Would we have believed it?

14 years ago, my boyfriend and I took off to the sea. I was in love with this boy, his cowboy boots and wranglers. His ‘67 Chevy truck, his bicepts, his ability to make me 

forget the world when I was in his arms.

I was in my second year of college, living with my brother who had just bought a house in town.
 I worked for the newspaper, Danny was working and going to school too.

Spring break, we drove to a small island in Georgia. Beautiful place. Quiet. We rode horses, layed on the beach, biked. Took a daytrip to St. Augustine and walked along the streets of the old town.

Last week we visited that town again. This time, we took our four daughters.

If someone would have told us then that we would be back one day with our four beautiful little girls, would we have believed it?

Would we have believed that Danny would have just lost his right arm to cancer?

That we would have a little white house, with a picket fence, a garden, a good job and a SUV?

Would they have told us that my mom and dad were divorcing?

That we would have a mess of beautiful nieces and nephews?

We would still have our grandparents but have felt the loss of many loved ones.

That we would feel such gratitude and love towards our small community for helping us through the most difficult time in our lives?

We have so much joy in our lives.

Together, Everyday.

That

I would believe.

Olive Salad & Muffuletta Sandwich Recipe

 I found this recipe 12 years ago and love it.  

The Olive Salad is wonderful on crackers, with an Antipasto Platter or over pasta. 

Layered with sweet capicollo, ham, salami and provolone on crusty italian bread it makes an out of this world Muffuletta.  

To assemble the Muffuletta, slice a large round loaf of Italian bread in half horizontally.  Scoop out the insides leaving a border. 

Spread 1 cup of Olive Salad on the bottom half. 

Layer, ham, capicollo, salami and provalone.  

Top with one more cup of Olive Salad and the top half of bread. 

Wrap tightly with plastic wrap. 

Place something heavy over the top to smash it down a bit and refrigerate overnight. 

Don't want to wait overnight?  Still makes a great quick sandwich. 

See how the loaf is thinner, and the Olive Salad, meats and cheese are all smashed together?  

Cut the loaf into 4-6 wedges and serve.  

Olive Salad
Adapted from 2001 Country Living Magazine

5 cloves garlic (6-8 cloves)
1 small onion
1/2 green bell pepper
1/2 red bell pepper
3 stalks celery
3/4 pound mushrooms
20 ounces pimento stuffed olives (5 cups) drained

1 cups vegetable oil
1 cups vinegar
1 Tablespoon ground black pepper
1 Tablespoon lemon pepper
1 Tablespoon garlic powder
1 Tablespoon onion salt
1 Tablespoon sugar

1. In a saucepan, combine oil, vinegar, pepper, lemon pepper, garlic powder, onion powder and sugar over medium high heat. Bring to a boil. Remove from heat and cool.

2. Chop the vegetables in batches in a food processor. First the garlic, onion and peppers. Then the celery. Next coarsely chop the mushrooms, then the olives. Stir all vegetables together in a large bowl.

3. Add the oil mixture to the vegetables and stir well.

4. Store in pint jars in refrigerator up to 1 month.


Muffuletta Sandwich
Adapted from 2001 Country Living Magazine

1 10 inch round Italian bread loaf
2 cups Olive Salad
1/4 lb Italian Salami, thinly sliced
1/4 lb Capicollo, thinnly sliced
1/4 lb Ham, thinly sliced
1/4 lb provolone, thinly sliced

Cut the bread loaf in half horizontally. Scoop out the insides, leaving bread around the edges, discard. Spread 1 cup of Olive Salad on bottom half. Place layers of ham, salami, cappicollo and provolone over Olive Salad. Place 1 more cup of Olive Salad over meat, cover with the top of the loaf. Wrap tightly in plastic wrap. Place a weight over the top of the sandwich and refrigerate overnight. Cut into 4-6 wedges.

The Journey of Letting Go {Creating Beauty from the Ashes}

The Journey of Letting Go {Creating Beauty from the Ashes} 

***

The Journey of Letting Go {Creating Beauty from the Ashes}

Join me in taking Jeanne's new art course beginning April 8th.  

She is such an inspiration.     

What I love about Jeanne Oliver's classes, is that you don't just learn technique.  It's like sitting down with asweet, uplifting friend talking about life. She shares encouraging stories, and can really put things into perspective.  The important things. 

By joining her online community, you will have access to sample video's that are part of the courses and can network with many other members.

{Don't think you have time? I watched most of the last course on my iPad propped up on the elliptical :)}

Join me, you will learn so much. 

Tea

Hey all you tea lovers! I wanted to share my new favorite tea with you.  

Most nights in our home our teapot is whistling just before bed.  

After supper,  homework, dishes, baths...when our day is winding down and we are relaxing. 

