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Christmas on the Front Porch

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It’s time to join the fun!  Blogland is full of beautiful pictures of Christmas and I couldn’t wait to join in!  I kept the same wreaths and greenery on the front porch this year, but added a few new things to the little chair.  I absolutely love my sled shaped door mat but it has seen better days.  I can’t find a replacement, so if anyone has a lead on a cute doormat please send ideas my way!

Christmas Front Door

I found that cute little black bag, with picnic items inside, at Thorp Antiques over Labor Day weekend.  I’ve always wanted a small thermos collection and now I have my first two antiques!  For those of you who like my cute little bag, and live near Snohomish, I saw a similar bag upstairs in Joyworks for around $25 over the weekend.  I pictured my plaid bag looking nice near the Christmas tree, fireplace, or even by the coat rack in the entry.  I should almost run out and grab the bag from Joyworks myself!

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I realized, as I was typing this, that I forgot to get my old sled out of the rafters in the garage, and I still haven’t been able to find my plaid wool blanket.  I’ll find those next weekend.

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That’s the beginning of the of Christmas at my house!  There is so much more to come.  We had a fun weekend of decorating, Hallmark movies, and family.

Merry Christmas!

Big Changes in the Living Room… BIG Changes

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Over the past few years, we’ve been having a difficult time deciding on a room arrangement in the living room.  I found an arrangement I liked, but the kids said there was too much glare on the TV.  We found an arrangement that worked for TV, but I really didn’t like the way the room felt.  It just seemed crowded.  Recently, our big couch in the living room broke and we decided it was time to seriously think about new furniture.  The couch and love seat set was the first thing we bought when we purchased our first home, almost 20 years ago.  That couch and love seat had a good run.  The pressure was on! We had to think like designers, which we clearly aren’t!

Here’s what we decided and you can see why it’s a BIG change.

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We decided to go with a giant sectional.  This is the Radley sectional from Macy’s furniture.  It comes in just about any size and configuration you can think of.  Friends, I’m in love with this.  This room is mainly used for two purposes.  First, we use this room for family get-togethers.  Before we had the giant sectional, several people had to sit on the floor.  Now, I think we could probably put 20 people on this sectional and there are still three more chairs in the room.  The second thing we use this for is as a teenage hangout.  We don’t have a bonus room in our house, so the formal living room was to transformed into our bonus room a few years ago.

Here are a few more pictures so you can see the rest of the room

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This room is very cold, compared to the rest of the house, so I bought that little space heater that looks like a fireplace.  It’s small, but it works to warm this room.

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The big wall above the sectional needs something more.  We bought a lamp to put in this corner, but the base didn’t fit under the couch.  I’m not sure what we are going to do now.  I may have to find a few more pieces of art to put on the wall.

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Now, let’s talk pillows!  I decided to start out getting some Christmas and Winter pillow covers.  I love Courtney’s (Golden Boys and Me blog) pillows and I emailed her to find out where she finds them.  She told me she shops at H & M.  I had no idea they even carried pillows.  Their online selection is amazing and the prices were awesome!  I think the Christmas covers were both $5.99.  I bought a couple to use in Spring that were only $3.99 each.

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I loved this star pillow.  This may stay around well after Christmas. I’ve always loved the sweater pillows so I bought three of these covers. I bought my pillow forms from Jo-Ann Fabrics and used my coupon.

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I found this shelf on Wayfair.  I think it’s slightly smaller than I want and I think I mounted it a bit too high.  This area is still a work in progress but I knew I needed a place to put cameras, antiques, and pictures.

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We may find ourselves some barnwood boards and make these shelves a little longer.

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Yay!  If I make the shelves longer, I’ll have more room for old cameras.

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So, that’s the story of the BIG change in the living room.  We still have changes to make and work to do, but I’m in LOVE with the giant sectional.  The kids are going to have to fight me for use of this space.

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Happy decorating!

Cookie Friday

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Yes, I know it’s Saturday, but I needed to share my love for Cookie Friday.

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I’ve been baking cookies on Friday for as long as my kids have been in school.  I thought it was a great treat after a long week, and my kids usually had friends over after school.  My kids go to school with their cousins, from both sides of the family, and they’d often find their way to my house on Friday afternoon for warm cookies.  I tried to time it so the cookies were still warm when they all arrived.

When I went back to work full time, I started baking on Thursday night so cookies would be ready for the kids after school. Some weeks, I just couldn’t do it.  Teaching full time is exhausting and, for those of you who don’t know me in-real-life, I’m sick ALL the time.  Sometimes there is no energy for cookie baking.  Well, I’m back working part time this year and I’m happy to say that Cookie Friday is back in full force!  (I’ve also been trying to LIMIT myself to only baking on Friday. I’ll let you know how that goes. I really love to bake!)

This recipe is my classic Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe.  This time I just swapped out the chocolate chips for M&M’s.  As a side note, I don’t do this very often because the M&M’s have dye in them and there is one member of our family who does not react well to dyes.

