Sweet Bloggin' friends

Won't you come sit for a spell and chat with me?? 

I love sittin' at my table in the morning especially when I'm enjoying the candlelight and quiet of the house. On this mornin' we had a storm brewin' and it was darker than normal so before I tacked my day and breakfast f I took time to pray, read my bible and devotional. This is something I try to do everyday. I don't always get it done but I feel it really helps me throughout the day.  Do you have some quiet time everyday?  I think it's very important to our health. 

I wanted to tell you about two ladies today that I really enjoy reading their blogs daily.  The first one is such a hoot! She is starting a new blog all about vintage dresses, right up my alley.  My closet is becoming more and more dresses since I started getting some deals at thrift stores last summer.  Dresses are so easy, especially in the summer.  They're cool and breezy if you catch my drift!  I think they are more figure flattering too.  Her name is Cat and she's known as the Vintage Housewife.  She is giving away a vintage dress on her new blog.  The best part is she has several to choose from to fit any gal.  If you're not into dresses she has a fabulous cute purse too! 

Another bloggin' sister I wanted to share with you is Aunt Ruthie from Sugar Pie Farmhouse.  She is such an inspiration for homemakers.  From her inspirational scriptures, household tips, decorating and pies what more could you ask for!  She is truly letting her light shine.  On her blog she is sharing a book she has written titled "Watermelon and Fireflies!"  It's a summer themed book with all kinds of summer activities and ideas.  I have purchased my copy and if you would like to get yours hurry, you only one day left! Sale price ends tomorrow.  Ladies, this is an e book (computer)  not a hard back copy.  I plan on putting mine in a cute red gingham binder when I get a chance.  I think if you like Gooseberry Patch books you'll love hers too.

Until next time sweet friends,

Carey

Home and Garden Tour

Today was my hometown's garden and kitchen tour.  I got to see six different homes plus two kitchens.  It was really neat to see each property and what the owners did to make it their home.  I had a such nice time talking and visiting with a few of them.  I took a lot of pictures so I'll share some now and some more later on.  I hope you're having a great summer so far.  We're busy finishing up ball and planning our 4th of July get together.  I'm very excited about entertaining for family and friends. 

This was a view from the back of the lot of the first home.  The owners were a sweet older couple who used to own a nursery at one time.  She told me if we ever moved again to save cuttings and use them in my new place because plants are so costly.  The man told me that the entire back lot by these trees were waist high weeds. 

This was the second home.  I just loved this house.  It was a historic brick home and they have redone it inside and out.  I love this barn out in the back.

the sideyard

This is the front view of the home.  See the bed on the side, it's a swing.  Very neat!  Just makes you wanna curl up and read a book or take a nap.

This was the third home that was behind one of the historic arch homes.  I just love all the rich history of my hometown.  It's so neat.  Growing up I didn't really appreciate it all that much but, now that I'm older and have lived all over I have grown to love it.

This was the second home that was also an historic arch home.  I so wanted to take a peak at her kitchen.  I could see into her windows that she liked prims and I overheard her saying she loved the early 1800's.  She had a primitive light fixture and some crocks and jars lining her window sill.

She had the most beautiful hydrangeas!

I loved all of her signs the most.

Here's a view of the archway home from the street.  If you're interested in their history you can learn more here.

Hope you're having a great weekend!

Carey

Vintage Hair Style

Ever wake up just sick of your hair?? That's me about every 6 months or so.  I'm tired of straight. I've been playing with Vintage styles for awhile now.  I just love the big soft curls and waves of the forties the best.  My hair is very thick so I had to have something with layers.  So here's the haircut that I decided to go with it's called the Middy long.  The longest section is 6" in the very back and it moves up 1 1/2 inches as you move up with my top layer about 4" on the sides.  I did keep my bangs in front though, I'm a bang gal. If you want to know more check out this website. My hairdresser cut it to angle in toward my face a little more.  It's very hot and humid here.  I set my hair with curlers last night.  It came off more Marilyn than I was wanting...but I think it's ok.  I'm going to try different things.  I have a new flat iron that I can make amazing curls with but it's time consuming and it doesn't stay in the heat.  I was also thinking of trying hot rollers or a product called hot sticks.  I may even *gasp* get a perm. I came across this woman's website on youtube and she is amazing.  Her name is Lisa Freemont Street. If you love Vintage hair she is the one to watch. 

Whatcha think??

Have a great day!

