Home: A look Inside

A dear blog friend of mine, Rachel, did a recent post on the things she loves in her house that makes it feel special and like home.  There is just something nice and personal about seeing the inside of someones house and seeing how they make it theirs in their own unique way.  Her post inspired me to do the same.  So that my readers can get a glimpse into my favorite parts of my house that really make it a home I love and adore.

Andy and I bought our house a short two years ago.  This house has been nothing short of amazement to me.  It is small (1050 sq. ft) and to many outdated (est. 1955), but it perfectly fits me and all that I love.

Without further ado... my favorite places and spaces:

This corner of the kitchen is my favorite.  The breakfast table that has held oh so many great conversations.  The rooster & hen... their in love.  The light this corner receives is so beautiful, its the perfect place to sit and wake up in the morning.  Especially when Andy is cooking me breakfast!

Most people are shocked to see that we have a 1950s refrigerator.  I'm so hell bent on having one that we once went without a fridge for 2+ months until I found this beaut on craigslist. And the view when I'm getting stuff out of the fridge?  My garden lush and full.

Okay I'm clearly just in love with my kitchen...  The lady who sold the house thought I was crazy when I said I would not buy the house if this stove was not included.  Original to the house, I can't help but think of all the meals that were cooked on her.  I instantly fell in love with those pink counter tops too.

A lazy gnome basking in the sun.  Enough said.

The end table in the living room overflowing with homestead/gardening/harvesting books and magazines.  That lamp is my first and most favorite buy from an estate sale.  It was well worth the 2+ hours waiting in Wisconsin winter elements and the whopping $8 for the pair of the them.

Its clean now, but most of the time this tiny cabinet looks like it has exploded revealing its guts of a vintage sewing machine & unfinished sewing projects.  For now it holds my records I wish to listen to for the day: Patsy Cline, John Denver, and Urban Cowboy: the soundtrack.  That's right folks:  I can rock to John Denver AND Johnny Paycheck!

I LOVE this TV console.  It came with the house and just has so much history.  Today it plays Cinderella 2 (a less than desirable movie choice) and is surrounded by Finley's toys.

My Mother found this table at an antique shop and it has since been the centerpiece of our living room.  It looks out on our old maple tree and its the place where we snack, color, read, and play fisher price records throughout our day.

The hallway lined with pictures of Finley, Ally, & Andy Jr.  A daily reminder of how fast these kids are growing up.

Another favorite room of mine is Finley's.  But this corner... this corner is my all time favorite.  The happiness train, broken mobile, and rescued headboard all have stories and are beautiful despite their imperfections.

Our bathroom is small.  The bathtub doesn't have a real shower... a feature of an old house. And the bathroom also features this ugly wallpaper that has somehow made me fall in love with it.  The decor... this lonesome gold rooster.  A rooster in a bathroom makes no sense whatsoever, but I couldn't care less.  This is his home-  Blue flowered wallpaper and all.

Andy might kill me for posting this picture, but to show you readers and remind myself of my own imperfections I show you my bedroom.  A disheveled bed, disintegrating 1950s curtains, unfolded laundry and a picture of a rectangle shaped cow I got at a garage sale for $1 can tell you many things about my personality.  1.  I hate making beds.  Why make a bed when it will only get messy in less than 12 hours?  Also, it makes a home look lived in.  2.  I have a love of all things vintage even if they are broken and falling apart.  3.  I love doing laundry... I just don't love folding laundry.  4.  I like unique, quirky things such as ugly cow pictures.

What are your favorite spaces in your home?

Canning Tomatoes: Chili Sauce

Long time followers may remember, but I did a similar post almost a year ago on canning tomatoes.  That time of the year is hear again.  While we have lost countless tomatoes to blossom end rot, we still managed to gather 30+ tomatoes to can a batch of chili sauce! 

This chili sauce is my favorite.  It is sooooo flavorful, that I can tell when my husband does or doesn't use it in our chili just with one taste. 

First step to amazing chili sauce is to gather all the vegetables (preferably from your own garden).  The recipe calls for 18 large tomatoes, 5 green peppers, 6 large onions and a bunch of celery. 

Next you will need to scald the tomatoes.  Simply put the tomatoes in boiling water and leave for approximately 30 seconds.  Fish out the tomatoes and immediately put in a tub or sink full of ice water.