Here’s the recipe:
1 Cup Crisco shortening (original, not butter flavor)
3/4 Cup brown sugar
3/4 Cup white sugar
Mix until soft and fluffy.

Add:
2 Eggs
1 and 1/2 tsp vanilla
Mix just until blended.

Dry ingredients:
2 and 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 and 1/2 tsp salt
Mix it up and add a bag of M&M’s or chocolate chips.  With M&M cookies, I find that they are prettier if you also add a few candies to the top just before baking.

Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes

Welcome back, Cookie Friday.  Welcome back.

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies – WITH NO FLOUR!

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Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ok, friends.  I think I should just change the title of this post to Magic Cookies, because they HAVE to be magic.  They have no flour, no butter, and no shortening… and they’re amazing!  Magic, I’m telling you!

My naturopath shared this recipe with me because she know that I’m obsessed with baking.

**Side story.  My naturopath is amazing.  Her name is Dr. Rhian Young and she owns Purity Health.  Any of you who have know me for any amount of time, in real life (outside of the web world), know that I’m CONSTANTLY sick.  I can’t seem to catch a break between illness and injury.  Well, I’ve been doing better and better each year.  She’s been helping me figure things out one by one.**

Ok, back to the story.  Dr. Young shared this cookie recipe with me and I was skeptical.  How good could this cookie be without butter, shortening, or flour.  She said her family said it was the best cookie she had ever made.  So, I tried it.  Ummm. Wow!

Flour-less Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookie
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Flour-less Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookie
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Ingredients
Servings:
Instructions
  1. Mix peanut butter and brown sugar together. Add egg. Mix. Add baking soda. Mix. Add chocolate chips. Mix. Use a cookie scoop to put balls of cookie dough onto baking sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 8-9 minutes.
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I Blinked and Summer Was Gone

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I spent quite a bit of time, in this very spot, over the past few weeks.  We’ve had a beautiful Summer in the Pacific Northwest and we didn’t waste a minute of it. Yes, there were vacations, appointments, and the To Do list but I did get to spend a good chunk of time enjoying my yard.

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My garden was my happy place this year, but the squirrels still got the best of my sunflowers.  I planted over a hundred seeds, but this was the sole survivor.

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The tomatoes loved the sunny weather, but I still didn’t get as many tomatoes as I’d like.

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I’m holding on to every last minute of Summer, so I’ll just sit here watching the sprinkler go back and forth.

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Happy Summer… and don’t blink!

 

 

Valentine Sugar Cookie Recipe

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Valentine’s Day is just around the corner, so we couldn’t resist baking a few sugar cookies to pack in lunches this week.  This is my go-to recipe for sugar cookies of any shape.

Valentine Sugar Cookies

Valentine Sugar Cookies
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Valentine Sugar Cookies
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Ingredients
Servings:
Recipe Notes

Beat butter, shortening, and sugar in a large mixing bowl.  Add eggs, milk, and vanilla.  Add dry ingredients and mix.  Let dough chill in the fridge for 3 hours.

Roll dough on a cutting board, lightly dusted with flour.  I like a thick cookie, so I roll my dough slightly thicker than 1/4" thick.  Cut in any shape desired.

Bake for 7-8 minutes at 375 degrees.

Cool and frost.  For the frosting, my favorite is a simple powdered sugar and milk frosting.  I pour powdered sugar into the bowl and add just a little bit of milk.  Keep stirring and slowly add milk until you get to the desired consistency.  If you want a thick frosting, add less milk.  If you want a glaze, add more milk.  I try to use as little food coloring as possible because DYE IS EVIL.  A tiny little half-drop of red food coloring will make a nice pink.  You can also use a little raspberry juice to make a nice pink and then you don't need to use dye at all, which is good because DYE IS EVIL! (Ask me how I feel about food dyes in our foods!)

Happy baking and Happy Valentine's Day!

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Etsy Purchases for a Cozy Living Room

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Last week I shared my new living room arrangement.  It’s been growing on me as the days have gone by.  I think it might be a keeper.

Favorite Antiiques

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The big problem I’m having is with the space to the left of the tv.  It’s empty wall space that is calling for something to warm up the room.

Living Room

This room is usually colder than the rest of the house and the couches are not that comfy.  It needs something cozy and inviting.

I ordered this blanket ladder from an Etsy shop called JustKnotWood so that I can lean it against the wall in that corner.  My friend bought one and I love the way it looks in her room.  You can choose your own stain color, so I choose a dark brown.

blanket ladder from JustKnotWood

I can’t wait for it to arrive!  Now, I need a thick-knit cream blanket to hang on it.  I thought about quilts because I have so many of those, but the room is already busy with patterns.  I think the cream blanket will add texture without overwhelming the space.

