Southern Cooking Adventures With Susan

I have always been very adventurous when it comes to different 

cuisines.  I have eaten and enjoyed my share of pad Thai and a 

variety of curries.  I like Middle Eastern food and Mexican too.

Beef Wellington is a favorite, and so is Welsh rarebit.  

When it comes to real down home comfort, I always gravitate

to Southern cooking.  It's almost impossible for me to pass up

a hot buttermilk biscuit and I love green beans and bacon.

So I am going through lots of old issues of Southern Living

magazine and reading all the Southern recipes I can find.

Starting next week, I am going to start sharing some of these recipes

with y'all so that we can learn together.  Oh, and by the way ~

Southern cookin' makes you good lookin' ;-)  Or so they say!

Big Texas Hugs,

Susan and Bentley

Spring Fashion 2018 Ideas

A very "in" color for Spring of 2018, is a pale, petal shade of pink that

is referred to as Blush.  I found a top on the J Crew website that I could

not resist.  The fact that it was on sale also sweetened the deal for me.

It's a sleeveless top with a stand up neckline that drapes so beautifully.

It is soft, pretty, and feminine and can be dressed up or down.

The back of the top ties in a soft bow.

When I saw it online, I knew that I could wear it with my off white

slacks, some pink kitten heels from my closet, and my Mom's vintage

pink clutch.  I added a triple strand pearl bracelet because I am 

a girly girl.  

Here is the link to the top ~ J Crew.  This top is currently 40% off.

This is NOT a sponsored post.  I just love to share cute things I

find that I think you might like too.

Now if Spring would only hurry up so that I can wear this :-)

Big Texas Hugs,

Susan and Bentley

Blue and White ~ Collecting and Loving It

Blue and white china is timeless and versatile.  It can be humble or

grand. It's been favored by generations.  My Mama both collected and

loved it, and passed down her collection to add to my own.  

In my breakfast room, my blue and white collection of this and that,

looks fresh and welcoming.  I can set a table that suddenly looks

crisp and clean and as fresh as a daisy.

It has a quaint and simple look that I just adore.

Ireland has their green, but Holland and Scandinavia have their 

blue and white.  

Yet the beauty of blue and white is that it can rise above it's humble

nature and hold it's own in a more elegant setting too.  Surrounded by

deep red walls, touches of black, and crystal, it is suddenly sophisticated.

It's oh so collectable too.  We can find it in tureens and ginger jars.  It

comes in lamps and endless plates and bowls too.  The other thing I

love about it is that different patterns of blue and white all work 

together somehow.  It's magic!

Unique pieces with slightly different patterns, yet all

are holding their own in this niche.  

This basket is full of my very first collection of blue and white

transferware.  These are the child size dishes that started me on

my path to further collections.  Thank you Mama for giving me such

a good start.  I am missing you today on the fourth year of your

passing, but you left me with so many happy memories and I 

honor the life we shared.

Big Texas Hugs,

Susan and Bentley

Cozy in My Country Cottage Kitchen

We have been having days and days of gray days.  Dark clouds rolling in and

out.  Some days have been quite cool and some have been warming up and

leading us to believe we are flirting with spring.   I don't mind the clouds, but

it's nice to see the sun once in a while too.  I know it's still out there because

every once and a while it peeks through just to tease us into a false state of

sunny security, and then poof ... it vanishes.

Even my cozy country cottage kitchen gets bathed in gray light.

That's okay, because I turn on lots of lights.  The under cabinet lights

are on, and all the little lamps are lit too.  This weather makes it so 

easy to imagine that I am living in a little cottage in the English

countryside.  That's not a problem for me ~ I live in that little cottage in

my mind quite often :-)

This weather has been just what I needed though.  I have some projects

that I have been putting off and putting off forever.  The biggest project

that I have begun to tackle is closet cleaning.  It is my least favorite thing

to do.  Here is how I have been tackling it ~ reluctantly, lol.  I started with

my bedroom closet because it was in fairly good shape and I wanted to

start on a good note.  I won't even think about tackling David's closet

right now, so I moved on to my studio/office closet.  That is the worst

mess ever, except for the linen closet in our master suite.  Both the 

craft closet and linen closet became catch alls for things I didn't know

what to do with when we moved into this house.  

Well ~ we have lived in this house for over four years now and I have

run out of excuses as to why these great storage places are such a mess.

Before I progress any further with this tale of shame, I must inform

you that I am what is classified as a better save that, because I don't 

know when I will need it type of girl.  This is a polite way of stating

that I am a pack rat.  However, I gathered all of my strength, 

forced myself to be ruthless, and started two piles ~ toss and give

away.  

Was this process painful?  Yes!   Did I have regrets?  Yes!  Were the sentimental

strings of my heart tattered?  Yes!  But, so far I have soldiered through.  

There have been fun moments when I discovered something great I had

completely forgotten.  Then there were the what was I thinking moments ;-)

Last weekend, a pile of things went to a local consignment shop.

