Once in a Blue Moon

 

In honor of Friday's Full Moon,

which is a Blue Moon , by the way.

 

I decide to post an update on my Moon Garden.

I had some girlfriends over for a Wine and Cupcake party recently,

and my friend Leann said , this doesn't look anything like it did on your blog.

Well...

that's cause I posted that in the spring and it is now August.

So...

this is what it looks like now.

 

 

You can hardly see the wine bottles in the background.

The Moonflower Vine has taken OVER !

 

 

Garden chair ....

 

 

My Datura ,

with many , many buds...

Alas...

they open at night and I have not been able to capture a good enough picture :(

 

 

My Hydrangea are turning pink ...

 

 

They started out white.

I can't believe how much they grew this year considering our lack of rainfall.

 

 

A great container garden combo.

I really expected the elephant ears to get taller though...

 

Not sure where the phrase Blue Moon comes from ?

You can find out all about it here .

 

I hope you are able to get out and enjoy the beauty of the Blue Moon !

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bruschetta ( Trailerhood Version )

I mentioned the other day on FB ,that I had Bruschetta for lunch.

Trailerhood Bruschetta...

 

It is one of my go-to lunches when I am home by myself.

( if Hubs was here ,there would have to be more to lunch... )

Well... it is usually considered an appetizer.

 

Anyway...

I love Bruschetta and try it at most restaurants that offer it.

So light and yummy .

Perfect for a light lunch.

 

I start with some crusty bread .

I picked up a great baguette at Trader Joe's a few weeks ago with bruschetta in mind

and stuck it in the freezer.

 

Side note :

I do NOT live close to Trader Joe's :(

Remember , I live in the boonies...

But it is one of my FAVORITE stores to browse.

What is not to love ?

Cheap wine , fresh flowers ( also cheap ) , a great foods .

( foods not easily or inexpensively found in the boonies )

If I live close to Trader Joe's ,

I'd live on bread and cheese and cheap wine

and ALWAYS have fresh flowers on the table !

( Hubs probably wouldn't agree with that , but oh well... )

 

Anyway...

Back to Trailerhood Brushetta...

 

I have some beautiful , beautiful Roma tomatoes in my little garden.

So..

I chopped some up .

 

 

Then I added some of these fabulous little orange cherry tomatoes.

( I think they are Golden Jubilee , not 100% sure )

 

 

a little chopped onion and basil...

 

Notice , no measurements ?

That's how I role here in the 'Hood.

 

Mix it all together .

Sometimes I add a little olive oil but I didn't this time.

Why?

 

 

Cause this time I spread cream cheese on the wonderful crusty bread.

If you don't like cream cheese,

 (#1 you're crazy , we in the 'Hood think it's a food group all it's own )

I would add a little olive oil.

Some fresh garlic is great too.

Just didn't have any on hand.

 

Next,

top the crusty bread with with the tomato mixture.

 

 

Top that with some freshly grated Parmesan or mozzarella cheese.

( or shredded in the package , which is a bit easier ).

 

put in a pre-heated oven ( 350 ) for 5 minutes or so ,

depending on how crunchy you want your bread.

 

This also works well as an appetizer with either red or white wine.

I love it with a Pinot Grigio , but it would go just as well with Pint Noir.

( in my NON-expert opinion )

 

Super simple.

Simply DELISH.

And a little classy, don't you think ?

 

 

If you try it and enjoy it ,

let me know.

Or if you have your own variation , I'd love to hear it !

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Saying Goodbye to the Dairy Farm

Have I mentioned before that I once lived on a Dairy Farm ?

I did.

For the first 10 years of my marriage we had a dairy farm.

All of my children were born there.

But we have actually lived there on and off for 29 years.

A few years ago my son and his family ( Addie was just a new baby ) bought it and moved there.

And a few weeks ago they sold it.

 

Farming has changed SO much in 29 years...

We had a small dairy .

32 cows ( later expanded to 40 )

Tiny compared to what is even  considered small these days.

The Hubs hated milking.

