The Butler's Tray

 

So...while sick with the flu last week, I discovered the joy of Downton Abbey. I have heard about this show over and over, but had never seen it. I just knew it would be right up my alley, what with my love for all things British and all. Steve and I don't watch a lot of television as far as series go -- in fact, just last week, we started watching 30 Rock on Netflix, just as the series was preparing for its series finale. That's how behind the times we are around here! Anyway, perhaps I am the last person on the planet to watch Downton Abbey, but I am happy to say that I am all caught up to the current season, and waiting with baited breath for Sunday evening so I can watch the next episode.



 

I can't begin to tell you what I love most about the show - - the scenery, the costumes, the story line...all of it absolutely perfect in my eyes. I will tell you that Mr. Bates is right up there at the top of my list. Lord Grantham's valet is a man of few words, and dashing beyond measure. Oh, how I love that character! 

 

While lying in bed, watching episode after episode, I kept noticing the butler's trays that were popping up in so many scenes. I kept thinking how familiar it looked. The tray you see above, I found at my local thrift store a few months back (no surprise there), and it usually sits in the center of our dining table. Sometimes I use it for coffee or snacks. Anyway, it is nearly identical to the butler trays on Downton Abbey. I love to obsess over little details like this. Now, of course, I love my little tray all the more. When I bought it, the best detail on the tray was a piece of tape, stuck to the back of it:

 

I wish I knew who put it there, nearly 90 years ago, and what the significance of the date is. Things like this always make me think of my 7th grade English teacher, Mrs. Steen. When I was a student in her class so very many years ago, I remember her saying that she loved to be traveling in the car at night, and seeing a light on in a random house. She said she loved to catch a glimpse of a person in a window, and she would wonder about that person, or family...what were the details of their life? I have never forgotten that, and often find myself doing the exact same thing. I also do that with items such as this tray. Who did it belong to? What does that date mean? Was it a prized possession that was cast aside at the end of a life, winding up in a thrift store with piles of other people's former belongings? Whatever the case, I'm so happy to have it in my home now.

 

Favorite Things: Beauty Edition

I haven't done a "favorite things" post in forever. The other day, I read this post on one of my favorite blogs, and I haven't been able to stop thinking about it! I soooo want to have one of these little parties. I'm just wondering if any of my local friends would want to do this. Hello? Anyone local reading? Hello??

Anyway, this edition of Favorite Things will be about beauty products. If you are Steve, or anyone that knows me the least little bit, you will know that I have a bit of a "product" problem. I can't help it, I am a major girly-girl, and I love lotions, potions, makeup, etc. So, in no particular order, here are some of my must-haves:

Tresemme Dry Shampoo Spray. For the first time in my adult life, I have long hair, and it is at a length now that I do not have the time to wash it every day (nor do I want to). I discovered this a few months back, and I just love it. I've noticed that it doesn't get the best reviews online, but I've found that if you follow the directions, it works great. Just a few quick spurts of it, and it refreshes your hair. Love it.

Philosophy Butterscotch Bliss Shampoo/Shower Gel/Bubble Bath. Last year, my sister-in-law gave me some of this in Pink Layer Cake scent, and I made that bottle last for months, I loved it so much. It costs more than I am willing to spend on shampoo, but I've found that if you check TJ Maxx, they frequently have bottles of various scents for about $6 less than what you would pay at a department store. When I was out on my Birthdaypalooza shopping spree last week, I treated myself to a bottle at TJ's, and I am so glad I did. It smells sooooo good.




L'Oreal Elnet aerosol hairspray. Best hairspray ever. It costs more than your standard drug store hairspray, but it works so much better, doesn't give you 'helmet hair', and I find that I use it a lot more sparingly than the average spray, so one can lasts me 2-3 times as long.




L'Oreal Voluminous Mascara. I have used this for years and I really hope it never gets discontinued because I don't know what I'll do.

Alpha Hydrox Lotion. I use this under my daily moisturizer. I would like to think it is slowly working miracles on my turkey neck, but I do know that it has evened out the tone of my skin quite a bit.

What are your must-have products?

My New Toy

Steve really surprised me this year on my birthday when he gave me this beautiful Sony a290 digital camera. I have wanted a camera like this for a long time now, but I didn't really ever think that I would own one. By the time my birthday rolled around, I was feeling extra proud of myself, because I received the package in the mail about two weeks prior to my birthday, but I quickly put it in my closet and didn't peek once. I think I am still slightly overwhelmed by this camera and all of its settings, but in the past week or so, I've really been taking a lot of pictures and getting myself familiar with how it works. I love the photo quality and just can't get over what wonderful pictures it takes. Can't wait to figure out all of the wonderful things I will be able to do with it!

