May is Here!

 May is here! For me that means adding more to my Ameriana! I normally have alot of old America decorating my house because I have always loved the colonial look of it but now Iam adding more. I'm waiting for Hobby Lobby to put their Americana items on sale (probably next week) and I will have some more shopping to do! 

My husband took next week off so we can do our plant purchasing and planting. We look forward to this so much. We bought a huge trailer for our truck and we will be filling that with flowers and plants from fron to back of the house.  Billy just lives for this time of year when he can do his planting! I planted garlic in these adorable pots from Dollar Tree. 

I placed them on a stand on one of my rear porches. It gets sun for part of the day there so it should be fine. 

And look at this little guy! I got him at Hobby Lobby. I don't remember if I showed you the Ladybug too....The frog needed a friend so I bought the ladybug. I will have to find a photo.

We are excited that my daughter's Marine boyfriend will be returning from deployment soon! So excited! Its been quite a while. My daughter has been counting the days of course.

Today I'm just going to do some cooking. My nephew is stopping by and I like to send him with some of his favorites. I'm also meal planning for next week. It';; be some crock pot recipes and easy meals so I can be working outside with my husband. 

I hope you have a beautiful day!

Time to Get Started!

Our raised planters have been assembled and planted! Three different lettuces fill one, peppers and herbs in another, eggplant, cauliflower, and brussel sprouts. Also planted in tomato cages are four different types of tomatoes, cabbage, zucchini, string beans. What else...my mind went blank for a minute. Oh! garlic, onions and strawberries! 

 We'll be doing our flower planting in two weeks. I'm excited! Its been a lot of work cleaning all my outdoor decorations but I love welcoming the new season. Our outdoor kitchen is getting restocked. I just bought some fun dishware and accessories for it. In PA, we bought some great meat at the Shady Maple Market for our smoker. When my husband takes his vacation soon, we'll probably smoke the great big brisket we bought. When he uses the smoker, it smells heavenly!

All the chicks are getting huge! They are growing so fast!By mid July, they should be laying. 

Everyone who knows me knows I'm an "Autumn" girl but I have to say that this time of year with planting and gardens is so awesome. We look forward to getting our hands dirty! . 

Spring is here????

 Well that was presumptuous of me in my last post to say Spring is here! Well, technically and meteorologically speaking perhaps but stepping outside from my front porch ...nah! It is nice today and cool and breezy which is perfect but we have had so much rain and heavy wind! Today is a reprieve but this week, you guessed it! RAIN! April showers bring May flowers but I haven't planted any so......

Moving on, Easter was lovely spent with family and lots of good food. Easter egg hunt for the little ones. Easter baskets for the little ones and of course, my BIG ONES, LOL. I do Easter baskets for my kids and my soon to be daughter-in-law and my little great niece and nephews. I get so much joy from it and from them. I'm happy that there are more babies on the way too this Fall! More for Aunt Margaret to love!

My husband and I have planned out the backyard gardens and we have ordered big raised garden planters! I'm so happy! We saw them at Tractor Supply and actually got a better price ordering from the Walmart app.  These are large stainless two foot deep and eight feet long planters. Plus a couple 4 ft ones. AND our additional gazebo with an outdoor fan came so that will really add to the outdoor kitchen. Once my husband is back from SC he will assemble it.  

We added more chicks to our coop! Yay! Some different ones than I have and a few I already have!  I have a deal with a friend to trade eggs for veggies that I'm not growing! It'll be a good trade. So if there's something I want that is not growing in my garden, I have a connection LOL   

Lets see..hard to believe my son will be married in a few short months! My future daughter-in-law has very, very little family so I'm doing her bridal shower and I just g0ot the invitations! They came out so pretty! My daughter and I spent alot of time in Hobby Lobby picking up some bridal items and of course I spent considerable time looking at all the 4th of July and Americana stuff. I made note of everything I want to buy and will wait for the 40% off sale before I purchase. I saw alot. That will be a big haul! So after we finished in Hobby Lobby, my daughter and I went for sushi. I did accomplish what I needed to,. One of the things I'm doing at her shower is a huge Bridal themed gift basket with totebag, robe, tumbler, flip flops, beauty items, frame, and more. On Friday I got a text from the app for Bath & Body Works that they introduced a wedding line!!! So I promptly ordered a candle, the wedding spray and the wedding body wash. Oh my gosh, I have so much stuff put away plus the things I bought as far as housewares off her registry.  So excited. 

