KITCHEN IS DONE

Another day another room down!  The kitchen is off the living room, off the dining room, and off the guest room...so everything sort of ends up in here since all roads lead through the kitchen, HA!

With a more spacious floor, it's a great place to sit stuff down and then just step around it.  Of course then one thing becomes two and that becomes three, etc.

But then once it's all picked up, it looks much more open.  That bench/cabinet opens up (the top lifts up) and it was full of junk stuff and I cleaned it out and put dishtowels inside (it's a heavy lid and no gaps so it's mouse proof)

Of course, kitchen counters are second only to tabletops for collecting junk stuff.  Above is before...

...and this is after.  We didn't realize it was so big, LOL!  Still need to work on the upper open cabinets.  When we had the house cleaned up and painted inside, we had them put these up, they are just simple 'boxes' hanging on the wall...I'd like to remove them and put up shelving like on the other side.  Speaking of, next up is the other side of the small kitchen...

Again, lots of stuff sitting around without a 'home.  Well, it does HAVE a home, it just hasn't found its way to it yet, ha.  This is a table we bought at Nadeau.  Believe it or not it there is a white marble top under there somewhere...

Oh, THERE it is!  And the stove is usable once again too!  I redid the stuff on the shelves, straightened them up, just to make it look neater and not be so junked up but we'll have to rearrange a few more times I'm sure. 

Farmhouse kitchen

For those curious, here is a view of most of the whole kitchen.  I took this standing in the entryway from the dining room looking back through the kitchen toward the living room entrance (behind that white curtain door on the left).  It's small but functional.  Not a lot of cabinets or drawers but we make do.  That yellow cabinet is what we use for the china, silverware, mixing bowls, drinking glasses, baskets, etc.  Right around the corner of the marble top table is the curtain door into the guest room and our "Julia wall".  There is another special area I'm almost finished with that's a surprise for 2nd Man.  

I'll show you that when it's ready.   :-)

All (and I use the term "all" very loosely) we have left is the dining room and mudroom/pantry room.  They are probably the worst because stuff I've been carrying out of the other rooms on its way to the barn or the mudroom shelving is stacked up there.  But I think I can get it all done with one or two more all day adventures.  

Hope your weekend was productive!

Happy LEAP DAY!

WINTER OR SPRING, SPRING OR WINTER

So yesterday, I was at the farm and it was a beautiful day.

The mesquite trees still think it's Winter...

...and the grass weeds also still think it's Winter...

Fruit tree blooms

...but the fruit trees seem to think Spring is here...they are all starting to bloom, including the ones I haven't gotten in the ground yet...

Roasted chicken with broccolini 

When I came home, 2nd Man had roasted some chicken breasts over a bed of broccolini and we had that with mashed potatoes and gravy.  It was a great and satisfying meal to come home to.  I got the kitchen done (yay!) it was mostly an all day job.  I will have a post tomorrow with before and after pictures.  

We have some errands in town today so it will be a quiet but satisfying end to the weekend.

OFF TO THE FARM

I love this stylized image of a farm, if only it could be this colorful and orderly

ANOTHER day of cleaning up the house at the farm.  Let's see, this posts at 10am, so I will have been there for about 2 hours.

It will be another beautiful day (wish I could be outside doing stuff) and so the windows are open and I'll be tackling the kitchen and dining room and if I have time, the mudroom and porch.  

Let's hope for nothing creepy crawly in drawers or cabinets!

I'll be back late this afternoon and have some more posts.  And of course a longer post with more "before and after" photos soon.  

Hope your weekend is off to a good start!

WHAT DO YOU RUN ON

Saw this sign at the store and thought it was too cute not to snap a picture of and share...

Although I might just have to add "pasta" to mine, LOL!

...so what kind of hybrid are you?  

What do you run on?   

BULBS IN A GALVANIZED CONTAINER INSPIRATION THURSDAY

Every Thursday, we like to post a picture of something we've found online that inspires us to do something similar at the farm.  

