Never Enough Time

I wake up in the morning with plans that are never going to fit into

a 24 hour day.  So many things I want to do, make, read about and

explore.  If I ever hear someone say that he or she is bored, I 

just can't wrap my mind around that problem.  

How can anyone ever be bored?

I seem to have an assortment of projects going at any given moment.

I am currently designing a pattern for a rag doll.  I saw one recently that 

was so cute and just knew I wanted to make one.  I have the perfect

excuse now.  My cousin and his wife just had their first granddaughter. 

She is a precious little peanut named Teagan, and since I never had a 

little girl of my own, I now have the perfect excuse to make all sorts

of things for this little one.  What fun I will have!  

Speaking of projects, my granny square stash is growing daily.  I

can hardly wait to bind them all together and complete my first 

granny square blanket.  I already have plans for a second one.  

I always have a stack of books to read.  Here is my latest.  This is the

second mystery I have read by Katherine Hall Page and I am really

enjoying this author.  

What have you been up to???

Big Texas Hugs,

Susan and Bentley

I Am So Ready for Fall to Arrive!

I am oh so ready for fall to arrive!  It's been so hot here.  I'm just worn out

by it.  I used to cheer myself up by wearing cute outfits.   I would wear my

Lilly Pulitzer tops and shorts with cute sandals and brightly colored polish

on my fingers and toes.  We would go out and soon afterward I would feel

like a limp, soggy mess.  My normally fairly straight blonde hair gets all

wavy, but not the cute kind of wavy ~ just the untamable kind of wavy.

I don't know why I bother to put on make~up because it all wears off in

no time at all.  I wear self tanner because I don't spend hours tanning

like I did when I was younger and I grow tired of trying to get the tanner

to look just right.  

Complain, complain, complain!

I sound like a whiney baby, and that's just what this heat and humidity 

does to me.  But there is a light at the end of this heat wave tunnel ~ 

the temps have dropped ever so slightly.  I am beginning to have hope

once more.  I can hardly wait for the fall season to officially start!

I am going through photos from last year to get myself in the spirit

AND ....

to look for inspiration for this year's fall decor here at home 

because, we Texas gals are having another blog hop from 

October 3rd through October 7th and I know it is going to

be a great one that y'all won't want to miss! 

I love the rich, warm colors of fall.  I love wearing sweaters and plaid.  

Love mums and apple cider, tailgating and football games.  The whole 

season is full of color and festivity and fun!  

We are so busy here in Texas too during these next several months.

Round Top Antique Week begins at the end of September.  

Here is a gorgeous quilt I saw last year at the Big Red Barn.  

Also, this fall we are planning to go up to New Braunfels for Wurst Fest. David and

I went there with friends years ago, before we were married.   I saved our Tyrollean

hats!  They have moved with us everywhere we have lived since originally 

leaving Texas just after we were married.  Wurst Fest is the 10 day

celebration to sausage.  Lots of sausage, beer, German music and dancing ~

especially the Chicken Dance.  You can read all about it HERE.

We also plan to be up in Cherry Spring (north of Fredericksburg) for another

one of their Big Band nights at the Hill Top Cafe.

So ~ bring on Fall!  I am ready for cooler days and nights, sweaters and plaid,

pumpkins and mums.  We are going to have lots of fun and I will share all 

the activities with y'all, so get ready to party!  And don't forget the Texas

Fall Blog Hop from October 3rd through the 7th.  Bentley and I have

already started decorating :-)

Big Texas Hugs,

Susan and Bentley

Bentley and I Are Taking A Short Break

 

Bentley and I will be gone for just a few days catching up on

life and hanging out.  We will be back next Monday with all kinds of

new things to show you, crafting ideas, cooking and recipes and

lots of chit chat.  See you then!

Big Texas Hugs,

Susan and Bentley

Missing Home ~ But Where Is Home Now?

Have you ever had one of those dreams where you are once again in

your childhood home?   After you wake up from that dream, are you

sad to see that it was only a dream and not really true?

I sometimes have that dream.  I am in that first house that I ever called 

home.  It's such a magical place to me.  No other place I have ever lived

can quite compare with that first place that I remember so well and 

miss so much.