I made a great dinner the other night, chicken flautas! It's a Mexican recipe and they really enjoyed it. When I make Mexican recipes that require tortillas I always use flour so this recipe called for corn tortillas and it was nice preparing this meal using something new. 

I made my guacamole and added some sour cream. Yum! This was delicious. Today I have a pot roast in the slow cooker. That's my favorite meal. Currently!

We squeezed in a trip to Lancaster and I bought a new mailbox! Plus I got to see alll the lovely displays at Peaceful Valley Furniture for Spring! 

 

Went to September Cheese Farm in Honeybrook for lunch and we had a great time shopping for their made on the premises cheese and the best lunch! You have to go there when you visit the Lancaster area. 

Got to see Rhonda at Harvest Moon and then just enjoyed our time there as we always do. On the way home, we stopped at Shady Maple Market so my husband could pick up some big pieces of meat for our smoker. We got a giant brisket, a rack of ribs and three kinds of sausage. I also bought some ring boloney, big jelly donuts and some smoked chicken, We had the new pick up truck loaded for the trip home. 

Well, time to check ont hat pot roast! Have a blessed Sunday!

Spring is Here!

 

Good Morning and Happy Spring! It's 32 degrees here so not very Spring-like, but that's ok cause my husband and I are preparing for our Spring clean up and plantings! 

The chicken coop has been cleaned and refreshed and even has some new decorative items to be installed. My girls like color and bling! I've taken out some of my pots and other decorations I use for Spring & Summer and my fountain and washed them all down. I like everything to go out nice and fresh. My husband already power washed the whole backyard and patio. If it doesn't rain this Saturday, he will power wash the front of the house. My landscaper is coming before Easter for my cleanup. It's not too bad...we had a pretty mild Winter. It's just so fun to pull things out of the garage and start a new season!

Easter decorating in the house:

Blogger won't let me condense the photos this morning so I apologize. This is just some of it. I have to finish taking more photos. 

I've been busy planning my future daughter-in-law's bridal shower. It's been fun and Pinterest is super helpful! We are having it in a restaurant and I'm free to decorate as I wish so I'm being creative with my centerpieces and other things. It's been many trips to Hobby Lobby (yay) and Michaels. Very excited. 

I order4d a quilt and a placemat set yesterday  The quilt is "throw" size. I saw an advertisement for the most adorable chicken quilt and I had to have it. Then I saw Sunbonnet Sue placemats. YES please! I wish I knew how to quilt. I've collected a few over the years and I also love the wall hangings. 

What is everyone making for Easter dinner? And does anyone do a Palm Sunday dinner? oh, that reminds me! My daughter has been baking bread and she is really good at it~she's been trying several kinds. 

Well that's about it for me! I hope you have an awesome day!

Saturday Surprises

 

Snow and Amish Country! Actually one was a surprise and the other wasn't. I was last in PA in November and I'm looking forward to going in April or May or both if I'm lucky! But yesterday, as the snow was falling here on Long Island, which was expected, my husband and I had an appointment in NJ for business and when that concluded, he said "Lets go to Lancaster for the afternoon!" You don't have to ask me twice! So only an hour past where we were, we went. It was so good to drive around and see our favorite places. I stopped in to Peaceful Valley Furniture because I need a new mailbox and I found the one I would like but decided to buy it on our Spring trip since Winter is still here and he probably wouldn't mount it till then anyway. I also saw two hanging wooden plan hangers that I will definitely pick up.

Then we went to Harvest Moon Candle Company, right on Old Philadelphia Pike, which is my favorite store. Rhonda is the owner, originally from Long Island, and her store is the best! She still carries Prim and traditional country items and I bought a few things from her. I always talk about her store on my country and Amish Facebook pages. Shes a super nice lady. Anyway, I picked up some prim stuffed hearts, a pip berry wreath and some prim dish towels. I also bought a candle set in a painted can. Trust me,  it's adorable. I always leave her store with several bags and wooden items and candles, etc. Yesterday I was a light weight! See you soon Harvest Moon!

