A Little Bit of Christmas

Hi, Everyone!  I just wanted to share a few pictures of my Christmas decor.  I have a few areas that I still need to tweak and will share pics of those later.

I had a wonderful surprise in the mail the other day!  My sweet friend, Janet (winterwillowprimitives), made this beautiful pinkeep.  Isn’t it gorgeous?  Thank you so much, Janet!  I’ll treasure it always!

 

These are couple of trees in my Dining Room.

 

 

My kitties have been having a field day with the grapevine on the tree.  The bottom is almost bare!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks for looking!!

Until Next Time. . . . .Kris

Prim Turkey Project and Broccoli Casserole

Happy Friday, friends!!  It’s that time of year again where things are a little busy around here.  Besides working on a few projects, I’m also hoping to get my bedroom painted and the carpets shampooed before Thanksgiving weekend when the Christmas decorations start going up.  My goal is to have the bigger projects done by the first of December so that, hopefully, I can relax and enjoy the days leading up to Christmas!  We’ll see!!  LOL   It seems to be the same old cycle. . . . when one project gets completed, another one pops up!  I 

Here’s a simple little project that I made the other day.

 

If you’d like to make one for yourself, simply click on the pattern pieces to enlarge the pictures and print out. 

  

Materials needed:

osnaburg fabric

polyester fiberfill

brown craft paint

1/4” dowel rod ( 2 - 7” pieces)

4” 1 x 4 pine board

feathers ( about 11 or12)

peppercorns

red wool/homespun

sandpaper

Cut out the pattern and trace onto a doubled layer of osnaburg fabric.  Sew along the marked lines, leaving an opening at the bottom.  Cut out the turkey, leaving 1/4” around the edges.  Clip curves.  Turn right-side out and stuff firmly with fiberfill.  Sew opening closed.  Paint the entire turkey with brown craft paint and let dry.  Sand the entire turkey to give it an aged look.  You can grunge yours at this point, if you’d like, but I didn’t grunge mine.

Stain or paint the dowel rod pieces to use as legs.

Using scissors, poke  holes underneath the turkey’s body (approx. where marked on pattern).  Add craft or hot glue onto one end of each dowel rod and insert into the holes. 

Center the legs on the base piece.  Mark and then drill where you want the holes.  Sand the base piece thoroughly and then stain or paint; let dry.Add glue to the ends of the dowel rod and insert into the wood base.

Poke holes in the back end; add glue to the end of each feather and insert into openings.  I did these one at a time, gaging where to place each feather.  I used 7 feathers.

Cut the tip of 4 feathers to approximately 3” in length.  Peel some of the feathers off the bottom to expose some of the quill.  Approximate where you’d like to place the side feathers and poke holes.  Add glue to the ends of the feathers and insert into openings.

Cut out a wattle from red wool or homespun fabric and glue to the end of the beak.  Finally, glue on peppercorns for eyes.

This week’s recipe that I want to share with you is one of our favorites that I make every year for Thanksgiving and is very easy to make.

Broccoli Casserole

Mix together:

1 (10 oz.) pkg. frozen, chopped broccoli, thawed

1 egg, slightly beaten

1 (8 oz.) can creamed corn

1 T. grated onion

1/4 tsp. salt

Pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 350°.

Melt 3 T. butter and add 1 c. herb stuffing mix.  Set aside 1/3 cup.  Combine broccoli mixture with remaining stuffing.   Bake for 20 minutes.  Crumble reserved 1/3 c. stuffing and 1/2 c. French-fried onion rings (crushed) on top.  Bake for 15 minutes.

As always, if you’d like to participate or see other recipes in Colleen’s (And Baby Makes Five) Homemade Holidays Recipe Swap, click on the picture below.

 

Well, that’s all for this week.  Thank you so much for stopping by!!  Hopefully, next time, I’ll have a few pictures of  my Christmas decor!

 

Until Next time. . . . Kris

We Started Decorating for Christmas

 

Well. . . . . .sort of!  lol

Last year I spent a lot of time decorating the main living area and didn’t really get around to decorating down stairs.  I was trying to simplify my Christmas decor and boxed up the stuff that I wanted to get rid of.  One day, my hubby took it upon himself to   decorate the Family room using the things in the box.  (So much for trying to get rid of stuff!  lol)  He joked that, from then on, he was going to take over the Christmas tree down stairs and start decorating it with Cleveland Browns and Cavaliers ornaments. 

