♥ Sneak Peek ♥

Jason has been a busy bee working on the staircase. He worked all weekend, minus the time we were in church.  He's made great progress in the past few days!

I thought I’d tease you a little bit with a sneak peek. Please excuse the dust.

Oh what a difference it is! I can’t wait to show you the rest of it. Of course, I want to wait until it’s all done though! 

Jason is working on the trim work now and I’ve still got to tear down wallpaper and extend the red paint on the living room side wall. 

It’s got to be done in time for Christmas decorating, which for us is the first week of November!  :)

Enjoy your day! :)

♥ A Field Trip to Mama's House ♥

You wanna go on a field trip with me to my mama’s house? She’s always got some kind of sweets over there. We’ll have to see what she has when we arrive.

A couple of weeks ago, I took you on a little tour around my house showing you some things my hubby has made for me over the years. That day, I mentioned that he has made nearly as much, if not just as much, for her as he has for me. So today, I thought I’d take you a field trip next door to my mom’s house and show you just what all Jason has made for his dear mother-in-law.

Her style is definitely country and cozy.  :) 

We’ll start with my favorite piece that he made her. I LOVE this blue cabinet and I’m pretty sure it’s her favorite too! It’s in the dining room area.

He also made her these two corner cabinets.

He made the shelf above the windows.

And he made the table bench. I also love this. Love all the blue in her home.

In the kitchen, he made her the built-in pantry.

On the other side of the bar, he made the bar stools. (Hey, Jason, I need some of these up in the Cedar Loft…..hint, hint……. ).

In the living room, he built her shelves above the windows too.

And he made the shelving unit to hold all her angels. A visiting Spanish missionary once called her home, “the house of angels”. Very fitting, I think, with all the angels she collects.

He built the bed and chest in their bedroom.   Mama loves hearts!

And when they remodeled their master bath, Jason made the built-in linen cabinet at the end of the shower in the corner.

See? She really does have a house full of "Jason creations", doesn’t she?  I told Jason I think he's trying to win the Best Son-in-Law Award.  He laughed and reminded me it would be the Only Son-in-Law Award.  ha ha! 

Thanks for joining me today. I hope you enjoyed your visit.

Have a great day! :)

♥ Tammy ♥

Project in the Workshop

Between all the birthday celebrations and life in general, Jason has been working any spare moment he can grab on a cabinet for Amber (Colt's girlfriend) for her station at the salon. Every creative hairdresser needs a nice cabinet to keep her organized, right?

She sent him a picture of the basic idea of a cabinet she wanted. After getting measurements for a perfect fit for the spot she needed, he went to work.

He brought the cabinet out of the workshop so I could get some photos. Here’s a little sneak preview:

That's the stack of drawers to the side of it.

Amber picked out the knobs at Hobby Lobby. I love the little rustic distressed flare to them! I think they will look great on the black cabinet (which will be distressed with a little robin's egg blue).

I can’t wait to see it completed and displayed at the salon. And I know Amber will be glad when it's done! :) I’ll be sure and share the completed project before it goes to its new home!

Thanks for stopping by! Have a great day! :)

Tasty (Pinterest) Recipes

Don't you just love Pinterest? I sure do. Who would have thought pinning could be so much fun? And I can actually say that Jason likes it as well since he's been benefiting from the tasty recipes I've pinned. :)

Just this week, we've already enjoyed three recipes that I pinned on Pinterest. I wanted to share them because you really should try them! It's very obvious from the three recipes I chose this week that we love Mexican and Italian dishes!

Ok. I asked Jason which one was his very favorite and he really couldn’t decide. He really liked every one of them. As for me, it was hard, but my very favorite (because I love Mexican food so much) was the Chicken and Black Bean Enchilada Casserole. Oh my.....it was so delicious! I felt like I was eating a dish from a restaurant! We had already dived into it before I thought to get a pic, but I made everyone wait a sec so I could take a picture before anymore left the dish!

Loved it! Here’s that recipe:

Chicken and Black Bean Enchilada Casserole
Source: The Girl Who Ate Everything; recipe from Allrecipes

2 cups diced or shredded chicken breast meat (or for extra lazy days use a rotisserie chicken)
½ teaspoon ground cumin
½ teaspoon ground coriander
½ teaspoon garlic powder
2 Tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
1 (15 oz) can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 (4.5 oz) can diced green chili peppers, drained
1 (10 oz) can red enchilada sauce
8 (6 inch) corn tortillas (I used flour ones instead)
2 cups shredded Mexican blend cheese
1 (8 oz) container sour cream

Preheat the oven to 375°. Heat a large skillet over medium heat, and spray with vegetable cooking spray. Sauté chicken with cumin and coriander until chicken is cooked through. Transfer to a medium bowl. Stir in the cilantro, black beans, and green chili peppers.

