Welcome

Welcome to our old farmhouse. Over the past year I have learned so much history of this house and the people who lived here. Ninety six years of love, loss, hopes and dreams. Preservation continues and there is always a repair to be done. We are trying to be purest in our preservation as much as we possibly can. I hope you follow along and each week I will try to give you a little history of the house as well as the first owners of the house. I've been lucky enough to find a journal from a Granddaughter who talks about the house as well as her Grandparents. So come follow along and learn about this old house as well as the occupants, old and new.

Wednesday, July 29, 2009

Shades Of White At The Shore

It's that time of the week, Tablescape Thursday
hosted by Susan at Between Naps On The Porch.
Be sure to stop by Susan's and visit all the
beautiful tablescaps you will find there.
Welcome to Shades Of White At The Shore. It's raining
again, so we are back in the dining room.
My whole room is dressed in shades of white along with
a few sea shore elements. So I hope you enjoy your visit.
I have used mismatched dishes, linens and anything
white I could find when shopping my house. I was really
amazed at all the different colors of white I saw once I
had everything in place. The textures are great.
I used candles, several antique bowls and a large
container of shells for my center piece. I liked the texture of the different objects as I stacked them.
You can see cream ware stacked on ironstone.
We have a sea shell salt dishes with Mother of Pearl
salt spoons.
Translucent pearls for napkin rings, white napkins.
I have used an ironstone plate for the charger, a
A small cream ware dinner plate then added another
ironstone bread plate with a starfish plate to top it off.
The place mates are white woven and I have used
them several different times.
The plate rack is dressed in whites. I have cream ware,
fine china cups and a little silver added to it.
I have used all white linens on the quilt rack the
lace, silk, cotton all give us a different hue of white.
The sideboard is also dressed with a little milk glass ,
cream ware, ironstone with a little silver thrown in.
I hope you enjoyed your visit and will visit again soon.
Please don't forget to leave a question, comment or
suggestion.
I will see everyone again next Thursday, you see I am
escaping. A little vacation for some warmth and sunshine,
and I hope not one drop of rain. I am taking my daughter
and one of her friends to Charleston, SC for a little school
shopping, and fun in the sun. And of course lots of pictures
and a little shopping for me. Have a great weekend.

Tuesday, July 28, 2009

Hobby Lobby Deals

A few little great finds at Hobby Lobby yesterday, for
a great price. This little baby was only.99, regular
price was $9.99.
Perfect size for the sink in the powder room .
I saw this red candle holder when I was there two weeks
ago, very pretty, but it was all scratched up. Regular price
was $21.99, it was marked down to $2.20. It really
needed to be rescued. Sooo after much soaking and
scraping..
Much more versatile. It could be used for........
This, or .......
This, but...........
I think it's new home will be here for a while. A nice
change to hold a few, spoil myself things.
Sooo.....
It's time for me to dim the chandi lights in the
bathroom. And....
Fill the tub, turn on the jets.
And......
Hit the book.
Thanks for stopping by!!!!!!!

Sunday, July 26, 2009

A Black and White Redo

It' Monday and time for Metamorphosis Monday
hosted by Susan at Between Naps On The Porch
and Today's Thrifty Treasures hosted by Rhoda
at Southern Hospitality. Be be sure to stop by
each of these sites for great ideals and
inspiration, you won't be disappointed.
A big Thanks to both our host.
As I told you last week I decided to redecorate my
family room. For some reason I have been wanting
a black and white room, but not to contemporary.
Then I have been watching the news and hearing
about all the problems people are having even
keeping their homes. Along with watching planet
green I started to think. So I challenged myself, the
challenge was if I wanted to redecorate I had to use all
recycled things or at least make it a goal to use at least
80% recycled things. So here is my attempt to this point.
I got these lamp shades at GW for .50 each. The material is from an old ugly dress torn apart, a thrift store find. I got it in the same bag sale as my belts from last weeks post. Then I found this trim at the thrift store on another visit, it was .50 for the roll. So here is the finished lamp shade, the lamp I already had. I have two of these lamps and shades, so they might go on the piano. This photo subject to change. So then I had to start thinking about art.
See the eagle mirror and the flower picture that used
to look like this in my dining room?
Mr. eagle now looks like this. The eagle frame was a thrift
store find at .45, I had the old mirror that was a perfect fit.
The picture of flowers now, this was a yard sale find, I
think I paid $1.00. The picture of the house above is
one of my favorite finds at the thrift store .50, and a
little black paint to tone down the gold frame. The
candle holders that I have shown previously they
were.25 each, and you can see the top of my black
chairs from last week. The chairs were freebie's from
my Mother, no bottoms in them. They are very sturdy
and comfortable with the belts on them.
Bad Photograph, but this was a freebie, one of my friends
was redecorating and getting rid of it. I gave the frame a
little black paint and its ready to go. I hope you have
enjoyed my progress so far and will join me again for
the next installment of A Black and White Redo. I have no
ideal where I'm going from here! Be scared!!!!
Please leave a comment, suggestion or question I love
hearing from each and everyone of you.

