Dining Room Design

The holidays are swiftly approaching and you want to improve the looks of your dining room. Whether you just do some simply makeovers or do complete renovations, you will love some of these dining room decorating ideas. Remodeling doesn't have to be expensive, in fact there are some makeovers that can be done that won't put a dent in your pocket. For instance window treatments and rugs are an inexpensive way to give your dining area a new look. There are other more expensive ways of remodeling but why spend all that money when you can do simple things to give a more modern look?

Adding some color to the decor of your dining area through window treatments and rugs is one of the best dining room decorating ideas you can have. Curtains and drapes come in all kinds of colors as well as styles and they are relatively cheap when given other alternatives. You will want to the same style as your kitchen but changing the color will not take away from the coordination between the kitchen and dining area. Rugs can help protect your floor from damage as well as absorb sounds. You will want a rug that is at least 30 inches larger in size than your table.

You may want to bring your room into this century with modern or contemporary lighting and ceiling fans. These types of renovations can cost a little more than curtains and rugs but is also an investment in your home. You will still want to stay with the style you have implemented in your kitchen and the rest of the house. Look for ceiling fans with up lighting so it illuminates not only the table but the rest of the room as well. Many ceiling fans can be purchased with lighting included.

If you really want to go all out and splurge, you may want to get new table sets as well as new chairs. Table sets come in many different styles including modern and contemporary. You should look for a design that will go with the rest of your dining furniture so you don't walk into the kitchen or dining room and feel like you have thrust back in time. If you can't find the design you are looking for, your local retailer may have to special order it so you shouldn't drag your heels on choosing one. Many times you can purchase extra chairs for your dining room table sets too.

Changing decor for the holidays doesn't have to be expensive. There are many dining room decorating ideas that are relatively cheap and can really impress your friends and family like lighting, window treatments and rugs. If you really want to get a new look in your home's decor, then go all out and purchase table sets and chairs. If you have a large family, you'll be happy you made the investment in your family's holiday tradition.

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Hollywood Actress Home modern Decoration

Hollywood Actress Home modern Decoration

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Homesteading in 2010 ~ crying over spilled wine?

Go confidently in the direction of your dreams! Live the life you've imagined. As you simplify your life, the laws of the universe will be simpler.
~ Henry David Thoreau

In a previous post I mentioned there were to be new adventures ahead for this Unusual Farm Chick and her family. The unknown for 2010 has brought a wave of conflicting emotions. From excitement of new territory and beginnings, to the fear of not knowing the when or where.

The Captain is a major structure oriented, everything must be charted kinda guy. I am the color to his black and white. He cringes when I say "Sometimes you just have to wing it and let life blow you in the direction it wants instead of holding tight to the rail". What lies ahead is not as easy for him as it is for me.

We will be moving out of our current 1.16 Homestead sometime during 2010. There is no going back. The decision can not be reversed. There are other personal details I am not sharing which push this into motion. The Captain has also been on the search for a new Job which is long overdue. He realizes the security blanket he had clung to is no longer there. I guess that is the way it goes with big companies. He is well loved by the Union worker's he has managed for the past 10 years. So much so, he is the only manager who is invited(secretly-since management frowns highly upon such interactions), to their personal BBQ's and get together's. I have been told so many times what a great guy and boss The Captain is to them. He truly is a rarity.
Where will we go? What will we do? I am holding our compass towards Tennessee. Anywhere from Nashville to the Eastern border. As to what will we do... Begin a new adventure!

This throws a huge twist into our plans for the year and mapping out my goals for 2010 has not been an easy task. I mean, how do I plan a garden if I do not know where we will be? How do I make plans for animal raising without knowing when a move will be made? So I have decided it is time to come up with goals that will benefit beyond 2010 and fit into the uncertain adventure ahead.
Here is a sampling of my list:

#1. I will MASTER my seed collection into an organized system and no more messy box. I will thin out the seeds I no longer wish to grow and have a master list/book of what I will keep along with amount, date & notes on the variety.

#2. I plan to see my friends White Willow & Dirk the dud at least 1 time a month. Including a few weekend camp outs at the Pennsylvania State campground from last year.

#3. I will Hunt, Identify & harvest more wild edibles plus local medicinals. I plan to have our children be able to identify at least 8 useful wilds, Know how to harvest and utilize included.

#4.I will start work on downloading my entire blog starting back in June 2006, into a book form for a keepsake to give my children. Pictures included.

#5.I will expand my herbal concoctions to Tinctures (Mother wort is cherished here).

#6.Expand my shelves of knowledge in the subjects of herbs & homestead skills.( I have already begun a collection of my hopefuls through an amazon wish list. This way I have a master list I can check off as I order them)

#7.Spend more alone time with my Husband and laugh with my Best friend again.

#8.Work on my angle cutting issue in wood working plus learn how to make useful baskets.

#9.Make a Kick A** Cider press with The Captain so my Cider making can expand with more ease.

#10.Finish a simple Queen sized Patchwork quilt and Learn how to Tan Rabbit hides.

#11.Get those 3 rabbits of mine to produce at least 3 litters of kits (They will move with us by the way).

