One of my perpetual January tasks is to focus on getting organized. I’m always on the hunt for boxes and baskets to corral my stuff, particularly in closets and my crafting space. I needed a small basket to hold toiletries in the bathroom closet, and this one fit the bill. Almost.
As much as I enjoy word art, I didn’t love the word “dream” on the side of the fabric liner. So, out came my embroidery scissors and seam ripper.
Taking care not to cut through the liner fabric, I removed the embroidery. I pulled all those stray threads out from the front and back of the liner.
Now the liner is perfect, and surprisingly, I’m still able to dream without that bossy basket ordering me to do so!
Don’t be afraid to buy a decor item that almost works, if you can alter it to fit your needs.
Disclosure: In addition to occasional sponsored posts, Arthurized Home uses clickable affiliate links. That means that I may receive a small commission from sales at no extra charge to you. As always, my opinion is 100% my own, and I only recommend things that I truly love or use myself. Thank you for patronizing the brands that support Arthurized Home!
With Christmas in the rear-view mirror, I’d just as soon go straight to spring and gardening season. Since that won’t happen, I’ll busy myself with a few garden tasks while the snow flies.
This year I’m planting a few types of seeds that benefit from cold stratification. In a nutshell, stratification is subjecting the seeds to cold, moist conditions in order to mimic winter dormancy. This softens up the hard seed coat and when warm temperatures arrive, it signals the seed to open and grow. Some seeds will not germinate (or will germinate very poorly) without it.
Depending on the seed, it could need anywhere from 1-3 months of stratification; this information will be printed on the seed packet. I’m experimenting with two varieties of lavender because it is a good companion plant for nearly everything else in the garden.
I’m also planting milkweed to draw pollinators to the yard. My father-in-law (affectionately known as Pa Kettle) planted milkweed for my mother-in-law so she could collect monarch caterpillars and watch them transform. Each fall, her front porch and dining room table were filled with butterfly cages. She was the cutest little mad scientist! Her middle school students enjoyed watching the process and learning about the life cycle of monarch butterflies.
This is my first attempt at cold stratification, and I’ve read that you can use either peat moss or sand. Being a more-is-more girl, I decided to try each, plus a 1:1 mixture of peat and sand. The process is the same regardless of the medium.
Some articles suggested sterilizing the planting medium so I placed my peat and sand into the oven on the lowest setting for a few hours.
Prepare plastic bags or other containers by writing the seed name and date for removal from cold stratification on the bag.
Now for the fun part! Mix a little water into the peat or sand until you can form it into a ball. The medium should be thoroughly but only slightly dampened. You should not be able to squeeze water out of the mixture. Excess moisture could cause the seeds to mildew or rot.
Mix the seeds into the medium and place into the prepared bags. Pop the bags into the lowest part of your refrigerator and you’re done!
I’ll check on mine occasionally to make sure they haven’t germinated. If some seeds do sprout, I will transfer them to planting trays and keep them in a warm, sunny spot until I can plant them outside.
Have you had any success with cold stratification? Do you have any tips to share? I’m all ears!
Disclosure: In addition to occasional sponsored posts, Arthurized Home uses clickable affiliate links. That means that I may receive a small commission from sales at no extra charge to you. As always, my opinion is 100% my own, and I only recommend things that I truly love or use myself. Thank you for patronizing the brands that support Arthurized Home!
Happy New Year! I hope your Christmas/New Year’s break was an enjoyable time. We had a quiet Christmas with the Arthur fam, ate a delicious brunch and had a leisurely visit.
My sis and nieces came to visit on Boxing Day and stayed through New Year’s Day. We played some new games, watched movies, crafted, ate loads of snacks and generally trashed our sleep schedules. We rang in the new year with our midnight silly string battle on the front lawn. It was fantastic.
One of my goals this year is to reduce our food waste, so we’ve decided to limit our dinners on the menu to four per week. This gives us a night to eat out, a leftovers night and (let’s just be honest), a night to eat popcorn and call it dinner! #reallife
Lunch: Cozy Autumn Wild Rice Soup – New Recipe! This recipe is very forgiving. For the veggies we used kale, sweet potatoes, carrots and celery. We didn’t have any Old Bay seasoning (my brother will be ashamed of me), so we used Italian seasoning and subbed brown rice for the wild rice. Basically, we used the recipe as a jumping off point and then went totally rogue! https://www.gimmesomeoven.com/cozy-autumn-wild-rice-soup/
Snacks: I’m still loving the organic hummus from Aldi, so I’ll snack on that this week along with cucumber slices, bell pepper strips and carrot sticks. Nothing revolutionary, just easy snacks during my busiest season at work.
Treats: Stovetop Cinnamon Apples: New Recipe! My sister made a version of these while she was here and left us a bag of apples to enjoy. I’ll leave the maple syrup out of this; the apples add enough sweetness. https://joyfoodsunshine.com/stovetop-cinnamon-apples/
Let’s have another look at those breakfast cookies, shall we?
