Castle Query: House Numbers

I would like to replace the flimsy black house numbers that we currently have on the front of the house with something a little nicer and a little more in keeping with the rest of our house's style. However, I am not sure which direction to take:

Should I go with authentic craftsman style?

Something a little more classic and traditional?

Or something quite different, like these terracotta number tiles?

I don't usually have this much trouble making decisions. :-) I promise.

Wordless Wednesday: Dandelions make me smile :-)

Inspiration Tuesday: Fall Decorating

I love fall, and now that it is officially here, and I'll be heading home in a couple of days, I can start thinking about decorating! To me fall is candles and cinnamon, cider, leaves and pumpkins. I have quite a bit of fall decorations, but I wanted some fresh ideas on how to use them this year. I found quite a bit of inspiration over at Better Homes and Gardens, and now I'm sharing it with you!

bhg.com

I think these little pumpkins (squash?) would look great all lined up on a tray with some neat colored beans around them. I'm sure lover has a drill bit I can use to make them, and if not, we can always find time for tool shopping!

bhg.com

I have a similar vase that I filled with acorns last year. This year I might go for a mix of acorns and mini gourds, maybe I'll even fill my mini apothecary jar too!

bhg.com

I love this idea for our front steps. It combines pumpkins and mums, two of my favorite fall things. Did I forget to mention mums up in my list? I'm wondering if I should get some faux pumpkins for this project so I can do it every year. Hmm.

bhg.com

I think this super simple yet elegant centerpiece would look great on the dining room table, or even on the bookshelf. A pumpkin and some berry vines. How easy is that?

Where have you found inspiration for this fall?

Freezer Meals Menu

We have a huge freezer in the basement that came with our castle. In fact, I think it was installed the day the house was built, because there is no way that it would fit through the basement kitchen door, now that the basement has been remodeled. It comes in really handy for stocking up on meat sales, freezing fresh fruit and vegetables, and of course, staying stocked up on ice cream. ;-)

Lover and I sat down the other day and decided on a list of a few easy meals that freeze well that we would like to keep stocked in the freezer. Here's what we came up with.

• Chicken Marsala - This is the easiest, and yummiest meal ever, and great for guests. No. of portions: 4 (guest sized)
• Lasagna - Is there anything that freezes better than this? Yum. No. of portions: 4 square pans
• Fajitas - this meal keeps ridiculously well in the freezer, and is so simple to make up. No. of portions: 4
• Quesadillas - Lover makes THE best quesadillas in the world. We test froze some and they held up great. No. of portions: 2
• Stir Fry Chicken - If the chicken is all seasoned and ready, then making up a meal of stir fry is a piece of cake. Portions: 4
• Spinach Dip - Once again, this is Lover's domain (have I mentioned that my husband is a gourmet cook?) Portions: 8 small dishes
• Pizza - Homemade pizza. Best. Ever. Portions: 4

There are a few other ingredients that need to be frozen along with these meals to make the meal complete:

• 1 package fajita tortillas
• 2 baguettes
• Ciabatta bread, made into garlic bread for the spinach dip (about 16 mini loaves)

Along with all of this, we like to keep the freezer stocked with:

• A bunch of cooked, seasoned chicken breasts that can be easily thawed for chicken salad, quesadillas, etc.
• Shredded cheese (mozzarella and cheddar)
• Butter
• Vanilla Ice Cream (for all those desserts that are made scrumptious by a scoop of vanilla)
• Peppers and Onions (Sliced and in meal sized portions)
• Strawberries (for desserts and smoothies)
• Bananas (sliced, for smoothies and banana bread)
• Several packages of hot dog and hamburger buns

Last week I listed my goals for fall and stocking the freezer was one of the goals. Hopefully I will be able to get this done soon! :-)

What about you? What do you keep stocked in your freezer? Besides ice cream of course. :-)

Saturday Round Up 9/26

I read a lot of blogs throughout the week, and I thought I would share some of my favorite posts this week for you to browse through on this (hopefully) lazy Saturday morning.