I have lived so many different places since becoming an adult.  East 

coast, west of the Rockies, down South and abroad.  I have felt 

happy in many of those places yet some of them I do not miss at all.

Although it's not my childhood home, I miss New York.  I loved the city

and it felt so comfortable to me.  It was as though it was the only other

city that could be in second place in my heart after the North Shore

of Chicago.   

I also loved Virginia.  I loved everything about it.  Perhaps it's 

childhood happy memories of trips to Virginia, I don't know, but

when David and I lived there out in the horse country, I knew

I was as close to heaven as I could get.

Whenever I visit England and Scotland it is also like coming home.

Whenever I am in London, people will stop me and ask me 

directions as though I have lived there all my life.  I am always

flattered when that happens.

Oddly, I hardly miss Idaho.  I miss my friends there, but not the place

we called home for many years.  I thought I would, but I don't.  

This is the second time I have lived in Texas.  I love my house here

very much and I like my neighbors, but I often wonder if I will

ever feel as at home here as I have elsewhere.  I hope so.  

Where is the place you call home?

Big Texas Hugs,

Susan and Bentley

Love Notes

It's been a wonderful week.  Lots of cloudy days with much needed rain.

I spent time doing things I love.  Cooking, crafting, reading and yes, some

writing too.  The whole week was like a love note to life.

I am progressing with my granny squares.  I am finally comfortable enough

to crochet a square without having to refer back to the YouTube tutorial.  Now

I can sit and crochet while we watch the Olympics on TV.  

I found another tutorial and I am teaching myself how to make scalloped edges so

that when all the granny squares are completed and sewn together, I can create a more

finished look.

My next crochet project will be to make another granny square afghan but

this time I will use extra soft baby yarn.  My cousin and his wife recently had

their second grandchild, a little girl named Teagan.  I want to make a rag

doll for her too and maybe a busy book that she can take to church with her

when she gets a bit bigger.  This should be fun!

I am reading a mystery that I am enjoying.  It is The Body in the Boudoir by

Katherine Hall Page.   I have not read any books by this author before,

have you?

Today I am getting my chores done.   Laundry is in the washer.

The family room needs to be dusted and vacuumed.  We live in that

room on weekends, so I want it to be all fresh and ready for us to

settle in and be comfy.  I am guessing that there is some kind of golf

tournament (there always is) that David will want to watch.  I am

yearning for some Cajun food, so I want to make some shrimp 

etouffee and maybe some red beans and rice with the andouille 

sausage in the fridge.

Have a great weekend everyone!

Big Texas Hugs,

Susan and Bentley

Tea Carts and Transferware

Years ago I found a sad little tea cart in a consignment shop.  It was painted

a variety of colors and it's previous owner had attached one of those cheap

metal (aluminum I think) paper towel holders to it.  Of course I immediately 

snapped it up and painted it white and removed the towel holder and

I revealed it's cottage charm.

Today, I set it up with one of my blue and white tea pots.  It came with

a set of dishes that I purchased in London and had shipped back to 

Houston when I was living there.  It was the first set of dishes I had

in my little apartment.  I have always loved it's sweet charm charm.

I like to mix and match my blue and white.  The patterns may be different,

but they all seem to work together.

I bought this little tea sandwich tray in London too.  Mom and

Daddy were with me on that trip and Mom bought one too.  It

was one of her favorites.

Be sure to stop by my other blog, 

Ash Tree Cottage Dollhouse Minis  

I am featuring Claudia Hill's fantasy filled

dollhouse and you won't want to miss it.

Today I am linking up to these parties ~

Tablescape Thursday

Home Sweet Home

Feathering Your Nest
Vintage Charm

Big Texas Hugs,
Susan and Bentley

A Cozy At Home Kind of Day

This has been the most wonderful day!  It has been dark and rainy with the

occasional thunderstorm rolling through.  Not the big scary kind of 

storm, but storms out in the distance where I can hear the thunder rolling

but no frightening flashes of lightning.    

