Debunking Artisan bread methods & Video

Who does not love the scent of fresh made bread filling the air? To cut into the loaf and see the steam rise and the REAL butter melt within seconds of meeting. I have met so many people who are intimidated by the process. From the thought of it being "too much work" to the fear of not knowing how to do it right.

Yes, anyone that can read, can pick up a cook book & make something. But when you are inexperienced, terms used in the recipe may cause some to stray from the homemade goodness one desires.

In this video, I show you how simple it is to begin bread making with Artisan breads. We start with a Biga starter that simply consists of water, yeast & flour. This acts as a flavor enhancer for your bread dough. A few minutes of hands on time. N special equipment or training required.

So c'mon. Jump right in & join the masses of those who have tread this ground before you. I promise. You will not regret the leap into home made goodness.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lSsMpjn4okE

Check Part 2 *at this link* of our Artisan bread making

& Part 3, the final segment *at these link* posts.

Videos made possible by:

Overstock.com & Lehmans.com

Until next time...

Sweet dreams,

~Tammie

The Unusual Farm Chick

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NYC Treehouse

Speaking of tree houses here's one in NY City:



Bev & Mike
Landfair Furniture + Design gallery
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It's Bridget Otto Thursday

Randy L. Rasmussen, The Oregonian

Bridget Otto brings us two stories this week in Homes & Garden, an Oregonian feature section.  The first, Hang Time, is about a new way to suspend a tree house designed by Schuyler Silva and Devin Zoller.  Mike asked if he was too old to have a tree house.  "Yes, honey, you are!"

The second article, Double Makeover, shows us how Arlene Lord of Mosaik Design remodeled two rooms for two sisters, Aili and Anya.  Included is an interview with Lord about creating rooms that can grow with the child.

Bev & Mike
Landfair Furniture + Design gallery
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Shop: Fishs Eddy

When in NYC, a great stop for fun and unusual kitchen finds is the always chock-full Fishs Eddy. A chance encounter twenty five years ago with a barn full of vintage restaurant dishware led to the opening of this quirky shop and it's still going strong with its original lines of dishes and gifts. It now has an extensive online shop for those who can't visit in person. A few of the highlights: floorplan dish sets, toile serving dishes, diner-style platters, handpressed glass pitchers, alphabet mugs and canvas totes. Displayed in vintage cupboards and fixtures, barrels and fruit-picking baskets that nearly spill over with inventory, the only shortage here is in aisle space.

Images: Fishs Eddy.

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Autumn colours, I can't get enough of them

I took some photos when I went for a walk last night in the forest just outside my village and I thought I'd share them with you. It had been such a beautiful sunny day and the yellows, oranges and browns looked like on fire in the evening sunlight. 

Just a bit of inspiration. I am always amazed what beauty natures gives us every season. I never get bored of it.

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Lovely Links - A Bevy Of Bookcases!!

Hi everyone, it's end of the month Lovely Links party time again!! (A little late - sorry!)

This time I thought it'd be nice to have a theme, so instead of just sharing our favourite posts over the last month, I thought we'd share some pics of the bookcases we have in our homes, or favourite bookcase pics we've found around the web.

I LOVE books, and if I didn't have room for bookcases in my home I think that'd be the end of me. I simply have to have them around to feel comfortable and content.

You can see some of mine below... the smaller bookcase is in the dining/kitchen area, and the other two are close up shots of some of the shelves from two bookcases in the living room. The backs of these ones have butterfly paper on them to give them a meaningful touch for me (I've 'gotta thing' for butterflies).

What about your bookcases?

Or, great bookcase pics you've collected from around the web?

Doesn't matter if your post is old or new... or your bookcases either!

I'd love to see them. :)

Link up below and let us share....



Linda. xox

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How to turn a dead corner into a cozy seating area

The 'dungeon'...or our 'non-room'.

We have a room in our house that used to be the kitchen before an extension was put on by the previous owners, after which the old kitchen area became a redundant bit of the house. More like a through-way with two doors coming off it. It's become part of the hallway, dark, undefined, a bit strange really. We have always struggled with this room and even named it 'the dungeon' for a long time because of its darkness. Painting it white made a big difference (it used to be orange!), as did the photographs we have hanging on the walls, which give it a bit of a 'gallery' feel. But we still only used the room to walk through to the 'new' kitchen, didn't give a purpose.

The bench sits where the brown cupboard used to be (see above)

And then I had this idea last weekend and created a cozy seating area, so it would be a place where we would like to hang out before, during or after cooking dinner. A place a bit more comfy than sitting at the dining table.

I found a redundant coffee table upstairs, which I thought would make an excellent low bench - and it did. I covered it with one of my Moroccan throws and some cushions (and my newly found vintage crochet blanket from the charity shop!) and I think it works quite well. It's low, but that's OK. What do you think?

I have sat here every night since I created the space earlier this week. It's a great, cozy place to sit with the laptop while keeping an eye on the dinner at the same time. And the cats love it too.

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