Sort of our own blog bulletin board so that we can eventually look back and hopefully recreate it...enjoy!

Flowering bulbs in galvanized tub, image courtesy of southernliving.com

OK, it's time to get some flowers!  I found this photo on Southern Living.  Love love LOVE this.  We like the idea of the galvanized container of course, but then this combination of bulbs is just beautiful (though I think there are a few non bulb type flowers in there).  The galvanized tub makes it look so perfect for use at the farm.  

Of course, I guess most of the year before this blooms, it's just dirt. We suppose that's the downside of bulbs in containers instead of the ground, but hey, something like this is so pretty it almost seems worth it.

Be inspired!

TIN SALT AND PEPPER SHAKERS

Found these in the clearance bin at a store recently, $1.97 for the set...

Retro tin salt and pepper shakers

...and of course just HAD to buy them for the farm.  Not sure how practical they'll be, but come on, they are too cute to pass up!

Any of you find anything special lately?  

OH CRAP

So while I was cleaning, I pulled open a drawer in the dining room cabinet and inside a large red bowl was this:

Scorpion

Needless to say it is dead.  I have no patience for scorpions.  We do not need to have dangerous creatures lurking around in drawers and cabinets and God only knows where else.  It's bad enough that there has been a snake inside the house.  And mice.  These things genuinely creep me out.

I have to laugh though...my Grandmother, who lived in SW Oklahoma, would always tell us to "check the bed for stingin' scorpions (as if there are other kinds?) and mice" right as we climbed into bed.  Yeah, sleep tight Grandma!  They had a great little house in the country, clean and neat, but she always said that.  We laughed, nervously, then.  

Now here I am, all these years later, and it looks like I might once again end up checking the beds for 'stingin scorpions and mice'!  I can hear 2nd Man the first time I suggest that when we spend the night again. 

"Don't step on a snake when you go the bathroom.  
Oh and check the sheets for scorpions.  
And that scratching noise you hear is not a tree branch gently brushing the house but a mouse scurrying along the baseboard.  
Sweet dreams!"

1-800-find-a-hotel-now?

Anyone have any anti-scorpion advice?  Or is is just one of the 'other bugs' you have to deal with like spiders and roaches?

TWO MORE ROOMS DOWN

So Saturday was the next day of clearing things out and putting them where they belong. For those who missed it, we sold our house in town (home for 16 years) and downsized a bit to move to an apartment.  But there were things that didn't fit at the apartment and other things that we still want but don't need in town and they had to go to the farm as well.  Needless to say, things where a bit cluttered.  OK, a lot cluttered.  When carrying things in and your arms are full, it's so easy to just put it on the bed.  Then when that's full, put it on the table.  Then the other bed.  Then the dresser.  Then the couch.  Then the floor.  And then...well, you get the picture.  

Last weekend, it was the sitting area off the bedroom that I worked on, and the weekend before that was the living room.  

This weekend it was time to focus on the bedrooms.

This is the bedroom before.  The bed was filled with stuff.  It was just a matter of putting it all where it would ultimately go.  I also did another culling of stuff and ended up with a couple bags of trash (turns out we didn't need whatever that was after all).

And here it is after!  Everything put up!  Lots of walking back and forth to other rooms to cabinets and drawers and shelves, but it's done, that's all that matters. 

And now the bed is sleep ready, ha!  However, there was no sleeping on Saturday, still lots more to do.

Here is the dresser in the master bedroom, also piled up with stuff...

...and here it is after, cleaned off and looking nice.  Drawers are also organized.  

Next it was into the guest room.  

Look, another dresser piled up with stuff, imagine that!

But it looks much nicer when it's cleared off and neat!  By the way, this dresser is an old child's dresser.  It's still empty (has drawers inside cabinet doors) so we still have room for storing of things.

