Trick or Treat!

Our two little pretty ladies are ready for tomorrow night (even though the princess in pink won't look at the camera!).

 

Happy Halloween! Enjoy your weekend.

 

Seasonal Shelf

My dad made this oak shelf for me more than 25 years ago. I still enjoy decorating it for the seasons. This weekend I will be switching it to a Thanksgiving theme so I was looking at it and realized I had never posted it with its current display.

 

 
The little jack-o-lantern is actually a candle from when I was little.
 

 

 

A cheerful heart makes a happy face...

Proverbs 15:13

Candy Corn Dessert

In case you want to make this simple dessert for this weekend, I decided to post it today.

 

 

You can make your own candy corn desserts with just a few ingredients. You'll need cake, pudding and whipped topping. You can use pudding cups or I happened to have instant vanilla pudding mix in the pantry, so I used that and added some yellow food coloring.

 

 
 

 

Months ago I found this cake mix in the bargain aisle at my favorite grocery store. When I saw that brilliant orange, I knew I would be able to use it for something this fall so I got it and stashed it in the pantry with my other baking items. If you can't find this, you could easily use a white cake mix and just make it orange with food coloring. After it's baked, cool and then cut it into small cubes.

 

 

 

 

Put the yellow pudding in the bottom of any suitable glass container, such as these sherbet glasses which belonged to my grandparents. Add the cubed orange cake and then top with whipped topping. I would recommend making them just prior to serving to avoid having soggy cake (ugh).  By the way, when you look at the close-up, try not to focus on my cuticles. I know that I need to paint my nails. They grow quickly so it's hard to keep up! Ha!

 

Enjoy the rest of your day. I think I will finish cleaning the kitchen and then give some attention to my hands. :)

 

 

 

 

Tuesday's Tablescape

Although I am not a Halloween fan, I have a few things to make a tame tablescape in honor of this holiday. I don't go for scary or gory, but I do like "cute"!

 

A few years ago I found this candy corn fabric at Walmart and my mother made me four napkins from my remnant. I borrowed the placemats from her to pick up the orange color.

See that metal object lying on the table next to the candy corn? It's a noise-maker. It has a handle on the back of it and when you spin it, an annoying sound is produced! It's from my childhood so I think it qualifies as an antique now.  :) 

 

It's cloudy and rainy today so I turned out the lights to capture this little jack-o-lantern's glow.

 

Are you ready for your trick-or-treaters?



Who-ooo LIkes Owls?

Owls are popular for fall decorating and, as you know, they are all over the stores this year. You can find just about any owl accessory you'd care to have. I think this one is particularly adorable. He stands about 10 inches tall and my mother got him at Hobby Lobby. Naturally, he was on sale since that store always has the best bargains! We made this vignette on a counter at my parents' house.

 

 

Another hot trend in decorating is the use of real cotton bolls. A few years ago when my parents were traveling south, they stopped at a shop surrounded by a cotton field. They started talking to the owner and she mentioned that the field was abandoned due to weather-related conditions. The bolls hadn't matured to the necessary specifications so it was undesirable. She did say that if they happened to want any, she was more than happy to have them pick some. So, my dad pulled off a few branches to show to my nephews when they got home since it is so interesting to see. They remained in my mother's floral "stash" so we took those branches and placed them in a rustic vase (which is actually made from a real tree trunk). The little basket is full of faux acorns that my mother already had on hand. It completed the naturalistic trio we desired. Do you have any owls woven into your autumn decorations?

 

Happy Monday and love owl-ways!

 

 

 

Planes, Wonder Dog and Quilts

While away, we also visited Marshall, MO. Another tiny town on the trail (but not as small as Arrow Rock with their whopping population of 57!), it's home to two museums, both of which are gems. For one, they have an outstanding aviation museum which, in part, outlines the lives of two local residents. Mr. Nicholas and Mr. Beazley were both instrumental in aviation construction. Buying surplus propellers after WW1 for 50 cents, they refurbished and resold the pieces for a $2.50 profit.  Their business was operated from the garage and became a successful mail-order company. Their parts were used in the building of the Spirit of St. Louis plane, for example. In the second picture below is Mr. Nicholas' pilot license signed by Orville Wright. Many real, rare airplanes are on display in the hanger building. Since no one else was there, we benefited from being the only two on the tour and our guide was excellent. We're so glad we stopped!

