Living Room

Still settling in...

My little reading corner...found the yellow flower pillow at Target.

We do not have a bar area in this house, so now we have four bar stools from Ikea that I've been trying to be creative finding places for.

Pendant Lighting

I'm thinking this pendant light from Pottery Barn might work out really well over the table...

What do you think?

That Martha...

Has everything!!! When did this happen? Martha has a line of pet supplies at Petsmart!

Love this little bed, I think both of our dogs could fit in it together.

A bath tub for your puppy!

And a tote for supplies!

Treat Jars...love the Martha blue!

Sneak Peek

Still getting things put away and organized. Hopefully this weekend I will get things hung on the walls. I just realized... in this picture you can see entry way, dining room and kitchen haha!

Cake Balls and Oreo Truffles

I have been practicing Bakerella's Cake Balls. She makes it look so easy... and she is SO creative. I'm still working on trying to get mine smooth~

And these are Bakerella's Oreo truffles. Even easier than the Cake Balls, and only because you don't have to bake a cake :)

You can find the recipe for the Cake Balls here. You can use any cake mix/frosting/candy melt combo that you like.

And the recipe for the Oreo Truffles here.

Home Sweet Home

Our new digs

So cottagey! The yard needs some TLC, but we'll get it in shape :)

I love all the windows, and the corner window in the family room is great.

Yay, gas stove and updated kitchen.

The washer and dryer have to go at the end of the cabinets, the other choice is down in the basement...I don't think that sounds like too much fun, this will be way more convienent.

I love the charm of these old houses... notice the archways? This is taken from the family room looking into the dining room, and then the kitchen. (obviously haha!)

So happy to have hardwood floors! No carpet, yay!!!

Family room corner window.

Family room, taken from the dining room.
I'm looking forward to decorating. The backyard is the size of a small park, also in need of some TLC, but a place for a garden :) Rosie and Roxie are going to love it! More pictures to come.

Strawberry Jam

Strawberry jam is the first thing that I learned to can several years ago. Water bath canning, and strawberry jam is a good place to start, and it really isn't as difficult as you may think. Once you make your own homemade jam, you'll never buy store-bought again. Soon you'll be thinking of all kinds of fruits that you can turn into jam... the possibilities are endless. Then there's jellies and syrups...yum!!

It doesn't take much to get started, and most of the things you need are at the hardware store.A large water bath canner with rack, a jar lifter, magnetic wand, wide-mouth funnel, and a canning book. I really like this one.

STRAWBERRY JAM

5 cups fresh strawberries, hulled and mashed

7 cups sugar

4 Tablespoons fresh lemon juice

1 package (49 g) powdered fruit pectin

1/2 Tablespoon unsalted butter

Place 8 or 9 8 ounce canning jars in the water bath canner, fill with water to cover jars, and bring to a simmer.

In a small sauce pan simmer the center lids.

In a large pot or dutch oven (at least 6 quart or larger) add mashed strawberries, lemon juice, pectin, and the butter. Bring to a full boil. Add the sugar all at once and stir to distribute sugar. Bring back to a full rolling boil, and boil for 1 minute, 15 seconds. Turn off heat and skim the foam off the top with a spoon.

Remove one jar at a time from the simmering water. Using the wide-mouth funnel, ladle jam into jar leaving 1/4 inch space at the top.

Run a knife down the side of the jar to remove any air bubbles.

Wipe the rim of the jar with a damp cloth to remove any residue.

Remove center lid from simmering water and place on jar. Put screw bands on jars being careful not to over tighten. Repeat with all the jars. If you end up with a portion of a jar you can use that jar right away (refrigerate). It does not need to go in the canner.

Once all jars are filled, place on canning rack and lower back into the water bathe canner. Cover with lid and bring to a full boil. Boil 10 to 12 minutes. Turn off heat and leave jars in the canner an additional 5 minutes. Remove jars using jar-lifter and leave jars undisturbed for 24 hours.

After 24 hours, remove screw bands and check the seal of the jars. The center lid should have no give. If there are, store those jars in the fridge.