Booth Building Day

Remember I showed you a picture of my new little booth....?

YIKES

Pretty bad right?

I can't get in there until after April 1'st.....so Monday.

Today my husband and I worked on a mock up in the garage so we could take it apart and reassemble it on site.

No other way to do it, it's too far away to keep going up there.

The wall on the right is pegboard.....ick...

I am planning to cover it with either book pages or fabric.

The lovely back wall will be covered in some gathered fabric.

On the left is a store owned bookcase that I'm not keeping.

There is no wall on the left, just the back of the cabinets that belong to the other shop owner.

So, we needed to build a wall for the left side and I wanted an 'entrance' feeling in front.

We went to Home Depot and were lucky to find paneled doors on sale for $19 each.

We bought three of those and some shelf brackets.

We taped out the size of the booth on the floor and started building.

I had bought the two faux louvered doors last year at the Habitat for Humanity store. 

They've been in the shed awaiting the right moment to appear.

So, they will frame my entrance.

Putting a flat board along the top to hold them together will give me a shelf

to display things too.

You can see the new side wall made from the three doors.

We used the shelf brackets to hold them together while also supporting the shelf.

Awhile ago, one of the blogs I follow 
(I JUST can't remember where I saw it)

 posted some pictures of nice booths she had seen when visiting an antique mall.

One of them had a cute fabric awning hanging on the front. 

It made such a difference and as soon as I saw it, I knew I wanted to do the same thing!

We needed to make the awning higher than the entrance so it wouldn't hit people in the head.

Injuring customers could be bad for business.

After discussing how best to do it, we decided to just cut an awning out of wood.

Fortunately, my husband collects wood like I collect fabric.

He pulled a piece out, decided it would work and we got started.

Drew some scallops and cut them out with a jigsaw.

Someone insisted on routering them all nicely....

what a guy.....

It does look nicer this way....

Here's the awning piece....

Cute huh?

My job is all the finish work to make it look good.

I'll paint it black and white striped.

It's rainy out today...of course.....

So I'm working in the garage.

Where I do a lot of my fancy schmancy work...

The rain is good for the yard though

Remember the Formosa type azaleas I love?

Last time they weren't in bloom but just buds.

Aren't they gorgeous?

This is my favorite.

It's named George Tabor.

I only found two blooms open. 

They bloom a bit later than the fuschia colored bushes.

Just thought I'd show you what was going on in the garden!

I'll keep you up to date on the booth!

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French Friday : Macarons

You know that saying 

"Ignorance is bliss" ??

Well, back when I started this French Friday idea, 

{just so I had a real reason to do a little cooking and baking} 

I knew from the start that I wanted to make macarons.

I've already made these last year for my daughter's French class. 

She came home and said 

"we're celebrating (something) and we're all supposed to bring in food." 

It didn't have to be French she said but 

COME ON....
I mean, a REASON to make something French...
PUHLEESE.....

I was all over that like white on rice! 

( I don't know what that is really supposed to mean but we say that a lot here)

So, I found a recipe, bought some almond flour and we made macarons....no biggie.

Her teacher said they were wonderful and she has lived in France so I was happy.

So, now, I want to make them for you. 

I looked for the recipe we had used but I guess I didn't write it down.

So I looked online for another one....there are BOWKOO recipes out there 

{hee hee} 

so not a problem.

But, while I was reading I began to get a little frightened. 

Apparently, macarons are not easy to make!

Uh- oh

I didn't know that.

Crap....(NJ slang)

Merde.....(French slang) 

My stomach was getting knotted up and I thought....maybe I should make something else?
I mean there were pages and pages and pages
of instruction and warnings and overall negativity.

Macarons have this little skirt along the bottom called 'feet'.

Apparently if you don't do something JUST RIGHT you won't get the little feet

and FRENCH people can spot this at 10 meters!!

Merde....again

Wait a minute.....MY macarons had feet

I remember it clearly

(they had these cute little toenails.........)

So, what the H-E-double hockey sticks

Let's go for it.

If you're REALLY FRENCH....
{not like all us francophiles}

DON'T WRITE and tell me they're wrong....

"Ignorance is bliss"

and I'm going to be blissfull today!

Why should you make macarons?

Here's why....
Sur la Table
French Macarons
24/ $49.95
$20.00 shipping
Williams Sonoma
$54.95
shipping determined after you order
WOW!!
Now, remember, I have never really eaten a French macaron so
maybe they're worth that much because they can provide a
substitute for the man in your life 
{if you get my drift}
but really?
Now, I PROMISE you that when I go to France in May I will go here

and try them.........
AND 
I promise I will tell you the absolute truth about them
But
do mine look THAT bad?