 

Secondly, do you know about Jim the Wonder Dog? We did not before going through his garden and museum there in town. He was a local Llewellin Setter who was an amazing canine. He could, seemingly, understand commands in several languages (although his owners only spoke English), understood the spelling of words and even Morse code. He could seek out specific items and identify cars by their license plates, for example. Jim successfully acted on commands from people other than his owners. A veterinary team from the University of MO in Columbia examined him. Although they affirmed his unique abilities, they could not explain the medical reason for his gift. His family loved him and shared his wonders with the world to a certain point. When they were offered an enormous sum of money for him to appear in a movie, they declined because they didn't want him to be sensationalized. He died in 1937and is noted in Ripley's Believe It or Not. His little garden is peaceful and informative with its storyboards and was a great place to visit. We bought his book and are enjoying reading it. :)

 

 As we drove the country back roads in that Santa Fe Trail region, it was fun to see several of the painted quilts showcased on barns. The eight foot square replicas are visible from the road and celebrate the traditions of American rural life. Each is named and has a story behind it. There are 40 spread throughout three counties at this time. It was tough to get pictures since they stand on private property and are off the road, but a couple were close enough that I could jump out of the motorhome to capture their beauty. It was so interesting!

Indian Maize
This quilt pattern is appropriate since the farm is in close proximity to Van Meter
State Park. That park hosts Native American displays in a cultural arts center, but
after driving 14 miles down the two-lane country road we found it to be closed
for the season.

 

Santa Fe Quilt
This quilt pattern was selected since the farm sits on the old Santa Fe Trail.


I think I've bored you with enough details!
Enjoy your weekend!

 

 

 

A Fall Getaway and Tablescape

We decided to go on a fall getaway so I've been unable to work on my blog. We spent the past few days driving the old Santa Fe Trail in mid-MO to explore historic sites.  We find off-the-path towns with their museums and historic tours to be very interesting. It's our thing! Our newest, and best, discovery is state parks. We were fortunate to hit three (in two states) this season and we think they are ideal for us. Quiet, peaceful and wooded, we select the ones which are walking distance to historic sites. Although we hiked many miles this extended weekend, we had a thoroughly enjoyable time walking beside yellow and red splashes of leaves under autumn-blue skies.

 

 

 

The fall color isn't terrific this year, but the maples are amazing. Some oaks are showing a little color and the sumac and sassafras are gorgeous. We stayed in Arrow Rock State Park, which is lovely and is attached to the historic town.

 

 

The boardwalk has many old shops, churches and homes which are all on a walking tour and contain a wealth of information. A tram tour of the city was the icing on the cake. Their visitors' center hosts a phenomenal museum covering Native American, early settler and African American slave history of the area. Arrow Rock was a desirable spot on the river and is where the Boone brothers made their fortune thanks to salt. Who knew?! They happened to discover the animals licking the rocks in the area due to their high salt content and were then able to begin a sizable salt extraction operation. Since salt was in high demand for food preservation and tanning, they made a lot of money.

 

Sunday's lunch was in the Huston Tavern, built in 1834. It is the oldest continually-operating restaurant (in those days a tavern was a boarding home and eatery) west of the Missouri River. This week's tablescape is compliments of the charming old building. By the way, the other place setting had a black napkin also but it was already on his lap when I took this picture. :)  The meals, served family-style, include ham and delicious fried chicken, mashed potatoes with white gravy, green beans, corn, melt-in-your-mouth biscuits with apple butter, cole slaw, fruit salad and potato salad. No dessert is included because, I'm sure, no one has ever had room for it! We made some other stops on the trip, but I won't go into those now. It was all a great time!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Quiche Recipe

My friend, Donna, recently shared this quiche recipe with me so I made it last night. We thought it was very good. When you read through the ingredients, you'll notice that it calls for only two eggs. That struck me as odd for a quiche recipe, but I assure you that it tastes great! It's a very meaty, hearty dish. I added oven-baked potato cakes and a Waldorf salad. Enjoy!

