My New Look ~ Soon

Friends, do a I have a big surprise for you.  Before it can be opened and unwrapped, there is a little more tweaking that must take place.

While I am wrapping things up, it will be pretty quiet around here for a few days.

Of course, you can always email me if you have a question or just want to say, "Hi!"

See ya' in a few,

A New Look is on the Horizon

Starting today, this blog begins the process of a makeover.  I will also be moving from Blogger to WordPress sometime during the next couple of weeks.

Jeni over at The Blog Maven is doing the heavy lifting and I expect everything to be seamless.  Still, we are talking about computers here.

So, if you suddenly stop receiving The Seasoned Homemaker blog posts in Google Reader or email, this could be the reason.

Just pop back in and re-enter your information and you should be back in the loop again.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Now for the good news:  The Seasoned Homemaker will have a new look, a logo redesign, an online store for my patterns, and an improved comments section.

Over time expect to see some new things added to the blog.

And, please don’t expect miracles (digitally speaking).  I’m sure there will be a learning curve for me as I transfer to a new platform.

In the meantime, I have another Handmade Holiday Collection tomorrow and a tutorial later this week. 

Happy Thanksgiving

 Blessings to you and your family today.

One of Those Days

Did you ever have one of those days?
Well, I did, and it was yesterday.  I awoke with plans to put together a new tutorial for y’all.

I had all morning to get it done because Kitty was bringing the boys over for the afternoon.

However, before I get started, I decide to vacuum my house because the spiders are starting to outnumber the people.  Just a quick run through the rooms ~ not deep cleaning.

How did I get so many cobwebs?  So, I’m vacuuming fast a furiously, making history of my spider population.  I notice my floor lamp {which I love/hate} has a few webby residents.
 
I’ll just tip it over and brush off a few of those cobwebs.

There must’ve been 10,000 tiny, little pieces of lamp spread across my living and dining rooms.  Not to mention the gouge in my wood floors.  Whaaaa.

I really, really wanted to replace this lamp, but I love its height and could never find anything cheap tall enough to replace it.  So, it stayed.

Sadly, my bad day was just getting started.  I needed to wash a pillow in my front loader washing machine.  Toss it in, start the washer.  Work on tutorial.
   
I’m back in my sewing room working away on the tutorial. My grandsons are now here, but T-Bone is napping and D-Boy is creating away with art supplies in the other room.  I only need a few.more.minutes to get the project finished.

I need to get something for my project from the laundry room ~

~ There had to be at least two gallons of standing water on the floor of my laundry room.  Let’s just say I know it is two gallons from a previous mop bucket incident.

I grabbed some towels and D-Boy. We got it sopped up before it went too far under the dryer, extra fridge, and chest freezer.

So, I’m sitting on the laundry room floor with my feet against the door of my washer {so the rest of the water will drain through the plumbing} when D-Boy comes back in with a pipe cleaner project.

So sweet, he says, “Here, Gran, I made this.  It will fix the washer.”  He then puts the pipe cleaner creation into the bottom of the washer door {where all of the water has poured out}.

Dang, that kid is bright.  It stopped the leak enough to get the washer drained.  Who knew handyman skills were passed through genes.
 
Mr. Seasoned Homemaker ~ handyman extraordinaire ~ was able to deduce that the hinges on the washer door were likely the cause and he could cheaply easily replace them.

While I was quietly restoring my soul in a peaceful bubble bath ~ a dive-bombing fly had found its way into my sanctuary.  Give.me.a.break!

So, no tutorial today.  However, I think things are looking up.

This morning when I awoke, I noticed a fly on the wall next to my nightstand.  And, a pair or flip flops on the floor.  “Sayonara, Mr. Fly.”

I think today will be a much better day.

Living Room Makeover

It all started with a new TV.  Mr. SH and I had this great TV armoire in our living room.  It worked for 20 years.  Then, on a crisp Fall day last year we went and bought ourselves a new TV.  We paid under $600 for a sleek, new flat screen and had no idea how this one little treat would turn into months and months of auxiliary purchases.

Our living room has an ‘open floor plan’ with this I-wish-it-wasn’t-there corner fireplace that dominates the room with its muy grande mantle.  Without the TV armoire sitting in the room to balance out the fireplace we needed a new idea.

We were so naïve.