Carey

Blueberry Bread

Good morning! Whew...it's been a busy week for us.  We have set up our guest room.  I taught my first class.  We've had many days of errands and being really busy.  I got my hair done yesterday.  I'm so excited about it, I can't wait to try different things with it.   I'll tell you more about that later and maybe some pictures.  We bought some new bikes for our kids and have taken some family bike rides.  It was an adventure to say the least.  We made a summer list of things to do as a family (I read about this on another blog) and we're super excited to get to it!

Here's some random things we came up with!

camping, smores, caving, climbing/rappelling, biking on some trails (we bought the kids mountain bikes), King's Island (amusement park), go somewhere we've never been before (staying not too far from home), pool party, explore our hometown, Visit the children's museum in Indy, rent a boat, go fishing, Attend a baseball game and many more.

Anyway, onto the recipes...this is from a book I won a while ago called Make Ahead Meals for Busy Moms  by Jane Doiron I've been cooking and baking my way through it.  Jane has some great tips for busy cooks and people in general.  I love all the tips and preps to make things ahead.  I haven't been using them for some of the recipes I've tried but I do think it's great for someone who is working and needs that extra step done ahead of time.  I also like the fact that she is also a teacher too.  I thought I would share this recipe for Blueberry Bread.  It's super easy, I made it in about 10 minutes.  My kids have been enjoying it for breakfast.

Blueberry Bread

1/3 cup canola oil

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/3 cup milk

1 1/2 cup flour

3/4 cup sugar

1/2 tsp salt

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 cup walnuts optional

1 1/4 cups blueberries (mix with 1 tsp. flour)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Spray a 9 x 5 x 3 loaf pan with nonstick spray.  In a small bowl, blend the oil, egg, vanilla, and milk.  In a large mixing bowl, stir the flour, sugar, salt and baking powder together.  Add the liquid to the dry ingredients and mix on low speed until combined.  Add the walnuts and carefully fold in the blueberries and walnuts.  Pour the batter evenly into the prepared pan.  Bake for 65 minutes.  It will be done when an inserted toothpick comes out clean.  *Please note*Mine was done at around 50 minutes or so.  Cool on a wire rack.

Freezing Directions:  When the bread is completely cooled, wrap bread in plastic wrap and place in labeled freezer bag.  Freeze up to 2 months.

You can see Jane's link on my sidebar to go to her blog and you can purchase her book too. 

Happy Baking!

Carey

Americana Kitchen and Dining Room

Hello! Hope you're having a nice week so far.  I thought I would put up the rest of the pictures I took of my house.  I am really happy with the way my stovetop looks.  In the dining room I just added my goose, some ribbon and rearranged some of my things.  That's one thing I recommend doing on a regular basis.  Change can be refreshing and good.

For summer I brought out my gernaniums, prim strawberries, fly screen then added some patriotic ticking the farmstand candle is from last year.  I put a smaller candle inside it and it smells so yummy!  It's this one from Bath and Body works, they're having a sale right not so I have stocked up!  I like the summer melon, lemon and the orange sapphire the best.

Hoosier Cabinet

I added some red, white, blue berries star garland on top.  I also put an americana shade on my light.  Then I brought out my stars, eagle, Uncle Sam cookie cutters.

This is the top of my old pie safe.  I added the flicker candle, put in some more of the ticking then placed the aged copy of the Declaration next to it.

my year round tree with Patriotic ornies

 Thanks so much for stopping by I really appreciate all the comments that you leave me.  I know it's not always possible to comment on everyone's blog you visit.  It really makes my day and puts a smile on my face.  I'll be back soon with some recipes.  Have a great day!

Carey

Red, White and Blue Desserts!

Remember this pie??  We enjoyed every last bite over Memorial Day.  I thought I would include a recipe from Cook's Country.  If you haven't checked them out yet you really should.  I luv reading about the hows and whys of a recipe.  Ever wonder why something flopped?  This magazine will help you figure it out.  The author says this is a close as she can get to the famous Shoney's Pie.  It's a restaurant chain based in Nashville, TN.  She also recommends using the Cascadian Farm frozen brand strawberries.  They won the taste testers best flavor for frozen.

Diner Style Strawberry Pie

Filling
2 lbs. frozen strawberries
2 Tbsp. lemon juice
2 Tbsp. water
1 Tbsp. unflavored gelatin
1 Cup sugar
pinch salt

1 lb. fresh strawberries, hulled and sliced thin
1 9 inch pie shell, baked and cooled

Topping
4 ounces cream cheese
3 Tbsp. sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup heavy cream

Cook frozen berries in large saucepan over medium low heat until berries begin to release juice, about 3 minutes.  Increase to medium heat and cook, stirring frequently, until jam-like about 25 minutes.  *Make sure you measure the mixture at this point to be 2 cups.

