Before & Afters

I've been on a home decorating/crafting binge for about the last week. So I decided to put together a post of some before & after pictures. When possible I'm including 'before before' pictures--what the house looked like when we bought it! I hope you enjoy and maybe you'll get an idea or two for your own home!



What the living room looked like the day we moved in. Blah.




After we painted but all our old furniture still.



The living room now! I'm  moving the poster (subway map
of NYC w/pictures on our honeymoon) that was here to
a blank wall and adding another poster made of tickets/momentos
of shows we've seen, places we've been etc.

The dining room on the day we moved in. Ugh!

You have to look closely but you can see where we took out
the sliding glass doors and put in 2 windows.
We tried to match the ugly woodwork but it looked stupid....

...so I repainted it! It now matches the bottom color of the
walls. We added in a corner/pellet burner and I just
hung those shelves. I'm going to put my wedding flowers
in the apothecary jars on the shelves.

Lucy & Ethel Make Peach Jelly

Last summer Curtis and I were thrilled to discover the many types of fruit growing on our property. Mulberry tree, cherry trees, grape vine, raspberry bushes, and a peach tree. The day we discovered that the mulberry tree is in fact a mulberry tree I exclaimed, "what is this? The Garden of Eden?"

I am loathe to admit it but so much of the fruit went to waste last year. My mom helped me with some of the cherries, and I tried to freeze some of the mulberries, but the peaches were a complete waste. I resolved this spring that the peaches would not go to waste. And it is more than safe to say that I have kept that resolution

A couple Saturdays ago my best friend Katie helped me make some delicious peach jelly. We took the bucket full of peaches that I had gathered and cut them into quarters, leaving the skins and pits in tact. After adding water we boiled them on the stove until juice began to form and the fruit got, for lack of a better word, mushy. I then strained the fruit to get  beautiful coral juice. The next day we took the peach juice and turned it into jelly. I used this recipe taken from cooks.com

To make juice, cook peelings, seeds and peaches in water. Strain to make 3 1/2 cups peach juice. Pour into a large saucepan and add 1 box Sure-Jel. Bring to a hard boil and pour in 4 1/2 cups sugar. Boil about 2 minutes or until 2 drops slide together to make a big drop. Pour into sterilized jars and seal.

Frankly I have no idea what the "2 drops slide together to make a big drop" part means but we used our best judgment and it set up just fine. Even if it did boil over all over my glass top stove...and when I turned on the vent fan to clear the smoke cookbooks started falling on our heads. No one said we had to  be graceful and Martha Stewart about it, its much more fun to be Lucy and Ethel. We ended up with 4 medium sized jars and 3 small jars (no idea how much any of the jars actually holds).

This week I took all that yummy 'mushy' fruit and turned it into peach butter. The recipe I used can be found in its entirety (step by step directions) here, but I'll boil it down for you. Did you like that, boil it down? I'm hilarious.

The recipe calls for 6 quarts of peaches. I didn't measure, I figure when it's not baking, it's not an exact science. My medium sized crockpot was full and that looked like the picture, so close enough. I used a little less than two tablespoons of cinnamon (my recommendation would be to use less than that, it seemed a little heavy on the cinnamon when I tasted it), a teaspoon of allspice (the recipe calls for half teaspoon but I love allspice and always use a little bit more no matter what I'm making). The recipe also calls for cloves but I didn't have any so I used a little bit of nutmeg instead. A little nutmeg goes along way so if you use that, start small, you can always add more.

I left it my crockpot over night, about 10 or 11 hours and it reduced but not enough. If you're able to stay at home, just turn up the heat or leave it in for several more hours. If you have to go to work, like me, then throw it in the fridge until you get back and can speed up the process. I used my mixer to blend it and soften up some of the larger pieces of fruit and peels that were resisting becoming butter. Then I put it in my large soup pot, put my splatter guard on the top to let steam escape and turned the heat on medium. Once it started bubbling I turned it back to the lowest setting. It only took about 30-45 minutes to finish reducing. I let it cool for about 35 minutes before putting it in freezer safe containers. (I really detest using jars, freezing is so much simpler). I let it cool on the counter for a couple more hours then had Curtis help me carry it out to the freezer in the garage. I ended up with 4 pint containers, and 4 smaller containers (not sure how big).

