Trekking Through Texas

Two posts in one day! I had to share pictures of my recent trip to Fredericksburg, TX. It is a quaint little German town nestled in the hill country of Texas. A place where time sort of stood still. I have to admit the shops were a bit pricey but window shopping was eye candy!


A little bit of Autumn on a shop patio.


Main Street in Fredericksburg on a clear beautiful day.


Look at all the wine!


Getting ready for wine tasting. Choices, choices...



Wine and cheese tasting. Look at the lavender on the table. They grow this in the hill country.



Look at the pretty table all decorated for Fall.



A little beachy/shabby chic. I believe this had a price tag of around $1,500 YIKES!


Little jars of preserves made by Country Living Magazine. Tea anyone?



All decorated for Christmas. Look how pretty the embellished boxes are.


In the Christmas spirit yet?



Loved the green ornaments and the apothecary jar. The shops were loaded with great decorating ideas.

Stayed tuned for part II coming soon to a blog near you :)

Fall Eating...

As the weather changes I find myself wanted comfort food more and more. Being vegetarian I can't just reach for meatloaf and mashed potatoes (nor do I want to) so I have to improvise. This recipe lent to me by my sister I made tonight for dinner and it was yummy and satisfying. The kids loved it too. I served it with a green salad, steamed asparagus and whole grain french bread.

Pasta with Creamy Pumpkin Sauce

1 onion finely chopped
1 stick unsalted butter
3/4 can of pumpkin (unsweetened)
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg (powder will work too)
1 small carton light cream
2-3 tablespoons fresh chopped parsley
kosher salt and fresh ground pepper to taste
fresh grated parmesan
12 oz penne pasta cooked according to package directions

Saute onions and parsley in 1 stick of butter slowly until caramelized (about 15-20 minutes). Add pumpkin, salt and nutmeg. Continue cooking for 5-10 minutes. Add carton of cream, stir and simmer for 5 minutes. Toss pasta in sauce and serve with fresh ground pepper and parmesan cheese on top.

Bon Appetit!

Autumn, where are you?

Welcome to October, the beginning of my favorite time of the year. I love everything about this season. The sights, the sounds, the smells, the festivities. The only downside is this is the time when I get homesick the most. You see, Autumn is very subtle in this part of the country. There are no changing of leaves. Well, let me restate that, they change; just not to the glorious colors of gold, red and orange. That's right, they turn brown and just fall to the ground. No beauty in that! I won't complain though, the mornings have been cooler and I will just pull out all my wonderful decorations, bake a yummy loaf of pumpkin bread, light a fall candle or tart and trek through the pumpkin patch in summer heat in search of the perfect pumpkin. So Autumn, even though I can't seem to find you right now...I love you all the same.

In closing I will share a little quote that I stumbled upon today. The author is unknown but it expresses my feelings exactly.

- A best friend is a sister that destiny forgot to give you.

Until next time...
Peace,
Ann

When Life Gives You Lemons (and hurricanes), Make Lemonade!

That's exactly what I intend to do after these little babies ripen a bit! I hated picking them before their time but I was afraid Ike would not be kind to my lemon tree with all the extra weight. The little tree is only 3 years old but she was very kind to me this year. I will miss her when I leave this place. Speaking of Ike, he was a nasty terrible old man! He was a massive storm with a nasty attitude leaving destruction all the way to Ohio. I am grateful my family and I came through unscathed with only a few minor inconveniences...cough cough, no electric for 2 weeks!

The first week of roughing it was actually pleasantly peaceful; the weather was perfect and the kids and I found a myriad of things to do. We made these...




and I practiced painting to make these...



Plus I got to catch up on my reading which never happens. So, all in all week one was interesting and week two (not going to sugarcoat it) was HELL! I have a new appreciation for modern conveniences; particularly air conditioning as Texas decided to grace our presence toward the end of week one with its usual hot weather and 85% humidity. I am now catching up on housework and laundry and have a few projects up my sleeve which I will save for another blogging day. Until then...

Peace,
Ann

Happy September!

I am so excited because September officially marks the beginning of Fall for me; even though it is still miserably hot in Texas and I miss home so much! The kids and I enjoyed a long weekend and I am sad that it's over and back to work tomorrow. I finished re-organizing our craft room and managed to get some cork boards hung for their school papers. I also made it to Michaels today to put to use the labor day 50% coupon. I could not think of one thing to use it for but it was burning a hole in my purse so I bought another painting book. This book is geared a little more toward Tole Painting and I figure I will try my hand at it. The designs are so endearing.



I also happened to find this little gem of a magazine at the check out stand and couldn't resist. I'm glad I picked it up but now my head is spinning because I want to make everything in it! I especially love the altered wood frame and star on the front cover. There are some very cute paper Christmas trees in it as well. I highly recommend to get it now!



