BEAUTIFUL ASHEVILLE AND SUPER FRIENDS!

Well, here we are again.   I think I've posted more on vacation than I do when I'm just hanging out at home!  I wanted to share one more picture of our evening with Mary from A Breath Of Fresh Air that was taken at the restaurant we dined at on Saturday.  I thought you might want to see her husband of 49 years, Bob, as well as The Husband.  Did I mention that our guys get along marvelously?   So funny. We blogging ladies always seem to hit it off, but most of my meeting up with bloggers have taken place when traveling  and we always seems to include those hubbies!!

And I couldn't forget this.  When we went back to Mary's she put out a simple but very elegant spread of coffee and dessert.  She used demitasse cups and if you look closely at the patterned china...years ago when I first met her she gave me a teacup from this set.  And then she had a French sort of tart with pears, and she gave me the name of it but since I'm pretty bad with remembering things, especially in a foreign language...I can't remember it.  She did tell me it was something that French school children would have waiting for them as a snack of sorts when they came home from  long day of studies.  This melted my heart,  I gave my kids Gummy Bears and juice boxes.    And the fruit can vary.  I hope to get the recipe.  It was unbelievable.  And she had freshly whipped cream and raspberries.  Heavenly!  She served this quite casually in the living room on beautiful trays.  So elegant and so Mary.

I never mentioned the B&B we stayed at in Raleigh.  Really, I  haven't shown you much of anything as far as the places we've stayed.  I'm just not sure how to incorporate them into a post.  Most of the pictures I took were of their beautiful gardens.  Well, we'll see how that works out.  This was a cool place located in a residential area just blocks from a park and really great sort of outdoor shopping area.  No big name stores, just individual boutiques and restaurants.  We loved it.  

I also fell in love with the front porch of this B&B.  I love the swing and black rockers.  The fabrics.  The owners had a sort of modern/traditional decor that was comfortable but classy.  Many things out of the box of sorts.  You can glean so many ideas from these homes...and from the breakfast you are served every morning.  So many differnt ways to jazz up a simple morning meal.  I have a ton of holiday ideas for cooking for a group from these places.  At this B&B we had breakfast with three other couples and we were all in the same age group.  We spent 2 hours talking about where we were from, why we were in Raleigh, where we were off to,  It's just so much fun.

I snapped tons of pictures of the gardens, too many to share.  But I really loved the blueberry bushes that the owner had mixed in with shrubs and plants right in the front yard.  Very unobtrusive and a nice touch of color.  Oh, the ideas I come home with! :)

Another peek at the condo...this time the kitchen.  It's great and we stocked up on just  a few things for breakfast and some snacks.  And wine of course!  I am getting used to working with an electric stove, something I've never done.  Our place was stocked with dishes, glasses, flatware, pots and pans...you name it.  It's sort of weird...we can't add one single personal item to our place...all of the condos must be uniform in style so one isn't preferred over the other when booking.  Not that I need anything...it's all very nice and cozy, but sometimes I want to play house! :)

We've had such a great variety of food here.  We never have breakfast.  We're usually good until about 1:00 p.m. and then we have have a casual lunch.  Dinner is just what we have the taste for or maybe a restaurant we happen upon.  Asheville is truly a mecca of great food, interesting shops and everything in between.  At lunch the other day we had the roasted kale with sea salt and vinegar.  It was super tasting and addicting!   Even The Husband liked it.  There is not a drop of oil added so it sort of flakes and turns to dust.  Ha!  Best to have a toothbrush after this. ;-)

If you can believe it, restaurant food, no matter how good it is can get tiring. The whole process of getting dressed up, driving, finding parking and well, maybe we just started  missing a home cooked meal.  And jeez, I have  a wonderful kitchen! The first night we ate in I made hotdogs and chips! lol! And then the other day we stopped at the grocery and The Husband picked out a fillet for himself,  a strip steak for me,  and some fresh shrimp.  And I made boiled fresh carrots tossed with butter.  There are zero spices here...what a challenge!!

After that particular dinner we sat on the balcony with a glass of wine and watched the sunset.  We are on the third floor.  I tried to crop out the buildings across from us, but it's a just reality.  Nevertheless, it's beautiful and fun and a huge, huge thing in our lives right now (if you know what I mean).

Penny and Penny came over this morning to pick me up for our lunch and shopping trip.  I was so excited for them to see our place.  In our previous trips here we've managed to do a lot together and I just love both of them to pieces.  We have so much fun together...I have true blue friends in Asheville and I met them through blogging!

We went to a really neat spot called The Screen Door that is filled with everything and anything.  My heart was breaking because I saw so many things I wanted to bring home...mostly garden pieces.  One was a  hare statue, about 3 feet high and made of concrete.  It would have taken two people to lift it and would  totally weighed down an airplane!  Yet it was only $40.00!  I could only imagine the shipping cost.  I did find a few neat thugs, my favorite was a set of wind chimes.  The "chimes" were old tarnished silverware (forks, knives and spoons hanging from colorful beads).  The "Penny's" joked that they would never lose me, they could hear me and my chimes coming (like a cat with a bell on it's collar...ha!).

