In Our Little Corner Of The World…

May 30, 2016June 16, 2016 ~ amykins100 ~ 56 Comments

…this happened!

We honored our newest military officers…

…and we honored those who served before them.

We celebrated our nation’s freedom…

…as Blue Angels thundered right over our house!

We gave thanks for all of God’s bounty and blessings…

…and then this happened! It can happen in your house as well…

The Best Ever Shortcake

Ingredients

2/3 cup sugar

1/4 cup shortening ( I have used butter as well but shortening seems to give the cake a bit more bounce)

1 egg

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 cup milk

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees

2.Grease and set aside a shortcake pan (or large muffin pan)

3.Measure flour, salt, and baking powder into a small bowl and set aside.

4.Cream sugar, shortening, egg and vanilla. I use my kitchen aide
5. Add dry ingredients to creamed mixture and mix slowly.

6. Add milk slowly to batter. Combine until just smooth.

7. Spoon into greased pan and bake for 20-25 minutes

8. Cool and remove from pan.

9.Smother cake with fresh strawberries and real whipped cream…you made the effort with the cake, you might as well do the cream right!

10.Enjoy Enjoy Enjoy!

Let’s Party

The Art of Homemaking. Show and Share. BTTCG at Bernideen’s. No Place Like Home. Tuesday’s at Our House

Tweak it Tuesday. Inspire Me Monday. Inspire Me Tuesday. The Scoop. Titus 2 Tuesday. Thrifty and Vintage Finds

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Moonlight and Mason Jars. Wonderful Wednesday. Thoughts of Home. Rooted in Thyme. No Rules Weekend

Vintage Charm Party. Making Broken Beautiful. Home Sweet Home. Feather Nest Friday. Friday Favorites

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Sweet Inspiration. Best of the Weekend. Share it One More Time. Peace Love and Link. Anything Blue.

Friday Features. Sunday’s at Home. Inspiration Monday. Make Your Heart Sing. Busy Monday. Amaze me Monday

Dishing it and Digging it. Proverbs 31 Wife. Finding Silver Pennies

Best Laid Plans…

May 22, 2016July 5, 2016 ~ amykins100 ~ 34 Comments

I was really looking forward this weekend to a repeat of this activity from last year…I know…it is hard to believe she was ever this tiny!

But a whole lot of rain just kept getting in the way. So instead of a luscious strawberry shortcake recipe, I decided to share one thing that seems to be thriving this crazy wet May…our roses. Because they seem to perk up my people, I decided to bring some inside and spread the love all through the house. Traditional vases are great but it is much more fun to use the unexpected to display these beauties.

A single blossom has a lot of impact when displayed in an antique ink bottle.

The vivid color of the blooms contrasts beautifully with the simple white enamelware salt box.

Roses in an antique Chinese tea box ? Why yes!

What a lovely way to greet visitors…roses in a double compote carnival glass dish!

Here’s hoping for drier weather this week. Annapolis comes alive for commissioning and the daring Blue Angels show…plus those strawberries aren’t going to pick themselves!

Let’s Party!

The Art of Homemaking. Show and Share. BTTCG at Bernadeen’s. No Place Like Home. Tuesday at Our Home

Tweak it Tuesday. Inspire Me Monday. Inspire Me Tuesday. The Scoop. Titus 2 Tuesday. Thrifty and Vintage Finds

Make it Pretty Monday. Monday of Many Blessings. Let’s Talk Vintage. Wow us Wednesday. Talk of the Town

Be Inspired. Share It. Inspire Me Wednesday. Work it Wednesday. Home and Garden Thursday. Share your Cup

Share Your Style. Thursday Favorites. Thursday Inspiration. Moonlight and Mason Jars. Wonderful Wednesday

Thoughts of Home. Simple and Sweet Friday. No Rules Weekend. Vintage Charm Party. Making Broken Beautiful

Home Sweet Home. Feather Nest Friday. Friday favorites. Your Inspired Design. Shabbilious Friday

Welcome Home Wednesday Rooted in Thyme 5 Star Fru Fru. Morning Cup of Joe. Home Matters.

Sweet inspiration Share it One More Time. Peace love and Link. Sundays at Home. Inspiration Monday
Make Your Home Sing. Busy Monday. Amaze Me Monday. Dishing it/ Digging it. Silver Pennies

Little House Links. Tea in the Garden. Best of the Weekend

The Art of Collecting

May 15, 2016August 17, 2016 ~ amykins100 ~ 72 Comments

I love collections in my home. Things displayed in multiples seems to speak to my decorating soul in a powerful way. I have made some mistakes along the way….think 1990 Longenberger basket obsession…when I realized I was collecting what I thought I should be collecting rather than what I really wanted to collect. Expensive lesson for me. I am a wiser collector now. Let me share some life lessons I have learned on my collection journey…and show off a few of my most favorites at the same time
1. Display collected items together…they lose their impact if they are separated . Think of Grandma’s home with her ceramic cats scattered throughout the house on every surface….don’t do that! I like how my vintage rolling pins look in this giant egg basket…suddenly simple objects are seen as an elevated art display!

