Happy New Year and A Little About My Sewing Room

The sewing room is one of my favorite places to be. It's a cozy room in the back of the house overlooking the garden. It's filled with a nice little collection of fabric and thrifted linens, and projects in all different stages of completion. There's something about being in this room that is so soothing and comforting. Just me and my sewing machine (I haven't named her yet as some of you have). She came with a stitch regulator which was a godsend to me when learning to machine quilt, and she has many features which have yet to be discovered.

It was only fitting that she should have a cover to be proud of, so thanks to a little inspiration from Martha she's all decked out. Instead of using a tea towel as Martha did, I pieced together some linen and cotton. The center fabric is Amy Butler's Wallflower in Mustard. It is from her Lotus collection and is the same fabric that I used for the curtains in this room.

And because we all need to have a fun little pincushion when we're sewing, I bought this pear on Etsy from a seller named Ginpins. Her work is beautiful, original, and meticulously done.

Take a peek at this new design she has for sale. She calls it the Woodland Pincushion. Very nice.

Corners of My Home - Frugal Art

A popular home decor catalog that I receive in the mail advertises beautiful sets of framed botanical prints. I love the prints but couldn't justify the price so I made them myself. One trip to our local used book store for a couple of vintage books, and another trip to pick up some inexpensive frames and I had two sets of vintage-style prints for a song. One set for the dining room............................

and another set for the bedroom.

Easy peasy.

A Peek at Our Holiday

Christmas Eve dinner was held at Mom and Dad's house this year, and as always, Mom did a beautiful job making it special. She managed to arrange seating for all twenty-one family members in her dining room and even used the fancy dishes.

We had an assortment of buffet dishes that were delicious!

Mom makes the absolute best fruit salad ever..............

and our traditional Sweet Potato Casserole is always a favorite.

From there we went to my lifelong friend Dana's house and enjoyed yet another meal and lots of good company.

On Christmas morning, I found twelve of these (one for each of the twelve days of Christmas) hanging on our Christmas tree. Hubby and I weren't supposed to be exchanging gifts, but I'm so glad we (I mean he) did. A very clever presentation. I hope your holiday was warm, happy, and spent with those you love.

From Our House To Yours

Wishing you a very...................

We're Ready!

The house is decorated.............

The presents are wrapped and under the tree............

Our contribution to Christmas Eve dinner has been prepared.........................

And now we're just waiting for Santa to come.

Soup's On

This recipe is from Rachel Ray and is posted on the Food TV website. It's called Tomato and Spinach Soup. I changed it up a little bit and here is my version: Tomato and Spinach Soup 2 tablespoons olive oil 2 tablespoons red onion, finely chopped 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped 1 (28-ounce) can diced tomatoes in juice, drained 1 (28-ounce) can crushed tomatoes 2 cups good quality vegetable stock Splash of balsamic vinegar 1 tablespoon brown sugar 1/2 - 1 (10-ounce) bag baby spinach Salt and pepper to taste Saute oil and garlic in a medium soup pot for about 5 minutes. Add the drained diced tomatoes and the crushed tomatoes. Add stock, balsamic vinegar and brown sugar and stir to combine. Stir in the spinach and season with salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer 10-15 minutes. It is very quick to prepare and pretty healthy too. If you want it to be less acidic add more brown sugar, but I like to try to keep the sugar to a minimum.

Christmas Heart Melters

I thought I'd share some of the things I recently unpacked from Christmas storage that make my heart melt.

Handmade Ornaments From One Special Little Person (who isn't little anymore)

The Christmas Books I used to read to "One Special Little Person" (who isn't little anymore)

And the handmade gift from my parents that mom stitched and dad made the frame for.

And here's something that doesn't make my heart melt (well it sorta does), but makes my taste buds REALLY happy:

The Seasonal Peppermint Mocha Flavor - Oh My!!

I Swore I'd Never Do It

Be able to knit, that is. Never say never. With the help of this book, and the generosity of this blogger, I've made lots of these:And the potato masher? It has nothing to do with the dishcloths but it's a recent thrift find and it makes me smile.

Mom's Quilt

Way back in August, I was the very lucky recipient of two boxes of old fabric. The fabric was given to me by a woman my age named Betsy, whom I had never met. The boxes contained fabric that her mother had been collecting with the intention of learning how to quilt. When her mom passed away fifteen years ago, she inherited the fabric and had been storing it ever since. Now, when I hear that someone wants to give away old fabric I begin to get heart palpatations. Long story short, I became the new owner. As I sat on my sewing room floor looking at each and every little piece, I could hardly wait to design a surprise quilt for Betsy using her mom's collection. This quilt was a joy to make from beginning to end and it is called "Mom's Quilt".

The back of the quilt has a variety of small pieces, one of which Betsy remembers from a bicentennial dress that her mom made for her in 1976.

Breakfast Staple

These are the ingredients for the breakfast shake that I make almost every morning. It tastes delicious, is extremely healthy, and keeps my hunger at bay for several hours. It was inspired by the "Chocolate Raspberry Peanut Butter Smoothie" that our local health food market sells. They use chocolate soy milk as a base but I substitute unsweetened vanilla almond milk because it has very little sugar. Here's my version: My Favorite Breakfast Shake: 1 1/4 cups unsweetened vanilla almond milk 1 heaping tablespoon rice protein powder (vanilla or chocolate) 1 tablespoon flax oil 1 really big heaping over tablespoon natural peanut butter 1 frozen banana 3/4 cup (approximately) frozen raspberries Blend together until nice and creamy. If it's too watery you can add some ice cubes. If it's too thick add some more almond milk. I like to use organic ingredients when possible. Yum!

Let's Give This a Whirl

I grew up in a household that could easily be compared to the Cleavers. My dad was the authoritarian and worked endlessly to provide for our family. My mom ran the household like a well-oiled machine and at the same time created a warm and loving environment. My childhood memories are filled with home-cooked meals, lots of baked goods, a sewing machine that rarely rested, and a home that felt comfortable and welcoming. To this day, my mom and I share a love of all things creative. We can't wait to talk about our newest fabric acquistion, thrift find, quilting project, cooking adventure or decorating ideas. It was my mom who introduced me to the blogging world about two years ago, and what a fun two years it has been. I've learned so much and am now inspired to share a small part of my life with others. My intention is to share the new recipes I try, bits and pieces of my home, what's happening in my sewing room, fabulous thrift store finds, and things I learn about simplifying and incorporating natural products into our daily living. Oh, and I have a couple of helpers so let me introduce you to.........

Butterscotch

and Molly.