Coffee Time At Home

Catching Up

2009-07-25T06:03:00.000-07:00

I'm behind on If It's Tuesday . . . reports. Two weeks ago we tried Nancy's White Chicken Chili. I also made corn bread to go with the meal. We loved it! It's definitely made the "We Will Have It Again" list. Nancy, please send me your snail mail address and I will send out your prize.

This past week we didn't have a If It's Tuesday . . . meal as my DIL was sick. We already have this coming week's meal picked out so stay tuned. I promise photos before we eat it.

We've also started making gelato. When we were on vacation we had awesome cherry gelato at the Opera Bistro in Saint John, NB. DS received an ice cream maker for a wedding gift and they hadn't used it. They brought it over and now we have gelato on Tuesdays with chicken. The first week we had strawberry gelato. Last week we had banana gelato. This week I made peach and blueberry gelato. We haven't tried it yet. Probably tonight for dessert.

I have to share my vacation vintage find. We aren't big antique shoppers, but we found a cool antique mall in Bangor and took a stroll through it. I saw this white candy dish and knew I had to have it. My grandma had a candy dish just like this one and since I didn't get hers, I got this one.
The best part of the purchase was I thought it was on sale for 20% off it's price. However, it was 50% off! Sweet!

I hope you're having a great weekend! I'm babysitting my 3-month-old grandson this weekend so mommy and daddy can celebrate their anniversary. We are having a good time.

Sweet P

If It's Tuesday . . . Is Thursday This Week

2009-07-14T08:33:00.000-07:00

I have a change in my work schedule this week and will have Mr. E on Thursday instead of today. Watch for this week's winner then.

Thanks!

Sweet P

Thanksgiving On Tuesday

2009-06-30T18:16:00.000-07:00

This week's chicken recipe was submitted by Bobbie Bentneedle. She sent a recipe for Thanksgiving Dinner in One Pan.

We enjoyed it. It was easy to make and filled the house with a wonderful aroma. Next time I make it I will season the chicken with salt and pepper and perhaps skip the cheese. We didn't even taste the cheese. I also mixed the stuffing mix with melted butter before putting it on top of the chicken. That helped keep the stuffing moist while it was baking.

Our beverage for this evening was Strawberry Lemonade.
It was super yummy and refreshing.
Too bad our weather hasn't been summer-like so we could enjoy it on a hot day.

Bonnie, send me your snail mail address and I'll send your goodie on it's way.

Next week I'm taking a break from Chicken on Tuesday as we will be on vacation. The contest will resume on July 14th. Keep sending in your chicken recipes.

Sweet P

The First Tuesday Winner

2009-06-25T04:47:00.000-07:00

Here it is Thursday and I haven't written about our first If It's Tuesday meal. We chose Slow Cooker Coq au Vin from aletheia_vox. It was easy to make. We all liked it. Although I think when I make it again I will add the potatoes to the slow cooker rather than make them separately. Aletheia send me your mailing address and I'll send you a goodie.
I recently came across a recipe for Strawberry Shortcake Cookies on Carol's blog. When she made them they weren't a hit in her house. My family loved them and ate nearly all of them Tuesday night. There were a few left over for lunches yesterday.
Speaking of strawberries, they have become one of my new favorite breakfasts. A couple of sliced strawberries, a handful of blueberries and a splash of french vanilla cream. Yummy!
Keep sending in those chicken recipes! My DIL and I love reading them!

Sweet P

If It's Tuesday . . .

2009-06-18T04:59:00.001-07:00

I babysit my adorable grandson, Mr. E, on Tuesdays. I make dinner for my DS and DIL that evening. My DIL prefers chicken to any other meat so Tuesdays have become chicken dinner night at Coffee Time.

This past Tuesday I made Rachel Ray's Mexican Lasagna for dinner.
It was an easy recipe and was super yummy.

I had never cooked with ground chicken before. The texture is different than ground beef. I have to cook with it a few more times before I can totally decide if I like it.

Now, here's where you can help me. I'm going to hold contest over the next several weeks to find a variety of chicken recipes.

Send me your favorite chicken recipe, or recipes. My DIL and I will choose one recipe each week to try and then review it here. If we choose your recipe, you will receive a goodie package from Coffee Time at Home. The contest will start today and run through the end of August. There will be one week off while I am on vacation (July 7th). You can as often as you like. So come on, start sending in those recipes.

Sweet P

Spaghetti Day

2009-05-24T05:35:00.001-07:00

Yesterday I made Glenna's All Day Spaghetti Sauce. It filled my house with wonderful smells all day. Five pounds of meat sounds like a lot of meat, but I will be able to freeze enough sauce for at least two, maybe three more meals.

I also made the cinnamon bread. It turned out better this time. Except I used an 8 x 4 inch pan instead of a 9 x 5 inch pan and the bread cooked over the edge. But it still tasted yummy! Here is the recipe I use. I'm thinking the next time I make it I'm going make a streusel topping instead of using the cinnamon/brown sugar mixture on top.

Cinnamon Bread
2 c. flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 c. butter (room temperature)
1 c. white sugar
2 large eggs
1 tsp. orange juice, fresh if you have it
1/2 tsp. orange peel zest
1 c. buttermilk (I use 1 tbsp. white vinegar, plus enough milk to make 1 cup)
1 c. brown sugar
2 heaping tablespoons ground cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350°.

Mix the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in a bowl. Cream the butter and sugar in another bowl. Beat in the eggs, orange juice and orange zest.

Mix 1/3 of the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. Mix 1/2 of the buttermilk into the wet ingredients. Mix 1/3 of the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. Mix the remaining buttermilk into the wet ingredients. Mix 1/3 the remaining dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. Mix the brown sugar and cinnamon in a bowl.

Pour 1/3 of the batter into a greased 9x5 inch loaf pan. Pour 1/3 of the cinnamon mixture on top. Pour 1/3 of the batter on top. Pour 1/3 of the cinnamon mixture on top. Pour the remaining batter on top. Pour the remaining cinnamon mixture on top. Bake in a preheated 350F oven until a toothpick pushed into the center comes out clean, about an hour.

I hope you are having a wonderful weekend. Today we are off to Portland to have lunch with some friends. Tomorrow I have to work. Tuesday is my first day babysitting Mr. E.

Happy homemaking!

Sweet P

How Not To Make Cinnamon Bread

2009-05-20T15:54:00.000-07:00

Yesterday morning I was wide awake at 6 am. No reason why. I was up until 11 the night before so I thought I would be able to sleep. Maybe I was excited for Jammie Day with Mr. E.

Since I was awake and the morning sun was splashing through the kitchen windows I decided to make Cinnamon Bread. I found the recipe on Closet Cooking recently. I made it while my mom was visiting and loved it. I do make one change to the recipe. Instead of vanilla extract and lemon peel I use orange peel and fresh orange juice. Here are the three bowls of ingredients and the buttermilk ready to get mixed together.

Here's the bread after it came out of the oven. If you look very, very close you see the edges and the top are burnt. Yup, burnt! How did I manage that? I set the oven temp to 425 instead of 350! I guess baking at 6 am is not my strongest talent.

I plan on making the bread again this Saturday and will be sure to set the oven to 350!

Happy cooking and home making! Thanks for stopping by!

Sweet P

Long Time No Post

2009-05-18T10:02:00.001-07:00

Sorry it's been so long since I've posted on Coffee Time At Home. Since Mr. E's birth we have been on a whirlwind of family visits. Great Grandma Helen from Minnesota was here for 12 days. Uncle Brandon and Ellen were here this past weekend. Now the visitors are gone until the baptism next month.

This is how Coffee Time At Home looks like these days. Mr. E spends time on the pack and play mattress with his quilt and boppy pillow.

The corner of the living room has become Baby Central. We purchased this wonderful bassinet a few weeks ago. It glides and plays music. The bottom is a huge basket where diapers, clothes and toys reside. Next to the bassinet is Mr. E's bouncy chair.

Brandon, DS #2, likes to cook. On Saturday night he made three awesome homemade pizzas: one pepperoni, one cheese and this one with prosciutto. He makes the tomato sauce from scratch. I asked him to write down the recipe before he left, but he forgot.

Sunday morning I made breakfast for everyone.
My DIL decided to take this action photo of me cooking.

I didn't work too hard to make the food.
I bought a quiche the day before and popped it in the oven.

I also cooked sausages, bacon and pancakes.
A large pot of coffee and orange juice rounded out the meal.

I had to leave for work while they were eating. I asked them to clean up the kitchen before they left. They did and I came home from work to a clean kitchen. Thanks guys and girls!

I plan to get back to blogging here more often. Stay tuned!

Sweet P

Easter At Coffee Time

2009-04-12T13:01:00.001-07:00

Happy Easter to Everyone. DH and I had a quiet dinner for two today: grilled ham and pineapple spears, roasted sweet potato slices and biscuits and whoopie pies for dessert.

Besides the wonderful food we have a sports-filled afternoon.
Tiger at the Masters on the big screen.

Red Sox playing the Angels in California on the smaller screen.

You'll notice we've given Wally a primo front seat for the baseball.

Now, this Wally has a primo seat next to the newest addition to Coffee Time: Mr. E, our grandson. For more photos of him and details of his arrival read here.

Spring is arriving slowly in New Hampshire. The huge snow drifts are finally melted and the grass is beginning to green up. I'm thinking of growing a container garden this summer. Does anyone have any good tips for container gardens? I would probably grow it on our deck that gets all of the morning light and shade the rest of the day. I'd be happy with an herbal garden, but have no clue where to start.

Sweet P (AKA the newest Dema on the block)

Springtime at Coffee Time

2009-03-30T07:37:00.000-07:00

Deb at Creative Soul issued a spring challenge recently. She asked us to create something that reminds us of spring. There is one item in the world that says spring to me more than anything else - tulips! I adore tulips - purple ones, yellow ones, pink ones - if it's a tulip, I love it. I harbor a secret desire to live in a place where I can plant a tulip garden. My grandmother's sister had a tulip garden with many different kinds of tulips. I loved walking through that garden.

Every spring I wait impatiently for tulips to appear in the grocery stores. Last Friday my DH came home with my first bunch of purple tulips. Some of them were put into this vase and reside on my dinner table.
A few more were placed in a small vase and landed on my nightstand. They are sitting atop a small wood chest I bought a few years ago. Even the chest has tulips painted on it.
How does spring appear in your house?

Sweet P

Mmmmmm . . . Chocolate Cream Pie

2009-03-27T13:59:00.001-07:00

Last Sunday I decided to make Chocolate Cream Pie using this recipe as the base. I eliminated the bananas and used chocolate pudding instead of banana pudding. I made the banana cream pie in January for DS's birthday and we loved it.

The chocolate cream pie was just as yummy as the banana cream pie. All of us loved it. I think I ate most of it!
Next time I'll try a different pudding flavor. I'm even thinking of making it in individual pie crusts or even serving it as a mousse. But first, I need a reason to make it. Anyone have a suggestion?

Sweet P

Everyone Makes Mistakes

2009-03-17T14:57:00.000-07:00

Everyone makes a cooking mistake now and then. The one I made on Sunday was a doozy. I wanted to make a Chocolate Stout cake for DH. For some unexplainable reason I decided to use an 8" square pan instead of a larger one.

This is what happens to the oven when there is too much batter in the pan.
Trust me it looks better in the photo than it did in person.

This is what the cake looked like. There was a 2 inch dip in the middle of the cake. To top it off when we did cut it open it wasn't completely cooked. So it went into the trash.

I'm hoping the dessert, whatever I decide it will be, will turn out this weekend.

What cooking mistakes have you made?
Sweet P

Sports Fleece and Breakfast for Dinner

2009-03-03T14:48:00.000-08:00

Not much has been happening around Coffee Time at Home. I've been spending time getting ready for the baby shower for DIL next week. That means a lot of cleaning and organizing and some painting.

In the first few months I was working at Jo-Ann I purchased three pieces of sports fleece: Red Sox, Patriots and Celtics. Until last Friday they were just floating around our bedroom. That's when I decided to sew them together. The final piece is longer than our comforter, but not quite as wide. It just fits across the top of the bed. It adds a nice touch of our sports life in the room.

Do you eat breakfast food at dinner? I like to eat quiche. My grocery store sells a half-sized quiche and when DH is traveling it's one of my favorite meals. Another breakfast meal I like is Jimmy Deans breakfast bowls. Tonight I'm thinking of making pancakes and bacon. What's your favorite breakfast food to eat for dinner?

Sweet P

And the Winner Is . . .

2009-02-14T16:27:00.000-08:00

I hope you had a wonderful Valentine's Day. I did. I worked an early shift. Got home early enough to take a nap and then DH and I made this wonderful dinner for ourselves: grilled porterhouse steak, loaded smashed potatoes and green beans. For dessert I made triple chocolate cupcakes. What a yummy dinner!
After I ate I went to Random.org and set it to choose a number between 1 and 7. Thanks to everyone who signed up for the drawing. I enjoyed reading your answers. The generator chose #3. That means Karen at Quilting with Grace is the winner. She loves her kitchen. I love my kitchen too. I love my whole condo. I would find it hard to choose my favorite room. I'm glad I didn't have to answer my own question. If I was really pressed to answer I think it would be my kitchen. I love to cook and our kitchen is the perfect size for DH and I to cook together.

