Design Ideas Filed Away

A few design ideas I have had filed away....

I love how these bird paintings have been hung using a simple coat hook and a pants hanger.  Found here.

I love how the old vintage farmers market fruit/veggie shelves were used in a modern kitchen for storage.  Found here. 

I love the modern sliding barn doors on homes.  Either for a back door leading to a patio or a bedroom door.  I wish I could install one on my home but I have no real good place for one.  Found here. 

I love random chairs around a table.  And I love the lights in this photo.  Found here.

I love the old large glass bottles for vases on a table or sideboard.  I actually need to find one for a project I have in mind.  Found here.

I LOVE this kitchen.  At some point in the next year or 2 I will need to update my kitchen.  I have looked at so many pictures of kitchen ideas and looks that it has been overwhelming but I always come back to this one and smile.  

What I love...the farm sink, the white cabinets, the light and the subway tile.  And I think I might be falling in love with the black countertop.  

Found here.

Shop Update

I finally got behind the sewing machine again.  I think it has been 2 months since I last sat down and sewed up new apron. 

Which do you like better?  

Amy Butler Lark Aprons or Michael Miller Going Coastal Aprons.

Falling into the weekend

Right this second I'm exhausted.

Work has been stressful.  And life at the house has been busy.

We had the 4 x 4 wood posts replaced on our front porch this week.  I'm glad to have the posts replaced but we still have a lot of little things to do to get it looking right and the screening needs to go back up.  The mosquitos eat us alive this summer if we don't get it up.

Yesterday I messed up the blog settings trying to rush and give admin status to shop blog milk so she could make a few changes.  The computer hadn't finished loading when I hit the admin update button so I accidentally took admin status away from myself. My heart dropped.  But luckily I got it back last night.

Tonight hubby and I went to another food truck rally on the beach.  The fresh air and food was perfect.

Tomorrow maybe some baby owl spotting.  

As for the rest of the weekend...it will fill up.  It always does.  I'll blink and I will be back at work.

And you?  Anything exciting for this weekend?

Abandoned Places

Do you ever wonder how places that were once grand, lavish and full of life become completely abandoned?  

It amazes me.  

Church, theatre, pool, piano and exam room

Found Goodness

Meet my found goodness vintage glider.

This glider was sitting in the front yard of a neighbors house.  I would drive past it almost once a week and drool.

During the holidays my next neighbor and I were sharing a glass of wine and I mentioned the glider to her.  I told her I was in love and maybe at some point I would go ask the neighbor about it.  

Well she beat me to it.  She asked and they dragged to my house.

It was a complete surprise.

The gliders needs a ton of work and I have been asking and calling around for estimates.  

The first estimate was very expensive. But now my dad is helping me figure out what can done to it so it can be saved.

Hopefully in the next month or so I will be some new and improved pictures to share with you all.  And I will be able to sit on it without falling thru.

Once the glider is done it will sit next to my azalea bush and under my jacaranda tree.

What color should I paint it?

Staring out the window

the back of a red-bellied woodpecker

one of the 20 or so squirrels in our back yard

hairy woodpecker

Sitting at my computer this afternoon staring out the window. 

I noticed a woodpecker.

Ran out with my camera.  Snapped a few.

Went back in.  Sat back down.

Looked back out the window.  

And saw another - different woodpecker.

Snapped a few.

Starburst

The Starburst Tree in my back yard is blooming for the first time in three years.  

I guess the tree is enjoying the mild winter this year.

As am I.

Prez Weekend!

Long weekend ahead.

I'm looking forward to the long weekend ahead.

I have a recipe picked out.

I have sewing on the mind.  It has been at least 2 months since I sewed an apron.  I needed the break.

I'm just looking forward to a nice weekend.

What about you?

Tasty Thursday

Hello friends.

Are you ready for a little Tasty Thursday dish?

I give you Black Beluga Lentil Salad with Goat Cheese.  

I found it here.  

The lentils are from our Atlanta Georgia trip back in October.  Still tasting and trying new food creations with all the goodies I bought at the Dekalb Farmers Market.

I still have plenty more to make.

But first let's make this little tasty salad.

1 medium shallot - diced & 1 cup black beluga lentils 

Rinse the lentils and place them in a pot of 4 cups of boiling water. Simmer for 5 minutes and add the shallots. Simmer for an additonal 10 minutes or until tender, but with a little resistance “to the tooth”. Drain immediately through a fine strainer and rinse briefly with cool water.  Drain again, set aside and allow to cool.

 3 tbsp olive oil, 1 tbsp lemon juice, 1 tsp white white vinegar, 1 tsp sugar, 1 tsp coarse sea salt, black pepper to taste, 2 tbsp capers, 2 tbsp diced roasted red pepper, 1 tbsp sliced chives  & 2 oz goat cheese

In a large bowl, combine the cooled lentils with the olive oil, lemon juice, vinegar, sugar, salt and pepper.  Add the capers, roasted pepper, parsley and chives and toss briefly.