A Few of My Favorite Things: Coffee Edition

Steve sent me this fabulous Keurig coffee maker for Christmas, and I dare say, I nearly LEAP out of bed each morning, just so I can make myself a cup of coffee in this thing. If you've never seen one before, that little red basket is full of little K-cups, which you pop into the machine, select your coffee cup size, and, voila! Nice, hot coffee on demand. I am pretty much a one-cup-of-coffee in the morning kind of girl, and while I realize I can brew just one cup in a traditional coffee pot, it always seemed like such a waste of a coffee filter. I'm sure it all comes out in the wash, but I'll tell you what, I love this coffee maker. Love, love, LOVE it. Even though my gallbladder-less self isn't exactly down with coffee yet, I keep drinking it anyway. That's how much I love it. Another great thing about it is variety. Many times I've purchased a bag of flavored coffee, only to get sick of it after a few cups, but then I've felt compelled to choke down the rest of the bag. I have a nice variety of choices with my Keurig, so I just choose whatever I'm in the mood for. Whoever thought this thing up is a genius in my book.

Matchy-Matchy

I love buying Christmas jammies for the boys each year. I'm sure in the not-too-distant future, I won't be able to get away with holiday-themed jammies anymore, so I'm enjoying it while I can! I just love the children's Nick & Nora jammies that Target carries. I wasn't able to get matching sets in the right sizes this year, but they are cute, just the same.

I like a good set of pajamas myself, so my mom and I bought each other these cute Croft & Barrow flannel pajamas at Kohl's this year. I just love them!

Camden and Griffin's pajamas are wrapped and under the tree, for opening on Christmas Eve, but Mum and I had to try ours out the other night, before my parents headed back to Maine.

Silver Tray Kitchen Chalkboard

I saw this post over at My Romantic Home a while back, and have been wanting to make my own silver tray chalkboard ever since. I have also been dying to try some chalkboard paint for the longest time, so it was a perfect project for me to attempt. I've only ever seen chalkboard paint in little cans, but found it in a spray at WalMart one day.

It costs a bit more than a standard can of spray paint - - I want to say it was somewhere around $6.87. I figured I could get multiple projects out of it, so it was worth it.

Next, I needed a tray. I see lots of silver serving trays at thrift stores, but it isn't often that you fine one that doesn't have some type of engraving on it. You really have to look. One day, I found the perfect, albeit beat-up, tray at my local thrift store for $2.50. It appears that someone may have used a harsh cleaner of some sort on it, but I knew it would still work for my project. Unfortunately, I forgot to take a "before" picture - - I could kick myself for all of the projects I've done where I've failed to take a "before" picture! Anyway, I washed the tray and let it dry thoroughly. Then, I used painter's tape to tape off the area that I wanted to spray paint. I tucked saran wrap under the tape to cover the portions of the tray that I didn't want painted - - if that makes any sense (see? It would have been much simpler if I'd taken pictures!). Next, I applied an even coat of the paint. It goes on super nice, and dries in no time. To be sure I had good coverage, I added an additional coat, and let it dry over night.

Then, I added a tulle bow to hang it, and my project was complete. I use mine to write what I'm making for dinner each night, but it is just a neat little chalkboard for your kitchen that you can use for anything. Final cost: approximately $3.50. That's a bargain!

I really have to restrain myself from spraying random objects with the chalkboard paint. I'd love to do a little table top for the boys, or maybe an area on their bedroom wall.

Dinnerware

I seem to have a small obsession with dinnerware. I love it and would have a zillion different patterns, if only I had somewhere to put it all. I especially love it when I come across a great treasure at the thrift store, such as the Limoges dinner plates I recently found (6 plates for 50 cents a piece!) and snatched right up. I love to think about how maybe they belonged to somebody who treasured them for years and years.

Recently, when my in-laws arrived in Idaho for an extended visit, my mother sent out a box filled with the dinner plates we used when I was growing up. They were my mom's "every day" dinnerware, and they are the "Serenade" pattern by Sheffield. Many of them did not survive the years of use, followed by years of storage, but as luck would have it, there were four perfect dinner plates. I used them last night for the first time, and I loved setting my table with them.

It was so neat to serve dinner to my family, using my mom's plates...I'm so happy to have them. So, thank you, Mum - - you are the best (I'll give you an extra hug for them, on Friday!).

For dinner? Chicken quesadillas on homemade whole wheat tortillas - - I've had to be quite creative this week as I try to use up everything in my fridge, before we head off on vacation. If you haven't yet made tortillas, do give it a try. You'll never buy a bag of them at the store again.