Until next time, Happy Cooking!
Sweet P

Do You Fondue and a Give Away

2009-02-08T17:13:00.001-08:00

DH and I had beef fondue for dinner tonight. You'll have to ignore the miscellaneous items on the table as we are in the middle of a home improvement project and have stuff everywhere. Anyway, we had Beef Fondue, crispy Cole Slaw and Squash with Gorgonzola and Maple Syrup, another wonderful recipe from Closet Cooking. The meal was wonderful and well deserved.
Here was the focus of our home improvement project this week - our living room. We hated the color it was. We called it something you would find in a baby's diaper. The gray swatch was one color we thought of using on it. The gray is going to be used on another accent wall and the stairwell going up the stairs.
This is the color of the room now - Warm Sienna #1203 from Benjamin Moore. My DH has a great eye for picking out paint colors. When this paint is wet is looks very girly dark rose and dries to this wonderful deep rusty red. This is the fourth and last room we have to paint, other than the stair well. The only other remaining painting is all the white trim and wainscotting in the house. We decided we wouldn't do any of that painting until all of the rooms were done.
And now, on to the Give Away. It will be one-year next Saturday, Valentine's Day, that we bought and moved into our condo. In honor of the big day, I'm having a Give Away. Leave me a comment about your most favorite room of your house is and why you like it. If your name is drawn I will put together a goodie package to help you enjoy that room even more. If you'd like an extra entry in the drawing, please link to this post. I will take names until Valentine's Day and announce the winner on Sunday morning.

I'm also doing a similar give away on my Coffee Time Stitches blog. You can feel free to enter in that drawing too.

Happy Cooking and Home Owning!
Sweet P

Thursday Night Pot Roast

2009-02-05T16:49:00.001-08:00

I remember having pot roast nearly every Sunday after church. When my children were young they didn't like pot roast so I stopped cooking it.

Now with the children moved out I often crave pot roast. I've been searching for the perfect recipe for years. I've finally found it at Closet Cooking. The recipe is easy and the smell of the roast baking in the oven for 3 - 4 hours is enough to drive one insane! The roast was so tender I could scoop a serving out of the pan with a spoon. I also made his Peas and Pancetta and Shallots. I substituted bacon for the pancetta since I forgot to buy it at the store this past weekend.

Doesn't my plate look scrumptious? You can even see the steam rising from this wonderful meal. It was the perfect meal for a day when the temps didn't get above 20 degrees F.
Tomorrow I'll be trying his Roasted Squash with Gorgonzola and Maple Syrup as our side dish. Three of my favorite foods in one dish!

By the way, the Banana Cream Pie I made for DS #2 on Sunday was fantastic! The photo doesn't do it justice. It was even better the next day, but it didn't last any longer than that. I'm thinking of making a chocolate version of this pie for Valentine's Day. Should be yummy!
Happy cooking and eating!

Sweet P

Super Bowl Sunday

2009-02-01T13:18:00.001-08:00

What's Super Bowl Sunday without food? And in my house, it also means we celebrate DS #2's birthday.

Later I will be making his requested meal: teriyaki steak and chicken, Velveeta Shells and Cheese and green beans. However, the dessert is going to be the star of the meal.

His choice of dessert allowed me to use my new mixer I got for Christmas.
Here it is whipping the heavy cream:

With the addition of vanilla and banana pudding mix, a pie crust and bananas the heavy cream became this:

Doesn't the pie look yummy? I can't wait to have some! Happy Birthday DS #2!

Go Cardinals!
Sweet P

Food Coma Sunday

2009-01-18T15:58:00.001-08:00

Some days DH and I have "food coma" days. These are days when we eat so much food that we can't eat anymore (think Thanksgiving) and by early evening we are struggling to get off the couch.

Today was a food coma Sunday. This morning when I got home from grocery shopping I made blueberry pancakes, sausage and bacon for breakfast. This afternoon I made Short Ribs with Chocolate and Rosemary. I found the recipe on Megan's Cookin blog. I've never cooked with chocolate and beef together and couldn't wait to taste these ribs.

The ribs look yummy. The sauce smells yummy. But I can't say I was totally impressed with the meal. Everything was cooked, but the taste wasn't there. It was a blah meal. I'm not sure what I missed or what I didn't do correctly. My only thought is that I used a food processor to chop the vegetables and I think I grated them too finely instead of chopping them. I'll try the recipe again sometime just to make sure.
We got another 12 inches of snow today. The plow guy is running out of room to put the snow. I'll have to get a photo of the pile outside our condo. Soon they'll be plowing my car in instead of plowing it out!

Sweet P

My Least Favorite Household Task

2009-01-16T16:06:00.001-08:00

Ivy at Home Ec 101 has asked the question: What are the household chores you hate? I enjoy household chores. I enjoy making our home clean and comfortable. Granted, I don't have pets and my sons are adults and there is only DH and I in the house so I don't have a lot of messes and laundry like many people. Nevertheless there is one household chore I hate: cleaning the refrigerator.

I hadn't cleaned the fridge since Thanksgiving and it looked and smelled like it! Can you see the following items: three yogurt containers (one unopened and old, one almost gone and one with leftover Chicken Marsala from Thanksgiving weekend); carrot ginger soup (in the white bag), several bags of grated cheese in the meat and cheese drawer, all the beer? The lunch bag had a few items leftover from a meat and cheese gift pack from my mom. There was also a container of leftovers from New Year's Eve dinner.
I didn't take a before photo of the door, but here it is all clean. I didn't have to throw out too many bottles but I did organize it. By the way how many bottles of mustard and/or salad dressing do you have in your fridge? I have four types of mustard and three bottles of salad dressing.
Here is the fridge all cleaned out. The beer is still there. The old leftovers are gone and it doesn't smell anymore.
What's your least favorite household task?
Sweet P

What I Like About Hotels

2009-01-13T17:17:00.000-08:00

Who doesn't enjoy staying in a hotel? I'm fortunate my DH travels extensively for work and earns many free hotel points that he likes to use one weekends away for us. There are some pieces of a hotel stay that always interest me.

First, the bed. I love a king-sized bag with fluffy pillows, a pillow top. crisp and warm linens. Our bed had all of these features. I just wish I had taken a photo of it made up. Oh well, you can assume it was perfectly made.

The more unique the furniture in the room is, the better I like it. We had room service breakfast on Sunday morning. Now you see the table . . .

Now you don't . . .

The table slides under the desk when not in use. Isn't that cool? I would love a set up like this in my sewing room. Sometimes I feel so overwhelmed with all the furniture in my sewing room and I wish I could put some of it away.

Hotel art is something else I love. Have you ever really looked at hotel art? It can be very beautiful. This piece was in the hotel lobby. A collage of photos of Providence, mixed with two dimension blocks of glass. Wouldn't this idea work wonderful with family photos? I may have to try and recreate my own version of this. Of course, I would probably use fabric instead of glass, but it would still be a fun project.

Some of the other items I enjoy in a hotel is a jacuzzi tub in the room (we didn't have one this time). Breakfast is a big meal for me, especially if there is a hot buffet included. The breakfast in the hotel was only a B this time. Free internet is great. However, when you stay at high-end hotels paying for internet is assumed. I guess I shouldn't complain since we didn't pay for the rest of the weekend.

What do you enjoy in a hotel room?
Sweet P

Cooking Ahead

2009-01-08T13:24:00.000-08:00

One of my favorite cookbooks is Light Cooking For Two by Anne Chappell. I like it because it has recipes for everything from breakfast to breads to make-ahead meals for two. I took advantage of my day off today and made two recipes that make several portions so I could have a few meals ready for days when I work late.

First up is Hearty Meat Sauce. Ground beef, onions, celery, garlic, canned tomatoes, tomato paste, beef broth and a bay leaf simmering in the pan. I dressed up the recipe and added a splash of red wine and pancetta. This will make enough sauce for three meals for us. Can someone tell me why a recipe would call for canned whole tomatoes that you have to chop to use? Couldn't you just use canned chopped tomatoes? What am I missing?
The second pot is Brunswick Stew. Poached chicken with potatoes, onion, celery, lima beans and corn. I used frozen peas instead of drained canned tomatoes and added a splash of Marsala wine. We are having this for dinner tonight with hot biscuits. The remainder will be packaged for another two meals.
What kind of make-ahead cooking do you make, if any?

Sweet P

New Year News Update

2009-01-04T10:25:00.001-08:00

When DH and I were discussing what we wanted for Christmas, we decided we would finish the renovation on our bedroom. Last August I made this quilt and we decided to turn it into our headboard. It will be turned horizontally rather than the way it appears in the photo. I have the foam and plywood to finish the headboard. I have a bolt of teal microsuede fabric to recover a chair and ottoman.

DH chose the paint color. He painted the room yesterday. He has a few more touch up spots and then we can start putting the room back together. This is what it currently looks like:
Do you remember the Need This? Challenge I started last July? It sort of died because I didn't keep up on the posts. But I can tell you the box of kitchen tools I put away in July has not been touched so it will be donated later this month. I have added a few more items to the drawer, but I do use them. My spice drawer hasn't grown any. The pantry is fuller now and needs some sorting out. Overall I'm still happy with the results of my organizing last summer. How did you do?

I'm hosting a Homestyle Pay It Forward. What's Pay It Forward, you ask? Well, if you are one of the first 3 people who comment on this post and ask to join I will send you a Pay It Forward package of goodies for your home. The package will contain items I will select especially for you and will contain at least one handmade item. In return, you agree to post the Pay It Forward Challenge on your blog and agree to send a package to three people.

I've been a little lax on posting the last couple months. I've been juggling my new job, plus consulting hours, plus keeping up on the house and there hasn't been enough time for blogging. I'm happy to say that I have been offered a promotion at my new job and when it is finalized DH has told me I will no longer do the consulting hours. He doesn't want me working more than 40 hours a week for health reasons. By the end of this month I should be down to one job and I go back to enjoying my home as I was doing last summer. I can't wait!

Happy Homemaking!
Sweet P

Present for Coffee Time At Home

2008-12-27T04:37:00.000-08:00

My MIL likes to give you what you ask for on Christmas day. I had told her a few weeks ago I wanted a stand mixer. I have a hand mixer, but a stand mixer would make cooking and baking more fun.

She bought me a Sunbeam Heritage Stand Mixer just like this one.
Now my question is: what should be the first item I make with it? I'm looking for suggestions. What's your favorite recipe to make that needs a stand mixer?

Sweet P

A Well-Used Wedding Present

2008-12-21T15:29:00.000-08:00

Do you have wedding presents that you still use often? At least once a week or more?

I was wondering about this the other day when I filled our coffee carafe. DH and I don't like to let the coffee sit on the burner once it's made. So when we are not running out the door in the morning the coffee gets poured into the carafe and sits on the counter. The carafe will keep the coffee hot for several hours. The carafe matches our casual china - Garden Harvest from Mikasa.

I don't know what I would do if we ever broke the carafe. I love my carafe.

I do have one other wedding gift I use every day (or at least every day I'm in the kitchen). That is a kitchen knife set. It sits on the counter and every time I need to slice, dice, chop or cut I reach for one of the knives.

Tell me about a wedding you use nearly every day. Do you have any wedding gifts you still use?

Sweet P

New England Ice Storm

2008-12-16T16:03:00.001-08:00

Hello from New Hampshire! Coffee Time at Home is still home, but the last two weeks have been a blur. Last Thursday night/Friday morning an ice storm came through the state.

Sometime during Thursday night we lost power to half of the house. Of course it was the half with the boiler so we had no heat. DS #2 called me and asked if he and DIL could come over because they had no electricity. Of course I said yes.

When I looked out my kitchen window this is the view I saw. Ice, everywhere ice.
This a close-up black and white photo of one of the trees in the backyard.
Here is the grass in the front yard. I really like this photo, but the ice was dangerous. At the height of the storm there were over 400,000 homes and businesses without power.
Thankfully our power was fully restored on Sunday morning. Some people are not so lucky and are still without power and could be for another week. What an awful event to happen so close to the holidays.

Speaking of the holidays, I haven't taken out any Christmas decorations. Maybe this weekend I'll get a chance to do a little holiday decorating. Since we celebrate Christmas at the in-laws we seldom do a lot of decorating in our own home. Next year will be different since the new grandchild will be here!

Happy Holidays to everyone!
Sweet P

Thanksgiving Review

2008-11-30T14:56:00.000-08:00

The table was set by noon. Notice the napkins? I made them Thanksgiving morning.
The boys were there . . . ooops, not these boys. DH made the bed and thought we needed a few bears on the bed. Silly man!
Thanksgiving dinner was great. I didn't take any photos of the food. We were too hungry to wait for photos. I learned my kitchen does work well with three people cooking. At one point, DH was carving the turkey. I was standing at the stove stirring the gravy. DS #3 was mashing the potatoes. Everyone loved the Bacon Wrapped Turkey and the Slow Cooker Stuffing. Really they loved all of it.

After dinner we played Scrabble and Red Sox Uno. Sometime during the evening we decided to make coffee. We had several choices to go in the coffee: milk, cream, sugar and an assortment of alcohol. I love the line up in front of the coffee pot.
Last night the men made dinner. DS #3 made Chicken Marsala (with a little help from DH) and DS #2 made Green Bean Casserole with fresh green beans. DH added fresh corn on the cob. Yummy!
I officially have way too much food in the fridge right now and you know what? I'm craving a pizza right now!

DIL decided it was time to update my menu board. Here's what it reads now:
I guess that means she has to come over at least once a week to update it!

I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday weekend.
Sweet P

The Pantry is Stocked- Bring on Thansgiving!

2008-11-23T05:25:00.001-08:00

While working at home on Friday I worked on the Thanksgiving Menu and wrote the grocery list. Bright and early (and in the freezing and windy conditions) I went to the grocery store. A little over $100 and an hour later, I was home and the pantry is now stocked for the upcoming holiday week.

Here's my menu for Thursday:
Bacon-Wrapped Turkey with Cider Gravy (I just learned we probably won't be able to get the Pear Cider for the gravy. I will probably use unfiltered apple cider instead)
Slow Cooker Stuffing with sausage instead of mushrooms
Real Mashed Potatoes - requested by all the young adults in attendance and includes offers to mash the potatoes
Mashed Butternut Squash and Sweet Potatoes with Citrus - DH and I will probably be the only ones eating this dish.
Country Green Beans
Cranberry Relish
Dinner Rolls
Pumpkin Pie - a frozen one. I can't cook everything!
Triple Chocolate Cupcakes and maybe one other type of cupcakes.

