NumberNineteen

Another Room in Progress -- The Study

If you've gathered anything from this blog, you know that our house is constantly a work in progress.  We are always painting something, replacing something, moving something around. We are currently in the middle of two projects -- the kitchen & the study.  The kitchen has been in progress since January & MUST be done by December 8th (we are having a party), so I'll hold off on the pics of that for later. 

In the study, we recently purchased 3 new wood bookcases to replace our IKEA originals.  No more particle board! No more particle board!  Here are the before photos:

Yes, that is the matching lamp to the horrible one in the guest bedroom/my craft area .
Must find replacements....

Sorry for the blur on the following photo, but the mess that was our old bookcases must be shown....

The start of the new study!:

Look! Real wood!  That matches the desk!  And, room for our book, PLUS room for whatever else we collect over time.  There is even room for my scrapbooks!:

And just a cute little vignette from the desk, beside the computer:

Of course, there is lots that we plan on doing.  My parents will be giving me a chair that belonged to my great-grandfather in the new few years--its called a smoking chair according to my mom.  Basicly, its a lounge chair with an ottoman.  Once we get that (and recover it--its currently done in a horrible mustard yellow which no-one has ever liked), that will go opposite the desk with a reading lamp.  And, we need to replace the desk lamp.  And, put up pictures & diplomas on the wall.  And, maybe get an area rug for under the desk.  I'll be sure to include you on all of the improvements!

Pumpkin Yum-Yums & A Winner!

First of all, we have a winner for the Susan Branch "Autumn" book!  Its Deborah!  Deborah, please email me with your address so that I can send it your way.  Give-aways are such fun ways to discover new people who have been visiting your blog, but haven't said hi for whatever reason.  From your comments on this latest give-away, I discovered several new & wonderful blogs!  I'll be visiting you often!

Keeping with the Autumn theme, I'm going to share two of my favorite pumpkin recipes.  First, Pumpkin Bread....

There are many versions out there, but this one is our favorite:

Pumpkin Bread
3 cups sugar                  
1 cup vegetable oil       
4 eggs                                  
2 1/4 cups pumpkin   
3 1/2 cups flour
2 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground cloves
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon allspice
1 teaspoon ground ginger

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Cream sugar, oil, & eggs until creamy.  Add pumpkin & mix.  In a separate bowl, mix all of the dry ingredients together.  Fold the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients & mix until all is well moistened.  Pour into greased bread pans (you could use 2 large & 1 small or all small).  Bake for 50 minutes or until done for large loaves & 30 minutes or until done for the small loaves. 

Our other favorite is our daily breakfast--Pumpkin Bran Muffins.  I make a batch every Sunday & we grab a few to eat on the way to work in the morning.  They are super yummy & very good for you.  I got the recipe from Weight Watchers message board, so if you are following that plan, these are only 1 point each!

Pumpkin Bran Muffins
2 cups All Bran or Fiber One cereal
1 cup skim milk
3/4 cup canned pure pumpkin
2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
1 egg -- or egg beaters
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 1/4 cup flour
1 Tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt

Mix cereal & milk; let rest 5 minutes. Add pumpkin, egg, spice & brown sugar. Stir. Add flour, salt and baking powder. Mix together. Spray muffin tin with cooking spray. Bake at 350 for 18 -20 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.

I hope that you enjoy these tastes of fall!

Autumn Give-Away!

(Image from the delightful Susan Branch website)

I'm having a little give away!  I have one brand-new copy of Susan Branch's Autumn.  I bought it for myself & then snatched up another one for my dear blogging friends.   Since you love autumn like I do, since you love to decorate, since you love to have a cozy house, since you love to get that "sitting down with your friend" feeling that you get when you read a Susan Branch book.  Since you always come back to visit me, even when I've been away for awhile!

Please leave a comment here before 8am Eastern time this Sunday the 21st.  I'll announce the winner sometime on Sunday!

Flea Market Finds!

Yay!  Flea market finds are back!  After a summer of missing every market for one thing or the other, I was so happy to be browsing amongst the junk & treasures again!
Pictured above are my favorite finds.

I've been looking for an old picnic basket just like this to house the ever-growing toys/art supplies/kid stuff that is taking over our house.  And, I found this one for $4!  Now, the play dough has a nice home which happens to be darned cute :)  The basket shaped biscuit tin is also a favorite. Its pretty banged up, but I love that it not only is shaped & printed like a basket, but has a handle!  I'm normally drawn to British biscuit tins, but this one is American.

I'm becoming very enamored of old books with neat illustrations, especially old school books.  "Our own Lands" is pretty nifty & states that it is from a Brooklyn school in the 1930s.  I always wonder about the kid who didn't return his/her book at the end of the year & it ends up in a flea market some 70 something years later!  Did they keep it in their stuff all of that time?  Makes you wonder!

And, lastly, the vintage child print--I can't resist those.  And, they happen to be very good sellers in my booth!  Whenever I get around to actually doing another show, that is!  I'm keeping both of the "baskets" for myself & the other two will be part of my next antique show.  I've been thinking about how to sort of "kick up" my business in the next year, but haven't made too much progress :)

Autumn Pretties

The holiday decorating begins!  Yay!  I love this time of year.  Autumn into Christmas is my very favorite time of year.  I love the weather, the holidays, the snuggly clothing, the food and, of course, the DECORATING!!!   I just love how the extra seasonal decorations really warm up the house. 