Spread half of the enchilada sauce over the bottom of an 11x7 inch baking dish that has been sprayed with cooking spray. Place 4 tortillas over the sauce, overlapping if necessary. Spoon half of the chicken mixture over the tortillas, and sprinkle with half of the cheese and half of the sour cream.

Spoon the remaining enchilada sauce over the cheese, and make another layer of tortillas. Layer the remaining chicken mixture over the tortillas.

Cover dish with a lid or aluminum foil. Bake for 30 minutes in the preheated oven.

Remove the cover, and sprinkle the remaining cheese over the top and dot with sour cream. Continue cooking, uncovered, for an additional 5 to 10 minutes, or until cheese melts.

Let stand 10 minutes before serving.

Pic from Pinterest  

And talk about easy. Here’s one that was so easy, it almost made me feel like I was cheating when Jason kept going on and on about how much he liked it. It’s the Crockpot Ravioli, and it is oh so good too. I put it on Sunday morning before leaving for church and we had it for lunch after church with a salad. And I didn’t get a picture of it, but here’s the pin from Pinterest.

And here’s that (oh-so-hard) recipe!

Crockpot Ravioli
Source: Crystal and Co.

25 oz. bag frozen ravioli (I used cheese)
1 jar of your favorite spaghetti sauce
1 cup mozzarella cheese

Dump ravioli in crockpot.
Pour jar of sauce over.

Stir ravioli to evenly coat with the sauce.

Cover and cook about 3 hours on high (possibly 2 ½ hours) or on low for longer.

About 20 minutes before serving, sprinkle with mozzarella cheese. Put lid back on to met (for about 20 minutes).

Enjoy!

pic from Pinterest

And also just as good was this Taco Bake. I’m not a big fan of hamburger meat but I chopped my meat really fine and this was really tasty! My mom and dad came over for dinner for this one and they loved it too. Jason took it for lunch a couple of days as well. I did remember to get a picture of this one before we tore into it.

Here’s that recipe:

Taco Bake
Source: Two Maids a Milking

1 lb. hamburger meat
1 pkg taco seasoning
8 oz. sour cream
1 pkg. (8) crescent rolls
1 can tomato sauce
1 can diced tomatoes (optional)
1 cup shredded cheese
Dorito chips

Brown hamburger meat. Drain. Add taco seasoning, tomato sauce, tiny bit of water, and diced tomatoes. Simmer.

In a 9 x 13 dish, press out crescent rolls and roll to form a crust.

Layer the hamburger mixture, sour cream, and cheese.

Crush about ¾ bag of Doritos and put on top. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

Enjoy!

Pic from Pinterest

And all of this and we’re trying to shed a few pounds around here. :) Jason says if a man can lose weight eating like this, he’s really doing something. But…..we were good. We measured out our food, which gave us leftovers for the next night or lunch.

And let me just say here that I’m so thankful for this little creation Jason made me awhile back. It’s the spice/bread rack creation that he came up with....his own design.

Hubby designed and built the spice/bread rack.

Before this little creation, my spices were all inside the pantry on a shelf and it was so hard to find things. Now, I feel like a chef when I use my spices. They’re so easy to access. And see that little shelf on the very top? That holds my bread! He really thought through a functional and practical design!  :) Oh,and I had to use a new spice on the first recipe listed above that I had never used……..coriander!

If you’re on Pinterest, I’d love for you to follow me (the link is on my sidebar).  If you’re not on Pinterest and want to be, drop me an email and I’ll send you an invite, so you can start pinning too!

**NOTE** Rumor has it that one day in the future we could very possibly lose our google friend connect follower gadget. Non-bloggers are already losing their’s by this month’s end. So in an effort to not lose access to my followers (which I prefer to call faithful readers), I’ve added the Linky Follower button on my sidebar, just beneath the google one. I’d be honored if you come follow me there too! (I'm going to follow people on both from now on as a safeguard)!