What's on your Thanksgiving Menu?
Sweet P

Are You Ready For Thanksgiving?

2008-11-21T10:11:00.001-08:00

This is what my dining room looks like right now. Two of my tote bags on chairs instead of being put away. My coat on the chair instead of hung up. Hangers ready to go back to the dry cleaners. Assorted junk mail, DH's laptop case and a blooming cactus on the table. This table does not say I'm ready for Thanksgiving.

I'm more ready than it looks. My grocery list is ready for the store tomorrow. I'm keeping the menu traditional: turkey with all the trimmings and ham for DS #2 who doesn't care for the bird. There will only be six of us for dinner: DH and I, DS #2 and DIL, DS #3 and GF. Nice and simple. Just the way I need it right now.

Our trip to Mohegan Sun and Mystic, CT was fun last weekend. On the way down DH suggested we visit IKEA. I'm always up for a trip to IKEA. I found this cool floor mat for wooden floors and it now resides under my chair and desk. We also purchased a track lighting unit for my studio. I can't wait to get it installed.
While DH played poker at Mohegan Sun, I went shopping. There is a Lush store in the casino complex and I love Lush. When I walked into the store I was told for every $50 I spent I could get a $20 gift for free. I chose a couple of Christmas presents and some items for DH and I to share. My total was $109 so I got a Happy Gift Set for me. I suppose you're wondering what I got to share with DH - well, I bought a couple of massage bars. And they are wonderful! If you have a Lush store near you I highly recommend a visit. It's a great store.

Tonight DH and I are having a stay-at-home date night: dinner, a movie and then . . .

What are you doing this weekend? More importantly, are you ready for Thanksgiving?
Sweet P

Weekend With Hotel Man

2008-11-14T16:54:00.001-08:00

Hotel Man is taking me away for the weekend. We heading to Mystic, CT for a trip to Mohegan Sun . I'm hoping the weather will be nice enough for us to walk around Olde Mistick Village. Otherwise, we'll be napping in the hotel room before heading to the casino.

Meanwhile, here's a photo of one of the gorgeous blooms on my Christmas cactus for you to enjoy.

Have a great weekend!
Sweet P

Win New Dishes for the Holidays!

2008-11-10T05:18:00.001-08:00

Aren't these casseroles gorgeous? You can win them from My Journey Toward: The Glamorous Life of a Housewife. Go over there quick! The contest ends on Tuesday!

Good luck!
Sweet P

Blogging By Mail Package Arrived!

2008-11-07T16:38:00.001-08:00

Today was a dull, damp, dreary day here in New Hampshire. My day brightened up when there was a package in my mail box. My Blogging By Mail package arrived from Sarah at Sweets by Sarah.

Sarah sent me a box full of awesome goodies. I can't wait to start enjoying them.

First up was organic coffee. I will be enjoying a cup of coffee in the morning. The Wine-a-rita from Duplin Winery will make a great addition to our Thanksgiving dinner with my sons and their SO’s. I may be using the muffin cups this weekend. The fruit spread mix and fruit leather are new to me. I’ll save them until Hotel Man is home next week. The Sticky Fingers Rub will come in handy making ribs for football Sundays. The napkins and rings will add a special tough to our Christmas celebrations. The candle will make soaking in a bubble bath fun.

Sarah, thank you for choosing a wonderful assortment of goodies. Each and every one of them will be enjoyed!
Sweet P

What Kind of Tree is This and Hotel Man

2008-11-05T16:20:00.001-08:00

Can someone tell me what kind of tree/bush this is? It is next to our mailbox. It caught my eye the other day because all of the leaves are gone, but these beautiful berries are still on the tree.
I'm sure the berries are not edible by humans. They are surely beautiful.
On Monday morning DH headed to Europe again, London this time. For some reason he asked me to take a photo of him before he left. Here he is with his luggage, ready to leave. Excuse the gray splotch on the wall. We are still testing colors for our entry area.
I miss him! He'll be home next Tuesday night. We are going out for dinner on Wednesday night. Next week is Restaurant Week in Portsmouth. Our favorite restaurant, Ristorante Massimo, is part of the celebration. I can't wait for our dinner!

What's happening around your home?
Sweet P

My Christmas Cactus

2008-11-02T12:55:00.000-08:00

A friend of mine gave me a Christmas Cactus as a housewarming gift back in March. In May the cactus had one lonely flower bloom. This morning while looking at it I noticed it is filled with blooms. I can't wait to see how many flowers bloom on it.

I see at least 10 blooms on it. How exciting! I have absolutely no green thumb so for me to have my Christmas Cactus bloom again is awesome!

Stay tuned for photos of the flowers.
Sweet P

Hot Mama Apron Swap

2008-10-31T15:52:00.001-07:00

I don't remember how I learned about the Hot Drinks for Hot Mamas Apron Swap but today I received my swap package from Tammy at Sweet T Sews. What a wonderful and perfect package she sent to me. Inside the box was a handmade card, two Christmas ornaments filled with coffee beans and a painted coffee cup on the outside, a hazelnut scented candle, a package of coffee, a mug, and a matching apron and hot pad.
Here I am wearing my new apron. I love it! It's in my kitchen colors and it's full of coffee cups! Perfect for Coffee Time at Home.
It didn't take me long to use my new coffee cup. I enjoyed my afternoon Orange Cappuccino in it. The weight, shape and heft of the mug are exactly what I like in a coffee cup.
The quote on the back fits me to a "T". I don't well without my morning cup of coffee.
Thank you Tammy! Thank you to Valerie for hosting a fun swap!
Sweet P

My Living Room View

2008-10-30T18:36:00.001-07:00

I don't think I've ever posted a view of the trees I can see out the bay window in my living room. Yesterday morning as I was rushing out the door for work, the color of the trees caught my eye. I stopped, grabbed my camera and took a photo.

I should have taken a photo out this window when we moved in last February. The snow pile outside this window was up to the top of the bottom pane. For some perspective the bottom of this window is about 7 feet above the ground, add the window pane and you can imagine a snow pile about 8 - 9 feet high. If it gets that high this winter you can bet I'll be posting photos.

This morning I opened my Bloglines and started scanning the cooking blogs I read. I was trying to decide what to make for dinner when I found this recipe for Super Easy Garlic Chicken on the Big Red Kitchen. It was super easy. It was yummy, Hotel Man liked it and has made my "Make Again For Dinner" repertoire. I even think I like it better than my old chicken stand-by Shake N Bake.

The fire alarm in the upstairs hallway is driving us crazy. For some unexplained reason it beats once and then beeps again about 30 seconds later. It does this about once an hour. Sometimes it will go for hours and hours without making a sound, then it will start in again. I've replaced the battery twice. I've turned off the power to the alarms at the fuse box for 15 minutes. The only think I haven't done yet is buy a new alarm. That's next on the list to do. While I'm at the big box store getting the fire alarm I need to buy weather stripping for the front door too. I can tell the wind will be blowing around the edges come winter.

What's next on your home improvement list?
Sweet P

Review of My Improvisational Risotto

2008-10-28T15:36:00.000-07:00

Last night I made this Butternut Squash Barley Risotto. I used barley instead of Arborio rice from this recipe and the pancetta idea from this recipe. I roasted the squash instead of boiling it. Used onion instead of shallots. Cooked the onion and pancetta in olive oil and butter. The result was great and went along well the meatloaf. The leftovers were even better today.
My DS #2 and his girlfriend are coming to our house for Thanksgiving. This will be the first Thanksgiving I will have both sons and their women here for dinner! I'm excited. I need to start thinking about a menu that is not too overwhelming, but is a little nontraditional.

Tell me about your Thanksgiving Dinners. Do you serve any non-traditional food at your dinner?
Sweet P

Money, Money, Money . . . . Money!

2008-10-27T04:43:00.000-07:00

You may or may not know that my DH travels about 100,000 miles a year for his job. His luggage usually lasts about two years before it needs to be replaced. When he returned from Europe last week he told me that not only had his big suitcase broke, but his briefcase was broken too. That didn't include the medium sized suitcase that was already broken.

On Saturday he decided he needed to go to the Samsonite store to get his luggage replaced. The big suitcase was sent to the factory for repairs. He bought a new medium suitcase and his briefcase was replaced.

Anyway, when I got home from work, the dining room table was covered with the contents of his briefcase, including a pile of coins. I took a few minutes and sorted out the pile. The top pile is US coins and they went into our coin jar. The pile on the bottom left is UK coins, in the middle coins from the United Arab Emirates and on the right Euros. I know there is about 15 Euros and that is about $18 US dollars. The UAE coins are dirhams and they are worth 81 cents in US currency. I could count up the UK coins, but I already put the coins away for DH's trip to London next week.
It's been great having DH home. I worked Friday, Saturday and Sunday. I came home to a cooked meal every night. Chicken and Bacon Alfredo on Friday. Fresh ground beef burgers on Saturday. Marinated Steak last night. Tonight I'm returning the favor and making him Meatloaf and Butternut Barley Risotto. I'm going to tweak the recipe a little and add sauteed pancetta instead of the tomatoes. I'll let you know how it turns out.

Have a great week!
Sweet P

Thursday Happpenings

2008-10-23T10:01:00.000-07:00

Hotel Man came home from Europe last night. How do I know that, other than the wonderful dinner we had at Longhorn Steak House and having him in bed with me all night? Well, look at the bathroom counter:
I am not a total neat freak. But when I am home along the only items you will find on the bathroom counter would be the soap dish, a water glass, and maybe my comb. I know he didn't leave a lot of stuff on the counter. It's stuff I either don't use (the scissors he uses to trim his beard and his lotion) or stuff I always put away (the toothpaste and toothbrush). Don't think I'm nagging. I'm not. I'm grinning from ear to ear knowing my Hotel Man is home and I can tell.

Yesterday I went to Michael's looking for frames for our menus we want framed and for my cross stitch projects. I found a frame with two pieces of acrylic so you can "float" the photo between the acrylic. I bought a small one and a large one. I put our honeymoon menu in the small frame and added a piece of lace behind it. I think it looks great. I need to straighten the menu a little before it gets hung on the wall.

I'm going to take the large frame back. The edges of the frame are about two inches deep and it's too imposing now that I'm comparing to the other framed menus we want to display in our dining room.

Hotel Man is home for about 10 days so I'm off to make a menu and plan the grocery list. See you later!

Sweet P

A Day Off!

2008-10-21T16:13:00.001-07:00

I finally had a day off from Jo-Ann today and took advantage of it. Recently I bought a cupcake gift set that contained a cupcake cookbook, a silicone 6-cup muffin tin and two silicone spatulas. Today I made Triple Chocolate Cupcakes. I'd post a link to the gift set, but Barnes & Noble doesn't have a photo of it on the website. If you live near B&N, go check the clearance aisle for one of these sets. These cupcakes have cocoa, milk chocolate chips and semi-sweet chocolate chips in them and are frosted with melted semi-sweet chocolate chips. They were delicious. My DIL are two of them for dessert tonight - one for her and one for baby.
I pulled the petals off the roses DH gave me for my birthday two weeks ago. I want to make potpourri with them. For now, they are drying on football plates in my kitchen. Anyone have suggestions for making potpourri?
Tomorrow Hotel Man returns from Europe and we will be going out for dinner. Thursday is another day off. Not sure what will be happening around Coffee Time that day. Maybe I'll make some more cupcakes. I want to try Pecan Coffeecake Cupcakes next.

Happy Eating!
Sweet P

Coffee Time At Home Is Changing

2008-10-15T15:46:00.000-07:00

I'm still here. I've started a seasonal retail position at Jo-Ann Fabrics. I went from 0 to 60 in one day. Next week my schedule will settle down and I'll be back to regular blogging.

Last week I got a banquet-sized folding table off Freecycle to use in my laundry area. I love it. I can fold all my clothes on it and not have to carry the basket up and down two flights of stairs every load.

Not much going on at home. With me working and DH in Europe life is quiet in Coffee Time.

I do miss not being home more, but this is a temporary job and soon I'll be back home more.
Sweet P

Show Me Your Laundry Area

2008-10-07T11:18:00.000-07:00

Two weeks ago I showed photos of my basement before and after I straightened it up. However I didn't stop there. I don't like having a space that doesn't make me feel welcome, even if it is an unfinished basement.

I owe that feeling to my grandma and grandpa. Their basement was unfinished, but it was a place of a lot of activity. Since I don't have a photo let me take you on a tour. The steps came down from the side of the kitchen to about the middle of the basement. As you came to the bottom of the steps the furnace and water heater were in the middle of the room a little to the left. To the left of the steps was the laundry area, including a wringer washer and two sinks. The area to the right of the stairs and underneath the stairs was storage. Just beyond the furnace on the left was my grandpa's oak desk and tool area. In the area to the right in front of the stairs was grandma's cutting table. Her cutting table was a large 1950's style dining room table. She and I spent money hours cutting patterns and tying quilts around that table. I even remember having Thanksgiving dinner at that table in the basement one year.

That's what I want my basement to be like, well maybe not the Thanksgiving dinner part. Unfinished, but usable. I told Hotel Man I can accomplish that for $200 or less. I started the task last week with a trip to Target. I purchased five storage bins, clothes hangers and big red hooks from Target. Last Friday afternoon I started going through the moving boxes I had neatly stacked the week before. Items were either put into a storage container, a give away pile or a trash pile. I have three more boxes to sort through, but I have run out bins. Two of the red hooks have been attached to studs and I'm using them to hang up some winter clothing.

The photo shows my laundry area as it is right now, or at least when I'm in the middle of doing the laundry. The shelving between the washer and dryer came out of the pantry when we remodeled it. I use it for laundry supplies. The bag on the floor is the trash bag (Note to self: need better trash container). I have a drying rack for drying clothes and behind that is the hot water heater with the boiler next to it. It's not pretty, but it's functional.