We only spent about two hours there in PA and we also drove to our favorite towns cause we know PA is where we will be going in a few years once my husband semi retires. East Earl, Narv on, Quarryville, Strasburg & Peach Bottom are on the top of our list for relocation Eventually.  

I'm so happy we have gotten some snow this year. It just doesn't feel like Winter without it and we are used to getting snow so last year threw us for a loop. We got almost nothing! 

I'm tempted to start taking out Easter decorations. I do a little decorating for St Patrick's Day too. Too early? 

Well, time for me to go. I'm off to the store. My daughter is making bread today and needs a couple items and I do too! Have a great Sunday!

Good Morning!

 

Our snow has melted. We may have some mixed with rain tomorrow but other than that, I don't see anything in our forecast for this week. In my Facebook memories, on this day eleven years ago we had almost 17 inches! I remember it well. Now I'm certainly not saying I would like 17 inches now..but 2-4 would be fine with me. I embrace each season for what they represent. In Winter, it's cold and snow! 

It took quite a while to get all the Christmas packed away even though I had taken it all down and it was piled in our storage space; it still took alot more time to get it all put away. Could it be because I'm getting older and a little slower...oh no! That can't be it LOL  It just seemed like it took longer. I really have so much and yet I still buy...but I am more picky about what I'm purchasing. I have a hard time resisting Gingerbread items from Hobby Lobby. That store is just my happy place.

Below is a small sampkling of my Amish dolls collection. The boy and girl were a gift from a lady that I cought Amish made furniture from. The other AMish girl was made for me by someone very sweet on my Country Decorating page. And that Amish bench was one of the first pieces I ever bought from Lancaster MANY years ago! I don't get tired of things. :)

 These dolls below are just porcelain little dolls I have had for many years. I have several sets in different sizes and colors. I'll have to photograph my Amish dolls from the Bradford Exchange and others. I will soon. 

My husband had a surprise for me last week! This beautiful set of rooster dishes from Cracker Barrel! Now I've been using the same dishes I had  since I got married, "Heartland" stoneware from the 1980's and I still love them, but this was an awesome surprise, and he even bought the matching platter. I love them! Aren't they the cutest?

They didn't come with mugs so I of course I bought bright red ones to go with the set!

Well, that's about it for me. Later I am visiting with my nephew and his wife and their little girl Olivia who are visiting from Delaware, I love my great niece so I'm really looking forward to it! I haven't seen her since the beginning of December! I can't wait. I made stuffed mushrooms and two ham & cheese quiches to bring. It's going to be a nice afternoon.

Have a great day and I'll check in soon! 

Snowy Day

 

It started snowing last night when I went to bed! Im so happy! We only a have a few inches but it just makes me so happy!I love the seasons for all that they are~Winter means snow and cold and I expect that and I embrace it LOL Ane we are expecting another round of snow on Friday! Yippee!

So I'm finally gonna get my Valentine decorating done. I have al my little bags of ornaments for the Valentine tree on my kitchen table waiting. Everything was put on hold around here cause I got a bad case of covid and was down almost a week! ugh! I was so annoyed that I had no energy to do it. It just sucked the life out of me! But I'm all good now! 

Last year one of the things I did that I actually kept doing and was really beneficial was menu planning! I really enjoy it. Do you menu plan? Not only does it organize your pantry because it allows you to see what you have and dont have and use what you may have forgotten you bought, but it also takes the "what are we having" issue away. I love to cook! And I also love that I have brought back recipes into the menu that I forgot about! Its super fun!  I am a list maker. I also do alotof food shopping on food apps for my local supermarkets and its just a routine I've gotten into that is awesome!

So here's my Priscilla! One of my girls and she is actually quite Prissy! She likes to keep her sisters close to her and if they wander away, she chides them till them come back. I don't free range in a large area. My chickens free range supervised by me for short periods a few times a week. My husband built our coop with a bunkhouse and a nice size enclosed and secured run. But I know they do like a change of scenery so I take them out in a small area and let them dig and play. Priscilla likes to supervise too! I'm thinking of whether or not to add to the flock this year. Every January through March I do this!  Every. Year. I haven't added in a few years so this year might be the year! They are just a joy to have. 

Santa brought this bed for the kitties and Nova has taken possession of it :) With that, I will say goodbye and meet up with you very soon! Thank you so much for following and commenting. My life isn't exciting but I wouldn't trade it for the world!