#12.Start Container Gardening! I can not live without a garden. The adventure ahead will not rob me of one in 2010. Where there is a will, there is a way. I have to make connections on 5 gallon buckets and keep it a bit smaller in case we are to move during the Garden season. (You do not separate a woman and her garden!)

Of course not every goal has room in just 1 year. But I give myself options in the case some goals are not able to be achieved.
Now as to my crying over spilled wine...

As I grabbed one grape wine jug- it broke! Split right in half on the plastic carrying handle which sent the jug crashing to the cement floor. A domino effect to the awaiting jugs just 2 feet away quickly ensued. The old fashioned, THICK GLASS Milk jug sent large chunks into the others which cracked their base and wine went everywhere.

I stood there staring at the mess, mouth in that DOH! form. Then...I could smell it. Oh it was so divine. The scent of fresh grapes sweetened with time and acts of beloved yeast. A scent that had thoughts of how wonderful it would have tasted. I stood there long enough that Panda came running down the stairs and said "Mom, are you O.K?". Then she saw the war zone and commented, "What smells so good?". I looked over at her, with my face still in a sad frown and said...."My wine."

She smiled that sweet empathetic smile and commented "It's O.k Mommy. We can just make more".

And ya know, she is so right! I have 6 bags of Grape juice, frozen straight from the pressing. I had intentions of them being for grape juice and summer Popsicles but a few would not hurt for a batch of Homemade wine. Sweet Panda offered to clean up the mess. MY mess! And in that moment my heart swelled with such pride over how mature and giving she has become.I quickly stopped crying over my spilled wine.

Of course I thanked her and said no, I would get it, Just let me sit down here for a bit and at least imagine what it would have tasted like. So we sat together watching the fire crackle in the wood burner as the sweet smell of grape wine dried on our basement floor.

Stay tuned! Another giveaway is in the making (I am still cleaning up from the Holiday and have not brought out the prizes from their out of reach storage).

Sweet Dreams,
~Tammie

Simplicity of living, if deliberately chosen, implies a compassionate approach to life. It means that we are choosing to live our daily lives with some degree of conscious appreciation of the condition of the rest of the world.
~Duane Elgin

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Harvest Moon Hard Cider 2009!

In previous posts I have mentioned our harvesting of organic apples from the one producing tree we have here plus the forgotten Orchard out at the 1 Acre Homestead. We chopped & pressed so many apples in the hopes of Homemade hard cider. I am a true fan of Hard Cider.

The Apples picked during the Harvest moon of 2009 has finally come to a stage of bottling. It sat in the cold basement from the day it was placed into the jug fermenter until recently when I decided it was time. As I bent down to grab this particular jug, I noticed all the dust on the bottle and thought how I should have done this sooner. Then a country song popped in my head which made me laugh aloud. Think dust. Wine bottle. Gets sweeter with time...

Just in case you still have no clue as to what I am rambling about, here is the song to which sprang in my mind- rather fitting really... :



So I lugged the dusty jug upstairs to my laboratory, a.k.a Kitchen, where the sterilized bottles waited and the double boiler was set for the wax melting.(I dip the cork ends into the wax so if the cork should start to dislodge, the wax seal will show cracking and let me know if I need to release any late fermenting air before it is too late).

My laboratory does not house professional tools or gadgets. I do not find any justification in spending money on items which will be rarely used and only cost so much due to the popularity of home brewing. Not to mention I never paid much attention in chemistry.

Removing the air lock was not as easy as it would be for others. I had medical tape and saran wrap securing it in place. I do not have corks to fit my recycled jugs, so I improvised and left the airlock on until this stage. (my airlocks cost less then a dollar a piece so I grab 'em when i think of it and have enough to simply leave on the jugs while in use).

I use a funnel and fine mesh cloth for the straining and pouring. Yep. Not professional and I am sure many of those who may be a Connoisseur of this subject are clucking away. but I rarely follow the "rules" since I prefer to do it the old school method. Before corner wine making stores or the Internet were available.

The smell... I could pick up the apple cider smell with a sure fire alcohol following. Very pleasant. Not like some of the apple wines I have made in the past.

Now as to taste, I have yet to indulge in a glass. Hopefully the scent is not misleading. I am waiting for the bottom sediment to settle before I do any tasting. I had enough in 1 jug to fill 1 large wine bottle, 3 medium/ large wine bottles and 1 grolsch bottle. Leaving 2 inches of liquid and sediment for me to taste (after a filtering) while the kids are visiting relatives the evening before Santa day. I look forward to sitting on the love seat we have by the wood burner, indulging in a few taste tests with hopefully my neighbor and friend Jeannie. She helped picked the apples and grapes for our wine/cider , so she must share in the tasting. Reap some fruits of her labor in a girl night hanging in my basement... Gosh. 10 years ago I would have laughed at someone who actually looked forward to something like that.

Anyway, I made up a label to go on the bottles of Hard Cider. I am gifting one to my good friends Chris & Lisa over at the 1 Acre homestead. I have no color ink and in fear of not making an improvement to it's look, I refrained from water colors or the such. I did use Medium tooth paper used for drawing with charcoal and pencils. The thicker paper with its natural fiber feel makes for great "ripped edge" organic look for a label. The heavy weight adds overall a touch of class to it's appearance.