So what else am I doing in the basement? I'm getting a folding banquet table from Freecycle that I will use for folding clothes (and maybe some other activities). I still want to get rid of any boxes that have stuff in them. I'm thinking of painting the floors and walls. Anything is better than the greyness of concrete. Someday we will be able to finish the basement, but for now I want to make is a happy place.

I'd love to see photos of your laundry space. Won't you share them?

Sweet P

Call Me Mrs. Fix-It

2008-09-30T17:18:00.001-07:00

I'm slowly becoming Mrs. Fix-It in our home. It's not that Hotel Man (AKA DH) doesn't know how to do home repairs. It's because I'm the one who is home 95% of the time so it only makes sense that I should become friends with my tool box.

I have six outlets in my kitchen (not counting the ones for the appliances). Out of those six outlets there is one I use nearly every day for my toaster, one that I use frequently for plugging in my electric grill, and the one in the photo below that gets used every single day. I can't go a day without coffee.
Sunday morning I made coffee. Then I used the outlet to make a crock pot of Beef Barley soup. Sunday night I used the outlet to grind the coffee beans.

On Monday morning I came into the kitchen to turn the coffee pot on . . . NOTHING! I plugged it into the top outlet . . . NOTHING! I moved the coffee pot to where the toaster is and made coffee there. What a pain in the butt!

Last night Hotel Man suggested checking the fuse box. I did that. No fuses were tripped. I was going to call an electrician today to have him come fix the problem.

This morning I took my laptop computer and tested every outlet in the kitchen. In the process I learned that the outlet on the island (the one I use for the grill) wasn't working either. How strange. Just for fun I pushed the Reset button on the outlet by the sink. Then I tested the coffee pot outlet. It worked! So did the island outlet. I don't know how or why it worked, but it did!

Next up is the upstairs toilet. It's not flushing properly. I have the page bookmarked in my Home How-To book. I just need to do it.

Tell me about your fix-it projects.

PS - The job hunt is moving ahead. I have an interview at Joann's this coming Thursday.
Sweet P

Job Hunting, Organizing and Welcome Spaces

2008-09-23T14:16:00.001-07:00

I have decided it's time for me to find a new job. I'd love to be able to work from home, but right now the income is needed. I will still try to start a home-based business but for now I'm job hunting. This morning I filled out applications for Joann's, Barnes & Noble, Hannaford (my local grocery store) and my local quilt shop.

The quilt shop would be my number one choice. I have a good chance of getting a job there. The owner and I get along well. I bring a lot of marketing and administrative experience that can free him and his mom (the owners) up to move the business forward. I'd be ecstatic to spend the day cutting fabric for them.

Deb at Creative Soul is hosting an Autumn Clean Sweep Challenge. I took her up on it since I'm also working on the Need This Challenge. My basement has been bothering me for weeks and weeks. Since we are currently unable to finish the basement as we hoped to when we first moved in, the basement has become the dumping ground. I couldn't take it anymore. This is what it looked like:
I brought my computer downstairs, cranked up Jesus Christ Superstar on my I-Tunes and went to work. I was able to break down a few boxes and I have a couple of items that I'm ready to take to the thrift shop. The rest of the sorting will have to wait for DH to be home on a Saturday. I think we need to buy some Rubbermaid Totes and cheap shelving. I can't stand having all the moving boxes still around.
Deb talked about sprucing up our Welcome Spaces. Since we live in a condo complex I can't do anything outside. But while I was cleaning the basement I did find my Autumn wreath and it is now proudly hanging on my front door.
Thanks for the push Deb! Tomorrow I plan to clean my studio. It needs it!
Sweet P

Steak and Sports

2008-09-21T15:40:00.001-07:00

Life at Coffee Time at Home has been slow the last two weeks. A week of travel and a week of recovery are behind me and I think I can get life back to normal here.

To prove that on Friday night I made Seared Steak with Orange Salsa and Traders Joe's Wild Rice Medley. It was yummy. I think the next time I make it I'll use a little less pepper than the recipe calls for. I would also use mandarin oranges rather than regular oranges. The recipe came from The Sonoma Diet cookbook.
Then I made Cape Cod Oatmeal cookies. I don't know why they are called Cape Cod Oatmeal cookies. I suppose you could add dried cranberries if you wanted to and I may do that the next time I make them.
This was my view from my spot on the couch between 1 and 4 PM today. The Patriots on the big TV (too bad they lost). The Ryder Cup on the little TV (hooray! The US won!).
To my right on the pull down table was my computer showing the Game Day screen of the Red Sox - Toronto game. Just behind that window was my StatTracker showing the scores for our family fantasy football league.
Just in case you're wondering all I did was watch sports today check out Coffee Time Stitches. You can see what I finished while watching all those games.

Comfort Food and Trader Joes

2008-09-13T16:48:00.000-07:00

Do you live far away from where you grew up? If so, do you have favorite childhood foods that you can't buy where you live now? I do. There are two childhood foods I can't find here in New England. Actually I've never been able to find them outside of Minnesota. Every time I go to MN I have to stock up on these two products.

Malt-O-Meal is a hot cereal that has a smooth consistency and is super yummy. There are three flavors: original, chocolate and maple & brown sugar. I just checked the search engine on the web site and it says my grocery may carry it, but I've never seen it. It also says Wal-Mart carries it, but I refuse to shop at Wal-Mart. Anyway, my favorite flavor is chocolate. If I have mini marshmallows on hand I put a few of them on top and swirl them into the hot cereal. Breakfast this morning was so yummy!
The other food I have to buy when I'm home in Minnesota is Creamette macaroni rings. When these little rings are cooked they make the best tuna salad. The salad "holds" together perfectly. It's easy to scoop up the salad with a spoon or stab a forkful and slide it into your mouth. I have tried other macaroni ring products, but nothing compares to using Creamette macaroni rings.

Here is my basic recipe for Tuna Salad. It's so easy to make.
7 ounces macaroni rings, cooked as directed on the box
1 cup celery, finely chopped
2 - 6 ounce cans tuna, drained
1/4 cup onions, finely diced
1 cup mayonnaise
Salt and Pepper, to taste

Mix all the ingredients in a large bowl and chill. Sometimes I add other herbs like parsley or dill to the salad.

I could eat this salad every day during the summer.

A new Trader Joe's opened up that is on my way home from the airport. I've heard a lot of people talk about Trader Joe's and thought I would check it out last night. I don't know what I missed, but I don't understand what makes the store so special. I didn't see a lot of products I can't get at my local grocery store. The prices were comparable to what I pay for food. What did I miss?

Anyway, tell me what your childhood food was and can you still make it.
Sweet P

NFL/Birthday Brunch

2008-09-07T09:22:00.000-07:00

The NFL Football Season is here! OK, it started Thursday night. Our team, the New England Patriots, have their first game this afternoon. And it's my DIL's birthday. In honor of the special occasion (and the fact that Hanna has moved on) I made brunch this morning.

On the menu was a bacon, smoked mozzarella, potato frittata, chocolate covered donuts,

Apple Bundles from the Pampered Chef Delightful Desserts,
courtesy of Kristen at Dine and Dish. These were super yummy!

Later we will have strawberry cheesecake (DIL's favorite dessert) and pretzels with chocolate. Carolyn posted these a few weeks ago and I thought they would be a wonderful football snack. I made them with Hershey Caramel Kisses and plain M&Ms. I'm sure they will delightfully sinful.

Do you have special food you make for football Sunday's? Come on and share them. I'm always looking for something to make on football Sunday.

Happy football! Go Patriots!
Sweet P

Where am I?

2008-09-02T13:36:00.001-07:00

I've been busy getting ready for a weekend of travel followed by getting ready for a week visiting my parents.

This past weekend we went to Washington, DC for a friend's wedding. We left on Friday afternoon to arrive in DC in time for the rehearsal dinner. On Saturday morning we visited the Air and Space Museum. The wedding was Saturday night. The photo to the right is me in my new red dress. I've never owned or wore a red dress in my life. Let me tell you it was a lot fun! This is my new favorite outfit. I only wish I had more places to wear it.

On Sunday morning we flew back to Boston and then went to the Deutsche Bank Golf Championship. We go every year and were a little disappointed that our friend got married, but that's life and we'll be back to our normal schedule next year.

We got home late last night and I'm trying to get caught up on everything.

Next week I'm going to visit my parents in Minnesota. I haven't seen my dad since he went into the nursing home two years ago and it's time for a visit.

Later this week I'll do a drawing for the first round of the Need This? Challenge. You still have plenty of time to join! I need to start decluttering our basement. It's getting out of control!

I hope you have a great week and thanks for stopping by!
Sweet P

A New Swap and Taking a Lunch Break

2008-08-25T05:25:00.000-07:00

Stephanie at Dispensing Happiness has announced a new swap: Blogging by Mail: 10 Items or Less. Go check it out and sign up! This will be my first non-quilt swap and I'm so excited to be a part of it!

Earlier this month I was bemoaning my meager attempts at having meals for one. I received some good suggestions, but haven't tried them yet.

Anyway, I've started working from home about 7 - 8 hours a day, four days a week for my boss. The work is mostly creating database systems and then writing instruction memos for the systems.

I got tired of nibbling my way through the day and decided to start taking a "real" lunch break. Every day from noon to one I have my lunch. Last week I went into my china cabinet to get something and came across two Debbie Mumm plates I forgot I had. They are adorable plates and just the right size for a lunch portion.

I decided I'm going to start treating lunch as my special time. I'm going to use special plates and eat good food. I will not nibble my day away.
Here is today's lunch. I made a frittata on Saturday morning with ham, onions, peppers, cheddar cheese, mozzarella cheese and potatoes. I had two leftover slices and I had one for lunch today along with a dish of strawberry yogurt. It was yummy.
What have you done to be good to yourself at meal time? When was the last time you served your family dinner on the good china and it wasn't a holiday? Why not do it one night this week? Tell your family they are special enough to use the china any day of the week.

Share with me how you make every day meals special in your house.
Sweet P

Wednesday Menu and a Favorite Fall Recipe

2008-08-20T16:40:00.000-07:00

I do my grocery shopping on Wednesday which means my weekly menu runs Wednesday to Tuesday. I decided to start sharing our weekly menu as many bloggers do. I confess I'm not always a frugal shopper. DH and I enjoy eating and if we didn't eat at home, we'd be eating out more (and spending more) to satisfy our "foodie" selves.

I had to stop at Tuttles Red Barn on Saturday to buy the squash and apples for Stuffed Butternut Squash (recipe below). I noticed they had started picking their sweet corn. I decided I would buy some for dinner tonight. When I went there today to buy the corn they had their home grown tomatoes in the store. I decided to make Insalata Caprese to have with the sweet corn. I bought two tomatoes, mozzarella cheese and a red onion. At the grocery store I snipped some fresh basil for the salad. Don't these fresh ingredients look yummy?

They look even better made into the Insalata.

Here's the rest of this week's menu:

Wednesday: Grilled Sirloin, Insalata Caprese, Corn on the Cob
Thursday: Shepherd's Pie for me (DH has poker)
Friday: Ham Steak, Mac and Cheese, Cole Slaw
Saturday: Dinner in Boston (we are going to the Neil Diamond concert at Fenway Park)
Sunday: Pork Chops and Brown Rice, Romaine Salad
Monday: Spaghetti and Meatballs (I'm going to try Candace's recipe), garlic bread
Tuesday: Frozen meal for me (Tuesday's are guy's night and I'm home alone)

This is the view I have from my kitchen island to my new office area. Tonight I thought it would be perfect if I could get my baseball and football games on my computer. Then cooking and cleaning the kitchen would be even more fun than it is now. I suppose I could play DVDs if I wanted to do that. I'm starting to live more in my kitchen and office area and I think I like it.
Here is my favorite fall recipe: Stuffed Butternut Squash

Cut a butternut squash in half and clean out the seeds and pulp. Lightly oil a baking pan and the cut side of the squash. Place the squash in the pan, cut side up and cover with foil. Bake at 375 for 45 – 60 minutes or until squash is done. Remove squash from oven, but leave oven on.

While squash is cooling, brown 8 ounces of sausage in a medium skillet. (I usually mix half hot and half mild sausage) When sausage is lightly browned add one tart peeled and chopped apple to the sausage. (I usually use a Granny Smith apple). Cook 3 –4 minutes until apple is lightly browned and soft. Lightly scoop the squash out of the skin, leaving enough of the squash to keep the shell sturdy. Add the squash, 2 tablespoons butter, 1 tablespoon brown sugar and a dash or two of sage to the sausage and apples. Lightly mix the ingredients together without breaking up the squash.

Scoop the stuffing into the butternut squash shells. Top with a few small pats of butter and about 1 tablespoon of brown sugar. Put the squash back in the oven and bake for another 15-20 minutes until the butter is melted and the stuffing is golden brown.

Let cool a few minutes before serving.

If you make this recipe, I'd love to know how you like it.

Thanks for stopping by!
Sweet P

It's Tuesday Again

2008-08-19T07:56:00.001-07:00

I can't believe I haven't posted here in a week! Not much has been going on at Coffee Time the past week. I was feeling under the weather last week and took some time to be alone to relax and regroup.

DH will be starting his fall conference travel next month. From September 9th through mid-November he will be traveling to Europe, Arizona, Japan, Hong Kong, Singapore and New York City. He will be home between trips, but for the most part I will be holding down the fort.

This is the first time he's done this much traveling and I haven't been working outside of the home. Life around here will surely be different. I may be able to skip some laundry days when there's only me around. I do have some events planned: a visit to see my parents in Minnesota, a couple of sewing days with friends and lots and lots of NFL football!

Are you a football fan? Who's your favorite and least favorite teams? My favorite teams are the New England Patriots and the Minnesota Vikings. My least favorite teams are the Dallas Cowboys and the Green Bay Packers (although I am a fan of Bret Favre).

