Thrift Store Redux

I love a good thrift store and while my mother was visiting this week she was admiring my living room redo. As I was pointing out where I had acquired everything I realized that about 95% of everything in my living room was thrifted. I'm really proud of the fact that my home is comfortable and homey, yet didn't cost me much at all to put together. I'm always on the hunt for new and interesting pieces and as any true thrift store devotee knows it's all about the hunt. You have to frequent stores regularly. Sometimes it's hit, sometimes it miss...but it's all an adventure. So, I thought I'd take you on a little tour of my living room. First off you see the coffee table. That came from a thrift store in Fayetteville, NC. Awesome place to go thrifting because of the military presence. Frequently rather than move stuff they will donate it. The table is from "This end's up". It's one of those cargo style furniture stores and the table is nearly indestructible. As you can see the kids have painted on it and use it as there train/activity table. Talk about the distressed look, lol! I have the end tables too...but use them in other places in the house. The love seat came from my mom, who bought it off a friend who got it out of her physician husbands office. It used to be electric blue. I've had it reupholstered in cream...which was not at all kid friendly, so now I have an inexpensive slipcover from Surefit. Although not pictured, the couch is a very high end find from a local thrift store. Since I live in the state that is considered the furniture capital of the world sometimes they have to do something with samples and store models...lucky for me I scored a classically shaped, down filled couch. It's the best and oh so comfortable. The buffet, I just adore. Scored from craigslist (also a great place to find stuff). It's circa 1960's from what I can gather and has an immense amount of storage. I also got a 1970's storage wardrobe to use to hide away all the kids toys. Even the art work and mirror are from the thrift store. The curtains I made myself. I found a 33 yd bolt of Waverly upholestry fabric at a thrift store for $50. I had originally planned to make slipcovers for the couch and loveseat, but I think the little splash of red throughout the room is a better use of the fabric. The winerack bar in the corner is a really cool iron work piece picked up from Goodwill. I just love it for it's uniqueness and the fact that it can store 40 bottles of wine too.
So there you have it, my thrift store redux.

My silly ones!

I wanted to get a picture of O. in her Oliver + S lazy days skirt and her brothers insisted on being in the picture. It was hard to get them to stay still and pose for a picture. I thought they were pretty funny though. The lazy days skirt is really fun and easy. A great use for a small amt. of scrap fabric and something to do with all that ribbon and trim I've purchased, lol. I see many, many more of these in O.'s future.

Monday's meal

The weather is getting cooler and that calls to mind comfort foods. One of my favorite comfort foods is meatloaf. Paired with mashed potatoes and green beans I can't think of many other meals that brings to mind comfort food better.
There's many versions of meatloaf, and in my opinion they're all pretty good. Here's one version I thought I'd share.

Homemade meatloaf

1 1/2 pounds ground turkey (or if you can find it meatloaf mix)
1/2 cup crushed buttery round crackers (such as ritz)
1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
1 (1 ounce) package dry onion soup mix
2 eggs, beaten
1/4 cup ketchup
2 tablespoons steak sauce



Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Stir the ground turkey, crushed crackers, Cheddar cheese, and onion soup mix in a large bowl until well combined. Whisk the eggs, ketchup, and steak sauce in a separate bowl until smooth. Mix the eggs into the meat until evenly combined, if the mixture seems too dry, add a little water. Press into a 9x5 inch loaf pan. Bake in preheated oven until the meatloaf is no longer pink in the center, approximately 45 to 60 minutes.

M.'s big day!

My youngest son turned 5 recently and to celebrate he invited a few friends to join him at the Little Gym. It was very nice. They did all the work, I just showed up with the cake and the check, lol.

What's in a name?

I've been wanting to get labels made up to put into all the items I sew. You know, to add a bit of professionalism to them. However, my kids hate tags. One of the girls on sewing mamas made labels using twill tape and that seems like a cool idea to try. But, I've decided I would also get a stamp so I could just stamp my name onto the items. I've found some really cool one's on ebay, but I haven't been able to decide what to call myself. A friend at work made a suggestion, but no one would really get it unless they knew the story behind it. I thought about a nickname from high school. Or a play on my kids name. Or something completely original. I simply can't decide. Do you have a suggestion. How do you decide what to call your creativity? It's so hard to come up with something that says everything you want it to say. Seriously, if you have a suggestion...let me know.

Monday's meal

No respectable southern cook lacks a recipe for red velvet cake. It's a must. I was just at a function this past week and tasted a slice of this delicious southern favorite and thought I would share a recipe for one. Simply Delicious! Enjoy!

Red Velvet Cake

1 cup unsalted butter, softened
3 cups white sugar
6 eggs
1 ounce red food coloring
3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup buttermilk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar


Icing

2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese
12 ounces white chocolate
1 cup unsalted butter, softened



Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Grease and flour three 8 inch pans. In a large bowl, cream 1 cup butter with sugar. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Mix food coloring with cocoa and add to mixture. Add flour alternately with buttermilk. Add vanilla and salt. Mix baking soda with vinegar, and gently stir into mixture. Be careful not to over mix. Divide batter into three prepared 8 inch round pans. Bake at 325 degrees F for 25 minutes. Allow to cool.
To make the White Chocolate Cream Cheese Icing: Melt the white chocolate and allow to cool to lukewarm. In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese until light and fluffy. Gradually beat in melted white chocolate and softened butter. Beat until it is the consistency of whipped cream, then frost the cake layer and stack.

With baited breath

I await the arrival of my newest acquisition...an elna supermatic!!! Woo Hoo, it was one of the last two machines on my wish list, the other being a bernina 830. I had been trolling Craigslist for months, finally expanding my search to neighboring states. Well, I finally located one outside of Richmond, Va. and this morning my good friend D. went and picked it up for me. I'm very excited! Even more exciting, it was free! Seems the last time the lady who owned it used it ran fine, but when she went to check it, it didn't stitch so she said I could just have it. I'm not worried...I'm sure I can bring her back. Now we just have to figure out the most cost effective way for me to get it here as she said it's a tank and weighs a ton! I can't wait to get it and give it a go. I know that Elna's of this era are well regarded and wonderful stitchers. I will have to join a vintage elna group to learn more about these amazing machines! Just wanted to share my joy and anticipation as I await the arrival of my dream machine.