Spring in the Kitchen

          Today I have been trying to "feel" spring! Hard to do when it's cold and nasty outside and you still have to turn on the heat. So I decided to add some Spring to the kitchen. Nothing says Spring more than yellow tulips!! It was an instant transformation!!

                 I decided to change the corner cabinet to all white china. I think it brings a cooler look to the kitchen for the spring and summer months. Sometimes it just takes a small change to change the feel of a room. White makes everything look and feel cool. 

                      
                                Well it may not be Spring outside but it is Spring in my kitchen!!

                                                                       Sue xo

                                                     

Spring Pansies

     
Happy Monday!

                 Hope you all had a wonderful Easter Sunday. We had a very busy weekend!
          We were able to visit with our children and grandchildren. What a Wonderful weekend!!!
          

                  I planted the first pansies of the season. This is the first  flower I plant every spring.
         I plant pansies in honor of my Grandfather Frank. They were his favorite flower. I remember him planting them every spring. Grandpa planted all different color pansies in the front yard of our home. My grandfather was an avid gardener. He began in the spring with his pansies. It was the beginning of his favorite time of the year...the beginning of the gardening season. He may have began with pansies but I remember all the beautiful flower gardens at our home. Grandpa spent ever minute of his days off in the garden. It was his great love....To this day each member of my family plant pansies in their garden in honor or Grandpa Frank. I know my love of flowers comes from my grandfather. I think of him often especially when I'm working in the garden!!

Spring Pansies

                    

                                                                      Welcome Spring

Hello Spring!!

The last few days have been absolutely perfect!!! Spring has finally arrived in North Eastern PA.
                 The forsythia is blooming, the birds are singing and the air smells heavenly.
I opened all the windows for the first time after a long winter. The house smelled like spring, fresh
                     and clean!!
My thoughts turned to making the house feel more spring-like....
                     I decided to begin with the Master Bedroom
             
The first thing I decided to do was to change the bedding to a lighter look. I loved the bedding I was using,but I decided the duvet and shams in the heavy linen toile print looked too heavy for the summer. I was looking for a change....
I began by ordering a new dust ruffle from Country Curtains.. The dust ruffle is a toile print in a color called Lagoon. Now I had no idea what the color Lagoon was. I couldn't tell if the color was blue or green in the catalogue And I was way too impatient to wait for a sample. When it arrived I was so pleased not only with the color but also with the quality of the fabric and the workmanship. The color was actually a bluish green on a white background. It is a soft pastel. I am in love with it!!! I couldn't be happier!!

I decided not to use shams to match the dust ruffle. I thought the white shams continued that summer look that I wanted. I used three layers of pillows for a full elegant effect. The room now has a light airy look. I am so pleased with the way the bedroom turned out! Now on to the rest of the house!!
              

                                                                                             Sue

Easter Table

    


                                                 Hope you all had a great weekend!
                 We finally had some sunshine today. Hopefully spring is just around the corner!
         Today I'd like to share a table set for Easter Brunch. I purchased the cabbage placemats,cabbage napkin rings and the pink flower salad/dessert dishes in Pier 1.They were so cute I just couldn't resist!! Pier1 had the nicest decorations. I used many of my own dishes to complete the table. Pink tulips was the finishing touch! Believe it or not I found them in the supermarket. Sometimes I get lucky!!

Table set for Easter Brunch

Nest with Easter eggs hangs on the back of the chair

 

Bunny napkin fold.

You can find instructions on betweennapsontheporch.blogspot.com

Rabbit Egg in a nest

                                               
                                 Have a Blessed Easter!!                                                    

                                                                xo
                                             Sue

A Home Office in the Sky!!

Hi Everyone!

         Today's post is about our children's house. Paul and Lauren moved into the house about 9 years ago. It is a beautiful farmhouse colonial in a suburb of Pittsburgh, PA. I remember the first time I saw the house. I fell in love with the front porch. I know the porch was what made Lauren fall in love with the house. The porch runs  the length of the house. At one end of the porch sits a large porch  swing. I believe everyone should have a porch swing. There is nothing more relaxing! As your swing it seems to transport you back to your childhood... the days when you didn't have a care in the world... Oh how I love that porch!!!
          Recently Paul and Lauren decided to add on a sunroom to the house. The sunroom would become Paul's home office so the girls can each have their own room. Emily wanted a room of her own. She had shared a room with her little sister, Sarah since she was born. She took such good care of Sarah all those years, now it was Emily's turn. It was time!! So Paul and Lauren looked at all ways to make this happen and decided a sunroom was the best option.
           The construction of the sunroom began in the midst of a  freezing, snowy winter. Paul and Lauren seem to take things in stride. They remain focused on the end result. To cut costs

they decided they would do some of the work themselves, They decided to install a wood floor and sheetrock and paint the interior of the room. No DIY project seems to be out of their reach. They both take on the challenge to completion. I have learned never to doubt their capabilities. I have watched them do things that I know I would never have had the courage to do on my own.
The floor came out beautiful!!!! This time  Ryan helped his Dad install  the wood floor. So the DIY gene is now passed down to the next generation.
         The sunroom is absolutely beautiful!!! The room has windows on all three sides. Because the room is on the second floor it has a view of trees and sky. What an awesome view of nature!!