But it was a good living and provided us with enough money to expand our property to what we have today.

 

But times have changed.

Inputs are high , milk prices are low.

Even with Sarah working full time and Dan working in town part time,

it just wasn't working.

 

The good thing ,

land prices are at an all time high.

They were able to sell the farm , get out from under and buy a house in town.

Addie will move to her new house this weekend.

And I am so excited.

 

You would think I would be sad , but I'm not.

I am however a little nostalgic ( but I'm nostalgic a lot ).

 I have great memories of my children growing up there.

Jumping from hay bale to hay bale...

Swimming in mud puddles...

Running laps in the barn while the cows were eating...

Proms and graduations...

 

Last night at supper , we were talking about all that still needed to be done before the move.

The lawn really needed to be mowed.

So I said I would do it.

( I really do enjoy mowing , weird huh ? )

Dan said I had to use my little Snapper.

( I've always had a small Snapper rider and for some reason the family thinks that is hilarious )

And I said , of course , as long as you ride in the coaster wagon behind !

(I always put the coaster wagon on behind my mower with the kids in it . I know , I know , I have NO idea how they survived to adulthood. But I always knew where they were.  )

 

Anyway....

After 29 years , I mowed the lawn at the Dairy Farm for the last time.

 

 

One of my favorite things about the Dairy Farm has always been this rock wall.

I spans the whole front yard .

It was built before the road was even paved.

You can't really tell from the picture , but it had to be taken a part and moved in sections when the road was paved.

 

 

When we moved here there was a remnant of a rock wall on the right side of the barn.

Hollyhocks grew a long the front.

But sadly we had a hired hand that was opposed to hollyhocks and they disappeared.

 

 

This one made me a little weepy.

When we moved to the farm , this pine tree was the size of the small one in front of it.

That was long ago

or feels like it anyway.

 

 

Goodbye Dairy Farm.....

 

Change is always hard...

 

 

 

 

But ,  I think this change is gonna be a good thing !Sunday Showcase@ Under the Table and Dreaming http://www.bystephanielynn.com/
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Linking up to :

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Peanut Butter Cup Cupcakes

Today was my friend Kathy's 60th birthday.

She doesn't read my blog , so I'm not worried about sharing that info :)

She loves sweets of any kind and especially chocolate.

I made supper for her and her son and knew the perfect dessert to serve.

I found this recipe a few weeks ago at The Little Kitchen .

And pinned it to my Cupcake Board .

I have have made them three times in the last couple weeks.

They are absolutely EVERY ONE'S favorite !

My son said there is no reason to make any other kind of cupcake !

Before I "pin" a recipe ,

I follow the link to make sure it is something I will actually make.

I am a lazy cook ( baker , gardener , decorator , etc. the list goes on and on ),

so if the recipe is too complicated , I'll just pass.

( no matter how delish their pictures look )

I am a semi- homemade kind of cook/baker.

I make homemade soup but am not above using ready made broth.

Same with cakes and cupcakes.

I like simple recipes that start with a box mix and add some special ingredients to make them fantastic !

And these fit the bill perfectly !

The most time consuming part of this recipe is unwrapping all those little peanut butter cups !

Look at that pile of wrappers !

Also , I'm not really one to really follow directions...

For instance ,

you are supposed to fill the cupcake wrappers with 3 tablespoons of batter,

then put the peanut butter cup in .

Did I measure ?

Of course not.

Were they still delish ?

Of course.

They may have been a little bigger ,

( that could be why I only got 26 instead of the 30 the author got )

but my family has never complained about cupcakes being too big !

One important direction you should follow though ,

freeze the peanut butter cups.

I ran short and had to use some that were not frozen,

it didn't affect the flavor ,

but they kind of melted into the cupcake....

I'm not going to post the recipe , cause it's not mine.

I will however continue to make them over and over again.

Unless of course my family pisses me off, then they will have to beg forgiveness to get them again !

Anyway...

Please follow the link for this recipe !

You will not be disappointed !

Promise !