I hope your new year is off to a great start and brings only good things!
Disclosure: In addition to occasional sponsored posts, Arthurized Home uses clickable affiliate links. That means that I may receive a small commission from sales at no extra charge to you. As always, my opinion is 100% my own, and I only recommend things that I truly love or use myself. Thank you for patronizing the brands that support Arthurized Home!
A few years ago, I grouped our Christmas mugs, and hot cocoa fixings to create a little beverage center on one shelf of the Hoosier. We liked it so well that we’ve done it every year since then. Our guests can help themselves, and we simply replenish the supplies throughout the season.
I painted the sign on a scrap board leftover from another project.
We like to offer a selection of chocolate, marshmallows and peppermint candies for flavoring drinks.
This short string of lights is meant to surround a computer monitor, but it’s the perfect length for framing the beverage center. We’ve got it plugged into an adapter and timer.
This little snowman mug is a favorite gift from my mother-in-law.
Keep a supply of spoons nearby for mixing cocoa, and stirring honey into tea.
My sister (who knows me all too well!) gave me this sign, and I love it. It’s a good reminder this time of year!
This little tractor is one of my husband’s childhood toys. It is on display somewhere in the house throughout the year. Apparently, we had a bumper crop of peppermint!
Merry Christmas from Arthurized Home!
Disclosure: In addition to occasional sponsored posts, Arthurized Home uses clickable affiliate links. That means that I may receive a small commission from sales at no extra charge to you. As always, my opinion is 100% my own, and I only recommend things that I truly love or use myself. Thank you for patronizing the brands that support Arthurized Home!
Now, this is my kind of wreath-making! Quick, easy and no tromping through the woods to gather materials. Plus, this wreath is delicious! It’s elegant in its presentation, but very simple to create.
To make your own antipasto wreath, you will need:
A large, round serving tray or platter. For reference, my tray is 14″ in diameter. This wood tray is lovely and large.
Fresh rosemary, cut into approximately 6″ lengths. The rosemary imparts a subtle, woodsy flavor to the appetizer.
Tasty baubles of your choosing. I used mozzarella pearls, grape tomatoes, green and kalamata olives. Cheese cubes, salami rounds and quartered artichoke hearts would be delicious as well.
Begin creating the wreath base by laying the rosemary in a circle. I worked counter-clockwise keeping the cut ends to the right. The raised edge of the platter helps to hold the shape of the wreath. Continue adding rosemary until you’re happy with the thickness of the base.
A few short rosemary stems pointing into the center of the wreath add rustic texture.
Next add the mozzarella pearls. I like to imagine they are ribbons encircling the wreath.
Nestle grape tomatoes into the wreath between the mozzarella pearls.
Then add green and kalamata olives.
Don’t do what I did, and accidentally buy olives with pits in them. Oops! Parties are awkward enough without attempting to (gracefully) spit a pit out.
Refresh the wreath as needed during your party.
No rosemary? Don’t enjoy olives? (Mr. Arthurized Home raises hand) Try a caprese twist on the wreath, arrange basil leaves to form the wreath base, and decorate with mozzarella pearls and grape tomatoes. Sprinkle a generous chiffonade of basil leaves on top. Drizzle the wreath with balsamic reduction or serve it on the side.
May all your Christmas parties be fantastic! Merry Christmas!
Disclosure: In addition to occasional sponsored posts, Arthurized Home uses clickable affiliate links. That means that I may receive a small commission from sales at no extra charge to you. As always, my opinion is 100% my own, and I only recommend things that I truly love or use myself. Thank you for patronizing the brands that support Arthurized Home!
Slowly but surely, we’re decorating the house for Christmas. We’ve never been early decorators, although I admire those who are. I just can’t get it together. We buy our tree later in the season, so it is fresh for our family visiting between Christmas and New Year’s Day. Don’t want the tree to be the first to leave the party!
Some years we’ve had to buy the Charlie Brown trees due to our tardiness, but we love the scraggly ones just the same. Amid all the last-minute preparations, here’s what we’re eating this week:
Lunch: Crock-Pot Italian Chicken Soup – Creamy (dairy-free!) and packed with flavor, this recipe is a favorite! It’s very forgiving; use whatever veggies you have on hand. If including broccoli, add it during the last hour of cooking so it doesn’t get mushy. Top with chopped parsley and a little parmesan cheese if you like. http://yourworldnatural.blogspot.com/2013/01/whole30-challenge-day-10-and-delicious.html
Snacks: Bananas, Apples, Grapes, Avocados, Oranges. Almost daily, Mark makes popcorn in his Whirley-Pop. Who needs potato chips when you’ve got a fresh bowl of hot popcorn? A sprinkling of Lily’s chocolate chips makes it a decadent treat. We’re also having roasted red pepper hummus with cucumber slices, and an antipasto snack of olives, grape tomatoes and mozzarella pearls. And by *we* I mean *me*; Mark doesn’t do hummus, or olives.
