Catch-up Time

It has been so long since I blogged. Life happened and I was packed and ready to move to Virginia when I got a series of jobs that kept me in the area. Hard to believe that was a year ago. Since I really don't have followers at this point, I guess I will just continue to use this as my own blog diary.

God takes away one dream and I am hoping he soon replaces it with another. I've been in limbo for a few years now. I am not sure why I am still here, only God knows that--He doesn't ask my permission when He directs my steps.

It has been a very crazy two years after losing my job of 10 years, losing my mother, and becoming a grandmother.

They are so precious! Still, for the first time in all these years I feel lonely (really). I would maybe experience a day here or there of loneliness once in a blue moon, but I have come to some new place in my singleness where I am just not feeling it anymore. Maybe it is just my time? And sorry "boys," I love you for sure, but it just isn't enough!

No doubt  I have a lover and a player in the house and Rudy is the cutest thing between my sheets though.

I published my last magazine but had terrible issues with issu and you can't even find my old magazines on the site. I'm heartbroken over that. I worked HARD on those. I would still like to have my own website, but while working full-time, I just am not committed enough to keep it current. But I continue to write. I am about 13 chapters into a fiction book. You can check out my last issue here issuu.com: 

So what have I been doing while doing through redirection? I still love design, but haven't done any major projects lately. I've created a few new vignettes:

Feeling the birds lately. I have fallen in love with the Pottery Barn look and got some new end tables after having my old ones for 19 years:

And a new ottoman coffee table where you can see my heritage, no-GMO seeds I just got on Friday for my early spring garden. I will be starting the seedlings for cauliflower, broccoli, and brussel sprouts indoors in a few weeks.

My dear friend , Laura, bought me for Christmas this rustic lantern that she knew I had my eyes on forever. It is beautiful when lit up at night.

And if I am not yard sailing......I am always perusing craigslist or York treasure post. I bought this very sexy beast of a chair a few weeks ago I found on craigslist and I am pretty smitten with it. It is worn in with crackling on the leather and to my eyes, it is beautiful!

Still working on my bread baking and soup making skills. Just last night, I made this spinach, tomato, and cream cheese soup with Italian tortelleni. It is a real keeper!

I tried this new chili recipe that replaced the beef with quinoa. It was good, but I prefer the beef!

I didn't bake this Christmas but I did make candy for the first time in a long time. These chocolate dipped coconut balls were awesome. I did white and dark chocolate:

And I made mom's homemade turtles:

Everyone loved these. The most unusual thing I did is I picked an Italian theme for our Christmas dinner. I made homemade chicken fettucini, homemade meatballs, fried mozzerella sticks, and homemade stromboli. It was a pretty awesome feast!

What can I say? I was just bored with the idea of cooking a ham.  I have promised myself to start working on the cheeses I want to make and there could be no better time than cold February when I get cabin fever and boredom inevitably sets in. Will post on this soon.

I am looking for something exciting to happen in 2014. A girl can only live in limbo so long before she loses heart. Happy New Year to anyone who reads this. Check back soon as I promise to write more. I miss writing for the magazine. Although the new book is a new and different challenge, sticking to just one topic is not enough for my creative mind.

Where the Heck Have I Been?

Slack, slack, slack. That's all I'm gonna say. I cannot believe I haven't posted since August but I have a very good reason. I have gone re-design cold turkey. Since losing my job in June, I have lived in limbo. I do not know where my next job is going to be or who I am going to be when I grow up.

As such, I haven't touched nary a paint brush or darkened the door of a fabric store since Charlotte Ruth Bradford was born the day after my last post.I have discovered it is great to be a grandparent but better to be employed.

I have toyed with the idea of shutting the whole thing down but the truth is, I enjoy playing with design and other creative projects and if I do move, I'll have plenty of re-design projects to blog about.

It has been very difficult to resist the urge to rush out and paint rooms and cabinets when I have so much free time, especially when pinterest is my crack. But you'll be pleased to know I have stayed strong.

So what have I been doing for the last six months to stay off the streets, you ask? I found some new hobbies.  I admit they are a bit like the boyfriend you are dating only until the one you really want asks you out, but a girl must keep busy! So here is a whirlwhind catch-up.

At the end of August my basil was going crazy in the garden so I learned how to make my own basil pesto.

It kept well in the fridge for months in a jar. I just used the last of it on my first ever homemade veggie pizza I baked this past week. Around September I finally put my toe in the water of bread baking and found that I love it the best!

I learned how to make this crusty bread in my dutch oven. It has the texture and qualities of sour dough bread. I have purchased all of the ingredients for making my own starter for sour dough, but like a lot of things in my life, I put it on hold. I didn't really want to worry about transporting my starter somewhere. 

My daughter and I visited the Charlotte Farmers Market. Let me just say I wish I could shop there every week!

The food was so colorful and fall is my favorite time of year. Football, chili, and gorgeous leaves!

My next adventure was one of saving money. I learned to make my own laundry detergent. For about $11, I made this batch of soap and it has not run out yet. Well worth the 30 minutes I spent grating the soap and mixing it. Plus, who doesn't love, love, love this jar?

