2014 – Page 2

A sneak peek of Norah’s room

July 2, 2014

When Hannah moved up to her new room last year we promised Norah a little room make-over.
She has been so patient as she has been sleeping up with her sister and living out of baskets over the months. As her room sits at the top of our stairs, I always had the door closed to hide how much work was to be done.
It feels so good almost a year later to have finally made some major progress.

When we first bought our house our budget only allowed us to put in new hardwood floors in the downstairs only. We put a cheap sisel rug down in the upstairs with the intent of one day putting hardwood in. Finally this spring Chris started that process and put floors down in Norah’s room and out into part of the hallway.
It made such a difference! I can’t wait to do the rest this fall!

A few weeks back I painted the walls this color and I cannot tell you how much I love it. It is so calming and peaceful and looks great against the wood pieces in her room.

Norah’s little Jenny bed was my mother’s when she was a girl and her bureau was her great, great, great grandmother Gladys’s.

We hung white dotted Swiss curtains which brightened things up a bit along with a white cotton quilt for her bed. My mom gave her a beautiful antique hooked rug and I found a little side table on craigs list which I want to eventually paint grey.

There are still shelves to be hung along with some artwork. And Chris is working on making an extension to the radiator cover for a makeshift desk.
We are also working on renovating her closet with both shelving and hanging.

I now find myself going upstairs for no reason at all but to just reach the top of the stairs with a door wide open and a happy little girl inside.

A few of my favorite thrift stores

June 18, 2014

Life has been busy. Busy enough that I haven’t been thrifting for over a month. A record in my book!
I broke that spell this week with a little trip to a few of my favorite spots.

1. Studio pottery bowl, perfect for summer fruits.

2.Wooden handled silverware tray. Just in time for back porch parties.

3. Large cotton madras tablecloth. I plan to use this for summer picnics and for the beach.

4.Blue striped mixing bowl. One of my favorites recently broke so this was a timely find.

5.Wooden handled wire basket for the farmers market and our CSA share.

6.Cobalt blue and grey studio pottery vase for summer wildflower bouquets.

7.Woven basket case perfect for the pool, the beach or as a summer handbag.

For the local folk, as promised a list of my favorite spots…….

Riddle Thrift

Not only the closest in proximity to me but also full of high quality goods. The top floor is full of clothing, handbags, shoes and bags all in impeccable condition and the bottom floor, full of housewares. This place has washed and ironed linens!

Note: Riddle is closed on Saturdays in the summertime.

Neighborhood League

High quality beautiful goods many of which are antiques. Some of my most treasured pieces of pottery and kitchen wares come from here.

Note: Neighborhood League is closed for the summer months and opens right after Labor Day

Pennywise

A great mix of collectables and housewares as well as clothing and jewelery.

Note: Pennywise closes in the summer months but reopens after Labor Day

Bryn Mawr Thrift

Some of the best furniture around!

Nana’s Attic

This one has a bit more “junk” to sift through than the others but I still have found many treasures here. All proceeds go towards the Domestic Abuse Project.

Harry’s Treasures and Collectibles

This is an antique store but the basement is full of 1/2 off treasures. Some of my favorite pieces of furniture have been found at Harry’s.

Sunday Scenes

June 2, 2014

Happy June!
Yesterday was a relaxing one with time in between for hanging laundry on the line, making a big batch of granola for the week and arranging little bouquets from the garden to scatter about the house.

Making pretty with what you have

May 27, 2014

We hosted a little birthday celebration for my mom yesterday.
As we were driving back from the beach in the morning my mind began to wander as to what needed to be done once I got home to prepare for the party. Bake a strawberry rhubarb cobbler, clean the bathroom, marinate the chicken and asparagus for the grill, make a few flower arrangements…..

I wanted to be able to entertain mostly outdoors since it was going to be a warm evening but I began to get into a funk as I thought about our back porch which is looking a bit run down (plans to rebuild it next month!) and the fact that we needed new outdoor furniture and that I wished there was some money in the budget for some new plants and …… you get the point.
I stopped myself and said “Amy you can do this. You can get creative and make a beautiful outdoor experience with what you have. I know you can!”