Mostly herbal, decaf green or black tea - sometimes with honey, and always in a special cup.  No. 1 has her initials painted on a purple mug.  The Tiddlywampus has a small white cup with patchwork squares.  The Animal uses a handmade ceramic mug with a raised grey kitty on the side.  Pearlie is usually sipping mine - an old, chipped blue transferware teacup with a small ironstone saucer.  

These past few months when we've traveled out of town to the hospital where my husband is being treated, I've been drinking lots of tea (and a mocha from time to time when I feel the need for caffeine) from the coffee shop there.   

This is the tea I'm swooning over, the brand is TAZO, and I love it.  I've tried Refresh, Calm and Passion.  Passion is the one that I am hooked on.  It's tart, earthy, flavorful...and pink. "Pink" is why my daughters love it so much and request it every time we fill the tea pot. Hibiscus, rose hips, lemongrass, mango & passion fruit.  

Do you have a favorite tea? 

Share it in the comments below, I'd love to know what it is. 

Spring dreams: Window Boxes

 I love the winter - I love the looks on my kids faces when they wake up to the yard covered in snow. I love the cozy feeling inside our home.  I love snow angels, icicles, 4x4's, hot chocolate and warm wool knitted scarves.  

That being said, I cannot wait until spring! 

This spring I'd love to add window boxes to our home.   Here are some beautiful ones that I've found for inspiration! 

Source: dyingofcute.tumblr.com via savvycityfarmer on Pinterest

Source: ionwkathy.tumblr.com via ಌಌஜbebeஜ♥ಌ on Pinterest

Source: google.com via Amy on Pinterest

Source: garden-fountains.com via Garden-Fountains.com on Pinterest

Source: Uploaded by user via Anna on Pinterest

Source: goo.gl via Monica on Pinterest

Source: decordeprovence.blogspot.com via Melanie on Pinterest

Source: garrisonbuckminsteruyis.tumblr.com via Solita on Pinterest

Source: istealgoodideas.com via Stephanie on Pinterest

{Tutorial} Play Kitchen Remodel

    We bought this Play Kitchen for our daughters 5 years ago and it has gotten lots of use.  It's just a basic wooden kitchen, pink, blue & yellow. We thought about passing it along to the Goodwill after the oven door fell off and the crayon drawings just were not coming off anymore. But when we mentioned it to the girls they were devastated.  We can't have that, can we? I decided if it was going to stay here with us it was going to have to be remodeled to match our real kitchen.  The "before" picture below isn't exactly like ours, but pretty close.

What you'll need:

• Primer
• Interior Off White paint
• Chalkboard Paint
• Metallic Spray Paint
• Screwdriver
• Foam brushes

First I removed all of the burners, stove knobs and faucet parts.

TIP *Save all of the screws and nuts in a ziplock bag and tape it to the back of the kitchen so they don't get lost! 

I placed the stove knobs and Hot & Cold knobs in a large cardboard box to spray paint them with the metallic paint.  It took a few coats.

The entire kitchen was primed before covering it with 2 coats of off white paint. I used leftover paint from our upstairs walls, Valspar Oyster Pearl.

The left side was covered with 2 coats of Chalkboard Paint.

I took a large sheet of newspaper and cut out a design for the front of the refrigerator door.  I traced it on and brushed on 2 coats of Chalkboard paint.  I also did a little freehand leaf design above it.

Screw the burners and knobs back on, stock the cupboards and it's ready to go.   I also painted the top of a little wooden table with chalkboard paint to go with it.

Oh, we added a little nail to the side to hang their little broom. :)

My heart is full of gratitude {a giveaway}

There are so many things I'd like to share with you today. 

~Over at FOLK there is a giveaway for one of my new bags that will be available early 2013. I would like for you to have one to carry during the holidays.  

(My sweet sister)

I love this bag. It's feminine and roomy. I made it of osnaburg and vintage embroidered linen. My favorite part is the long strap, I like to wear it across my chest. 

And on a more personal note...

~My husband was recently diagnosed with sarcoma, a type of cancer. Our life has changed suddenly and drastically.  I love this man beyond measure. He is my everything. 

He is the light of our little Daisy's eyes. 

He's given Maddie so much strength. 

Little Liv has him wrapped around her little finger.  

And Pearlie, one of her favorite places is in his arms. 

We had the very talented Laura of Footsteps Photography take our pictures in October. 

I would like to Thank all of you who waited so patiently on your orders.  My usual 8-12 week wait had turned into 16 on custom orders.  Your patience and grace kept me from worrying everyday about custom orders while we were at Dr. visits. Thank You for your understanding.

The outpouring of support from our local community has been amazing.    

We heat our home with a Central Boiler. You may have seen them in your rural community, they've become quite popular.  We love this type of heat. My husband would normally cut wood on the weekends during winter. 

This winter it was obvious that he was not going to be able to do this. 

We asked a few friends to come over and help us. 

Word spread.

Over 30 men and women came that day. They cut, split, stacked, hauled and delivered enough wood to get us through spring in one day. 