Then came Thanksgiving with my favorite people in the world. My own children and my brother's children.

We are a family of cooks and I was bringing the desserts. I made a Paula Dean pumpkin cheesecake and mini pumpkin pies I found on pinterest. 

Oh, and here is a shot of the Great Pumpkin:

Cute, huh? I had to sneak Ms. Thing in here as I could just eat her with a spoon! Then it was time to decorate for Christmas. I have to admit, my heart has not been in the holiday spirit as I just want a job and to stop living in  this place of uncertainty. But by gosh darn it, we will have Christmas! I had to do everything on the cheap and get creative.

I decorated my chandelier with garland and bulbs. Some of you may recall this was my $9 chandelier I picked up at Sleepy Poet and that Graham hung for me. In the background is my chalkboard I painted this summer while my daughter and I worked on projects for Charlotte's nursery. It was hard to take a picture of  becaue of the flash.

I hung the same bulbs from the chandelier on my winter limbs. It adds to the sparkle of my gold-framed mirror. I am telling you folks, gold is going to make a comeback!

I then went outside and collected some pine cones to add to my bird cage. I wrapped them in lights and at night they make the whole table glow. I have been slowly evolving into a more shabby chic style and this just fit. It was also free!

I filled my spray-painted wine bottles with some twigs and berries I picked up at World Market for $3.

I then filled a tin tub I had with white candles, pine cones from the back yard and a bit of dollar store garland.

Last was this red vase. It was the last gift my mother ever gave me before she died. I had a lot of red in my house at the time, which I will probably be bringing back because I miss my fabulous red club chairs (I'm stealing them back soon Sean)!

I wiped a tear or two away as I filled it with more cheap grennery from the dollar tree.

My daughter and I made some homemade cinnamon ornaments I found on pinterest. They came out great even though this picture does not do them justice and they smell fantastic!

The past few weekends I have been baking, but not like I usually do. Everyone in the family is on a diet, including me, so we have mostly baked to give away as gifts. 

Yummy, huh? All of which goes to show you that you don't have to spend money to have a wonderful holiday. The time I spend with my children is the best anyway. When my daughter was concentrating on painting her sugar cookies, it took me back. Way back to Cearfoss, Maryland. I remember a Saturday of non-stop backing for Christmas with the kids. At the end of the day, the kitchen was a disaster and I was bone tired!

So that's my life in a nutshell these past six months. Please continue to pray God will open a door for me exactly where He wants me to be. My faith has sustained me but I am a person who must have goals and a direction. Then again, who doesn't need that? Happy holidays ya'll!

Feeling Blue

Blame it on Rio! Not! Blame it on my new navy blue Guess bag. And my impending birthday. Are you ever too old for blue toenails? I think not. I am NOT going to go quietly into the good night. Especially when you score a bag like this for less than $15. I ain't called the girl for a penchant for yard sales for nothing. If I have to move into middle age, maybe I can at least be the eccentric old aunt.

Indulge me, okay? I love a bargain and I love having something land in my lap that I could never afford. It feels like a Big Cosmic Blessing.

Speaking of being an eccentric aunt, here are my lovely nieces and lone nephew who may, in fact, view me just that way:

Are they not the cutest bunch of twenty-somethings you've seen since "Friends?" Seriously, I love these kids. I do have a motive in showing you their picture though. I wanted to boast on these great bookcases I picked up this summer at a yard sale. I was going to paint over the oak but later decided I really liked them just as they are. I am certain it is NOT nostalgia for oak. Rather, I think I am just rebelling against the modern look that is so everywhere today that you can buy most of it at your local Wally World. I appreciate modern as much as I do true country, really I do, even though neither of them are my cup of tea, I just simply cannot ying when everyone else yangs. It's just how I roll.

Every item on these shelves has meaning. The masseuse sculpture was purchased at the Charleston slave market during a weekend outing with my daughter. We took a Charleston ghost tour in the pouring rain but still soaked in all the beautiful architecture and seafood this historic town had to offer. A beautiful time! The Tiffany lamp was a gift from my aunt that I got before most of her belongings were destroryed by Hurricane Katrina. I picked up the little carved turtle the weekend my best girl friend and I spent two days at Myrtle Beach, basking in the sun, drinking beer, and just being best friends. The "pumpkin" basket was a gift from my daughter. Fill your home with things you love and remind you of special times, you won't go astray.

So the weekend plan is to get the grass mowed tomorrow (thank you Sweet William for fixing my lawn mower!) and clean some windows, but then have some home fun, which for me means decorating for fall.

Yeah, You Turned My Head

Takes a lot to make me turn my tired head. And it's not that I'm jaded, just particular, really! I usually never mix business and pleasure but sometimes a lady can get carried away. I found myself really wanting this bag and I figured, heck, it's cheaper than buying a diet coke! So for $1, I bought some momentary happiness on Saturday along with a truckload of new projects. It takes sooo little to make me happy!

Same for these red petunias!  Jeez, Louise, they weren't making these pretty little things years ago. I don't like science messing with my food or my flowers, but DANG they are pretty: