My RED Saltbox

I found the PERFECT red for our Saltbox house! Old Century paint makes a beautiful deep historical red called Savannah red. We're trying to get the house finished before it gets too cold~ running out of time! It actually snowed here yesterday- yikes! I took some pics today when I was doing yard work. The windows aren't finished, they will be red also and we have some hardware for the doors that was made from a local blacksmith. Here's the house so far~







This is the side of the house and the windows still need to be painted red.







When we moved here three years ago all that was growing near the back door was a few daffodils and grass. So here's my temporary "Herb Garden" that I started as soon as I got the keys to this place :) I dug the grass out and planting sages, lavenders and lots of foxgloves. It gave me the feeling of HOME and the hope of what was to come~



Outside my backdoor~ I leaned a bunch of corn stalks with the husks pulled back to expose the corn (I don't know why more people don't do that~ you get to see the golden kernels...looks so much better) and then I tucked some bittersweet in and plopped a few large pumpkins at the bottom. Very simple but looks great against the house :)



Lots and Lots of work outside this time of year. Today I was the leaf blowing queen! I love that job - it's like vacuuming outdoors and I get obsessed with it! LOL I've also been trying to keep my gardens going. I planted lettuces and swiss chard early this fall for salads and to keep the garden looking colorful as long as I possibly can. The snow didn't help my zinnias and squashes tho. They ended up in the compost today. I should have cut the zinnia blossoms a few days ago when I was tempted, but I'm throwing a birthday party for my sweety next week and I thought the zinnias would still look beautiful. Not so beautiful now :) Here's some zinnias and other flowers I am drying in my racks up in my home office. The doorway to my office is tiny and I had some shelves put in from our old barn boards to hold my drying racks. The perfect place- dark with plenty of air circulating.



Walk thru the doorway and these racks are to the right~

Fall Decor at the Homestead~

I've been Fall Cleaning and doing some Prim Decorating at the house~
Here's the Dining room







And here's one of my Kitchen walls. These jack-o-lanterns are really cute with my flicker lights in them~





Waxed & Spiced Corn Cobs



The Mud Room hutch with an adorable Spider & Spooky jar made by Art Pod Studios on Etsy~







Front Hallway~
I have my Bird nest & egg collection in this hutch. Looks great w/ flicker lights inside :)







Gotta have the Candycorn & Sunflower Ornies displayed too~



Keeping it simple in the Master Bedroom~



Since when has Spooky been camera shy??

Sweet Annie Time!

Aaaah the Sweet Annie is ready to ship~ Lots of customers waiting for this very important "Prim-Staple"


What a Day! I was outside in this crazy windstorm cutting and bunching Orange Mint and Pineapple Mint, trying to get it in the house before the sky opened up :)
All of a sudden I've got all these requests for cut herbs~

Tomorrow I get to cut the Rose Geranium for an order (the jeeps going to smell awesome on my way into the shop) and I also need to start filling orders for Bittersweet & Rosehips. Better wear long sleeves, those Roships are brutal :)

Straw BEE SKEPS with Hole

I just had these straw Bee Skeps made with a hole in the front. They came out GREAT!
Here's some pictures I took tonight when I got home. Think I'll keep one for my own Garden~

Orange Mint

Heading out the door this morning I gathered some Orange Mint for a Customer's order
Looked so good in my canvas bag that I had to take a picture :)
Smells Incredible!!!!

Pumpkin Candle Lights

I just made these New Pumpkin-Spice Candle Lights~ Super Cute!!



They run on two AA batteries and have an LED flicker light. I dip them in beeswax and Prim them up with tons of spices and then scent them with my Pumpkin Spice fragrance. I also add a sprig of Sweet Annie and a mini "pumpkin" tied w/ homespun.

I like displaying these "No-flame" candles in my cupboards and window sills. Don't have to worry about anything catching on fire :)

Globe Amaranth Harvest

The Globe Amaranth is Looking Good! I grew a variety of colors this year~ maybe I'll just sell them as "mixed bunches" Much easier than having to separate them:)


As I was picking these tonight, 6 large male turkey's came out of the field and were walking around the yard. Here they are in this top picture. Guess they aren't threatened by me being out here!



These Globe Amaranth are going to be used for potpourri, the rest I'll bunch & hang to dry.

Sweet Annie & Beeswax Melts

Made LOTS of Sweet Annie goodies today! They are all made with dark beeswax, vanilla fragrance and Sweet Annie blossoms~







It's that time of year again & everyone wants Melts and Candles! Besides my Retail orders, my Wholesale orders are Keeping me super busy! Looks like people are starting to stock up and get excited about the upcoming fall :) I really enjoy making all of these goodies for everyone! I completely loose track of time~

I've also donated to September's Out of the Box Sampler
outoftheboxsampler.com
For a low price you can get samples of handmade goodies from all different artists and craft-people :) That's a lot of fun too~ I make stuff for a hundred boxes!

Ps.
I'll have lots of dried Sweet Annie bunches available in September too~ Stay tuned:)

Snapdragons

Maybe Someday I'll Have an Entire Field of Snapdragons ~*~

Nacho's Anyone?

Another drive home with supper on my mind....something easy, something yummy, something comforting....Nachos!! And of course Fresh guacamole goes PERFECT with Nachos!

The first time I made guacamole was just a few months ago. My step-dad was going on vacation and he gave me a few avocados that he didn't want to go to waste...So I came up with this recipe (all on my own ~~ ok, its ridiculously easy) and I think it's worthy of sharing :)

Andrea's Guacamole Recipe



2 Avocados
1 Medium tomato
1 Lime ( Key Lime if available)
1/2 Red onion
Handful of fresh Cilantro
Crushed Sea Salt & Pepper

Peel, pit and Mush up the Avocados. Chop the tomato, onion and cilantro. Squeeze the lime and gently mix all together. Season with crushed sea salt & pepper. Super Easy & Super Delicious!

Cilantro is a beautiful herb that I grow in the vegetable & flower gardens. I'll use the fresh leaves when the plant is young for cooking and I also enjoy the delicate white flowers that it has as it goes to seed. The seed are called "coriander" seeds. Those are used in pickling spice~ It's really Two Herbs in One!

And of course this is the time of year to make salsa because the tomatoes are ripening. I have a few golden cherry tomato plants that reseeded themselves from last year. They decided to grow in the White Sage section and of course when they are "surprises" I let them grow where they want :)



Easy Nachos to go with your Guacamole~
Brown hamburg or ground turkey w/ taco seasoning, place in the middle of a plate, top w/ cheddar cheese and then surround that with chopped lettuce and tomatoes from the garden. Scoop everything up with blue organic corn chips and top with sour cream, salsa and that Yummy Guacamole you just made! They'll think you slaved over this dish :)

Crunchy Dill Potato Salad

Lots of Dill, Celery & Lots of Cucumbers in the Garden~ so I decided to come up with a potato salad recipe that uses all of them :)



Crunchy Dill Potato Salad

8 Medium Gold or Red Potatoes (please use Organic-lots of pesticides are used on potatoes)
1/2 cup Sour Cream or Plain Yogurt
1/2 cup Mayonnaise
3 tbsp Vinegar
1 tbsp Dijon Mustard
2-3 Celery stalks,Diced
1 small Onion
1 Cucumber,Diced
Handful Fresh Dill Weed, Chopped fine
Crushed Black Pepper (I like lots)

Boil Potatoes, drain, cut into bite size pieces and then set aside to cool
Mix Sour Cream, Mayonnaise, Vinegar and Mustard together and then pour over cooled potatoes. Combine Celery, Onion, Cucumber, Dill Weed and Pepper. Gently Stir

Chill for at least 2 hours~

My Family LOVED this! I served it w/ Barbecue Ribs & local Corn on the Cob~ WOW!
I'm going to have to fast for a few days LOL

Lip Balms are Ready~

I created this Lip Balm recipe and have been using it for a while and I LOVE it!
It's very soft and also stays on my lips for a long time. Last month when we were at the beach, my lips got really burnt & windburned. When we got home I used this Lip balm and I was amazed at how quickly my lips healed. So I decided to make up a bunch & offer them to my customers :)
They are made with a base of beeswax plus I add organic Calendula oil and Shea butter. I don't put any scent in there~ Didn't think the guys would want to smell like fruit :)

What's For Supper?