Yesterday another couple of bags went to Goodwill.  We treated

ourselves to fruit smoothies afterwards.  

I think I will live through this ~ I really do.  The weather is

cooperating because it's too crummy to want to do yard work,

so I may as well take advantage of the mood to purge!

Big Texas Hugs,

Susan and Bentley

An Unrequited Love Story

Last September, I flew back to the Chicago suburbs to catch up with 

some very dear childhood friends and to also spend some time with

my cousins and my college roommate.  It was several days and

evenings full of fun and lots of talking and reminiscing about old times.

I ran into so many people from my past.  Some I knew instantly,

despite the passing years, and others I did not recognize at first.

One of my friends, a former neighbor of mine, remembered how I

wanted to be a child movie star just like Shirley Temple.  I truly had

forgotten that at the tender age of nine, I wanted to be an actress, lol.

I was mingling and talking and met up with a group who I

remembered from junior high.  One of the men told me that when

we were both twelve, he had the biggest crush on me and that he

always thought I was so pretty.  I felt a bit sad when he told me this 

because I had no idea that he felt that way about me.  I'm not 

even sure that I knew who he was back then.  This is not in any

way a reflection of him.  This is a reflection of who I was

when I was twelve.

At age twelve, I was a very, very, shy and introverted young girl.

My Mom had been very ill for a couple of years, and I spent time

living with relatives and friends of my parents while she was in the

hospital.  The only constant for me was my love of horses.

I rode most days after school, and when I wasn't riding, I was 

mucking out stalls or cleaning tack.  I liked boys, but I could not

imagine how any boy would like me.  I was so tiny and quiet and

did not dream of flirting or trying to act older like the other girls.

Most of the time I wanted to fade into the background and prayed

that no one noticed me, except my beloved horse.  The whole time

I was and would forever be, totally unaware that some boy thought

I was pretty and had a crush on me.  If I had known, I probably

would not have done anything about it because I would have 

blushed and blushed and blushed.  Yet if I had known, it would

certainly put a little smile on my face and made me feel a lot

better about myself.

Young love, and sadly unrequited.  Thanks, Patrick, for

thinking so highly of me once upon a time.

Big Texas Hugs,

Susan and Bentley

Valentine Party in the Miniature Dollhouse

Hi everyone!  I am back after being gone for a while.   I have been working

very hard out in the yard.  My gardener and his wife were here to help

me last week.  We had to cut down all of the ginger that froze last month,

and it was a huge job.  After everything was cut down and bagged, I

started going through all the beds, cleaning and weeding.  I worked

several hours a day for days and days.  

Today, I am indoors staying warm.  Another cold front came through

and it doesn't feel at all like South Texas!  So, I am in my studio

playing with miniatures once again.  I have the little sitting room all

decorated for Valentine's Day.  

There are cupcakes and cookies on the coffee table ....

And a cake and more cookies in the kitchen ....

Enjoy!

Big Texas Hugs,

Susan and Bentley

I Bought Myself a Valentine's Day Present

I ordered this gift for myself a few weeks ago.  Actually, it's not really

my Valentine's Day gift, it's just that I am calling it my gift to myself.

This darling package is from Tiny Dwelling Miniatures.  Let's open it up!

The excitement builds .... 

It's a lovely vintage looking farmhouse sink that I purchased for the 

English Country Cottage style dollhouse kitchen I am constructing.

This is so charming, and I would love a life size one too!

I purchased the little drainboard with dishes drying on it.  So sweet!

The shop where I purchased this ensemble is TinyDwelling.etsy.com.

Now I am off to go play ;-)

Big Texas Hugs,

Susan and Bentley

Adding a Little Love to My Kitchen

I found this cute LOVE sign at the Dollar Store, added a gingham bow,

and hung it next of the spice cabinet in my kitchen.  I'm loving it!

February 2nd is my Grandmama Marie's Birthday in heaven.  

She died from a heart attack when I was quite young, but I know

that if she were still here with me, she would be right along side

me decorating in the kitchen.  She loved to cook and bake and knit

and crochet and do all those wonderful things that Grandmamas do.

Just want her to know that I am thinking of her today.

Big Texas Hugs,

Susan and Bentley

Welcome February 2018!

February is a feminine and pretty month full of hearts and flowers.

All of us girly girls are thrilled that it has finally arrived!

Don't you agree?  Between now and Valentine's Day I can show all

the hearts and flowers I want, and of course, pink and red are the colors

of the month, so prepare to be seeing lots of it here.

How about some love stories too?  It would not be a good Valentine's Day

without a good love story, or two or three.

In the meantime, I will be out cutting down more of the frozen

ginger.  The good news is that I am burning up lots and lots of

calories with all this garden clean up.  I always want to look at the 

bright side :-)

Big Texas Hugs,

Susan and Bentley