I still have about six or seven cups of juice left so I intend to get some sugar-free pectin to make some jelly for my diabetic grandmother (uses splenda instead of sugar), and another batch of regular. I had hoped to make some peach honey but it looks a little advanced for me. Something about sugar and juice in equal parts and some other stuff that looked like math. I need to keep it simple and build into the word problems in the kitchen.

At any rate, peaches are pretty cheap now in the grocery store. Meijer had them for $.69/lb the other day, and you may still be able to get some at an orchard depending where you live. I hope I inspired you to try preserving some delicious fruit this year! Pickyourown.com is a wonderful site with directions for preserving just about anything in a million different ways. You'd be amazed what you can do with a pile of fruit and determination. Believe me, if I can do it...anybody can. Even Lucy and Ethel.

Start From Scratch

I apologize that July's posts have been few and far between. On the other hand, I am not sorry for not writing out of obligation. The only way I know how to write is from my heart and sometimes that means I need to be quiet for a time. This month has been quiet in that sense, but incredibly busy in all other aspects. Another reason for my scattered posts.

To be quite honest I'm not sure what I'm going to write about today. Thoughts are tumbling around in my head like clothes in a dryer. I think that rather than try to come up with some deep, profound meaning out of my scatter-brained thoughts it may be better to stick to something more simple.

My sister-in-law and friend, Megan, has a lovely blog in which she shares not only personal stories and insights, but recipes, decorating tips, and gardening pointers. I've only ever shared one recipe on this blog and while I've discussed my propensity for clutter, I've not ever shared how one fixes it. These are not my strengths. But today I'm going to share a couple recipes that I'll be preparing this week.

Sticky Buns (Grammy's Recipe)

• 2 loaves frozen bread dough
• 2 packages of non-instant vanilla pudding
• 1 c. brown sugar
• 2 tbsp milk

Place frozen bread dough in a lightly greased cake pan, cover with plastic wrap (lightly greased) and let rise until doubled in size. Take one loaf and tear into pieces, places pieces in the bottom of a 10x13 cake pan. The bottom should be mostly covered but the pieces shouldn't be touching. Prepare sauce and pour over the bread pieces. Take remaining loaf, tear into pieces and place in all open spaces in the cake pan. Cover again and let rise until reaches the top of the cake pan. Bake at 375 for 20-30 minutes.

It is important to let it rise both times or it comes out thick and flat, instead of fluffy and light. I made this on Saturday and the grease from the pan and saran wrap got into the dough and stopped it from rising the second time. Its about an inch and half think, instead of being about three inches high. I feel sad because this was the one thing that turned out every time I made it, and I was intending to take it next door to our neighbors.

Peanut Butter Pie (Uncle Gary's Recipe)

• 3/4 cup peanut butter (creamy)
• 8 ounces cream cheese
• 2 c. confectioner's sugar
• 12 ounces whipped cream/cool whip (more is okay)

Mix ingredients together until smooth and light. Put into a graham cracker crust (or a oreo cookie crust) and let chill in the refrigerator. Best served with a drizzling of chocolate syrup or a little whipped cream on top.

Easy as pie. Seriously, the only pie I can make. The first time I made it I was living in the dorms and had no mixer. I'm pretty sure I used a large table spoon and fork to mix it, and set it on the window sill to chill. Its easy, simple, and incredibly good...if you like peanut butter.

Fantasy Fudge (Great-Aunt Ruth's Recipe)

• 3 c. sugar
• 3/4 c. margarine
• 2/3 c. evaporated milk
• 1 c. semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 1 7oz jar marshmallow cream
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 c. chopped nuts (optional)
• 1/2 c. peanut butter (optional)

Melt margarine in LARGE microwave mixing bowl. Stir in sugar. Stir in evaporated milk. Microwave 3 minutes and stir; 2 minutes and stir; 3 minutes and stir; 2.5 minutes and stir. Exactly! Remove and add chocolate chips, marshmallow cream, vanilla, and stir. Add nuts and peanut butter, if wanted. Pour in a greased 13x9 pan or 8x8 pan. Cut while warm. Do not chill to cool.