Thanks for stopping by today! :)

Fresh From the Workshop (to The Cedar Loft)

If you heard squealing Monday evening, that was probably me! I knew my carpenter was working on a carpentry project that I requested of him (a TV cabinet for the loft), but without my knowledge, Jason finished it and snuck it up to The Cedar Loft. He summoned me up to the loft, and there it sat…..in all its glory! And it looks so perfect there. It was one of those pieces that was just meant to be, so in character for that space. You know how you envision a piece of furniture in a spot? Well this went far beyond my expectations! Can you tell I love it? :)

I had shown Jason a few cabinet ideas that I found online and in Country Sampler magazines, and told him I would like a “sort of mix” of those. I “turned him loose” on it. I so trust his judgement, because he knows me now. I say now when it comes to building furniture for me because it did take awhile to get the distressed idea through to him, but once he got it, he really got it! He even added some of his own creative touches that I didn’t show him!

The panels on the front of the door were his idea! I love that!

Instead of using antique glazing on the green (it's actually called Brown Moss), we had agreed upon sanding and rubbing on stain. We decided on red oak stain.

The ends being "paneled" was his little addition and I love it!

Monday night, after calling us up to the loft, after a while the kids fell asleep on the couch. Jason and I just sat there staring at it. Is that silly or what? Do you do that? I do that with my Christmas lights and décor. I like to turn off the lights and just sit back and enjoy it. And that’s exactly what we did with that cabinet. We didn’t even have the TV on. We just snuggled up on the couch and admired his handiwork. :) And it’s all his handiwork. I didn’t have one hand in the building of it. I just told him what I wanted, and he built it. I’m so grateful that he enjoys building what I dream up!

I just love that little indention of the wood near the left knob!

We just got the 40" flat screen LCD TV a couple of weeks ago. Jason started on the TV cabinet right about then, but has only been able to work here and there after work and a little on the weekends.

 I’m really thrilled because now we can enjoy our Christmas movies in The Cedar Loft if we want! I’m still working on adding some Christmas decorations up there. Hopefully in a week or so, I will have it to the point of sharing more pictures of the loft decorated for Christmas.

He made sure I had a shelf to display rustic/prim decor....even though it's on a very low wall!

This is absolutely one of my very favorite pieces Jason had made for me. I really love my red stepback cupboard in the kitchen and the navy blue sideboard/buffet in the dining, room, but this definitely rates right there with those.

Now for the next projects……….pegboards and a cupboard for the kitchen in The Cedar Loft. That would make a great Christmas gift, don’t you think?  :)

********************************************************************************************

**Dianne (a reader of my blog) left a comment asking if I could recommend more movies, possibly from instant streaming Netflix that were family friendly. I didn't have a way to contact you, Dianne, so I decided to post it here. I would love to do that. I will try to put together some sort of list and post that as soon as I can get it all together. I am not sure if you were speaking of movies in general, or just Christmas ones. I am assuming movies in general. If you would let me know for sure, that would be helpful! Thank you for your comment! I love hearing from you! **

*******************************************************************************************

Thank you for stopping by today! I don't know if I can hold out to 500 followers for a giveaway.....I want to do a Christmas one, so I might just have to do that real soon! :)

From the Workshop: A New TV Cabinet for the Big Black Blob!

Last winter, we did something we've not ever done in our (now) 28 years of marriage......added a TV in our bedroom!  I really don't know why....we had no particular conviction or thoughts on it; we just never did.  But you know men and their power tools and their electronic equipment!  Jason decided we needed a TV for our bedroom and when he decided, he decided BIG!  We went shopping and came home with a LCD 42" flat screen TV.

Now you can imagine how that massive black thing with a mounted Blue-Ray DVD player under it, with cords hanging down, looked on our bedroom wall.....nothing really decorative or romantic at all about it.  But, I'll have to admit, we've enjoyed having it....whether it's just us or with the kids piled up in the bed with us watching movies together.  There's just something cozy about it!  (And we don't have cable or satellite or anything, only movies we decide we want to watch.  That keep us in control of the TV, instead of the TV controlling us). 


I've envisioned a cabinet for it since I first saw it hanging on that wall last January, but being knee deep in adoption paperwork last year and saving every penny we could for it, the building of the cabinet was pushed to the back burner.

However, I can tell you it was worth the wait.  Jason just decided a few weeks ago that it was time to build it; he had a little time off and got super busy!  

Here's a (before) pic of the big black blob on our bedroom wall! 

Here's the cabinet freshly built.

After paint.....a color called summer tan, and a little distressing with mocha glaze.

And the new cabinet on our bedroom wall.

Quite an improvement from the ugly massive piece of electronic equipment on the wall, huh?  I chose this color because although we're not even close to redoing our bedroom, I have a vision for it including a different paint color for the walls (than I would normally choose) and I wanted this cabinet to have a country/primitive flavor but a lighter look.  And it blends fairly well with what's in there now.