First, we bought a modern-ish used buffet to sit below the new TV.  It was a similar wood tone as the old TV armoire and could hold the components.  Since it was used, we only paid $200 for it.  Budget-wise, so far-so good.  It worked OK for a while, but that TV just threw off the scale of the room.  And the buffet was a little under scale, too.  (sorry, I never took a picture of this)

Without the old TV armoire to balance out the corner fireplace, the room still wasn’t working.  And, it had beige walls.  And, I thought I was the mantle’s fault.

When you walked into the room, the first thing you noticed was the beige-tiled fireplace with it’s Grande mantle.
  

So, last January we set out to get a few new pieces and bring everything into scale.   We started with the de-beigeing {I’m sure the grammar police will cite me for that one} of the room.  I chose Benjamin Moore’s Moonshine.  A cool, bluish-gray (since gray is now the new beige).

Said, “Adios!” to the old mantle {don’t gasp, it’s in our attic}.

 

Notice the cool gray up against the old beige.  What a huge difference.
   

Removing the mantle revealed this gaping space that needed filling.  Since I couldn’t convince Mr. SH that we really didn’t need a mantle, instead, I found this tile at Lowes and we used it to fill in this empty space left from the great mantle exchange.

The travertine tiles have a lot of gray mixed in with a natural stone color.  I was hoping to tone down the beige in this tile.  

Mehh.

Every room starts with an idea and this is the look I was trying to recreate, minus the Crate and Barrel prices.

 {source}

 
So, after months of waiting for the upholstered pieces, shopping for new accessories, building a new mantle, and spending the equivalency of A Vacation in Paris, I am calling this project D-O-N-E.

Well, no room is ever done.  There is an on-going controversy over the fireplace pooch named Maris {if you are a fan of Frasier, you will understand this}.
 
I bought Maris as a way to de-beige the fireplace tiles.  She isn’t an overall favorite with some members of my family. 

So, I’m asking you to chime in and cast a vote:
 
Should Maris Stay

or

Should Maris Go.

Please comment accordingly.

A Garbage Truck in the Kitchen

And a bunch of trains, a few dinosaurs, and some zoo animals.

On Friday, I kept my two grandsons {ages 5 and 2} all day while Kitty and Mr. Wonderful had a day-date.
 
From around 9am until after 6pm.  That’s a lot of squirming, running, jumping, and attempted flying..but it was all good.

When I know I’m going to have the the boys all day I try to have an idea of what we can do.  

I had planned to go to story time at the library, but it wasn’t happening.
 
On to Plan B – Remember this – well it left me this lovely empty box which I snatched from the A/C repairman’s sweaty hands requested the A/C repair folks leave at my house.
 

When D-Boy and T-Bone arrived, there was an immediate rush to the fort, house, truck, ship, tent, box.
 
Ideas were flying every which way.  What kid can actually resist a box?   {FYI - Here’s a fun box book for kids}
 
It is a big box and making it into a house/fire station/garbage truck/airplane takes some planning.

There was a squeal when I told them they could have UNRESTRICTED MARKERS FOR BOX REPURPOSING.
 
It was busy town for a long time. 
Unrestricted markers can do that for kids.

Eventually, it was on to other things, like making...

Ice Cream for dessert after dinner.
 

Shhh, there’s actually no cream or milk – instead, I’m using kefir and yogurt.

Of course, we scraped the bowl, licked the beaters, and talked about how good our ice cream was going to taste.

D-Boy is certain that it will be, “The best ice cream anyone ever had.”
 

Later, we spent some time outside exploring the wonders of nature and even touched a large caterpillar.

 

When there was more sun than shade it was back inside for some lunch and a little rest.

This is how D-Boy rests when he’s at my house…

It’s more of a restful feeling that you get from being creative.

And, in Texas during the month of August, there’s only one way to really cool off…

…in the sprinkler!

Then, it was back inside for some Veggie Pasta Sauce over Gluten-Free Penne {which the boys unanimously agreed we must have for dinner}, followed by “The best ice cream anyone ever had.”
 

Altogether, a wonderful way to spend a hot day in Texas.

Why Sewing Makes Me Happy

Starting today, I am the new Sewing Contributor at Somewhat Simple.  The first Monday of every month I will be chiming in about sewing.

Today, my simple message is Why Sewing Makes Me Happy.

