My heart in Italy.

I think my absolute favorite things about traveling in Europe is the love of color! They are not afraid to use it! The colors are, for the most part, very earthen colors, but they are not neutral sometimes confused with natural.  This color in our room at a bed and breakfast in Verona, Italy, stole my heart.  If this were edible I would eat it! Such a delicious color. I still regret not have one of those paint sample books with me. But seriously, who takes those on vacation? I should.  

I have come to find out I am secretly Italian. Seriously if I were, it would make a lot more sense. I mean I live and breathe pasta and bread. If you want to lose weight- don't come to my house! You will gain it all back plus some! We LOVE food!                                               I was so born in the wrong country. In the wrong century. I was meant for the amazing architecture, the wonderful culture, and the delicious food of days gone by. In Italy.                    

and the brick wall would not fit in my bag. 

hopelessly romantics

I love to travel, and I would sit back and relax and take as long as possible galavanting the countryside. Alas time is not on my side ever.
When my husband and I travel, the mission is get there, and get there soon and relax there. I however want to stop at every antique store along the road.
that doesn't happen ever.

So my hubby and I finally agreed that my sister (one of many) and I could road trip.
together.
just the two of us.
in....
EUROPE!
this won't happen again ever.
So guess who's excited? This chick!
Now my sister is crazy, like me. In fact we are the most alike, out of the 6 girls in our family. But we are so different. My sister is invincible. I'm "invincible" when she's around. My sister is tough, not girly. But she saw Letters to Juliet.
Guess who is road tripping with her sister to Verona, Italy? this chick!
Yes, my sister and I are hopelessly romantic, apparently, because we are going to one of the most romantic cities in the world. Hilariously enough, when I googled romantic cities of the world, it didn't show up in the lists of the first couple results. Venice did- good thing it's on our list!
We must be hopelessly romantic.
Can't wait to share all the amazing places we go!

pumpkin bars

Pumpkin Bars
4 eggs
2 cups sugar
1 cup oil
1 15 oz can pumpkin

2 cups flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp soda, 
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp cinnamon, 
1/2 tsps ginger
1/2 tsp gr. cloves
1/2 tsp nutmeg
2 tsp pumpkin spice

In a large bowl, beat eggs. Stir in sugar and oil. Stir in pumpkin. Mix together flour, powder, soda, salt and spices. Stir into pumpkin mixture until well blended. Pour into greased 9x13. (can do 8 in square and 1/2 dozen of pumpkin cupcakes.
Bake 350 25-35 min. Check with tooth pick after 30 min.

Frosting: 
6 oz cream cheese softened
3/4 stick butter softened (not runny)
1 Tbsp milk
1 tsp vanilla
3 cups powdered sugar, more or less depending thickness you want
Mix together cream cheese, butter, milk and vanilla. slowly beat in powdered sugar.
Frost once the cake has cooled.
Enjoy the sugary goodness!

more treasures...

After the past 2 weeks of endless decorating... I started today with a can of paint, yet again, but this time it was for the wall I've been waiting for. well, a color for that wall. I have a little bit of touching up to do, but it's almost done. If only he could settle on some furniture soon. I would like to take an "after" picture, but it is so not "after" yet.
But I took a breather after the first coat, and found some ridiculously cheap inexpensive finds, at the downtown antique mall, it was refreshing to find items in my price range... not that I have that much difficulty finding them.
I spray painted the candlesticks ($5)- they had a sorry paint job- nothing that a $1 can of spray paint can't fix.
The pitcher was on sale for a whopping $2!!! Thank goodness, ones a little bigger that it around the corner were starting at $7.
I was also the first purchase for a newcomer to the antique mall world. This gal was literally putting the first dozen items up as I walked by... loving the colors ahem- whites and creams - I stopped, of course, and found another much larger candlestick for $7.50. 
Yup, my total for the day $15 and some loose change. LOVE IT! Now I just need to figure out a way to make some more money!!!

treasures

I saw this photo and absolutely fell in love.
Mostly with the table! love, love, love. LOVE!
Since then, I have been on a mission: Find one. Doesn't have to be identical, just drop-leaf and old.