I also found the perfect pillow cover for the pillow that sits on the rocking chair.  This is from an Etsy shop called SoVintageChic.  She’s a local gal, so I just had to support her!  I’m in LOVE with this pillow!  It has our home town and the longitude and latitude coordinates.  I bought the 16″ pillow cover.  Hindsight, I wish I would have gone bigger, but it still looks great and feels personalized for our family.

SoVintageChic Pillow

I love everything about home and family, so this feels special.  I also love that it’s sitting on my great-grandmother’s rocking chair.

SoVintageChic Pillow

So, that’s the style update for the living room.  Now, I’m just waiting for my blanket ladder to arrive!

Happy decorating!

Vegetable Beef Soup Recipe

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Let’s be honest.  There’s really no such thing as a pretty bowl of vegetable beef soup.  It just looks like mushy brown soup with over cooked vegetables.  But, I can’t even tell you how much my family loves vegetable beef soup.  I have been sick, non-stop, since Thanksgiving.  Please don’t feel sorry for me.  This is the story of my life.  I get every illness that walks into my kindergarten classroom and it’s been that way for my 22 years of teaching.  It’s just the way things go.  This vegetable beef soup recipe is my go-to when I need a little pick-me-up and feel like I need to eat ALL of the vegetables NOW.

My kids aren’t horribly picky eaters.  My son will eat anything you put in front of him.  My daughter usually tries new things but then falls back on chicken nuggets.  But, vegetable beef soup is the one thing they will gobble up and go back for seconds.  They LOVE this stuff!  Enjoy!

Vegetable Beef Soup
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Vegetable Beef Soup
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Ingredients
Servings:
Instructions
  1. Heat the olive oil in the pan. Brown the beef and then add garlic and onion. Cook until onions are softened. Add the diced, celery, carrots, potatoes, and tomatoes. Add the bag of frozen green beans and beef stock. Let simmer for several hours. Add barley at the end of cooking and cook according to package directions. The brand I use says to add the barley during the last hour of cooking.
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Changes in the Living Room

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We recently had new windows installed and had to move all of the furniture in our living room.  Once all of the furniture was moved, my kids and hubby decided they wanted to rearrange.  Honestly, I don’t think that has ever happened in the entire time we’ve lived in this house, so I was all for trying new things!  The main window in the living room has a pretty view of the mountains, so we didn’t want to hide it.

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I watched some videos from Yellow Prairie Academy and was even more inspired to try something new.  We decided to move the tv to the other wall, which meant that we had to float some furniture in the middle of the room to have a good place to watch tv.  Everybody requested that I leave the ottoman empty so they can easily put their feet up.

I feel like there is a big hole to the left of the tv, so I ordered a wall ladder from Etsy to hang fluffy cream blankets on.

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I really love antiques and the sofa table is the perfect place to display those.  I wasn’t planning to keep the sofa table but the Yellow Prairie Interiors video suggested that it can help anchor the space.  The more I look at it, the more I like it!

 

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I also put my canisters, from Decor Steals, on the table.  Galvanized is my favorite color.

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The tray holding the rocks and candle is one of my favorite antique store finds.  I picked this up in an antique store in Central Oregon.  It’s an old gold pan that was used when people would pan for gold.  The store had a ton of these pans, which I thought was really cool.  It’s not something you find in the Snohomish antique stores.

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As I look around the living room, I notice how much I love old stuff.  The buffet that the tv is on was purchased from Craigslist for $50 and painted black.  I got the chair from a friend who was getting out of the antique business.  I painted it and had Calico Corners help me decide on a few different fabrics for my living room.  The tall hutch, which holds all of the silver pieces I pick up at the Goodwill, is from my Mother-In-Law’s garage.

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I still love the fabrics that I used to make pillows and drapes.  I wanted to mix different patterns and the ladies at Calico Corners helped me figure out how to do that.

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This is the room that houses my old sewing machines and spools.

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So far, we’re loving the cozy new look.  I think “cozy” is the key word in my decorating style.  I want my home to feel like you just want to grab a blanket and snuggle up.

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Floating the chairs and ottoman in the middle of the room was hard for me because I love open spaces for my youngest to do cartwheels, but they all seem pretty happy with the change.

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Now, if the rain would stop and the sun would come out, I’d have a beautiful view of the mountains outside of my window!

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Happy decorating!

Be sure to check out Yellow Prairie Interiors if you are interested in learning about decorating your living room.  I really loved this webinar series!

Christmas Cookies

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I know the holiday season is over and we’re all trying NOT to eat the yummy baked treats anymore, but I never got around to sharing my Christmas cookie tray.  It’s so pretty, that I just couldn’t resist posting.

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This year, I made gingerbread cookies, snowflake shaped sugar cookies, spritz, spreads, peanut-butter cup-ish cookie bars, and peanut butter cookies with Hershey kisses.

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If you are interested in any of these recipes, just type the name of the cookie into the search bar on the blog and they should pop up.

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Ok, now I’m really hungry for cookies.  I guess I’ll go chop some veggies for my snack instead.  Boy, I miss the Holidays!