Okay, I only attempted this once and it didn't set up right but it still tasted amazing. We ended up using it more as a chocolate fudge spread than eating it in pieces. Either way the recipe is delicious.

One thing you'll notice is that all three recipes come from someone in my family. I've shared before that I come from a long line of domestic goddesses, or as I call them: true women. Clearly the domestic gift goes beyond just women as my uncle is a talented host, cook, and baker. I wish more of their talent was passed on with the recipes but I suppose I'll just have to start from scratch and work my way into the fold. (Pun very much intended).

Every Activity Under Heaven

Since January I've been working full time at my job. I work 2 or so hours at our county office before going out to the school to finish up my work day. For those of you that don't know, I run a before & after school-care program for one of the local school districts. I went from six hours to eight hours a day. Not a big deal, right? Just two piddly hours.

Yeah. Right. I suddenly feel like I have no time.

This is feeling reminiscient of my previous post about making time for what is important. That post along with devotions and other blogs I've read have caused me to spend some time reflecting on how I view time. I want to manage my time, spend it will, save time by doing things efficiently, and I've come to hate feeling that I've wasted time. All of these are the same words I would use when talking about money. Time and money. Some people say time is money, and that may be true for lawyers or stock brokers but not for me. 

I've been creating pretty to-do lists to keep me motivated. I take time to decorate and illustrate my lists which sounds like procrastinating but I've noticed that the more I like the aesthetcs of something the more likely I am to stick with it. I've been thinking about re-organizing my house and re-structuring how things get done. I'm trying to come up with an efficient way to keep up with things. Housekeeping, paying & filing bills, and keeping track of things shouldn't be the daunting task it has somehow become. There should be a simple way to do things. I just need to find it.

I've read about creating rituals for daily things to make them meaningful instead of ordinary. My post on True Womanhood had me thinking of this in terms of housework. Seeing it as a rite of passage, beng indoctrinated into the club of True Women with every dish I wash. I also plan on making playlists of cleaning music, driving home from work music, and getting ready in the morning music. I want to create a morning ritual to prepare myself for the day--beyond the dash to get dressed and throw some make-up. I want to make the little things of everyday meaningful, even spiritual.

The Bible tells us to do everything without arguring or complaining, and that everything we do is (or shoud be) glorifying to Him. God cares about how I do what I do. I don't think He cares if I vacuum  up the puffs of doggy fur and toy-stuffing everyday, but He cares if I do it with a grudging spirit.

So, I think what I'm trying to say is this: by restructuring how I think about time, I'll be able to restructure how I use time, and my attitudes about how my time is spent will be restructured as a result. You might want to read that again. I did.

The first step is to re-focus my ideas of time. I realize in writing this that I think primarily of myself. What I need to do, what I want to do, what I think is important. I've got "I-trouble" (a song from a kids' program I was in as a very little girl, Angels Aware). What I need to realize is that God has given me this time to use as He directs. And I'm sure that will include much of the same things but I need to let Him make the call on when and how those things get done.

I have to empty my box of pre-conceived notions and let God decide what gets put back into the box. Throw away some things, add in some new, I'm sure. But it's God who needs to do this work. And I have a strong supsicion what God will show me is that there is plenty of time to do His work and do it gladly. And that all I do is actually His work.

Then, hopefully, when I'm getting ready for bed at night (another ritual to create, I think!) I won't be feeling all the failures of what I didn't get done. I can rest in knowing that God is in control of my time. Yup, that sounds much better to me.

There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven. ~ Ecclesiastes 3 (love this, one of my all-time favorite passages)

Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil.~ Ephesians 5:15-16

Commit to the LORD whatever you do, and your plans will succeed. ~ Proverbs 6:3

The sluggard craves and gets nothing, but the desires of the diligent are fully satisfied. ~ Proverbs 13:4

Many are the plans in a man's heart, but it is the LORD's purpose that prevails. ~ Proverbs 19:21