Storybook Woods

Tasha Tudor Day

I wanted to post and let everyone know that Tasha Tudor day coming up, August 28th. I am trying to get the word out, I would love to see this tradition spread. Tasha was such an inspiration to so many and in this day and age of trying to be more creative, frugal and self sufficient, I think she is even more inspiring. I invite anyone to come and share on TT day what they did, what they admire about Tasha Tudor, a post, maybe a favorite book, anything. Feel free to use the image or button.

I hope those readers who live in my neck of the woods are doing okay. It was a record breaking day on Wensday. The hottest day ever recorded, 103. Many do not have air-conditioning and really suffered. I am pretty cranky but are doing okay xoxox

Mango Rum Slushy

I will confess, I am completely addicted to these mango rum slushy's. It all start when Angie told me how her mom keep in the freezer all summer this tea, brandy, lemonade concoction. Oh gosh it sounded sooo good. Because of the alcohol it never really freeze, it just gets all slushy. I look around and there are a zillion recipes. So I started playing and I came up with this. I adore it.

You could pour some bubble water (lime is good), wine, juice and so forth over the slushy, but I like it just scooped in a pretty glass and savor small spoonfuls. If you do not have mango, peach is a good substitute. But gosh I was thinking plum or nectarine would be good too. Play with the recipe, use what you have on-hand and enjoy.

I will need some today, it is suppose to be in the high 90s. It is almost never gets that hot here, so no air conditioning. I think it is hot when it is 75, I do not think I will handle this week well !!!!

Mango Rum Slushy

1 bottle of Tazo Mango tea or 2 cups mango (or peach) tea with 1/2 cup sweetener

I can (2 cups) mango juice

I very ripe mango (or 2 peaches), peeled and cubed

1 cup dark rum, you can use more or less to your liking

In a food processor or blender puree mango and tea. Mix tea, juice and rum together. Pour into a container (I use an old, but gorgeous ;-P large plastic yogurt container. Picture above) and set in freezer. Every couple of hours, give it a stir, till it is frozen. It will be flaky, not fully frozen. It needs 24 hours to freeze.

Birthday Goodies And Cheesecake Milkshake

 

Hello everyone, I hope you had a lovely week. Mine was a bit crazy but very yummy. On my birthday the girls and I went to my mother's and had lunch with her and my sister. My mother made fresh figs stuffed with brie, wrapped in prosciutto and grilled, heaven. My sister made the most interesting dessert (she says it is sooo hard to make me something I have not already made ;-) She made a Thia black rice pudding that she flavored with black licorice and lavender. I know it sounds weird  but you know it worked. It was subtle, not in your face, well done Laurie xoxox

We watched Confessions of a Shopaholic (which felt a bit like my youth flashing before my eyes, although I could not afford such high end stuff) I LOVED this movie. If you have not seen it you must. It is wonderful, fantastic fashion and so funny.

The rest of the week kind of got taken over by hauling free firewood. Which I am not complaining about, I mean what an answer to prayer !!! But not what I had been planning. David and I will make up for it in a couple of weeks. But the girls blessed and spoiled me, thank you girls. Auberne` made me the sweetest video on her new blog, I Talk in Movie Quotes. They made me breakfast in bed. Chocolate fill croissants, apple-wood smoked bacon, lavender/rosemary tea and homemade greek yogurt with fresh raspberries and lavender honey. As you can see it was a yummy week, the best thing by far was the cheesecake milkshake (recipe below)

I took a picture of some of my birthday goodies. There was also vintage pink pyrex, a pink tea cozy with rose tea spoons, pink tea and a Amazon gift card (thank you, both of you, you know who you are xoxox), books, crystal magnet, vintage hunting fabric for my library, a whole box of Sees candy, my hubby let me custom pick what I wanted, lavender caramel's wrapped in dark chocolate and more.

