From the Sewing Room

This post isn't just from the sewing room.  It is my sewing room!

It is clean and organized.  Because of this, the door is open and you can come right in!!!

 better hurry... I'm not sure how long it will stay this way

this is the view upon entering

my work area

 one view from my machine

looking out the windows

My husband surprised

me with this hutch one year as a birthday gift... he's so good :)

The photo on the left was taken yesterday before I added additional 

baskets.  Personally, I think more is better...

The baskets are from Ikea and a steal at $5.99.

Go get some, they're great for organizing!

I have a thing for vintage labels...

Close ups...

See the wood float, my husband mailed a love letter to me from Alaska in it while we were dating!

Love jars filled with white buttons, pincushion (pin head) designed by me, my daughter made the white sock elephant which I love and will never part with! They are all sitting next to a vintage sewing machine given to me by a kindred seamstress at a yard sale...

 

 

made by my friend Susan, she peeled a real pear to get this right, crazy girl

 

current project, it has something to do with the gray dining room... more on that later

Being surrounded by things I love whether it's aesthetic or has a good memory attached,

   makes me feel good.  

Having it all clean and organized after a long season

of shows (see our Worthy Goods blog) well, it's heavenly!

Thanks for coming along on the tour!

Laurie

gray

of a color between white and black; having a neutral hue

The dictionary doesn't explain just how many neutral hues gray can be.
Gray is tricky...
even the spelling is tricky
gray
or
grey
spell check likes
gray

My dining room has been waiting patiently for a new coat of gray.  Like I said, it's tricky. I had the perfect gray all picked out. I painted an entire wall with my color of choice just to see... It went blue. I don't want blue/gray. I just want gray/gray!

Fortunately for me, my friends Diana and Donna from Annie, Fannie and Abigail were at Monticello last week and noticed Debbie and I with our paint chips fanned out like a deck of cards pondering the right choice of gray... two seconds later Diana whipped out her deck of paint chips and layed them out.  Right on her heels was Donna with a single color... slate... it was becoming a high stakes game of paint chip poker.  Was slate the ace in the hole? Was Donna's card the only one needed?  Should I scrap the gray and go for the warmer palette?

Donna's slate kept calling me... It was from Restoration Hardware.
  The cement I had painted on my wall wasn't going the right direction. I just wanted to decide on a color and get the thing done! It was 4:00 on Sunday, Restoration closes at 6:00 on Sundays.  Just enough time to grab my good friend Tami (moral support and good taste) and make the 30 minute drive to NW Portland...

 I left half the wall cement and painted the other half slate.
Here are the results.

The winner is on the right.....
SLATE!
I will post pics of the finished product when the room is put back together...
Hope your home improvement projects are going well! And, thanks Donna!

Hunting Food

My husband is venturing into the woods...

It's elk season.

He ventures into the woods alot this time of year.

We always tell him not to come home unless he's packing an elk.

Last week he came home without one.

We are sending him back.

Try again honey...

You can do it!

Maybe if he has really great food he will stay longer...

All of this...

turned into this...

breakfast burritos

cheesy potatoes pre-cooked ready to heat up on the grill

fabulous chicken

individual apple pies

Yes, there is enough food here to feed six hunters for a month.
That's just the way it goes...

The chicken is always a hit and is so easy to make.  For you fellow blogger's  I am going to share my secret recipe.  Just don't tell anybody else...

Sweet and Savory Chicken

1 large package chicken drumsticks, thighs or wings

1 large bottle Yoshida's Original Gourmet Sauce

Lemon Pepper

Montreal Steak Seasoning

Kosher salt

Pre heat oven to 450 degrees.  Place chicken in a large baking dish.  Generously sprinkle chicken with steak seasoning, lemon pepper and salt.  Pour Yoshida's over the whole deal.  The Yoshida's should just about cover the chicken, don't be shy about pouring. More is good!

Bake at 450 degrees for 30 minutes.  Reduce oven temperature to 250 degrees and continue baking for at least 2 hours. 

That's it you're done, remove from oven and watch them disappear...

Hopefully I'll be sharing some great elk recipes soon!