O.k....The truth? I ran out of copy paper and "swiped" a sheet from Panda's drawing tablet. I had no other choice but to use that paper plus it really does make for a nice label which I plan to use from now on. Made for a great discovery.

Besides adorning with a personal label, I dip the cork ends into wax multiple times (as you will see in the following picture). This is to add a more visually secure seal plus old world charm to the bottle. I take a candle end and rub it all over the label front to add liquid resistance and a touch of shine before gluing it in place on the bottle. A scroll filigree style stamp mixed with a black/green ink for a touch of color finished it off.

It's all about what is inside anyway.

So now I must tend to the other jugs from the cold basement, awaiting my presence and attention. So far, 1 small jar which contained left over liquid from another jug, has transformed into Grape vinegar. I have a small raised grape motif glass bottle which will house it and go to some other friends along with some home made herb blends and my Italian bread for the holidays. Hopefully only the jars I intended to be vinegar have not spread their behavior to any other jugs placed a good distance apart- of what better be drinkable grape wine.

I better buy a new drawing tablet. Should have about 10 bottles to label after filtering. Panda has very little paper left in her tablet for me to swipe...I mean use, so a new must be acquired.

We have another giveaway coming this week with 3 items as one big Prize!

Enjoy the Holidays!

Sweet dreams,

~Tammie

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Storage Platform Beds by Prepac Have Been Added to GoWFB.com

The new storage platform beds by Prepac have been added to Wholesale Furniture Brokers to give customers great storage solutions for their bedrooms. Online shoppers can choose from black, cherry, maple, and white. The beds are designed with a headboard with shelves and a platform bed with storage drawers.



Additional matching items are also available to order including armoires, chests, desks, tv stands, and benches.



As an added bonus, customers who order online at Wholesale Furniture Brokers will be able to get free shipping.





Sonoma Twin Platform Storage Bedroom Furniture Set





Sonoma Black Queen Platform Storage Bedroom Furniture Set





Sonoma Maple Queen Platform Storage Bedroom Furniture Set



Monterey White Queen Platform Storage Bedroom Furniture Set



Monterey Cherry Queen Platform Storage Bedroom Furniture Set

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The Nordic Ware Mini Scone pan winner!

Frog has pulled another winner from the bean pot. I let her practice cutting the strips so I space the names out as to prevent any unreadables. She so loves her part in these giveaways. She is a mother of 5 and keeps a blog about her Life as a zoo with her "5 little monkeys".

I am still laughing over the comment her daughter made about the Ex husband. Truly, that was hysterical!

And the winning paper reads:

JANESSA

Congratulations Janessa! I hope you will enjoy your new Nordic Ware Mini Scone Pan for many many years to come! (They truly last a very long time with proper care and can prove to be rather fun inventing new items to bake in the wedge's.)

I have a new Giveaway to mix things up a bit. A hint? One of the 2 prizes has something to do with nectar of the gods! Happy Winter Solstice to all and check back soon for your chance to win 2 prizes!

Sweet Dreams,

~Tammie

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American Girl Historical series perfect for the Homesteading girls!

Who would have thought how hard it would be to find awesome gifts for our children that do not require batteries or large amounts of money. Our kids attend public school so their exposure to the big "gotta have the biggest and best right now" attitude is unavoidable. Is it bad I preach this yet yearn and dream for a red Kitchen aide mixer with cool attachments?

With Panda , I have an ally for keeping everyone at least touching a "grounded" attitude. As much as she wants for things, they are at least of use sprinkled in with the typical child wants.

She is at the age of seeking out what her "thing" in life is. What she is best at. She is like me in more ways then her looks so I try to help her not feel so lost while she is seeking this out. She loves reading and really enjoys the subject of Nature, animals, and the American Girl series has been a hit for years. They tie in very well with our way of life and seem to help explain things in a way at her level of understanding. Not to mention the conversations and questions they produce during dinner.

She loves helping out in the kitchen, which I want to encourage but have wondered how I would encourage her to feel independent instead of me instructing her. I want her to discover & enjoy what it is she wants without me hovering.

Then I found this series at the North Canton, Ohio Border's book store (at clearance for $4.99 a book!):

They come with table conversation cards, cookie cutters, a decent amount of recipe's pertaining to that girl's era with much more. They have it set up so you can have a theme lunch/dinner party using the supplies included with the book. Fun for the family, a girl sleepover or having extended family come "visit for the holiday's" entertainment.

I also found this at the same store $3.99!

(Click the title below for a link to amazon where you can preview this and the ones above)

Kit's world: a kid's eye view of the great depression

Of course I picked all of the above up. 5 gifts for what would most likely be the cost of just one item. ($24 before taxes) which would not be as much fun, last as much time or give as many potential great memories.

I feel this is a total score on a gift I am most excited for her to get. Besides the Camo pants and orange pink tank dress I made for her American Girl doll...

Lots of baking yet to do. A wood burner flume pipe to fix and Coffee fire starters to try out- a quick how to with pictures coming soon!

Sweet dreams,

~Tammie

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