Christmas!

 

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas! We were truly blessed with family, friends, food and presents. I'm so grateful for my life and the people in it and thank God on a daily basis. I was wishing for a white Christmas but we didn't have one ...we will definitely have snow soon though I'm trying to understand all that el nino weather pattern stuff and weather is a very interesting to me. Usually, we have snow on or before my son's birthday on February 2nd, Ground Hog Day.  

Some of my appetizers. We do an Italian anti pasta and charcuterrie and also some extra plates like these. The next day we had some again! 

A not so great photo of the dessert table. We had some home made goodies and favorites from our bakery. My husband and I go together the day before Christmas Eve to pick out what we want. Its become our tradition. This year we chose 5 ls of butter and Italian cookies, a Christmas Yule log cake, pignoli cookies and mini cannoli.

Nova was pooped after all the festivities. 

My friend Pat in North Carolina sent me two Christmas Amish fiction books; maybe I will get started on one of them before the New Year. Our New Year's Eve is quiet. We go out to dinner early and then relax at home. Yesterday I made a pot of ham and bean soup. It was yummy. I'm thinking I might have some with dinner tonight too.   On New Year's Day I take down the Christmas decorations (leaving up winter themed ones) while listening to the Odd Couple marathon on TV! I do this every year. It makes it easier to pack everything up. I enjoy the quietness of New Year's Eve and most times I'm awake for the ball drop.  2024 is going to be an exciting year for our family with my son's wedding,  and I'm planning my future daughter-in-law's shower . Plus Caitlin's Marine boyfriend comes home from deployment in the Spring! I'm looking forward to it all. 

Praying everyone has a healthy and happy new year. I truly wish that for all. Even for people who have hurt me I never wish badly for them. I can't.  I wish peace and good health to ALL. 

Gingerbread Party, Cookies & Giftie Boxes!

 Good Evening! On National Gingerbread House Building Day, I went to a gingerbread party! So much fun! And my walls didn't collapse! Okay, okay..I hot glued them! I know it's cheating but I don't have the patience to wait for the icing to dry! LOL I want to decorate and there were so many choices of candy t do that! Lots of fun!

I baked some cookies this weekend. So far I've done jelly shortbreads, butter crispies, and peanut butter kisses. My daughter will be making hot chocolate cookies and chocolate chip this week. Butter Crispies below. First batch of three! After that, I started a new Amish fiction book. And my friend Pat mailed me two new Christmas ones from North Carolina in my Christmas package.  

I can't believe its coming so fast! I'm both happy and sad at the same time! Trying to savor every day! I've done some crafts--a candy cane mouse (I didn't get to take pictures) to add to the packages of some little ones. Its funny how I found the kit as I was actually cleaning out my craft room and I found a stash of crafts I used to buy for my daughter when she was young. She loved doing the craft kits Michaels used to sell (they still might!) and I decided to do them! So far I made the candy cane mice, and a little cardboard Christmas Village! It was fun and they didn't go to waste! Actually my daughter and future daughter-in-law still enjoy doing those projects. When I was in Michaels recently i bought them each a Christmas painting canvas with the paints. I knew they would love it and they did a great job. It just makes the holiday more fabulous when you add to it! And even though y kids are almost 19 and 25, they still get their chocolate  advent calendar! 

 I did a Christmas card exchange with a country decorating Facebook group and that's been so nice receiving so many cards. I love Christmas cards. Even though most people now text or email, receiving that card in the mail is so special. I was thinking of how my Mom would write out all her Christmas cards when I was little and I was in charge of putting the Christmas seals on the envelopes! 

I'm planning a PA weekend very soon. We bought a new truck and its plenty big for me to do lots of Lancaster shopping! When my husband drove it home yesterday, he knew we'd need a road trip to christen her! 

Have a great night and keep the spirit of Christmas in your heart!

Getting Ready for Christmas!

I'm so excited for Christmas! I know some think that the hustle and bustle is tiring and that Christmas loses its meaning with commercialism, but I think you can keep Christmas in your own way and LOVE it! I know that's what I do! Just enjoy the process! I think you'll be happy you did.

