Coconut Coffee Heaven

If there are two things I love, coffee and coconut are them. Of course I love my family but you know, food wise. When I saw Green Mountain had the K Cups in coconut, I went in search.

They had them at Kohls so I picked some up. Tried it out this morning...excellent. My new favorite.

Time to fill up the coffee jar. I think they would be great iced too and since it is going to be over 100 here all week I am sure I will try it out. Oh and they have the yellow and red mini Keurigs in store at Kohls.

I happened to have this in the fridge. Yes!! It was so yummy. If you like coconut like me you will not be disappointed.

I did not get paid for this post. I just love this and wanted to share.

Linking to:
Handy Man Crafty Woman
Frugally Sustainable
Ivy and Elephants
Raising Homemakers
Bunny Hop Wednesday
Wow Us Wednesday
Coastal Charm
Cast Party Wednesday

City Chickens, City Cats and Broken Eggs

These city girls all love to sit on my lounge chair. All four every morning. I am sitting in the window right here on my computer and though it would be nice to think they love me, I am sure they are waiting to see if I am coming out with a treat. I think my Easter Eggers are starting to lay as I have had some thin shelled eggs this weekend but they were all broken. Either these girls are bad and breaking them or they just drop them any old place. Not nice and neat like the Barred Rocks.

We had our first encounter with a predator on Saturday. My daughter told me she heard some real squawking out back so I rushed out to find my girls all huddled under the patio table and a cat I did not recognize sitting on the lawn. I sent our little chihuahua out after it and she ran it off. She chased it off the next day too. I have not seen it since. I hope it fears the dog more than it likes my chickens. Some say a cat is not a worry but others say they can be. It all depends on the kitty I guess. The eggs are getting a little bigger. Almost the size of the store bought eggs I am still using up.

I have been enjoying one each morning with my toast. The yolks are deep in color and the white stays in shape. Much less runny then store bought eggs.

Linking to:
A Return to Loveliness

A Bowl Full of Lemons

Coastal Charm

Tip Junkie

Summer Hot Summer Cold

While the heat of August has settled in, our house has been struck by a summer cold. Three down this last week and boy has it been a doozy.

  For hubby to miss two days of work, he has to be in pretty bad shape. He still sounds like he is going to cough up a lung. I have been following my cold fighting practices and I swear there is something to them. After sleeping with the sickies, hubby and four year old, I barely felt a twinge of the cold. I fought it off and that is 2 1/2 years of no colds. I think that is the longest I have ever gone.

We have been staying home for the most part and I am busy with the chickens and my back to school house preparations. I hate for any of my loves to be sick but I never turn down an opportunity to stay home and hunker down. Car hasn't left the drive all day. We did run some errands yesterday, the hubby and I. We reorganized a lot of our food storage and are really trying to stock up as I see another hike in food prices coming real soon with the severe drought conditions. I will share a post on what we have done later this week. I am sharing at Cozy Little House Tweak it Tuesday.

It's Sunday so you can link up to Sunny Simple Sundays right here.

Linking to:
Thrifty Treasures
DIY Home Sweet Home
The Morris Tribe
By Your Hands
Pin It, Made It Monday
Homestead Revival
Met Monday
Tabletop Tuesday
Wow Us Wed.

Sunny Simple Sunday #9

Happy HOT weekend. Well summer is fully entrenched isn't it? We are all held up in the house while the heat of the day is on. I hope you can join me for Sunny Simple Sunday.

We were cleaning out the china cabinet and threw a few things in the wood tray. Hmm not too sure about it. This look just seems too formal for me so back into the china cabinet.

Now for some favorites from last week:

The Rooster Apron  from Dolly's Designs stole my heart. I am so tempted to order one for myself. I love all things chicken you know.

From the Organized Clutter Queen was a post that will make you swoon. Her potting bench and garden are so darling and full of vintage charm. You have to visit her if you did not see this post.

And the most viewed post from last week was Brenda's Beating the Heat at Cozy Little House.

She said they have had almost a month of triple digit temps and she shares some of her lovely home where she is hiding from the hot temps. I never ever tire of peaking into her home and seeing all her darling decor.

Okay now let's party. I aim to make this simple so just link up your post on whatever you are up to. I love to see all the creativity out there and the wonderful places you visit and the yummy food you make so it is your choice. Have a wonderful weekend.

Frugal Challenge - Clean and Organize the Refrigerator and Gain a Meal

I have one more week before school starts around here and I am trying to get the kitchen, the place we leave from and come home to for a meal, in shape for what is going to be one of the most hectic years I have had in a long time.

Last week, while several of the kids were away from the house, I spent a day cleaning and organizing the refrigerator. Yes, even the fridge can work better for our busy school year ahead.

