Big News!

 My life is full of changes: retirement, new house and ...........

Yes, Grandbaby #2 is on the way. This little bundle of joy will arrive in November.

Decorating Inspiration

Where do you get your decorating inspiration? I love going to the yearly Parade of Homes. The homes are way too big for my needs and also quite pricey, but it is a great way to see some of the latest trends in decorating. I like to tour these homes looking for small details that I might be able to duplicate in my own home. Here are a few of my favorite things from last year's Parade of Homes.

Wouldn't this be a great mud room? I love the bead board, the pegs for hanging coats, and the seat that can be used for putting on shoes and storage.

This is the ultimate craft room. Love all the cubbies and the counter height scrapbooking area. Who couldn't help being creative in an area like this?

A perfect place for a family gathering. I love the table and ladderback chairs. I can just imagine sitting here each morning with my cup of tea and a good book.

The small details can make all the difference. I love the shape of the onion light and the crackled glass in the exterior light.

These were the most comfortable rocking chairs I've ever set in. They were Amish made. Wouldn't you like to have a set of these for your front porch?

House Hunting

Do you have a favorite style of architecture? I'm drawn to the colonial style. The Cape-Cod and Saltbox are two of my favorites.

But (There's always a but.) then reality sets in. Most of us have an idea of what our dream home would look like, but there are often other factors that have to be taken into consideration - location, size, price, and lifestyle.

My husband and I have talked about moving to another town many times over the years, but the timing just wasn't right. It didn't make much sense to move since we were employed in this town and my parents also live here. When the decision was made to retire at the end of this school year, we began thinking that maybe now might be the right time. We have spent the last year or two looking at various communities and evaluating what we really wanted. We decided that location and community amenities were of importance to us. Since we are now grandparents and will be doing some babysitting we knew we wanted to live near our son. (Close, but not too close.) We also wanted to still be within a reasonable distance of my parents. We wanted a place with small town appeal, but close to big city amenities such as restaurants, shopping, cultural activities, libraries, and parks.

Well, we finally decided on a place and have made the decision to build. No, it won't be like any of the pictures I posted above. Reality and good sense has to prevail. We don't need a humongous house and we definitely didn't want a large yard to take care of. Since I already have some knee and foot problems, I decided a house with lots of stairs wouldn't be a good idea. So, we are building a ranch home. (Well, mostly a ranch. There is a bonus room and bath upstairs that I will be making into my craft room.) We will be 15 minutes away from my son, a shopping mall, and two large parks. My parents will be about an hour away. Now we must be patient. It will probably take 6-8 months for our new home to be completed.

What I do want is that New England/Colonial/Primitive style decor. So I will be spending a lot of time browsing blogs to gather some ideas to make our new home cozy and inviting.

On a Deadline

The push is on. I've been working on a scrapbook for my daughter in-law. This scrapbook will be all about my granddaughter's first year of life.  My hope is to get it finished by Mother's Day.  I'm using Photoshop Elements. I love this program. I have downloaded templates and scrapbook papers from several sites I've found on the web.  This sure beats the cut and paste variety of scrapbooking. I love working with templates because I can add multiple photos to a page with ease. One really helpful website on digital scrapbooking is Jessica Sprague's. She offers several free tutorials. She also has several classes you can take. I've taken two of her classes now. They were excellent and helped me learn the basics of Photoshop Elements. I'm looking forward to taking a few more classes when I retire.

 

                                                            

Sour Cream Pumpkin Bars

It's feeling a bit chilly here in Ohio. It feels just like fall. Here is a favorite dessert my family likes in the fall. (Oh, who am I kidding; they like it all year round.)