Needless to say, my favorite carpenter got a big hug and kiss for that one!  I love it!  And...he's even got a couple other little projects in progress in the workshop for the kitchen too....and the weekend is here again!  But more on that later....

Thank you so much for stopping by!  I hope you all have a wonderful weekend!  :)    

From the Workshop (Custom Order)

We finally finished up a custom order for primitive shutters. Well I should say Jason finished up an order. I really just helped him with whatever he needed me for at that time and with overseeing distressing! :)

These are working windowsill shutters for a home remodel project. The customer wanted them painted black and distressed with red.



I love the way they turned out!



Poor Jason. Anytime he gets a custom order, it usually turns into something that I want him to make for me! After sitting these in our windowsill and me seeing how wonderful and primitive they look in my house, I want some!



When we get back from China, we'll be putting a button on my sidebar for custom shutter orders, if anyone is interested.

I sure hope the customer (Ms. Darlene) likes them as much as I do! Jason enjoys creating and it's very gratifying to him to know a customer is happy with the order too! Glad we could get them all done and out before we left for China too!

Oh, and I'll try to get a post out soon on our China plans and schedule! Needless to say, it's been a busy week! And getting even busier.....

Thanks for stopping by! And thank you for all the comments on our "We're Going to China" post! Wow! I was overwhelmed by the kindness and the prayers! We appreciate it all so much, more than you'll ever know! Thank you all so much!

God bless,
Tammy

From the Workshop.....

While I was working on fall decorating inside our house this past Sunday afternoon, Jason was working out in the workshop! I do get excited when I know he's working out there because he comes out with such goodies and I love the sounds coming from there and the smell of freshly cut wood! That usually means something "new" for my home! However, this time, it wasn't for me, but that's okay! I get excited for other folks too.....just thinking as we packed the order, that it will have a special place in someone else's home is very gratifying!

The customer (who has already seen pictures of them, by the way, before they were shipped to her), is painting them herself to match colors she already has in the room, so they were left unfinished for her special touch.



They are actually reversible. Turned one way, the hinges are visible, if you like that look...(like this one below).



Turned the other way, the hinges are hidden, if you prefer that look.



Of course, everything Jason whips out for somebody else, I want one of also (or two or three or four)! :) After seeing these sitting in my living room window, I decided they looked great there and I bet they would look just as good in those bay windows in the dining room! Yes, poor Jason....my honey-do-workshop-list just keeps growing and growing! My Carpenter better get busy.....Christmas is quickly approaching, right?

Anyway, I just had to show you his latest workshop project. I am going to put a picture on my sidebar after this post, so if you would like to have custom window sill shutters for your home too, just contact us with your window measurements and we can quote you a price, He really enjoyed making these!

And by the way, we still have a couple of sets of the "regular" shutters for sale at a special price. The prices shown include shipping to the lower 48 continental states. For shipping to other places, please email me for shipping costs to your area. If you're interested in any of these, just drop me an email. We'd love to ship these out to your home! (Custom sized shutters can be made like these too...just let us know your size and we can quote you a price on those).

This set is unfinished, ready for your special touch. The size of this set is 7" wide x 35 1/2" long.
$39 (includes shipping).



Here are a couple of smaller sets......each being 7" wide x 24" long. They look shinier than they really are in person....guess it was the flash. They do have a coat of a satin polyurethane, but still very prim looking, not much shine at all.

This one is black distressed with barn red. $36 (includes shipping)



And a barn red set distressed with black.... $36 (includes shipping)



They are really so versatile, for indoor use! I have a set flanking the opening of my fireplace. It was just the splash of color I needed there for all seasons!

And that, my friends, is what My Carpenter has been up to......out in the workshop!

*******************************************************************

As I was finishing up this post today, our mail lady honked. That sound means one thing.....a package too big to fit into our mailbox! And sure enough....it was...a belated birthday gift. It was from Donna of Never-So-Simple. In the package was a very sweet birthday card, a package of yummy smelling crispy cinnamon cookie tarts and an autumn wreath Yankee Candle!



Now this just shows what kind of person Donna really is....with all she and her family have experienced lately and waiting to be back in her own home, and she sends me this! Donna, thank you so much! You're a sweetheart! You really had no idea how much I love the scent of cinnamon! Really! My house smells wonderful right now from your box of goodies! I hope you're blessed ten times over! You are so kind hearted!

*******************************************************************

Thanks so much for stopping by! I really do enjoy and appreciate every comment!

Blessings,
Tammy