We're Here!

Long time to see me posting, I know.  We finally closed on the house and have been painting over the last few days.  It's been a mad house and this week doesn't slow down either.  We are getting carpets cleaned, moving household in from the garage.  If that isn't enough we're attending a wedding next Saturday that I just learned my daughter will be a flower girl in. Yeah me!

I'm borrowing this computer so I may not be able to post pictures for a little while.  My husband has my laptop for school.  Be patient with me and I'll be back I promise. I just wanted to let you know I was safe and sound in my new home. 

Have a great day,
Carey

Closing on House and Great Friends

Good morning, I have more news about the house, we were supposed to close on Friday but it looks like the big day is Thursday.  I am so excited.  I'm trying to cautionsly optimistic here. Our friends from Colorado are driving out to help us celebrate and move.  Aren't they the best? I can't wait to see them.  It's been a while since we saw them in March.  I love having military "family"  We form such a close knit bond. 

Well, I don't have a lot of new pictures to show you so I'll show you some more Fall pretty pictures and leave you for a little while.  I'll be back Saturday for my daughter/son's birthday celebration with friends.  I can't believe she will be ten.
 

After the move hopefully next week, wishful thinking!!! I'll be taking a little break from blogging but not too worry I'll be back with pics of my newly decorated house eventually.  It may be just a little at a time though. I'll keep in touch with everyone and keep checking on your blogs and email.  I told  Mr. AmericanGirlPrims that internet was necessary that it had to start right away.  LOL!  Ok, I hope he doesn't read that last part.  I just love the way everyone is referring to their husbands that way in other blogs.

Have a wonderful day!
Carey

Sunday Morning and it's Almost Fall

Hello, good Sunday morning to you.  I can't believe Fall is only 7 days away now. Here I am still sitting in the old house with no new keys yet.  I surely thought I would be exhausted from painting by now ladies.  Although I'm disappointed I think things happen for a reason and maybe the good Lord was not ready for us to close yet.  We were supposed to close on Friday and can't close Monday either.  Our best guess will be Thursday.  Our bank is done but the relocation company of the seller is not done.  I guess even though it's been 30 days since the 14th they still weren't ready with their paperwork.  Go figure! Anyway, we're hoping maybe we can get through this meanwhile my DH is working on his end with orders so we can begin the military process of getting our furniture to the new house.  I guess we'll end up moving and painting at the same time, not what we wanted to be doing.  That's why we wanted to close Friday so the paint had some time to dry before we brought our stuff. 

I decided to go shopping with a friend yesterday since I hadn't gone with her in a while and it kinda perked me up a little bit.  We had a great time.  She is a wonderful person and I'm going to really miss her.  She has a beautiful home and is always looking for things she can add to it.  Her style is very neat and clean, not cluttered I love that about her.  She is always asking me if this or that would look right in places.  I'm always very flattered.

Hope you're enjoying your Sunday, we heading to church to see our church family for what may be the last time.

Have a blessed day,
Carey

Nothing says Fall like...Amish Apple Pie

Good morning, we had dinner with friends one last time Tuesday night and I knew I had to make this for dessert.  This is the recipe that I always take when people want dessert in the Fall.  I have never had one person say they didn't love it.  It always comes out ...at least for me.  You can use store bought dough and it works great too.  If you have your own pie crust recipe that is fine too.  It's not your typical apple pie.  Not that there's anything wrong with it but you may know the type, a congealed apple pie filling, 2 crusts, out of the can.  Nope this is not that pie.  I personally don't care for that kind of pie.  This is not even in the same category. 

Amish Apple Pie  (recipe from Cooking from Quilt Country by Marcia Adams)

Streusel
1/3 cup granulated Sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup flour plus 2 Tbsp all purpose flour
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon nutmeg
speck of salt

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter cold * I slice this up first
1/2 cup coarsely chopped English walnuts

4 Large Mcintosh or Granny Smith apples (4 cups)
1 unbaked 10 inch  pie shell
1 cup sugar (yep, a whole cup)
3 Tbsp.  all purpose flour
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 egg
1 cup heavy (whipping) cream
1 tsp Vanilla extract


Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  In a food processor bowl, mix the first 6 ingredients of the streusel.  (you can use a large fork or pastry blender)  Add the butter and process until the mixture is crumbly; it should still have a dry look to it - don't overprocess it.  You should have little crumbs when you are done, add your nuts. Then, I refrigerate it while I do the rest of the pie. This is key to keeping that butter chilled.