Treat: With all the Christmassing going on, we really don’t need a treat this week. See also, sprinkling chocolate chips on popcorn, above.
How cute are these vintage (1960’s?) popcorn bowls I thrifted a million years ago?!
I hope your week is off to a happy start, with loads of fun activities planned for the days ahead!
Disclosure: In addition to occasional sponsored posts, Arthurized Home uses clickable affiliate links. That means that I may receive a small commission from sales at no extra charge to you. As always, my opinion is 100% my own, and I only recommend things that I truly love or use myself. Thank you for patronizing the brands that support Arthurized Home!
I know it’s cliche, but coming up with gift ideas for the men in my life is no easy task. Generally speaking, if they want something, they just order it. They’re problem solvers like that. If you get stuck trying to think of fun stocking stuffers for the men in your life, here are a few ideas:
My Grandpa would have loved this one; one of his favorite shirts said “So what?” on the front. The back side said “Who cares?”
Grooming Gifts:
Retro Rocket Trimmer – Ya gotta do it anyway, might as well make it fun. Mark’s had this one for several years and it’s still going strong.
Caffeinated Shave Products Fresh smelling and moisturizing. He needs a little more caffeine in his life.
A rock? Sure, if it’s one of these. Favorite scents: Watermelon Tourmaline, Turquoise, Marble and Malachite Have this one on hand if he’s on Santa’s naughty list this year.
For the guy who knows his way around in the kitchen:
Dishwasher Sign We have and love this. This handy product puts a stop to those scintillating questions like “Do I need to start the dishwasher?” and “Is this ready to unload?” You have more important things to discuss.
If you have go-to stocking stuffers for men, I’d love to hear about them in the comments. I’m always up for some new ideas. Happy shopping!
Disclosure: In addition to occasional sponsored posts, Arthurized Home uses clickable affiliate links. That means that I may receive a small commission from sales at no extra charge to you. As always, my opinion is 100% my own, and I only recommend things that I truly love or use myself. Thank you for patronizing the brands that support Arthurized Home!
Oh, y’all. We are in the throes of it now. Christmas decorating, shopping, gift wrapping and cooking has begun in earnest. And I love all of it!
On Friday evening, we attended my company Christmas dinner at the historic Hotel Roanoke and Conference Center. The hotel absolutely sparkled from top to bottom with all the Christmas trees decorated by community groups. We’ll go back and stroll through one evening when it’s not as crowded. It’s a fun, local tradition and definitely worthwhile!
Turkey Herbed Stuffing-Style Riced Cauliflower – Here’s a nice, light dinner or serve as a side dish with a piece of grilled chicken. For extra flavor, I like to add a tablespoon of poultry seasoning in addition to the other herbs. https://cleanfoodcrush.com/cauliflower-stuffing/
Convert Kale Salad – We’re definitely getting our greens this week. It’s called ‘convert’ because people who think they don’t like kale, try it and convert. I usually sub in pecans for the pine nuts. Don’t skip the step of massaging the kale! Make this a day ahead, so the kale softens in the dressing. This is a good salad for meal prep as it keeps well in the fridge for a few days. http://belated-bloomer.blogspot.com/2016/01/a-little-wrap-up-of-these-finals-days.html
Pre massage.Mix up the dressing. Post massage.
Snacks: Bananas, Mangoes, Avocados, Cukes, Celery and Almond Butter, Popcorn Same ol’, same ol’.
Disclosure: In addition to occasional sponsored posts, Arthurized Home uses clickable affiliate links. That means that I may receive a small commission from sales at no extra charge to you. As always, my opinion is 100% my own, and I only recommend things that I truly love or use myself. Thank you for patronizing the brands that support Arthurized Home!
We kicked off our Thanksgiving Day by participating in one of Roanoke’s most loved and best supported races, the Drumstick Dash. This 5k brings in a significant amount of the Roanoke Rescue Mission’s annual food budget. Mother Nature contributed a side dish of cold weather and gusty winds for race morning; but we Roanokers are a hardy lot and were (mostly) undeterred. Over 10,000 of us got our dash on before partaking in our Thanksgiving meals. What a fun way to start the day!
We’ve had our fill of turkey, football, online shopping, reading and napping, and are ready to get back to our workaday routine, starting with the weekly menu. And, it appears we’re on a bit of a soup kick!
I’ve had this recipe for so long, that I can’t remember where I found it! I substitute gluten-free all-purpose flour for the wheat flour. The key to this rich soup is in caramelizing the onions until they are a deep, golden color. It’s worth every minute in flavor. Serve with crusty bread or sandwiches on the side. We like Brazilian cheese bread or gluten free baguette.