We had lunch at a really neat place that was very elegant and had wonderful moderately priced sandwiches and salads for lunch.  Then we shopped more.  And all of this took place in "the village" just a few minutes from our place.  In fact, The Husband has walked there.  

And tomorrow that guy is going fly fishing, something he has been waiting for for the past two years.  Again, with a guide that he has come to know very well.  He is beyond excited.  Me, I want to go to our pool so bad.  Yes, I'm not feeling good about putting on a bathing suit but sometimes you just have to get the "I don't give a crap" attitude and do it.  I had a terrible winter with eczema that left scars on my legs.  Only the sun will clear that up, but I'm careful and use a low SPF.    Then I was thinking of driving into the "village" for lunch in a quiet place with my laptop to blog...or maybe into the downtown area.  I bought Emily and Abby each a pair of Tom's sandals.  If you aren't familiar with them, for every pair of shoes sold, they donate a pair to children in impoverished countries. But these two devils of mine insisted I send pictures and Emily is not happy with hers so I want to exchange them.  And oh...my worries.  The packing situation.  I have found some linens I fell in love with, the chimes of course, some books...

 

And then the Penny's.  Penny from The Comforts Of Home gifted me with this cookbook, Farm~Fresh Recipes from the Missing Goat Farm.  I can't wait to dig into this.  In fact, I'm going to go through it tonight in bed in lieu of my regular reading.  And Penny from Lake Lure Cottage Kitchen, gave me a bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon which is a favorite of she and her husband.  She had it in a burlap wine bag that is so cool and she also included some candles in little tins and a little sachet of lavender that she brought home from France last year.  Can a girl get any luckier?  Good friends.  Good times.

Can I say I'm homesick??  Milo and Layla are alone from 6:00 a.m. til 4:00 when Abby gets home from work.  Sometimes Jeff or Emily stop in when they can during the day.  Abby is doing a great job taking them for walks and snuggling with them but their routine has been upset big time. Sometimes I wake up at night in all of the different places and beds and I feel for Layla who sleeps against my tummy, and Milo at my feet.  And then I get a lump in my throat.  Silly me.   And my routine.  Oh, I don't mean to complain.  Two weeks is just a long time for me.  And I am so anxious to start gardening!  All in good time, Jane.  I just keep telling myself that.  I can be such a baby!!

Okay...onward and upward.  We will be home Friday evening.  Business as usual.  I thank you for following along on our adventure.  And shhhhh...I am going to print out pictures at Walgreens of all of our great moments, especially the historical stuff The Husband had on his bucket list.  I'll try my best amateurish job at making a scrapbook for him for Father's Day.  I thought that would be nice.  

See all of you soon (hopefully from Sweet Home Chicago :)

XO,

Jane

MOVING ALONG IN THE SOUTH

Okay...I left you faithful readers in Lexington.  I pray I'm not boring any of you.  I think back to the old days when after having dinner with friends, they hauled out the projection paraphernalia  for everyone to sit and view 2 hours of their vacation in Bora Bora (15 minutes of actual  film and the remainder a narrative during which you all had to secretly keep nudging each other to keep from nodding off).  I personally never experienced this being so very young, but I did watch The Wonder Years religiously.  

Just randomly, I'm posting a picture of a certain restaurant/pub that a certain son of mine is an investor in right across from the University of Virginia.   He has personally never seen it so we stopped, had a few beers and I sent him pictures.  He was quite moved.

Ahem.  We arrived in Charlottesville, VA., on Tuesday (I believe), it's all a blur now as it's Sunday.  First stop was the Hollywood Cemetery and all joking aside, it was an eye opening, solemn experience that I am so very grateful that The Husband insisted be on our itinerary.  No, not homage to any movie stars..,just a very introspective, humbling and eye opening experience as we wandered this peaceful resting place of thousands of Confederate soldiers who fought for this country so long ago.  I was hot and sweating but I just simply followed behind The Husband as he searched and searched for the grave site of  his own personal hero since childhood, Jefferson Davis.  I have nothing else to add right now because I have photos and I want to share them when I have time.  I just want to say...my husband is the most intelligent, well informed, well read man I have ever known in my life.  His thirst for history is only challenged by his knowledge of so much that has been a part of our past and all things relevant to our present and future. I have followed along with him on this journey for the past few days, seeing the places where the civil war began and ended and as we moved south, the courage and devastation  of those that not only played a huge part in the war, but in the different yet quite relative civil rights movement much later....very different but all a part of the intricate map we've followed on this journey to the  South.  Can I say what a great and intelligent man I had as a guide?  Thank you A.

We had a wonderful B&B in Charlottesville, just a hop, skip and a jump from Monticello.  I've always had a love/hate relationship with Thomas Jefferson because he had a love/hate relati0nship with John Adams and I simply love Adams.  Very complicated.  A triangle of sorts.  Oh, these past presidents just wreak havoc with my little mind.  Anywho, I loved the inn, I love our room until I went into our bathroom and saw this.