Check it out…

Happy Birthday to Meeeeeee

Yep, today’s my birthday.  So I get to reflect on life in general and take a day off from everything else.

What you get when you put in 54 years…

1.  Gray hair – it’s a fact of life.  I think I can still call it salt and pepper.  Definitely more salt, with pepper in swift retreat.   I’m not coloring it. Been there – done that.  My hair grows so fast, I get a skunk stripe in about three weeks.  I feel like each gray hair represents maturity and wisdom…so, it’s a keeper.

2. Poor Eyesight – My eye doctor had the nerve to say that my vision difficulty was just old age eyes.  So what if I can’t see a blasted thing without glasses - my ability to see people and situations is clearer than ever.  I’m keeping the peepers and looking at new glasses.  I got a new doctor, too.
 
3.  Wrinkles - especially around the eyes. The collagen is fading as fast as my eyesight.  I think these clue people to the fact that I’m not in my 30’s.  Recently, my pastor mentioned to me that he wanted to start a group for the 55 and older set.  I snorted back that I wasn’t 55, or for that matter, 54!  He hasn’t come up and given me a hug after church.  Or, maybe he did and I just couldn’t see him.  Anyway, it must be the wrinkles – they are a dead give away.  With the right glasses, I bet I can keep from looking like I might be heading towards 55.

4.  Memory Loss - Where did my memory go, I can’t find it anywhere.  I don’t remember where I parked my car, but I can remember the names of my 5th grade classmates.  I can’t complete a clear thought, but I can recite all of the states in alphabetical order to the tune of Turkey in the Straw.  I’m sticking with this one because I’ve got a lot stored on the hard drive.

5.  Bags – and I’m not talking about Dooney and Burke.  Things keep creeping closer and closer to the ground.  Pretty soon, I’m going to have to hire someone to put it in a wheelbarrow and follow from behind.  I’m filing this under, I don’t want to think about it anymore.

6.  The Middle – I’m not talking about bulges, either.  Grown kids on one side who want/need you and aging parents on the other side who want/need you.  Who are those unfettered 50-something’s in commercials who ride motorcycles and hang glide.  I’ve got too many responsibilities.  I don’t want a motorcycle, I’d prefer an assistant.

You know you no longer relate to young people when being excited about going to bed with your man means getting to sleep before 9pm.


That's what 54 looks like.

SEWING STUDIO REDO

It all started because a cockroach found its way into my laundry room and onto a shirt that I was planning to iron.
 
Unbeknownst to me, that cheeky little beggar was clinging to said shirt.  Once in my studio, he jumped off the shirt and into the disaster called my sewing studio.

Lots of places to hide.  I could barely go in there knowing I might have to share the place with such a disgusting creature.

 Holy Junk Room, Batman!

So, this weekend while Mr. Seasoned Homemaker was visiting his mom, I decided that I would find the fiend and send him on to his Maker.

Easier said than done.  Look at this place.  And that doesn’t include the closet which I have to admit, would make a fine home for a cockroach family.


First, I pulled everything out of the closet, found my little friend, and gave him a blast of EcoSmart Ant and Roach Killer.  He is at peace, now.  However, the room has a strong scent of clove oil. 

I can see how horders get started.  In the top of the closet (next to my little friend) was the following:

*  A box of my husband’s ski clothes
*  SAT/PSAT Prep Books (I used to teach this)
*  Various textbooks from past teaching gigs
*  Thirty-five years worth of photos in albums
*  A large stuffed lamb
*  A container of sewing machine oil

This is embarrassing.  I have all kinds of sewing-related items scattered around the room and a shelf full of unrelated (and unnecessary) stuff.

All have now found new homes, except the lamb.  I really like him, so he gets to stay.

First, in the corner of the closest sat my old, mechanical sewing machine which I don’t want to part with, yet.  It’s temporary plastic cover was coated in spider webs.  Gross.

So, I dashed off to Walmart and scored this Universal Sewing Machine Cover for $23.  Perfect.
 

Next, I wanted to wrangle some of my other rulers and pinning mats.  A while back, Mr. SH had hung the towel rack holding the tissue paper.

A few nails later, I had some things off the floor and up on the wall.


Next, the top shelf.  I put items up there that I can easily get to, but don’t need every time I sew.
 

