Friday Obsessions.....

Graphite washed dresser...

Archways...

Coconut pecan bread....with icing!

Pretty decorations....

Drapey vest.....

Have a great weekend!

Paula

Finding Your Gift...

"The meaning of life is to find your gift.

The purpose of life is to give it away."

                            ~William Shakespeare

Have a great day.

Paula

Adding Crackle To Your Projects

I will admit that using a crackle medium has intimidated me in the past.  But when a friend sent me a few gourds to paint for a wreath that she has, and a picture, I saw that she wanted them to be crackled.  She wanted them painted cream with gold peaking through the crackle. I had read about using glue to crackle, but I was a little hesitant on the results.  The results are awesome so I thought I'd share.

The color that you want to peep through the crackle needs to be your underlying paint color.  In this case - gold.  I used a basic acrylic here. Nothing fancy.

I've read that Elmers glue is the best, but I had some old crafters glue and thought...what the heck, I'll give this a try. If there is one thing I've learned.....you have to practice on something other than the piece you are doing.  Use an old board or junk piece of wood.  Don't make mistakes on your furniture and pieces where you might have to strip and sand to start over.  No fun.  So I practiced on a piece of wood and lo and behold, it worked!  

I painted the little gourd with the crafters white glue. All over (I did not thin this out).  I waited until the glue had dried some but was still tacky.

Then i painted over the glue with the overall cream color.   This next part, is super fun!  Take a hair dryer to the paint.  Hold this close to your paint so the heat begins to dry the paint quickly.  It may take a few minutes for the crackle to take effect.  The heat forces the paint to dry quickly and as the glue dries, it pulls and shrinks to give you a crackle look.

How cool right?  Not to mention this turned out just beautiful!

The fun thing with paint, is that you can do so much with it.  I especially like chalk paint because of its ease and versatility.  If I was going to crackle on a piece of furniture....I would probably buy a crackle medium and practice with it first.  Then again....maybe not.  

Happy Monday!

Paula

Friday Obsessions.....

White and wood....

Pistachios and white pumpkins.....

Pecan bread pudding with caramel sauce....

Black and white....

Tub Time.....

Mr. Handsome.....

Have a great weekend.

Paula

Apple Crisp

I don't know about y'all......but in our house, dessert is a nightly ritual.  Dinner, then dessert and sometimes, it's just dessert.  :)

Baking takes time and sometimes I just don't feel like baking.  That's why this Apple Crisp from  is a the perfect fall ending to any meal.  Nothing too fancy...but oh so good! And guess what? Just five ingredients!

1 cup flour
1 cup brown sugar
1 stick of butter (1/2 cup)
5 honey crisp or granny smith apples (9x9 pan)
Ground cinnamon

Grease a 9x9 pan.

Cut up our apples and sprinkle a tsp of cinnamon over them. In a bowl, cut in a half of butter to the flour and brown sugar.  Pour flour mixture over the apples and bake at 375 for 40 minutes.  Eat plain or add some vanilla ice cream.   YUM!!

Happy Apple Crisp!

Paula

Surrender.....

Have you noticed the conversations lately with friends and family leaning towards the topic of anxiety? Anxiety was a prevalent theme no matter who I was talking to this week.  Anxiety has creeped it's way into our everyday lives and affects everyone of all ages.  What was once something we would feel and talk about prior to a big event, has turned into an everyday topic and an everyday reality for some.

"Anxiety"- a feeling of worry, nervousness, or unease, typically about an imminent event or something with an uncertain outcome.

I have been asking myself and pondering why there is so much of this today?  I certainly don't have the magical answer as to how we rid ourselves of anxiety....  I too feel the unease of the next steps of my life.  But I am trying to ease away what I feel creeping in.

We worry about what might happen or could happen and make ourselves sick about the outcome of an event which probably....won't ever happen.  :) I wish I could take back all of the things that I  worried about over the years that never happened. Right?

The reality is that we are all perfectly capable of handling outcomes and decisions that may end up being negative today. We all know how to navigate and move through difficult situations. We do.  But that doesn't fix anxiety when it rears its ugly head.

We are programmed to "control" so many things in our lives and the reality is that we cannot control all things.  So I'm trying....to Let Go and Let God and surrender to my higher power.  To let Him navigate the waters.  To trust that all will be well.  And when I'm confronted with the "what if" I'll lean unto Him to help make straight my path.

If we continue to do the same things in our lives...we end up with the same results.  Try something different and see where this leads you.

"From the end of the earth will I cry unto thee, when my heart is overwhelmed; lead me to the rock that is higher than I." (Psalm 61:2)


Paula

Washes.....

If you love the look of a wash over your paint to give it a truly unique look, chalk paint really is the bomb of all bombs because it is so easy to work with.  

The basic concept is to start with a darker color and then add a diluted lighter color and wipe it off with a wet rag or...vice versa.  I am looking at painting my dining room table and chairs and a hutch and I know I want to do a wash...I'm just not sure which one.  So from Pinterest and other blogs, I want you to see the endless possibilities.  

Here is a french linen base with a paris grey, old white wash...

Here is paris grey with a graphite wash (darker wash).  This is really peaking my interest...

This is an old white base with a french linen wash.....

This crib was done in french linen with a paris grey and white wash.....

This is coco with a country grey wash....

 And this is old white with a country grey wash again.......

If you notice, these washes tend to stick close to the paris grey, french linen, country grey colors... which is what I love, but the options are endless.  Check out Pinterest or the internet and see what color combinations you like.

I will let you know what I end up choosing and then show you how easy this is to do.

Have a great week.