See those feet? Yes, they're small and I know why.....
I made my macarons too large and so they couldn't pouf up as much.
My helper and I recalled that my first try last year resulted in cookies about the size of an Oreo.
So, I made them the same. Too large I am guessing.
I think they're supposed to be much smaller...like a half dollar.
OK...you're allowed to write to me and tell me how large they really are
but THAT'S IT
NO NEGATIVITY
I'm a delicate personality.


Google French macarons and you'll get recipes that are all about the same
1 cup almond meal
1 1/4 cups confectioners sugar
3 egg whites (large eggs)
pinch salt
1/4 cup granulated sugar


Last time I found the recipe, bought the almond meal, came home and made macarons.
This time I was a nervous wreck.
One recipe said "leave the egg whites out overnight to let them thicken"
Merde....I took them out this morning while I took someone to an appointment.

I gathered my stuff together and made the meringue
I can do THAT!

See my mixer?
35 years old and still runs like a top....
Merde
I really want one of those funky new Kitchen Aids that are all flowered up
Will this thing ever die?
Actually {sidebar here} I want to decorate mine as a project.
If you have any hints on how to do that...send them on!
Back to the macarons....
My helper drew circles on the parchment with a pencil. 
Then you turn the parchment over so the pencil doesn't get on the macarons.
Stick the parchment down to the cookie sheet with a bit of the macaron mixture.
One of the recipes said the circles should be 1 inch....
1 inch? That's a pretty small cookie for an American so we ignored that.
Told you I made them too big.....

Mix the almond meal and the confectioners sugar together.
I used a whisk first to really blend them.
Then fold them into the meringue.

You keep folding until it's smooth and glossy.
One recipe said it should finally look like magma...
Magma? Sometimes these people are so full of themselves aren't they?
I mean MAGMA?
It looks like thick batter and when you stop folding it, 
it should settle back into itself and get flat again. 
If you still see definition after you fold it, 
fold some more until it returns to smoothness when you stop.
What is that? Thick pancake batter?
Magma....merde....
Next we divided it into three portions and colored the batter with paste food coloring.
Yellow, violet and blue

I held the decorating bag while my helper poured the batter in. 
Put your finger over the bottom and pretend you're making funnel cakes.
It doesn't require much squeezing until you get near the end and you're trying to get
just one more out....

Don't try to actually MAKE a circle, just run it into the middle of your 
predrawn circle and it will fill out itself.
Last time, I just threw them in the oven after I made them.
This time, one recipe said to bang on the bottom of the pan.
So, I did.
Another recipe said to let them sit out and form a bit of a crust before you baked them.
Since I was making three pans full, two of them did.
I didn't see a difference in any of them but what do I know.
I'm NOT FRENCH so these all important details probably escape me.

See the feet? 

One of the recipes said I should crack the door open with a wooden spoon.
So I did.


Here's the deal....I'll never know if my macarons are bad until I go eat a real macaron.
The fact that the Mongolian horde inhales them has 
no meaning whatsoever.
If I say the word palate around here
someone gets me a plate....
I rest my case....

I filled them with Nutella and lemon curd
They're delicious!
{if I do say so myself}

What do you think?
I have a bargain for you
I'll charge $35 for 24
I take cash, check, money order, Paypal, 
Visa, MasterCard, American Express


Merde....I could get rich!




Sharing with
French CountryCottage
Rattlebridge Farm

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Thursday Shopper #11

Good Morning Dahlings!! 

Off again on my dedicated journey!

today I'll share two lovely shops in Williamsburg Va that I visited recently!

I was there to see, for the first time, my lovely little booth

in the Lightfoot Antique Mall.

Isn't it ......um......well.......hmmm...

Oh my.........

LOTS of work needed here!

I can't even begin until April 1st but I am thinking and planning until then.

After seeing THAT....
TS definitely needed some retail therapy!

N'est pas?

So, down the road to the KingsMill Shops to

High Cotton

Now, you know TS LOVES linens and china

Normally the phone pictures are quite nice.....or so I thought until I got the new camera.
The contrast is shocking! 
Don't worry, I'll be back there again and next time will take the camera!

I reduced the size a bit and that helps but still disappointing!
I wish you could see the beauty.
This shop has been profiled in several magazines.
The owner restores vintage and antique linens, collects china and silver, 
and also offers other antique finds....like a corner dedicated to fly fishing gear!

This gorgeous wall sized cabinet has drawers filled with treasures!

Next stop was the lovely shop

Savvy
It's just a step or two away from High Cotton

As soon as we walked in, this gorgeous overall theme of green and white
 instantly made us feel as though we were in a garden.