Time to Harvest my Vineyard

OK , so I don't really have a VINEYARD ,

I have this ,

A long grape arbor along the back fence by the corn field.

I don't think they had been taken care of for quite a while before we bought this place.

As  I drink wine and don't make it ,

it's enough of a vineyard for me.

Today when I was mowing the lawn,

( for only like the forth time this summer ! )

I noticed the grapes were already ripe.

Most of them anyway.

Aren't they beautiful ?

I'm not sure how many years these vines have been here .

I think quite a while .

I believe they are good old fashioned Concord grapes.

Perfect for homemade jelly and juice.

I prefer jelly ,

but hubs LOVES fresh grape juice.

( I ,of course, prefer my grape juice fermented ! )

I suppose whoever picks them will get to choose how to use them .

Hmmm......

Wonder if he'll go for that ?

Pinspiration....Again

Here's a little somethin'  somethin' I made while I was on my blogging hiatus.

I called it a garden bench

but it isn't really.

I wouldn't want that fabric out in the elements.

But it would be great on a porch ,

or entry,

or anywhere really.

My inspiration can from this pin ,

 

but  I had to track down the source.

The pin just said facebook.com.

Well, I knew Zuckerburg didn't make it

so...

a little more digging was necessary.

I was lead to this facebook page.

  I feel it is VERY important to give credit where credit is due .

That was my inspiration but as you can tell by my first picture,

I had to switch it a bit .

I started with a set of chairs.

Hubs screwed them together for me.

He always shakes his head at my ideas ,

but I have to say ,

he was pretty impressed with the result of this one.

A little purple paint .

A board cut to fit across both chairs

( sorry no pictures of that step )

Some fabric and a little foam.

( again, no picture )

and walaa...

A purple chair bench ....

Notice the little bench in back ?

Yea, that will be another post :)

Oh yea, if you want to see my pin boards

or

maybe follow me,

go here ,

http://pinterest.com/dgarbes/inspiration/

Another Trip Around the Sun

This is the eve of my 47th birthday.

That's right ,

I am so close to fifty I can taste it.

I know it's a big deal to some ,

but it's never been to me.

It's just a number.

I've always intended to grow old gratefully

( gracefully would be impossible for me )

Tonight I went to see Rock of Ages.

Not the Broadway play

( which I have also seen and is fantastic by the way )

but the big screen adaptation.

Tom Cruise , Alec Baldwin , Russel Brand .

I have to say I was very sceptical.

I have not been a Tom Cruise fan for quite a while.

( probably since the 80's )

And I really couldn't picture Alec Baldwin in the role of Dennis.

But Russel Brand always cracks me up , so I gave it a shot.

If you haven't seen it or the play,

the premise is ,

 small town girl and boy ( cue a song ) go to the big city to be rock stars and end up working in a bar that the city is trying to tear down .

They fall in love amidst Bon Jovi , Journey, Whitesnake and REO songs.

Then there is the wacked out rock star ( Tom Cruise , who I have to admit is wacked out enough to play the part well ) , his sleazy promoter , the bar owner ( Baldwin ) and his side kick ( Brand).

I think Cruise channeled his own wacked out persona and mixed it with a little Lestat the vampire and I guess he was perfect in a really creepy way ( still not a fan ).

The young stars ( Sherry and Drew ) were played by Julianne Howe ( Dancing with the Stars ) and Diego Boneta . They did a very good job.

But the real stars of this movie was the music.

There wasn't a 80's song left behind.

And if you are an 80's girl like me , the music will carry the movie.

It's starts at the opening scene with Night Ranger's Sister Christian and ends with Journey's Don't Stop Believing , and in between it's non stop music ( plus quite a bit of comedy ).

I laughed my ass off at Alec Baldwin and Russel Brand's duet  Can't Fight This Feeling.

HILARIOUS !

Is it going to win any prestigious awards ?

Probably not.

But for this 80's girl on the eve of her 47th birthday it was just what I needed.

It took me back to the Glory Days ( no there was no Springsteen in the movie ).

Just plenty of feel good music and nostalgia.

 For me , it was a perfect way to celebrate another trip around the sun .