After a long day at the shop, I finally got home and had no idea what I was going to make for supper. I went into the garden and found a zucchini (of course) and some tomatoes. Stuffed Zucchini!! That's it :)



I had a few peppers in the fridge and so I made both.
Here's my EASY version of Stuffed Zucchini (and peppers)~

1 lb Lean Hamburg (I use grass fed antibiotic free)
3-4 zucchini (depending on size) OR 6-8 peppers
1 egg
1 bag of microwavable organic rice (trader joe or whole foods brand)
Handful of Parmesan and Romano cheese (or whatever you have)
1 can organic crushed tomatoes
1 tablespoon organic Oregano
1 tablespoon organic Rosemary
1 tablespoon organic Basil
Salt & Pepper

Preheat oven to 350
Clean zucchini, cut in half and scoop out seeds with a spoon.
Clean peppers and remove seeds.
Microwave rice as directed on package
In a bowl combine Hamburg, egg, cheese, spices, rice and 1/2 jar of crushed tomatoes
Stuff zucchini and peppers with hamburg mixture
Spray pan w/ olive oil
Place veggies in pan and pour over the rest of the can of crushed tomatoes. sprinkle more cheese on top
Garnish w/ fresh herbs

Bake for 1 1/2 hours or until zucchini & peppers are tender and hamburg is cooked throughout

After I popped this into the oven I headed back out into the garden.
Our first heirloom tomato was ready~ Picked that plus a few cherry tomatoes, some cucumber, celery, cilantro and fresh basil. Tossed everything together with some Paul Newman's organic Italian and here's my Salad :)



Then I thought I should cut some flowers for the table outside and make it look nice before hubby gets home~ The hydrangeas are at their peek so I went with a blue theme. The orange mint is also blossoming so I rubbed some leaves around the edge of our glasses and floated more on top of our lemonade~



Wait till I tell him we're having Zucchini bread (again) for dessert :)

Tubby Time for Spooky

What a Good Girl!

Somewhat willing~ But really just planning her escape :)
I try to make it as quick as possible~ because I usually get just as wet as her!

Zucchini SPICE Bread

Sooo much Zucchini~ Had to make some bread :) (more like cake)
It's so moist & tasty, this bread doesn't last long in my home!!
Try it with cream cheese frosting~~~~~Yummy!!
Here's my Recipe~ Enjoy!!



• 3 1/4 cups organic white-wheat flour (king Arthur brand)
• 1 teaspoons salt
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 tablespoon ground organic cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon ground organic clove
• 1 teaspoon ground organic ginger
• 1 inch piece fresh ginger root chopped very fine
• 1 teaspoon organic vanilla extract
• 2 ½ cups organic sugar
• 1 cup organic canola oil
• 4 eggs, beaten
• 1/3 cup water
• 3 cups grated zucchini
• 1 teaspoon organic lemon juice
• 1 cup chopped walnuts

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a large bowl, combine flour, salt, baking soda, cinnamon, clove, ginger powder & chopped ginger, plus sugar. In a separate bowl, combine oil, eggs, water, zucchini, vanilla extract and lemon juice. Mix wet ingredients into dry, add nuts and fold in. Spray your choice of pan with nonstick spray. Loaf pans will take about 50 minutes, or until a tester comes out clean. Muffins take about 25 minutes, or until a tester comes out clean.

Stevia can be substituted for sugar. Stevia is an herb that doesn't effect blood sugar and has 0 calories. Just follow the directions on the package to substitute for sugar~

Pineapple Mint Harvest

I got all the Pineapple Mint harvested before the rain came~ again!

What a beautiful crop this year! Hopefully I'll get another harvest out of them before fall time.

Today's Harvest

Aaaah, finally back home from work! I couldn't wait to take a stroll over to the garden before I started dinner~ And Look what I found!



It's going to be Stir-Fried Veggies for supper Again tonight!