It took a moment but I finally figured out it was a cat.  Try as I might, I couldn't convince this gal (Daisy) to give me some privacy for God's sake.  Now please, don't get me wrong people (and cat lovers), I love all critters with the exception of bears and alligators for the simple reason that they maim and eat people whole.  We are just a family of allergic people and it's not a great experience if you've ever been through the reaction.  So we're dog lovers and cats are sort of foreign to us.  And can I please say without hurting any cat lovers that their eyes sort of freak me out?  And the way they sort of "swish" their tails?  Okay, while I'm at it, can you trust an animal that doesn't run to the door when you come home?  All tongue in cheek mind you. 

Well, The Husband eventually told the B&B owner that the cat hadn't moved from it's preferred spot on our bathroom rug despite our use of the facilities, which felt somewhat like an invasion of privacy at the time.  The owner sort of laughed when we informed him of this and went and retrieved the critter, but I thought it was sort of weird that he didn't seem to mind ...I mean inhabiting guest's rooms?  Especially allergic paying guests.

 

On to Monticello the next morning.  Just 5 minutes away and up a mountain.  Of course we drove right past it and after 30 minutes realized we needed to turn around.  The B&B owner said many guests hiked to the site and before getting lost I had nudged The Husband a few times saying, "We could definitely do this hike."  Then we were three towns away and my confidence waned.  

Well, this is the gift shop.  Don't you just love hanging out in these before you go on a tour?  I think the buses or shuttles are purposely schedule 45 minutes (rather than the actual 5  necessary) apart so you have no choice but to buy souvenir mugs and collect maps for obscure places that sound much more interesting than where you are.  Apparently, Jefferson and the staff at Monticello inspired many a cookbook and beautifully photographed books of the gardens at Monticello.  Sadly, I found the visitor's center and restrooms better landscaped than the mansion.  I'm sorry, I don't want anyone to be dissuaded from experiencing this adventure themselves...I never even mentioned my thoughts to The Husband.  I'm a firm believer that our opinions are best left to ourselves, our private journals, our BFF's or our blogs that can be read by anyone that has access to the Internet.  That said...work is being done on the surrounding landscape and they may just be updating that kitchen that inspired all those cookbooks with some stainless steel appliances.  

Did I mention Jefferson loved his wine?  A man after my own heart. Funny, I actually had a bottle of wine that I bought in Charlottesville that I would have a little nip of every evening as we got ready to go out for dinner.  I'd pack that same bottle up every morning and it would travel along with us to the next town.  It actually made it to Raleigh with us.  The Husband said I should have marked each slug with a marker, sort of like a child's growth chart.  Ha!

So...I'm skipping ahead to Raleigh, N.C,. I'll get back to Richmond one day soon.  Loved Richmond, just couldn't figure out all the districts, in Chicago we call them parishes but then again we're all Irish Catholics in my neighborhood.  

Here's Mary and I, my wonderful, sweet friend from A Breath Of Fresh Air.  We have been blogger friends forever and I had the pleasure of meeting her once before in Asheville.  She lives in Raleigh and even though it was a little round~about for us, The Husband knew how much I wanted to see her and her wonderful husband, Bob, again.  And I have to tell you...The Husband has confessed that he has really enjoyed meeting the blogger friends we've had the opportunity to get together with over the years.  He and Mary's husband get along like they've known each other for years.  And Mary and I...well, I love her to pieces.  And again...I have more pictures to share of the lovely evening we had dining together at a wonderful restaurant in Raleigh and then going back to their home for dessert and coffee.  Her home is simply out of sight and I could spend hours in her English/cottage style garden, complete with the cutest potting shed that you could eat off the floors in and a gazebo that again, I could spend all day in.  Much more later, but you might want to visit her blog as she has already posted about our visit.  Oh...and the boxy jacket I'm wearing in this photo...Fashion Police would wonder why I'm wearing my father's old bowling shirt (if he had bowled).  Well, it looked good hanging in the shop.  And truly, I have lost weight, it's just hidden under 40 yards of a linen/cotton/polyester blend.

Tonight we're home.  In Asheville.  Our home sweet home away from home. A tease of a picture.  I truly believe in the old adage that you aren't blessed by what you have but by what you've done.  Well, maybe we've done something right to have this gorgeous place in the mountains.  We bought it last September, incredibly through emails and phone calls with the realtor.  Of course we had been here before...we stayed in a studio around the corner.  We had only seen "our place" in pictures.  This is a sort of an inn, a "premier hotel" as they call it.  Studios, one and two bedroom units.  So it's sort of strange, it's ours but people...tourists stay here pretty consistently.  And that's The Husband...always thinking ahead, investing our little nest egg so that we'll have a comfortable retirement.  And wow, we get to have a slice of this paradise every once in awhile!

Okay...a long day behind me and five more days until we head home to Chicago.  I'm dragging him out this week for some horseback riding and a visit to a botanical garden.  And I have a few more blogger friends to meet up with!  Of course he is going to fly fish one day...he better after the h*** I went thorough trying to get his stuff on the plane.  Not knowing it was his gear.  Or maybe I should just hide it.  Hmmmmm...

