Things as they ought to be…

July 28, 2013 by Cynthia Leave a Comment

A vintage enamel bucket next to my garden hydrangeas in a milk glass vase. Classic combo.

I try to make life a little easier these days. Without time enough in the day to do all the things I want to do requires me to prioritize that which is most important.

As such, I try to find furnishings for my home that need not be changed in order for me to like it. I want things that I love in their “as found” condition. I’d be a happy girl if I never picked up a block sander and paintbrush again. I’d rather spend time admiring something’s prettiness than trying to cajole it into something else.

A couple of months ago, I found a rusty, vintage nine piece wrought iron patio set. My first order of business was to get it powder coated to pretty up the finish. But then I thought “no”…let’s not worry about perfection. Let’s just let it be.

A new outdoor rug, some custom cushions, a few market items from Pottery Barn and we are good to go.

So here you have it. A summer porch with rusty furniture. And frankly, I couldn’t be happier.

I hope you find some inspiration.

xoxo.

Always,

Cindy

Rusty and the refined. Linen pillows, custom cushion make these some very comfortable vintage rocking chairs.

Big blue striped pillows, a lantern filled with sand, shells and citronella and an antique pewter mailbox all feel very coastal.

The stripes in the rug play against the flag stripes, the blue in the pillows play against the blue in the flag.

An vintage camp chair covered with a vintage grain sack that can be used for extra seating and folded up when not in use.

Filed Under: Antique Finds, My Home, Projects, Uncategorized Tagged With: barn, blur, cottage, country, cushions, independence day, july 4th, patriotic, porch, pottery, pottery barn, red, seagrass, summer, vintage, white, woodward patio furniture, wrought iron

That Simple Moment of Happiness…

May 21, 2013 by Cynthia Leave a Comment

Farmer’s Market Eggs.

Farm to Table Lemons.

Freshly Squeezed Lemon Juice.

Sometimes everything you have is everything you need at that moment. A content moment, although fleeting, feels second nature. Maybe it’s a belly laugh at a good joke, a picture that conjures up a fond memory or crashing into a song on the radio that you loved, but haven’t heard in a while. Or maybe, just maybe, it is a simple as enjoying a helping of good food that rings every bell on your palette.

Memorial Day is the last hurrah of Spring and the signal of warm, balmy days to come . It is also the time of year that I make the ever Patriotic Flag Cake. An Ina Garten recipe that I have been making for years, it is a lovely and moist lemon sour cream pound cake base with cream cheese frosting and an abundance of farm market fresh strawberries and blueberries that celebrate the red, white and blue. Add a bit of my homemade raspberry lemonade as a chaser and everything you have is everything you need for that simple moment of happiness.

Recipe is below, enjoy and above all, have a happy and safe Memorial Day.

I hope you find some inspiration.

We Remember.

Always,

Cindy

Farm Fresh Blueberries and Strawberries

Flag Cake Recipe

Ingredients

18 tablespoons (2 1/4 sticks) unsalted butter at room temperature
3 cups sugar
6 extra-large eggs at room temperature
1 cup sour cream at room temperature
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
3 cups flour
1/3 cup cornstarch
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon baking soda

For the icing:

1 pound (4 sticks) unsalted butter at room temperature
1 1/2 pounds cream cheese at room temperature
1 pound confectioners’ sugar, sifted
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

To assemble:

2 half-pints blueberries
3 half-pints raspberries

Directions

Heat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Butter and flour an 18 by 13 by 1 1/2-inch sheet pan.

Cream the butter and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment on high speed, until light and fluffy. On medium speed, add the eggs, 2 at a time, then add the sour cream and vanilla. Scrape down the sides and stir until smooth.

Sift together the flour, cornstarch, salt, and baking soda in a bowl. With the mixer on low speed, add the flour mixture to the butter mixture until just combined. Pour into the prepared pan. Smooth the top with a spatula. Bake in the center of the oven for 20 to 30 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool to room temperature.

For the icing, combine the butter, cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, mixing just until smooth.

Spread three-fourths of the icing on the top of the cooled sheet cake. Outline the flag on the top of the cake with a toothpick. Fill the upper left corner with blueberries. Place 2 rows of raspberries across the top of the cake like a red stripe. Put the remaining icing in a pastry bag fitted with a star tip and pipe two rows of white stripes below the raspberries. Alternate rows of raspberries and icing until the flag is completed. Pipe stars on top of the blueberries.

I serve this cake right in the pan. If you want to turn it out onto a board before frosting, use parchment paper when you grease and flour the pan.

Filed Under: Holiday and Seasonal, Recipes, Uncategorized Tagged With: cake, cottage, country, Day, flag, garten, holiday, ina, Memorial, patriotic, recipe

We Remember.

May 24, 2012 by Cynthia Leave a Comment

Flags 'n Flowers.

Lunch Sack Luminaries

I think that old houses are meant to be decorated for the holidays. These luminaries are a project that can change with the seasons.

Lunch Sack Vintage Patriotic Luminaries, with a little patience, are easier than you would think. I created these in MS Power Point. The key is to create a custom page size ( to mirror the size of a lunch sack) in the advance options button in the printing box. You will also want to adjust the type of paper setting (set it for thicker paper) and probably, depending on your printer, use the manual feed tray. The patience part comes from figuring out which way to load the lunch sack…each printer loads differently so experiment until you get it right.

A little trial and error for image placement and some vintage Victorian clip art and it is a great way to pay homage to the men and women who have fallen.

I hope you and your family have a wonderful and safe holiday weekend.

Always,

Cindy

We Remember.

Beautiful Vintage Victorian Images.

For the Fallen.

Patriotic Finials.

Filed Under: Holiday and Seasonal, Projects Tagged With: cottage, country, holidays, house, luminaries, lunch, old, patriotic, porch, sack

Pretty Porches

May 15, 2012 by Cynthia 2 Comments

Sit a spell, if you please.

I feel really lucky to live in such a great neighborhood. You sit on your front porch and people walk about and say hello, offer a compliment for your yard work or stop to pet your dog. Two years ago, after Christmas, one of my neighbors (whom I have never met) placed a photograph of my house taken during the holidays in my mailbox. We had a White Christmas that year and she thought that my house looked so lovely with the snow and holiday decorations that she took a picture and left it for me, in the event I was out of town that day and missed it. Now THAT’S what I am talking about. As I said, I feel really lucky to live in this lovely little Anytown, USA.