Do you have a favorite fall or football recipe? If share it on your blog and let me know. I'll share my favorite recipes starting tomorrow.

Answers to Questions

2008-08-12T15:50:00.000-07:00

I've had a couple of questions to my posts and I thought I'd answer them here.

In June I posted about the Red Sox paint I bought. Hemarc asked what the colors are called because they didn't have them at the local Benjamin Moore dealer. The red is called Poppy, the green is balsam, the yellow is sunshine and the blue is symphony blue. I hope that answers your question and you are able to get the paint you need for your son's room.

Kitty asked me about our menu collection. Our collection is small at the moment but it will grow. DH and I are foodies. When we go on vacation we set two meal goals for ourselves:

Never eat a chain restaurant (unless it's in the airport). We want to sample the local fare and will often ask the concierge or staff at the hotel where they eat. I often spend a few hours before the vacation doing Internet searches about the restaurants or Chowhound. Chowhound is a great site to get advice from locals about restaurants.
We love Tasting Menus or Prix Fixe menus. That's where our collection comes in. We currently have three menus from Tasting Menus that we've enjoyed since we've been married. We always ask the chef if he will sign a menu for us. So far, we haven't been turned down.

Here's a photo of our collection. I need to get two of the menus framed so we can hang them.

The small menu in the middle is the first Chef's Tasting Menu meal we enjoyed. On our honeymoon in 2001 the concierge at the hotel recommended Canlis for dinner. What a fantastic restaurant. The view is outstanding, the food is incredible and the service was perfect. The tasting menu that night was:

Miniature Wasyugyn Beef Tartare Burger (think mini cheeseburger)
Mixed Green Salad with Bing Cherries, Carmelized Hazelnuts and Goat Cheese
Dungeness Crab & Wild Fennel Ravioli
Jellied Fresh Green Apple Juice
Grilled Petite New York Steak with Oregon Blue Cheese and Walla Walla Sweet Onion Rings
Napoleon of Summer Berries

The menu on the right is from The Blacksmith Restaurant in Bend, OR. What a fantastic restaurant. We were pleasantly surprised that they offer a Prix Fix meal and you can specify what you like and don't like. For me, that meant I could say bring on the steak and hold the seafood. We had six wonderful courses, each one better than the previous one. It took us two hours to enjoy dinner. Here's the menu:

First Course - Watermelon Salad - mixed greens topped with minted goat cheese, watermelon and basil pesto.
Second Course - I had steak adobo and DH had haddock and scallops in a Pinot Noir sauce
Third Course - A small pasta dish with house-cured salami, onions, fennel, roasted tomatoes and pasta. This course was very, very yummy.
Fourth Course - Pork tenderloin on white beans with grilled nectarines and prosciutto on grilled radicchio
Fifth Course - Sliced Top Sirloin with Fried Potatoes with a truffle oil reduction.
Sixth (and final) Course - an Almond Tulle Cookie Cup filled with fresh berries topped with a lemon sauce. Very light and refreshing.

Now this reads like a lot of food, but each plate was about a third of the size of a regular portion. That combined with the timing between each course you were able to enjoy each selection without feeling stuffed. I'd go back there in a minute.

The framed menu on the left is from our local favorite restaurant. When DH asks me where I want to go for dinner 9 times out of 10 the answer is The Chop Shop. I'm so happy we have a prime steak house in our town. We used to be able to walk to the restaurant, but now that we moved we have to drive 5 minutes. Chef Koz is a great cook and often has wine tasting dinners. The menu is from a Benziger "Reserve" wine dinner we enjoyed in October 2004. The menu that evening was:

Chardonney Poached Chayote Tart, Grilled Curried Chicken with Adobo Sauce, assorted cheese and oils
Roast Turbot (fish) with a Crab Duxelle (I did not eat this)
Fall Harvest Salad with Country French Pate de Campagne and Cream of Squash & Sorrelle Soup
Venison Sauerbraten, Marinated Bear's Head Mushrooms and Squash Gnocchi
Chocolate Cannoli filled with Bing Cherry Ricotta

The meal was a little too "out there" for me. But it was a wonderful evening and I even received a bottle of Benziger wine signed by one of the Benzigers. I much prefer Koz's Filet Mignon, buttermilk mashed potatoes and carrots in pecan butter.

Now I'm hungry! I need to start cooking dinner and I have chicken breasts waiting to cook. Somehow chicken doesn't sound as yummy as all the above menus do. Oh well, I guess it's almost time for DH to take me to the Chop Shop for dinner.

Oh . . . honey . . .
Sweet P

The ABC's of Homemaking

2008-08-10T05:41:00.000-07:00

Is it fall already? This singular red leaf greeted me yesterday morning outside my kitchen window. I love the color of leaves in the fall. I can't wait to see what the trees will look like in a few weeks.

My friend, Kay, posted this on her blog recently. Here are my ABC's of Homemaking.

Aprons--y/n If y, what does your fav. look like?
I have a small apron collection. My favorite one is made from coffee fabric. Perfect for Coffee Time at Home.

Baking--Favorite thing to bake?
I don’t bake much. Our sweet tooth satisfier is ice cream.

Clothes line?
No clothes line. We live in condo complex that does not allow clothes lines.

Donuts--Have you ever made them?
Never made donuts. See baking comment.

Everyday--One homemaking thing you do every day?
Clean the kitchen. I love a clean kitchen.

Freezer--Do you have a separate deep freeze?
A separate deep freezer is on my wish list. Either that or a refrigerator/freezer with a larger freezer than what we have now.

Garbage Disposer?
Yes and I love it.

Handbook--What is your favorite homemaking resource?
I don’t have a favorite homemaking resource. Although I enjoy browsing the internet for tips and tricks.

Ironing--Love it or Hate it? Or hate it but love the results?
The only ironing I do is for my quilting. DH has his dress shirts dry cleaned and pressed.

Junk Drawer--y/n? Where is it?
I don’t have a junk drawer. I have a junk basement still. We haven’t finished unpacking from moving in five months ago.

Kitchen--color and decorating scheme
We just painted our kitchen a light green. The decorating scheme is going to center around signed restaurant menus we collect when we travel.

Love--what is your favorite part of homemaking?
Cooking is definitely my favorite homemaking task.

Mop--y/n?
I have wood floors. I use a microfiber cloth to clean them.

Nylons--wash by hand or in the washing machine?
Nylons, what are nylons? I haven’t worn them since I stopped working three months ago. Before that they went in the washing machine.

Oven--do you use the window or open the oven to check?
I use both depending on what I’m making.

Pizza--What do you put on yours?
We don’t eat pizza that often. But when we do I like Canadian bacon and pineapple.

Quiet--What do you during the day when you get a quiet moment?
Check my email or just sit and enjoy the quiet.

Recipe Card Box--y/n? What does it look like?
My MIL gave me a recipe card box a few years ago. It’s yellow with grapes and vines on it.

Style of house--What style is your house?
We live in a condo with two bedrooms, one and a half baths. It’s brand new so it’s contemporary.

Tablecloths or Placemats?
Neither one right now. For company we use table cloths. We always use cloth napkins though.

Under the kitchen sink--organized or toxic wasteland?
Organized, mainly cleaning supplies.

Vacuum--How many times per week?
Once a week on Mondays.

Wash--How many loads of laundry do you do per week?
I do about five loads a week. Towels and bedding on Mondays, clothes on Tuesdays.

X's--Do you keep a daily list of things to do that you cross off?
I am not a daily list keeper. I have a list of weekly tasks and that’s about it.

Yard--y/n? Who does what?
We don’t have to do any yard work. That’s why we bought a condo – the landscapers do the outside work.

ZZZ's--what is your last homemaking task for the day before going to bed?
Make the kitchen is clean and the coffee is set to brew coffee at 6:15 am.

Dinner For One

2008-08-08T04:34:00.000-07:00

This is what I had for dinner the other night when I was home alone - peanut butter and jelly on whole wheat, cut diagonally, sour cream and onion potato chips and milk. This meal is a far cry from the dinners I usually make for DH and I.

I need some help coking for one! I'm tired of my usual fare: frozen meals. Tell me - how do you cook for one? Do you have a favorite cookbook? What's your secret? Please help me get out of the PB&J menu!

Thanks!
Sweet P

Kitchen/Dining/Office Area is Done!

2008-08-05T11:34:00.001-07:00

Thanks for all the compliments on the bathroom. We are very happy with the way it turned out.

Here are the photos of our kitchen/dining/office area that we painted over the weekend. I'm very happy with the color we chose. The first view is the sink and counter area you see when you walk into room. Yes, that is a teddy bear on the counter. He needs to go on top of the cupboard. I also made the Coffee Time mosaic back splash for our other apartment and still use it here.
For lack of a better phrase, I call this the appliance wall. It is to your left as you are looking at the sink. You can also see the kitchen island in the lower part of the photo. The island is where do all of my food prep.
This is our bistro height dinner table. We have six stools to go around it, but since there is only two of us most of the time we keep the other stools downstairs (which is the door on the right). There is a story behind this table. Six years ago we moved into a rental that had a large kitchen with the stove and fridge at one end and the sink and cupboards at the other end and a wide open space in the middle. I wanted a kitchen island for the space and went shopping for one. I went to Abode (see post below) when it was still Pier 1 and saw this table on display. It was marked down to $150 from $350. I couldn't figure out why. It was sturdy. The butterfly leaves worked (it expands to 54 inches by 54 inches). I asked the sales woman why it was marked down. She told me it came with the wrong sized legs. It is supposed to be a normal height dining room table. I said it was perfect for what I wanted and took it. It was, and is, one of my best shopping finds.
Fast forward to this past weekend. We needed a desk. Off we went shopping. We ended up at Abode. After walking around the store a few times, DH finally spied this desk. Guess what? It's from the same furniture line as our dining room table! Six years later and the company is still making the same furniture. It is a perfect match to the dining room table. We learned the manufacturer grows all their rubber trees on their own plantation in Thailand. We were being green with the dinner table and didn't even know it!
This is the chair we purchased. The chair was the most expensive item of the day. It is gorgeous and comfy and I love it. It's nice enough we can bring it into the living room to use as extra seating for company. I'm even thinking of buying one more.
Here's a close-up of the material. Kind of looks like alligator, but I doubt it's real.
We still need to think about the art work for the room. I'm thinking we should hang our Napa Valley framed map and the signed menus we've collected over the years. Once that is done we'll be moving on to the next room.

Are you still decluttering? I haven't done anything yet this week. But I have box of desk supplies and office items I need to clean out to see what can be used in the office area. Stay tuned!
Sweet P

The Bathroom Is Done!

2008-08-03T14:23:00.001-07:00

Thanks for all the suggestions on our bathroom decorating. All the ideas were wonderful. I liked the idea of a knee wall or half wall, but there isn't even space to put on in. Yesterday we to Abode Home Furnishings. Think Pier 1, but much better. We went looking for a desk and chair for my office area. While we were there we found an espresso colored ladder shelf. This is one of the options we had been thinking about and when we saw one we knew it was what we needed for the bathroom.

Here is the shelf assembled and in it's new home in the bathroom. This week I'm going to Target to buy white fluffy towels to put on the bottom shelf. I'm also going to buy a plant or two to put on the shelves to add some green (read life) to the room.

Here is a close-up of the wall art we have for the bathroom. We bought these two prints six years ago for our old bathroom. They look great in the new bathroom, too. It's a little hard to tell in the photos, but the original art work was made with pieces of fabric. I'm assuming the fabric was fused to the background. The edges of the fabric pieces have been left raw. It's a technique that would be fun to try. This piece is hanging next to the counter top.

This piece is hanging over the shelf.

We have finished painting the kitchen/dining/office area. We did find a desk and chair at Abode and I will share photos of the new furniture and space tomorrow. We are still waiting for the paint to dry.

Tonight I can't wait to take a bubble bath in my completed bathroom!
Sweet P

Tuesday Declutter Update

2008-07-30T05:39:00.000-07:00

Sunday night about 8 pm I got the urge to declutter a few more drawers in my kitchen. Lord know why, since there was a Red Sox/Yankees game on TV. But when the urge strikes, I must obey.

There are three drawers on the right side of the dishwasher that are out of the flow of 90% of cooking and doing the dishes. The only other appliance in this part of the kitchen is the coffee maker. The cupboard above the dishwasher holds our every day dishes. When we moved in these drawers became a leftover junk drawer and plastics containers. One day last weekend DH got up before me. When I got up that morning he told me it took him 15 minutes to find the coffee beans because they weren't by the coffee machine. Duh, I realized I was keeping the coffee at the other end of the counter, no where near the coffee machine. Not very efficient. I came up with a plan to move the coffee and declutter these drawers at the same time.

Here's the top drawer before. It was a mish mash of odds and ends - some tools, the apple slicer, manuals, candy and some junk.

Here's the middle drawer - a total mish mash of plastic containers and covers.

Drawer #3 - also a mish mash of containers and even potholders.

Here is the top drawer after cleaning. I left my tea spoons and coffee brush in it, along with small plastic containers, the apple slicer and a couple of other odds and ends. When I was cleaning it out I found my garlic masher I had forgotten I had and put that in my tool drawer. I know I will use it. I put all the tools in the tool box.

The middle drawer became my coffee drawer. I have my coffee delivered once every 8 weeks. It is fresh roasted coffee beans that are roasted the day before they are sent. Now when I make coffee all I have to do is reach down and grab a bag. DH was happy with this move!

Here is what remains of the the plastic containers and is in drawer #3. All of the butter and cream cheese containers went into the recycle bin. Any single container or cover without match went into the bin as well. What was left is containers with a covers.

On a not so decluttering note: when we working in the bathroom this past weekend I found 7, yes count them, 7 bottles of new shampoo. In the last few months I've tried to buy conditioner and every time I grabbed a bottle and came home with it I saw it was a shampoo. I'm feeling a little cursed by shampoo bottles right now.