Here are some things I do to keep our very small fridge in some kind of order.

Use one of your small drawers for your yogurt and pudding cups. They were always falling all over the shelves and being shoved to the back so I decided to put them all in a drawer. Now when someone wants one they are all here in one place.

Line your door shelves and drawers with paper towels. That way sticky bottoms of bottles and jars go on the towel and not the shelf and keeps things cleaner longer.

Organize like items on each shelf. Now getting my kids to keep up with this is always a challenge but why would you not put all the mustards together? Why does this not make sense to the kids?

I love baskets and use them even in the freezer. A small basket on the door holds small packages of partially used nuts and chocolate. This keeps them from landing under something bigger and me not knowing I already have pine nuts in the freezer.

Use a bigger basket on the shelf of the freezer to hold all those odd little partial packages of meats. In here was a half pack of hotdogs, two fish fillets and some Canadian bacon. This way these small things don't become lost in the freezer never to be seen again. I just pull the basket out for those odds and ends I know are in there.

One benefit of cleaning out the freezer is a dinner I didn't have to shop for this week as it was made up of older things that needed using up. Don't throw food away. It is like burning your money. Took a corned beef bought in March and cooked it in the crock pot and then sliced it for sandwiches.

And a partial package of pepperoni in my little green basket along with some pantry staples became a wonderful Italian pasta salad.

With food so expensive, and I believe getting even more so, we have to become careful stewards of the food we do buy. Make it last, use it up and eat every last drop is my motto.

Linking to:
SNS 146
Weekend Whatever
Seasonal Sundays
Thrifty Treasures
DIY Home Sweet Home
The Morris Tribe
By Your Hands
Pin It, Made It Monday
Homestead Revival

Summer Faves

I love strolling through the yard each day to see what is blooming. With the heat the blossoms of June are long gone but day lilies are still at it.

I love the lushness of the yard and how cool it makes it feel.

I love the morning sun streaming through the windows.

I love to watch the chickens scratch and peck in the garden.

I love this sight the most. My little bunny eating a carrot she grew in the garden.

Linking to:
Weekly Top Shot

White Chocolate Cranberry Oatmeal Cookies

White Chocolate Cranberry Oatmeal Cookies
2/3 cup softened margarine or butter
2/3 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups old fashioned oats
1 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
dash of cinnamon (optional)
5 oz. dried cranberries
2/3 cup white chocolate chips
1/2 cup chopped nuts

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs and mix well. Combine oats, flour, baking soda and salt in different bowl. Add to butter mixture a little at a time mixing well. Stir in cranberries, white chocolate and nuts. Drop by rounded teaspoons onto ungreased cookie sheet and bake 10-12 minutes. This is the perfect fall cookie. Enjoy.
The original recipe is from Oceanspray.com and I have modified it with a few extra ingredients.

Linking to:
733 Blog
It's A Keeper
Open House Party
The Mommy Club
Share Your Cup Thursday
Home Sweet Home
Show and Tell Friday
Fantabulous Friday
SNS 146
Met Monday

Egg Count

The eggs are here!! I have been gathering at least one a day now since Saturday.  There is one above in a little egg cup that was sent to me by Debbie of My Vintage Daydreams. She is such a sweetheart.

Right here was my first REAL egg. One with a shell. I ate it for breakfast right away.

The yolks are so golden and the egg white is nice and firm, not all runny and watery.

Here is Q with the first egg she gathered. She wanted me to cook it for her. When I saw she had barely ate any of it I asked her why and she said, "Because it tastes like chicken breath." I died. Does not surprise me as she doesn't really like eggs.

These are my two girls that are laying.
Flower Muffin

And Rocky.

Look at those wide hips now to pass all those eggs.

The first eggs were so tiny but you can see from day to day they are getting a little bigger. Some of the chickens are quite squawky in the mornings now before they settle into a nesting box. I love the sound but I sure hope it does not bother my neighbors. I find it a more pleasing noise than when my dog barks but you never know how other folks might feel about it. Chickens are legal in our city or at least hens, but I don't want to bother anyone.

Handy Man Crafty Woman 
Open House Party
The Mommy Club
Share Your Cup Thursday
Katherine's Corner
A Return to Loveliness
It's a Keeper Thursday
Gooseberry Patch
Foodie Friends
Treasure Hunt ThursdayFrugally Sustainable
Ivy and Elephants
Raising Homemakers
Bunny Hop Wednesday

Kitchen Lovelies

As the hot weather continues, I am trying to complete some small organization projects in the house where it is cool.
Kitchens get so much use it seems they are always requiring constant cleaning and straightening.

So many gadgets and people using those gadgets really can mess things up. I had all three of my big girls gone last week, so I did some sprucing in the kitchen. Amazing how much cleaner the house was with only three of us here.