The closet floor wasn’t too cluttered, just dusty and spider-webby.  Here I put the old Kenmore machine, my Bernina’s carrying bag, and an Omnigrid case I carry to sewing classes.

Easy to get to when I need them, but I don’t need them very often.


The next thing I tackled was the open shelves to the right of the cutting table.  I tend to toss all sorts of sewing related paper here.
 
This is a totally inefficient way to keep up with ideas and inspiration.  So, off to Target I went where I picked up a few things to help with this problem.

Three magazine organizers ($5 each) plus three plastic paper holder things ($1 each) to help me sort future projects.


I took the three black magazine organizers that I already had and went through everything.  I created six different categories (because I have six organizers).

*  Bookzines
*  Original Designs
*  Machine Manuals
*  Embroidery Design Sets
*  Oversized Patterns
*  AccuQuilt Go Baby Templates
*  Three binders

While far from perfect, the room is much more functional.  I was also able to think through some other ideas.

The first thing I want to tackle is getting a few more shelves over the cutting table, plus a pegboard to hold scissors, rulers, and a variety of everyday items.


I’m thinking of skirting the front of the table so I don’t have to see the mess underneath.
 
Adding more shelves over the cutting table will allow easy access to some things, but still keep them within easy reach.  I think I will move embroidery stabilizers to the future shelves.  That will give me more room for fabric storage.


Finally, I need to organize my scraps.  I could use a few ideas here, so feel free to chime in with your suggestions.
 

Phase One of Operation Clean Up Your Mess, Leslie complete.  Now, me and my lamb are going to relax with a cup of coffee.

Jambalaya Recipe

Little known fact...I am 100% of Cajun descent and able to trace may ancestors all the way back to Acadia. I even was invited  to and attended the 300th anniversary of my family living in St. James Parish, Louisiana.
 
We’re buried all over their church cemetery. Practically in the Mississippi River.  You can’t get much more Cajun than that!
 
So, today I will be sharing with you how to make true, authentic, and real Jambalaya.  Oooooeeeee, Cher, yo’ gonna burn yo' tongue it's so spicy.
 
As a bona fide Cajun I feel it is my duty to share our ‘national anthem.’  It is sure to add some spice to your Cajun food.
 
“Jambalaya and a crawfish pie and file' gumbo, 'Cause tonight I’m gonna see my ma cher amio, Pick guitar, fill fruit jar and be gay-o, Son of a gun, we’ll have big fun on the bayou...”
 
While you tap your feet and sway to the zydeco tempo…
 
Here’s what you need:
 
1 lb. Sausage (I always get a spicy sausage, but mild works, too)
 
1/2 C. diced onion

1/2 C. diced bell pepper

1/2 C. diced celery

(FYI, in Cajun cooking this combo is called the Holy Trinity)

 

2 T. diced garlic

1 15 oz. can diced tomatoes

1 C. Chicken Stock (mine is homemade, but packaged will work)

1 C. uncooked rice*

(*I use short grain brown rice that has been soaked for 4-7 hours, but unsoaked white rice will work fine)

1 T. unsalted butter

Seasoning Mix:

1/2 t. cayenne pepper

3/4 t. white pepper

1 t. sea salt

1/2 t. dried thyme

1/2 t. rubbed sage

2-3 bay leaves

Here’s what you do:

 

Dice the sausage and saute’ in 1/2 T. butter.

 

Dice the onion, bell pepper (I got carried away and used red and green peppers), celery, and garlic.

 

Remove the sausage from the pan and saute’ the veggies in the remaining butter.

Add the rice and stir it around until it appears slightly translucent.

Add the sausage back into the pan.

Add the diced tomatoes and chicken stock. (Homemade stock is best; I’ll post a recipe soon)



Add the Seasoning Mix and bay leaves.



Turn the heat down to a slow simmer and cover.  Let cook for 30-40 minutes.  I prefer to cook this in a 5 Qt. Le Creuset dutch oven; you may have to adjust cooking times if you use something different.
 
Check about half way through the cooking and add a bit more chicken stock if it is dry and the rice seems to need more liquid.

Serve hot.  With beans.  I usually cut up an avacado because it helps with the spiciness.  You won’t sweat through your clothes.


  
Simple, easy, and spi-cy.  One of my family’s favorites.