Ingredients
8 brown onions, sliced
1 oz. butter
1 T. olive oil
2 T. thyme leaves
2 T. plain, all-purpose flour (I use gluten free)
2 T. brandy
2 T. dijon mustard
8 cups beef stock
2 cups water
Directions
Place the onions, butter, oil and thyme in a large saucepan over medium heat, cover and cook for 35 minutes, stirring occasionally, until soft and golden.
Add the flour and cook, stirring for 3 minutes.
Add the brandy and cook, stirring for 1 minute. Add the mustard, stock and water and allow to simmer for 15 minutes. Ladle the soup into bowls and serve.
French onion soup with gluten-free Brazilian cheese bread.
Snack: From time to time we go a little crazy buying produce and we may have done just that this weekend! Apples, Oranges, Sweet Peppers, Bananas, Grapes, Hummus and Cucumber Slices
Disclosure: In addition to occasional sponsored posts, Arthurized Home uses clickable affiliate links. That means that I may receive a small commission from sales at no extra charge to you. As always, my opinion is 100% my own, and I only recommend things that I truly love or use myself. Thank you for patronizing the brands that support Arthurized Home!
How fun is this little bunting?! I decided to write a tutorial so that you can make one (or a million) too!
For each 8 slice bunting, you will need the following materials:
Kunin ‘Pumpkin Spice’ felt sheets – 1 sheet per bunting, bought at Joann Fabrics Kunin ‘Cashmere Tan’ felt sheets – 2 sheets per bunting, bought at Joann Fabrics Clear Tacky Glue Hot Glue – I use mini glue guns for small projects like this one. Scissors – I use mine for fabric only. They stay sharp for years this way. Twine – Raid the garage, any twine will do. Cut to 8′ length. 1″ White Pom Poms – You’ll need one for each slice of pie. I used store bought; but tiny, hand made poms would be darling.
To make the pie slice template: Cut a piece of chipboard or heavy cardstock into a 3″ x 4″ rectangle. Find and mark the center of one 3″ end.
Draw lines from the opposite corners to create the triangle, as shown.
Curve the crust end of the template just slightly; use a small saucer as a guide, if you like.
Using your fancy-schmancy template, cut eight slices each of cashmere tan and pumpkin spice. Glue each slice of pumpkin spice onto a slice of cashmere tan, using clear tacky glue. (The glue is important. I tried white tacky glue and it seeped through the felt and was visible when dried. #craftfail #tragic)
We’ll trim the sides of the slices later, so avoid gluing all the way to the edge. (Dried glue is difficult to cut through and shows between the layers of felt.) Dot the center of each slice with glue so the weight of the pom pom doesn’t pull it loose.
Don’t worry about lining the edges up perfectly. Set the slices aside to dry.
For the pie crust: Starting on the long side of the felt sheet in cashmere tan, cut strips in gentle waves slightly narrower than .5″ wide. Repeat until you have six strips total.
Lay the strips out, and then flip every other strip over so the waves are opposite one another as shown below.
Overlap the ends of each set of two strips. Using hot glue, dot the ends and press together in a narrow “v” shape.
Once the glue has set, start to lay the strips over each other without twisting them. As you work, dot the underside between the strips with hot glue. I glued every second overlap. Be sure to burn off your fingerprints with the hot glue. I don’t think you can call yourself a crafter if you don’t. (Of course, I’m kidding. Please take care when crafting dangerously.)
Continue overlapping and dotting the underside with glue until you reach the end of the strips, then glue the end closed. The strips should lay fairly flat. You’ll need three complete strips for the eight slice bunting.
Use the template to trim the sides of the now dried, pie slices.
Find the center of the length of twine and place it between two pie slices spaced 1.5″ from each other. Using hot glue, quickly glue the twine down. Spacing evenly, work outward from the center, adding three more slices on each side.
Next, glue sections of pie crust trim to the top of each pie slice. Leave a little excess overhanging the edges.
Turn the bunting over and cut off the excess crust. Take care not to cut the twine accidentally! If the cut ends of the trim are loose, dot hot glue on to secure.
Hot glue a white pom pom to the center of each slice for the dollop of cream, then hang your bunting! Mine is just wide enough to span the front of the Hoosier cabinet.
See that cute little tractor? I’m gossiping about it on Instagram today. Join me!
Whether you are travelling for the holiday or staying hygged up at home, I hope your Thanksgiving celebration is a happy one.
Disclosure: In addition to occasional sponsored posts, Arthurized Home uses clickable affiliate links. That means that I may receive a small commission from sales at no extra charge to you. As always, my opinion is 100% my own, and I only recommend things that I truly love or use myself. Thank you for patronizing the brands that support Arthurized Home!
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