1/2 cup butter, softened
1 1/3 cups sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1 cup canned pumpkin
1/2 cup sour cream
1/4 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup whole-wheat flour
1 cup chopped pecans or walnuts


1. Grease 15 x 10 x 1 inch baking pan; set aside.

2. In a large mixing bowl, beat the butter with an electric mixer for 30 seconds. Beat in sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt until combined. Add eggs, pumpkin, sour cream, milk and vanilla; beat until combined. Add all purpose and wheat flours; beat until combined. Stir in 1 cup chopped nuts.

3. Spread the mixture evenly into prepared baking pan. Bake in 350 degree oven about 25 minutes, or until a wooden toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool in pan on wire rack.

4. Prepare the Browned Butter Frosting as directed; spread over cooled bars. If you like, immediately sprinkle the frosted top with additional chopped pecans or walnuts. Cut into bars.

Browned Butter Frosting: In a small saucepan, heat 1/2 cup butter over low heat until melted. Continue heating until the butter turns a light brown. Remove the saucepan from heat and transfer butter to a medium mixing bowl. Add 3 cups powdered sugar, 2 tablespoons milk and 1 teaspoon vanilla. Beat with an electric mixer until combined. Beat in additional milk, 1 teaspoon at a time, to make a spreadable frosting. Use immediately. Makes about 1 cup of frosting.
Check out Colleen's weekly recipe swap at And Baby Makes Five for more recipes.

Do I Dare?

Brass was all the rage 15 years ago. So when we built this house we had brass fixtures installed. I also purchased brass lamps for my great room and bedroom. I'm going to live with the brass doorknobs and kitchen door handles, but I'm really sick of the brass lamps. I've been playing around with the idea of painting them black. Has anyone ever tried this?

Stitching Freebies

One of the side effects of blogging is my 'to do list" just keeps growing. Bloggers seem to be a creative bunch of people who like to share not only pictures of their creations, but they often share patterns. I've been working ahead to get some projects finished before the actual season or holiday arrives. Kaaren at The Painted Quilt has some great stitching patterns. The first Friday of each month Kaaren posts a new pattern.  I just finished up this one. I think I'm going to make it into a pillow.

Gail from Gail Pan Designs had this stitchery pattern posted on her blog. This one may be turned into a wall hanging.

Creamy Cranberry Salad

This recipe contains two of my favorite flavors: raspberry and cranberry.

3 oz. pkg. raspberry jello
1 cup boiling water
16 oz. can whole berry cranberry sauce
1 pint sour cream, or plain yogurt
1/2 cup nut of your choice, chopped

Dissolve jello in boiling water. Stir in cranberry sauce. Cover and chill until of syrupy consistency.

Fold in sour cream or yogurt, and nuts. Pour into a mold or serving bowl.

Chill for 3-4 hours or until firm.

Check out Colleen's Weekly Recipe Swap for more tasty recipes.

Having a Swinging Time

We have been having beautiful weather the last few days here in central Ohio. I decided today would be a great day to take my granddaughter to a new park our community has developed. This park is located on 74 acres that was purchase a decade ago. There were never funds to develop the land until a large sum of money was left to the city to develop the land. Additional funding was acquired. Walking and biking paths and trails through the woods have been designed.  It also has a wonderful playground for the little ones. The swings were a big hit with Addison.  I can tell this will be frequent outing for us.

Hash Brown Casserole

Looking to simplify that family dinner?  This casserole dish can compliment just about any meal.  There's nothing more frustrating than having to spend all of your time in the kitchen while the rest of the family members are enjoying each others company. I've started using recipes that I can prepare ahead of time and the only thing I need to do is put them in the oven. For our family Easter dinner I'm serving ham, corn casserole, spring fruit salad, deviled eggs, feather light muffins, and this hash brown casserole.

2 lbs. hash browns
3/4 cup melted margarine
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
1/2 cup chopped onions (optional)
1 can creamed chicken soup
1 pint sour cream
2 cups grated cheddar cheese
2 cups crushed corn flakes

Combine all ingredients and bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes.

If you are looking for other tasty meal ideas check out Colleen's recipe swap at And Baby Makes Five.