 Mostly though there was you wonderful readers, thank you for all the birthday wishes, gifts and love you showered me. Oh and I will wear the hat. You made me feel very special and that was the best gift of all. Thank you xoxo

 

Cheesecake Milkshake

makes 4 large glasses

4 slice of cheesecake or one small whole cheesecake, you want a vanilla cheesecake with a graham-cracker crust

Vanilla Ice cream

Milk

In a blender put the cheesecake, 5 large scoops of ice cream and some milk. Blend and add enough milk to get it all going. Taste and add more ice cream/milk as needed. Enjoy, it is veryyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy rich, as it should be ;-)

My Birthday

Good day everyone, today is my 47th birthday. I am going to take a week off and play. But I had to share my new vintage hat I got at the Christmas House. It was a steal I could not say no too. I am thinking of wearing it to a evening wedding I was invited to. With a simple linen dress, do you think it is too much (or I am toooo old) ???

I hope you have a lovely week with magical days filled with yummy things. I will be back to share all my birthday goodies and an amazing mango rum slush recipe (you will swear you are on some tropical island, feeling the cool waves ;-) xoxoxox

Frugal Things I Love

 

I am starting to think fall and winter and what I can do to prepare, do ahead of time. For example this last winter my feet really froze (we have no carpets) so I plan to knit (and buy) a few pairs of wool socks. There is nothing like wool to keep you warm. I have a wool shaw I knitted two years ago and it kept me sooo much warmer, them my polar fleece one. Yes, the wool was more expensive but it did the job.

I also read in Mary Jane Farm mag, the idea of taking veggies that are starting to go but I am not ready to cook and drying them in my dehydrator. I just set up my dehydrator in my pantry, so I can add bits and bobs to dry. Here a few more ideas I am doing

Make your own elderberry syrup youtube

Here is another youtube on the subject

To help build up our immune system this winter (which is ones best defense in staying well) I plan to make batches to either freeze or can, I have not decided. Or maybe a bit of both and see how they do.

Homemade Natural Deodorant

Sharon just posted this recipe, so I had to post it. Thank you Sharon xoxo

Make your own oil lamps

Last winter, I pulled out my two oil lamps and I loved them. Not only do I like the light but they put out heat (can you tell I was really cold last winter :-)

Simple Windowsill Chives

Tracey had such a brilliant idea of using broken stemware and a sprouting onion. Your soo smart Tracey xoxoxo

Make your own old French Grain Sack

Well okay this have nothing to do with winter, but it is just a rocken idea I had to throw in !!!

Parsley, Peppers, Potatoes and Peas

I am trying to be better about harvesting and preserving this summer. This is a book I really love. She covers a lot of veggies and fruits, beside the typical ones you always read about. Like celeriac, chestnuts, dandelions, herb roots, kohlrabi. She tells what does best canning, freezing, dry, etc. She even has ideas of what to do with corn husks and cobs, after you cut the corn from them.

Onion, Garlic Soup for Colds

This is a soup I am going to have in my "fight the cold" arsenal. I plan to have a nice batch in the freezer. Because once you get sick, who wants to make a complicated soup. I will add more garlic, when I serve it.

Make your own sprouts in a canning jar

My mom and I were saying sprouts are a cheap, easy green veggie to have in the winter.

I have more ideas, I will post soon. If you have any ideas, I would LOVE to hear them xoxoxo

Lumière

 

I hope you do not mind me sharing my new chandelier. I rarely get a new light fixture, so I am soo excited. Actually as beautiful as this home is, it has a lot of bare bulbs. But my mother taught me on some things you can go cheap. But some things need to be quality and light fixtures are one of them. So I just patiently wait till I find something stunning, looks expensive but is not ;-) This light fixture was only $98.00 and was from Lowes of all places. I was there looking at paint chips and happened to see this beauty and knew it would be right for my hall.

