Ralphie and the Red Shoes

Ralphie has a "thing" for our slippers, and loves to get cozy with them when we´re not using them.

DIY Christmas part II

Even Ralphie is getting in the spirit....

Some of the things I did like the frosted candle, came from the current issue of Martha Stewart Living. I liked the idea of frosted candles, so I conviced the pharmacist to sell me an unusually large supply of epsom salts (she was convinced I need it for constipation....) and went to work. The bells and cluser bow on the spray on the front door are also adapted from MSL. I´m not finished crafting yet, but I do have to work in between projects. So stayed tuned, more to come!

The DIY Christmas

My Do it yourself Christmas. No store-bought wreaths or garland. Thanks to our neighbor who cut down some trees in his yard I had lots of greenery to work with. The result isn´t perfect, but I´m pretty happy with the way things turned out. I do think that the garland I make for my mother at home out of cedar looks much prettier and turns out much better, but the greenery was free and I didn´t have a source of fresh cedar to work with. Maybe next year.

HomeGoods StyleScope - I'm a Country Classic

HomeGoods StyleScope - I'm a Country Classic

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The yard

Before I´m off to frolic in the waves I thought I´d post some new pics of our yard. No commentary, just pictures. It might not look like this when I get back, but I know my husband will do his best.




This is not our yard, but it´s kind of the way I´d like the path to our front door to look in a few years.

Hydrangeas!!!

Ok, I have an obcession with flowers. I like tulips and daffodils, I love roses and lavender, but I am completely and totally obcessed with hydrangeas. Both my wedding boquets had hydrangeas in them. One was blue hydrangeas, and the other used green/whitish hydrangeas. They were gorgeous, and maybe I can find the digital pics to share one day. But obcession aside I dragged Mr. Peach along Schloss Zuschendorf in Pirna to see the hydrangeas. There will be a big hydrangea exhibit in a couple of weeks but I wont be here to see it, so we decided to try and catch a glimpse. I forget to write down the names of these, but it´s not super important for now. Next year I´ll be back, notpad in hand writing down my favorites..... more to come on that.

Long time no hear

It´s been a long time since I updated, so I´ve decided to give you a short chronology in pictures. I´ve had several baking endeavors (see the lovely Strawberry Shortcake from the cover of Living July 2007)

cupcakes for my friend Andrea´s birthday (half chocolate, half vanilla with Swiss merangue buttercream frosting)
Then a fourth of July bash that somehow did not get sufficient documentation as I found when Iwent to upload the pics. We had Carolina bbq pulled pork, potato salad, cole slaw, tomatoes, angel food cake, patriotic icecream compotes, and lots of other yummy things including home made buns.
The chicken drumsticks with cilantro and lime garnish.
The drinks minus the ice tea. yes, that´s an old washtub filled with beer, cokes and ice.
Some of the guests chowing down. Unfortunately you can´t see the decorations that I worked so hard on, but they are there.
Then I decided to make my sister a hostess gift since I´ll be staying with her for a few days. As far as I know she doesn´t have a tea cozy, so I made this one.
And half a dozen napkins to match with fancy stiching
An apron to serve the tea in
and here I am modeling the apron. I copied a vintage one my grandmother had made and changed a few things. This one is a bit fancier than what she did--I decided to use a different material for the ruffle. Has something a bit maidy now. Oh well.
And a new rose in my yard. A yellow one that was supposed to be white. Oh well, guess nobody is perfect!

And last but not least, I´ve spent quite a bit of time making jelly out of blueberries, strawberries and sour cherries. And no, I´m not done. I´m half way through re-doing an old nightstand. So stay tuned, maybe I´ll finish it before I head home!