This is what we've been up to...

I know it's been several days since my last post but I wanted to be sure I had something to show for my offline efforts. I've been busy with the small bedroom. Actually, busy doesn't even begin to cover the ordeal this room turned out to be. All I wanted to do was paint over the crayon marks on the wall. Simple, right? Um, No. Not so much.

First off, we had issues with the paint color not matching from one can to the other. Now, these cans were mixed at the same time and were not a color matching job. Nope, this was a color chosen straight off of a paint chip. At any rate, I ended up going to a different store and choosing a completely different color, which does match from one can to the other. I got everything covered in primer so it didn't bleed through. That worked fine, which was a relief! Then, I painted the room while the kids were otherwise occupied. That actually worked, too! It took me an hour with a roller to get all the way around the room. My husband came home that night and sprayed the ceiling for me with the power sprayer. That worked out better than I could have imagined! Finally, the major part of the painting was done. Whew. I've still got the trim to do but my hubby has volunteered to that job for me. Yay! I took a pic so you can kind of see what it looks like at the moment. I still have a couple of projects in the works to finish before I'll have a cool playroom for the boys.

In the pic of the room you can see that I still haven't gotten the switch plates and outlet covers put back. I'll get to it, really, I will.

Chilly day comfort: Aromatic Spiced Milk And Slow Cooker Apple Oatmeal

Are you freezing?? Need some comforting? Have a cold and sore throat, like me??

I have 2 suggestions for you all to try. The first is aromatic spiced milk which is good for adding to oatmeal or hot coco. I'm even toying with the idea of making this into a creamy homemade ice cream.

You will need:

Whole cloves

Cinnamon sticks

Star anise

Heck, if you want to toss in some vanilla from the bean, that's good too! Just add to a sauce pan with milk and heat on low until the milk simmers. Remove it from the heat and allow to steep up to 30 minutes or until the desired spice is achieved. Less spice? Just don't steep as long. Easy peasy.

My plan is to use this in conjunction with a recipe from the Fix It And Forget It Big Cookbook. Phyllis Pellman Good has a couple of recipes in here that incorporate walnuts, brown sugar and/or apples with oatmeal cooked overnight in the crock pot or slow cooker. Cinnamon apple oatmeal with aromatic milk sounds cozy to me!

Below is the recipe I plan to try. This is from the cookbook I referenced above. My suggestions are in ( ). BTW, I've not yet tried this recipe so I'm trusting that the author got it right.



Slow Cooker Oatmeal by Phyllis Pellman Good


2 cups dry rolled oats ( or steel cut oats maybe?)

4 cups of water

1 large apple, peeled and chopped

1 cup raisins ( I would imagine these are optional, I'd use blueberries, myself)

1 tsp. cinnamon

1-2 TBS. orange zest


1.) Combine all ingredients in your slow cooker.

2.) Cover and cook on low 8-9 hours.

3.)Serve topped with brown sugar, if you wish, and milk.

Project Delay...

I've put my plans on hold for a few days. I am under the weather and need to recuperate. I also need to make up my mind about what color to go with for the bedroom. I'm leaning toward Indian Moccasin. I think it's going to be a nice warm color once I get it tossed up on the walls. The other paint color I was considering was Nutmeg Brown, but I think it's too drastic a departure from what I have right now. I think it would be just too dark all the way around.

I did manage to make some egg salad today. The eggs in the bowl just looked so pretty I had to snap a few pics.

Bedtime

At last! I know it's late, but I wanted to do one more blog post before I climb in bed and we look at Little Bear as a family. There is something to be said for accomplishing a big job and ending the day tired. I get to sniff hair smelling of blackberry and bergamot shampoo and kiss cherry blossom scented cherub cheeks. These are favorite moments and I am grateful tonight.

The Re-Organization Begins...

Well, I started this bedroom this afternoon. I must say, as bad as this looks in the photo, it was way worse than that before it was all cleared away. I had been using that bedroom closet as a catch all from when it was used as the office. I had so much stuff jammed into that little closet it was unreal.

2 contractor bags of paper and boxes (destined to be recycled) later, the floor has been cleared. The crib has been taken down and carted off to the attic while toys have been boxed and removed for later sorting and disposal. I have made the insane decision to paint. No, not just the bedroom, but the entire house. This is not something I plan to have done in a few days, fortunately. No, I think I'll take it slow and do one room at a time as I clear it out. I think it's entirely likely that I will have to the rooms cleared of clutter and unloved items long before I finish painting. Goals. I have them.

Packing It In...

Ok, I give up! Or, rather I am finally willing to pack my jolly little mug friends away for the rest of the year. I love the colors and am always reluctant to let them go back into storage. However, once these are packed I can put out my pastel mugs and that makes me happy. The pastels are so springy.

I'm in an area of the country where we're groaning under loads of ice that started coming down monday. I'm chilly and can't seem to get enough tea in my tummy to warm me up! Looks like I'll have to resort to a hot bubble bath.

The Love It Or Ditch It Project

One thing I've come to realize is that I only really live well if I'm enjoying my surroundings. I need to find comfort or joy in everything in my home. It's become increasingly clear that I have several things in this house that I don't care anything about. This means I need to get rid of them, which is the hard part.

This past weekend I enlisted the family to assist in clearing out some kitchen clutter. I have some adorable glasses purchased in the last year or so. I had not been using them because I was "saving" them. I have no idea when I thought I'd use them, exactly??? At any rate, they had been packed away in the attic and nearly forgotten. In light of the fact that I'd made the commitment to love it or clear it out, I had to decide if I loved them or my old mismatched everyday glasses. It turned out that I loved my vintage glasses more so out went all the other unused mugs and glassware. The photo above shows some of the glasses I decided to keep for everyday use.