Curb Appeal

My neighborhood is designated as a "historical district" within the city where I live. It is also within walking distance of a midsized university. That means I live in an eclectic neighborhood. Which usually is fine by me.

We have some real mansions here.

There are some houses that can take you breath away by their sheer majesty.

There are also smaller, sweeter houses,

and those that just say "home."

Some houses that "get it right" every time.

And then, there are some...

which could actually be quite charming, but...

The only thing I have to say is that if God had meant for upholstered furniture to be on the front porch, he would have named it the "living room."

Just saying...

Lemon Fusilli with Arugula

Recently, while on our Fall vacation to visit my brother Rick and his wife Terry, my sister Nancy and I were treated to a wonderful meal cooked by Rick. I knew this was a recipe I wanted to try once I got home and last night was the night! You might like it too!

Lemon Fusilli with Arugula

1 T. olive oil

1T. minced garlic (2 cloves)

2 c. heavy cream

2 lemons

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 bunch broccoli

1 pound dried fusilli pasta

1/2 pound baby arugula (or 2 bunches of common arugula, leaves cut in thirds)

1/2 c. freshly grated Parmesan

1 pint grape or cherry tomatoes, halved

Heat the olive oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat, add the garlic and cook for 60 seconds. Add the cream, the zest and juice of the lemons, 2 t. of salt, and 1 t. of pepper. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes, until it starts to thicken.

Meanwhile, cut the broccoli into florets and discard the stem. Cook the florets in a pot of boiling , salted water for 3 to 5 minutes, until tender but still firm. Drain the broccoli and run under cold water to stop the cooking. Set aside.

Bring a large pot of water to a boil, add 1T. salt and the pasta, and cook according to the directions on the package, about 12 minutes, stirring occasionally. Drain the pasta in a colander and place it back into the pot. Immediately add the cream mixture and cook it over medium-low heat for 3 minutes, until most of the sauce has been absorbed into the pasta. Pour the hot pasta into a large bowl, add the arugula, Parmesan, tomatoes and cooked broccoli. Toss well, season to taste, and serve hot.

Yum!

My Wonderful Brother, Rick!

Hand Knitted Table Runner

Last Thursday I joined the Thursday Tablescape Party at Between Naps on the Porch.

I got several very nice comments about my Fall table, but by far the thing most commented upon was my hand knitted table runner.


The knitted runner was mentioned almost as an after thought since I was moving it off my table and onto a side buffet. Since there was expressed interest in it, I wanted to remind everyone it's available at my Etsy Shop!

Here's a close up of the stitching in a 100% natural cotton.

Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!

Setting the Table for Fall

I've been very inspired the past few days, "watching" as many fellow bloggers begin their Fall decorating. So today I pulled out some of my favorite Fall accessories.

Here's the dining room table in it's streamlined summer look. The runner is one I hand knitted. The bowl is one done several years by a local wood turner. It holds some white wooden pears.

One of my collections is of animal candle holders. This dog is one of my favorites.

The kitty candle holder usually keeps the dog company.

I started my Fall tablescape by replacing the runner with a quilted one in a deep shade of yellow.

Next came a bunch of inverted silk leaves.

On top of the leaves are placed three paper mache pumpkins I've had for many years. They look like carved wood to me.

Finally come my turkey candle holders,

made of pine cones.

The set consists of three, each a different height and size.

While I was at it, the neighboring buffet got a few Fall touches too.

Voila! The scene is set!

I'm joining Susan at Between Naps on the Porch for her Thursday Tablescape Party. Be sure to visit her site and get inspired for some Fall table decorating too!

Beginning Fall with a Trip!

It seems like ages since I've posted! I'm still in the process of "being home" after a whirlwind trip last week with my "neighbor upstairs." We returned last night after a ten hour drive from NYC back to Tennessee. I love to go, but isn't it always great to return home again? The first leg of our trip was to Maryland for a visit with my brother Rick and his wife Terry. Here they are, with Nancy in the middle (three of my favorite people in the world). We had never been to Maryland before and Rick and Terry showed us the sights!

Terry is a crafter extraordinaire and had just finished several of her Fall projects. This small hanging paper decoration is one of several she crafted from pages of an old book and embellished with stamping and other techniques.

We spent some time prowling through this huge and interesting shop.
The Apple Basket is an emporium of antiques, floral designs and a mix of old and new collectibles.

Google Image

Since we don't have an IKEA near Buttermilk Cottage, it's always a real treat when we get to visit one. We found several "must haves" at this one just outside Washington, D.C.