Kim @ Newlywoodwards posted about this fabulous doggie bowl holder that her awesome hubbie made her. Help me convince her that they should go into business!

Jen @ A Thousand Words had to redo her studio wall after a disastrous accident. She did an excellent job and I love the final product!

Centsational Girl created a stunning master bath that makes me want to spend hours and hours here. Despite some setbacks, she created a truly masterful space, I am so envious!

Benita @ Chez Larsson created a cute little kitty cabin with her hubby and son. They could be master carpenters, by the look of it, don't you think?

And lastly, if you've been following my story of how I chose to become a stay at home wife, you may find this article about schedules for a stay at home wife interesting.

See you soon!

Flash Forward

We tuned in last night for the premiere of ABC's new show Flash Forward. The previews for it had been riveting all week, and after hearing that it came from the same people that did Lost, I was intrigued.

The show's basic premise is this: Everyone on the planet blacks out at the same time, for exactly two minutes and fifteen seconds. Obviously, the worldwide blackout causes mass confusion, hysteria and destruction. However, as people wake back up, they realize that instead of blacking out, everyone has seen a glimpse of their future, six months ahead. The question is, what caused the blackout, and is that future set in stone?

The elements for a good show are there. The cast seems pretty solid, with Joseph Fiennes, Sonya Walger and Courtney B. Vance as some of the main characters. The chemistry between the actors seemed to be decent for a series premiere, and typically that only improves as time goes on. It took me a minute to realize that Olivia (Walger) was Desmond's forever love Penny, from Lost. In fact, in the preview for next week's episode, I saw good old Charlie (one of my favorite characters from Lost.) Looks like this show has more in common with Lost than just the producers.

The premise is interesting, enough so that I will be tuning in next week. I'm not getting my hopes up yet though. I hesitate to really get into a show until the second or third season, as too many of my favorite shows have been canceled after the first lackluster season has gone by. However, ABC knows that Lost is entering its final season, and I am sure they are looking for the right show to keep all of the viewership that Lost brings them. Perhaps Flash Forward is the right pick. Only time will tell!

Linked to Julia's Hooked on Fridays. Check out what other bloggers are hooked on, here.

To Be My Husband's Wife: Part 2

If you missed part one of this story, click here.

I was finishing out my first year living back in the States, and I was excited about my first real relationship. Shortly after we started dating I enrolled in college, and began a new job at a community health center. I was working as a receptionist, and it was a very stressful, low paying job. I had a full class schedule, and I was trying to figure out how to balance a relationship, a job, and full time school.

I was trying my hardest to be independent, as I had always wanted to be. I paid my bills, got good grades, worked hard at my job. I had dreams of excelling in my career, but soon realized that I was at a dead end job that would always be stressful and frustrating. I started to see the incredible amount of energy and determination it would take to actually have this successful career, and that it would involve years of toiling away. And even then, there was no guarantee that I would "make it."

More and more I was beginning to realize that this dream I had held for most of my life was turning out to be a bit more like a nightmare. I was not miserable, but I was exhausted. I was independent, yes, but I was not invincible, apparently. I observed other women in the workplace, and noticed how many were single moms, divorcees, or simply single. I had to ask myself why that was, and I didn't like the answer.

My relationship with my childhood friend was progressing, and I was constantly amazed at what a gentleman he was and how sweet he was. When I had an exceptionally long day, he managed to sneak a note into my car to cheer me up. He brought me flowers, took care of me when I was sick, did everything he could to make my life better. People constantly commented on little things like the fact that he would always open the door for me. He too had grown up in Europe, so he was a great shoulder to cry on as I adjusted to living in the States. He understood me, and I was surprised by how much I was comforted by that.

When I imagined how my "grown up" life would be, I had always imagined myself on my own. I didn't think a man would work with the way I wanted my future to be. This man constantly surprised me. I was falling for him, in a bad way. He was kind and considerate, and he showed me another kind of “man”, one that I hadn’t considered when I planned to be independent and successful. The kind of man who could help me become a better person and who would love me for the rest of my life.~

Come back next week for the next part in this story

Inspiration for the Dining Room

I've told you how the dining room has been bothering me. It is painted, and there are curtains, but other than putting up a picture collage on the wall, I haven't done much with the room. That's all going to change, and here's my plan:

Let's start with the existing furniture. The table in the middle represents the Queen Anne style table that is currently in our dining room. I plan to keep it, it just needs a little TLC. Our table has a bit more presence, and some pretty detailing on the legs.

The dresser in the top left represents a dresser that we are turning into a buffet for the dining room. Ours looks pretty much just like this, except that the handles are a pretty scrolled metal instead of wood. This piece also needs some loving and repairing.

The corner cabinet on the right represents the cabinet that I want for my Spanish china. I found this one on Craigslist and it is just about exactly what I want, just a little out of my price range. If necessary, this piece could be refinished to go with the rest of the furniture.

The coat tree on the bottom of the board is one that we bought in Wisconsin. It is currently unfinished parawood, we are just waiting to decide on a stain for the rest of the furniture in this room.

The chairs beneath the table are examples of a style that I think would work with the table, and the other elements already in the room. I like the curving X of the back, and the fact that they have upholstered seats. Our current chairs are quite uncomfortable, and falling apart. I don't like them enough to try to fix them up. Hopefully I'll be able to find a deal on these, and I am considering using a different fabric to bring another layer of texture and pattern into the room.

The curtains are the ones I made a few months ago. I like them, but they need some tweaking. I want to paint the rod an oil rubbed bronze, change the way the curtains hang from the rod, and replace the tassel tiebacks with something that looks better.

The curtains are a really brilliant blue, so I thought that a few peacock feathers in a copper urn in the center of the table would look really cool. The iridescent colors of the feathers will pick up all of the existing colors in the room.

To the left of the feathers are a couple of amber colored tealight holders. I have a little DIY plan for these, stay tuned for details, if I can find them in a store nearby!

In the far left corner is a wooden footed bowl filled with decorative orbs. I found a similar footed bowl a few months ago, and I'll be looking for some balls covered in feathers, twigs and moss to fill the bowl.

Below the bowl are a couple of pretty little amber candleholders. I think they would look great above the buffet on little wooden shelves.

Below the candleholders are a couple of woven baskets. These, placed next to the coat tree, will be great for corralling all of the shoes that collect near the front door. :-)

I think this cream, blue, and tan runner will look great in front of the buffet, between the buffet and the table. Hopefully it will add some softness and color to the room.

Last but not least, in the lower right corner, are some functional accessories that will add a little more glamor. A natural woven table runner will look great on the buffet, especially when topped by this metal tray. The mosaic tray will look great on the refinished dresser in the corner, paired with a little wooden clock.

So there you have it! I am sure I won't follow this inspiration board exactly (I never do) but this gives me a vision for the room that will help me focus. What do you think?

Linked to It's Great to Be Home's Inspiration Party.

Fall Goals

In honor of the first day of fall, I've made up a list of goals to be completed before December 22nd.

Productive goals:

• Finish up Project Curb Appeal
• Replace lining in winter coat
• Update grocery database with essentials for pantry and freezer
• Stock freezer with basic meals
• Fall cleaning
• Make Christmas gifts for siblings
• Make Christmas gifts for nieces and nephews
• Pick apples, make apple pie and applesauce, maybe can some of the sauce?

Fun goals:

• Go to a corn maize
• Have a birthday party for Lover
• Eat lots of food for Thanksgiving
• Carve pumpkins

Ambitious? Yes, but attainable, I believe. :-) I'll letcha know how it goes.

Mission Complete!

I recently had a bit of an organization craze hit me. I went through the house and pulled out any and everything we could get rid of, making a big "garage sale" pile, and a Goodwill pile. Hopefully I will be able to do that garage sale before it gets too cold.

Then, still unsatisfied, and feeling like the house was overrun with clutter, I organized a few closets and cabinets. I started with the pantry in the kitchen.

This spice shelf wasn't working because I could never get to the spices that I wanted, and usually managed to knock some over in the process.

So I headed out to the workshop and found a scrap of wood that was the right depth for the organizational "gizmo" that I wanted to make. (I am very proud of this next part) Then I used Lover's cordless circular saw to cut the wood down to the right length. Here it is on the kitchen floor. Oh, and isn't our 70's linoleum beautiful? :-)

I wanted the board to be somewhat hygienic, so I covered the whole thing in a sheet of aluminum foil.

Next up I set the board in place in the cabinet (see the vintage contact paper too?)

And voila! My little spice rack was complete! Here's the finished and organized after:

Now I can easily spot what I am looking for. And, everything is organized to my little heart's content.

I didn't stop with the spice cabinet though. I also organized the tupperware drawer, going from this:

to this:

Ahh, so much better.

And the linen closet. This one was ok, but I was able to get rid of a bunch of old toiletries, and tidy everything else up.

Now I can sleep at night, knowing that behind closed doors, my need for order and organization is still satisfied. :-)

Check out the other transformations at Metamorphosis Monday and the other made-by-me creations at Make Your Monday.

Château La Chassagne

Would you like to own a castle? This lovely ginormous little castle just outside of Paris is for sale, for a mere 10.5 million euros. (about $15.5 million) It is called the Château La Chassagne, and was built in 1830.

It was converted into a hotel/resort and updated with all of the amenities in 1991, so there's no fear about not living in great comfort. The rooms are typically European, small and sparsely furnished, but still lovely. My guess is those are original oils above the beds.

The dining room seems to be nice enough, if a little dark.

There is a bistro area out back, that looks absolutely lovely. Oh, and did I mention that this castle includes a vineyard? Can't you just see yourself relaxing on the patio, savoring a glass of your very own wine?

Of course the castle isn't the only building on the grounds. If you prefer not to make the long drive into town for church, why not attend mass at your very own private chapel?

There is space for up to 22 of your closest friends, who are welcome to fly in on their private planes. They, of course, can land on your private airstrip.

There will be plenty for them to do while they stay with you. There is 100 acres on this property, and your guests can choose from hunting on the game reserve, either walking or on horseback. Additionally, they can lounge by one of the two heated pools, or destress in the sauna.

Perhaps your guests will be up for a game of tennis, or if they would like to take it easier, perhaps an enormous chess game?

And before you think that you'll spend your life cleaning and maintaining this huge home, there are full servant's quarters to house the staff you'll need for a castle like this.

So what do you think? Want to move to France with me?

For the listing for this castle, click here.

I'm linking this up to Julia's Hooked on Fridays, and Melissa's Beautiful Fridays, because who doesn't love an awesome castle?

Things You Never Knew About Me

1. My red hair is completely natural, but I get asked if I color it on a semi-weekly basis. The first time I was asked this question I was nine years old. I was completely at a loss for words.

2. I have two foreign high school diplomas. Spanish high school end at 10th grade, and upon completion you receive your diploma. Then you may enroll in an optional baccalaureate program for two years, and if you finish this program, you receive another degree.

3. I walk a very thin line between the world of fantasy and reality. Sometimes I can be completely convinced that what I believe is true, even if, well, there is no such thing as a centaur.

4. I am the oldest of four, and Lover is the youngest of four. I exhibit many of the stereotypical firstborn qualities, while Lover exhibits almost none of the typical "baby" traits.

5. I eat ice cream year round, in upstate New York, even if I have to be under a blanket so as not to get too frozen. That's devotion, my friends.

6. I can read an average size novel in two hours. I will probably be able to tell you the whole story, in detail, but I will likely be unable to tell you the title of the book.

7. I can read a map with the best of them, but I've gotten lost on five different occasions going to church. (the one we are at two/three times a week. )

8. My comfort level ranges from 70° F to about 73° F. This means that I am either freezing cold or uncomfortably hot most of my life.

9. My arches on my feet are so high that I can never find comfortable shoes. They are either not supportive enough, or the straps, boot or other shoe part that fits around my foot is always too tight. Needless to say, this curbs my shoe addiction.

10. I have my own invented word that I use when I am upset. Fruggers. At least I thought I invented it, but apparently it is a German word. Now you also know that I don't speak German. :-)

To Be My Husband's Wife: Part 1

Hi, my name is Jenny, and I am a stay-at-home wife.

Does this surprise you? Are you curious about how this came to be? What is your reaction to this statement? I can tell you that a few years ago, my reaction would have been something akin to this:

“Wow, how antiquated and un-liberated. She must not be a very bright girl, because she obviously couldn’t accomplish anything else other than getting married and staying at home”

I believed that the only women who would choose to stay home were those who a) had no other choice (a la uber-conservative religions) b) didn’t have the “brains” to make something of themselves or c) were essentially “doormats” who served chauvinist men and allowed themselves to be bossed around by them.

If you had told me, just a few short years ago, that I would now be in my third year of marriage, and my second year of being a stay at home wife, I would have laughed at you. All of my life I was told that I was an exceptional person, capable of accomplishing great things, that I was destined to excel. I considered many different careers, excelled in academics, and scoffed at my girlfriends who wanted to get married and settled down.

Then I met my husband. Or rather, I re-met him. We were childhood friends who reconnected after I moved back from Europe to go to college in the States. Our friendship naturally progressed to a romantic relationship, and we were soon talking about marriage.

I couldn’t believe myself. I felt like I was betraying all that I had been brought up to be. I mean, I had great potential, remember? I was going to make something of myself. But my feelings were betraying me. Suddenly I found myself wanting nothing more than to make a life with this man, to have a home together, to face the world as a unified team.

~

P.S. Come back next week for part two in my story of how I ended up becoming a stay-at-home wife.

Ivy done it!

You've seen plenty of pics of the front of the house, as I have talked about Project Curb Appeal for the last several months. Today, however, you will have the rare opportunity to see the left side of the house. Up until last week, it was so covered in English Ivy and Virginia Creeper that it could hardly be recognized as part of Wendhurst Castle.

The ivy was absolutely beautiful, and because we have a stucco exterior there was no danger of it ruining the side of the house. What it could ruin, however, was the roof, and as you can see in the pictures below, it had really started to invade that area. Our roof is less than five years old, so we didn't want it to hasten its demise in any way.

The biggest problem, though, was the colony of sparrows that had taken up residence in the ivy on the corner of the house. There were at least two dozen sparrows living in the plant, noisily fighting over the bugs the ivy attracted, pooping all over our deck and the neighbor's driveway, and apparently fighting so badly that a few were killed. Our neighbor said she had found at least four dead birds on her side, and we found one or two dead ones on the deck as well. Obvisouly something had to be done.

This is what the house looked like last Friday as I began the project.

My tools consisted of a strong pair of pruners, a couple of rakes and brute some strength. I ripped off as much as I could from the ground, and then hung out the windows getting whatever else off that I could.

Three hours later you can see the fruits of my labor. The fence is still ocvered, but I needed to talk to the neighbor about that, as it is technically "hers" as well. She concurs that it needs to come down, so we'll take the pruners to that one too.

As you can see, there was a little corner that I couldn't reach that we'll need a tall ladder to get to. Luckily, my grandpa is a pack rat and has one that will work for us. He'll be dropping it off in a week or two so we can finish removing the ivy at the very top of the house (over 20 feet up!) and also fix some drooping eaves on the opposite side of the house.

We decided to kill off the English Ivy completely, as it is the most damaging and the most resistant to being removed. It is also extremely hard to keep under control. We cut the Creeper off and completely removed it, but we'll let it regrow next summer. It comes off very easily, and can be completely removed each year right before winter. It turns a beautiful deep red in the fall, so I'm glad we're not getting rid of it completely.

All in all it was a good day's work, and I'm, glad we were able to check this off the list. I am linking this up to Metamorphosis Monday, as it was quite the transformation! Be sure to check out all the other great transformations!