Yesterday I spent a couple of hours trimming a beef tenderloin we

purchased when we went to Costco last weekend.  It takes a while to

remove the silver skin and the excess fat, but I was able to get fifteen

good sized filets, so I was happy.  I had some end pieces left that I 

decided to use for beef bourguignon, so I put that together today.

Of course, the kitchen smells so good with the aromas of bacon, garlic,

onion and red wine.

While I was in the process of cooking all the elements of the stew, David

called.  He was in Houston today on business and called to ask me if I 

wanted him to bring home BBQ from Otto's.  We thought Otto's had closed and

we were really sad to think it was gone.  It was one of the first BBQ 

places David took me to when we were first dating years ago in Houston.

It was an old shack on Memorial Drive near the park.  Not fancy, but 

really good.  David learned that the Stafford location was still open, and

since it's on his way back to Victoria, he offered to pick up dinner.

Of course I said yes!  My stew could cool, spend the night in the 

fridge, and we can have it tomorrow when it will taste even better.

Tonight we can dine on Otto's BBQ and relive precious memories

And then,

that gave me some time to get back to my granny squares.  

I think I have a new addiction ;-)

Thoughts of Home on Thursday

Bentley ~ Daddy's brining home smoked brisket.  I think there

will be plenty and you can have some too.  Bentley is willing to

get up from his rainy day nap for brisket!

Big Texas Hugs,

Susan and Bentley

The Sound of Rain on the Roof

For much of the day yesterday and during the night and early 

morning hours of today, we were blessed with the sound of rain 

on the roof.  We have not had any rain for some time and all

the trees and plants have been suffering under the relentless

hot Texas summer sun.  I have been deep watering our many

trees for weeks now, but there is nothing that can duplicate the

miracle of long soaking rains.

I have not minded the gray skies and the wet windows.  

We are feeling blessed today.

I have a new post up on my Dollhouse Minis Blog today.  I am 

featuring the work of Kim Saulter, a wonderfully talented 

miniaturist.  You won't want to miss it.

Big Texas Hugs,

Susan and Bentley

Red, White and Charming

I was looking for a different sugar bowl and I found a red and white 

transferware one on eBay.  I think it looks very sweet (whoops that's a pun,

sorry) on my butter slab.  It all looks so English cottage to me now.

It came with a creamer, but I am using it elsewhere.  I will show you

that on another day.

Now this little corner of my kitchen is all smiles.

Happy Friday everyone.  I have several projects that I am working on,

so next week should be a full blogging schedule.

Big Texas Hugs,

Susan and Bentley

Take a Peak Into My Pantry

Here's the door to my pantry.  If you are thinking that I am going to show

you a beautifully staged pantry, think again.  I am showing you this because

life is not perfect, and I am not either.  My Mom was a master organizer and

all her cupboards, her pantry and her drawers were neat and tidy.  Sadly, I 

did not inherit this tendency.  You will not be seeing a pretty pantry 

(although I would like one).

Do you still want to take a look inside???  Still with me???

Okay ~ here goes, but don't say I didn't warn you ;-)

It's not pretty ~ no lined shelves.  It's not organized ~ items are placed here 

and there and who knows what can be found???

Too much of some things, not enough of others.  Take these cute little condiment jars.  Every 

time we stay at an Omni Hotel and we order room service, our sandwiches and hamburgers 

always come with them.  I can never resist bringing one or two home with me.   I keep 

thinking how great they will be to bring along on a picnic.  It's been so hot, there is no

way we want to picnic, so it's time to use a few of these up.

This shelf is a miss mash of stuff.  coffee, parsley flakes, EVOO, a new bottle 

of soy sauce, hummingbird nectar, Cream of Wheat, red pepper flakes and a

vintage Saltines tin.  

Oatmeal, Cheerios, peanuts and Ritz crackers.

Hot sauce, maple syrup, mint jelly and our favorite salsa.

Chips, tonic water, Bentley's crunchies (dry dog food) and potatoes.

A box full of assorted light bulbs. 

And lastly ~ this pitiful little storage rack the previous owner attached

to the back of the pantry door, that currently stores straws.

I both want and need to make better sense of this space.  It will help 

to make my shopping easier when I can see what's missing.  It will

be more uplifting to open up a pantry that is both pretty AND organized.