XO,

Jane

PIECES OF PARADISE

Hey Blog World!  I'm still here!  In Richmond, Virginia to be exact.  We are really having a great time but I got a little breather today when The Husband decided to venture out alone and give me some space as well, so I thought I'd pop in.

The picture above is one I snapped when we were resting at the first inn after our flight from Chicago to D.C.  I could not believe it only took an hour and 20 minutes.  And I slept the first hour!  And yes, I have to admit (sheepishly), I over~packed.  And I learned a lesson:  Never take advice from your 23 year old daughter.  "Don't worry, Mom, just smile and act really friendly and they'll let you go a few pounds over."  So at the airport when the Sky Cap said I was four pounds over the weight limit, I stood around with a goofy smile on my face until he said, "Hon, are you going to start emptying that bag or do you want to pay the $75.00?"  I snapped to attention and started cramming anything I could grab (all that careful ironing and folding...sniff) into my carry on bag.  At times like these The Husband acts like he doesn't know me.  He truly goes into "Stranger Mode"  I had all these people staring as I held up the line.  And then what do you think I pulled out of my bag?  A FLY FISHING CASE COMPLETE WITH A FEW RODS AND GADGETS!!  I actually couldn't get my breath for a second.  When did he slip this into my suitcase?  The only reason he was saved from my wrath is because we had entered the secure check~in area and they frown on public displays of insanity.

The outside of our D.C. inn doesn't really reflect the decor inside as you can see from the first picture.  Purple walls, a zebra striped sofa...it was definitely interesting.  At the end of a hallway on the third floor there was a naked female mannequin reclining in an old claw footed tub.  Different?  The inn was located almost right on the campus of George Washington University.  By the time we had settled  and had lunch, it was too late to go on any tours, so we just let this stop be what it was meant to be...cheaper than flying into any of the other cities on our trip.

I snapped this in front of a restaurant, I like the blue twinkle lights on the tree.  We had dinner and an early night and then we were on the road to Lexington, Virginia bright and early.

A three hour drive took five as we drove through the breathtaking Shenandoah Valley.  We stopped in several towns along the way to browse in antique stores.  Downtown Lexington is small town living at it's best.  We had a late lunch and shopped a little and then off to our inn, about 10 minutes from town down an old country road.  And this is a shot from the driveway.  

Karen was one of the nicest and most welcoming B&B owners we've ever met.  Her husband was out of town so she saw that we were comfy.  The home is done in a feminine sort of country, a little traditional as well.  Maybe someday I will do a post with pictures I took of the rooms at these places.  I've gone back and forth about how I should post about our trip...I certainly don't want to bore anyone.  So...I'm sticking to the highlights. :)

I love when an inn has a family pet.  This is Deuce.  A Burmese Mountain Dog.  And he had a lovable "Woof, woof"!  He wouldn't scare anyone!

A porch wrapped around the entire house and we spent all of our time out there.  Look at the view...

I just couldn't imagine what it would be like to wake up to this everyday.

I did wake up the next morning with The Husband shaking me,  "Quick!  Get your camera!  The sun is coming up!"  Oh, heaven!

Our first B&B breakfast of the trip, Karen made cold strawberry soup which was a first for me and something I will try to make.  And then there were waffles with fruit and whipped cream and she had done something with the bacon.  She explained that she sprinkles brown and pure sugar on the strips along with a drizzle of maple syrup and lets it sit for 20 minutes, then bakes it.  It was delicious!

We all hugged goodbye and then we were off to Charlottesville.  That's a story for another day.  We spent two days there and then on to Richmond and we are on our last day here.  We are staying at another B&B way out in the country.  This place is used for weddings quite often, at least the gardens and pavilions and arbors.  I'm heading out now with my camera.  From our room I can see an oval rose garden with a fountain in the center.  Beyond that there is what looks to be a brook with a small waterfall and swans.  Sigh!

We will be "home" in Asheville on Sunday and I will catch up! :)

XO,

Jane

SOME GARDENING, PUPPY LOVE AND A RECIPE FOR GOOD MEASURE

You know, we always want to pass on good qualities to our kids, or in my own narcissistic way, I'd like them to be my clones, only with all of my good traits, which are few.  Ahem.  Anyway, Emily invited me over last Thursday morning in the vein of helping her plant a few pots of flowers.  She has always been a great help to me because face it, after you've planted a few, you start to get a little giddy and start cramming in orange marigolds with pink petunias just to get the darn mess over with.  So I did.  And we worked and worked and worked.  I planted the flowers in the pots, she added the food, watered and put them in their places.  This one is on her backyard deck.  The tree in the background forms the perfect canopy over it, no umbrella necessary.  

She bought way more than she needed...it's pretty hard to estimate and even after all my years of planting annuals, I always have extra that I have to stick here and there willy nilly.  So she made a big pot for Papa next door and then Mike's parents on the other side of Papa.  Like the little flower pot fairy.  It was a gorgeous day and we worked in the the shadows after the sun went over the house.  Little did I know that it had crept up to 90...yes, 90 degrees that day and we both were red as lobsters!  I guess when you're busy and doing something you love to do, you just don't notice anything else.  Everything looks beautiful in Emilyville.