Friday, July 24, 2009

A Very Red Christmas

It's time for another Christmas In July Tablescape.
Please be sure to stop by Playing with Dishes, for some
Pre Holiday decorating ideals.
A night scene of my table. As you can see I just gathered some pine from the yard added a few pinecones I had handy as well as a few lights. I used the bow planter For the top of my make believe Christmas tree. Then I used ribbon from the top of the center piece to the chargers to make it look a though they were hanging. The red you see in the pine is actually individual dressing dispensers with red tops ( I forgot to take a picture of them sitting out, pressure from the teenager in the house to get this off the table before her friends saw Christmas dishes on our table in July). I did cheat a little I am using the same green tablecloth from tablescape Thursday with a red cloth on top and the same silverware. The chargers are from Hobby Lobby and I used the cut crystal dishes again. Two red napkins and two green napkins with gold napkin rings. The little bow plate is a dollar store plate I bought several years ago. The glasses are from Wal Mart.
Thanks for stopping by. Have a great weekend and I will
see everyone Monday.

Thursday, July 23, 2009

A Simple Bean Dip and Chips

It's time for Foodie Friday, be sure to stop by
Designs By Gollum for some fabulous recipes.
This is a quick and easy Bean Dip that I make for a snack.
1 can Black Beans 1 can Diced Tomatoes ( I use tomatoes that have
Basil, Garlic and Oregano in them)
1/2 cup Onions or to taste
1/4 cup Chives or to taste
Garlic to taste
I drain the liquid from the veggies, reserve some for
later or if needed.
Best if you chill and let the flavors blend together.
I quarter these little babies. A little deep frying.
Sea Salt, Allot of paper towels, and you are ready to go.
Hope you try this recipe and enjoy it.
If you like Mexican food you will like this.
We love Mexican food, but the nearest restaurant is 45
minutes away, and that tells the ending to this story
(cooking at home). See everyone at CIJ Saturday.
I had a request for the Berry Crisp recipe from last
week, some people were saying they could not read it.
So here we go, and enjoy!
1 cup uncooked oats, quick cooking or regular
(not instant)
1 cup all- purpose flour
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/4-1/2 cup chopped nuts (walnuts, pecans, or
hazelnuts)
1/2 cup butter or margarine
3 cups fresh or frozen berries
1/2 cup sugar (or desired amount) Mix oats, flour and brown sugar. Add nuts. Cut in butter or
margarine until crumbly. Grease or spray and 8-inch square
pan. Place half of crumb mixture on bottom. Mix berries
and white sugar and pour over crumb mixture. Top
with remaining crumb mixture. Bake at 350
for 30-45 minutes or until golden brown and bubbly.
Serve warm with ice cream or whipped cream.

Wednesday, July 22, 2009

A Tropical Affair

It's time for another Tablescape Thursday
thanks to our hostess Susan at Between Naps On the
Porch. Be sure to stop by Susan's to see her beautiful
tablescape as well many other beautiful and
inspiring tablescapes.
Welcome to A Tropical Affair
After seeing Susan's large beverage container last week
I was inspired to use mine. We are back in the dining room
since the weather will not cooperate, its really rainy and
very chilly here.
Everything is dressed for the tropics.
I drug out dishes I usually use at Christmas for the table
and there are others that you will have seen in older
tablescapes. The tablecloth is really a dark forest green
just not showing well in the picture. I used gold material
on top of the green for a little punch.
Always fresh fruit in the tropics. A bowl ready for a fresh salad.
I used gold candles for our dinner. We have a candle here
hiding in the grass.
Fresh fruit at all the place setting and I see a pineapple
peaking out.
This is the serving tray I won at the Company picnic
playing Bingo. It has a little white serving dish that
goes in the middle, but this little pineapple fits so well
for this occasion.
Our sideboard is also dressed for the occasion.
We have some colorful little cordial glasses.
The settee is dressed for dinner.
I used straw place mats, off white dinner plates, a gold
salad plate, then layered from there for a little drama.
I used tea towels for napkins and of course the silverware I
have used in several tablescapes, they just seemed to
go well with everything.
I have several of the little green plates, they were given
to me by a dear friend who has since passed away. And
every time I use them I think of her.
Night is coming and we are ready to sit down and eat.
The large base of this vessel is actually a removable
bowl.
A night view of the table.
Thank you for joining me at A Tropical Affair, I hope you
enjoyed your visit. Please visit again soon and as always
feel free to leave a comment, suggestion or ask a question.
I will see everyone at Foodie Friday and at Christmas
In July, Saturday, for a little unexpected on my
Christmas tablescape, you see, I have never made it
to the attic, ummmm that should scare you.