What music or movie takes you back ?

I'd LOVE to hear them.

August Pinteresting Project #1

 As I told you in my last post ,

I have been doing a lot of Pinterest projects lately.

( Just haven't been posting about them )

I had wanted to do a project a day,

but I knew that was WAY to ambitious for me !

Plus I don't get much done on Addie days....

So it will be sporadic...

but here is project #1.

I got this mirror at a church sale a while back for $5.

It has great detail.

I wasn't sure what I was going to do with it at first,

but I knew the gold had to go .

Then I remembered something I had pinned.

( yep , I've pinned so many things , I easily forget them )

It was from  centsationalgirl.com.

She told how she used a votive candle to rub over the detail on a chair,

then painted it and the paint wouldn't stick to the wax.

Perfect , right ?

So first I painted the mirror red.

Then a rubbed a tea light over the flowers and some of the squiggles.

Then painted it white.

Now, here is where I screwed up.

First , I should have re-read the post with instructions.

Then I would have known to use baby wipes to wipe off excess paint :(

Second , I think I let it set to long before trying to wipe it off .

Double :(

Anyway ....

I got out my little sanding block and went over some of it.

It worked , but not with the results I wanted ....

Bad picture #1

Bad picture #2.

Close up.

Moral of the story ,

when attempting a project you have pinned ,

first read the original instructions :)

Oh well...

it's still better than the gold :)

Linking to :

Meet Me Monday @ You're Talking Too Much http://youaretalkingtoomuch.blogspot.com/
More the Merrier Monday @ DIY Home Sweet Home http://diyhshp.blogspot.com/
So Very Creative Party@ So Very Creative http://soverycreative.blogspot.com/
Make a Scene Monday @ Alderberry Hill http://alderberryhill.blogspot.com/
Make it Yourself Monday @ An Original Belle http://anoriginalbelle.blogspot.com/
What's in the Gunny Sack @ The Gunny Sack http://www.thegunnysack.com/
Metamorphosis Monday @ Between Naps on the Porch http://betweennapsontheporch.blogspot.com/
ShowMe What You Got @ Our Delightful Home http://www.ourdelightfulhome.blogspot.com/
Party Time Tuesday @ Northern Cottage http://www.northerncottage.net/
Cowboy Up Creative Linky Party @ The Farmehouse Porch http://farmhouseporch.blogspot.com/
Inspiration Board Linky Party @ Homework http://carolynshomework.blogspot.com/
Tout it Tuesday @ Claiming our Space http://www.claimingourspace.com/
Tutu's and Teaparties Pinteresting Party http://tutusandteaparties.blogspot.com/
A Pinteresting Party @ Here's to Handy Andy http://herestohandyandy.blogspot.com/
Show off Your Stuff @ Fireflies and Jellybeans http://firefliesandjellybeans.blogspot.com/
Primp Your Stuff Wednesday@ Primp http://micheleravendesigns.blogspot.com/
Your Whims Wednesday @ My Girlish Whims http://mygirlishwhims.blogspot.com/
Show and Tell Friday @ My Romantic Home http://romantichome.blogspot.com/
Feathered Nest Friday @ French Country Cottage http://frenchcountrycottage.blogspot.com/
Inspiration Friday @ At the Pickett Fence http://atthepickettfence.com/
Fabulous Friday @ Faith,Trust, and Pixie Dust http://michellelunt.blogspot.com/
Fridays Unfolded @ Stuff and Nonsense http://www.stuff-and-nonsense.net/
Shine on Friday @ Happy-Go_Lucky http://happy-go-lucky-harvey.blogspot.com/
FFA @ Sassy Sites http://sassysites.blogspot.com/
Delicately Constucted Friday @ Delicately Constructed http://www.delicateconstruction.com/
Creative Genius Party @ Creative Paige http://thecreativepaige.com/
Weekend Bloggy Reading @ Serenity Now http://www.serenitynowblog.com/
Say G'Day Linky Party @ Natasha in Oz http://www.natashainoz.com/
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