I love my cozy kitchen and though it is not modern, it has all I need to feed this family.

I'll share what I have been up to this week. Just the basic things that help keep my kitchen running as smoothly as possible. In two weeks everyone will be back to school and life will be so busy that I want the kitchen dialed in so getting everyone fed in the mornings and making dinners goes as quickly as possible.
For me, organized drawers and pantry help to keep things running smoothly.

Linking to:
Tabletop Tuesday
Tweak it Tuesday

A Bowl Full of Lemons

Coastal Charm

Tip Junkie
BNOTP
At the Picket Fence
SNS146
Homespun Happenings
The Tablescaper

Homemade Vanilla Almond Granola

 I have been wanting to make my own granola for a long while. What was I waiting for? It is wonderful. My girls just love it as cereal and on their yogurt.

Here is a recipe for a basic granola that you can change up with other ingredients like dried fruit or coconut flakes. I "tweaked" this recipe to fit what I had on hand. 

Homemade Vanilla Almond Granola
6 cups quick cooking oats
1 cup chopped nuts of your choice (I used almonds)
1/2 flaked coconut (optional)
1/2 cup sesame seeds
2/3 cup cooking oil
1/2 cup honey
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
2 tablespoons water
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla

In a large bowl mix oats, nuts, coconut and sesame seeds. In a sauce pan cook oil, honey, brown sugar, water and vanilla over medium heat until well mixed and sugar is dissolved. Pour over oat mixture and mix really well. Pour into two greased 13x9 in. baking pans. Bake at 275 degrees for 50-60 stirring every 15 minutes and until golden brown. Cool, stirring occasionally and store in an air tight container. Prepare to want some every time you come in the kitchen. Enjoy!!

Linking to:
Met Monday                      Tweak it Tuesday
Tabletop Tuesday          Homestead Revival
Gooseberry Patch

A Bowl Full of Lemons

Coastal Charm

Tip Junkie

My Meatless Mondays
Pin It Made It Monday

Sunny Simple Sunday #8

It's time for my Sunday blog link party. Hope you all are having a great summer weekend. We are staying home and kicking back this weekend. Now for the party:

The most viewed link from last week:
Salmon Falls Prims on Decorating Styles. Now does this not warm your heart when you see her dining room?

Another highly viewed post was The Cranky Queen. She is now the queen of estate sales. Look at this enamel top table she snagged. Can you say JEALOUS?

One that stole my heart was The Child's Paper with her yellow cabinet redo. Look how cute is this.

Enjoy a tour of Fort Langley with Second Time Around. So charming.

Okay now for Sunny Simple Sunday. I try to keep it simple so just keep it family friendly cause my kids read my blog. Thanks ever so much for taking the time to join. Love ya'!!

Owl Themed Bedroom on a Budget

I never shared my daughter's room we re-did on a tight budget. She wanted green and orange and she wanted OWLS. I said okay. Sounds good. She first wanted orange walls and I said no way. Could not stand looking at that so she picked this lovely green. 

We picked up a green spread on clearance for $17 at Target. We also used pillows she had and added an orange one. The cute owl pillow was also clearance at Target and the other was from Etsy.

I have to say Target was good to us because I then found this lamp which was perfect on clearance for around $9.

She wanted a shelf for her favorite books and we used one we had in the garage. No money spent.

I took two hideous old pictures and flipped the inside part over and painted with chalk board paint. I then used samples to paint the frames bright. The cute green owl came off of a gift.

Okay, I let her have some orange and bright orange at that in this cupboard. It was just full of shelves before so we took some out and made it a cozy desk area for her.

All her owl collection has been hung up and displayed.

Now some of you will recognize this peg shelf. Remember these? It is from about '91. It was country blue and sitting in the garage. We painted it with the bright orange and I think it came out great. Perfect for her bags.

We got rid of a bulky old desk so she could have her keyboard out all the time. We have a regular piano but she uses this all the time when in her room. I am so proud of her as she earned a piano chair as an incoming freshman in the high school concert band. She is going to be so busy this year. This owl picture was a gift from her aunt and uncle. The old wicker cabinet has seen better days but she needed more space so it works under here.

I think it came out really cute and she loves it so that is what I wanted. Also, with paint and using what we had and a few clearance items, I think we spent less than $100. Can't beat that. Sharing over Brenda's new party at Cozy Little House.

Linking to:
Funky Junk Interiors
Scrappy Saturday
Sunday Blog Love
Seasonal Sundays
Sunday Scoop
Think Pink Sunday
My 1929 Charmer
Thrifty Treasures
DIY Home Sweet Home
By Your Hands
Met Monday