I’ve been picking up ornaments ever since.  It’s been tough trying to find Cavaliers things…..there isn’t much available.

Instead of decorating one tree, I suggested doing two.  The reason being….I don’t think brown, orange, wine, gold and blue would look good together, plus, we have more Browns items than Cavs!  lol

My hubby was all excited with all of the things I found and since both sports seasons are upon us, we put the trees up already!  Besides, they’re more “sports” trees rather than Christmas trees!!  lol  It’s kind of hard to tell in this picture, but the taller tree has orange lights with Browns ornaments and the smaller one has red and yellow lights with Cavs things on it.  We’re still on the lookout for more ornaments along with something for tree toppers.  They’re lit up faithfully every night, whether a games on or not!

 

 

 

 A while back, we got together with Chuck’s sister and her family to go apple picking and then went back to his niece’s house for dinner and to watch the Browns football game.  She made a lot of great food, but one dish that I absolutely loved was her Rosemary Butternut Squash Pasta!!  It was SO good!!  Hers looked a lot prettier than mine….I don’t think I was gentle enough stirring in my butternut squash.  It kind of got “mushed”!  lol  But it still tasted wonderful!!

Rosemary Butternut Squash Pasta

1 lb. penne pasta

3/4 pkg. cream cheese

1/2 c. grated fresh parmesan cheese

1 large butternut squash

1 large yellow onion, diced

3/4 c. roasted walnuts

1 T. fresh basil, chopped

2 T. fresh rosemary, chopped

salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 425°. 

Cut butternut squash into 1” cubes and mix with diced onion.  Drizzle with olive oil, season with salt and pepper and roast for 40-45 minutes.

Meanwhile, cook pasta and drain; reserving 1/2 c. of pasta water.  Combine pasta, cream cheese and parmesan cheese in large bowl; add a little pasta water until a creamy sauce forms to cover pasta.  Gently mix in squash mixture, walnuts, basil and rosemary.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.

As always, if you’d like to participate or see other recipes in Colleen’s (And Baby Makes Five) Homemade Holiday Recipe Swap, please click on the picture below.

Well, that’s all for this week.  Thank you for taking the time to stop by!  I really appreciate all of you!!  :o)

Until Next Time . . . .Kris

Christmas Sweets and a Couple New Purchases

Okay…..I’m going to try to participate in Colleen’s (andbabymakesfive) recipe swap again.  I haven’t been very faithful in posting on my blog lately, so I’m hoping that this will keep me inspired to make a weekly post!!  Sorry, but I tend to get caught up with life and don’t always remember to take photos, let alone, take the time to post about the things that keep me busy!  And I HAVE been busy doing A LOT of tweaking.  But I’m not quite done, so I’m not posting any pictures until I am!  lol

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I love to go antique shopping and part of the fun is finding the right piece at a great price.  I’ve had my eye on this little dresser at an antique store near by me for quite some time.  I’ve been looking for something to replace a table that is in my entryway.  I was kind of hesitant paying the price that was marked on it, not sure if it was what I really wanted  I panicked one day when I went in and found it was gone!!  The woman working in the store said that the dealer had taken it to an antique show, so I figured it was gone for good.  I was so happy to see it the next time I went in.  The price was not marked on it any more, so I wasn’t sure if it had changed or not.   After waiting a couple weeks of trying to get a price from the dealer, I was really surprised to find out that the price was only HALF of what he was asking for before!  SOLD!!  The waiting was worth it!  The only thing, though, was that when I got it home, I didn’t care for it in my entryway at all, but in my Living Room instead!

 So here’s my new little dresser!

 

I love the handles on it!

 

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Here are a couple of sweet treat recipes that have been  favorites of ours from past Christmases.  I used to make the Peanut Brittle along with hard tack candy and caramels every year for the holidays, but have cut down on the amount of goodies that I make because I tend to make way too much!  lol   I’ll share the recipes for the hard tack candy and caramels at a later date.

Peanut Brittle

1 1/2 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. water

1 tsp. vanilla

1 1/2 c. sugar

1 c. water

1 c. light corn syrup

3 T. butter

1 lb. unroasted peanuts

Butter 2 cookie sheets; keep warm.

Mix baking soda, 1 tsp. water and vanilla; set aside.  Mix sugar, 1 c. water and corn syrup in saucepan.  Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, to 240° on a candy thermometer.

Stir in margarine & peanuts.  Cook, stirring constantly, to 300°.  Immediately remove from heat and stir in baking soda mixture.