Oh and one more thing, I want to paint the pantry door with chalk 

board paint so I can easily write my weekly shopping list.

There you have it ~ my imperfect pantry.  Life is not always

perfect, although I wish it were.  However, I am determined to

make this space a pretty, cheerful and practical one.  

Stay tuned!

Big Texas Hugs,

Susan and Bentley

Susan Versus the Granny Square

On Saturday, I went to Hobby Lobby to pick up some craft supplies and added this

book to my cart.  I have wanted to learn to make granny squares for a long time, and 

I decided that this book was just the inspiration I needed.  

Take a look at that granny square slip covered chair.  How fun is that!!!

Well, perhaps it's a bit soon to think of such a huge project, especially since I 

can't even make one square, however,  I am not one to back down on anything 

I set my mind to.  Swedish stock ~ in other words, I am determined and a 

bit hard headed ;-)

In looking through the book, I decided that what I needed was to see someone

making a square.  I find it is easier to watch someone knit or crochet in 

addition to reading the instructions.  So, I head over to YouTube and start

watching beginning granny square videos, just take a look at this next

picture of my one and only completed square ....

Pretty awful isn't it???  I should be embarrassed to show you this.  It looks more

like a blob than a granny.  I almost hurled it across the room, but I restrained

myself (just barely).  

So I went to another and another granny square tutorial on YouTube, 

but finally ....  I found one that was easy to follow and I actually had some

success!!!

Here is my first granny square in two colors even.

I need to work on my tension, but I suppose that will come with practice.

At least now it is more recognizable as a granny square.  Bentley thought I was

crazy because I was jumping up and down with glee!  It only took me all

afternoon, and I think we will be having sandwiches for dinner, but to me it

was worth it.  

Here is the tutorial I followed if any of you are granny challenged like me.

Persistance pays off and it's no longer Susan versus the 

granny square, it's Susan AND her granny squares!  

Stay tuned for more craft battles :-)

Okay Bentley ~ mama still has to get in 45 minutes of

pilates.  Whew, hardly enough hours in a day!!

Big Texas Hugs,

Susan and Bentley

SaveSave

I Spent The Weekend in the Kitchen

On late Thursday afternoon, my shrimp gal arrived with a freshly caught

batch of shrimp from the Gulf.  I bought ten pounds from her and then 

spent about three hours on Friday removing the shells and veins and 

bagging them up to go into the freezer.  Of course I saved some for shrimp

cocktail that evening.  

We stayed home Friday evening to watch the opening of the Olympics.

I had shrimp cocktail and a martini.  David had his usual Bourbon and 

diet coke, but no shrimp.  He doesn't eat any kind of fish at all except

canned tuna.  I have tried my best to get him to at least try fresh tuna

lightly grilled, but to no avail.

The shrimp cocktail server belonged to my Mom.  I have seven of them,

one of them broke years ago.  They are vintage and lovely.  Etched crystal

with a crystal insert for the sauce.  So elegant.  Mom served shrimp cocktail

often at dinner parties and on Sundays at the family dinner.  

Saturday we ran out to get the grocery shopping done as fast as we could.  We tag teamed it.

David pushed the cart and I ran around gathering up everything on the list and tossing it in

the cart.   We were very anxious to get home and not have to leave our house again.  The 

weather has been brutally hot.  105 to 109 heat index every day.  It is exhausting!  

I decided to try a recipe I saw in the latest issue of Southern Living.  Party Poppers

are jalapeños filled with chopped cook chicken, mixed with softened cream cheese,

finely chopped cilantro and a splash of lime juice.  Then you wrap with bacon and 

bake for 25 minutes in a 400 degree oven.  Place them under the broiler to crisp up

the bacon and then let them rest a minute or two before serving.  

Make sure you remove the membranes and seeds before filling, unless of course,

you like things really hot!!!

Delicious!

Then I made fajitas for dinner.

We just stayed inside inside the house for the whole weekend with the exception

of grocery shopping.  I can hardly wait for fall.  It's going to be hot all week 

again this week too.  

What did you do over the weekend?

Big Texas Hugs,

Susan and Bentley