Our hearts were full. 

Thank You. 

We are truly blessed, all of us, to have one another, to support each other. 

~Bess

MUSIC: Mumford & Sons

Am I the last to hear of these guys? Wow! I love them.

They are just sort of normal looking, folky, and can play the heck out of their instruments.

How many licks does it take to get to the center of a Tootsie Pop?

One of lives greatest unanswered questions, "How many licks does it take to get to the Tootsie Roll center of a Tootsie Pop?'

"The world may never know."

I grew up watching the infamous commercial about the little boy asking the turtle and the owl, "How many licks does it take to get to the center of a Tootsie Pop?" It was one of my favorite commercials during Saturday morning cartoons.  It wasn't 3-D or High Def, just a simple ad; a line drawing with minimal color, that packed a big message that has stayed with those in my generation all these years.  The voice of that owl, and the disappointed look of the boy after he ate his sucker, I remember feeling so bad for him! Every Tootsie Pop I've ever eaten since then I think about that owl.

I bought a bag of Tootsie Pops to share with my kids, but first we watched the classic 70's commercial.

Then, we opened up the package and got to work.  I don't remember there being a Banana flavored sucker, I ended up choosing Cherry.  #1 also chose Cherry, #2 picked Raspberry, and #3 &4 decided on Chocolate. Yum.

We started out counting licks. #2 guessed that it would take 1000 licks to get to the Tootsie Roll. #4 said it would take 10 miles. I totally agree!  Clearly this experiment would take us all afternoon. The girls decided to just set the timer.

2 1/2 minutes passed. Nothing. At least they were all sitting still, happy with their treats.

#4 was the first to break.  

"I'm going to bite it now, Mama."

"Not yet, silly girl!"

Crunch.

In no time she was biting into the sucker. This girl must have strong teeth!

Oh my. The urge to bite through the candy was just too great. #3 bit hers in half as well. The older girls had a bit more self control...(I bit mine after 10 minutes!) They made it to the center after around 25 minutes. They say it was the equivalent to 2,300 licks.

"How many licks?"

"This many!!!"

We found out that a group of engineering students from Purdue University reported that its licking machine, took an average of 364 licks to get to the center of a Tootsie Pop. Not to be outdone by a Big Ten rival, a chemical engineering doctorate student from the University of Michigan recorded that his customized licking machine required 411 licks to reach the Tootsie Roll center of a Tootsie Pop. Their guess was a bit high, but it was still fun! A few more interesting Tootsie Pop facts:  

*They are the worlds #1 selling candy-filled lollipop, the Tootsie Roll has been made with the same recipe since 1896. In fact, they're the only major candy company who can say that their candy is peanut, tree nut, egg, and gluten free!  

*Each Tootsie Pop has only 60 calories.

*The original five-flavor mix was Chocolate, Cherry, Orange, Grape and Raspberry. They have also expanded to include Pomegranate, Banana and Green Apple.

*Tootsie's also supports the US Military soldiers and their families. Since World War II, Tootsie Rolls have been an integral part of U.S. military rations. I love this!

If you want to have a little fun with your kids, pick up a bag of Tootsie Pops and enter the "How Many Licks?" video contest they have going on. You can win prizes by submitting a video which answers the question, "How Many Licks Does it Take to Get to the Center of a Tootsie Pop?"

CONTEST PERIOD:

The Contest begins October 1, 2012 at 2:00 a.m. PT and ends on October 25, 2012 at 11:30 p.m. PT .

HOW TO ENTER:

Access the Tootsie Roll or Tootsie Pop Facebook pages, ìLikeî the Fan Page, click the ìHow Many Licksî Contest tab, and click ìSubmit Entry.î  Then, follow the instructions to enter by uploading your ìHow Many Licksî video.

What is your favorite flavor of Tootsie Pop?

Stairway Inspiration

I've been looking for some stairway inspiration lately.  When we moved into our home 7 years ago, the stairs were covered with dated brown carpet.  Not very appealing! It was a huge job pulling the carpet off of them, but underneath was beautiful dark wood.  It wasn't really in the best shape, but it's worked for us for the past few years.  I'm thinking it's time to get them into shape! What I really love are stair runners, or even a stair runner "painted on." Something that will continue up through the upstairs hallway. Here are steps that I love!

Source: flickr.com via Jeanne on Pinterest

Source: google.com via rachel on Pinterest

I like the idea of leaving the tops wood.

Source: houzz.com via Maddie on Pinterest

Source: meggielynne.tumblr.com via Sandra on Pinterest

Source: cottageandvine.blogspot.com via Elena on Pinterest

Source: interiors-porn.tumblr.com via Emily on Pinterest

I had to share these, because really these are the steps I'd love to be climbing right now! To the beach!!

Source: sebseballade.tumblr.com via ~Erin on Pinterest