Peel, core and thinly slice the apples: there should be about 4 cups.  Place the apples in the pie shell.  In a small bowl mix the sugar, flour and cinnamon.  Beat the egg in a medium bowl and add the cream and vanilla.  Add the sugar mixture and blend. (*I just use one large bowl and simplify this step.)  Pour over the apples.  Bake for 1 hour in the lower third of the oven.  However, after 20 minutes sprinkle the streusel topping over the top (it's a lot)  and continue baking for approximately 40 minutes longer or until top puffs and is a light golden brown. 

The result is an ooey gooey goodness of apple pie.  The spices with the sugar and heavy cream make this pie!! It's not diet friendly or lowfat.  I wouldn't even try to alter the recipe.  I don't think it would come out at all.  I omit the walnuts as my DH doesn't like nuts.  I think you could substitute them for pecans too.  The only trick is the streusel and the cold butter.  If you get paste you've overprocessed.  Also, don't forget to bake for 20 minutes then add the streusel and bake for 40 more.  I've messed that up in the past.  LOL! I serve it with a dollop of heavy whipping cream or good vanilla icecream but it really needs nothing.

Happy Baking!

Carey

P.S. Closing on my house is up in the air right now I may be gone for the weekend.  See you soon!

I'm going to miss...

Hello, I was thinking about my move and there are a few things that I'm going to miss and a definately a few I won't miss about our current house.  I thought I would share some of them with you.

My backyard with the dog running to catch balls, so pretty.

We have the prettiest Fall here.

not gonna miss the ugly hard to clean shows every little speck of dirt kitchen/laundry room floors! I'm also not going to miss this floral pink/grey wallpaper some sort of asian inspired print.  No offense out there if you like it but it's not me at all!

my personal favorite, LOL! the aqua colored carpet in my bedroom/living room and the kids rooms

Have a great day!

Carey

Fall signs and Family room

Good morning, it's that sleepy Tuesday time where we all roll out of bed a little slower after a long weekend.  I thought I would share with you some goodies I found this weekend.  I went to Homestead Primitives one last time before moving.  I also went to the city on Friday my DH had a four day weekend.  We had so much fun getting out without the kids and having lunch together.  I think all couples that have been together for a long time should get away on a regular basis.  It really helps you reconnect.  Anyway, I got to go to a Homegoods store.  I've heard so much about them.  While I had a hard time making any choice I finally decided on just the little pitcher and little cake stand with the fluted edges.  I can see little cupcakes or mini desserts on this for sure.  Right now a candle looks great!  They had a lot of Fall things too so everyone that is busy looking for something else for their home check it out.

Then we spent the rest of the weekend packing and spending time together.  I made Taco Soup for supper Saturday night and it was really yummy!!! It's from one of my favorite cookbooks Fix It and Forget It!(crockpot cookbook) I can even get my kids to eat this one although my son complains about it being spicy. 

Here's a glimpse of my family room, we're working our way around the house.  Remember this is what it looked like when it was being showed so none of these decorations are mine.

a little bittersweet sign, I'm thinking maybe I'll put it outside near the front door. The little tealight is new, the owner, Renada gave this to my DD it's the new kind that blows out when you want to turn it off, very cool!

The mantle I can hardly wait to decorate!!! this mantle will get exchanged someday for a rough hewn timber or at least something a little different.

Here is the other half of the room and you can see a little bit of the kitchen and the door leading to the laundry room here.  Well, I'm off to do more packing and cleaning we're entertaining some friends tonight for one more time.  We close on Friday, I'm hoping anyway!!

Have a great day!

Carey

Folk Art paintings

Good evening blogging friends! I got a wonderful package in the mail on Thursday that I wanted to share with you all.  Sometimes when you decorate in the style that many of us have in common artwork that you love isn't easy to find.  I had been searching for some artwork but wasn't sure of the artists name.  Well, with a little research and patience I finally found out who this mystery person was.  His name is Christopher Gurshin and I found his website and ordered some of his pieces.  As you might remember I am working on a bit of a pie theme.  I fell in love with a very similiar apple pie picture.  The print I ordered isn't quite the same as the piece he did for Primitives by Kathy a number of years ago.  However, I just love it.  The cider mill print is inspired by his own town.  He lives next door to it.  I had the pleasure of talking to him on the phone and he was very nice person and had some interesting things to tell me about his art.  He included a notepad in my package with a very lovely note, country registars and all my things were signed.  The Country Register is full of all kinds of prim and decor shops in Connecticut and the surrounding states.  I wish I could go to all of them this fall and stay at the Wayside Inn.  I told my DH that this is where I would like to go on our next vacation.  He has an art gallery there and has been doing his work since 1966.  He has even been commissioned by the White House.  His art is recognized nationally for a unique interpretation of 19th century New England life.  If you are lucky enough to live close to Glastonbury, CT then you should check it out!