         It's like being in a treehouse!!! I think everyone should have their home office in the sky!
It makes going to work a pleasure!  Enjoy your new room Emily!

                     Sue     

Irish Soda Bread

Friday is St. Patrick's Day. I just love Irish soda bread. This is a great recipe. It is easy to make and absolutely  delicious!!!! Give it a try and enjoy it for breakfast on St. Patrick's Day.
 Everyone is Irish on St. Patrick's day!!!!!


   Ina Garten's Irish Soda Bread

             Ingredients

4 cups all-purpose flour plus
  extra for currents

4 tablespoon sugar

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 1/2 tsps. kosher salt

4 tablespoon (1/2 stick). cold unsalted  butter cut into 1/2 dice

1 3/4 cups cold buttermilk, shaken

I extra large egg, slightly beaten

1 teaspoon grated orange zest

1 1/2 cps dried fruit (dried currants and raisins)


             Directions
Preheat the oven 375 degrees. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper
1. Combine the flour, sugar, baking soda and salt in bowl of electric mixer,fitted with the pedal attachment.

2. Add cold butter mix on low speed until the butter is mixed into flour

3. With fork, lightly beat buttermilk, egg and orange zest together in measuring cup.
With the mixer on low speed, slowly add buttermilk mixture to flour mixture, Combine the currants with 1 tablespoon of flour and mix into dough. It will be wet.

4. Dump the dough onto well-floured board and knead it a few times into a round loaf. Place the loaf on the prepared sheet pan and lightly cut an x into the top of the bread with serrated knife. Bake 45 to 55 minutes, or until a cake tester comes out clean. When you tap the loaf, it will have a hollow sound.

Cool on baking rack. Serve warm or at room temperature.
         
                                               Happy St. Patrick's Day! 
                                            
                                                              Sue

                                      
                                                        


                                                                 
 
    

Victorian Beauty

     Hello Everyone!
               My post is going to be a little different today. We went to visit our children and grandchildren on Saturday. I am always looking for new ideas for blog posts. So today I decided to share with you a little about one of my favorite houses, our children's home.
              Chris & Lisa purchased this beautiful home about nineteen years ago. The house is a 1901 Victorian located in beautiful Westchester County, N.Y. I can still remember the evening Chris & Lisa asked us to come and see a home they were thinking of buying. As we drove up to the house I couldn't believe it's beauty. It took my breath away! There sat this magnificent Victorian. It was so beautiful! It sat in all it's glory on a hill with a giant 100 year old Sycamore tree shading the house. The house had such stately Victorian lines. The stone retaining wall, the 17 stone steps to the front door...and oh! that beautiful front porch. For me it was love at first sight!!! and I'm sure it was love at first sight for Lisa!
               As we walked through the interior it was clear that it had been renovated in the 1980s.. Through the many years of different owners the house lost its original beauty But nothing could take away from the 12 foot ceilings, the wide moldings, the original  doors and hardware, the stained glass and those magnificent pine wood floors. The beauty wasn't lost, just hidden under poor taste, ugly wallpaper and  wall to wall carpeting. I could see Lisa had a vision. She saw the beauty of the home. She knew she could restore it to what it once was. I don't think she saw it as too much work.  It would be a labor of love.The house was screaming," Make me pretty again!" and if anyone could, I knew Lisa could!!
             Through the years we watched them restore the house. Room by room Lisa painstakingly restored this home to the beauty it was 116 years ago. She brought back the beauty....all the details that say Victorian. As with all homes we are never finished. I'm sure Chris and Lisa will continue to work on their beautiful home. It will never be finished but that's ok because when we love our home we enjoy every minute we spend making it pretty.

             If walls could talk they would say thank you to Lisa for not giving up!! Thank you Lisa for loving the house back to life!!!!!!!    

        
              Below are just a few pictures of the house. We will return and do a proper photo shoot

The Porch

Porch looking from Parlor

Parlor