Pour half of the mixture onto each cookie sheet and quickly spread about 1/4” thick.  Cool; break into pieces.

Kahlua Fudge

1 1/3 c. sugar

7 oz. marshmallow creme

2/3c. evaporated milk

1/4 c. butter

1/4 c. Kahlua

1/4 tsp. salt

2 c. semisweet chocolate pieces

1 c. milk chocolate pieces

2/3 c. chopped nut

1 tsp. vanilla

Line 8” square baking pan with foil.

In 2 qt. saucepan, combine sugar, marshmallow creme, milk, butter, Kahlua and salt.  Bring to a rapid boil, stirring constantly for 5 minutes.  Remove from heat; add all chocolate.  Stir until melted.  Add nuts and vanilla.  Turn into prepared pan.  Refrigerate until firm.  Cut into squares.

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If you’d like to participate or see other recipes in Colleen’s Homemade Holiday Recipe Swap, click on the picture below.

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This morning, Chuck and I had the fun opportunity of going to the Simple Goods Show in Mt. Vernon.  It was about an hour and a half drive and the temperature went from 35° down to 24° by the time we got there!  We had to wait about 1/2 hour until the doors opened and let me tell you, it was freezing!!   There were a few unfortunate souls that had booths set up outside, so while Chuck stood in line, I went and checked them out.  I also ran into the hotel right next door to use the restroom (and to get warm!) and ran into Karen (my colonial home) and her husband, who were staying at the hotel.

I also ran into Lisa (prims from above)who was there with her hubby, son and mom, as well as Stacey (farm wife prims).  We didn’t get to talk very long due to the fact that the place was VERY crowded and I kind of felt like I was in people’s way.  It would have been extremely difficult trying to get any pictures because you could hardly even get into some of the booths!  It was still a wonderful show, but I seriously hope that they move it to a larger place.  There wasn’t much space between the booths and, at times, you couldn’t move anywhere if someone stopped to look at something in front of you. . . .you had to wait until they were done looking.  And you know how we women like to check out our prims!  lol  We were all done in about 1 1/2 hours and by the time we left, it had cleared out quite a bit (along with a lot of prim goodies!)  These were the only purchases I made, due to the fact that  I couldn’t get into some of the booths and by the time I could, things were picked over.

The lamp is from Carriage House Lighting.  I saw this at Country Gatherings the last time I was in Berlin (amish country) and really liked it, but wasn’t sure were I would put it.  I’m glad I waited, because it was $20 less than what CG wanted for it.  The santa came from Arnett’s Country Store.  I’ve always tried to win one of their infamous santas when they would hold online sales, but was never quick enough to email my response. . . .then I found out that CG carries them pretty much all of the time!  lol   I have never bought one due to the fact that I’ve usually spent my money on other prim goodies that CG offered.   I forgot that Arnetts were going to be at the show and by the time I got over to their booth, most of the santas were already gone.  I was lucky to get this one and then I had to wait in a LONG line to pay for him!  It was a very popular booth!  The candle came from Old Mother Hubbards.  That was Chuck’s purchase.  The man LOVES candles and is always picking up different ones and smelling them.  This one smells wonderful!!  Kind of a caramel/hazelnut scent.  It’s been burning since we’ve been home!  lol

 

Well,  that’s all for me this week!

Until Next Time. . . .Kris

Changes in my Dining Room

I know….I know….the last time I posted I promised that I would be back soon with a couple of big purchases that Chuck and I made in Amish country.  I honestly don’t know what my problem has been with posting on my blog.  I don’t feel like I have much time to myself anymore.  I was just kind of adjusting to the in and out schedules of Brittney working and Justin’s college classes when Justin finally found a job after being unemployed all summer.  It’s a full time job with excellent pay and after 60 days he’ll receive full benefits.  The only drawback is he works nights from 10:00 pm until 6:30 am.  So trying to adjust to a new sleep pattern and taking college classes full-time has been a little rough on him.  And let me tell you, he’s been a wee bit crabby!!  lol    I’m trying to adjust, myself, by making sure I get things done, like vacuuming, or anything else that might make noise,  done before he lays down to sleep.  I find myself afraid to do too much for fear of waking him up!!Ohhh……I miss the days when they were in school and I had the whole day to myself!   Oh well, I guess that’s life and we’ll adjust eventually!

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As I mentioned before, Chuck and I found a couple of pieces of furniture at one of the antique malls in Amish country that we absolutely loved.  We refrained from buying them right away because we knew we were going to Lancaster, Pa and we wanted to make sure that we weren’t going to find something we liked better.