Have your loving husband peel and cut the tomatoes and while he's at it all the other vegetables too.  This is where we discovered half our tomatoes were rotten from the inside and we thanked our lucky stars the vegetable stand across the street was selling tomatoes.

Put the (oversized) pot on the stove and add the remaining ingredients.  Let this concoction simmer for an hour or more.

After the chili sauce has simmered, pour it into hot (sterilize in dishwasher or in our case heat them in the oven) pint jars.  We usually end up with 10-12 jars.  This time was 11.  Put on the lids and screw tops and let them steam or sit in a hot water bath for 35 minutes. 

The steam canner has been a life saver.  With a 1950s stove, we only have one large burner and it's electric.  With a hot water bath canner, it takes almost an hour to boil the amount of water we need.  With the steamer it took 5-10 minutes.  It.was.wonderful.

When the 35 minutes is up, put the jars on a towel and let them cool down for the rest of the day.  Within a minute of removing them you should hear a pop.  This will let you know that the lids have sealed. 

With just this one batch, Andy and I are set with chili sauce to last us 2.5 months if we have chili once a week.  However, we still have chili sauce from last year.  Looks like we will be having chili once a week for 4 months... perfectly warming us up through the winter.

Chili Sauce

18 Large Tomatoes
5 Green Peppers-chopped
6 Large Onions-chopped
1 Bunch Celery- chopped
2 Tbsp Canning Salt
1 Cup Sugar
2 Cups Vinegar

-Scald, peel and chop the tomatoes
-Combine all ingredients and simmer for 1 hour
-Transfer to hot jars and can per canning instructions.

Enjoy!

Change

Ever since Finley was born (or really conceived) I have been a nanny.  I always told people that I don't have a real job, I just babysit.  In actuality, it was a very real job that involved the most patience and love I have ever had to give.  I loved it, but it was also very draining.

So when I was hit (more like knocked out) with pneumonia, I decided I was in need for a change.  So I am happy to say that TODAY is my very first day of truely being a stay at home mom!

Gotta admit though... I'm scared.  Now I really have to be accountable for all the housework and I suddenly no longer have the excuse that I was tired from work.  Thinking about fitting in all the housework and entertaining a 2 year old had my head spinning last night.  So much so it kept me up for hours as I googled "stay at home mom schedules" on my phone.  Also, am I going to be good at this?  I don't want to be the depressed, always screaming at their child, drinking a glass of wine at 10 in the morning type of mom.  Only time will tell.

I think change is important and necessary in life.  So that makes me excited to see how this change affects my life and family.  I hope Finley will one day be proud of the way I raised her, forgoing my degree and professional career to take care of family.  Why?  Because this is what I really really want and family and my children are the most important.

Care to follow along on my journey?  First step,  find a housewives guide while I hang up the laundry and feed the little one breakfast.

July Garden (in a drought)

It finally (finally!) rained last night.  It feels like it has been weeks or near a month since we last got a decent rain.  This summer weather has been awful.  Hot and dry, I'd almost think I was living in a desert.  The grass is burnt and the only way to keep my garden alive is to water... a lot.

We have a 250 gallon rain catcher in the back and another 55 gallon rain barrel in the front.  Both have been bone dry for quite some time now.  Here I was thinking I'd have plenty of rain water to water my garden this summer.  Silly me.  I don't even want to see my water bill.

Curious to see how my garden is looking here in the peak of summer?  A hot, drought ridden summer... ugh, it's not pretty.

Front of the house.  Plus side to a drought: I haven't had to mow the lawn once this summer.

Bed of peppers and roma tomatoes.  Peppers are starting to grow and they are beautiful.  The romas; however, have succumbed to blossom end rot.

Bed of broccoli and cabbage.  The cabbage is coming along.  The broccoli refuses to flower.  We have only harvested one head of broccoli so far.

Entire bed of heirloom, beefsteak, and cherry tomatoes.  They are full of fruit.  I can't wait till I see that first glimpse of pink on them!

Blue corn seems to be doing quite well. 

weak, dying zucchini plants are what you get when you decide to go camping and think that 1 day of not watering can't do much harm.

Potatoes that we have neglected and failed to add more dirt to.  Also, the arrow points to a very curious hole some animal has dug.  Perhaps a rabbit?

Blackberries and strawberries are surviving and should give us a strong crop next year (fingers crossed).

We have been harvesting blueberries for the last week or so.  They are heaven in a harvestless garden.

The garlic is all yellow and dying which means they are ready.  We'll be picking these and drying them this weekend.  The onions had a different fate though... they died.

