REviving Furniture

I LOVE to revive furniture! I love finding a piece that is destined for the landfill and drag it home/shop for a makeover. 

 Over the years I have brought home some goodies and some epic fails too.  I have several fails that come to mind immediately.  One, a vintage tweed recliner w/ a matching ottoman.  It looked great! But boy when the sun hit it, it did NOT smell great! It had apparently been someone's chair before the invention of Depends!  David unloaded it and sat it in the sun to "freshen up", the next time I saw the chair David had hauled it out to the curb.    Another fail,  Another Great old tweedy chair.  Great bones! And LOTS of hair, pet hair.  As I started stripping the upholstery to recover it, hair was flying everywhere.  I ultimately had to get an allergy shot. But that chair DID get finished and sold soon after I listed it. :)

Before

My latest revival goodie is a Louis XIV armchair that I purchased from a friend's yard sale.  She had picked it up out of someone's trash and planned to redo it.  She stripped it and that is how I found it @ her yard sale.  I was instantly in love! I knew exactly what I wanted to do with this chair. I had just visited Restoration Hardware and saw something similar to my idea. 

To be struck by a piece of furniture like this piece is unusual for me.  I am usually hooked by Mission style and Arts & Crafts pieces.  There was no way this piece would fit in any room in my home so it was a definite resale piece. 



After

Sorry about the lighting. I need to take better pictures .......

I really enjoyed this project. I took my sweet time this summer and worked on it only when I really wanted to work on it.  It had over 300 upholstery nails in it but I loved it. 
David & I took it to the booth last Monday.  It made it to the booth and stayed about 5 minutes before a lady purchased it!

 Goodbye Louis!  Parting is such sweet 
                                   sorrow! 

A Sweet Ride Down Nostalgia Road

      Yesterday morning my husband woke up and said, "Let's go for a bike ride today."   My mind began to think about what I needed to do and what was on the boy's schedules.  I couldn't come up w/ anything.  I normally don't jump @ the chance to go on a motorcycle ride w/ David.  I always think about what a friend once said about riding w/ her husband - "My children need their parents, therefore I do not ride w/ my husband".   I think, "What if we wrecked, what about my boys?"

But yesterday several things occurred to me - 1. I believe that my death has a date just like my birth. It's already known by someone greater than anything I can do to avoid it.
2. My husband would die to protect me.  I know this for sure.  3. If the "Plan" was to wipe us out together, there are plenty of opportunities other than on the motorcycle. We spend a lot of time together. 

So I said "Yes"!  I dug out my boots and jeans that had been pushed to the back of my closet by  summer clothes and flip flops.  I tucked my id in the saddlebags (just in case) and kissed my boys goodbye. 

It always takes me a few minutes to relax and enjoy the ride.  After I relaxed I felt how perfect the weather was, not too cool, not too warm.   We headed up Lookout Mountain and I plugged my music into my helmet.  We turned off Hwy 35 to a road I didn't remember and began to ride along the side of the mountain.  I was taken in by the view and the shadows/sun, I didn't notice where we were heading....   We ended up back in Mentone and the bike slowed down as we pulled into a parking lot.  I recognized the building as a cafe we used to visit but it wasn't a cafe anymore.  It was a Coffee shoppe and Art Gallery.  We had a coffee and spent an almost an hour in the gallery of mostly local art.   www.KamamaMentone.com

Back on the road, music playing, winding through the mountain roads and we turned toward Cloudmont Ski & Golf Area.  We drove past a little cabin where we stayed many, many years ago and past the Dude Ranch where we rode horses w/ Parker when he was 3 yrs old.  We always remember it b/c Parker fell asleep on the horse. 

Riding down several other roads, we drove past the spots where we've canoed w/ the boys several times and over the bridge where we've jumped off  and swam under.  Then we came out @ the little country church where we were married.

Howard's Chapel, aka The Rock Church in Mentone

If he didn't plan all of that, he should never tell me b/c I loved every minute of it.  It was a perfect day and exactly what we needed.  Summer has been crazy and school has started. Normal Family stresses had taken a toll on me.  We have had major vehicle maintenance issues since March. The Yukon needed a water pump, fuel pump and then an engine. The work van had to have a Transmission.  My Land Rover needed A/C work and new tires (needed b/c they were BAD). The Washing Machine needed a new control board ( an ordeal that went on for a month) , ice maker went out on the fridge, we remodeled a bathroom and David traveled ALL summer.  And that doesn't include the normal issues of having a teenager in the house. These are just normal things that happen when you have a family and home but they build up and put stress on our families/relationships.

I needed a ride through the mountains w/ nothing but the man that I love and depend on to hold me up.  To listen to my favorite music and  remember the sweet things in our life that are special and that make up parts of our family. 

The day off costs us a box of Krispy Kremes as payment to the boys.

