Blogspot - Recipe Scratch Rusia

I can't help myself but make plans.  The instant we bought The School House, I made big plans in my head for it.  It is so fun to dream.  This is my current vision for the next phase of The School House... that's right, a Barn! Before we get to that, I'll review what we already have going on on the School House Property.  I planted lots and lots of daffodils last fall, so we're anxious to see them come up in the next few weeks on "daffodil hill" as we've dubbed it.  I also planted about 36 peony tubes last spring.  We had the hottest and driest summer, so I'm not sure how they faired.  Again, I'll be anxious to see if they come up... or not.  We planted a line of lilac bushes along our fence, along with a wisteria I'm hoping will take hold and grow down the line.  We planted 6 Limelight Hydrangea (sun friendly) in the front, and 6 Nantucket Blue Hydrangeas along the side of the school house that faces the gravel road.  Hoping our neighbo...

This year when we were in Seaside for spring break we rented a house.  I love when we rent homes for vacation because it keeps us from having to eat out every meal.  I love to cook (obviously), so this is a treat for me.  We still eat most meals out, but I love cooking at "home" a night or two and being able to pack picnic lunches for the beach. We loved the home we rented in Watercolor ( 124 Sunset Ridge ) - it was so lovely.  You'll never guess what color the kitchen was... blue!  It got me thinking about what I would keep in a vacation home kitchen - with only essentials.  Then I remembered that I do have my very own "only essentials" blue kitchen - at the school house. We painted the cabinets Benjamin Moore Puritan Grey.   More details about the easy DIY renovation, here > I'm planning a Seaside post about our trip and my recommendations soon, so stay tuned for that. We have done a lot of cooking and entertaining at The School House.  We've...

I've been in a pre-spring slump this past week.  We had an unexpected 6 days off due to snow - in a row.  While I usually love snow days, they've sort of sucked my momentum for completing any real projects.  When school's out we make plans with friends, are lazy and lounge around, we head out to the country to piddle... all fine, but I've got stuff to do!   I enjoyed being lazy post holidays, and some time in January, but now I'm itching to get moving on somethings and just can't seem to get any time to get them done.  I'm done hibernating.  I'm ready to work, darn it : ) Yesterday, Emma helped me check somethings off of my list.  It felt good to actually be productive on a snow day instead of just being its victim.  I might be being a little dramatic. Then after we cleaned and freshened, I told her to go watch a show and I took out my camera and had an entire 45 minutes of quiet, creative time.   I walked around the house and took pretty pic...