 

Sausage and Pepper Quiche

1 pie crust

1 pound sausage (I use Jimmy Dean All Natural, which is pretty lean)

1 minced red pepper (I used pimentos)

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup shredded cheddar

1/4 cup parmesan

2 eggs

1/2 cup heavy cream

Bake pie crust for 9 minutes in a 400 degree oven. Then increase oven temperature to 425. Cook sausage and then sauté red peppers (or if substituting with pimentos, just fold into meat after it's cooked). Spread in bottom of pie shell. Beat cream and eggs and salt. Pour on top of meat mixture. Bake at 425 for 15 minutes. Reduce heat to 350 and bake for an additional 10-15 minutes. Let stand for several minutes before cutting.

 





 

 

Gilded Leaves

Do you recognize these pumpkins and bittersweet? They were the centerpiece on Tuesday's tablescape. I had borrowed them from this tray on the butler's pantry and now they are back.

 

I needed some sparkle, though, so I tried a trick I had read about. This morning I picked up a few leaves from the yard. Any type will work. I happened to use a magnolia and two maples. You just give them a quick spray with any metallic paint and you're finished!

See how the paint actually enhances the veins and curls in the previously dried-up leaf? I love that! The paint dries quickly and they are, obviously, brittle so you have to handle them carefully.

 

 

It's a fast way to add a little pizazz to one of your vignettes or even a special centerpiece, such as Thanksgiving.

 

I hope your day has some pizazz!

 

 

 

Warm Wishes

The weather is getting cooler and before we know it, we'll need our wraps. Each year our church collects like-new coats for those in need. I make it a mission to shop garage and yard sales throughout the summer to help this cause and it's so much fun! The collection bins will be available beginning this Sunday, so I have packaged-up this year's finds. My mother and I scope out the goods and I only buy coats in pristine condition. No spots, rips or imperfections allowed! I always test the zippers before I purchase them and I wash them when I get home so they are fresh and ready to go. I usually pay $1/ each, but I did pay $2/each for the suede adult ones.

 

I have three adult coats. Two are suede and sherpa. The bittersweet one is quilted and warm, too. Its hood is trimmed with fur.

 

 Aren't these cute coats for little boys?

We all know how little girls often love pink and purple, so I'm sure someone will be happy with these.

 

These are thick and warm and so soft. They will protect two little babies from cold winter winds. 

 

I also pick up hats and gloves when they are in perfect condition. I typically pay a quarter for them, but I also found some cute hats at the grocery store in a bargain bin for $1/each so I bought some of those.

 

 

 

 

 

I was fortunate to find more items this year than I did last so I am especially excited and,  just like a first grader,  I wanted to show them to you before they get turned in! Hopefully some people will feel warm this winter wearing them, but you well know how sharing gives us an even warmer feeling.

 

Here's sending you warm wishes!

 

Tablescape Tuesday

Saturday when my mother and I were poking around a yard sale, I spotted these darling little sherbets. I love colored glass and had never seen yellow glass before. At a dime a piece, I decided to get all five of them.

The same people had a lots of vintage linens, too. There were some tablecloths, stitched doilies and dresser scarves. On the very bottom of the stack my eye caught these napkins. The five of them were wadded up with a piece of masking tape serving as the price tag. They, too, were 10 cents each. Hmmm...they looked like they would go with the glassware. I began creating a tablescape in my head!

 

 

 
 
I tried setting the sherbets on different colored plates of mine, but they really popped on white. We think they could possibly be depression glass, which was made between 1930-1940. Aunt Kay and Uncle Carl told me that the pieces came as freebies in boxes of cereal and detergent. Wouldn't that be fun?! 

I just grabbed three pumpkins for the centerpiece and added real bittersweet (all of which I was using elsewhere for decoration). Aunt Kay and Uncle Carl harvest and send us a box of fresh Indiana bittersweet each fall and my mother and I always look forward to using it for the season!

 

It's another beautiful autumn day here. I hope you have a beautiful day, too!

Fall in the Solarium

I have a few pictures to show how fall has come to the solarium. I think this was the first decorating that I did this season and it was just before autumn arrived.

I waited until late afternoon one day so that I could show the lighted branches which are woven in and out of the display. My friend grew the gourd and made the birdhouse for me.

Aside from the gourd, it's all faux---down to the twisted branch that you can make out in the picture below. 

The lights add a little sparkle to the colors of fall.

Are you enjoying the autumn colors in your yard?