Cookies Galore

I'm pretty sure that you know by now, I love to bake. It's a good thing, because I am surrounded by boys. The Big Boy needs his sugar. If there isn't some sort of treat in the house, he starts to get twitchy. Then, there are the Little Boys. They are most certainly their father's sons, and they like their treats, too. This is my standard cookie recipe, which Steve claims I put an addictive chemical in, causing him to eat cookie after cookie, until he tells me I shouldn't make cookies anymore. The other day, the new issue of Martha Stewart's Everyday Food arrived in my mailbox, and, as always, it did not disappoint. Have you ever had the pleasure of thumbing through an issue of this magazine? If not, do yourself a favor and treat yourself to a copy this weekend. It is full of helpful hints, beautiful pictures, and recipes that anyone can prepare. I think my favorite thing about it is that the recipes don't require special ingredients that I don't typically have on hand. I made the Soft Baked Chocolate Chip Cookies (on page 105) a couple of days ago, and they came out really well - - nice and soft, and the boys love them. Last weekend, I made the Chocolate 'n Cream Sandwich Cookies (page 103), which are basically homemade Oreos. Camden especially loved these, and I had fun making them. So, I think we'll add both of these recipes to the "regular" rotation, to keep things interesting. I forgot to take a picture of the Oreos, but did manage to catch the boys eating some.

Did you see Oprah yesterday? I rarely miss it, because I watch it while I'm preparing dinner. I was especially excited to watch yesterday, because Curtis Stone was one of the guest chefs on a show about cooking on a budget. I just love Curtis Stone - - I'm pretty sure it is a combo of the whole man-cooking-thing, the Australian accent, and...he isn't exactly hard to look at. Anyway, I can't wait to make this pizza tomorrow night -- it sounds delicious.

I also wanted to show you one of my favorite things in my kitchen - - my cookie jar.

I found this at Anthropologie a few months ago...I think the original price was something completely crazy, like $79.99 (no joke), but I got it for $7.00 on the clearance rack. The great thing about Anthropologie is that while their regular prices are way out of my league, they have the absolute best sales, so it is fun to go there every once in a while to see what they've marked down.

Meet My New Girlfriend

So Steve talked me into buying a beach cruiser. He brought it home for me on Friday, and I dare say, I am madly in love with it. We just got home from an hour-long family bike ride, and it was great. Oh sure, point and laugh if you must. Yes, it has ginormous whitewalls, a bell, a basket, and lotsa flowers. I'm pretty sure this bicycle comes extremely close to being just as great as the "Holly Hobbie Picnic" banana seat bicycle I received for my 5th birthday.

The best feature may just be the huge tractor seat.

Or maybe it's the bell. I'm pretty sure Steve thought I was a huge geek when we were out riding earlier today, because I couldn't seem to stop ringing it.

A Few of My Favorite Things: The Happy Housewife Cheese Grater

I am madly in love with this cheese grater. I can't stand it, it is so darn cute. I mean, seriously! I must admit, I feel kind of bad when I have to squeeze her cute little head for leverage, when I'm grating cheese. (P.S. - I also love this vintage cherry table cloth that I found over the weekend, at a fabulous new store, here in town).

Recent Find

I found this sweet porcelain Holly Hobbie plate at the thrift store the other day, for 50 cents. It says, "A good example is the best teacher". Very Holly Hobbie-ish. I loved it right away, because I adored Holly Hobbie when I was a little girl. I wish I had saved my Holly and Heather Hobbie rag dolls from back then! The only thing wrong with the plate was that it was just begging to be piled high with brownies.

There. That's much better.

Local Goodness

Lots of excitement in our little town today...the annual Cherry Festival began this afternoon, and it is literally a block from our house, so you can imagine the state poor Camden has been in since he woke up. Plenty of carnival rides, games, fried dough, corn dogs, lemonade, etc.. Seeing Camden today reminds me of how excited I use to get when the Topsham Fair would come to town. He has a day pass for rides, but I think we are going to save it for Saturday, when he can go with his friends. The parade is Saturday night, and we love to go to that every year, too. I don't know if Steve will be back from Annual Training in time for any of it, so that's a bummer (for us, anyway). I decided not to enter the Cherry Bake-Off this year, and neither did my partner in crime, Terri. She has a good reason, being that she is extremely pregnant right now. My only reason is that I couldn't really find a recipe that I was really excited about. Maybe next year. For now, we'll just continue to ride on the wave of our win last year!