The wall color was luscious.....like kiwi

We each took home an ivy topiary...they were on sale!

This soothing palette appealed to us

This faux bamboo tree was filled with felted birdhouses

How cute!


Today was an exciting day for one of the children too!
Our 15 yr old daughter wrote an essay last year 
which was selected to be in a book published by the school system.
The title of the book is The Power of Belief. 
It happened to be her birthday when we asked the children
 if they wanted to come live with us in Virginia. 
Her essay was about how we gave her the Best Gift Ever. 
Today, she was interviewed for a local radio show 
and in April she will appear on a local TV talk show! 
So, this morning we went and did the radio interview. 
She was SO nervous, but did fine!
I was so proud of her!


I rushed home to finish this post...
WHEW!

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Ballard Wannabe

I poured a glass of wine at 6:45 am today.

I knew THAT would get your attention!

I don't know about you, but when I don't have some big project going

like the Burlap Table 

or

The Spoon Lamp

or

the China Mosaic Dresser

I have to really put my thinking cap on when I need to write a post.

I tend to be a big project kind of gal and am always...I mean

 ALWAYS 

surprised when some little thing 

that I think is not important enough to write about 

gets comments.

WIERD

So, I wander around the house with the camera, looking for something to say.

Most of my house in in various stages of completion. 

One spot looks pretty good, but I can't take a whole shot of the room 

because of all the parts that don't go well with the good part....does that make sense?

Some of the blogs out there are pretty intimidating to me. 

The houses are gorgeous and there are drapes that coordinate with the furniture 

and the furniture is slipcovered in white 

(do you know what THAT costs?) 

and the rug matches and there are fresh flowers and.......

Oh my.........

Now, some folks I give a TOTAL pass to because they live in California 

and they just can't help themselves. 

I mean, from what I hear, there's no humidity 

(so no mildew like I have on my porch cushions) 

no flying gnats and mosquitos

so they can dine outside on their gorgeous patios with the fireplaces

 and MORE non-mildewed cushions, AND pillows

AND tablecloths 

PLUS, roses and other gorgeous flowers apparently bloom endlessly 

because all the pics have fresh flowers

 (or they have an actual flower market nearby $$$$).

I confess.....

I have BLOG ENVY!

OK...I'm done....this isn't going to be a big old whiny post.

I am a VERY lucky gal and have a beautiful home

AND IN TRUTH

 if it wasn't for these gorgeous, lovely blogs...

I'd still be sitting in my unfinished house, looking at magazines,

 with the Mongoloan horde slamming around

and wishing I could muster the energy to finish some projects!

This blogging thing has done me a WORLD of good....so 

THANK YOU BEAUTIFUL BLOGGERS! 

I finish MORE projects than I ever have and I work to keep my house and garden 

prettier than I ever have.....YAY!!

I owe it all to you!!

OK, back to the wandering blogger....

I dream of 

long for 

covet

the day when I can be ahead of the game and have a post written 

and SCHEDULED to post.

Like

 I don't even have to BE there

it just shows up on schedule!!!

If ever......

MEANTIME

I wander around thinking of what to do

I took a couple pics of the bathroom

This was last night so you have to appreciate the overhead light problem

This is an antique tall folding chair.

We think it might have been used for a sporting event umpire.....like tennis

A tin carrier from WUSLU has some  vintage

Ivory soap and some goats milk soap from a local farm

Nice, but not much to post about.....

Maybe this......it hangs on the door to my studio...

What can I say? I bought this?

I did, but can it take up a whole post?

So, I gave up and sat down for some inspiration magazine browsing.

I call it RESEARCH...preferably with a glass of wine.

I grabbed the newest Ballard catalog 

( I swannee....I think I get two a week, HOW can that be cost effective?)

Anyway, within the first few pages I spied this

Well now, just hold on a minute!

$129 ???

I do believe I have something like this already......

Why yes indeedy I do!

I found this last week at the thrift store for 

$8

AHA....my project for Wednesday! YAY!

Out to the garage...so more bad flourescent light pictures

gesso....2 coats

After it's dry....HURRY UP

some sandpaper scuffing up

good old AS dark wax...I'm starting to LOVE this stuff

I'm really happy with how it came out....what do you think?

And that's why I poured a glass of wine at 6:45 am

what were YOU thinking?

PS....my friend Karen at Somewhat Quirky Design
is being featured at Knock Off Decor
check out what she did with her round table!!




Sharing with
Uncommonly Yours
Savvy Southern Style
DIY by Design
Mrs Hines Class
Primitive and Proper
Faded Charm
Debbiedoos
Between Naps on The Porch
From My Front Porch To Yours

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