The Simple Things

A sweet friend paid me a very nice compliment this week.

She said "You do a great job capturing the simple, but wonderful, things in life."

How kind is that? I wanted to earn that compliment, so my eyes were open all week for the simple and wonderful things.

Like the darling kitty who found his way into our house and heart after he was abandoned in the middle of winter on the side of the road.

When anxiety was great within me, your consolation brought joy to my soul.

-Psalm 94:19

And how he turned Mr. Marvelous into a cat lover.

A simple quilt I made after collecting Rachel Ashwell fabrics off ebay for years. . .

and new fabrics for a new quilt; and the fact that Mr. Marvelous stood in line at the fabric store, balancing exactly 16 bolts of fabric in one of those tiny JoAnn shopping carts, just for me.

Oh Mr. Marvelous . . .

and fresh basil from the farmers' market . . .


and lovey, lovely dianthus . . .

and new shelves going up in the kitchen . . .

and the starfish candle I bought on my lunch break, cheering up an otherwise dull Thursday afternoon, for exactly $2.

My heart leaps for joy and I will give thanks to Him in song.
Psalm 28:7

And oh the first watermelon of the summer!

There, in the presence of the LORD your God, you and your families shall rejoice in everything you have put your hand to, because the LORD your God has blessed you.

Deuteronomy 12:7

May your eyes be open . . . always. . . to the simple things . . .

Nantucket Living

In honor of this, my 100th blog post, are the following images: quite possibly the most beautiful house I have ever set eyes on . . .

Source

Happy Memorial Day

Image

A Little Dose of R&R

In need of a bit of rest and relaxation?

Ahhhhh . . . . this should do it

There is nothing like soft neutrals in the bedroom to create a calm, soothing environment

Be inspired

Vintage linens and a whisper thin canopy

the perfect invitation for a nap

After all . . .

a long weekend is upon us

So rest.

Relax.

It is just what the doctor ordered.

All images Country Living

Old Fashioned Strawberry Pie

I grew up eating "cooked" strawberry pie. I didn't realize until recently that most people make strawberry pie without cooking the berries! I think there is very little else in this world as delicious as cooked strawberry pie so I encourage anyone who hasn't tried it to give this recipe a whirl! It's easy, an old-fashioned classic, and SO GOOD!! My husband, who is not really a dessert eater, could eat this entire pie in one sitting.

A pie is only as a good as its crust, and there are a lot of bad pie crusts out there! Most pies in restaurants and grocery stores are basically horrid because of bad pie crust! For good reason, pie crust can be tricky to master.

I grew up watching my mom make pie crust with ice water and crisco. A lot of work and a lot of love went into her pies, which were and still are, delicious. Then, several years ago, my mom introduced me to the following pie crust recipe, which is SO EASY and uses healthy canola oil. I've been hooked ever since.

Start with 2 cups flour

Add 1/2 cup canola oil

1 tsp salt

and 1/4 cup cold milk

(I know that sounds incredibly strange, but stick with me)

combine and mix by hand until dough forms

clean and prepare approximately 5 cups of strawberries

add 1 cup sugar

and 6 Tbls flour for thickener

(or substitute whatever thickener you prefer)

Back to the dough, flour your surface well and roll out your dough, reserve approx. 1/4 of your dough for the top crust

Transfer dough to your pie dish

Flute the edges

And use the remaining dough to make a top crust, I cut my remaining dough into strips and made lattice, but you can also just make a top to fit your pie dish

Bake at 425 degrees for 50 minutes to 1 hour or until crust browns and the berries are hot and bubbling.

Enjoy.

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Old Fashioned Strawberry Pie

5 cups fresh strawberries

1 cup sugar

6 Tbls flour

For Crust:

2 cups flour

1/2 cup canola oil

1 tsp salt

1/4 cup cold milk

Bake in 425 oven for 50 mins-1 hour or until golden brown/berries hot & bubbling

Weekend Round-Up

I was inspired by the inspiration images in my last post to add some artsy family photographs to my office at work. Sadly, I spend more waking time here at this stage of my life than in my precious home, ahem, so I might as well fill this office with images of those who are precious to me.

I took six photographs of my nephews A and B and printed them in standard 4x6 in sepia and had them developed at Target in one hour for $1.20.

I picked them up on my lunch break as well as a box of decorative colored thumb tacks.

I used the thumb tacks and paper clips to attach the photographs right to my wall above my computer screen.

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On the home front, we had a beautiful weekend of cool air and warm sun. Isn't that the best combination!? I swear I was born in the wrong century because nothing makes me happier than days like yesterday when I can be around the house, bake a pie, do some sewing, and tend to my garden. Speaking of pie, I am going to share my favorite easy-peasy pie recipe tonight, so check back soon.

On the decorating front, we hung four large mirrors in our foyer this weekend. You cannot really get an accurate idea of the scale from these photos, but the wall above this entry bench is tremendous, and it would have been a huge undertaking to hang one large mirror in the space. I really wanted a mirror on the wall to reflect light and enlarge the space. I somehow thought to buy four bevelled mirrors and hang them in a grid pattern. The mirrors were about $25 a piece, so overall this was a relatively inexpensive project with a nice, dramatic impact.

Have a happy Monday, and check back tonight for the pie recipe!