Paula

Fall Colors.....Red and Camel

Cold weather has arrived here in our nation's capital...and it is time to bring out the sweaters!  Woo hoo!  Looking through Pinterest last night reminded me how much I love the color red and especially red and camel together.  No matter what your age, this is a great color combination.  

Have a great week!

Paula

Favorite Things Friday....

Fruits in a Fall Wreath...

 Black Vintage Buffet....

 Butternut And Sausage Shells...

 Short Hair....

 Nude Layers....

Have a great weekend!

Paula

Pumpkin Pecan Cobbler

Are you kidding me??    If you like pumpkin pie, cinnamon sugar and warm cobbler.....ok, even if you don't like cobbler, you will like this.  This is a hot gooey, yummy pumpkin, cinnamony ( I know, not a real word).... dessert for fall and winter.  And guess what ? .....it is super easy!  Look at the recipe.  Two bowls, no mixer, one pan, bake!

Have that vanilla ice cream in the freezer and your family will be thanking you.  You will be thanking yourself!  This came from a great little blog called Lauren's Latest. And trust me when I tell you it won't disappoint.

PUMPKIN PECAN COBBLER

Yield: 8 servings  Prep Time: 10 minutes  Cook Time: 40 minutes  Total Time: 50 minutes 

INGREDIENTS:

1 cup + 3 tablespoons all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon cloves
1/2 cup pumpkin puree
1/4 cup milk
1/4 cup melted butter or vegetable oil
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla

topping:
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup chopped pecans
1 1/2 cups very hot water

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a medium sized bowl, stir together flour, baking powder, salt, sugar and spices. Set aside.

In a smaller bowl, stir pumpkin, milk, melted butter and vanilla together to combine. Pour wet ingredients into dry ingredients and mix to create a thick batter. Pour into a small 8-inch casserole dish with high sides. 

In a separate bowl, stir sugar, brown sugar and pecans together. Spread over the top of the batter evenly. Pour hot water over the entire thing {WITHOUT STIRRING A THING!} and bake for 40 minutes or once the middle is set. {Be sure to place on a baking sheet incase it bubbles over.} Cool 5-10 minutes before serving. Serve with more pecans and vanilla ice cream.

Enjoy! 

Paula

Momma's Manicotti

Manicotti is one of our "family favorite" meals and trust me..... it's not hard to make!  The secret is not to use the manicotti noodles that are pre-packaged that you have to stuff.  Those noodles are a pain in the neck! Let me show you how easy it is to roll up lasagna noodles!

First, you need to make a batch of Momma Ferraro's Marinara Sauce  (Your own sauce is fine too..). Next you need ricotta cheese.  This is usually near the sour cream in the grocery store. The brand isn't important, but if you want really good manicotti, use the one with whole milk.  You can always use the one with less fat.... but we use whole milk. :)

Put the ricotta in a bowl and mix in two eggs.  Add 1 tsp of salt, 1 1/2 tsp of dried basil and 1/4 tsp of pepper.  Then, add 1/2 tsp of cinnamon (uh huh....that's what makes it so good).  Then add 1/2 bag of shredded mozzarella cheese. While you are doing this, start boiling a large pot of water and cook lasagna noodles according to directions.  

Drain the lasagna noodles, cut in half and fill with a spoonful of ricotta cheese and fold up.

Put plenty of sauce in the bottom of the pan and place your noodles closely together. Not enough sauce and your noodles will get crispy.  Not good.

Cover with sauce and make sure you get the sides of the pan.  Add the rest of your shredded mozzarella and throw a little pecorino romano on top.  Bake at 375 for 40-45 minutes. 

Manicotti Recipe

1 15/16 oz Ricotta Cheese

2 eggs

1 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

1 1/2 tsp of dried basil

1/2 tsp of cinnamon

1 package of shredded mozzarella

Pecorino Romano cheese (1/2 cup)

Marina Sauce

1 package of Lasagna Noodles

Mix the first 6ingredients in a bowl.  Add half a bag of mozzarella and mix. Make the lasagna noodles.  Cut the noodles in half and place cheese mixture inside.  Roll them up and place the noodles in a sauce filled pan.  Put sauce on top of noodles.  Add mozzarella and pecorino romano cheese.

Bake at 375 for 40-45 minutes.  I usually serve this with Chicken Parmesan and a side salad. 

Enjoy!

Paula

What Have You Learned?

The experiences we have in life bring us to where we are today.  The more you have been through, the more you feel, accept and appreciate, don't you think?  If we live in a glass bubble, under the protection of our parents or loved ones or situations that always keep us safe, how do we challenge ourselves to grow and develop into better human beings.  How do we sympathize and empathize when struggles arise? How do we truly help others if we cannot relate?

Living in an area where wealth and success is applauded, praised and glorified, I've become more sensitive and aware of the competitive nature of human beings.  It's no wonder that so many people,  are filled with anxiety.  It's hard to compete on a day to day basis.  It's hard to  measure up to everyone else's standards.  It's hard to shine when everyone's goal is to shine bigger and brighter than you.  It's exhausting to constantly reach and be measured by grades, schools, jobs, beauty and "things".

At some point in all of our lives, most of us will experience some form of failure, struggle or hurt.   Life happens and sadness can creep its way into our lives and into our hearts with feelings of unworthiness and lack of self worth. But through the angst and turmoil, we grow and learn and in most cases...end up in a better place.  So why is there so much pressure today?

Life happens.  When things don't go your way,  move forward knowing that you are stronger, smarter, happier and wiser.

"The greatest glory in living lies not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall."  

                                                                                                           ~Ralph Waldo Emerson

Paula

Fall Porches

What's on your porch for fall?

So many cute ideas.....

Paula