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving with lots of food and desserts and once that weekend came, my Christmas decorating really went into full swing. Now I'm 99.9% done (even though I keep going back to Hobby Lobby and finding MORE!) and I love that I have that "time" to enjoy it. My shopping is done and my daughter does almost all my wrapping!  I'm going to enjoy every second I can until the big day! Caitlin and I have been watching our Christmas movies every night and we dvr'd the ones we are waiting to see. We've got our cookies planned for next week. 

 Last weekend we went to Delaware to visit our nephew Chris and his beautiful wife Lauren and their little angel face, Olivia. We went to Shellville, which has a huge Christmas fair/exhibit/festival! We had so much fun and I was thrilled to have the family time with them  We stayed the weekend and slept in Rehoboth Beach I have two great nephews on my side of the family and Olivia is on my husband's side and I'll be so happy  as more and more are born! Shellville was worth the trip and Billy and I had the best crab sandwiches ever!  Watching Olivia looking at all the bright lights and decorations was heartwarming. The magic of Christmas in a child's eyes is pricelesss!

Well, I'm having some internet issues getting this post done so I think I better end it here and do a follow up of  my decorations. I hope you have a great day!

Thanksgiving Prep

 

Thanksgiving is close! I love Thanksgiving and love preparing for it. I'm trying hard to organize my time with shopping, preparing and also Christmas shopping and decorating. I did the bulk of my Thanksgiving shopping and I'm about to the point where I can just make my list of fresh ingredients that I will buy that week. It is a good time to also restock the pantry though. Try to take advantage of the sales. I do. I buy extras of gravies, soups that I use to cook with (cream of mushroom, cream of chicken, tomato), ham (cause every cut of ham is on sale) and dry ingredients and baking ingredients. 

The weather is colder here, and I am thrilled! Seasonal temperatures always keep me in a holiday mood. We actually put our Christmas tree up! My husband thought it was a good time because everyone was home! With jobs and such, sometimes it's hard to pinpoint a date to be together and we all love to do the tree together. Last year we bought a pre-lit artificial after much contemplation, and I couldn't be happier! We can enjoy it longer! 

We have a trip to Delaware planned in December. It's a family trip and we'll also get to see my nephew Chris and his wife and daughter. He organized it. He lives in Delaware and loves it. They told us about a Christmas village called "Schellville" with all different events. I can't wait. Have any of you ever gone?

Did I tell you about my new favorite recipe? Google "Eggplant stacker". It's a Martha Stewart recipe!

Have a beautiful day! I'm going to hunt down more boxes of Christmas stuff so I can have it ready Thanksgiving weekend when Christmas decorating is in full swing!

Twas the last days before Halloween...

 Happy Sunday! oooh TWO DAYS till Halloween! Why does this month go so fast? I did alot of what I wanted to do but still it seemed to go too fast! Believe me I will enjoy what's left of spooky October! 

Today I have a few things to do in the kitchen. I'm making sauce because I'm making chicken parm for dinner and I'm also trying out a Martha Stewart recipe that looked good ~~Eggplant Stackers! You actually slice the eggplant and roast the slices and then build an eggplant pile and layer with sauce & cheese. It eliminated the frying and the bread crumbs. (even though I fry my eggplant in flour not bread crumbs). 

Plus, because the kids will be watching football on this rainy day I always make finger foods for them to munch on. Its my fun Sunday thing to do. I actually text them what we will be having on Wednesday in a little Menu text adorned with footballs...They know their Mom well so they love the effort. I've always celebrated every little thing   Our favorite sport is hockey so when our NY Islanders play, it's Hockey Game food! Hocus Pocus movie watch night means food! Football? Food! Its so fun. 

The rest of the day I'm working on cupcakes and treats for my neighbors and making my Halloween crafts while I watch the game with the kids. I am not a football fan yet but I am learning the game  Making more smores too!

I've been enjoying everyone's Fall decorating on Facebook. So many talented and creative people. I just want to copy all their ideas! :) 

Some things I'm enjoying lately:

*Coffee with my half and half and cinnamon sugar!

*Dunkin Caramel Iced Coffee with extra carmel, almond milk and cold foam

*Bombas slippers

*TJ Maxx Halloween mug selection (i can't help myself)

Before I go I wish you a Happy Halloween! My candy bags are ready and its going to be a cool crisp Tuesday! YAY!