I also bought three new kitchen tools last week: a pizza cutter, a set of whisks (my whisk broke last week) and a pair of tongs. I've already used all three of them so I know they won't end in the junk box. Speaking of the junk box - nothing came out of it last.

Be sure to check out what other people are decluttering in their homes. Let me know when you post about your decluttering project so you can be entered in the drawing!

Colleen did some organizing in her kitchen! Way to go, Colleen! I like the idea of all the covers in a basket.
Bren took decluttering from a drawer to her whole kitchen! She's written a wonderful post about cleaning her kitchen. Be sure to check it out! She also cleaned up her bookcase.

Until next time - happy homemaking!
Sweet P

I Need Some Design Help

2008-07-28T16:19:00.000-07:00

Yesterday morning DH decided it was time to paint the bathroom. I said OK. Now I need some design help! Here are some photos of the bathroom before this past weekend. Here is the view looking in from the door.

This is what we were using for storage space.

This is the sink and counter top.

And after: looking in from the door.

The space where storage used to be.

Behind the door (we will be adding two more towel bars on the walls).

The counter top area (I had to take a photo with the lights off. Those lights are harsh!)

Here's my dilemma: I have looking into the bathroom and seeing the toilet! I know it is a bathroom and that's where the toilet is. The room just looks unfinished to me. The space where the storage was sitting looks so lonely.

Here's my question: What would you do with this space? I'd like options other than a laundry hamper or more storage. Any other suggestions for the bathroom?

I'll post about my decluttering task last night tomorrow. I need some help with the bathroom first.

Thanks for your suggestions!
Sweet P

Dessert and Home Upgrades

2008-07-26T13:29:00.001-07:00

It's been a couple of busy days in the Coffee Time home. Yesterday was pick-up dry cleaning day so I combined the trip with a visit to Target to find 4 1/2 inch tart pans. I have mini quiches on the menu for breakfast tomorrow and didn't have the right size pans. We would never eat a whole quiche so mini quiches it will be for breakfast. I couldn't find tart pans, but I did find cake pans that should work just fine. I also found this cute little tin filled with candy. I'm addicted to collecting unusual containers and I couldn't pass this up for only one dollar.
And what does one do with a mini cake pans and candy buttons? Why, make a mini cake, of course. The yellow cake recipe was on the back of the pan packaging. I only used the pink candy buttons as the rest of the buttons looked a little funky. Next time I make the cake I'm going to try to make it chocolate. This size is perfect for DH and I. There will be no waste of this cake.
Today our handyman came over to finish two jobs for us. First up was a cabinet in the bathroom. Can you believe there is no linen closet in this condo? How can you build a condo, a house or an apartment without a linen closet? The developer who built this complex is building several other complexes in Dover. All of them are essentially the same layout and none of them have linen closets. You would think after building the same plans for over four years someone would have told him to include a linen closet. We looked at his newest complex before we looked at this place and I didn't even notice no linen closet.

Anyway, here is our solution to a linen closet. This cabinet will hold our towels and some of our lesser used toiletries. We put a towel hook next to the shower and a hand towel bar next to the sink. The only thing left for the bathroom is to paint it. Right now the walls above the beadboard are a light yellow. We're going to take the yellow a couple shades deeper. The photo does the color no justice. The walls are all the same color right now.
DH and I bought our bedroom set at a consignment shop eight years ago. The set is made from cherry and walnut and consists of two nightstands, a tall dresser and this dresser and mirror. In all that time we have never hung the mirror. We finally did it today. Now I just need to clean the mirror and put the items back on the dresser.
How is your decluttering coming along? Have you picked out your next space to declutter? I have. I'm going to do some rearranging and decluttering in my kitchen to set up my coffee better. Check back on Monday for show and tell.

Remember to send me photos of your decluttering so you can be entered into the drawing. I'll be having the first drawing on Friday, August 29th.

Until then, enjoy life!
Sweet P

My Husband is a Reel Catch

2008-07-22T16:54:00.000-07:00

I found this on Bren's blog and thought it would fun to do. So, here it goes.

Who is your man? He is Teddy B
How long have been together? We've known each other for 13 years. We started dating almost 10 years ago and got married 7 years ago.
How long dated? We dated for 2 1/2 years before getting married.
How old is your man? He turned 35 last Saturday.
Who eats more? Him by a long shot.
Who said "I love you" first? I did.
Who is taller? He is. He's 6 feet tall, I'm 5 feet, 3 inches tall.
Who sings better? I do.
Who is smarter? Depends on subject. I'm smarter on computer programs. He's smarter when it comes to poker.
Whose temper is worse? Neither one of us has a big temper. We're pretty even keeled people.
Who does the laundry? I do and I love it.
Who takes out the garbage? I do, he will if I ask him.
Who sleep on the right side of the bed? He does. Although when we are in a hotel I always have to sleep next to the radio.
Who pays the bills? He pays some, I pay some.
Who is better with the computer? That would be me.
Who mows the lawn? The landscape company. One of the reasons we bought a condo was so we wouldn't have to mow the lawn.
Who cooks dinner? I do, unless it's steak. Then he cooks.
Who drives when you are together? He does, except when we are on vacation. We learned early on that vacations are less stressful if I drive and he reads me the directions. Better yet, we get a GPS in the rental car.
Who pays when you go out? He does nearly all of the time.
Who is most stubborn? Neither one of us is stubborn.
Who is the first to admit when they are wrong? I am
Whose parents do you see most? His parents. My parents live 1,500 miles away. Plus he works in the family business.
Who kissed who first? It was a draw. Our first kiss was at midnight, New Year's Eve, 1999.
Who asked who out? He asked me first.
Who proposed? Me - on the side of the Pennsylvania Turnpike on a foggy night with a semi driving by my car.
Who is more sensitive? Me
Who has more friends? He does. He is a social animal. I prefer to stay home.
Who has more siblings? He is 1 of 6. I am 1 of 4.
Who wears the pants in the family? We share who is in charge.
How did you meet? At the family business. I was already working there when he started.

Thanks, Bren. This was fun! Consider yourself tagged! Tell us about your husband or significant other.
Sweet P

How's Your Challenge Coming Along?

2008-07-21T12:42:00.000-07:00

I certainly didn't mean that by decluttering I would be writing fewer posts! Last week got away from me. Before I knew it - it was Monday again! I have started working on special projects for my old job so I have less time for blogging right now. I guess that means it's not my old job, but my current job! Anyway, I am working from home which is a good thing for me.

The photo above is the front door screen door our handyman installed while we were on vacation. I love having it open. The view may not be the best, but the breezes coming in the door are great.

On Saturday I had some friends over for a sewing day. After a visit to my local quilt shop we made ourselves banana splits. Don't they look yummy? The bottom one is mine and in there I had homemade coffee rum ice cream, sliced bananas, strawberries, caramel sauce, whipped cream, walnuts and cherries. Just the perfect dessert on a hot summer afternoon.
Have you started your Need This? Challenge? The following bloggers did some decluttering this week. Check them out:

Brenda cleaned out her make-up bin. Nice job, Brenda. My make-up case has been cleaned out since I stopped working in the office.
Cheryl cleaned out her spice drawer. She thinks she should go shopping for more spices. I say go for it, as long as you'll use them.
Darlene cleaned out her kitchen tool drawer. She was one of my friends here on Saturday and said she felt so good about cleaning out just one place in her house.
Miniature Quilter organized her closet. I'm wondering why she keeps a bread machine in her closet????

I decluttered my sewing thread containers this weekend. When I first started quilting I thought I would be a hand quilter. I purchased about 10 spools of hand quilting on E-Bay. I have since decided I am not a hand quilter. Mavie, the other friend who was over on Saturday, is a hand quilter. I gave her all my hand quilting thread.

I did have to go into my kitchen junk drawer box this weekend. I couldn't find any bag clips even though I know I have lots of them. There were none in the box. So I took one off an old bag of chips.

I'm not sure what I'll declutter this week. I'm still trying to decide. I did tell DH I was thinking about decluttering his socks drawer and he didn't say I couldn't, so that may be what I do.

Remember you can join the Need This? Challenge anytime. Just send me an email telling me you want to join.
Sweet P

The Need This? Challenge

2008-07-14T13:14:00.001-07:00

While I was away I said I would be announcing a Coffee Time At Home Challenge and I said it would involve drawers. One of my readers asked me what kind of drawers. My answer was any kind of drawers. The Challenge is the "Need This? Challenge". I'm sure everyone has a junk drawer, whether it's in your kitchen, pantry or even sewing room. When I moved into this condo I did a lot of decluttering and tossing out of a lot of stuff. But with my newly built pantry I had reason to clean even more. Didn't our handyman do a nice job on it? I think so.
The junk drawer that has bothered me the most is this one - my kitchen tools drawer. I know there are many items in this drawer I don't use or only use once a year. So I decided to challenge myself with the stuff in this drawer. First, I took everything out of the drawer and cleaned it out. Then I only put the utensils I know I've used since we moved in back into the drawer. The rest of the items went into a box and then into the pantry. If I need to grab an item from the box at least once in the next six months I will put it in the drawer. At the end of six months what's left in the box will be donated.
This is the drawer all cleaned out. I have a can opener, whisk, bottle openers, misc. measuring spoons, salad tongs, ice cream scoop, peeler, thermometer and a bag of bar utensils. Looks much better now, huh?
I moved onto my spice drawer next. Every jar came out of the drawer. Some of the spices had expiration dates on them. If they had expired, out they went. If I know I haven't used them since I moved in five months ago, out they went. Everything else went back in. Would you believe I only found one duplicate spice? Ground coriander! I have no clue how that happened.
I decided to tackle one more cabinet. I think everyone has a cabinet like this. I know my mom did. This one sits right next to the stove and holds a little bit of everything: salt, pepper, cooking oils, bouillon cubes, tea bags, drink pouches. A little bit of everything and not always what you need. Again everything came out of the cabinet. Expiration dates were evaluated and items were put with like items or left in the cabinet if I use them a lot.
Here's the cleaned out cabinet. What made the cut? Salt and pepper, olive oil (when I get more), peanut butter (the toaster is right under the cabinet) and freezer and sandwich bags. On the top shelf is a bag of peppercorns and a box of Sweet 'n Low for when my mom visits.
Here's the reorganized spice drawer. It look so much better, too. Now there should be no reason for me to buy duplicate spices or have to hunt for them. They are all right here.
Of course I took the time to attempt to fill the pantry. This is what it looks like right now. On the floor are my grocery bags and step stool. Shelf 1 has drinks, large cereal boxes and the tool box. Shelf 2 is my cooking and baking shelf: flour, sugar, baking powder and soda, etc. Shelf 3 is for snacks, pastas, canned items and sauces. It still looks somewhat empty, but I haven't gone through my pots, pans and large cooking items yet.
Oh yeah, and while I was doing all this cleaning and organizing I made Cranberry Pistachio Biscotti. I figured I'd bake some instead of buying some. I already tasted one and they turned out yummy!

So, here are the rules for the Need This Challenge:

Send me an email telling me you are going to enter the Challenge. If you have a blog address, please include that as well. I will create a Need This Challenge list on my sidebar.
Choose at least one drawer, cabinet or closet you would like to get organized.
Take a before photo of that place.
Take everything out of it. If it's food, check the expiration dates, toss anything that is expired. If you know you don't need or want it, toss it out. If you know you use it all the time put it back. If in doubt, put it another box.
On Mondays I will note in my entry if I have used any items in the box. Everyone in the Challenge will be asked to comment on whether or not they used anything in their Challenge box.
As we go along you may decide to add another drawer, cabinet or closet to organize. That's fine.
The Challenge will start today and will run until December 31, 2008 or we run out of places to organize (like that will ever happen!)
At the end of the Challenge (or if you finish before then) post a photo of the cleaned out space.
Every six weeks or so I will hold a drawing for a prize package.

Tell your friends about the Challenge. Anyone can join! Let's have some fun organizing our spaces.
Sweet P

Vacation Food Reviews

2008-07-12T06:47:00.000-07:00

When DH and I go on vacation we love to eat! We have two food rules on vacation: try to avoid chain restaurants at all costs and sample as much local cuisine as possible. That was easy to do in Vancouver and Whistler. We ate lots of good food in several great restaurants while on vacation and I thought I'd share some of it with you. One overall impression we have a food in Vancouver is their concept of bar food is way different than our concept of bar food. We went to Yaggers one afternoon to watch a Red Sox/Yankees game. If you go here, you can download their menu and see what I mean about their food choices. In several of the restaurants we ate it many of the menu items were similar. Way different from our normal burgers, chicken wings and pizza we find here in New England.

Our favorite dinner was our anniversary dinner at the Rimrock Cafe in Whistler. DH had a Mixed Grill dinner with caribou, lamb and a beef filet. I had filet mignon. For dessert DH had tiramisu. I had almond tuile filled with homemade vanilla and chocolate ice cream topped with homemade chocolate sauce. If you ever go to Whistler, you must go the Rimrock!

Our favorite lunch was in Vancouver when we visited Granville Island, a shopping and eating mecca. We ate lunch at Dockside Restaurant. The food was great and the view outstanding. I had the most wonderful lunch salad made with butter lettuce, pea shoots, fresh pies, feta cheese and grilled watermelon topped with green goddess dressing. I added grilled chicken for some protein. I can't wait to try my own version of the salad. DH had fried halibut and french fries.
Our most unusual meal was a three-course fondue meal at Bavaria Restaurant in Whistler. Dinner started with cheese fondue with bread cubes, followed by Beef Bourguignonne served with four sauces: teriyaki, chipotle mayonnaise, garlic mayonnaise and mango chutney. The final course was chocolate fondue with strawberries, bananas, pineapple, marshmallows and ladyfingers. We love fondue and hadn't eaten it in a long time. It was a wonderful way to enjoy dinner.