And here is the bed in the guest room.  YIKES!  Quilts, blankets, knick knacks, cooking supplies, boxes of photos, linens, games, even an electric turkey fryer (we use it for boiling large amounts of water).  So some stuff went to the kitchen, some to other rooms and closets, even the barn (the turkey fryer).

And now the guest room is nice and neat as well. 

Next stop will be the kitchen, the dining room (you should see THAT table, LOL) and mudroom.  Of course, after all that, then comes the porch, and by then, it should be time to mow and edge again. It's never-ending, that's for sure!

Happy Monday!

RACE DAY

Staying in town today, even though I have more rooms to do at the farm (update on progress tomorrow). There is rain on the radar too.  But I'm really staying in because it's NASCAR race day.  The Daytona 500 to be specific.  As this posts, the race is about to start.  We are big fans.  Well not crazy like we dress up or paint Jimmy Johnson's car number on our chests, LOL, but we do enjoy it.

Not sure what it is that's appealing to us, probably the personalities of the drivers, the cars look cool, the speed, and yes, the occasional crash.  There is a racetrack here in Texas, just North of Dallas, one of these days we'll have to make a trip up there to see a race in person.  We understand there is nothing like seeing a race in person.

Hope you are having a great weekend, even though it's almost over!  

Back to work tomorrow.

RIB SHACK RED WINE REVIEW

We like wine.  

But we don't understand all the tasting and smelling notes.  When someone starts talking about tobacco, blackberries, lemon rinds and oaky barrels as a good thing, our minds think "ashtray and trashcan at an orchard"!  We just know what we like and what we don't like.  So occasionally we'll post a review, our own review, it might make you want it or not, you might have a totally different opinion, but hopefully it'll make you laugh.  

It's all good fun right...?

Rib Shack Red wine review

During our "STEAKSGIVING" celebration a couple of months back, we (of course), had grilled steaks.  When I went to the store and the guy asked about the wine I was looking for, I told him we were having grilled steaks.  He said "for Thanksgiving?"  Hey, don't judge!  I told him it was for "Steaksgiving" and after describing it, he laughed and said he understood. 

He directed me to this variety.  It is a blend, meaning it's a combination of wines, in this case Pinotage and Shiraz (not even sure what that first one is but it sure sounds foo foo doesn't it?).  Hey, they even sound fancy as a blend don't they?  

Pardon me but do you have any Grey Poupon? 

This bottle cost $9.89 on sale.

Ribshack Red 2014 Blend Review

It was a good wine.  The color was a rich purple, almost the color of a rare cut of meat. The first sip is surprising because it really is kind of smoky.  I'm sure there is a 'note' that goes along with that in official tasting circles but it really did seem like liquid smoke.  Not that I've guzzled liquid smoke but if you could condense down that aroma that comes from a rack of BBQ ribs after they've been grilled, this would be it.  We could even tell that it was spicy (some things are obvious even if you don't know all the right descriptions).  There is no doubt this was created to add a little something to your BBQ/grilled dinner and that it does.  It's also very smooth after you drink it, no harsh after affects...unless of course you consume too much, well then, we all know how that ends...ahh college...but I digress.

TASTING AND SMELLING NOTES:  

Um...grill smoke, robots, thunder and lightning!

PAIR NICELY WITH: 

A good steak, BBQ sauce (but not mixed together), Transformers the Movie (but only the first one), and of course, friends and family.

BOTTOM LINE:

We enjoyed it, and when we grill or have BBQ again, we'll definitely consider this one.  As an everyday wine though, we feel it would only go best with its namesake...BBQ/grilling.

OFF TO THE FARM

I love this stylized image of a farm, if only it could be this colorful and orderly

As this posts, I'm off to the farm today.  2nd Man is again staying in town.  There are some things he just isn't meant to see, LOL!