After the car was unpacked and a visit to the market I got to work.
I swept the patio and porch clean (what a difference a clean swept space makes!) and unearthed the patio umbrella from the garage. I brought out a woven rug and laid it out on the porch. To serve hors d’oeuvres, I set up my antique ironing board with a pretty cloth napkin and glass jars filled with stems of Solomons Seal and Honeysuckle. I placed a piece of large flagstone on top of a clay crock and one on top of the stand that holds our fire pit to make little tables to set food and drinks on. I used a basket tray to place on top of one the tables for a homey feel and set out a bouquet of flowers and a votive. Instead of buying flowers, I made arrangements from my own garden of Lambs Ear, Catmint, Hosta leaves, Enonymous and Comfrey. I got out the birthday flags and stuck them in arrangements and planters and set out a chalkboard wishing my mom a Happy Birthday when she arrived.

When I was finished I stepped back and fell in love with the cozy outdoor party space made entirely with things found around my home and garden. Later that night as I was blowing out candles and cleaning glasses off of my makeshift tables I realized I hadn’t noticed all night how run down the porch was. I sort of like it now.

Pasteli

May 22, 2014

This past Christmas a friend gifted us a beautiful box full of homemade Pasteli. The minute I bit into the chewy, golden, Greek pastry I was hooked. I actually hid it away from the rest of my family and ate the entire box myself! Feeling a bit guilty I asked her for the recipe so I could make it and share the next time. This delicious candy consists of only two ingredients ~ honey and sesame seeds. With sesame seeds containing high amounts of vitamins and nutrients and honey being an antioxidant, Pasteli is the perfect energy bar. Eat it for breakfast, as a lunchbox snack, a mid day pick me up or for dessert.

Pasteli

~2/3 cup honey
~1 1/2 cup sesame seeds

Bring honey to a slow boil over medium heat. Add sesame seeds and cook until it reaches 270 degrees on a candy thermometer (hard ball stage) stirring frequently. Pour onto buttered parchment paper and cover with second sheet of buttered parchment. Using a wide dough scraper level to 1/4″. Cool completely. Oil the blades of kitchen shears and cut (through parchment and all) into bite size pieces.

*Nuts such as walnuts, pistachios, or almonds are also common in some versions of pasteli.

You can remove parchment paper and store in air tight container or use a patterned parchment and store with it on. It’s fun peeling it off individual pieces~ just like a candy wrapper!

Assateague Island and Banana Boats

May 19, 2014

We ventured south for our annual Assateague Island getaway this past weekend. The weather was absolutely perfect and so was the time spent with our most favorite friends. If you have never camped on a beach, I highly recommend it. Falling asleep and waking to the sound of the ocean is pure bliss. The first night I was woken to a full moon streaming through our tent and the song of the Eastern Whippoorwill. The second night I fell asleep kissed by the sun and fresh air and slept like a log. Harry and I were the first ones up each morning to catch the sunrise and there were even a few wild pony sitings.
The kids romped in the water and played in the dunes which always reminds me of the book Roxaboxen.
There was a roaring campfire each night along with jokes and ghost stories.
And of course there were marshmallows and s’mores. But our favorite is a banana boat hot off the flames. It’s like a campfire sundae!

Banana Boats

Peel back one piece of banana peel.
Scoop out a channel and eat.
Fill channel with chocolate chips, nuts, coconut, peanut butter, fresh berries.
Pull peel back over and wrap whole banana in tin foil.
Roast over fire until warm and gooey.
Grab a spoon and dig in.

Mother nature creates the most beautiful vignettes

May 14, 2014

I love how at this time of year my house feels like it stretches it’s wings and extends out into the garden. Everything feels a bit more roomy, like we have put on an addition.
Our home takes a big inhale drawing in the light, palette, textures and shapes from the garden giving the inside a whole new feel.