Our favorite appetizer came from Tantra Lounge at the Lonsdale Quay in North Vancouver. It was Baked Goat Cheese rounds and Carmelized Onions served on toasted baquette slices. Another new taste for us and one I'll be trying to make soon.

A new food adventure for us on this trip was visiting a downtown grocery store. In this case, I discovered Urban Fare. It's more than a gourmet shop. It has a restaurant and a coffee bar, plus every imaginable gourmet food item. If I lived in downtown Vancouver I would shop there a lot. I've started a new vacation shopping tradition: buying a grocery tote. This one from Urban Fare is great. It even has a zipper pocket inside to hold the grocery list.
Finally, two kitchen/food items I bought for myself on vacation: a new apron and a martini glass. I'm not a frequent drinker, but I had one martini nearly every day at dinner. I learned I love Chambord as the base of the martini. Today I'll be off to the liquor store to buy a bottle.
I don't watch Desparate Housewives, but this Desbearate Housewives apron was too cute to pass up. One of DH's nicknames is Teddy Bear so this apron is perfect for me. Note, DH took this photo while I was making taco salads last night and it was already dirty!
I always try to buy items made by the local artists when we are on vacation. I don't see the sense in going somewhere and buying trinkets made in China. Here is a close-up view of the martini glass. The other side has a painted red heart. It is hand painted by a local Whistler artist, Kerry, a mom with three young boys. You can also visit her blog and read about her.
I'll be back in a day or two with photos of some the home improvement projects that our handyman did while we were gone. I'll also talk about my first Coffee At Home challenge then.

Vacation Check-In

2008-07-03T12:30:00.000-07:00

Hi All! I've written about our first few days of our British Columbia vacation on my quilting blog. You can read about it here.

A Coffee Time at Home challenge will be coming soon. I'll give you hint: it involves drawers.

I'll catch up sometime next week.

I Got a brand new pair of roller skates . . .

2008-06-27T13:15:00.001-07:00

You got brand new key . . . do you remember this song by Melanie in 1971?

I don't have brand new roller skates, but I do have a brand new key. And how appropriate that Lynette at Lynette Anderson Designs asked us about key rings. I had to get new house keys made for the condo management company and my son. While waiting for the clerk to make one key this Boston Red Sox key caught my eye. How could I walk away from it? So it came home with me, along with a New England Patriots key for DH. Here's the rest of my key chain. Can you tell I'm a sports fan? I've had the Minnesota Vikings key chain forever. The Patriots key chain I bought about 8 years ago.
I had a visitor on my doorstep this afternoon. Lucky for me he stayed in place while I grabbed my camera and took his photo.
I didn't have to do any more painting this week. DH said the bathroom can wait until we return. For now the pantry is prepped for the buildout. The dresser is cleaned so the mirror can be installed above it. Tomorrow we will make sure the bathroom is empty enough so the cabinet and towels bars can be installed.

Tomorrow afternoon DH and I leave for vacation. We are spending the night in Boston before flying to Vancouver, BC on Sunday morning. For the next two weeks I will be posting vacation stories. When we return I will be setting up a challenge, be sure to stay tuned.

A Cooking Meme

2008-06-24T16:40:00.000-07:00

I usually don't do Meme's; but I liked this one on Confessions of an Apron Queen so I thought I'd play along since I don't have any renovation news today. Instead of working on the house I spent the day sewing in my studio.

When was the most recent time you were burned?
I can't remember the last time I was burned. I developed a sun allergy a few years ago so I tend to avoid being outside too long and when I am outside you can bet I am covered in sunscreen.

Can you cook?
I love to cook! I've been cooking since I was a little girl. I remember making pies in a special holder from bread and canned pie filling while we were camping. I also remember making s'mores. When my children were young they weren't happy when I tried new recipes. Their response was usually, "Mom, don't go gourmet on us!" Now I try to mix it up when I'm cooking. I generally try at least one new recipe a week. Sometimes the recipe becomes part of the rotation sometimes it doesn't.

If yes, name your specialties.
If you ask my children they would say Mom's Nachos - nacho chips topped with cheese sauce, taco meat, lettuce, tomatoes and sour cream. DH likes my Stuffed Butternut Squash and just about everything I make.

Do you enjoy cooking?
I enjoy cooking if I'm not rushed to make it. That's been one benefit to not working. I don't have to come after an eight hour work day and cook. Now I can cook and be relaxed as I do it.

What color is your kitchen?
We are in the process of painting our kitchen Kittery Point green. It's the same color as my newly painted kitchen pantry. We chose the green to go along with the gray in the dining room. I don't have a decor design at the moment because we are in the process of renovating.

Do you bake?
I don't bake often. With no children around, there's no reason to bake desserts or cookies. I have started baking breakfast breads and muffins on Saturday mornings for DH and I. When I return from vacation I plan on trying to make cranberry biscotti for myself.

What do you bake?
See above for the answer.

What color is your apron?
I have a black apron with teapots on it. I received my apron my Confessions of an Apron Queen in yesterday's mail. I'll post a photo of that one tomorrow. Here is a photo of me in my coffee apron I received in an apron swap.
I won't tag anyone specifically for this Meme. But, if you'd like to play along, please do.

Thanks for stopping by.

Shopping at the Big Box Hardware Store

2008-06-23T06:06:00.000-07:00

How the Man shopped . . .

Man: "Honey, do you have the bathroom hook so we can match it?"

Woman hands him the hook. He starts walking down the bathroom hardware aisle. He doesn't see a match. He walks across the aisle and starts holding the hook against bathroom faucets.

Woman: "Why are you doing that? Are we buying a new bathroom faucet?"

Man: "No, but if I find the match in the faucets then I know what brand and what line of bathroom hardware to buy."

Woman shakes her head. She thinks to herself, "Why not just look at the hardware? The brands and lines are all together so you won't have to hunt up and down the aisle to find the matches. I thought we were matching the hook, not faucets. Although I suppose new faucets will happen sooner or later to match the hardware."

Meanwhile, the Man is still trying to match the hook. Woman has already determined there is no exact match. There are three different lines of hardware that are the same color family, which is what they like. Mentally she chooses the line she likes and says to the Man, "There is no exact match. I like this line. Let's just a buy a new hook and toilet paper holder to replace what we have and then the towel bars we need."

Man is still trying to match the hook. He takes another five minutes to continue trying to match the hook. The Woman repeats, "Honey, let's just buy all new hardware. Then we can take the hook and the paper holder and put them in the downstairs bathroom since we don't like that hardware." Finally, Man agrees and takes what they need for the hardware.
But wait, there's more. Then they meet the handyman so they can buy what he needs for the projects he'll be doing in the condo. Off to the cabinet aisle to choose a cabinet to use as a linen closet. Now there are two men and one woman shopping.They want white cabinets to match the vanity. That was easy. While they were trying to figure out what they needed. The Woman quickly walked down the aisle and found the right box, took it off the shelf and brought it to the cart. That was easy, or was it?

Now they need doors for the cabinet.

Man: "I want the same look we have the vanity. I think the doors have inset squares." He starts slowly walking down the aisle.

The Woman quickly walks up the aisle and looks at the display doors. She saw what the brand and line name was and headed back down the aisle and found the doors. She pulls them off the shelf and brings them to the cart. "These are the doors we need," she announces.

Men look at each other. The handyman pulls out his pocket knife and starts to open the box. After all they might be the wrong doors. Woman comments, "I can't believe you have to check the doors. The name matches the name on the cabinet box."

Man replies, "And two out of three times you would have to return it."

Woman says, "I don't think so. I would trust the name on the box."

Meanwhile the handyman has pulled the doors out of the box and they confirm they are the right doors. While trying to put the doors back in the box the Woman wanders off and plays in her head how the shopping trip would have happened if she had been by herself.

Total time spent shopping: 30 minutes

How the Woman would have shopped:

She would have taken the hook and quickly determined there was no exact match. OK, what's the closest product line in look? A quick scan of the three available products shows the best match. She would have taken the pieces she needed and put them in the cart.

On to the bathroom cabinets.They want to match the white vanity. A quick look at the samples and she saw the product line she needed. Walking down the aisle she would have found the cabinets, with the doors a few steps down the aisle. Into the cart with the items and we're done.

Time spent: 15 minutes

Who said women don't know how to shop?

By the way, the pantry paint job is complete. The handyman and I worked through the design on Saturday after the trip to the big box store. He is going to have enough leftover wood that I will get to design custom shelving for my quilt studio. Woohoo!
I have a long list of house projects to get done so the handyman can do the projects we want him to do while we are on vacation. This morning I cleaned out my half of the closet. I packed away my winter clothes and filled a bag of donation clothing. Tomorrow I need to start painting the upstairs bathroom so the new cabinet and hardware can be installed. I also need to clean off my dresser and do a test paint swatch so the dresser mirror can be hung on the wall.

What's on your agenda this week?

Me and the Paint Store

2008-06-20T06:02:00.000-07:00

I am on the road this morning. I drove DH to work because I have doctor's appt. in town and tonight DH and I have dinner and movie date in town. Much easier for me to drive to the office and then pick him up tonight than to drive two cars all day. I'm sitting at the local Starbucks enjoying a vanilla latte and a cinnamon scone waiting to go to the doctor's.

My husband may never let me go to the paint store again! Why? you ask. Yesterday he sent me with a short list so I can start painting the pantry: tape, rollers and sand paper. I got those items and more. With apologies to the TV announcer who says these words, I'd like to say:

"Ladies and Gentlemen, Boys and Girls, Welcome To Fenway Park!" These words start off every Red Sox broadcast on TV. Now, thanks to Benjamin Moore, I can have the colors of Fenway Park in my home. That's right. Benjamin Moore now has paint for the official colors of the Red Sox and Fenway Park. Red and blue are the team colors. The yellow is the color of the foul poles. The green is the green of the Green Monster - the infamous left field wall at Fenway Park.
I bought four 2-oz. bottles of the paint, one of each color. I'm going to use it on my studio island, probably on the drawers and drawer pulls. Whatever I paint with it, I'll have fun doing it!

I will be painting the pantry when I get home later this morning. I can't do any sewing or "fun" painting until I get the pantry done. I'm sure I'll have photos of the painted pantry this weekend. I'm still interested in seeing your pantry, or even your tips for stocking your pantry.

Pantry Remodel, Step 2

2008-06-19T06:59:00.001-07:00

Dear hubby came to my rescue last night and was able to remove the shelves in the pantry. I had tried to remove but the bottom of the units were caulked to the baseboards. He was able to get to the shelves out in three pieces - the top shelf and then the two side units. - without damaging them. Hooray! For now we have put one of the side units between our washer and dryer as a place for me to store laundry cleaning items. When our handyman starts working we are going to ask him if he can put the unit back together so I can keep using it in the laundry area.

Now the pantry is ready to paint. I have to go to the paint store today to buy painter's tape, new rollers and sand paper. We already have the paint so I'm all set on that part. I'll start working on the pantry after my hair appointment in a couple hours.

The current pantry plan is to have shelves going across the entire back of the pantry and along the short wall on the right side of the space. The short wall on the left side of the space will have hooks for hanging the broom, mop and dust pan.

I've started to think about restocking the pantry. Since I've started cooking from scratch more and I knew we were rebuilding pantry I've only been buying what I need for my weekly menu plan. I'd like to get it stocked properly for a family of two. I'd like to hear your suggestions for stocking a pantry, or, if you'd like, share a photo of your pantry with me on your blog.

Aprons

2008-06-18T06:02:00.000-07:00

While surfing blogs yesterday I came across Confessions of an Apron Queen. What a neat blog! I got caught up in reading it and before I knew it a whole hour had passed. She also has a site where she sells vintage items: Rick Rack Attack. I could spend a lot of money shopping there, but I don't think DH would appreciate it right now. Although I do have my sights set on this apron. Maybe I'll wait until payday later this week to buy it.

Do you wear an apron when you cook? I confess I never used to wear one. I remember my grandma wore aprons all the time. I vaguely remember a red and white gingham apron with chicken scratch embroidery on it she used to wear. I wish I would have been smart enough to take it when she went into the nursing home years ago.

Aprons are making a comeback. When I had some friends over for a sewing day in March I couldn't decide what I wanted to work on. After spending an hour digging around my sewing room I decided to make myself an apron. I used a pattern I received when I bought fabric from Fabric Depot. Here I am with my teapot apron getting ready to make cookies for the ladies.

One of my on-line groups had an apron swap earlier this spring. Here's the apron I got in the swap. Lots and lots of coffee fabric just for me.

I confess I still don't always wear an apron, but I'm working hard on remembering to put one of them on. Someday it will become a habit to put one on when I step into the kitchen to cook.

Do you have aprons to share?

Laundry Day and Tackle It Tuesday

2008-06-17T09:34:00.001-07:00

Model E or Master Wringer Washer from MaytagClub.com

Tuesday is my laundry day. With only two of us in the house I usually have three small loads of clothes. It also helps that nearly all of DH's work wardrobe is dry cleaned. Anyway, did you ever have a wringer washer like the one above? We didn't. But my grandma who lived across the street from us did. I remember going to her house on Tuesday mornings so I could help her and grandpa do the laundry. She always warned me about not getting my fingers caught in the wringer and to make sure all the buttons were folded inside the garment so they didn't break in the wringer. Once the clothes were washed and rinsed, they were hung out on the clothesline.

We live in a condo complex and we can't have a clothesline. Maybe someday clotheslines will be allowed everywhere again. If I could have one, I would use it!

As I have said before we moved into our condo four months ago. Just like every other homeowner we have a list of "To Do Projects". We haven't even started working on ours. We have hired a handyman to come and tackle some of our remodeling projects while we are on vacation in two weeks. This means I have some prep work to do for him. Without further ado, I'm adding Tackle it Tuesday to my household task list. I want to thank Bren at Pieces From Me for inspiring me to take on Tackle it Tuesday.