I apologize with all pics from my cell phone...it's handy.  A mere walk to the backyard for some fresh air and to check texts gets me snapping the antics of the dogs and a new flower here or there.  Look at that Milo...I always called him my Pony Boy after the Bruce Springsteen song.  He has a prance that he does.  I am sure this was a squirrel alert.  I play with my filters and this just accentuates the green of the grass...we are having a rainy spring and everything is budding and blinding us with it's beautiful color.  That is some sort of ivy in the background that goes crazy in the summer...you may have to help me identify it later.  I think it comes from the house behind us.

Son Jeffrey and his gal took a trip to Savannah and Charleston last week.  His girlfriend's cousin is the chef at a very top notch restaurant in Savannah so she was happy to see him and they both enjoyed a wonderful meal.  The cousin, Frank, not to be confused with Hank, (whomever he may be) is one heck of a chef and has appeared several times on The Today Show.  Jeff has all the makings of quite a good cook.  His girl has long hours every day commuting to downtown Chicago for her work, and Jeff works from home.  He is really enjoying the whole cooking experience; from buying fresh meat and ingredients daily, to reading and researching recipes.  Anyway, he brought me this book and I was so touched.  Sheesh, it was a gift and perhaps...perhaps, my work in the kitchen for 29 years may have spawned a real talent.  My gosh!!  A gardener and chef.  What next?  Kevin a reader and Abby a professional napper.? Oh wait, she's achieved that already for sure. 

 

, So many of you know that I truly respect Jeff's privacy...I've posted maybe 5 pictures of him on my blog.  He never said anything about his pup!   And which one is his...I haven't a clue.  Maybe none.  He wanted a good dog and connected with a breeder who's female was was having pups.  He chose a male, the pick of the litter before they were conceived.  And then that happened.  And then his puppy was born.  And then he was given this picture of three of them at about 2 weeks.  Awwwww...and then he waited and waited until today and he picked his little guy...

And looking like The Lion King, here is Tulo.  Oh my goodness, another granddog!!  The pups are some sort of English Golden Retriever and they remain white.  He' gets to bring Tulo home next week.  I am so excited for him.  We are an animal loving family, the kids grew up with Shadow, who we lost when he was just 11.  And now we have Milo and Layla, 10 and 7 respectively.  It's so gratifying to see them carry that love and good heartedness over into their adult lives.  Dear God, I'm going to eat this guy up!!

I am a chicken with it's head cut off getting ready for our trip in just four days.  You know me, I just stress over every little thing and gosh, to stress over a vacation that is supposed to relieve your stress?  That's me!  I need to make an itinerary, not because I'm a Type A (personally a Type A wannabe).  Come 

on, doesn't everyone want to pack all the clothes they own so they have a nice selection to choose from?  Doesn't everyone pack 8 pairs of shoes thinking this is finally the opportunity to wear those 4 inch heels?  I religiously read those magazine aticles where they give you three pieces of clothing and 21 ways to mix and match them over a week. But I swear, I saw pictures in a tabloid of Pippa Middleston's visit to the states 2 summers ago and I spotted a red purse and navy wedges on more than one occasion.  So even royalty (or close) have weight restrictions on their luggage.  At least that's the only reason Pippa was short on style...er, outfits on her visit.  

I see my travels as being very much like Princess Kate's recent trip to Australia and New Zealand (or was it the other way around?).  You have to change several times a day.  Breakfast at the inn...bright eyed, bushy tailed and looking totally not like you woke up 12 minutes before and jumped in the the clothes you had on the night prior.  Then there is the shopping and sight seeing.  While running shoes and a sweater tied around the waist, maybe a Cleveland Indians cap on looks sporty and fun, what happens if you duck into a restaurant for lunch with appetizers on the menu you can't even pronounce?  You've got to be prepared at all costs ladies.  Hence, knowing my innate preoccupation  with being over prepared, before every trip The Husband hauls out the bathroom scale and makes a huge spectacle of weighing himself  and my suitcase and then doing some arithmetic.   I now tend to think of the whole ordeal as an analogy between what Coco Chanel was famous for saying...something along the lines of:  get yourself dressed for the evening and before you walk out the door, remove one thing.  And I try to do with my bag.  Like eliminating a scarf or a pair of chandelier earrings.  Way too much weight.  

  I didn't want to disappoint you without something totally unrelated to the body of my post...remember when I got the credit at Pottery Barn for their terrible, terrible oversight of not having the dishes available that went with my already purchased napkins?  I used my merchandise card for these melamine plates that I"ll use for outdoor dining.  I am head over heels in love with them, I'm just not feeling very victorious.  It's not like me to make a fuss. I have beautiful napkins and beautiful plates just for crabbing about a small oversight.  It doesn't make me feel good.  Although, I am thinking of ordering four more plates to even it out at twelve.  

