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Under a Blue Moon

Decor, cooking, organization, all the pretty things

Buttermilk Pie

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This pie is a guaranteed winner.  With pie season coming up (Thanksgiving is really all about the pies, is it not?) I thought I would share my Buttermilk Pie that goes great with the standbys like pumpkin and pecan.  I say "my" but this recipe is really a classic.  It has a kind of vintage vibe to it – like something your Grandma would have baked.  This pie works in any season, by the way, not just the Fall.  

This pie won't win any beauty pageants but it makes up for it in taste.  It develops this lovely sugary crust on the top and is a creamy custard on the inside.

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I'm also going to share a tip with you that has saved me from pouring gallons of buttermilk down the drain over the years.  You know when a recipe calls for 1/4 cup of buttermilk but the store only sells it in quarts?  Drives me nuts.  Dry buttermilk is what you want.  It is sold in the baking aisle (look on the top or bottom shelf) or you can order it online.  I store it in the fridge and it keeps for a really long time.  You generally add with the dry ingredients and add the equivalent amount of water to the wet ingredients but for this pie you mix it together before hand and add it. 

Pie ingredients

Buttermilk Pie

Preheat oven to 350° F

  • 9" pie crust (recipe of your choice or pre-made – we aren't here to judge)
  • 4 eggs
  • 1/2 cup butter softened
  • 1 1/3 cup buttermilk (or 5 1/4 Tbsp. Dry Buttermilk mixed with 1 1/3 cups water)
  • 2 cups sugar
  • 4 Tbsp. flour
  • 1 1/2 tsp. vanilla
  • 1 Tbsp. lemon juice
  • 1/8 tsp. grated nutmeg

Beat the eggs well, add butter, sugar and flour.  Mix until smooth.  Add the buttermilk, vanilla, nutmeg and lemon juice and mix well.  Pour into the unbaked pie shell.  Bake for 60 minutes (check at 50 minutes and every five minutes thereafter until a knife inserted comes out clean).

Let chill in the refrigerator for at least two hours before serving.

I hope you'll try it – if you do let me know what you think.

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September 19, 2017 12:01 am Andrea Filed Under: Food

Friday Favorites

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when I was 9,  ◊  pink roses  ◊  You are a Prize  ◊  Bokeh, Milk & Honey

 

FF3

  • We just had a weekend of 100 degree temperatures but that doesn't stop me from pretending it is Fall.  I'm already putting out the mini pumpkins and have candles burning everywhere.  I have a particular fondness for Rosy Ring Candles.  First off they are just beautiful and last forever.  And they all smell heavenly.  They can be a bit pricy but I can assure they are worth every penny.  The Pumpkin Farmhouse is the perfect scent to usher in Fall.
  • I love this lipstick stained mug.  Available here.
  • These are the prettiest paper plates you will ever see.  I used them for a baby shower for my daughter in law and they were the perfect touch for the afternoon tea theme.  Everyone commented on them.  
  • This is a few years old but I absolutely love this tiny apartment tour.  It's like a little jewel box.  

I, for one, am completely over the hot weather.  It was a reasonable 80 around here today but I need it to come down another 15 degrees.  I'm so ready to bust out the fall decor.  I have a few pumpkin (faux and real) scattered about but I want that crisp air and scent of falling leaves in the air.  

My mother in law is coming to visit this weekend an other than a lunch outing we'll keep it low key.  I have a stack of decorating magazines and books I want to spend some time with.  

I hope you have a splendid weekend!

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September 15, 2017 12:01 am Andrea Filed Under: Favorites

Rosie and Grace

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I thought I would introduce you to Grace and Rosie (L to R).  Aren't they pretty?  They are Ragdoll sisters that we rescued on New Year's Day on January 1st, 2016.  