To celebrate September I had leftover pumpkin from pumpkin pancakes this morning and fresh blueberries so I made pumpkin bread and blueberry muffins. As if I needed anything else to go straight to my hips! They are so good and I've been baking more and more lately with egg replacers by Ener-G and soy milk. So much healthier, cruelty free and I have to say everything turns out so much moister. I also need to go to Philly now; I've been reading about all the cool Vegan/Vegetarian friendly places to eat there. ROAD TRIP!!!! Ha Ha!



Last but not least I was in Target Saturday and saw this cute little tote bag; why on earth I didn't buy it is beyond me but it is worth posting a picture of.



Have a fabulous week and until next time!
Peace,
Ann

Farewell Summer...

The school supplies have been bought, the teachers have been greeted, and the kids are ready for school. I suppose this means that summer is drawing to a close. Although I look forward to Autumn with open arms I can't help wonder; where did summer go so fast? Even more so I can't say I really did anything "summery". Oh how I miss the beaches back home!



1. Heirloom Tomatoes, 2. a little summer ..., 3. Untitled, 4. the last day of summer..., 5. Indian Summer Sunflower And Sky Cropped, 6. Summer Wanes, 7. Summer the Starfish, 8. Last summer at the beach, 9. More summer thoughts, 10. Cool Kites OCMD, 11. Summer Fun, 12. Summer Goodness, 13. Sand Castle, 14. Americana on The Veranda, 15. summer goodness, 16. Let the Summer Fun Begin

Inspiration

I've been in a very crafty mood lately and scouring the internet for new inspiration. I think with summer winding down and the kids heading back to school soon the creative part of my brain is in full gear. I am constantly looking for new ideas to organize my small craft space and recently bought this magazine for ideas. Oh how envious I get when I see the studios some of these artists have! I keep thinking one day I too will have my own space; my little oasis away from curious little hands and the constant sounds of television background noise!



I've also been looking for ways to store my knitting and crochet needles and even though I did find a roll-up at Michaels for them It was plain and just not shabby enough. I did however find something to make on Mary Engelbreit's Home Companion website! These can be stitched up in no time!




How to make it:
NOTE: Knitting Roll-Up measurements are in parentheses.
1. Place the two 5” x 20” (8” x 21”) rectangles of checked fabric wrong sides together. Baste or pin to keep in place.
2. To make the binding, fold the 3” x 20” (3” x 21”) strip of floral fabric in half, wrong sides together; press. Open the folded strip, fold the raw edges in to the center; press. Fold the strip in half again; press.
3. Wrap the folded and pressed binding around one long edge of the checked fabric rectangle. Pin to hold in place. Edgestitch along the bottom folded edge of the binding, making sure that you are catching both sides of the binding in the stitching.
4. Place the two 10” x 20” (17” x 21”) rectangles of floral fabric wrong sides together. Baste or pin to keep in place.
5. Place the bound checked rectangle on top of the floral rectangle, matching the raw edges at the sides and lower edge. Baste or pin the sides and lower edge in place.
6. Using an erasable or washable fabric marker and a ruler, mark the pocket divisions on the checked fabric. Starting at the left edge, markings are at 3”, 5”, 7”, 8”, 9”, 10”, 11”, 12”, 13”, 15” and 17” (1-1/2”, 2-1/2”, 4-1/2”, 6-1/2”, 8-1/2”, 10-1/2”, 12-1/2”, 14-1/2”, 16-1/2”, 18-1/2”, 19-1/2”). To make the individual pouches, stitch along the marked lines, backstitching at the upper (bound) edge of the pocket to secure.
7. Add the side binding. Fold and press the two 3” x 10” (3” x 17”) checked fabric strips in the same way as in Step 2. Bind the side edges (all layers) of the roll-up as described in Step 3.
8. For the upper and lower edges, use the two 3” by 21” (3” x 22”) strips. Before folding and pressing the strips lengthwise, turn under 1/2” at each end of the strip; press. Then fold and press in the same way as in Step 2. The turned under ends of the strip create a neat finish at the corners of the roll-up. Attach binding following the instructions in Step 3.
9. Make the straps from the two 3” x 33” (3” x 26”) strips of checked fabric. Fold under the short ends of the strips 1/2”; press. Fold the strips as for the binding, but edgestitch the long end open. Mark a spot 8” (12 1/2”) from the end of each strip. Pin in place along one short outside edge of the roll-up, about 3” in from the top and bottom edges. Stitch in place along the lower edge of the binding. Stitch button in place (or affix with French knots) between the straps, about an inch from the short edge.
10. To close up the roll-up, roll from one end; wrap the straps around the rolled tube and tie loosely to secure.



I hope you have a wonderful week ahead and leave you with this cute little wooden sign.



Peace,
Ann