Add gelatin: combine lemon juice, water and gelatin in small bowl.  Let mixture stand for about 5 min. until it has thickened. Stir gelatin mixture, sugar, and salt into cooked berry mixture and return to simmer, about 2 minutes.  Transfer to a bowl and cool to room temp about 30 minutes. 

Add fresh berries:  Fold fresh berries into filling.  Spread evenly in pie shell and refrigerate until set, about 4 hours.  *While I refrigerated my mixture I didn't put it in pie shell and my pie fell apart on cutting it the author notes this can be made ahead and refrigerated but I was afraid of a soggy crust.  Go ahead and follow the directions here.  Her picture shows a cleanly sliced filling. 

Make topping:  With an electric mixer on medium speed, beat cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla until smooth about 30 sec.  With mixer running add cream and whip until stiff peaks form, about 2 minutes.  Serve pie with whipped cream topping. 

Looking for a lo cal dessert?? Yep, me too!  I loved serving this as a snack today for my kiddos.  If you're counting points it's 4 points.  It came in one of those free flyers in the mail for a Weight Watchers Quick and Easy book.  I love blueberries and right now you can find them at the store for not too much money.  I also love lemon anything.  These reminded me of a cheesecake because I used the graham crackers.  It was yummy!  My kids gave it two thumbs up as well!

Blueberry-Lemon Cream Parfaits

1/4 cup 2 ounces block style cream cheese 1/3 less fat
2 Tbsp.  lemon curd
3/4 vanilla light icecream slightly softened
1 tsp. grated lemon rind
1/2 cup coarsley chopped sugar-free shortbread cookies (I substituted graham crackers)
1 cup blueberries

Place cream cheese and lemon curd in a small bowl and mix at medium speed until smooth speed.  Add icecream and lemon rind; beat well.

Spoon 1 tbsp.  cookie mixture into 4 glasses.  Top with 2 tbsp. of the cream cheese mixture and 2 tbsp. blueberries.  Repeat procedure for the rest of the glasses and serve immediately. 
 183 calories per serving 7.1 grams of fat

  If you are looking for more recipes check out Colleen's blog too!

Have a great weekend!

Carey

Americana Home part 2

Good morning, we have a busy summer in full swing at our house.  It seems like not as many people are posting as much.  I thought it slowed down a little bit last summer too.  My husband interviewed for a job yesterday and he's been applying to jobs for a little while now.  The job is one that he is overqualified for but he felt there might be a possibility moving up in the future. The market is tough for sure.  I've been praying we both find good jobs.  While I'm happy to be working I was hoping for something more full time at least to help for awhile.  I know that there are many people far worse off than us so I'm trying to stay positive and count my blessings. 

Here's some more shots of my home:

My 1848 picture is back up above my mantle for awhile.

I have some ribbon intertwined that I've had for a long time.  I bought it in Liberty, MO at one of my favorite stores.  She had it all over her shop and I liked it so much I bought tons of it.  I still have my flower pots on my mantle that I aged with some antique white paint.

I have two of these flags that I got at a Craft show years ago. They have things about Thomas Jefferson and the other flag has George Washington on it.  I just love them.

my baker's cabinet

This little vignette has my new cloche' that I've searched for awhile.  I got mine at Hobby Lobby.  I put a star candle holder with a red, white and blue candle ring around it.  I got the geraniums in the pot on sale at Jo Ann's last year.

I still have a few more pictures I want to share and that recipe for pie.  I'll save that for my next post.  I hope I'm giving you some ideas for how to decorate your home for the Fourth this year!

Carey

Americana Home part 1

Good evening I thought I'd share a little of what I did last week to the house.  I generally like to have my Americana things up for a whole month or more.  It was time to take down the spring things and celebrate all things summer!  For me this is more like adding to what I have up year round.  Geranuims, flags, bunting, ribbon, ornaments all play their part. I like to enjoy it at least until my birthday which is the last day in July by the way!  My hubby and I are also working on a flag pole for the front yard.  I told him it was flag day soon and he just chuckled.  I am so excited about having a big fourth celebration at our home this year!

Here's some pics:

Let's start at the front door...

View of coffee table, the candle is a B & BW summer melon it smells delicious!

Entryway

In this area I just added a little flag print homespun and the graniteware bowl with flag inside.

I changed out my Fall picture for the colonial gameboard.   The game board is a little shorter than the picture so I had to play with scale here.  I found the old glory tall tin to add height to the display.  Whatcha think? Does it work?  I'll keep fussing with it I'm like most of you.

Be back soon with more pics!

Carey

Summer is Here!