Just as I favor certain corners of my home I am also drawn to specific corners in my garden.
A fern growing out of a rock wall, moss growing in between the cracks of a pathway, a climbing vine peeking through a fence, a chartreuse leaf intertwined with a deep purple one.

I like to create vignettes both inside and out but many times it’s mother nature that creates the most beautiful ones without my help at all.

Cookie Cutters

April 14, 2014

Ever since I can remember I have always loved to bake.
My mother was ever so patient with me in the kitchen whenever I would help make cookies, scones and pies alongside her.
I still have the glued together pie plate I broke when I was about five years old due to my over zealousness and excitement to assist her.

As I got older I loved to sift through my mother’s Martha Stewart collection of magazines and dogear all sorts of cookie recipes. Even though I still lived at home I began to collect my very own baking accoutrements in my teens. One of the first things I acquired was a set of vintage cookie cutters and began to master the art of a rolled out sugar cookie. Soon I was collecting cookie cutters of all shapes and sizes for every holiday and special event. I made cookies for Christmas, Valentines day, Easter, Halloween, birthday parties, showers and weddings. I even made heart shaped cookies sandwiched together with strawberry jam for my own wedding.

When Hannah was born I couldn’t wait until she was old enough to help roll out dough and cut out cookies alongside me. By that time I had quite the collection of cutters for her to choose from. She loved to see how many shapes she could fit onto one piece of rolled out dough.

I recently culled through my cookie cutter collection which had grown into two huge baskets. I passed some along and kept my absolute favorites. As I sifted through them I thought about what each one was used for. A saw and hammer I had bought to make for my Pop’s birthday one year. An umbrella and stork for all of the baby showers. A guitar and musical note for Chris when he first started playing and an antique chicken cutter when we first got our hens.

Although I may not make as many cut out cookies throughout the year as I did in my younger days, not a Christmas or Easter goes by without them. This weekend I saw my Aunt Patty, who hosts Easter dinner every year. She asked “you’ll bring the cookies right?”
Of course I will!

The Beauty of a Basket

March 24, 2014

Can you tell I have a bit of a basket addiction?

I can’t help but bringing just one more home from the thrift.
They are the pockets of my home, bringing order and beauty to the piles of stuff. Messes of toys, laundry and paper look so much prettier in a basket.

I love their texture, their handmade natural, organic feel and that they are both beautiful and useful.

Baskets can be the “jack of all trades” in your home. Think outside of the box and get creative. Give them a job and they will be sure to give a stellar performance.

::Baskets are very inexpensive at the thrift. Collect a variety. Look for different shapes, heights, color and design.
::Hang your baskets. Hang one in the bathroom to hold a hand towel, by your kitchen sink to hold dish brushes or by your desk for pens and pencils.
::Use baskets as artwork. Hang basket lids or trays for texture. Sometimes they can cast beautiful shadows.
::Plants and baskets make a beautiful couple. Hide an ugly plastic pot inside a basket and give your flora a whole new feel.
::Baskets can soften a space. A basket of blankets or books can warm up an empty corner.
::Baskets are beautiful on their own even without a use. Use baskets in your vignettes to become part of a scene.
::Turn a basket into a vase by tucking a glass or ball jar of flowers inside. A basket bouquet!
::Keep a stockpile of baskets stored away. They make the perfect gift full of goodies.

In Honor of St. Patrick

March 17, 2014

We love tradition in my family.
I appreciate our rituals that revolve around the seasons and holidays. But I mostly enjoy how they bring us all together.
On Saturday, my mother had us over for her annual St Patty’s day/Spring Equinox celebration.
It was a chilly, sunny day. We walked in to a warm and cozy house with Irish ballads playing and signs of spring tucked here and there.
There was salmon, brown bread, deviled eggs, potatoes and soda bread.
My grandmother told stories of her days living in Donegal, Ireland and my mother pulled out her tea cozies for us all to wear in honor of St. Patrick.

Tags

Archive