~On the Porch~

Last weekend: I had fun getting the front porch all decked out for Fall- even though we were having summer-like temperatures. Pumpkins from the pumpkin patch, mums from the local garden center and a corn-husk-covered rope light to festoon the front door. Talk about a pain to make (literally- did you know dried corn husks are covered in little prickley things that stick all-over your skin? I know this intimately now!), but I love how it gives off a warm, inviting glow on these now dark evenings. :)

This weekend: Cooler temps, but I am sniffling and sneezing and generally feeling rotten due to a cold or some such thing. So not much getting done around here other than some feltie stitching and a few 'sit down' computer things in-between naps. Happily there's a Seahawks football game to enjoy tomorrow...

Have a lovely weekend!

4:15 PM - By Unknown 0

~September Summed Up~

September. I blinked and it's gone. Another one for the history books- Another full month of living life. And here, a few captured moments to remember it by before we run full-speed-ahead into October.

There was lots and lots of sanding and staining- more baby steps toward a longed for dream . . . (more on that in another post)

There was a bit of antiquing and finding fall inspiration . . . don't you just LOVE these books turned pumpkins? I'm dying to make some, but how on earth did they cut books into that shape? If anyone out there knows, please tune me in!

There was lots of clothes shopping. More sweaters and layers for the coming cold weather. And new jeans to make way for my ever-expanding waist line. (there's no pictures, but that would be due to the baking I've also been doing)

A new, badly needed haircut. (and in case you were wondering, I'm not smiling in this picture because I've come to realize that no matter how hard I try, my left eye always ends up half shut when I smile causing me to look either intoxicated or mildly disfigured. I'm just accepting that some people are photogenic and I am not one of them!)

There have been daily drives to and from cross country practice for the Youngest- and to weekly meets as well. Last week he came in 2nd place for 7th grade boys and we were very excited for him- he pushed himself so hard, and he found success!

I've been stitching felties again. Makes me happy, happy, happy- and keeps me calm! (looks like 'franken-kitty' with all the pins, poor thing!)

And I've also done a little book-cover making for a birthday present.

And not to forget the kids, they've done lots of growing, growing, growing . . .

(and eating, eating, eating!!) This was the month that the Oldest surpassed me in height!!

I spent a day freshening up the laundry/mudroom with new shelf paper, art, and a rake hanger.

And I celebrated the first day of fall with my favorite fall coffee mug and some straw flowers. 

The 'fall' curtains also found their way into the kitchen . . .

September's weather was really warm and lovely nearly all month.We rambled just about everywhere-

from a graveyard . . .

To a waterfall. And everywhere in between. We took lots of walks in the neighborhood, along the river, in the arboretum and out into The Gorge . . .

And, of course, there were many, many more moments . . . lots of gardening, chats with friends, school papers to fill out a mile high, long and boring teacher presentations, doctor appts, ebay work, a week of miserable allergies, a couple dates with the Husband, soups simmering and new tires for my car (!!!!) As always, a patchwork of life being lived . . .
and, all in all, a lovely September.

10:13 PM - By Unknown 0

~The Pinks and Greens of My Week~

Another week gone by. Shockingly fast, too! It seems the better I get, the more that pops up to take care of! There's been school stuff with the boys, much needed house cleaning and care (you can imagine the state of my home after 3 months of illness!),
appointments, paperwork type things that have been put off and some unexpected emotional family stuff (but that's for another post). 
Ironically, as I took a look at the photos I managed to squeeze in this week, I noticed an unintended theme: pink and green

So with out further ado, here is my week in Pinks and Greens.

Among the biggest things taking oodles of time this week has been the making of twenty bridal shower invitations and corresponding bachlorette invites as well. The bride's colors are mint green and rose. Pretty, don't you think? 

Truly, it's almost funny how it goes- you can be asked to take on a project, look at your calendar and see that you should have reasonable time to do it, accept said project and then in a blink of an eye, life explodes and all that empty calendar space gets eaten up along with other things that take a toll. Or at least, that seems to be my life. Anyone else?