I'm also very happy that the Farmer's Market has started back up - - there aren't a lot of vendors yet, but today I got some delicious radishes, some lovely peonies for my kitchen table, and a loaf of chocolate cherry brownie bread. I love the fresh produce, and I love being able to support local farmers and craftspeople. This year, I have just a teensie little garden, with tomatoes, red bell peppers, and green bell peppers. Since this is my first try at gardening, I didn't want to go too crazy. Now, I'm wishing I'd planted more! Luckily, the Farmer's Market is just a couple of blocks from here, each Wednesday and Saturday.

New Camera

Isn't it cute? It is a Kodak Easyshare C713. I wasn't sure that I was going to keep it at first, because it is very similar to the camera I already have. However, upon closer inspection, I learned that it can do all kinds of little tricks that my old camera can't do. It is also very teeny, so I can keep it right in my handbag. Oh yeah, and it is pink, which makes me love it even more.


I've been thinking for a few months now that I wanted something really fancy. I still do, but the fact of the matter is, I have a lot to learn before I head in that direction. I have my eye on this camera, so I think I will start saving for it, and maybe sign up for a photography class of some sort.

Treasures

Last Friday, I checked out a couple of local yard sales with my in-laws, and boy did I find some treasures. First, this lovely enamelware bowl caught my eye. I've been searching for a nice fruit bowl for some time now, but just haven't been able to find quite the right thing. Then I spied this gem, hidden amongst a pile of old Tupperware, kitchen gadgets, and other odds and ends. I picked it up and carried it around, while I continued to case the sale. At one point, I walked by an older woman, who was obviously part of the family holding the yard sale. She noticed I was holding the bowl, and she said, "I can't even begin to tell you how many times I've helped myself to a serving of my mother's potato salad out of that bowl." That was all that I needed to hear, to know that I had to buy it. $4.00 later, it was mine. My sister-in-law, Danielle, bought a matching cook pot (which was missing its cover, unfortunately) and then gave it to me, so here is the pair together:

I had noticed a stamp on the bottom of the bowl, but couldn't really make it out, with the exception of "Norway". The Potato Salad Lady proceeded to tell me that her family was Norwegian, and that most likely, her father had brought the bowl and cook pot back to America, after going to Norway to visit family. I had to know more about these dishes, so of course I Googled "Norway, enamelware", and discovered that they were in fact Catherineholm of Norway cookware, in the 'Lotus' pattern, created by Grete Prytz Kittelsen. She was born in 1917 in Oslo, Norway, and was one of the most influential designers in the mid-century in Scandinavia. I came across many pictures of other Lotus pieces, and would just about kill for a tea kettle or fondue pot from this collection. Beautiful.

I found this Fire King coffee mug (in Peach Lustre) at another yard sale. I have one just like it in Jadite, but I think I might love this one even more. It was manufactured sometime in the 1950's.

Finally, there has been a set of three of these little snack trays/cups, sitting on the shelf collecting dust, at the local thrift store. I originally thought they were Fire King, but there were no markings on them, so I passed them by. Over the weekend, I was at the local antique shop, thumbing through some of their reference books. They had a great Fire King book, and wouldn't you know, I opened it up to a page with a picture of this exact snack set. The pattern is called "Fleurette", and it originally came in a set of four, manufactured in the 1960's. Perfect for tea and biscuits, if you ask me.

I Heart Cuisinart (and chocolate)

Please, go to your kitchens, grab all of our various appliances, and throw them in the garbage. Throw them away, I tell you! Now, do yourself a favor, and replace anything you've thrown away with a Cuisinart-brand product. I'm madly in love with Cuisinart, and I will try to convince anyone who will listen, that they should be, too.

You see, I've always been the kind of girl who buys what is on sale, not getting hung-up on name brand items. However, with age *ahem*, comes wisdom. First, I realized that a girl simply should not go through life wearing cheap bras. I'm sorry, but it is true. Then, I realized that sometimes it pays to splurge on certain hair care items (remember, I said sometimes). Now, as a homemaker, I spend way more time in the kitchen than I ever use to. I have a Kitchen Aid stand mixer, but I really only ever use that when faced with a recipe that requires heavy duty mixing (i.e., not often). As for hand mixers, I'd always owned one that I'd paid $14.99 for at a random department store, multiple times. That was until 2006, when I asked Santa for a Cuisinart PowerSelect 7-Speed hand mixer. I'm not sure what possessed me, because it was quite a bit more than I cared to spend on a kitchen appliance. The first time I fired that sucker up, however, I was sold. That mixer purred like a little kitty. Now I can't believe I wasted so many years on low-watt, wimpy mixers. This thing is awesome. The bad news is, after approximately one year of use of 2-3 times per week, the beaters decided they didn't want to stay in the mixer, usually while I was busy mixing. A pretty annoying problem. In steps my husband, thrifty man that he is, and fired an email off to Cuisinart to tell them about the problem. Last week, I was minding my own business, when the phone rang. It was a lovely man from Cuisinart calling. He proceeded to inform me that they'd received our email, and simply asked me to explain the problem with my mixer. I did, and he then informed me that they would send me a brand new one. No other questions asked. It arrived in the mail yesterday. Um, okay! I've told you before, I value good customer service. It is very hard to come by these days, which is pretty sad. So, I love Cuisinart not because they have the absolute best appliances - - I'm sure there are other great ones out there - - but because they have fabulous customer service. Seriously, I am jumping up and down and clapping my hands while I type this, I am so happy. Now, get thee to Target and buy yourself a new Cuisinart mixer. You know you want one.