Above is a picture of our dining room sideboard, all dressed for Halloween.  The ceramic pumpkin is hollow & has an area for a candle so that it glows from the inside.  The candy corn with the candle is inspired by a photo in last year's Country Living.

The photo below is the very vintage-y Halloween.  I'm sure that you remember the typewriter & books from previous posts, as well as the picture frame from this post.  I printed out an image from a vintage postcard from The Vintage Workshop software.  And, the bowl full of requisite candy corn.  Gotta have the candy corn, you know!

Here is my pumpkin man...isn't he the cutest?  I found him at Tuesday Morning .
They have really wonderful seasonal items. 

Even my super formal cut glass bowl got the autumn treatment...

And, here is what I did with my vintage milk bottle carrier to make it seasonal...

Things are getting all cozy around here!

I have lots to share with you in the coming week---my flea market finds, pumpkin recipes & a surprize!

Italia, pt. 2

More musings on Italy....Its been hard readjusting to real life after scenes like the above!  I'm not an enthusiast of ancient history, but when I saw the Collesseum, Wow, that was an amazing moment!  It really is pretty spectacular.

Rome in general was much busier & more crowded than Florence.  The large number of tourists bothered us more than in Florence.  However, when I think about what a large city Rome is & how beautiful & ancient it remains, I am amazed & in awe.  We spent time at the normal attractions:

St. Peter's Cathedral/The Vatican

Me at the Trevi Fountain

Glenn & I at the Forum

Now, lets discuss the really fun stuff...what I bought in Italy!  I had no idea that the shopping would be so wonderful!  I was feeling sort of guilty for buying so much until I got to the airport on the way home.  Other American tourists had so many purchases that they were leaving things behind and/or paying $100 extra for overweight luggage!  I made sure to point out to Glenn that I didn't take it to that extreme :)

The leather goods were really gorgeous & much more reasonably priced than I expected.  Really, the same amount or less than you'd pay for a comparable purse or wallet in the states.  I found this purse in a store on the 2nd day in Florence, but not in black, which is really what I need.  I spent the rest of the trip looking everywhere to find the same purse in black.  On our last day, in a market that we hadn't visited previously, I found it!!!  I was practically dancing away from the booth with my purchase!

I also could not resist these flirty little numbers:

I can't wait to wear them!

Other than those two items, I got a few blouses, and lots of gifts for family.  My one regret is that I didn't buy any Tuscan ceramics.  I looked at it again & again & couldn't decide on a piece, so I walked away with nothing.  Now, I really wish that I'd just gotten something.

So, that is it for my Italy story.  I could go on for days with anecdotes & descriptions, but I know that I couldn't do it justice.

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Coming soon...I went to a flea market today for the first time in a long time & found some goodies!  Also, I've put the finishing touches on my little fall decorations, so I'll be sure to share that as well!

Ciao Bella

We have returned from Italy...and words will not suffice to describe the beauty of it!

Above is the Arno, which goes through Florence & that is the gorgeous view that we stopped to look at every day that we were there.  People live in that gorgeous setting every day of their lives--sigh...!

We had a wonderful, relaxing time.  We walked everywhere & took in everything that our eyes & cameras could consume.  Then, we ate prosciutto & drank wine & sat in piazzas until we were ready to start our adventures again.

(Me, aiming my camera, a common sight last week)

(Florence side street)

We spent the first four days in Florence, with a day trip to Siena, in Tuscany.  We took things in at a leisurely pace--one or two "sites" a day, with a liberal sprinkling of the aforementioned walking & eating interspersed.  Oh! and the shopping!  Be still my heart!  The booths of leather goods in the markets, the shops full of ceramics, the gorgeous clothing stores.  Glenn would say that I spent a little too much time in the shops, but what does he know? :)

(Florence from the top of the Duomo)

The "sites" that we visited included the Uffizi (lots & lots of religious art), the Academia (Michaelangelo's David--stunning), and the main cathedral in Florence, the Duomo.  So named because of its huge red dome that can be seen all over Florence.  We climbed to the top of the dome (not an effort for those who have health issues or are afraid of close spaces!) & were rewarded with the view shown above.  We went over the famous Ponte Vecchio bridge many times.....

(Ponte Vecchio from the end of the bridge)

The Ponte Vecchio is lined on each side with jewelry stores---I fell in love with a ring that was my hearts desire...but, at over 14,000 Euros, it will remain an unrequited love.

(Tuscan Countryside)

On Tuesday, we took a bus through Tuscany to Siena, a smaller town.  There, we visited their Duomo Cathedral (stunning!) & spent a good deal of time drinking wine in the main piazza....

Apparently, once a year, they fill this piazza with sand & have a horse race!

I'm still recovering from a bit of jet lag, so I'm going to sign off now, but I have much more to tell!  I still haven't told you about Rome or the Vatican or what I bought.....

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By the way, the title of this entry, "Ciao Bella" is a phrase that you see on touristy t-shirts over there...it literally means "Hello Beautiful", or "Hey Babe" in slang ...I'm thinking that I'm saying the literal translation to Italy herself.