It seems very French to me and is perfect for this odd space. It fills it up and adds interests. I am planing on adding a few more crystals at the top, it seems bare to me ;-) This is hall (between my kitchen, bathroom, basement and library) is small, narrow, very dark and has a door on all 4 walls. Please do not look at the horrible wallpaper, that I need to paint over. I was looking at new wallpaper. But akkkk, can someone tell me why wallpaper is sooo expensive ? I want to do something fun and different. I figured a hall is a good place to try something unusual. It is not like you are going to be sitting there and look at all day. So I am thinking two shade of paint, one lighter then the other and a big stencil to give the look of wallpaper. But now what color ? Robins egg blue maybe ?? Any suggestions xoxoxoxo

Rocken Raw Pesto

 

My girls playing around, doing homeschool idol, even Simon was there !!!!

 

Rocken Raw Pesto

1 cup of almonds, soaked overnight in cold water. Throw away water and store in fridge till ready to use * see note at bottom

zest of one lemon

juice half a lemon

1 bunch of flat leaf parsley

1 garlic clove or more if needed, peeled

salt and pepper to taste

1/3 of a cup olive oil, plus more as needed

In a food processor add parsley (washed, steams and all) and then the rest of ingredients. Process till smooth. You will have to keep stopping and push the parsley down. Taste and adjust salt, pepper and garlic to your liking. If the pesto seems to dry add more oil a bit at a time till you get a constancy you like. Serve with lots of raw veggie and bread.

*Note,

There are two reasons why you soak the almonds, one is it makes the almonds healthier and easier to digest and second soaking them makes them moister and sweeter, so the dip will have a creamier texture.

 

This pesto has no cheese, because it is raw (nothing cooked) enjoy xoxox

Outdoor Washing Station

 

I am always looking for ways to make the most of what I already have. I am blessed with a beautiful piece of property and feel sometimes I do not make the most if it.  I have been so inspired by Mary Jane Farm, (her mag is been soooo good lately, hasn't it ? ) and her outdoor kitchen. I am not ready (nor can I afford to) set up an outdoor kitchen. But I like the idea of a summer kitchen, I also like the idea of using my property more. In WA we have soo much rain, that when it is nice outside you want to take advantage of it.

So I decided to set up an outdoor washing station. I just keep an old enamel bowl filled with water and a dishtowel. When it gets dirty I throw the water on my veggies and fill it up again. Yesterday, I took out a cutting board, cut all my veggies and rinsed everything right there. I am loving it. I am thinking if I can find a cheap utility sink, I might set it up with a hose and have a outdoor sink. A nice, simple (meaning cheap  ;-) use of my outdoor space.

Thank you by the way for all the feedback on my banner, you readers are so sweet. I took what you said, what I loved and what worked and tweaked it. I am still not sure. So you might find that things keep changing for a bit, we will see xoxoxo

Do You Like It ???

 

I have a new banner and was wondering what you think about it ??? Is it as good as the last one ??? I really like the last one, but thought it was time for a change. I am still thinking about this one and need feedback. Thank you. I hope you are having a lovely day, I am making bread and strawberry freezer jam xoxoxo

Things I Love

 

 

One of my new favorite blogs Na-Da Farm Life and her Na-Da Farm Potager

A Number Of Things paper dolls. Alice is soo talented, you will love these.

This recipe for make your own strawberry lemonade concentrate, thank you Lorrie we LOVED this. We are going to make more for the freezer xoxox

By the way I just threw in all the ingredients in the blender and did not heat it up. The sugar (I used regular sugar) melted just fine.

T-shirt Twist

Youtube of the Hallmark movie  The Magic Of Ordinary Life, thank you Paula for telling me about it.

Homemade shampoo

image form Na-Da Farm

Happy 4th

 

I want to wish everyone a Happy 4th and for those who do not celebrate, then just a happy day. I also wanted to thank those who serve and sacrifice for our country and the freedoms, I hold so dear. As a homeschool mom, I never take for granted how blessed I am to be able to have that choice. I also want ot thank those families who sacrifice for us too, it does not go unappreciated xoxoxox

ps. I took this photo at the Christmas House

Last Shades of Summer

 

A few more glimpses of my livingroom. The lavender ice cream was amazing and I have 30 pounds of strawberries on my kitchen counter. Wishing you were here to share it with me xoxox