When we got them they were seven months old (best guesstimate from our vet) and very shy.  The situation they were rescued from was a hoarder/breeder way up in the northern part of California where they (and all the other cats "rescued") were sent to a high kill DOG shelter (!).  There is this fabulous organization called PureBred Plus that heard there were Ragdolls at this shelter so they rallied the troops and went up there and rescued any cats that hadn't already been euthanized.    

We had just lost our Belle earlier in December.  Rick and I have had a cat (or two) just about our entire lives together.  There was such a void when Belle died and we didn't want too much time to pass before getting another cat.  I liked the idea of getting a sibling pair.

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Hey pretty girl.  

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You too, my shy one.

They were so shy when we first got them.  I just hate to think of what trauma/situation they endured before they were rescued.   We are a calm household and before long they were exploring and getting to know us.  They are still shy around strangers, particularly women.  They will warm up to you if you speak quietly.   My more exuberant friends have never met them because as soon as they hear them – WOOOSH – out to the garage they run.  

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Grace (the darker one) is the shier, more reticent of the two.  She is also more delicate boned than Rosie.  Rosie is very sturdy and a bit less skittish.  Ragdolls are generally large cats but they have seemed to have topped off at the nine or ten pound mark.  Ragdolls can weigh in the twenties!  They have the eponymous characteristic of being super floppy when you pick them up.  It's the funniest thing.  

They both have the most beautiful blue eyes.  Grace's tips and tail are darker than Rosie's.  I have had people accuse me of getting them because they match my decor.  As if…

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Okay maybe just a little.  

As I mentioned we are a calm household which helps them feel more secure and less stressed.  Something I swear by is Feliway by Ceva.  It's a plug-in that release calming phermones into the air.  Be sure you get the Ceva brand.  There is another Feliway brand (Comfort Zone) that is not as effective.  I order it from Amazon since I can't find the Ceva brand in any store.  Grace had a bit of an issue where if the bed was left unmade she would hop up and pee on it!  Talk about a commentary on my housekeeping skills.  Sheesh.  We put the plug-ins in our room and the guest room and haven't had a problem since.  

Another item I HIGHLY recommend is the Chom Chom pet hair remover.  Seriously THE best pet hair remover.  It doesn't work so well on a person (like if you were trying to get pet hair off your wool pants) but it works fabulously on furniture and rugs.  

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One last recommendation – if you have a cat get the Litter Genie.  We have three cat boxes, two in the garage and one in my office.  The vet recommended for multi-cat homes get one more cat box than you have cats.  The Litter Genie really does keep the cat waste smell in the Genie.   

Before I sign off I wanted to post one last picture of our dear, sweet Belle.  She was a cat with a big personality and we achingly miss her.  I like to think her spirit still hangs around, bringing us spirit bats and snakes, like she want wont to do when she was alive (with the live versions).  She was fierce hunter and loyal companion and we miss her terribly.   

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September 12, 2017 12:01 am Andrea Filed Under: Musings

Friday Favorites

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                                    Buttons, ◊ cranberry, ◊ scritch, ◊ Letters

 

FF3

  • Lovely Etsy shop:  Nicholas and Steele.  Love the selection of marmalade jars
  • I've been wanting a good, meaty book to get into.  Has anyone read The Weight of Ink?
  • I'm in love with this Instagram feed:  Maison de Cinq.  I can totally get behind white pumpkin for Autumnal decor
  • Fascinating look at Getting dressed in the 18th century.  Plus you learn the origin of Lucy Locket Lost her Pocket and pinafore.  

I wanted to say thank you to everyone that came over from my Nicole's blog (Sister's Choice Quilts).  It was lovely to see so many visitors and such nice comments.

It has finally cooled down here this week and I've thoroughly enjoyed just sitting outside, enjoying the fountains and cooler breezes.  It is supposed to warm up again this weekend but nothing like the blistering temperatures of last weekend.  We are heading for the coast on Saturday, so hopefully we'll beat the heat anyway.

Have a fabulous weekend! 

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September 8, 2017 12:01 am Andrea Filed Under: Favorites

The Garden

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Since it was about 194 degrees out this weekend I thought I would stand outside and take some pictures for you.  It was weirdly overcast which does make for good outdoor picture taking.  

