and vinegar and mix well.

4. Add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture and mix until smooth.

5. Spoon batter into prepared muffin cups.

6. Bake for 18-20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a cupcake comes out clean. Remove cupcakes from pan and let cool completely.

Cream Cheese Frosting

Ingredients:
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
4 cups powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:

1. In a mixing bowl beat the butter, cream cheese, and vanilla until creamy.

2. Gradually stir in the powdered sugar until smooth and fluffy.

3. Using a knife, spread frosting over each cupcake.

4. Add valentine sprinkles of your choice.

Let me know if you try them!

Valentine Banner

2011-01-05T21:13:00.003-06:00

Valentine Banner

Materials:
Solid color card stock
Paper doilies
Valentine stickers
Ribbon
Lace
Letter stickers or marker

Tools:
Scissors
Hole Punch
Glue
Glue gun and hot glue

Instructions:
1. Choose a phrase and count the shapes that will be needed; one per letter. Trace the template onto card stock and cut out all of the shapes. I no longer have my original template, but I found a substitute HERE. You can also search "bunting template" for more options.

2. Place a Valentine sticker on each heart doily.
3. Glue doily on the front of each banner triangle.

4. Add letters using either stickers or writing with a pen on each triangle.

5. Add lace in three separate pieces with hot glue.

6. Punch holes near the top of each assembled shape, then thread ribbon through in letter in order. Thread from front to back on one side, draw the ribbon across the back, then pull forward through the opposite hole.

7. Tack each end of the ribbon up to display the banner!

Other possible sayings:
True Love
Love
XOXOXO
I LOVE YOU

Happy New Year!

2011-01-04T17:14:00.002-06:00

A new year is unfolding-
like a blossom with petals
curled tightly concealing
the beauty within.
-Author unknown

Happy New Year!

*Pictures are from my new Camellia plant. They bloom January through February.