And I HAVE to leave you with a short recipe because I haven't taken up your entire morning yet.  I simple seasoned some chicken fillets (any way you like) and sauteed them on high heat in 1 T. of olive oil and 1 T. butter.  Remove from pan to a casserole dish.  Add 3 thinly sliced carrots and 1 medium sized zucchini sliced in medium wedges to pan drippings.  Saute until just browned.  Add to the chicken in the casserole.  Heat the reaming juices in the skillet to high.  Add 1/4 c.  white wine and 2 T. of butter and stir until wine evaporates, scraping up the bits and pieces of the chicken and veggies.  Pour over casserole.  Bake at 375 degrees for 30 minutes uncovered.  Great served with rice or potatoes of your choice.  Add salt and pepper and use your imagination with the seasonings on the chicken.  I can't even remember what I used.  And that's the fun!  You can play with the type of veggies you use as well.  And someday...maybe...I will start to give these recipes a name.  Any suggestions for this one?

I hope to get back on Saturday.  Probably to complain a bit more about the preparations for our trip, how my veggie garden is so not happening,  how The Husband has hidden half my shoes... you know, the normal stuff.  See ya soon!

XO,

Jane

SPRING STIRRINGS

I have been seeing so many pictures of pretty spring blooms all over Blogland and finally I finally have some of my own (just when you can't take looking at another!).  My daffodils seem to be lasting much longer than usual as the tulips are now bursting open and I rarely have them both looking so great at the same time.  It really is a riot of color out in the backyard.  I planted these, which I believe are anemones (according to the wrinkled and creased piece of muddy paper which served as my diagram) last fall.  There are some white ones interspersed as well.  I love this shade of blue.

I've had these pretty little tulips for a long time.  It's hard to show you a whole clump of flowers and I'll tell you why...it's The Husband's fault.  Back before he acted like he knew how to garden, as he does now by the way, he got it in his head to rototill the garden bed that ran along the fence where my tulips came up every year.  I walked out that day just as he had finished and was surveying the furrows of rich soil, laden with shreds of roots and pieces of bulbs  that looked a lot like a bag of mixed nuts.  Hysteria ensued as you can imagine.  "I thought they were dead!"  he said in his defense, "I thought you planted them every spring!"   I guess that seems logical...to a complete idiot.

So it's rare that you see a nice big bunch like this...

...more like just one of these here and over there and over...well you get the idea.  It's colorful to say the least.  

Somewhere along the way, The Husband decided he liked the great outdoors.  He really enjoyed snapping on his tool belt when we were up at the lake, but never had much interest in my garden puttering.  Then one day he heard of some sort of homemade fertilizer for our boxwood and started making and using it.  He wanted to put it on some of my flower beds and I said, "No way!  Use it on your stuff and stay away from mine!"  I was probably one of those children who never shared her toys.  So...he started to dig and plant and soon he had flower beds of his own.  Beautiful daisies, knee high I might say.  A gorgeous rock garden.  Containers filled with flowers and plants, a rose tree.  

I remember once asking a friend how it was when she and her husband became empty nesters and eventually retired.  Her face absolutely lit up.  "Oh, my gosh!  We golf together every morning and we hike and ride our bikes.  Most evenings we make dinner together and then watch a movie.  You are going to just love it, Jane!"  Somehow I just don't see that happening.  I'll never golf and I thought, he'd never garden.  And now, here he is on my turf (so to speak).  I'm territorial.   I was aggravated that he was using my tools and leaving them all about.  He was claiming areas to start new beds where he got more sun than me.  He became a BFF with the woman that ran the nursery in town at the lake.  She gave him all sorts of free advice and a few free plants and discounts.  And what really made me want to SCREAM was he would take her advice over mine!  So no, having this little hobby together will never work.  Oh, we'll both be out in the yard together, but certainly not side by side.  And our tools will be color coded.

I share this story with you because The Husband went to the lake alone this past weekend.  He had to take care of some business so he thought he'd just get away alone.  When he came home he went on about how he had trimmed and fertilized and weeded and...well, can you see me getting a little squirmy?  "And then I thought your wisteria needed a little trimming."  Oh, no.  Wrong thing to say.  Wrong, wrong, wrong.  

It's going to be an interesting summer.

The weather was a little dreary here this weekend and I was busy with other things.  Yesterday morning I was ready to burst, I just wanted to get outside so bad.  It was in the mid 60's and the sun was shining.  Still too early to plant anything.  I set up the sprinklers to water my newly seeded lawns and then decided I needed more seed.  Off I went to Home Depot.  I was surprised to see people buying annuals, I just wouldn't risk it, the nights are still slipping down into the 40's.  The pansies were everywhere.  They do well here in the spring and fall but I usually don't splurge on them because they tucker out with the heat.  Except.  I just needed to get my hands in that dirt!  So I caved and got enough to make a pot for the front and back porches.  And I did another daring thing.  I bought a bird feeder!  Yes!!   I've never had one, plenty of birdhouses, but never a feeder.  I always thought that I couldn't keep up with filling one being gone at the lake several days a week.  But I really, really wanted to be able to sit on my patio and see the cuties coming and going.  So I splurged on the cheapest feeder and bag of seed I could find! :)

Me and the dogs had a ball!  We worked and played outside from noon until 4:00.  I planted and watered and brought the patio furniture out.  I scrubbed that down and put the umbrella on.  I got all of my summer things out of the shed...lot's of candles and lanterns and my gardening tools.  I cleaned all of that up.  I hung the feeder and the birdhouse I found awhile ago at Homegoods and finally...we were done.  Look at that Layla!  They really do live for summer!