Here is my first Tackle it Tuesday project. This is the closet/pantry in our kitchen. I hate it. It's hard to get to the shelves because the doors open in front of them. The shelves are too tall so there is not nearly enough shelf space for everything that goes in a pantry. I don't think the builder put any thought into the closet when it was put in. Our handyman is going to build me a new pantry with better shelves and storage space for brooms and the mop. My job is to clean it out and get the walls painted before he starts construction.

I got the shelves cleaned off. I knew there were two screws on the top shelf that hold the shelves to the wall. I thought if I could out those screws the shelves could be moved. Well, I was wrong. I got the shelves cleaned out and the screws undone. However, the bottom of the shelves seem to be caulked or glued to the baseboard on the sides of the closet. I'll have to wait for DH to help me remove the baseboards so I can paint it to match the kitchen (also on my To Do list).

Tuesdays are Guys Night Out for DH so I'm home alone all day until late in the evening. Now that my household tasks are done for the day I can play with fabric and thread and not feel guilty!! Hooray!

Up The Down Staircase

2008-06-16T07:27:00.001-07:00

Four months ago DH and I moved into our condo. We moved from a one-floor, 1,200 square foot, two-bedroom apartment to a three-floor, 2,000 square foot, two-bedroom condo. The bedrooms are on the top floor. Main floor is kitchen, dining area and living room. Basement is laundry and storage.

On moving weekend I knew my legs would start to ache from going up and down and up and down. I lasted two and one-half days before I could not walk without pain. I had to rest the third day so I could finish moving, cleaning and unpacking on the fourth day.

It didn't take me long to develop the habit of when I go up or down the stairs to stop for a moment and see if there is anything that needs to be taken up or down with me. There's my husband's hat that needs to be taken upstairs to the bedroom. I should take the stitchery project up to my studio. There's my water glass from last night, it needs to go down to the kitchen. The cloth napkins from dinner need to go down to the laundry.

I enjoy having three floors of space. I find it easier to keep the house clean and somewhat organized because I am always looking to put something where it belongs, especially if I'm going up or down the staircase. When we lived on one-floor it was a lot easier to say to myself, "That (whatever) can stay where it's at. I'll get to it later."

Do you have any tips for staying on top of stuff laying around the house?

Cooking For Two

2008-06-13T05:37:00.001-07:00

My Recipe Box - a gift from my MIL

I love to cook. DH and I love to eat. However, cooking for two, or often only one, can be challenging. While I was still working we worked together so we rode to work together and came home together. Meals were often uninspiring and were pretty basic. Occasionally I would try a new recipe or make a special meal on the weekends. Often we were so tired after a day in the office we would go out to eat. Let me tell you, we ate out so often, that eating out became boring.

Since I've stopped working I've found the joy in cooking again. Of course that means I get to spend time perusing cookbooks and on-line recipe sources. I have two cookbooks I use frequently. The first one is Light Cooking for Two. DH's aunt had this one on her bookshelf and I loved it the minute I read it. I haven't found a recipe in there we don't like. If you can get it cheap from Amazon, I recommend it.

The other cookbook I use is The Empty Nesters Cookbook. This is a small cookbook with good recipes (that's where I found the Marmalade Pork Roast for dinner on Monday night). The recipes are written with "He Does", "She Does" directions which are cute, but not necessary if only one of you cook. This is a fun book, but I don't how easy it is to buy it. I found mine at a quilt shop in CT, of all places.

The on-line site I recently found is AllRecipes.com. I like this site because you can choose how many servings you want to make. I've only made a couple recipes so far from this site and both were good.

I do have two guideline when I'm choosing recipes. The first is if I need a special gadget, pan or specialty spice or ingredient, then I don't bother with the recipe. I operate under the KISS method: Keep It Simple S*****. I don't need to fill my cupboards and drawers with something I'm only going to use once, or maybe twice. The second one is I prefer to use fresh ingredients. I'm not of fan of packaged meals. For us packaged meals usually mean leftovers and that often leads to waste.

I do my meal planning and shopping on Wednesdays. Why Wednesday? Because everyone does it on the weekends or Mondays and I like to be different. I will admit to being a food shopping snob. There is a family butcher shop/small market in downtown Dover, Janetos. This is the kind of butcher where you can walk up to the counter, ask for a side of beef and they will ask you how you want it cut and packaged. Their service is excellent and the meat is fantastic. I will never shop for meat at grocery store again. Nothing beats a freshly cut filet or two pounds of freshly ground beef cooked on the grill and served as burgers.

I also have the pleasure of having America's oldest family farm close to me. Tuttle's Red Barn is where I get our fresh produce. If I could have a garden, I'd buy my plants there as well. If you're ever near Dover, NH you should make sure to take a trip to Tuttle's.

For all my other grocery shopping I go to the local grocery store. This store is less than a year old and is not the normal large grocery store. The best part of it is you get a nickel credit for every reusable bag you bring in to carry your groceries. That works for me since I only use cloth grocery bags.

I hope everyone has a great weekend and a nice Father's Day! Tomorrow we have a graduation party in the afternoon and then an Engaged Encounter meeting in the evening; along with more US Open Golf, Red Sox and Celtics!

The Boys

2008-06-12T05:58:00.001-07:00

I thought I would introduce you to "The Boys" of our house. No, these are not my adult sons. These are "The Boys" as we call them. They reside on a wooden tray on the coffee table in our living room.

We are huge sports fans in our house: Boston Red Sox baseball, New England Patriots football, Boston Celtics football, professional golf and occasionally soccer (mostly during the World Cup). I've been known to schedule my social life around sporting events. If it's football season I suggest you don't ask me to an event on a Sunday, chances are that unless you are hosting a football I will try to find a way out of it.

Anyway, back to "The Boys". From left to right in the front row: Wally, the Green Monster. He is the Red Sox mascot and is named after the Green Monster wall at Fenway Park. Next to him is Tom Brady, the quarterback for the New England Patriots. In the back row left to right we have a Tiger Woods bobble head doll, a David Beckham statue and a Tedy Bruschi, linebacker for the New England Patriots. I'm bidding on a Kevin Garnett Celtics figure on Ebay to add to the collection.

My oldest son thinks we are weird, but we don't care. We've been known to have conversations with "The Boys". We even take Wally with us when we travel. Here's a photo of Wally enjoying the mountains in Oregon last summer!
So, there you have it, one the unusual aspects of life in Coffee Time at Home. You may be wondering why I'm sharing "The Boys" with you today. Well this is a big golf weekend in our house - the U.S. Open Golf Championship. One bonus of the coverage this weekend is that today and tomorrow Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson are in the same group and I will be able to watch them play today and tomorrow! Woohoo! Even better because I have an HDTV in my quilt studio so I can play with fabric while watching golf! A great way to spend the day.

Do You Eat Breakfast?

2008-06-11T06:21:00.000-07:00

It seems an innocent question - Do you eat breakfast? Some people do. Some people don't. Maybe a better question would be: Is breakfast important to you? In our house breakfast is as special to us as our dinner meal.

When DH is not traveling for work I always make breakfast for us. I am a morning person. He is not. On weekdays I make sure he gets a good breakfast before going to work. Actually we eat breakfast in bed on weekdays. Here is our breakfast tray ready for me to take into him. We share a bowl of cereal, toast or bagel, OJ for him, milk for me and coffee for each of us. Some days I will make a microwave breakfast bowl or waffles and bacon. After breakfast we make time to cuddle before we head into the shower to get ready for the day.
When he is traveling this is my usual breakfast. A banana, biscotti and coffee. Lately it's been iced coffee because it's been so hot. Today I tried something new for my iced coffee. I double brewed a pot of vanilla coffee. I added some cinnamon to the coffee before it was brewed. It smelled yummy! Then a small amount of sugar was put into the pitcher before the coffee was poured in and then put in the fridge. I also make ice cubes out of the coffee so when they melt in the coffee it doesn't get diluted.
Saturday mornings I've started baking something special. I think this week it will be blueberry muffins. I still have some blueberries left from last week's blueberry coffee cake.

Sunday mornings is DH's turn to make breakfast. His specialty is bacon, eggs, baked beans, and toast or bagels. Always a yummy breakfast.

When was the last time you shared breakfast with your family?

Date Night and Flexibility

2008-06-10T06:36:00.000-07:00

French Casseroles Purchased at a Consignment Shop

Do you have a standing date night with your DH and/or SO? If not, I highly recommend it. A date night doesn't have to mean a night out on the town. A night at home with a special meal and no interruptions works just as well.

The key to date night is that it is just the two of you. No phones, no TV, no children, no interruptions. Simply enjoy a meal together and talk with each other. Enjoy each other's company. Talk about the little things in life. Talk about your love for one another. Laugh with each other. You don't need to spend a lot of money. You are spending time together.

If you have children, have a date night after the children are in bed or send them out somewhere. Hire a baby sitter if you can and leave the house.

Maybe you live alone. Have a date night with yourself. Cook a special meal. Get dressed up. Enjoy your own company.

DH and I have a date night once a week. Some weeks we will go out to eat. Most weeks I will make a special meal. Last night was our date night this week. I made Orange Marmalade Pork Roast, rice pilaf and carrots. We spent the evening planning our vacation to Vancouver, BC at the end of the month.

You may notice I have a household task of the day posted in my side bar. Sometimes this list calls for flexibility. Today is one of those days. It's going to be over 90 again today and cool off tomorrow. We only have AC in our bedroom and I'm tired of sitting in the heat all day. I'm switching my errand day and laundry day this week. This way I can spend some time in AC stores today while it's still hot, hot, hot. When it's cooler tomorrow I'll do the laundry.

Tell me about your date nights. Do you have them? What do you usually do on date night?

Simple Woman's Daybook

2008-06-09T08:16:00.000-07:00

For Today - June, 9 2008
Outside My Window it is cloudy, hot, humid and still. Temps will be in the 90s today and tomorrow. Oh, I wish we still had central air conditioning.

I am thinking about taking a nap. I caught a cold from my DH and feel miserable. A nap under freshly washed sheets in the one room with AC sounds divine right now.

I am thankful for a husband who has stood beside me while I have been sick and out of work.

From the kitchen tonight will be Orange Marmalade Pork Roast, Rice Pilaf, Carrots and chilled mandarin oranges.

I am wearing a white camisole and tan shorts, my standard outfit in the summertime.

I am creating a Summer Solstice package for a friend. I need to get in the mail tomorrow.

I am going to spend the time doing the daily household task and hand sewing, not much else to do in this heat.

I am reading Barbara Walter's biography "Audition."

I am hoping the Celtics win the NBA finals.

I am hearing the fan blowing a gentle breeze, the TV and the trash collector outside.

Around the house it is quiet and dark. No sunshine to brighten it up or heat it up too much.
One of my favorite things: Red Sox baseball

A few plans for the rest of the week: finish hand piecing the Christmas table runner, start painting the kitchen, clean out the pantry for the rebuilding.

Here is picture thought I am sharing: the best thing to eat on a hazy, hot and humid afternoon.
The Simple Woman's Daybook can be found here. You will find a list of other Simple Woman's Daybooks too.

What's For Dinner?

2008-06-08T07:45:00.001-07:00

How do you tell your family what's for dinner? As you can see we are having Maker's Mark Steak tonight. This is a London broil marinated in Maker's Mark Sauce. You don't have to be a bourbon drinker or even a drinker to enjoy this sauce. It's yummy!
I found this cookbook stand when we were in Las Vegas on vacation five years ago. The chalkboard was cut from a larger one I found in a Goodwill store. I just painted the edges. This chef sits on a bookcase next to the kitchen island so everyone who walks into the kitchen knows what's for dinner.

You'll notice Beat LA on the chalkboard today. We are big Boston sports fans in this home. The Celtics play the Lakers tonight and we're cheering our team on.

What's for dinner at your home tonight?

Saturday Treat

2008-06-07T12:55:00.000-07:00

I'm an occasional baker. Just as I am with my quilting, I am with cooking. I seldom follow directions to a T. That process works for most recipes, but doesn't always work well with baking.

Earlier this week I was browsing through my quilt books looking for a pattern that would work with large print fabric. In my Coffee-Time Quilts book I found a recipe for Blueberry Coffee Cake. DH loves blueberry muffins so I decided to treat him with blueberry coffee cake.

It turned out well. Tastes much better than it looks. The only trouble I had was the butter wasn't soft enough to crumble with the cake flour. I'll have to remember that next time.

Thanks for all the welcome comments. I will be keeping up my quilting blog as well as this one so feel free to read both.

Welcome to Coffee Time at Home!

2008-06-06T10:32:00.000-07:00

Coffee Time at Home will be the place for me to share my journey, my experiences and my life as a new stay-at-home, work-at-home wife.

A new career as a stay-at-home wife, you ask? How can someone at your age start this new career? Well, for the first time in my life I am not working outside of the home. I have gone from working 60 hours a week to not working at all right now. The reasons why don't matter. What is important is I have chosen to become the wife and partner my husband needs to be successful in his career.

I have raised three sons and sent them into the world. They, in turn, have blessed me with a grandson, a wonderful DIL and a great DGF. I have lived in several homes and loved each and every one of them. Yet, I always felt somewhat delinquent in the homemaking department. I can clean. I can cook. I can run a household. I always felt something was missing. I came to realize I was missing the joy in doing these tasks.

Lately I have discovered the joy of caring for my husband and my home. I love to make breakfast for DH when we wake up in the morning. I always see he has a good lunch at work. I'm happy being able to cool all the dishes I've wanted to try for dinner. The sense of order, peace and quiet I have created in our home is an important job and I'm thoroughly enjoying the process of creating it.

I invite you to follow along with me as I being this new journey. I'll be sharing my experiences, tips and tumbles while I work at creating Coffee Time at Home.