While I am spending your hard-earned money for you, do yourself another favor and try to find yourself a Seattle Chocolates Truffle Bar. I'm not even supposed to eat chocolate, but if I'm going to be naughty and do it anyway, this is the chocolate I want to eat. It comes in a bunch of different flavors, but I like the Espresso or the Cappuccino Crunch the best. Yum!

A Few of My Favorite Things: Estate Sales

Okay, so I didn't know I loved estate sales until yesterday. I picked my mother-in-law, Bev, up a little before 8:00 yesterday morning, and we made our way over to an estate sale here in town, that we'd seen listed in the local paper. My game plan was to hit the kitchen first, in hopes of finding some Pyrex and such. So, we walked in the door and I quickly elbowed my way through a group of ladies gathered in the kitchen, and started snatching up treasures. I really hit the jackpot. First, I found a pink Pyrex rectangle cake dish. It has seen a lot of use, but still has some life left in it:

Next, I found a couple of Pyrex cinderella bowls:

Then, I found this lovely Fire King Primrose cake dish:

A very retro serving tray (which I used this morning, by the way):

I also found this great little bread tray, which I plan to hang on the wall in my new kitchen:

My favorite treasure is this Corning sauce maker bowl - - my mom has one just like it, and I use to like to make pudding in it, when I was little:

Oh Lordy, it was exhilarating. We found so many treasures. I have to say though, there is something about an estate sale that seems a bit sad - - the physical remnants of someone's life, spread out on tables, being picked over by a bunch of strangers. I overheard the woman who was running the estate sale say that she was doing it for a family friend. She said that the husband had recently passed away, and the wife had immediately moved to an assisted living facility. Some of the Pyrex shows a bit of wear, so I'm guessing they were well-loved and used for years.

If you look closely in some of the pictures I've posted today, you can see that the walls in my kitchen are looking very different than they looked a couple of weeks ago. I spent a good deal of time painting yesterday, and will be back at it today, after I get Griffin down for his afternoon nap. I'm hoping to be able to "unveil" my new and improved kitchen by the end of this week, so stay tuned!

Get Thee to Target...

...and buy one of these. Seriously, the coolest eco-friendly shopping bag out there. I love mine! The best part about it is that it folds up into the size of a check book and then zips closed, so you can keep it right in your purse. That way, you can never say that you "left your cloth bags in the car" again - - this is my biggest problem. I want to use cloth bags and stop using plastic, but half the time, I forget them at home, or I remember them, but then forget them in the car. Oh, and they only costs 99 cents. Yay!

A Few of My Favorite Things: Kitchen Edition

I love my kitchen. Like the rest of my house, it has a major '70's feel to it, but I love it anyway! It has great counter space, great cupboards, and since it seems the boys and I spend quite a bit of time in this room, I'm glad I love it so much.

Today, I give you a glimse of a few things in my beloved kitchen that are bringing me joy, on this beautiful, crisp Idaho day:

Fresh baked bread (okay, so I baked this yesterday...but we've been eating it today, toasted, with butter...so it still counts). Consequently, I also love the pull-out bread board that you see beneath the bread. There are two of these in my kitchen, and they are so handy.

The beginnings of Butternut Squash Soup, simmering on my stovetop

My salt pig. What?!? You don't have one? You must get one. I had wanted one for a long, long time, but couldn't really see the point. As a matter of fact, you are probably saying to yourself right now, "What's the point?" One day I found one at TJ Maxx, and I've never looked back. Oh, how I love my salt pig.

My Kromex bread box. I've mentioned this bread box before - - I bought it from the former owner of our house. I want to hug it, I love it so much.

My butter crock. I love real butter, and this keeps it fresh and at room temperature. I found this in Maine, when we were there last fall.

Sipping tea from this vintage Fire King tea cup...I found this at a little antique shop in town.

These Apple Cider Donuts that I just baked for the boys. Boy do they smell good...