And all that activity takes it's toll!  Ha!

I don't know why this picture turned out like this, I took it with my camera, I was trying to zoom in and hit something else and this is how it came out, unedited.  If anyone knows what I might have done, let me know.  It almost looks like one of those Waterlogue pictures from an IPhone.   Anyway, dead center is the little feeder.  It has a copper top.  And the birdhouse is there on the left.  It sort of looks like it's suspended in mid air!  This picture was taken from the bathroom window (with the screen open).  When I got up this morning I looked out this window and was so surprised...I actually had two sparrows at the feeder!  I thought it would take awhile for word to get around we were serving breakfast.  And one of the sparrows was going back and forth from the feeder to the birdhouse on the right with the red roof.  Ha!  A B&B!

When I'm busy like I was yesterday afternoon, I always gravitate to pasta for dinner.  I made this in less than 20 minutes.  I'll give you this very quickly as I know I've gone a little longer with this post then I meant to.

While you are boiling a pot of water for the pasta (1 pound of fettuccine or linguine), heat 2 T of olive oil and 3 T of butter in a medium sized skillet or saucepan.  Saute 1/2 cup of finely chopped onion with 2 cloves of finely chopped garlic over low heat.   When soft, add 2 T of pine nuts and cook until just browned.  Toss in 2 cups of loosely packed fresh snow peas and saute until just tender, about 2 minutes.  Grate in about 1 T of lemon zest and the juice of 1 lemon.  Bring to a boil and add 1/2 c white wine.  Let wine cook off, turn to low and season with 1 T of dried tarragon, salt and pepper to taste.  Drain pasta and pour sauce over.  This is great with a tossed salad.  

I'm still working on our upcoming trip.  I have researched and Googled and printed and Googled and I don't want to even think about the itinerary yet.  .  We will be in 6 towns over 7 days.  And then 5 straight days at our condo in Asheville where I am sure we will be too tired to do anything but sleep and loll around by the pool.  I'll tell you more the next time I post.  Hope you're off to a great week! :)

XO,

Jane

OUT & ABOUT AND A MINI~BEDROOM MAKEOVER

Happy May Day!  I have been bumbling about the last few days, working on this, that and the other.  Never quite finishing anything completely before moving on.  The weather beckons outdoors and then the rain shoos us in.  Everywhere I look there is something to be done.  I'm really lucky that on most Thursdays my daughter, Emily, rescues me.  Yes, I have my car back and I'm pretty much out everyday but I just love hanging with her.  Does she feel the same?  Ha!

You might remember that I tried my hand at "forcing" my forsythia branches to bloom indoors.  They didn't make it.  Not sure what I did wrong.  The leaves just dried up right around the time the buds were turning green.  The actual bush in the backyard is just now getting ready to burst with blooms...I think I may wait a little later next year to cut my branches for forcing.  So while Em and I were out last week, I picked up these weedy little faux "somethings".  I'm not a fan of faux flowers but since these French flower buckets are so large, it's going to be a rare occasion that they are filled with the real thing.  So, I chose something blowzy and it's working since no one gets right up to them.  Now I need to find something pretty for each side, not much need for firewood now.  Thankfully.

We heard there was a sale on outdoor furniture and accessories at Pier 1.  Emily was giving me a hard time.  "You do not need anything else for outdoors, Mom.  You bought lanterns and pillows last year." she said.  "Well, you never know what you'll find.  Drive on!" I replied happily..  Well, we saw some cool stuff but it was really only the furniture that was on sale and I don't need any of that.  And I saw some cherry blossom branches that I initially thought would look good in the French tins, but it turned out that the ones I found later at Hobby Lobby were a better deal...I got 5 for the price of 1 at Pier 1.

The stop at Hobby Lobby was because  I needed a few craft supplies for a new banner I'm making...gosh, I love making those!  Emily was on the hunt for a lamp for her bedroom.  She came up to me with this and for a second I thought she was serious!  And then we just about fell on the floor laughing.  Yee Haw!  She ended up finding what she wanted at Homegoods, as well as a few...ahem...decorative outdoor items.  That she didn't need I might add.  I found a birdhouse.  I'll share that another day.  :)

This is Abigail's bedroom.  She had described this comforter to me that she had seen at Target.  Normally she just has her ratty white down comforter on her bed that is a mess from washing it.  She gets super attached to things and she won't give this up or put a duvet over it.  

Friday she left to go north for Tom's (her boyfriend) college graduation.  Quick as a thief I was off to Target and found the quilt and a few toss pillows.  I also bought those prints over the bed and I was scolding myself because they aren't too hard to make.  Still, they were a good price. I added sheer panels which are hard to see with the light.  The curtain rod on the curtain~less window broke so I have to finish that up.  So this was my mini makeover.  I just have the new quilt over her down comforter.