Where have I been?? Well let's see a lot of ball games, end of school, and lots of good ole' summertime fun.  I got a new job.  I'm going to teach a college course this summer, super excited about that!  It's been a rough job market for a teacher out there, everyone in general.  I think I'm going to really like it!  The pool is finally opened after about two weeks and a whole lotta money to get it crystal clear.  My poor hubby is about to pull out his hair. 

First of all this cute little face has been keeping us on the go!  He plays ball 2 nights a week.  So far they haven't won but we had a marathon practice and this might be the week for a win!  Come on boys!  Then he just got accepted into an Excell class for third grade.  He's super excited about his teacher.  Mom is thrilled.  He is reading between 4.2 - 6.0 in AR.  He was one of the top readers in his class.  He is my child who is always asking questions about everything.   He loves to build things and take them apart.  He told me if he can't play ball he will be an engineer.  I couldn't be any prouder of him.

Last day of school, don't they look thrilled!

My DD won an American Legion award for her essay about patriotism.  She won out of all the other Fourth grade students.  I was so proud of her.  The teacher read aloud the essay at the awards program, I got all choked up.  I may share that with you later.  It's not very often that your kids interalize, then write about what you're trying to teach them.  She received a check for twenty-five dollars and a chance to win at state level.  She is also on Honor Roll, drama club and was top AR reader in her class.   Way to go baby girl!!! She will be in fifth grade next year.

Pool's open!!!

That's it for now, I'll be back with more pictures of my home.  I've decorated for the 4th all decked out American girl prim style!

Carey

National Road West Garage Sale!

Hello friends! I don't know about you but one of the things I look forward to the most this time of year is a great tag, yard or garage sale.  I usually don't find anything primitive or antique although I am surprised once in awhile.  I love the thrill of the hunt!  I told my husband it's like I'm tapping into that early ancestor when I'm gathering...LOL!

Around central IN we have a garage sale that is along the old national road west highway 40 where residents can set out there junk/stuff to sell it.  Here's my haul and I still have the weekend left!

lot # 1 is dessert cups 12 @ 10 cent each

Considering I just dumped and broke my set of 6 this made me very happy!

white pyrex bowl, white vase, old colander, pyrex snowflake casserole dish

I paid 2$ for the black one, $1 for the white one and the rest were only 25 cents.

Harry and David dippers $1 for set of 4

old print type drawer $4

I plan on using this in my scrapbook room somehow.

My favorite find!

An old ironing board, it's all wood even the legs! 

Can't you just see this in my new laundry room with an old basket w/quilt inside, clothespins, vintage tin of soap?? Whoo Hoo!

See you soon!

Carey

Remembering the Past and Weekend Happenings

Good morning!  How was your weekend?  We had a very good one.  It was hard to get back into the full mode this am.  My kiddos have three days left of school.  They are very excited. 

On Saturday we cooked out and had that delicious Strawberry Diner style pie I was telling you I would make.  I used my strawberries from my yard and it turned out great.  I really liked the topping.  I'll post the recipe for that later.  On Sunday we went to the cementary where most of my family is buried.  We had some pretty frank discussions with the kids about how much our country sacrifices and we remembered our loved ones.  We tried to find some of the oldest graves in the cementary and tried to do some rubbings.  The oldest of those were 1847.  My daughter thought is was pretty sad that they had no decorations at all on them.  We explained that all their family was gone too. 

my son puts a flag on my Father's grave who he is named after

My daughter places a flag for a great Uncle who served his country.

Great Grandparents

Defibaugh

Great Great Grandparents

Locke

On Sunday we went to Cincinnati and took back my sewing table to IKEA went to a few more stores for shopping.  I found a Bath and Body works outlet, it was fabulous!!! Very cheap!  Then we ate at bd's Mongolian Barbecue.  My husband and I love those kinda places.  If you've never eaten at one you should check it out there's something for everyone.  My son just loved it!  He really likes watching them grill it.  We also went to Archiver's and it's the best in the scrapbooking world (IMO).  If you're looking for the latest greatest products, there's something for everyone.  I fell in love with a new vintage paper line called Graphic 45.  Another favorite new one is called Homespun Chic by Melody Ross.  Her blog is really neat.  If you thought that scrapbooking and vintage things don't mix check them out.  Even if you're not a scrapbooker many lines have predone pages, books and kits that are simple to put together.  I'm thinking of using some to decorate my new space.   I ended up buying some diecuts from Homespun Chic, Jenni Bowlin, & 7 gypsies various date stickers etc.  Then this line from October Afternoon called Thrift Shop.  I think it would be great to use to feature someone who likes to sew.

Check out more about October Afternoon here

Have a great Tuesday!

Carey