The tops of my cabinets...

For some reason this Spring it's taken me longer to freshen up the inside of the house.  There were still pine cones out up until last month...but today I got a burst of energy and decided to tackle the tops of the kitchen cabs.  Sorry - I did not include before pics - they were too depressing...

It involved me getting up there and dusting a few things off - I am totally OK with fake plants.  

This one is in a copper kettle my mother brought from her travels in Eastern Europe.

On the cabinet over the cooktop I took down a large outdated  basket of greenery.  I am ashamed to admit it had Fall foliage in it....I saved the greenery I could and placed it in a glazed terra cotta  pot I got at Tuesday Morning.  The Anne Geddes print was FREE about 13 years ago at Target for Mother's Day.  (But really, it should be replaced). The birdie was $1 at Dollar Tree, and the bird house maybe around $10 at TJ Maxx.  Basically I shopped my house for stuff I already had.

The birdie is sitting inside a candle holder (:

Last but not least was the space to the right of that big copper pot.  I had a very outdated grapevine wreath up there, but I wanted to put my faux apothecary jars there.  It needed a backdrop, so I made one!

Can you see glue still drying in places?

I took a little used platter and modge podged some of the wonderful fabric I used in my laundry room.  

I think I love modge podge...

The platter has scalloped edges and flowers embossed all over it.  I have two of them, so this one can live up here a while.  The tall jar has wine corks; the medium and small, candles.  I love the wallpaper in my kitchen!

I had to stop there for the afternoon as I ran out of gas.  But it was fun to create my pretty new platter and simplify the decor up there.

 These topiary prints were also a Tarjay find - $4 each.

It looks bigger up there with less stuff - cleaner, too.  I like having something 'new and different' to look at since I spend so much time in this room...

And I can't believe it took me so long to change it up...oh, well...

Strawberry jam

What do you do when quarts of strawberries are $1.17 at HEB?  Make jam, of course!

All that jam...just waiting for some peanut butter and bread, or biscuits, or just a spoon...

here's how I make mine:

I boil up a pot of water, with the lids and rims, then pour the water into the clean jars and set them and the lids aside.  My jars go through the dishwasher, so they just need the boiling water to help them stay hot.

I trim and cut into tiny chunks most of 2 qts. of strawberries, until I have 5 cups.  I measure out  7 cups white sugar and have a box of of pectin handy, too.

I mash and stir the strawberries and pectin in a big pot over medium high heat, adding in a teaspoon of butter to keep the foaming action down while I mash the chunks.

Once it comes to a boil, I dump in the sugar all at once and boil it hard for one minute. 

(sugar not shown here)

A hard boil cannot be stirred down.

Take the jam off the heat and dump the water out of the jars.  Then fill them with hot jam using a ladle. Wipe spilled jam off the tops of the jars and the threads.  Place the lids on and screw on the rims.  Then I turn the jars upside down for about 5 minutes while I clean up my mess.

My kitchen smells so good!

 You can see I left just about a quarter inch of room in the jar - you want them pretty full.

Then set them upright and listen for the POP as they cool and seal.    

It's called the Inversion Method and it's easy peasy!

 I estimate this batch was about $3.50 since I already had the jars.  I am saving one for my mom and a friend.  The rest will be devoured by my jam-loving peeps...

the taste of Spring in a jar and so easy - try it!

Shared with:

and
Cookin' for my Captain
Strawberry Linky

Strawberry jam

What do you do when quarts of strawberries are $1.17 at HEB?  Make jam, of course!

All that jam...just waiting for some peanut butter and bread, or biscuits, or just a spoon...

here's how I make mine:

I boil up a pot of water, with the lids and rims, then pour the water into the clean jars and set them and the lids aside.  My jars go through the dishwasher, so they just need the boiling water to help them stay hot.

I trim and cut into tiny chunks most of 2 qts. of strawberries, until I have 5 cups.  I measure out  7 cups white sugar and have a box of of pectin handy, too.

I mash and stir the strawberries and pectin in a big pot over medium high heat, adding in a teaspoon of butter to keep the foaming action down while I mash the chunks.

Once it comes to a boil, I dump in the sugar all at once and boil it hard for one minute. 

(sugar not shown here)

A hard boil cannot be stirred down.

Take the jam off the heat and dump the water out of the jars.  Then fill them with hot jam using a ladle. Wipe spilled jam off the tops of the jars and the threads.  Place the lids on and screw on the rims.  Then I turn the jars upside down for about 5 minutes while I clean up my mess.

My kitchen smells so good!

 You can see I left just about a quarter inch of room in the jar - you want them pretty full.

Then set them upright and listen for the POP as they cool and seal.    

It's called the Inversion Method and it's easy peasy!

 I estimate this batch was about $3.50 since I already had the jars.  I am saving one for my mom and a friend.  The rest will be devoured by my jam-loving peeps...

the taste of Spring in a jar and so easy - try it!

Shared with:

and
Cookin' for my Captain
Strawberry Linky

Good Friday Thrifting 2011

It never occurred to me that St. Vinny's would not be open on Good Friday.  But the boys and I were determined to get out of the house and "bop around" as they love to say!

Stop #1 was a huge Sally Ann we had never seen before - HUGE.  I picked up a little over $2 worth of stuff that the woman rang up for $1.34, including a terra cotta sun face and some vintage fabric trims.  13 cents each  - no idea how old they are, but I would guess the early sixties - they were two for a quarter.

 Next was Thrift Town, a favorite of ours.  The boys had such a good time looking at all the "weird" stuff - they weren't even bothering to look for things they might actually want.  Creepy Stuff.  Like this cat.

Please tell me its not covered with real cat fur...

I, however, find a large bag of fabric lace and trims for $2 to add to my stash, and a box of 15 Japanese art print cards with envelopes for $1.  They are blank so they can be used for many occasions.

My total thrift purchases were less than $5!  

The blue sun got a coat of ORB this afternoon and is hanging over the mantel, and the laces and such are in my sewing box.  Check out the wide lace, perfect for making sachets.  After that, we had a great lunch at a hole-in-the-wall Mexican restaurant, Vallarta.

 

A fun way to spend a day off with my peeps!

Gina

Good Friday Thrifting

Silly me.  It never occurred to me that St. Vinny's would not be open on Good Friday.  But the boys and I were determined to get out of the house and 'bop around" as they love to say!

Stop #1 was a huge Sally Ann we had never seen before - HUGE.  I picked up a little over $2 worth of stuff that the woman rang up for $1.34, including a terra cotta sun face and some vintage fabric trims.

13 cents each  - no idea how old they are, but I would guess the early sixties - they were two for a quarter.

 Next was Thrift Town, a favorite of ours.  The boys had such a good time looking at all the "weird" stuff - they weren't even bothering to look for things they might actually want.  Creepy Stuff.  Like this cat.

Please tell me its not covered with real cat fur...the big organza ribbon adds to the creepiness factor...

I, however, find a large bag of fabric lace and trims for $2 to add to my stash, and a box of 15 Japanese art print cards with envelopes for $1.  They are blank so they can be used for many occasions.

My total thrift purchases were less than $5!  

The blue sun got a coat of ORB this afternoon and is hanging over the mantel, and the laces and such are in my sewing box.  Check out the wide lace, perfect for making sachets.

After that, we had a great lunch at a hole-in-the-wall Mexican restaurant, Vallarta.

 

That plate is bigger than my kid!

Yum.  A fun way to spend a day off with my peeps!