So do you want to see what we bought?!!!

My new Pie Safe!!

It’s in perfect shape and has punched tin panels on the sides.  The wood is a gorgeous walnut.  The only thing not original on it is the latch on the doors and that has been on for quite some time because the wood is worn down from the latch rubbing it.

 

This is the other piece of furniture we bought:

My new farmhouse table!!

Isn’t it gorgeous?  The wood has so much character!!  You can see the square nails that were used in making it.  The wood was a little dull when we first brought it home, but after I applied linseed oil, the beauty of the wood came to life!  I love it!!

Here’s another angle:

And you know what happens after you get something new, don’t you?  lol  Lots of tweaking!!  The whole Dining Room got a makeover!!

I repainted my hutch.  It was navy blue and now it’s Savannah Red from Olde Century paints.  I’m hoping to replace the knobs, but I’m just not sure with what, yet.

This is the “before”:

And this is the “after”:

 

Besides tweaking the shelves, I also found a couple of chairs at a local antique store to place on each side and bought some matching tin candle sconces.

See that adorable little pillow with the pumpkin sitting on my chair?  My very sweet friend, Linda, made that for me for my birthday along with a very cute towel that I’ll share with you later when I post some pictures  of my Fall displays.

Another sweet friend, Pam, made the round cheese basket, also for my birthday.

This is the display on top of the pie safe.

I moved my dough bowl rack from the wall by the hutch to above my chair.  It’s a lot more visible here than where I had it.  My son didn’t even know that there WAS a dough bowl rack!! 

I was so excited because everything seemed to be falling into place with the makeover.  All I had left to do was make new curtains and the fabric I ordered from Family Heirloom Weavers came right on cue!  I had ordered 6 yards and as I was cutting the fabric into 1 yard lengths, I found out that the last yard was only 26” long!!  Oh, no…..!!!!  Well, they corrected the error, but I had to wait 3 weeks because they were out of the color I needed and they had to weave a new batch.  I just finished them a couple of days ago.  I love how they turned out!  I also made some for my Living Room.

The pictures aren’t too great.  The lighting was either too bright or too dark!  The pattern is Sea Star & Jewels in chocolate brown/linen.

 

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On the first weekend in October, Chuck and I took another little getaway to our Amish country in Holmes county.  Even though it’s only an hour away from us, we spent the night in a new hotel that’s been only open for a few months.  It’s called the Berlin Grande Hotel and it  was absolutely gorgeous!!  I’ve been watching this thing being built every time I’ve been to Berlin and loved all of the stone work on the outside.  I couldn’t wait to see the inside.  I was kind of surprised to see that the decor had a modern/contemporary style.  All of the pictures that I’ve seen of other lodge places have shown a country style decor with quilts on the beds, so this was definitely not the norm, but it was very nice!

These first few pictures are from their website:

This was the 2nd floor lounge

These next pictures are of our room, which was fabulous!! 

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We stopped at a few antique shops in Millersburg and found this unusual thing.

Any guesses as to what it is?

It’s a tub with a water heater!!  Isn’t that cool?!!  It dates back to the 1800’s!  You add fuel oil into the little cylinder on the right and the burner is on the bottom ( you definitely need to be careful of splashing!) that heats the water which is stored in the larger tank.  Once the water is heated, just turn on the spigot in the front.  And when you’re all done with your bath, just fold it up and roll it out of the way!  The man that owns the antique shop said that this style of tub is very rare.  The only other one that he is aware of is at the Biltmore Estates in North Carolina.  So if anyone wants a very rare, unique tub, it’s only $3,000!  lol

 

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Out of the few purchases that I made, these were my greatest finds!!

Are you wondering what the heck I’m going to do with all of these funnels?  Well…….you’ll have to wait until the Spring issue of A Primitive Place magazine comes out!!  If you don’t already have a subscription, click HERE and order yours now!!  I am SO excited!!! I can’t wait to show you the tutorial using funnels!  So, in the meantime, be on the lookout for some at your local antique shops. I found these in only 2 stores!  They tended to be in areas where there were tools.

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Well, that’s all I have for now!  I’ll leave you with this one last picture.  I thought he was adorable!  He was sitting outside of Rebecca’s Bistro & Tea Room in Walnut Creek.  They used dried hydrangeas for his hair!  How cute!

Until Next Time. . . . .Kris