I've enjoyed designing and making these . . . but I admit I have an even greater joy in the fact that they're finally done!

And speaking of joy, these gorgeous pink lilies from The Husband have been bringing me tons of happiness this week! Not only that, but we have had a good deal of sunshine and I have absolutely LOVED seeing it shining through the vase onto the table . . .

Happy, happy, happy . . .See?! Isn't it just lovely? I walk through the dining room and I'm constantly stunned with the beauty and the fresh smell of spring. Heavenly!!
This shot I took yesterday (Friday) in an effort to capture the light as well as my new thrift store treasures- a set of four rose painted dessert plates for only $3!

I'm in love! :)

Also this week, I had to do some baking- it's my latest way of counteracting stress- and if this past week has been anything (aside from pink and green,) then stressful is the word. 

So, a new recipe was tried and triumphantly received by all.

It's a nice bread, not too sweet and beyond heavenly with the cream cheese spread. A bit crumbly to be sure, but very good non the less.

And yes, perfect served on a pink and green flowered plate. :)

Here's the recipe from the Totally Teatime Cookbook. Enjoy!!

Chocolate Tea Bread with Vanilla Cream Cheese

1 3/4 cups four (it calls for all purpose, but I used whole wheat)

1 tbsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

6 tbsp butter, softened

3/4 cup sugar

2 eggs

1/2 cocoa

1 cup buttermilk

3/4 cup walnuts, roughly chopped (I used pecans instead)

Preheat oven to 350. Lightly grease a loaf pan.

Combine flour, baking powder and soda in bowl. Mix with fork.

In another bowl, cream butter and sugar with electric mixer. Add eggs and vanilla and beat until smooth. Sprinkle in cocoa and beat until smooth; then pour in buttermilk and mix. Add flour mixture and lightly beat until flour disappears. Lightly beat in nuts then spoon batter into loaf pan.

Smooth top and bake one hour or until knife comes out clean when inserted. (Don't fret about cracked top of bread) Let cool in pan on rack, then invert and cool on rack. Serve with Vanilla Cream Cheese.

Vanilla Cream Cheese

3oz cream cheese, softened

1 tsp vanilla

2 tbsp powdered sugar

Beat ingredients together until combined and transfer to serving crock.

( fyi: this only makes 1/2 a cup and we ran out half way through the loaf. I plan on doubling the recipe next time )

~I hope you have a lovely weekend~

Cheers!

(and if you try the tea bread, let me know what you think!)

6:13 PM - By Unknown 0

~Three-Day Weekend Garden Update~

 It's a three day weekend here in the U.S. and our little patch of Pacific Northwest has actually been clear, dry and- dare I say it?- sunny today! After a week of sudden torrential downpours (our gutter actually fell off the house!) constant sprinkles, all out rain, or even a bit of hail we woke in surprise this morning to see the road and sidewalks actually dry. Dry! A dry Saturday and therefore a gardening day! Woohoo! Okay- it's only me who was excited. The three men in the family were not quite as enthusiastic.

But excited or not, we got down to business and took care of things. Husband and sons got the gutters back on the house and cleared the sidewalk parking strip in preparation for a future project. I finished up a section of garden I've been working on by getting it mulched and swept (more on that in a bit). And Husband and I saved the overgrown, droopy climbing rose that was falling off the chimney by a spot of pruning and then stringing up some twine for it to climb along. All in all, a good day's work. 

We finished the day off with hot dogs roasted over the open fire and later, Reeces' Peanut Butter Cup S'more's for desert. OH, yum!

 So it's been a good day and I will share a little more of what I was able to finish in the garden, but before I do I need to go back awhile. Mid-April to be specific. It was then that Husband and I finally took care of a little project that has been needing doing for the last three years.

