Autumn Decor

I thought I might share a few pictures of 

my Autumn decor with you.

The fireplace in the living room....

The kitchen...

The dining room...

Close to Halloween, I will add the jack-o-lanterns and more.

Hydrangea Pinny

Oh Linen, how I love thee.....

Yet another wonderful piece of linen

that I had been saving for a special "something"...

of course that something is an apron.

A tea pinny....

Robin's egg blue linen with hydrangea.

Vintage crochet doily on pocket with 

mother of pearl buttons....

Mother of pearl accents at neckline....

And a very feminine drape to the apron....

Well, this might be my favorite yet.

I am listing it for sale....HERE.

Apple Harvest Cake

Fall is soon upon us.

The apple orchard is ready for picking.

The first apples of the harvest were the start of

one of my family's favorite desserts...

a fall tradition...

Apple Harvest Cake.

I thought I would share the recipe with you here....

It is marvelously delicious!!

I promise you won't be disappointed!

Apple Harvest Cake

4 cups peeled and diced apples

2 cups sugar

Mix together and let stand for 1 hour.

To apple/sugar mixture, add:

1 cup light olive oil

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla

Mix and add dry ingredients:

3 cups flour

2 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. cinnamon

2 tsp. nutmeg

Mix and add:

1 cup chopped walnuts

Bake in greased and floured Bundt pan

350 degrees for 1 hour.

Frost with your favorite butter cream or cream cheese frosting.

(I had no cream cheese so I made some whipped cream and added

that to my butter cream frosting....light and yummy!)

You  can bake this in muffin pans (adjust time) and leave
unfrosted for a delicious breakfast muffin.

In Love With Linen

I have no idea why,

but I absolutely love linen.

I love the natural feel, 

the crispness (when ironed),

how it drapes (when not).

I have had this small piece of linen

for some time now....

waiting for some project.

Of course....an apron,

in the farmgirl style,

but dressed up like she's serving tea...

with antique crochet lace around the neckline

and adorning each pocket.

I think I will call this one...

"Autumn Rose Tea Apron"

Now to list it in my shop...

Here.

A recent trip to one of my favorite antique malls 

yielded this wonderful old birdcage.

I thought it would be the perfect place for decorative vignettes.

A little of this and a little of that...

a tiny candle lamp

and a tiny cast iron pup in the front...

A new bit of eye candy for the guest room...

Henhouse Decor

Autumn is soon upon us.

And with Autumn comes pumpkins and gourds

and Halloween decor.

For now, though, the style of my dining room is...

"Early Henhouse"!

My dining room table arrangement is an old chicken feeder.

The sideboard has gone to the birds,

with an old egg carrier, egg scale and clay chicken.

There is an old egg basket hanging inside the door,

and the quilts on the wall are the perfect accompaniment.

Very soon I will replace these items with Fall decor.

But for now....

a tribute to my gals in the henhouse!

A Surprise

I just finished this apron.

It is going out in the mail...

part of a goodie box 

from a contest on my farm blog.

Chickens....appropriate for a farm give-away!

The rest of the box will be packed with goodness

from the farm.

Destination....sunny, warm Florida!

Sure hope the recipient likes it!

Antique lace,

Soft flowing linen,

In a minty shade of lemongrass....

A sweet, ruffled pinafore...

Perfect for gathering the harvest

of Indian Summer.

Garden chores

with a friend....

Picking flowers...

This is the prototype for a pinafore apron.

I have been dreaming of linen aprons

with soft, flowing lines,

maximum coverage,

feminine,

reminiscent of a more romantic time period.

Today I drew the plans on tissue paper

(I save tissue paper, iron it, and reuse it for patterns),

and worked until the pinafore was finished.

Making Hay

We brought in the hay this weekend.

With the help of a neighbor and his equipment,

we cut and baled and stored about 400 bales of hay.

We had harvested 800 bales earlier this summer.

Luckily, 3 of our 4 kids were home to help with the job.

Traditionally, we have a big supper after hay harvest...

to celebrate a job well done.

This time I decided to go all out and try a whole bunch of recipes

from a book that I just received as a gift.

(Thank you Eileen....I LOVE it!!)

This book if full of beautiful pictures and wonderful

recipes from restaurants in the Brandywine River Valley, PA.

As I digested each page, I made a list of recipes

that I wanted to try.

Today I tried them all....

in one delicious feast of a dinner.

I have to say, though, I cooked all day long.

(It was worth it!)

Menu

Wild mushroom and jumbo lump crab soup 

(fabulous...I will include recipe below)

Leek and herb tart

 Pan Roasted Corn and Tomato Salad

(from the New York Times)Click for recipe

Individual loaves of herbed wheat bread

(herbs out of the garden)

London Broil, marinaded in our secret family recipe.

"Scallops From the Garden"

pan seared,

on a bed of homegrown, sauteed succotash,

with a pesto drizzle....

beautiful as well as delicious.

I garnished with fresh parsley and Nasturtium blossoms.

This book is a treasure....

a feast for the eyes as well as the palate.

Our dinner was wonderful...

the perfect ending to a hard day's work.

Much thanks to our kids for offering their time and strength!

Wild Mushroom and Jumbo Lump Crab Soup

2 tbsp. olive oil

1/2 cup sherry

1 pound portabella, shiitake, and white mushrooms, sliced

(Pa is the Mushroom Capital...so these are local for us!)

1 quart chicken stock

1 pint heavy cream

salt and pepper to taste

In large pan, heat olive oil and sherry.

Add mushrooms and saute until tender.

Add stock.

Bring to a boil, then turn down to simmer.

Add heavy cream, simmer.

Add crab meat, and salt and pepper.

Serve...yummy!

Re-purposing Idea

Yesterday, I dumped this 50 lb. bag of birdseed 

into the bin that we store it in on the front porch.

Every time I empty one of these bags,

I feel like there is something I should be doing with

the bag rather than adding it to the trash.

It is some sort of woven plastic fabric;

and I don't think it's recyclable.

So I saved it, cleaned it out and brought it into my sewing room.

One cut, and a few seams later and here is the repurposed bag....

Ready to use for groceries or storage....a tough tote bag.

You can make two totes from one 50 lb bag.  

Simply cut the bag in half across the middle.

Open the bottom and top seams.

Sew a seam across the bottom

and square your corners.

Fold down the top and hem.

Add straps.

And that's it.