Our property is very shallow but wide so we have a long, bowling alley like backyard.  We have tried to divide it into a few distinct areas to break it up a bit.

Let stand back and get the full effect:

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The door you see leads to the garage and the sticky out part of the house is the sitting room.  We had new French doors installed that lead out the space you see in the first picture. 

We also had a pergola built for us and we just had a new fence built.  The old one fell down in a storm a winter or two ago and was propped back up with a lot of metal posts and optimism.  

When we first moved into the house four years ago there was a deck right off the sitting room.  We removed it and had a step put in instead and a walkway that you see along the garage.  The area from the lawn to the fence (waaay back there, behind the pine tree) sloped so we terraced it and put in a step made from some old railroad ties.  It helps with defining the different areas.

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We also laid some gravel that looks like pea gravel but actually has sharper edges so it packs down better.  I wanted the look to be very organic and vaguely European.

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I have had this wall fountain since the mid-90s.   I paid $65 for it which seemed extravagant at the time.   

If you'll follow me up the step we'll enter our outdoor dining room.

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That concrete table weighs a ton and took four or five men to set up.  It's not going anywhere.  I have plans to put a chandelier on a post in the middle of the table.  Stay tuned for that.  I haven't figured it out yet but I will.

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I decided to see how impatiens would do at this house.  I think they are happy here.  The chair used to be planted with succulents but they outgrew it so I repotted them in two urns and planted the chair with more impatiens, a fuschia and lamium.  

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That section of fence and gate wasn't replaced when the rest of the fence was put up.  It was in decent enough shape and staining it to match the new fence gave it a much needed face lift.  My birdcage stands out now where before it just blended right in.  We have had the best luck with statice.  It just blooms and blooms and blooms.

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Hi Mr. Squirrel.  

Okay let's head back to the other end…

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I do wish the hummingbirds would actually eat out of the pretty feeders that are out there.  They refuse to, though, and insist on the ugly red and yellow ones.  That tree is glorious in the Fall.  Well I think so because I just enjoy the gorgeous reds, pinks and golds the leaves turn.  Rick, on the other hand, is in charge of raking…

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Tucked just past the garage is the garden shed and a bench so I can sit comfortably while I watch Rick rake.  The lawn is looking a little scrappy here but like I said it has been eight bobillion degrees here lately.

Oh hi again Mr. Squirrel.

Squirrel

(Crap picture taken with tablet, through the sitting room window…)

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So there you have it.  The back garden.  We had a vision and this year it finally all came together.  Now we can just sit out back and enjoy it.

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September 5, 2017 12:01 am Andrea Filed Under: Garden

Friday Favorites

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1. Texas treasures, 2. Vintage velvetish Love, 3. Buttons in Vintage Lucite Box, 4. Gown

 

FF3

  • Where would you put this sign?  
  • I love all white and pale neutral decor (I'm slowly trying to redo our house without Rick noticing…) – Lots of Instagram inspiration at @farmhouseonboone and on Lisa Bass's blog:  Farmhouse on Boone
  • For Alice Hoffman lovers – she has a new book coming out in October.  The Rules of Magic is the prequel to Practical Magic and it is at the top of my book wish list
  • A little levity in all the tragic and heart breaking news coming out of Texas.  On a more serious note – NPR has a comprehensive list of organizations you can reach out to if you want to help

Our weekend plans are to stay perfectly still.  It is supposed to get to 112° F today.  What the actual heck (not the word I really want to use…)?  So indoor activities it is.  I'm working on a "Pique Assiette" project that I really need to finish.  Details will, of course, be shared when it is done.   It's turning out very pretty, if I do say so myself, but it is soooo tedious.  Perfect project to work on when you are trying to just stay put for the weekend.  

I hope yours is lovely!

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September 1, 2017 12:01 am Andrea Filed Under: Favorites

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