Back to School.....

David has taken the boys to The Canyon today for some rock climbing and swimming. I was left behind because I stepped on a red wasp this morning and have an extremely large toe :\ that can only fit in a flip flop. So I get a day @ home alone and  I finally have a few free minutes to catch up on my blog!

  Summer was CRAZY!! I was so wrong in thinking that I would have time to do many things that WE wanted to do.  Swim team took  up a lot of our time this summer (probably NOT doing that next year!)  and the garden took up so much time (but in a positive way).  We vowed to preserve and eat most of what we grew this year which meant that I spent more time canning and freezing our vegetables for winter.  That effort will be appreciated in the dead of winter when we are eating our own veggies. 

David spent 80% of the summer out of town on business.  We couldn't go w/ him b/c of Parker's summer football schedule so that left me home @ the boys.  We enjoyed the summer until August when the mosquito population took over our area. Being cooped up inside does not agree w/ anyone in our family.



visiting the Auburn aquatic center

Even though we didn't take a big vacation this summer we spent a weekend in Auburn for the State Swim Tournament, July 4th in Chattanooga @ the Choo Choo and a Lookout's ballgame,  many days hiking and swimming @ Little River Canyon, several evening trips to Chattanooga for dinner, movies and splash pad play and a visit to Cleveland to visit w/ cousins who were visiting from China.

Cooper @ the aquatic center

Cooper in front of the Stadium

family

Back to school



The boys started back to school this past Monday. Cooper refers to that day as "Mom's favorite holiday". NOT TRUE!   I "celebrated" by cleaning all of our rugs.  It was a nice start to the Fall.  I had been waiting all summer to deep clean them but it would have been a wasted effort since we have boys & dogs on them all day long.  We purchased a carpet cleaning machine last year and it has proven to be worth every penny.  I will attempt to clean rugs again when the boys go back after Christmas.  It's good for me to keep busy that first day that the house is quiet.  I miss them so much when they are gone.  But I adjust quickly :)

Fall for our family brings Football (Parker) and Soccer (Cooper & Oliver).  This year we will be coaching a team as well so it promises to be a busy season.  Parker had his first Varsity game this past Friday night. Guess what I forgot to take? My camera.   Hopefully I will have more opportunities to photograph him on the field.

I hope to get back to blogging regularly about Family, Furniture and Food.  For the people who read my blog - "Thank you" ! I appreciate your interest and hope you find something useful for your family.

Family

We usually don't get to take a summer vacation b/c business picks up and David is gone most of the summer.  We always try to go to the beach on Spring Break b/c we know we probably won't get back. Plus, we had the Colorado trip in February.  So it's not a big deal except the boys keep asking if we were going to go somewhere while school was out. 

We thought about going to Washington DC for the 4th holiday but couldn't set aside enough time to do everything we would want to do (Smithsonian Museums, Capital, Memorials....) So I came up w/ our old standby 4th - Pops in the Park in Chattanooga.  Then I found out that The Chattanooga Lookouts were @ home on the 3rd w/ a fireworks display.  So everyone thought that sounded like a good plan.  David suggested we spend the night downtown so the boys could swim after the game. I researched the Downtown Hotels then it hit me-- The Choo Choo!! So I booked a Victorian train car to sleep in. 

The boys were excited about the Train Car.  It was really neat.  We have promised Parker since he was about 4 yr old that we would stay in a train car someday.  I hope the boys will remember it.  They love to stay in different hotels. They talk about The Gaylord Opryland Hotel all the time. 


    
We had a great dinner @ Big River then off to the Lookouts/Smokies Baseball game.  Man! It was hot!!  I honestly thought that I was going to be sick during the first 3 innings of the game.  Not to mention that those innings were incredible slow! I kept myself occupied by watching people pass out.  Why were they drinking Beer in that heat?  Dropping like flies!!   Finally the sun started going down and it felt much better.  The game picked up and got really good! Chatt. won it in the last inning so it was not boring. 


Back to the Choo Choo to swim.








  Our "Staycation" was a good one.

Peach Bellini Jam

I have fallen in love with canning and preserving. Weird, right?  Seriously, who wants to stand in a hot kitchen when it's 105 outside and preserve food? Well...Me, that's who!  We've canned well over 60 jars this summer, mostly of the garden veggies we've grown.   LOTS of pickles. We may have over planted :).   We've also made homemade Pasta sauce and canned it. Salsa too. 




David was working in South Alabama last weekend and brought back a 25# box of the most beautiful peaches I have ever seen!! So, of course, I had to preserve them!!  But first we had fresh peach smoothies for breakfast.  They were the best smoothies I have ever made.  

