A New Journey

We are all animal lovers here at our home...always have been, always will be!  It's been a way of life for me and I guess I passed that on to our children ( the husband needed a little coaching to see the light:).  Our daughter and son-in-law in Chicago have Henri, and we have Tipper and Baxter. 

 Henri                                                                                 Baxter & Tipper

Recent Finds....

The weather has been so cold and snowy around here lately.  I've been going through my stash and adding items to the Etsy shop.


Someone spent a lot of time to create these sweet spring bunnies!  They are all hand sewn and in great vintage condition.  How cute would they look on your Easter table?
                                                                                                      

Mr. & Mrs. Easter Bunny

  

Some awesome Fleur de Lis poker chips

The Three Little Pigs......as a bank so you can bring home the bacon!

And some vintage carnival ride tickets.

FIrst Impressions

We all know first impressions are important but how often do you think about what impression your front door is making?  Your homes' front door sets the stage for making a great first impression and it can be as simple as choosing a color that says something about who lives on the other side of that door.  What does your front door say about you?

Elegant and subdued............

 Or more classic and confident?

Do you prefer something a little more bold and daring?

 

What ever your preference, remember that first impressions set the stage and can leave a lasting impression on all who happen by your front door.  What would be your choice?  Is your door telling a story of who lives on the other side and is it the story you want others to hear?

What's New in the Shop Today.....

Some of the new items that have recently been added to the shop....... this is a great time of year for some armchair traveling and here a few things to send you on your way.

A wonderful antique travel book covering England and Shakespeare......

        


 Take a trip to Paris and Versailles with this walking  tour   guide..........

  

              





Step back in time with a tour of Greenfield Village in the Detroit area......

Paper Plate Dog

Thirteen years ago, my daughter and I went to the grocery store and on the bulletin board at the store was a paper plate advertising free puppies.  Little did I know, the best grocery trip was happening.  We went to go see the puppies.....who can resist puppies.  Obviously not us!!  So, Scooter came home to live with us.  He was the best puppy, easy to house train and fun to play with.  He grew to be a loving and sweet dog.  He was my running companion and faithful watcher of the house and yard.  This past summer he had a large growth removed from his hip area and it turned out to be cancer. Every thing went well up until recently, when he was no longer interested in food.  We made the gut wrenching decision, to help him leave the misery he was so obviously in and called the vet.  Last night, Scooter took his final breaths with my husband and I holding him.  The house feels sad and empty....even for our other dogs, Baxter and Tipper.  So today is the beginning of the long journey to feeling better and realizing the choice we made was the right one.

Scooter, Baxter, Henri and Tipper

I'm back!!

It's been a while since I have posted anything here and I hope to make more regular postings.  Our family has been busy getting ready for our daughters wedding and there just wasn't time for the blog.  I will be posting photos and some of the fun things we did to celebrate her and her future husbands big day.   Below find some photos from our Thanksgiving.  Hope your Thanksgiving day was full of family, friends, fun and food.

                                           The buffet with appetizers for the afternoon.......

 Two of our four legged friends (Tipper is the blonde and Scooter, our grandpa dog is behind Tipper)

 The three amigos had an issue with the garbage disposal making my gravy shaker disappear down the drain!  It took a couple pliers and the thee of them to get it out of the disposal!!

                                                  The table is set for the main event

The Etsy shop is going well and to kick off the holiday season, Black Sheep Emporium is having a Cyber Sunday~Monday sale.  Take 15% off all purchases for these two days!!  There many vintage items that would make great gifts for family, friends, your child's teacher .............click on the link to take a look at what's happening over on Etsy.

An abundance of Basil

So my basil has grown like crazy and there is way to much to use at one time.  So what to do??  I like pesto a LOT but I don't want to only have pesto.  For the past couple of years I have taken my basil, cleaned it and put it in my food processor with a small amount of olive oil and processed it.  I then package it in freezer bags, place them in the freezer and just break off what I need when cooking!!  It is almost like having a basil plant growing in your kitchen in the dead of winter  --  a real plus when you live in Michigan or some other cold climate (or have a brown thumb).  Here is what I did....

Pick your basil or buy it from the farmers market in your area.  Wash the basil under cold running water  and then strip the leaves from the stems.  Dry the leaves well (I use a salad spinner) and discard or compost the stems.  If you don't have a salad spinner use clean kitchen towels or paper towels. 

Use your favorite olive oil

Put your cleaned and dried basil leaves in your food processor and add a small amount of olive oil.  You can always add more olive oil if the leaves look too dry after processing.  You want the leaves very lightly coated with the olive oil.

Take your freshly minced and oiled leaves and put them in small freezer bags (I used quart size).  I like to pat the basil in the bag so it is flat and in a thin layer in the freezer bag getting as much air out of the bag as possible.  Freeze on a flat surface because once it is frozen you can easily break off a piece to use it in soups, stews, sauces, eggs or make that pesto that is SOOOOO good!!  This is way better than dried and loads cheaper in the winter time if you can't grow fresh basil.

                                                                Bon Appetit!!!