not yet the new year and already longing for spring

Surely I am not the only one who is already itching for spring before we've even undecorated the christmas tree.

Perhaps part of that was buying slightly wilted and over-priced basil at the supermarket for our New Year's Eve Dinner and longing for the days when I had a little boxed herb garden on the sill of my kitchen window.

So to appease my longing for spring I've pulled some rather inspiring shots of indoor "gardens."

Hopefully soon enough our kitchen will be less of a construction zone and better lend itself to putting up my own new windowsill garden.

Holiday countdown

Just a week left before Richard is back to school, and just six days till I'm back at work, but we're still making the most of our time.

Richard and Chris hung the microwave over the stove and have thus cleared out valuable counter space in the kitchen.  We finished painting the inside of the pantry (aka former broom closet) yesterday and Richard cut and installed the shelves today so we can finally put away all of our groceries and get one step closer to a fully organized kitchen.

Tomorrow Wicket gets her second haircut and I'll try to get some errands done while I'm on that side of town.  Then we're having some family time and a triple date with my parents, sister and her boyfriend, and going to see the new Sherlock movie tomorrow night.  I love going to the movies during holidays, its just one of those things that's enjoyable to do with the family when the weather has turned cold.

Hopefully after tomorrow I can get around to taking some house progress shots to share.

Happy, Happy Christmas

I'm sure we're not the only ones who feel like we could settle in for a long winter's nap after the excitement of yesterday's Christmas festivities.

We had an amazing time with family, and even Wicket spent all day playing with her "canine cousins" Daisy and Muffin.  Needless to say - all three of us are completely wiped out.

Today I was able to spend time with my sister who is home from college for break and I'm looking forward to seeing her again on Wednesday before she heads out again.  Otherwise we anticipate fully utilizing Richard's time off from school to work on house projects and get started on the basement, so wish us luck.  The pantry project has begun, and I certainly hope that by this time tomorrow I'll be safely stowing our food away and off the kitchen counter.

And Winter Break Begins!

Today was the last day of school before winter break which means there's one prominent feeling in the air around our house: relief.

Aside from some last minute shopping we plan to get done tomorrow morning we're looking forward to some lovely downtime.  Our breezy tomorrow will also consist of some dog sitting for a friend, and we can't wait for Buddy to come over - he and Wicket always have a grand time playing together.  And when tomorrow is said and done we're just looking forward to spending the holidays with our friends and families and giving numerous house tours to out of town visitors.

There really aren't any photos to share from the past weekend as we spent most of the time doing little projects around the house like hanging shelves and organizing kitchen cabinets.  We did get started on the kitchen pantry, but it still has a few steps before our food can reside there.  All in all this home feels more and more like our home with every passing day.

After some much needed rest today I'm now feeling a bit on the restless side so I'm listening to some holiday music and tackling some paperwork and general tidying up at my desk until its time for bed... which isn't as far off as I think it is.

Getting ready for Christmas

Buying our first real Christmas tree!

All lit up and ready for presents.

Post-decorating snuggles.

Adventures in Applesauce

Yesterday we cracked into the very last jar of applesauce from last year, so it's a good thing Richard used the last of our bushel of apples to can eight more jars last weekend.

 Wicket was very interested in getting some of those apple scraps.

The finished jars, all ready to store in the pantry... as soon as we put shelves in the pantry.

The beginning of the end

As the end of the year approaches the days just get busier and busier!

We spent Thanksgiving in Michigan visiting grandparents and cousins.

We ushered for opening night of Christmas Carol at the Pabst with Grandpa W, Chris, and Tia.

This weekend we're continuing our tradition of dinner with friends and walking Candy Cane Lane before retiring to a fire and some Tom and Jerrys.

Thrifted Finds

On the way home from work a couple weeks ago I stopped by a yard sale (the signs promised it was *HUGE*) and while there wasn't much that attracted me I did manage to come home with a couple of gems.

The young girl who had her own tarp set out with all her own stuff to sell had plenty of horse themed items.  I managed to spy a book by Margerite Henry, the Milwaukee native who wrote Misty of Chincoteague among many other horse books.  She worked quite frequently with illustrator Wesley Denis whose work I absolutely adore, so I picked up the well worn copy with binding falling off so I could pull out the illustrations inside.

And the simple loveliness of a couple of old milk bottles which I couldn't pass up.  I don't know what it is about the milk bottles that keeps attracting me every where I go, but at a quarter a piece for these two I didn't question it.  If nothing else they'll make adorable vases.

But now I must stop my blogging break to go unpack some more boxes!

DIY Apple Chips

Last week I whipped up some spoon butter which has done wonders for the wooden tools and table in our kitchen but this week I went with something actually edible - apple chips.

 

As soon as I got out the peeler Wicket positioned herself underneath it waiting for some scraps to fall.

The peeler made quick work as it cored and sliced the apple all in one step.  Then into the dehydrator they went for a few hours.

I made the first batch on Tuesday, and when Tia came over today we made a second batch, this time with sugar and cinnamon, so we have plenty to share.

DIY Spoon Butter

There's a wonderful wooden bowl in our kitchen that we received as a wedding gift from one of my cousins that I absolutely love to pieces.  Usually I care for it by rubbing it down with mineral or olive oil every so often but lately I noticed that my habits weren't really cutting it any more.  Of course I found the answer on Pinterest - Spoon Butter.

I picked up a pound of natural beeswax last week at Michaels Crafts, and picked up a new bottle of mineral oil from the supermarket while grocery shopping the other day, so on Tuesday in between loads of laundry and unpacking I whipped it up in the kitchen.  And then Wicket and I took a walk over to my in-law's to borrow a ring and lid because I still haven't unpacked most of our canning supplies and really I'm not quite sure where they are.

I cut off roughly a quarter of the block of beeswax but used my postal scale to be a tiny bit more accurate in my measuring.  I've already rubbed it onto my prized wooden bowl and I'm trying it on a corner of the kitchen butcher block table before I coat the whole thing.

Cost Breakdown
- One pound natural beeswax (from Michael's Crafts in the candle making section with 40% coupon) - $10
- Mineral oil (Pick N'Save) - $2.50
- Quart canning jar - on hand
Total: $12.50
Per Jar: $5

I only used a quarter pound of beeswax so it even though I spent about $12.50 to make it this first time it really costs just over $5 per jar, and it looks like it should last a while.  I'm contemplating throwing together three more jars from the left over beeswax to give as gifts this Christmas.

Happy, Happy Halloween!

We had our trick-or-treating last night, but I want to wish all the ghouls and goblins venturing out tonight a festive and safe Halloweeen!

I love my old McDonald Halloween buckets, and I'm really hoping to find a few more so I can make a lighted tower display to put out next year.  I made the pumpkin that the skeleton on the door is holding this year with a foam "Funkin" from JoAnn's that I cut in half and decorated using mod podge and some glitter.  

And of course the duckies like to get festive as well!

Our House and the New Granite Countertops

Richard and Matthias dismantling the old kitchen cabinets.  We had planned to hang the old cabinets on the back wall of the garage for storage, but in truth they were too far gone so Richard has been cutting them up to dispose of them slowly.  And if you look real close you can see the peeling paint that was the bane of my existence for far too long.

Here's the kitchen after we'd installed all of the new cabinets the night before the granite guys came to install the countertop.

Now with brand new granite couptertops!  Not exactly Martha Stewart's kitchen, and not quite as organized as I'd like yet but it's a wonderful and welcome change from before.

Wicket approves.

A close-up of the countertop - the color is called "Mountain green" and is a really light mix of white, gray, and black with just a tinge of green.