I had purchased the BHG Canning publication @ Lowe's a few days earlier and several things caught my eye that I'd like to make later.  Spiced Peaches and Peach Bellini Jam were just a few of them. 
We made both.  The Peach Bellini Jam is delicious!! I think I like it better than my old favorite homemade plum jam.  Oliver & I put it on everything, PB & J to breakfast toast. I look forward to trying the Peach Bellini Soda next!

Peach Bellini Jam 

7 1/2 cups sugar
3 cups finely chopped, peeled ripe peaches
1 cup Prosecco or other sparkling white wine
2 Tablespoons lemon juice
1/2 of a 6-ounce package (1 foil pouch) liquid fruit pectin
In a 6-to-8-quart stainless-steel, enamel, or nonstick heavy pot, combine sugar, peaches, Prosecco, and lemon juice. Bring to a full rolling boil, stirring constantly until sugar dissolves. Quickly stir in liquid pectin. Return to a full rolling boil, stirring constantly. Boil hard for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Quickly skim off foam with a metal spoon, avoiding peaches.
Ladle hot jam into hot, sterilized half-pint canning jars, leaving a 1/4-inch head space. Wipe jar rims; adjust lids.
Process filled jars in a boiling-water canner for 5 minutes (start timing when water returns to boiling). Remove jars from canner; cool on wire racks. To distribute fruit, cool for about 20 minutes, then gently turn and tilt jars without inverting them; repeat as needed. Makes 8 half-pints.
Per Tablespoon: 49 cal, 0 g fat, 0 mg chol, 0 mg sodium, 12 g carbo, 0 g fiber, 0 g protein

Bubba Gump of squash :)

I feel like I am the Bubba (Forrest Gump) of Squash lately.  Squash Casserole, Sauteed Squash, Squash Alfredo, Fried Squash, Steamed Squash.....   Since I have allergic reactions to the best summer vegetables, watermelons and cucumbers, squash and okra are my summer vegetables of choice.  Only one of my boys will actually eat squash and he likes it raw!   

I recently discovered that I can steam and puree squash then mix it into an Alfredo sauce. Everyone eats the pasta and sauce and never notices the squash!!  The boys have even commented on how yummy the "alfredo" tastes.  So here is the recipe for Squash Alfredo:

      1/4 cup butter

1 cup heavy cream

1 clove garlic, crushed

1 1/2 cups freshly grated Parmesan cheese

1 cup steamed and pureed squash (puree steamed squash in a blender until smooth)

salt & pepper                

Directions

1. Melt butter in a medium saucepan over medium low heat, add garlic and saute. Add cream and simmer for 5 minutes, then add and cheese and whisk quickly, heating through. Stir in parsley and  pureed squash and stir constantly til warm. Season w/ salt & pepper.  Serve over pasta.

 

I have to steam and puree the squash several hours before dinner b/c if my guys saw me put it into the Alfredo sauce they would never eat it.  The thickness of the squash puree makes the pasta sauce thicker than my usual alfredo sauce so I have learned to make it a little thinner than normally would.



Cooper and our sunflowers!

Like my past few blogs, I will mention again that we have a GREAT garden this year! But this time I have pictures :)   Cooper & I made our daily trip to the garden, along w/ our garden cats Blackster & Georgia,  Today we were blessed w/ tomatoes, more cucumbers (of course), okra and lots of new sunflowers!

We have a lot of watermelons growing up our fence panel that we put up for the cucumbers to grow up. We have a watermelon patch but it is clear across the garden. Actually, we didn't plant the "fence panel" seedless watermelons, they came from last year's garden. Our yard man accidentally weed-eated our watermelons and killed them. Well they came back w/ a vengeance this year.  Only problem is that they are growing up a fence, so what happens as they grow? They are getting large and heavy.  I'm afraid they will break off of their vines before they are ready. 

My friend, Melinda (A Master Gardener) was over for a garden tour and suggested that we tie the watermelons up in panty hose.  Well ok then.  I usually just do what she tells me.  She is almost always right...  So off to Dollar General to buy the first pair of panty hose I have bought in about 10 years! I hate panty hose and usually wear boots in the winter to avoid panty hose.  The thought is that the hose will still allow the melon to expand but w/ extra support b/c I tied it to the wire panel. I'm going to need more hose b/c I have a lot of little ones still coming up.

Our actual watermelon patch is across the garden from this one and has two small melons starting to shine out from under the vines.  We didn't grow these up or over anything so I was talking to another friend (Adrienne) about gardens an she suggested raising the plants up just enough to slide newspaper under them and the watermelons won't rot while lying on the ground.  I like the idea of tilling the paper back into the garden for winter compost too.

 So 2 great friends, 2 great garden savers! I am blessed.

seedless melon not supported



watermelon/cucumber wall



all dressed up and no where to go....

Blackster the garden cat, admiring a sunflower

Cooper, my garden helper today.