Under a Blue Moon

Friday’s Favorites

Flickr Favorites (please click link to see the source of these beautiful images)

Okay now HERE are five food groups I can get behind
Drat! It's sold out but if it is ever back in stock this is my new iPhone cover
I think I might need a sign like this by my front door
Pretty necklace. I am drawn to blue stones in my jewelry, aren't I?
LOVE these cards. Love the simplicty, the sentiment and the typefaces.

We had two days of tolerable temperatures and this weekend it is back up to the 90's. What is up with that? I plan on doing some Fall pots on the deck (which is nearing completion – I can feel it…) and doing some major cooking (and freezing). Stocking up my larder for the cruel months ahead. You know – for when it's in the 70's.

Have an absolutely delightful weekend!

9.15.11

This is kind of fun. Wordle. You type in the URL of your blog (or any blog) and it comes back with the most frequently/recently used words. Alternatively you can make a custom one by entering a block of text (of what ever words your want).

Might be fun for an invitation, announcment or save the date type of notice.

Evidently I've been yammering on about apples lately…

9.13.11

Keeping with the apple theme – I also made apple butter this weekend. Truly the easiest recipe ever.

I wish I had a better picture but my props got eaten before I could reshoot.

I loosely followed this recipe for apple butter with the following changes – I peeled and chopped my apples into a 1/2 inch dice. I filled my 5 qt. crock pot about 3/4 the way full with the apples. Then I added 1 1/2 cups sugar (most of the reviews said the recommended amount was way too much), a heaping tsp. of cinnamon, scant 1/4 tsp. of cloves and a pinch of salt.

I cooked on high for an hour then turned it down to low and cooked it for about 24 hours, stirring every couple of hours. When I turned off the crock pot I blended it with my immersion blender. Perfect. Very silky.

It yielded about two and half pints of apple butter.

As an added bonus the house smelled fabulous all weekend long.

9.10.11

Normally I don't post on Saturdays but I couldn't resist the date. I love when the numbers line up like that.

Yesterday I made my friend Keith come over and pick apples with me. Our two trees have been very prolific this year and the apples were starting to jump off the trees.

I have no idea what the varieties are – one tree produces apples with a vaguely Golden Delicious flavor to it and the other one has tart apples on it. Neither are particularly good eating apples but they do cook up nicely.

Luckily for Keith and me he brought his daughter with him so we made her go up the ladder and pick them from the higher branches. She is infinitely more agile than either of us.

Next year I want one of those old three legged orchard ladders. I think it would a look a little more charming than our day-glo yellow fiberglass one (which is stage left, out of camera range).

I baked one pie and have a pot of apple butter simmering with my windfall.

The pie recipe is used is this one. It has a ton of great reviews and I like the story of how the woman's grandmother wouldn't have known what all the fuss was about – it was just her standard apple pie recipe. And her granddaughter loves how, with one simple little recipe, her grandmother has entered so many kitchens and has joined many families at their tables.

Even though it is still in the 90's today there is a suggestion of Fall in the air. That subtle breeze and the first of the leaves dropping from the trees. The smell of apples cooking sure adds to that Fall feeling.

There is something really rewarding about taking something that grew in your own garden and making something out of it.

Friday’s Favorites

Flickr Favorites (please click link to see the source of these beautiful images)

Lovely tissue tassle garland tutorial. Someone needs to have a festive party so I can make one
Another fun DIY party project: Animal candle holders (honestly I just need to become a party planner. That seems like the best job ever)
I'm thinking I'll need this book when it comes out in October: The Book of Fine Linen (and whoops I forgot my dream job is to have my own linen shop. Party planning on the side I suppose….)
Free printable vintage Halloween downloads. Never too early to start planning for Halloween
Pretty Fall earrings (any excuse for new earrings!)

Well this week just flew by. The short work week sure helped. It is supposed to be hot as blazes this weekend so I think we'll just try to move as little as possible. Frozen cocktails might be on the agenda.

Happy Weekend Everyone!

9.7.11

We were quite productive on our long weekend. One of the projects I completed was painting a small table and two chairs.

Originally they were white but over the years the paint has started peeling and degrading so when you sit on the chairs you are covered in a white powdery mess.

How I got the set is kind of an interesting story. I probably shared it here before but to refresh your memory…

I went to one of my favorite antique malls to just browse and noticed all the vendors were busy packing up their booths. One of the vendors explained to me that the company that ran the antique mall hadn't paid their rent in months and they got notice that the doors were going to be padlocked in 24 hours. So they were all scrambling to pack up their inventory.

I had been eyeing this table and chairs but since I didn't really need it I couldn't justify the price. It is not an antique but I like the looks of them. The vendor said that if I wanted anything he would give me 50% off but not to pay for them at the cash register. He didn't think the antique mall should get their cut of his sale under the circumstances. I told him what I wanted (I also got a decorative metal wall hanging) and he met me out in the parking lot with the goods.

It felt like an illicit drug deal or something.

Now that the deck is very near completion and we are setting up the rest of the outdoor furniture this set just looked too shabby. And not in a good, chic kind of way.

So I got out a wire brush and scrubbed the pieces down and them primered them black and then painted them with Rustoleum's Multicolor textured paint in kind of a bronzey-brown color (made for outdoor furniture).

I definitely recommend primering with a dark color first if you are going from light to dark. My first attempt (using up an entire can) was unsuccessful. So I bought spray primer and then tried again. I still have a few spots that need to be touched up so I need one more can.

All in all – I'm pleased with how they turned out.

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