Look closely at the picture below. Notice anything? (well yes, there is a cute feline rolling around on the sidewalk, but besides that)

Here's another look:

That beautiful but gangly looking plant alongside the fence is actually a 'cecil brunner' rosebush. A climbing rose. And what exactly is it climbing? Well, . . . nothing. That's the problem. It was a Mother's Day gift three years ago and when I planted it I envisioned a lovely trellis/arbor thingy arching over the gateway for it to climb over and spread it's leaves and delicate pink roses everywhere. Very romantic stuff really, and a far cry from the ugly chainlink fence I am stuck with. However- as you can see, my dream never became reality and we have spent a good couple of years ducking and dodging it's thorny branches as it has taken over the entire entryway into the garden.

Our biggest problem with putting in the lovely, imaginary trellis/arbor thingy is that the entry space is not 'standard' and was much too narrow for a store-bought archway. We tried. It failed. And our financial reality said we could not in fact have one custom made, while our skill-set/tool ownership reality said we could not build it ourselves. So you can see why we ended up just 'ducking and dodging' for so long.

Until . . .
(Perhaps you can see where this is going)

yours truly had a little brainstorm!

I spied seven-foot, pre-made trellises at our local home improvement store. And I suddenly pictured two of them standing across from each other while a section of a third trellis lay across the top like a bridge . . . a bridge for roses!

And so you can see from the picture above, that's exactly what we did. I admit it was much more complicated than my little vision had let on, but in the end (after much sawing, hammering, gluing, measuring) we managed to put together our very own, custom made rose arbor!

And here it is!

Isn't that a huge improvement?!

No more ducking and dodging every time we go in or out of the garden! It's been a month and a half and I am still so thrilled to be able to walk under my roses instead of into them!

But it gets better, because then . . .

they bloomed!

and they bloomed . . .

and bloomed . . .

and bloomed!

Aren't they just the loveliest, most delicate little roses?

And their scent is fantastic, too! Every time you pass under, you get a sweet whiff of perfume . . .

pretty romantic for a chainlink fence, I'd say. ;)

They've been blooming since the beginning of May and I know they are thanking me for the arbor by putting out far more roses than ever before. I'm glad they approve.

And now, back to today and the little area I got all spruced up. It's really been in honor of the roses that I took time to clean this spot all up. See how it all sort of makes it's way out to the arbor? I wish I had thought to take a 'before' shot, but trust me- it was overgrown and weedy.

And here's the view looking back down the path. 
My poppies are all over like little drunken sailors. Too much rain. 
I love it. :)

And here is the latest newcomer to the garden . . . my Spanish lavender. You can see all the little petals from the roses scattered all around. I tucked her into a bed of rocks and with all the sun she'll get here, I think she'll be twice as big this time next year. She came home with us from Elk Rock Garden . . . but more on that next time!

Thanks for stopping by to visit-

Have a lovely weekend!

Cheers!

9:26 PM - By Unknown 0

~Spring Break~

Even though Spring Break was two weeks ago I am still trying to recover from it.

 It started with Easter Sunday and two sick boys.

 Though being sick didn't stop them from dying eggs the night before,

or hunting for eggs on Easter morning.

And it ended with time alone with the Oldest while his brother was away being spoiled by his Nana.

We needed to get out of the house, so we spent an afternoon walking in the Portland Arboretum. 

The rain spared us.

The magnolias were in bloom.

And they took our breath away.

So that was the beginning and end of our Spring Break.

Curious about the middle?

Well- we spent the majority of it in our hallway.

Sanding it.

Taping it.

And staining it too.

From this:

To this:

TA-DA!

Not perfect, but such an improvement over three years of slivers from the unfinished floor. 

Exhausting, but definitely worth the effort. 

(we're talking four hours to tape off that floor!)

And now, with nothing but play rehearsals, school to teach, meals to deliver and a field trip that required hours of training to help with, I am in desperate need of a Second Spring Break. This time one that doesn't include sick kids, home improvement of any kind nor walking over a plank for four straight days to get to our only bathroom! ;)

Cheers!

7:38 PM - By Unknown 0