Soup Time!

I love making soup!  Today I made a wonderful potato soup!  I did take a few pictures, but they just don't do the soup justice (I am definitely not a food photographer!

I started by cooking cubed (smallish bite size) red potatoes with onions in my favorite Calpholon pot!  That took about 15 minutes so, on a medium high heat, stirring every so often.  Oh, I used a combination of butter and olive oil.  I then added some fresh mushrooms, salt & pepper, and cooked that for another 5 minutes.

Then add chicken broth (I've been using Rachael Ray's low sodium chicken broth), dried italian seasoning (rub through your fingers to break it up and release the wonderful aroma), some thyme (just a bit), black beans (canned), and a handful of elbow pasta. I also added about 1/2 cup of heavy cream for a creamy soup, of course, you can omit this if you want.  Cook that until the pasta and potatoes are cooked, and you have a hot, comforting meal!  

We had this for lunch, so I also made an argula salad (the potato soup doesn't have a lot of color, so this is a good way to brighten up the meal.  I added sliced cucumbers and tomatoes, and I love just using a bit of olive oil and balsamic vinegar.

I also had some leftover french bread, so I cubed that, placed it on a piece of foil, sprinkled olive oil and melted butter on it, sprinkled with italian seasoning and garlic salt, in the oven at 350 for about 5 minutes, then broil for about 2 minutes (watch it carefully).  This was perfect not only on the salad, but so yummy in the soup too!

Enjoy!!

Jen

Thank You!

Happy Veteran's Day!

Thank you to all who sacrifice for our country!

Milk Glass for Weddings

Beautiful!

 

 

I love it when my customers share their photo's of what they have done with their purchase from one of my Etsy shops!

This is some of the milk glass Ria bought from me for her wedding!

Gorgeous tablescape!

 Ria has a beautiful Etsy shop that you must check out!

Cute pompoms!

 

 

Lovely table runner

 

 

 Be sure to check out Ria's Etsy shop!  You're sure to find something you just must have!

Happy shopping!!

Jen

My latest obsession!

Well this blogger thing is not working right, but anyways, I just started dying today, for my first time.  Wait, dying doesn't sound right.  But anyways, I'm no obsessed and will be dying more tomorrow.  The Ritz website has formulas for lots of colors! Oh my!

A box of Ritz Dye and the fun begins!

 

 

 

 

Dying vintage linens!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

     

Organized!

This is what I've been up to!

I've been on a cleaning and organizing kick!  We have a bedroom attached our master bedroom, which was perfect as a nursery when our kid's were babies!

 Several years ago my husband, Bob, turned it into my very own (well he's allowed to have one dresser in there) walk-in closet/dressing room!

Love my shoes!

But I soon made a mess of it, and finally decided I needed to bring back the organized beauty!

Sorry the pics are a bit blurry, but you get the idea!  You can also see that I love vintage hats and Barbies!

I love my chandelier!!

Baskets and bins are labeled

It's still a work in progress!  I want to get all of my clothes color coordinated, and I'm not sure if I want to keep that dresser in the closet.

I also got rid of a lot of "stuff"!  Tons of clothes that I wasted money on and barely wore, all donated to Goodwill.

Cute needlepoint ladies made by my Mom

These days, for me, it's all about simplifying!  I'm on a roll, and will keep you posted on more improvements to my cute room!

Happy organizing!

Jen
 

Happy Weekend!

The weekend is here (in case you didn't notice)!

Unpaid advertisement

 Tonight is a fun night at Crocker Park in Westlake, Ohio!  There's a huge outdoor wine tasting/party!  There will be a live band and tons of wine and appetizers!  You should join the fun!

More unpaid advertisements

 So what fun things do you have planned for the weekend!  I'd love to hear from you!!

Happy Weekend!

Jen

Hi there!

Hey everyone! I've been busy cleaning and organizing my house, which is quite unusual for me!  I'm not sure what has come over me!

Vintage cream and sugar set

 I've also been busy listing pretties in my three Etsy shops!

Here's just few of my latest items!

German Porcelain Serving Bowl

 

Small milk glass compote

Zeh Scherzer Bavarian Tea Set

I will be sure to invite all of you when I have a tea party!

Happy Autumn!

Jen

Blog Help Please!

Just look at my silly blog header!  I don't know how to create a pretty header, and I need help, as you can see!

Any advice would be appreciated!

Jen

I brought swimming goggles on vacation

What was I thinking!?

We just returned from our August vacation to Cocoa Beach Florida.  It was me, Bob, Mark, and Katherine.

Mark is 21 years old and Katherine is 20 years old.  I can't remember the last time they used swimming goggles, but for some reason, I brought them on vacation with us!  Maybe it's a bit of denial that they are no longer kids (although most vacations involved a lot of fighting between the two of them!).

Katherine up in a tree

I have to admit, I enjoyed our vacation this year, and relaxed (as much as I can).  Anyone that knows me, knows that I cannot sit still for too long.  Laying out in the beach is fun for, maybe an hour, after that, I have to move!

My cute "babies"

 Katherine and I always have fun together, just doing the most normal of things, because we don't keep them normal!  She always wanted to go to the Winn Dixie grocery store because she read about it in a book, so we walked there, and that in itself was a fun adventure!

Look closely and you'll see a cute dog driving this large vehicle!

I cannot stand pictures of myself, but I'm really trying not to be so hard on myself.  It's tough getting old!

So there you go, a few pictures of my summer vacation.  I just wish summer would never end!  I don't like wearing layers of clothes, coats, boots, and all that heavy stuff!

Jen

 

Tea party time!

I keep saying I want to have a tea party or a garden party!  But wait, I don't have a garden, so forget the garden party idea!

I just love the thought of an old fashioned (or old fashion?) tea party, where the ladies are wearing gloves and pretty dresses!

I love an eclectic mix of saucers and plates, it's so fun creating collections!

I'm ready for a tea party!! Care to join me!!?

Jen