Filling up the wall space...

Five years ago I purchased four antique fruit crate labels at a flea market. I had intended to get them framed and one day, hang them in a kitchen. Well, I have had a kitchen of my own for the past three years and completely forgot about the labels tucked away in a drawer at my parents house.

While going through some things this summer I found them and remembered the plans I originally had for them. I want to do a collage of the labels and maybe a few other small "art" pieces. Thankfully (in this case) my house boast many empty walls so finding a space large enough for several pieces isn't a problem.

Thus far I have acquired two vintage seed packets from eBay and am on the search for a few other items.

I'm also looking for frames that match the style I'm going for. There was a store in my college town that had the best picture frames made from reclaimed wood and old tin ceiling tiles...unfortunately I haven't had much luck finding them here.

So stay tuned for the final pieces of the collection and frames that will surround them!

New Threads

I am currently not at a job that requires me to put on a power suit, but if I was...


I would be running to the nearest J. Crew to pick up these!

The new collection for September is up and I can't help but add most of it to my already-to-long Christmas List!

Buried Treasure

A month or two ago, after running an errand with my roommate, I went to an estate sale in the neighborhood. Most of the furniture and decor in the house was junk and I was about to leave when I walked past this set of 6 chairs in the living room. They were priced at $180 and were already 50% off. I wasn't quite convinced so I went home to mull it over for a few hours.

Finally at 3:00pm I decided to go back and see if they would lower the price. I realize that $90 dollars for a set of 6 antique dining room chairs is an amazing deal, but I didn't really need them and I love a good bargain!

Although I was sure they would be gone, I returned to the house only to find them still sitting there. I walked up to the guy in charge and asked for the best price he could give me. After throwing a few prices around between us we finally settled on $65. Thats right! I paid $65 for SIX dining room chairs - all in good condition!

To top it off was at home visiting my parents two weeks later and decided to run by an antiques store. While browsing I ran across a set of 6 chairs exactly like mine and what were they being sold for -$550!

The chairs are in need of a good polishing and new fabric (which I am on the hunt for) so stay tuned to see the coming results.

Green with Envy?

You should be!

I have had a recent obsession with green (1-3 years :). I've used it in my living and dining room a good bit and in the kitchen as well. I have a great set of green trimmed linen placemats from Williams-Sonoma that I LOVE and have been trying to collect this glassware from Anthropologie to go with them.

I received some of the tumblers for Christmas and am about to start on the juice glasses. I also have slowly been purchasing these goblets to match. They are $12 on-line...which I refuse to pay. Thankfully Anthro has had them on sale in the store for $7.95 the past few months. So, every once in a while I'll go pick one up. My collection has grown to 4 and today while perusing the sale section I thought I'd grab another when I noticed the sign above the shelf read $3.95. The sticker on the glasses was still at $8 so I asked the sales clerk for come clarification, trying not to get my hopes up. Well, my hopes shot through the roof as she told me that yes, they were $4 a piece. And with that I purchased the remaining 8 goblets to complete my set of 12!

I can't wait to get them home and set the table with linens and all.

"I'm a Yankee Doodle Dandy"

"...Born on the 4th of July"

No. I was not born on the 4th of July, but my grandmother was. Because of that (and my mother's love for all things patriotic) we always have a big 4th of July celebration. It usually involves my father's famous Bar-B-Q, good desserts, fireworks, compliments of my brothers, and sometimes a trip to the lake to celebrate with the extended family.

My parents are wonderful gardeners and this year my mother is growing blackberry bushes. They have produced a-plenty and so the birthday dessert this year is blackberry cobbler!

Another favorite that takes advantage of summer fruit is Martha's Cheesecake Flag!

Trash Collector

I have been wanting to get rid of my square kitchen table for a while and replace it with a round one, preferably one with a pedestal base. Like this one...

To my delight I received a call from my mother one day and she told me the following, "I was driving down the street and saw a great table sitting out by the trash. It's in great shape, it's just ugly so I grabbed it for you if you want it." Now my mother is a PRO at trash day shopping. I have a living room chair, a vacuum cleaner, two front porch rocking chairs, a planter and now a kitchen table from the trash heaps she has scavenged.

When I finally got home to see the table it was perfect...and it was UGLY (see picture).

Here is a close-up of the leaves...

I might live in the Magnolia State, but I do not want them on my kitchen table.

Always the seeker for affordable and easy solutions I grabbed dad's electric sander and a few bottles of ivory spray paint and went to work. It took a good while to get the maroon and gold-trimmed magnolias off the table (yes, there were metallic gold "accents" all over it), but it worked and was definitely worth it!

Caramel Dreams

So, I forgot to add the topping for the ice cream mentioned in the previous post!

I had been challenged by my supper club to bring something caramel for dessert. Not being a huge caramel fan and never having cooked it myself I decided to use it as a topping for the ice cream. So I bought the ingredients, found a recipe and headed to the kitchen.

Not to brag, but I am a good cook. I don't recall ever messing up a recipe. This one, however, was not so easily conquered. It took me not one, not two, but THREE tries. I actually switched to another recipe for #3. My first two attempts resulted in the following...

-a great thing to have on hand for fending off wild animals or if you are planning a weapons manufacturing business. The sugar re-crystallized (because the recipe told me to swirl the pot - a big NO NO) and when I poured it out it hardened into this lump of rock.

This is a picture of what is supposed to happen:

And here is the recipe for the desired results - Thank you Food Network!

Caramel Sauce

2 cups sugar

1/4 cup water
1/2 cup heavy cream

Combine the sugar and water in a large heavy saucepan over medium heat. Cook, swirling the pot around, until the mixture is a deep caramel color and looks like syrup, about 8 minutes. Carefully pour in the cream (it will bubble up) and continue to cook for another minute. Cool to room temperature.

Just Peachy!

"Life is better than death, I believe, if only because it is less boring and because it has fresh peaches in it." - Thomas Walker

I live in a peach-colored house.
I live on Peachtree Street.
My front yard has two small peachtrees in it.
And, thankfully, they have lots of peaches on them!

Here is a pic of one of the trees before the fruit was ripe.

Not much to look at, right? WRONG! This tree is now covered with peaches and they are soooooo good. (Sadly I forgot to take a picture of the trees before I left town.)

If you are in the mood for a peachy summer recipe, try the one below. I made it with peaches from the yard and it turned out great!

Peach Ice Cream

1 can sweetened condensed milk
6 eggs
1 qt 1/2 and 1/2
1 tsp flour
1 qt. peaches
Whole milk
Dash of salt
1 1/2 cup sugar
1 can evaporated milk

Combine sc. Milk, sugar, flour over medium heat. Add small amount of whole milk. Add beaten eggs and cook, stirring constantly till it starts to thicken. DO NOT boil! Remove and cool. Add other ingredients to make 1 ½ gal. Pour in freezer and add whole milk to gallon line.