So recently I was wandering through my favorite (local) antique store and spotted this beauty. $80.
I am too cheap. It's worth $80 to me. My hubby, however, would sigh, make a face, and say something along the lines of "you would spend money on that?"
I also found an old kitchen table that was white, no drop leafs, for $45. Closer to my price, but no beloved drop leafs! What to do?

I walked away.





I am not crazy, thank goodness. A friend of my hubby's said he had gone to a little antique store south of town with his mom and grandma once and pointed me in that direction. So GLAD he did. I scored.
A little drop leaf table in the corner, wonderfully accompanied by 2 HIDEOUS chairs for $40.
I asked the little lady up front about it, telling her I was not even interested in the chairs. But how much did she want for just the table?
She looked it over. "$20."
I picked my jaw up off the floor and said, "I'll take it."
And then wrangled it into the truck. 
I wasn't going to tell her that those chairs weren't worth $20. maybe they are to somebody, but $20 is $20.
Next will be a coat of paint, but that's for another day!

Meredith Andrew's Vegetable soup

This is singer/songwriter Meredith Andrew's Vegetable Soup recipe. watch her recipe here She had a "dump this can and that can" sort of recipe and forgot a few things, so I thought I would help it out a bit and provide a little more instruction.

3 tbsp of vegetable oil
1 lb of country sausage (i think she used beef, but this sounded better)
1 tbsp of minced garlic
1/4 cup of onion
2 cans of "fire-roasted" diced tomatoes
1 box of chicken broth
1 can of tomato sauce
1 cup of celery, chopped
1/4- 1 cup of carrots (i grated mine and only did 1/4 cup)
1/4-1/2 tsp of salt, pepper, and garlic powder each
1 tbsp of McCormick's Montreal chicken seasoning
3 (definite) potatoes, cut in chunks
1 can of corn, drained
1 cup of green beans (fresh or frozen)

In a large pot, cook the country sausage on medium heat, using the oil to keep it from sticking. Use a spatula to break them into small pieces and cook thoroughly, add onion and garlic.
When the onion start to brown, add diced tomatoes, broth and sauce.  Stir in celery and carrots.
Add seasonings. Add more to taste. Simmer for a few hours.
3-4 hours before serving - add potato chunks.
1-2 hours before serving - add corn and green beans.
Enjoy. It's yummy for your tummy!

Blueberry Coffee Cake

This blueberry coffee cake rocked my world a few moths ago... and I got the recipe!! It's so good! We've been nibbling on it all day! 2 cups whole blueberries
1/2 cup water
1 T lemon juice
1 cup sugar
1/3 cup cornstarch
3 cups flour
1 cup sugar
1 T baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground mace
1 cup butter
2 slightly beaten eggs
1 cup milk
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup flour
1/4 cup butter
1/2 cup chopped nuts (optional)

In a saucepan combine fruit and the water.  Simmer, covered, about 5 minutes or till fruit is tender.  Stir in lemon juice.  Mix the 1 cup sugar and cornstarch; stir into fruit mixture.  Cook and stir till thickened and bubbly. Cool.
In a mixing bowl stir together the 3 cups flour, 1 cup sugar, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and mace.  Cut in the 1 cup butter till mixture resembles fine crumbs.  Combine eggs, milk, and vanilla.  Add to flour mixture, mixing till blended.  Spread half of the batter in a greased 13x9 pan.
Spread the cooled fruit mixture over the batter.  Spoon the remaining batter in small mounds over the fruit mixture, spreading out as much as possible. Combine the 1/2 cup sugar and 1/2 cup flour; cut in the 1/4 cup butter till mixture resembles coarse crumbs.  Stir in nuts.(optional) Sprinkle nut mixture over batter in pan.  Bake in a 350 F oven 45-50 minutes.  Cool.