Arrange a small amount of salad greens on each plate and mound about a 1/4 cup of the lentil mixture on top of the greens.  Crumble a little of the goat cheese over the lentils.  Drizzle with a little additional olive oil and sprinkle with a few sliced chives.

We finished every bit of it!  It was so tasty.

As a side note....

I have been making bread every weekend.  

And it is so freaking easy.  

No Knead Bread.  

Here.

Youtube.

Enjoy.

Happy Valentines Day

Grab your the person you love and give them a kiss!

Happy Valentine's Day

xoxo pam

Last Saturday

Last Saturday I got up with the chickens and headed over to Circle B Bar Reserve.  It started out cloudy but ended with bright blue sunny skies.  

A few photos from the day.

to the weekend and beyond...

It has been one busy work week for me.  I'm exhausted.  

Tomorrow I plan on getting up at o'dark thirty for a photo adventure.  

Looking forward to fresh air, wide open spaces and sun.

Take care out there.  

Have a fabulous weekend!

Tasty Thursday

Oh...for the love of something warm and sweet on a cool Sunday morning with a hot pot of coffee.

I made cinnamon rolls and they were good.  Actually they were freaking awesome and I think my hubby fell in love with them.

Here we go...

Overnight Cinnamon Rolls (adapted from Alton Brown Recipe)

For the Dough

• 4 large egg yolks, room temperature
• 1 large whole egg, room temperature
• 2 ounces sugar, approximately 1/4 cup
• 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
• 6 ounces buttermilk, room temperature
•  4 cups all-purpose flour, plus additional for dusting
• 1 package instant dry yeast
• 1 1/4 teaspoons kosher salt
• Vegetable oil or cooking spray

For the Filling

• 1 cup light brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 cup of golden raisins
• 1/4 cup of pecans
• Pinch salt
• 1 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

For the dough: in the bowl of a stand mixer with the whisk attachment, whisk the egg yolks, whole egg, sugar, butter, and buttermilk. Add approximately 2 cups of the flour along with the yeast and salt; whisk until moistened and combined. Remove the whisk attachment and replace with a dough hook. Add all but 3/4 cup of the remaining flour and knead on low speed for 5 minutes. Check the consistency of the dough, add more flour if necessary; the dough should feel soft and moist but not sticky. Knead on low speed 5 minutes more or until the dough clears the sides of the bowl. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface; knead by hand about 30 seconds. Lightly oil a large bowl. Transfer the dough to the bowl, lightly oil the top of the dough, cover and let double in volume, 2 to 2 1/2 hours.

Combine the brown sugar, cinnamon, raisins, pecans and salt in a medium bowl. Mix until well incorporated. Set aside until ready to use.

Butter a 9 by 13-inch glass baking dish. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface. Gently shape the dough into a rectangle with the long side nearest you. Roll into an 18 by 12-inch rectangle. Brush the dough with the 3/4-ounce of melted butter, leaving 1/2-inch border along the top edge. Sprinkle the filling mixture over the dough, leaving a 3/4-inch border along the top edge; gently press the filling into the dough. Beginning with the long edge nearest you, roll the dough into a tight cylinder. Firmly pinch the seam to seal and roll the cylinder seam side down. Very gently squeeze the cylinder to create even thickness. Using a serrated knife, slice the cylinder into 1 1/2-inch rolls; yielding 12 rolls. Arrange rolls cut side down in the baking dish; cover tightly with plastic wrap and store in the refrigerator overnight or up to 16 hours.

Remove the rolls from the refrigerator and place in an oven that is turned off. Fill a shallow pan 2/3-full of boiling water and set on the rack below the rolls. Close the oven door and let the rolls rise until they look slightly puffy; approximately 30 minutes. Remove the rolls and the shallow pan of water from the oven.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

When the oven is ready, place the rolls on the middle rack and bake until golden brown, or until the internal temperature reaches 190 degrees F on an instant-read thermometer, approximately 30 minutes.

While the rolls are cooling slightly, make the icing by whisking the 1 cup of powdered sugar and 3 tablespoons of water in a bowl - whisk until smooth. Spread over the rolls and serve immediately.

Happy Thursday Friends!

Photo Stuff: Bokeh

What is bokeh?  I grabbed this from Ken Rockwell's site.

Bokeh describes the appearance, or "feel," of out-of-focus areas. Bokeh is not how far something is out-of-focus, bokeh is the character of whatever blur is there.

I'll show you.

All of the photos below were taken with my Canon 5D, 50mm lens on a tripod.  ISO 100 and Auto White Balance.  

The only element I changed in each photo was the aperture. The aperture controls the amount of light coming into the camera.

The very first photo the aperture is wide open.  The table and the back ground are out of focus.  

As I increase the aperture number I'm stopping down.

The last photo everything in the photo is sharp and in focus.  You can see my a/c unit, lemongrass and the table clearly.

Side by Side comparsion: f/1.4 and f/16

Now if I were to take a landscape photo (grand canyon) I would use f/11 or higher because I want to grab all of the landscape and have it in focus. 

Strawberries are in season so they made for an excellent example.

Interesting?