Some of our "stash" from IKEA

En route to Ladew Topiary Gardens
in Monkton, Maryland we unexpectedly came upon these gorgeous fields of sunflowers! What a surprise and delight! Those fields of yellow you see are all sunflowers!

The Ladew Topiary Garden is noted by the Garden Club of America as "The Most Outstanding Topiary Garden in America."

In addition to the whimsical topiary, the garden also includes a nature walk and a house tour of the garden's creator, the late Harvey Ladew. We spent a wonderful afternoon here.

Then, on to New York for a visit with my daughter, Kate and her guy, Dylan.

Google Image

We caught the Broadway show MEMPHIS at the Shubert Theatre. This production is the 2010 Tony winner for Best Musical and is about "The Birth of Rock 'n' Roll." Lots of fun!

An unexpected treat was that we just happened to be in NYC for "Fashion Night Out," the kick off for Fashion Week. Hundreds of designer stores were open late for shopping. What fun! A real party atmosphere was created by many of the stores stationing attendants at their entrances to welcome you in, serving drinks and food, deejay music and live models. We felt as though NYC was throwing a huge party and we got to go!

And...what, there's more??? I had a nice treat waiting for me when I returned last night. I was the winner of a giveaway hosted by Laura at Bright, Bold and Beautiful. I haven't yet had the opportunity to try the several products included in my gift from Perricone MD

but I'm looking forward to it!

End of Summer Garden Look & a Sweet Gift

Recently my friend Marianne was cleaning out her attic and came across some outdoor cushions she was no longer using. She emailed and asked me if I wanted them. When she told me the colors, which are bright pink, lime green, blue and white, I thought at best I could probably recover them and reuse the pillow forms. Those aren't really colors I use here at home. She also had a quantity of the fabric she was willing to pass along. Fabric I can ALWAYS use!When I brought them home it occurred to me they might work in the backyard. Can you believe it? They're prefect!!! Particularly with all the pinks we have in our garden.

Thank you Marianne!!!

This is one of two coordinating stripes on the roll of fabric Marianne gave me.

One good turn deserves another, so I made one of the stripes into a small tote for a gift to Marianne. She tells me she loves the fabric and is trilled to still have a bit of it, reworked into what she will use as a small knitting bag.

I had some solid blue in my stash which worked as the outside for a couple of bags with the stripes as lining. You can find them at my Etsy Shop.

One last, loving look at the end of summer yard...

and a final stroll.

I'll be away for a few days with some Labor Day plans and when I get back it will be time to kick into full gear for fall!

The Bistro on the Porch...

As promised in my Neighborhood Yard Sale post, here's Part Two about our "event" last weekend.

Because we didn't have enough "treasures" to have a yard sale last year, we held a "Bistro on the Porch." We had such a good time with it, we continued it again this year. Friday evening we set our menu board out at the end of our sidewalk, to let everyone know we'd be open for breakfast/lunch and snacks the next morning.

We set up a pretty little counter at one end of the porch, displaying all our home made treats. In a cooler underneath we had two types of sandwiches already made up. Besides offering baked goods, we also had a sack lunch available which consisted of a sandwich, dessert and chips.

The morning started with freshly brewed coffee.

Half and half for the coffee was iced down in a decorative birdbath. We also had bottled water and cold drinks iced down for sale.

Here's my partner/sister, Nancy taking a little break during a lull. This is the opposite end of the porch from the "counter." We made the porch available for hungry, hot and tired shoppers to recharge before continuing on with their yard sale shopping. You can see a little of the yard sale activities beyond the porch.

More seating for our customers.

We moved some wicker onto the front lawn to offer more seating.

Once again, this was a huge success for us. We actually had repeat business from last year, insuring that we'll probably do it again next year. It was a big job since we were also doing the yard sale. Organization was the key. I baked and froze food for several weeks prior and made 130 sandwiches the evening before. One of the reasons I think it's successful is that it's such a pleasant surprise for people. Who expects an elegant little bistro when they're yard sale shopping? It's also always quite warm during our neighborhood's yard sale and the porch is a lovely spot for people to sit for a few minutes, cool off and have something good to eat. It was fun to stand back and watch total strangers chat with each other as they had their lunch or snack. I've figured out a way to fufill my fantasy of having my own little tearoom or bistro, if only for one day a year. It's shown me it's way more work than I'd want to do on a full time basis. But, I've already made notes on what I want to do differently next year...