Home Sweet Home.

Today I woke up and took a walk outside in the morning sun. In my eyes the Tin Palace looks the most beautiful in the morning hours when the sun is coming up.  It is the most calm time around the grounds.  The birds are still quiet, the rabbits haven't ventured out yet, It is just so peaceful.

I found myself standing for the longest time just staring out across the front part of the orchard.  The picture does not do it justice, but it was so amazing to be standing among the trees.  It was then that I realized just how lucky I am.  I am so blessed to have such a beautiful piece of land to call home. 


I also wanted to share with you my TOMATOES!!  I am thrilled that they are growing.  With the crazy weather we have had this Spring and Summer- I am so happy that anything is growing in my container garden.

I have 8 tomatoes right now!  Along with the tomatoes I also have:

GREEN BEANS!!  These babies put a smile on my face! This year I was thinking I would get nothing out of my garden and I have tomatoes and green beans.

I am anxiously awaiting for some zucchini and butternut squash to grow. I have a feeling that they will not be arriving on my dinner table via my garden this year- but the blossoms look awesome!

It was a blissful morning roaming the land of the Tin Palace!

Home Sweet Home!

Time To Jam

JAM - and this was just my half!

I had such a fun weekend, and spent some much needed quality time with my Mom.  Yesterday was a major Jam-a-thon. Many hours and many jars of jam. We only made two kinds of jam but there were delicious.  The first batch was a Strawberry Margarita Jam.  Yes- Jam with tequila in it.  It tastes so yummy- I just want to take a spoon and dig in!

The second batch was a Blood Orange and Beaujolais Marmalade. I have never been a big fan of Marmalade, but to be fair, I never really gave it a chance.  I was pleasantly surprised at how delicious this jam was.  Mom and I had a little extra left over that wouldn't fill a jar but we couldn't let it just go to waste.  Instead of throwing it out we spooned it over some Vanilla Ice Cream. It was heaven.

Earlier in the week I also made a Blackberry/Raspberry/ Peach jam that also turned out pretty good.  We had one jar that wouldn't seal - so we put it in the fridge for immediate use.  It taunted us from the fridge for 1 day before we decided to have breakfast for dinner and spread the jam over warm pancakes.  YUM.

These were my first attempts at making and canning jam.  I had so much fun I just want to turn everything into jam and put it in the canner.

Hmmm... wonder what I will make next... so many possiblities, so little time!

Gaga for Granola......



Sometimes at night while I am watching TV I like to sift through magazines and cookbooks.  Last night I was looking through:

So many great recipes in this book, as well as crafty ideas, but one recipe caught my eye.  The Crunchy Granola Recipe.  It has now been added to the recipe box! So good that I had to share.

The Farm Chicks Crunchy Granola Recipe:

6 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
2 cups shredded unsweetened coconut
2 cups pecan halves
1/3 cup canola oil
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup crunchy peanut butter
1/2 cup honey
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Mix the granola: Heat the oven to 325°F. Combine the oats, coconut, and pecans in a large mixing bowl. Combine the oil, brown sugar, peanut butter, honey, cinnamon, and vanilla in a small saucepan over medium heat and stir until smooth. Pour over the oat mixture and stir until well combined.

Bake the granola: Line a large shallow baking pan with foil. Spread the mixture in the pan. Bake until browned—about 50 minutes—stirring every 10 minutes with a large spatula. Cool in the pan on a wire rack; then stir once more. Store in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks.

The YUMMY ingredients mixed up waiting to be stirred with the Brown Sugar mixture.

Hope you enjoy the granola as much as we are at the Tin Palace!

disclaimer: Granola made while listening to Lady Gaga... hence the blog title. 

Where I Create......

Some people have craft rooms.  Some people have design studios.  At the Tin Palace I have a corner.  I haven't decided what I am going to call it.  Craft corner??  NO!  Design Desk???  Lame!  So I am on a mission to come up with a name to call my little creative area.

My corner of  the craft world. No I am not ashamed to admit I am a fan of Twilight!

my Muse Board..... a little empty at the moment but not for long!

As I sit at the desk it is comforting to know that I now have a designated space to decoupage, sew or whatever my heart desires!  It is no longer taking over my kitchen table.  Looking forward to getting lost in a project this afternoon!  Where do you create?

Blooming at The Tin Palace

Flowers from Aunt Terri





Flowers from Aunt Rae



  



Pears!!

Apples!

So lovely to walk through the yard this time of year!  The fruits and flowers are beautiful!

Extreme Shed Makeover!

There has been a lot of working going on around the Tin Palace these last few months.  It has been a lot of hard work and I am happy to say I am thrilled with the end results! 

I know in previous posts I have shown some pictures of the small shed that is behind the Tin Palace,  A little while ago I was going through some old photos and found one of the shed that was taken right after I moved in.  It was so fun to see what a big make over the shed has gone through - so I am excited to share:



The Shed July 2006



The Shed July 2011

Another view of the Shed 2011

Also the Tin Palace now has an official sign:

Sign hanging on the Garage!

More to come on the new look of the Tin Palace.  You may have noticed that the blog is getting a makeover as well.  I am trying a few new things -- so there may be more changes as the days go by.  It just needed a facelift.... I am not completely done with it - and not sure what will stay and what will go so right now it is a work in progress! Feel free to give suggestions and or tips.

Potter and Popcorn...

Matt getting ready for Harry Potter!

The end of the Harry Potter Saga is here.  I don't know about you guys, but at the Tin Palace we are very sad.  Yesterday Matt and I went to see Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows Part 2.  We decided that since it was the last installment in the series we were going to see it in 3-D and sit in the DBox seats.
We had such a great time, shed many tears and will be going back in a couple of days to see it again, 'cuz that's the way we roll!