I’m A Show-Off!

 

Today I got an e-mail from Roeshel at the DIY Showoff.     Wonder of wonders…..I’m the featured “DIY Show-Off” today!      She is featuring my drop cloth drapes that I posted about a while back.    You can check it out here.

To Paint Or Not?

Here’s some pics of the french door in my kitchen leading into my laundry room.     I’ve been debating on whether or not to paint it black.     Same goes for the lower cabinets….should I paint them black or leave them?    Still haven’t added the “bun feet”…what’s on there now are some I’m trying out (and not too happy with I might add).     So fellow bloggers, I’d love to know what you think…..should I paint the french door or not?    Should I paint the lower cabinets black or leave creamy white?     Should I paint the door and not the cabs or paint the cabs and not the door?    Or just leave well enough alone?    

 

   

Your opinion will be appreciated!

The Secret Is In The “Seasoning”

Can it get much hotter here in Alabama?     Experience tells me we’ve still got a long time to go before any cool downs occur…..like maybe December!     Anyway, it’s usually too hot to cook or even want anything remotely heavy to eat in the evening but recently I did turn on the oven and cooked a good ol’ summertime Southern meal.

My co-worker has put in a garden (her first) this year.     One day she surprised me with a big bag of fresh picked squash.      So that made me want to have all the fixin’s that go along with summertime vegetables.     Here’s the menu:   Baked chicken, cooked squash w/onions, fresh sliced tomatoes, green onions, and of course, cornbread.

 

I just sliced the squash and a purple onion, covered with water, and steamed until tender.   

 

Nothing fancy for the baked chicken…..I covered the chicken with cream of celery soup and baked at 350 degrees until done.     Of course, I used my “special seasoning” and I will share the famous recipe to at the end of this post.

 

 

Here’s the chicken ready for the oven

Now I’m not saying you have to be from the south to make the BEST cornbread, but I’m sure it helps!     Here’s how I make cornbread:

You have to use a seasoned black skillet….nothing else will do.     Pre-head the oven to 450 degrees.  Put a little oil in the skillet and heat the skillet in the oven for about 5-10 minutes.

Basic Cornbread (from the back of the Martha White mix):

1 egg beaten

1 1/3 cups buttermilk

1/4 cup oil

2 cups Martha White Buttermilk Self-Rising Corn Meal Mix

After your cornbread is nicely browned and you’ve removed it from the oven, turn it out on a large platter.     Sometimes some of the “crust” will stick to the bottom of your skillet….that’s okay.

  

You will have the best tasting cornbread around!

And here’s a plate full of the most mouthwatering food you’ll ever eat!

For dessert, I served strawberries and ice cream in these pretty acrylic dessert dishes I picked up at K-Mart on sale:

    

Now for the “secret seasoning” which is House Seasoning made famous by Paula Deen!    The recipe is in the back of her cookbook entitled “The Lady & Sons Savannah Country Cookbook”.  I can’t recommend this cookbook enough….my daughter and I “share” this book, passing it back and forth.    I guess I’m going to have to buy another one so I can keep it at home:

HOUSE SEASONING:

1 cup salt

1/2 cup black pepper

1/4 cup garlic powder.

Mix well.   Store in shaker near stove for convenience

This made a generous amount of seasoning which I just poured into some empty glass seasoning jars I already had.      It is the perfect seasoning for almost anything!

 

Well, can you believe it’s almost the 4th of July!    Where has this year gone???    We’ll be spending it on the lake trying to stay cool, taking the boat out for a spin, and playing with the grandbabies in the water.      Here’s a few pics from last year….I can’t wait!

 

I hope everyone has a fun and safe 4th of July!     See ya’ll next week….

What’s Your Style?

I love My Home Ideas.Com!     I found their web site sometime ago and get e-mail alerts from their site frequently.      Here is some kitchen eye candy I downloaded from My Home Ideas where the question was asked “What’s Your Style?”     I love seeing all different styles but after looking at the many pics I have in my favorites file, I have decided that I like a mixture of different styles:    traditional, a little country, and a little cottage.     What style would that be?     Well, whatever that is, here’s some pictures I think we can all agree are gorgeous:

    

     

    

     

There’s something about each picture that I love.    It might be just one thing, but I’d take any of these kitchens, wouldn’t you?