So I'll spend another day, hopefully in coolish weather, sorting through more stuff and finding a home for it.  My main goal today is to get the beds (or at least one) cleared off so that we can go back to spending nights out there.  Or more immediately, so I can go out one Saturday here soon and spend the entire weekend finishing it up.  It's funny how when you are moving stuff, any flat surface becomes a great landing pad...and then a Jenga tower. And that's what the beds (and dining room table) have become.

I'll be back late this afternoon and have an update later and with more "after" photos.  And I'll make sure I take "before" photos this time too.

Hope your weekend is a good one!

SLEEPING KITTIES

So while WE'RE at work all day...

Hobart (top) and Brisbane (bottom) sacked out on the couch

...this is going on at home!

Those lucky cats!

TGIF!

MAGICAL NIGHTTIME DINING INSPIRATION THURSDAY

Every Thursday, we like to post a picture of something we've found online that inspires us to do something similar at the farm.  

Sort of our own blog bulletin board so that we can eventually look back and hopefully recreate it...enjoy!

Magical Outdoor dining, image courtesy of Southernliving.com

OK...so you know we have an interest in creating some outdoor space to eat.  With 11 acres, we certainly could find a space big enough for this but of course, it might be a bit pie in the sky.  Still, as any inspiration does (and rightfully should), it doesn't have to be an exact copy, it only has to inspire something like it.  It could be smaller, have fewer lights, etc.  But still, we love love this amazing dining area.  Can you imagine a more magical space for a dinner party?  Special occasion?  An evening Thanksgiving dinner?

Be inspired!

SOLAR CELL PHONE CHARGING STATION

Our apartment just put this station in the pool area...

It's sponsored by one of the local power companies.

There are cables running down the center pole that are for various devices, including phones, tablets and e-readers.

Cell Phone Solar Power Charging Station

And it's all powered by the sun!  

Yep, the three "wings" at the top are solar panels and charge batteries inside the pole.  What a brilliant idea this is.  We love to see little things like this...it's the little things that eventually add up to bigger things and slowly, the world gets a bit 'greener'.  We'd love one of these at the farm, LOL!

AND THE GIVEAWAY WINNER IS...

Thanks to everyone for entering... 

The winner of the book giveaway is:

CONGRATULATIONS!

CLICK HERE for her Google+
CLICK HERE for her blog 

 

We just need you to email us (use the "email me" button on the sidebar) and let us know the address to send it to.

We love doing these but we hate when not everyone can win.  

Thanks to everyone for always leaving such kind comments.  There will be another one coming soon, we have some more books to share!

BRINGING WATER TO THE OTHER HALF OF THE GARDEN

Here is a project I did a couple of weeks ago.  I didn't get pictures so this one is before we covered the the beds for Winter.  I didn't get pictures of it because I didn't have the camera OR the phone while I was doing it.  D'oh!  So this is sort of an 'after' picture of what I did.

A year and half ago (right about now actually!), I had to dig a loooooong trench from the house to the garden so we'd have water out there.  But the faucet only had four connections on it and that would only let me bring water to one half of the garden.  We needed to get it to the other half for any future growing opportunities. 

Water to the other half of the garden

So I bought another hose stand with the four bibs on it just like the one on the opposite side.  Since the hose goes from the house to that side of the garden, I used a Y-connection and attached another hose to it.  Then all I had to do was dig a trench directly across the garden and connect it to the new hose stand on the other side.

Now we have eight connections so the entire garden can have water. We figure if four connections allowed water to half the garden, four more will complete water to the other half so we can (eventually) use all the raised beds.

Next step, calculating how to best utilize the drip irrigation in each bed and their connections to the faucets.  

Spring planning is beginning!

A BIT MORE DONE

 OK...so it was a much slower process than I realized it would be.  Perhaps I was wearing my rose colored glasses.  Or perhaps I was just worn out.  Either way, I got a lot done but it didn't seem like it when I looked around at the end of the day.  I wished I had "before" pics, I thought I already had them on the computer so I organized away and then came home and couldn't find them.  

So these are the "after" pictures.

Ikea shelving unit with storage boxes

This is one side of the sitting area off the master bedroom.  We already had the shelving unit.  We also already had the white storage containers (Ikea), they were just scattered all around.  Now with the sale of the house in town, they are together again.  These will provide all important storage in the small house.  We found the bulletin board years ago at a going out of business sale.  We stored it in the garage in town and to be honest, I forgot about it until we started packing up things.  It's large, about 5' wide, and fits above this storage console perfectly.  My idea for this sitting area is to make it my craft/office area.  The bulletin board will be a great place to pin things and ideas.  Hmm, I guess it's just like an old-school version of "Pinterest", LOL!

Shelves above bookcase

On the opposite wall in the sitting area, we have the same console/shelving unit and we put shelves above it.  They've just been collecting stuff piled up and so it was time to organize.  The jars on top are one gallon jars that we used to have dried herbs in (herbal crafting).  They will be filled again one of these days. 

On the second shelf are our binders of recipes, craft ideas, articles we've taken out of magazines, etc.  Several are even empty, just waiting for new ideas.  I didn't get to the shelving unit below but it will be a work in progress as it will house all our crafting supplies.  As I find them in various boxes, I bring them here.  More on that in a future post.

In the end, I emptied two large boxes and put up a bunch of little stuff in other drawers, rooms, etc. I almost have the foyer/entry way done as well, so that's good.

Bees were good, everything else looked good.  Could have made more of a dent if I had gone Sunday (or spent the night) but it was Valentines Day after all.  

Hope you had a great weekend!

JUST BECAUSE

For 2nd Man...

...just because!

And Happy Valentines Day to all of you as well!

Don't forget, the book giveaway ends tonight at

midnight CST.

Click HERE

(GIVEAWAY ENDED)

OFF TO THE FARM TODAY

I love this stylized image of a farm, if only it could be this colorful and orderly

Off to the farm today.  2nd Man is staying in town.  I refuse to let him see the farmhouse in such disarray, er, unorganized.  He'd look at things and just say "let's get rid of everything we don't need".  Um, we took it out there because we wanted to keep it for future use!  It just isn't in its final resting place (wait, that sounds like something died? LOL).  

So I'll spend the day, in cool weather with windows open, a breeze blowing, through the house, sorting through a couple more rooms of stuff.  More pictures (before and after) coming soon.

I'd like to do some outside stuff this weekend but we'll just have to see how it goes.  The outside can't really be worked over a weekend if we can't get to a bed to sleep, or a couch to rest, or a table to eat on.  

Hope your weekend is off to a great start!

DON'T FORGET TO ENTER THE BOOK GIVEAWAY, CLICK THIS LINK

It ends tomorrow night!

BARREL JAR STORAGE

I have a fetish.  Now don't go all 50 Shades of Gray on me, it's a JAR fetish.  I love storage jars because I like being able to see what we have (and how much left).  Recently, I found these great "barrel jars" by Anchor Hocking.

Anchor Hocking Barrel Jars with Handles

I bought six of them for the farm (they were on sale at HomeGoods).  We filled three of them (well, looking at this photo, maybe "filled" is not 100% accurate, LOL) with lentils and rice.  The other three are waiting to be filled.  Then I got out the handy dandy label maker and printed up some clear labels.  2nd Man loves the handles because he can pull one off the shelf and carry it quickly to the counter. We are hoping this keeps the bugs out and they are definitely 100% mouse proof so that's good.  

It's a (small) part of cleaning up and organizing the mudroom/pantry at the farm. Of course, I only did this one shelf once we got the jars but I'll keep chipping away at it!  Good weather is here for the weekend, a bit cool according to the forecast, but that's OK, we'll take it.  

Gotta get that house straightened up before Spring comes so I can focus on the outside then!