Raspberries have been quite an eyesore.  The canes are dying off that gave us a harvest this year.  I am fighting the urge to cut them off.  I need to wait till fall, but it's hard to fight the urge.

The only reason I haven't thrown my hands up and called defeat... the sweet corn.  Growing well and hoping for a good harvest come September.

Don't even talk to me about my carrots, I only get angry.  You can clearly see they are pathetic along with the also pathetic broccoli.

Lettuce had bolted so we pulled it all out and are now trying to grow some more swiss chard and kale.

Thanks to the rain last night, this beaut is finally full.

So there you have it.  In all it's glory, a July garden in middle of a drought.

Healthy Living

As some of you may recall, at the end of June I was quite sick during my visit to Chicago.  And I will be using this as an excuse for my absence as of late on here... just so you know.  Well, what started off as a lost voice and a nasty cough, spiraled into pure misery.  I started feeling sick on a Sunday (June 24th) and finally my husband dragged Finley and myself to the doctor on Friday (June 29th).  Those five days prior were filled with the following symptoms:

• Persistent cough
• Lost voice
• Sore throat
• chills
• hot spells
• high fevers (103+... at one point Finley was at 104.5)
• headaches

5 days this went on and Finley and I could just not kick it.  Diagnosis: Pneumonia.  Are you kidding me??? Finley and I both had to go on antibiotics.  Today we are finally feeling better and freed ourselves from this illness.

In my entire life, I have never been this sick.  Personally, I was upset that my body (nor Finleys) was unable to kick whatever virus or bacteria that was invading me.  I would normally consider myself a very healthy person.  I have had no major illnesses, surgeries, and even my pregnancy was smooth sailing.  So what was it that allowed us to get so sick??  So now I am more conscious than ever about healthy living.

It's clear that for too long I have ignored myself.  It's also clear that it's time for me to nourish myself back to health.  Just where to start...

Any suggestions?

Summer Harvest

In June we were able to harvest our strawberries and raspberries.  Now that July is here, we are seeing lots of growth, lots of failures, and finally the beginning of the summer harvest.

Here is what I harvested today: 1 Broccoli, 2 zucchini, and a handful of blueberries.

The harvest may be small, but it's a miracle in my eyes.  With the battle of pests and all, I was really expecting nothing.  Last year we had beginners luck with such a great harvest, but this year we really got the lesson that, well, gardening is just plain hard.  We've lost 30+ tomatoes to blossom end rot already, a bunny (I suspect) ate off my only growing cucumber, we lost all our swiss chard to earwigs, and our strawberry/raspberry harvest was very minimal. 

Despite my garden woes, I'm going to feel blessed today with the harvest I did get.  And I guarantee you that I will savor every bite of that broccoli and zucchini.

Hello Chicago

On Monday the family hauled in the car and headed down to Chicago.  A blog friend of mine, Rachel, was going to be in Chicago with her family and we just knew we had to meet up and hang out.  It isn't every day that you meet such a wonderful family.  We clicked right away, but unfortuntely, I had lost my voice the previous day and it was showing no signs of returning.  Me with no voice made it sooooo hard to talk like I really wanted to.  So I tried to talk as much as I was physically able and spent the rest of time adoring her little boy, Bennett.  That little dude is so sweet, so smart, so funny and he's not even 2 yet!  He and Finley hit it off instantly too.  He seemed to be quite enamored while Finley played hard to get.  It was great to watch.

So what did we do with our day together in Chicago??

Ally had her very first ride on the subway.

We went to our very first Cubs game at Wrigley Field.  (We opted to leave the Brewer attire at home)

Finley looked... bored.

We took in the breathtaking view from our hotel room.

 We did a silly photo shoot.  If it wasn't for the glare or the half smile, wouldn't you believe she's really falling???

Realizing I had no pictures with Rachel, we took this one as we were on our way to our cars to say Goodbye.  Note to self: remember to take more pictures, especially for important events such as this!

My hair is frizzy, I look frumpy and sweaty and gross, BUT if you look past all that you will see that Rachel and I have something in common- she has an awesome set of dreads.  I admired them pretty much the whole trip.

It was a short day and I wasn't feeling 100%, but I'm so glad we got to meet up.  Rachel is a wonderful person as well as her husband and son.  I had so much fun getting to know them and enjoying Chicago as the backdrop.  Now I have an excuse to go to Portland sometime.