I’ve been tweaking my kitchen AGAIN (!!).    Let me give you a little background…..last fall I visited my friend Linda’s house.     You can see pics of her cottage home here.      Well, that started me wanting the all white look, a look I’ve always loved.    I had just had my kitchen painted Latte and was not about to repaint it the soft gray color she had throughout her house (which I think is Crushed Ice).    Linda came to my house and said I could just use all white stuff with the Latte and it would look great.     First I spray painted the chandy white, but then the shades on the chandy didn’t look right.    Got some old chippy white architectural pieces, and while that looked okay, I wasn’t really sold on how it was all coming together.    Several months went by and I would try and work out what was not working and what I was really drawn to.    My 3 corner cabinet had already been painted black so I painted the inside an aqua color…..still not working for me.      Then one day I was in Hobby Lobby and Kohl’s and saw all these wonderful oversized picture frames, some with writing, but all having tiny windows for pictures.    And boom!!! my mind started racing with using those  pretty frames (some in black, and some in white) with what I already had.     I re-sprayed the chandy using a color I found at Wal Mart called Oil Rubbed Bronze.    Haven’t put the little shades back on yet and I may not.    I distressed the black cabinet and repainted the inside a saddle brown color.     Started putting out my black and white frames, took the ledge I got at Scott’s back in January and sprayed it black and distressed it, and I’m liking what it’s turning into.   

I didn’t enlarge this picture because it cut off the window seat and 3 corner cabinet.   

 

You can see I didn’t “stage” this….hubby’s ladder is in full view in the driveway!  (bad blogger)

Here’s the chandy sprayed with the Oil Rubbed Bronze paint….I will definately use this color again!

 

  The white square frame is an unfinished one I picked up at Michael’s.    I used one coat of white paint I had on hand on it but I plan on using some crackle paint on it for a more distressed look.    This frame was really inexpensive, something like $1.99, but you’ll notice that it does not have a glass with it.    I’ll have to pick one up at Hob Lob.

 

See that white boo-boo?    That’s where I’ve spackled over an old nail hole but now I can’t find my Latte paint to cover it up!    I guess I’ll have to get small can of Latte to have on hand.    Also, last summer when we had the kitchen painted I wanted some crown molding put up.    Imagine my surprise (and shock) when I got home and the guy had used this cheap looking skinny stuff……that’s another thing on my list to change.     I want some wide crown molding!

This round black mirror should be called the “mirror of many colors”  because it started out white, then it was aqua, and now it’s black!

Love, love, love this frame I got at Dillards.    Don’t know who those folks are in the picture but for now, I’m leaving it until I can get some family picture put in there.

Of course I still have to add some things as I find them.    The wall with the big black frame and ledge needs something else….just not sure what.   But, I’m open to suggestions!

Well, this has turned into quite a post.     Guess I’m trying to make up for all the lost time my computer was out of commission!

Good Food and Good Friends….

Back in the day (of high school) in my senior year at the little private school I attended a “new girl” arrived.      Sara was a little shy at first but once you got to know her, you knew she was a “keeper” for a friend.    Not one to gossip but always a good listener.     After graduation, Sara and I stayed in touch over the years.    We even attended two class reunions together.      And as life got in the way, so did the times we talked on the phone or met up for a quick lunch.      I had not seen or talked with Sara for about 5 years when I recently got an e-mail from her.     We decided that our schedules would “allow” us to meet today for lunch and an afternoon of catching up.

 

Here we are after eating lunch today at Applebees (Sara’s on the left and I’m on the right).       

We had a  great time trying to catch up in such a short time.     We are both grandmother’s(!) and even have granddaughters named Taylor!    We have vowed not to wait another 5 years to get together.     We also are going to see if there is any interest in have a class reunion next summer (our 40th!!!!)…I can’t believe I told ya’ll that!   So Sara, if you’re reading this, I had a great time today and I can’t wait for our next visit!

On a side note, I wanted to thank all of ya’ll that commented on my computer issues.     My computer guy just left and I think he is now convinced (as I am) that Internet Explorer is not the right browser to blog successfully.     I am now using Firefox (thanks everyone for putting me on to another browser) and so far (finger’s crossed) it’s working like a dream.    I hope to be back to my usual blogging schedule in the next few days.

I’m Alive!

I think my computer is fixed…..more later!