This is the other wall, I just sort of straightened things up.  I didn't touch those shelves.  I think she has every textbook and notebook she ever used in school there.  I've often thought of painting the wood dresser, I have the missing handles in one of the the drawers.  It's really a pretty wood though and she doesn't seem to mind that nothing matches.  Anyway, she was totally surprised and happy.  What do you think?  I think it came to about $100.00.

It's been awhile since I shared a recipe with you.  I took a little sabbatical from cooking after my Easter marathon.  Then we ate leftovers for a week and finally I bought some groceries Monday.  A little secret of mine is that I wish I could have been on Iron Chef America on the Food Network.  I LOVED that show!  Two chefs battle against one another using a single ingredient that is chosen for them both to use in three categories"  A drink, main course and dessert.  And that "secret" ingredient could be anything from eel to papaya.  So...Abby was looking in the fridge after I had taken chicken out for dinner.  Looking directly at me and with full authority in her voice, she said, "I would like chicken over a bed of cooked spinach with a light lemon sauce."  You got it, babe.  I love a challenge.

Fillet 2 large chicken breasts and then cut them in strips about 2 inches long.  Spread the pieces out on your cutting board and season them with 1 t. onion powder and 1 t. garlic powder.  No using fresh here as they will burn.  Add salt and pepper to taste and if you'd like a kick, 1 t. red pepper flakes.  Heat 2 T. vegetable oil in a large pan over medium to high heat and spread chicken out evenly, seasoned side down.  Add the same seasonings to this side of the chicken.  After about 2 minutes, carefully turn the pieces over and let them brown and cook through, about 3 minutes.  Remove to a platter and cover to keep warm.  In the same skillet heat up the juices on low, grate the zest of one whole lemon into the juices and then cut the lemon in half and squeeze the juices from each half into that.  Stir, scraping up the small bits of chicken.  Add 10 oz. of fresh spinach.  Toss and stir until leaves are starting to wilt.  Arrange spinach over four plates.  Top with chicken.  Dress each plate with a small palmful of chopped red onion and pine nuts.  Pour juices from pan over the top of each serving.   Enjoy!

My weekend flew by.  I worked on Abby's room and what seemed like 20 loads of laundry that had crept up over the holiday and while I was feeling bad.  I think I'm pretty much recovered but for some bouts with my asthma but I'm not letting that get me down.  Breathing is overrated.  Sunday was absolutely beautiful.  Rain had been predicted for early in the day but it didn't come until much later in the evening.  Yes!  I started at 8:00 a.m. and cleaned up the yards.  I mulched some flower beds, planted the 65 spring bulbs The Husband bought me a few weeks ago (that sounds like a lot but actually one bag had very small bulbs and I think they accounted for 58 so they all went into one wide hole!).  Then I filled in all of the bare spots in the front yard with a spreader.  Finally I sat and read for an hour on the still somewhat empty patio, and then came in refreshed and happy.  And if it couldn't get any better, we've had rain for 4 straight days so I haven't had to water the seeds or bulbs.  Yay!!

And look who I met for lunch yesterday! Yes, it's Cathy from My 1929  Charmer.  And I got to see the Old Charmer in person!  She really has such a cute home, very pretty and comfortable.  Her sewing skills are amazing, I was drooling over her curtains.  And she has a Viking stove.  Need I say more?  I'm green with envy.  She's so fun, as you can see I'm laughing and I rarely stop when I'm with her!  We were going to go shopping after lunch but would you believe we sat and talked for 3 hours?  I told her next time we shop first!

Things are heating up for our upcoming vacation in more ways than one.  It "heated up" when The Husband informed me we were leaving on May 18 as opposed to a week later than that.  Both of us are denying what we said and heard.  So, our trip is "upcoming" faster than I thought and I am an unorganized mess.  My key role in this vacation (besides the obvious of trying to fit every article of clothing I have into one suitcase) is to plan the itinerary.  I love this job, I have a real talent for scoping out the best places to stay.  This time it's a little more difficult.  For one week we are going to be on a road trip.  After flying from Chicago to D.C., we are renting a car and driving from there to Asheville, stopping and seeing attractions along the way.  So I'm in charge of the attractions, which The Husband has made clear must involve as much of U.S. and civil war history as possible.  I just want to see the mountains.  So far I have reserved an inn to stay at in Washington, D.C., and now I have to find five more.  So far I know we will make stops in Richmond and Charlottesville so I can look for places in those towns and then I have to find 3 more towns on our route.  Oh joy! I know so little about the South!  Actually, it's sort of fun but I've been swamped for time lately.  It will get done...it always does.

So, I'm off.  First, I want to tell you that I wrote a guest post for Laura at Decor To Adore last Friday, I mentioned it in my last post prior to writing it, which wasn't such a great idea since who would remember to look days later.  So click on her blog name for the link and it will take you there.  I will check back for comments and if you have questions, put them in your comment and I will email you. :)

I'm joining Penny at The Comforts Of Home for Tasteful Tuesdays.  Stop by for some great recipes!

XO,

Jane