Stocking the Holiday Pantry ~ Giving Thanks

Grocery stores have great sales on holiday baking staples right now, so this is a great time to stock up. Take a look at the recipes you know you will be preparing, and make a master list of the ingredients. Keep the list in your purse, along with any coupons, so each time you go to the grocery store, you are prepared. By purchasing a few items each week, you won't break your budget!

~Pantry Staples~

Basics:
All-purpose flour
Baking soda and powder
Salt
Brown sugar
White sugar
Confectioner's sugar
Cornstarch
Oats
Yeast
Vanilla
Cocoa
Baking chocolate
Chocolate chips
Nuts
Dried fruit
Coconut
Graham cracker crumbs
Pre-made graham cracker crusts
Almond bark

Canned Goods:
Evaporated Milk
Sweetened Condensed Milk
Pumpkin

Dry Seasonings:
Allspice
Cinnamon
Ginger
Cloves
Nutmeg

Condiments:
Molasses
Corn Syrup
Peanut Butter
Honey

Oils:
Vegetable oil
Shortening
Cooking spray

Feel free to add to the list in the comments!

A Simple Little House

~Simple Pleasures~



I like a simple little house
With flowers by the door,
An ample larder for my needs
And not much more in store.





I like a window toward the sun
And doors that open wide,
The trickle of a bath for birds
With feathered friends beside.





I like a tidy nook inside
Where my books and slippers lie,
A cup for tea, a magazine,
A warming hearth nearby.





I like some trinkets on the sills,
White ruffles at the panes,
The comfort of a sturdy roof
To shelter me from rains.





I like the cozy ambiance,
A place of sweet retreat
Where life unfolds along the way
And each new day's a treat!
-Virginia Borman Grimmer



I found this sweet poem in a recently thrifted Ideals magazine. Feel free to share it on your blog, along with pictures from your own simple little house!

Weekly Home Blessing

Good morning! How do you feel about Monday mornings? Sometimes they seem to sneak up on me and I'm faced with a huge t0-do of chores, school lessons and errands. One of the things I try to do on Sunday afternoon is a weekly home blessing (also known as a tidy-up), to help things go more smoothly for the coming week.


I put on a favorite apron.


Light a candle, so that by the time I'm finished cleaning, the scent is all through the house.


Often, I fill a small ziplock halfway with baking soda and a few drops of essential oil, mix and sprinkle over all the carpet. Here are a few more things I take care of:


Finishing up any laundry leftover from the weekend, especially the kitchen towels and dishcloths.


Gather school supplies and books together.


Water the flower pots.


Tidy up the fridge.

~Empty garbage buckets
~Dust the living room
~Vacuum


When I'm all done, I relax with a favorite book and wait for the new week to begin.

Do you do anything special to get ready for Monday?

Through the Summer Kitchen Window

A favorite book of mine is Through the Kitchen Window by Susan Hill. She takes us through the seasons in her beautiful kitchen, sharing recipes and thoughts:

"In summer, the kitchen is not for lingering in, only for preparing food quickly, wrapping it or dishing it up, and taking it outside. The stillroom and the larder and the dairy are dim and stone-slabbed and pleasingly cool. Jugs and bowls and dishes stand, muslin-covered."

Here are some scenes from my summer kitchen...


Yellow daisies in a mason jar.


A summery table cloth.


Floating flower candles in teacups.


"A pot of basil on the table, a pungent sweet geranium on the windowsill, a bunch of mint hung from the ceiling will all help to keep out summer flies."


Wonderful letters from friends. Farrah sent me the beautiful summer fruit card that she watercolored.


A basket of dish towels by the kitchen sink.


A kid friendly meal of homemade Sloppy Joes.

"In June and July, the kitchen is full of bowls and baskets of fruit, heaps of strawberries and raspberries, gooseberries and logan berries and cherries, red- and white- and black-currants, glistening and richly-ripe."

Strawberry and blueberry shortcake.


Fresh blackberries with whipped cream.


Fruit Filled Oatmeal Bars.


And cheery lemons to brighten up the kitchen or for making homemade lemonade.

I hope you have enjoyed peeking through my summer kitchen window!

Summer Recipes and Menu Planning

Thank you for stopping by this weekend, I hope you had a great time with your family. On Sunday afternoon, I organized my cookbooks and recipes. It's hard to believe June is almost here and the time for lighter lunches and dinners.


I get most of my recipes off the internet, but my favorite summer cookbook is Gardeners' Community Cookbook. I found it at Goodwill many years ago.


I put tabs on all of the recipes I'm interested in making. I never get to them all, but it's fun to try!


You can't go wrong with tomatoes, zucchini, fresh herbs, pasta and cheese.


Tomato, Basil and Cheese Pie


Rosemary-Cheese Scones


I also updated the menu organizer on my fridge. I did really well with it at the beginning of the year, but recently got out of the habit.


Every day has a post-it note. A lot of our meals of repeated, so I just move the note over to the right side, until I need it again.


We want to start having friends over for dinner once a week this summer. I made a list of possible appetizers, lunches/dinners, salads and desserts. We like to grill some kind of meat and then make several side dishes.


Hopefully having a list close by will make the dinner planning easier, especially when my mind goes blank!


Finally, I want to share a little something that Grace put together this weekend. Cantaloupe and cherries are on sale right now, so she arranged the sliced cantaloupe on a plate.


And filled in the empty spots with cherries! Isn't that a great idea?


Thank you for looking at my summer menus. I would love to hear about some of your favorite things to eat this time of year!

Simple Pleasures Around the House

I was "puttering" around the house yesterday afternoon and noticed some little things that make me happy.


A simple centerpiece using a yellow dishtowel, a favorite plate and a few lemons.


A clean kitchen sink and dishes.


Fresh bread for dinner.


And a new embroidery book and pretty floss to drool over. What simple pleasures are you enjoying today?

Snacks and lunches in a basket

Hello! Thank you for your comments on our Morning Room and dried roses. I appreciate you taking the time to stop by and say hi!


Many of you know I'm a huge fan of baskets. I use them for all kinds of different things around the house. Last week, I spotted these three at the resale store for $1.00, so I brought them home.


The are the perfect size for lining with a napkin.


Adding a glass of cold milk.


And a couple of cookies!


I have made Heather's Oatmeal Cookies many times and they are always good. I added butterscotch chips and a few leftover chocolate chips that I needed to use up.


They are also the perfect size for a sandwich lunch out on the picnic table. I have a feeling these baskets will get lots of use this coming summer!

We've had three busy days in a row this week. I'm looking forward to an "at home" day. We will do our schoolwork in the morning, dust and vacuum the living room, laundry, and hopefully it will be dry enough to play outside in the afternoon. What is on your to-do list today?