 The one on the left is the framed cider mill picture which is signed and dated.  The little one on the right is only 2x 3 1/2.  I tried to show you some close-ups of the apple pie picture above but for some reason I had trouble getting them turned correctly.  Any tips from anyone??  I can't wait to see these hanging in my new house. I think they will look wonderful.  Cross your fingers we are supposed to close on our house Friday.  I'll be back soon with some more goodies and pictures.

Blessings,

Carey

Dining Room

Good evening everyone! It was a beautiful day here again and I'm feeling extremely blessed.  I promised some new pictures of my house along with the reveal of my chalkboard.  It was inspired by one of my favorite blogs.  You can't really tell from my picture but I sanded it lightly all around the edges.

Here is the dining room. The floors are wood but it's kinda hard to see in the pictures.  It's actually a nice size room but you can't really tell that from the pictures. I can just see my buffets and my prim goodies filling up this room.  I already have a chandelier ready and waiting to be hung too.  I got a great deal on it years ago when a store was going out of business.  I had no where to hang it in my current home but I'm so glad I have hung onto it.  It will be perfect in there. I'm not sure what kind of curtains yet, maybe some fishtail swags would be nice.  I've always wanted to get those.  I am also on the hunt for a nice braided rug to go under the table.  If you have found a great source for those do share! I only have one table so for now our current table will go in here with the leaf in it then when my DH gets more time he will make me a Farmhouse table.  I can't wait.  I've always wanted the Antique Heirlooms from Broyhill but I haven't seen any for a long time.  I would love the black Windsor chairs to go with it.  I bet you all can picture this in your mind.  I can't wait to reveal it all when I get moved and settled in, be patient with me, I'll get there eventually.

Have a blessed day!

Carey

Whatcha working on Wednesday!

Hello, I thought I would join in in some of the fun of this daily blog title that is so popular. As you can see packing is in full swing with the boxes so that's the first thing I've been working on. I hate boxes! Grrr.... Anyway, I had painted this little sign and I thought I could just freehand it, so not! I guess I'm not as talented as many of you with the painting. I need a good stencil. Anyway, I had this chalkboard paint lying around and I figured why not give it a try. My DH sanded the paint off for me and I started over. I figure I can write anything I want or keep it the same with the chalkboard paint. If you want to read more about that click here. I'll be sanding it and showing you the final result later.


Plus I've been decluttering and taking things to the thrift store. Even though we are military we are planning to move most of it ourselves. So I ask myself is this worth moving?? Do I really like it and want to keep it? If the answer is no than I just move it to the donate pile. My question for you today is how many of you declutter on a regular basis? Do you have a set time for Fall cleaning or seasonal cleaning? I want all of you to know how much I appreciate all of your comments. It means so much to me, I'm just so tickled that I have 76 followers!!! Wow, that's so neat.


Take care, I'll be back soon with more pics of the house and the finished chalkboard.
I've been having trouble moving pictures etc. so hopefully I can figure out what's been changed soon.

Carey

My New Kitchen

Good morning, my thoughts have turned to packing and moving. I have put off packing too much stuff until this last weekend. I needed some help from my DH and we just packed away this weekend. It's starting to feel real now. I did dig around my Fall boxes so I could check our how many garlands I had. LOL! My DH just shook his head, he said here you are packing and then you go and unpack something just to turn around and pack it again. Well, in my defense I only peaked in the box and took off a few things on top. I didn't want to buy garlands again if I already had some, you ladies understand. By the way Michael's had garlands 40% off this weekend. Just in case you need some more of them.

Here is some photos of my new home, let's start in the heart of the home the kitchen. Now I know what you're thinking, wow very modern indeed but I have big plans for this room. I will eventually either paint the cabinets or replace them. That will probably be a while, but in the meantime I plan on decorating those open soffits above the cabinets and making it totally prim with my accessories. Remember what little decor you see in these pictures belongs to the previous owners. I'd love to hear suggestions or ideas from all you wonderful people too. We are painting it, not sure what yet but right now it's a light green. I plan to paint the door too.

Have a great Tuesday,
Carey