2. Collect what you love and what resounds with your soul…Be honest when you no longer feel the love and gift or donate. Also, don’t serve as a storage facility for family member’s “treasures” out of guilt or obligation . If you don’t love Aunt Lulu’s souvenir thimble collection , find someone who will delight in them…Aunt Lulu would approve! Many of the chickens on display on my dining room hutch come from a friend who inherited them from a relative. After 20 years of storage I was excited to give them an honored spot in my home.

3. Don’t collect with your child’s college fund in mind…unless you collect early Picasso abstracts. We all know someone with tubs of Beanie Babies in their basement just waiting for the magical buyer to show up and pave the way to Harvard. The price of my beloved Lusticru omelet pans (French flea market finds) on eBay tempts me to enlist my friends to send me every piece they can find…but then the memory of finding these beauties would be forgotten in the crush of enamelware.

4.Master the art of rotation. Seasonal collections are a great way to freshen decor with little effort. For example, I display seasonal vintage postcards on a 24 pane window in my kitchen. They make me smile. In May and June I display vintage French seed labels.

5. The best collections are aquired over time and experience. It is so tempting to see a beautiful collection on a blog and jump on the EBay express to immediately duplicate it. Most likely that blogger has been collecting for years and that collection represents her/his life and experiences. Let your collections represent you! This collection of antique kokeshi dolls is unique to me and my life experiences in Japan. I have never seen a collection like it and love the unique and unexpected element it adds to my home.

Someday I hope the Princess will share my love of collecting…beyond collecting compliments.

Let’s Party!

The Art of Homemaking Let’s Talk Vintage Inspire Me Wednesday

Show and Share. Wow Us Wednesday Work it Wednesday

BTTCG at Bernadeen’s Talk of the Town Home and Garden Thursday

No Place Like Home Elizabeth and Co. Share Your Cup

Tuesday at our Home. Share It Share Your Style

Tweak it Tuesday Thursday Favorites Thursday Inspiration

Inspire me Monday Suburban Simplicity Moonlight and Mason Jars

Inspire meTuesday Wonderful Wednesday Home Sweet Home

The Scoop Thoughts of Home. Feather Nest Friday

Titus 2 Tuesday. Rooted in Time. Friday Favorites

Thrifty and Vintage Finds. No Rules Weekend. Your Inspired Designs

Make it Pretty Monday. Vintage Charm Party Shabbilious Friday

Monday of Many Blessings. Making Broken Beautiful. 5 Star Fru Fru

Morning Cup of Joe. Home Matters Sweet Inspiration

Friday Favorites. Love Peace and Link. Best of the Weekend

Share it One More Time. Sundays at Home Inspiration Monday

Busy Monday. Amaze me Monday. Dishing it and Digging it

Little Homes Link. Silver Pennies. Make your Heart Sing

Tuesday With a Twist. Tada Thursday. Brag About it

Challenge accepted!

May 8, 2016August 21, 2016 ~ amykins100 ~ 41 Comments

My fellow military wives will understand…there is a trade-off to the Navy life. Our current rental in Annapolis is a pretty healthy combination of both adventure and challenge, I mean who won’t rent this 1920 American Foursquare one block from the water and short walk to downtown. It helps to keep this picture in mind as we move into our challenge laden living room…

The Living room…just throw some pillows on the floor and get comfortable. Try not to bump into any furniture on your way to the couch. As you can see space is TIGHT. After having so many of my things in storage, I could not bear to leave it all in the basement but it does present a problem…so glad neither my husband and I are minimalists. Let me distract you…look at the original, working pocket doors!

Another challenge…no window covering on the Windows..and a no drill clause in the lease. Good thing we love our neighbors. The light truly is beautiful in the afternoon so the challenge remained…privacy vs beautiful light. Hanging vintage Windows on the Windows seems to do the trick. The small wreaths change with the seasons.

Our last challenge….the Television! I know, we could probably just throw it away and read quality literature in the evenings…but where would I watch my HGTV? Seriously, it is the only place we could mount the thing.

Let me distract you …look at the original woodwork…..and the chicken feeder with antique bottles…

And roses picked (with assistance) by our very own Princess…that just makes everything right! Although a family room would be nice.

The Art of Homemaking@Pilgrims and Strangers on Earth

No Place Like Home@Rose Chintz Cottage

BTTCG@Bernadeen’sBlog

Show andShare@Coastal Charm

Thrifty and Vintage Finds@Dagmar’s House

Tuesday at Our Home@Our Home Away From Home

Tweak it Tuesday@Cozy Little House

Inspire Me Monday@Sand and Sisal

Inspire Me Tuesday@A Stroll Thru Life

The Scoop@Stonegable Blog

Titus 2 Tuesdays@Cornerstone Confessions

Wonderful Wednesday@Oh My Heartsie Girl

Make it Pretty Monday@The Dedicated House

Let’s talk Vintage@Bella Rosa Antiques

Be Inspired@Elizabeth and Co

Wow us Wednesday@Savvy Southern Style

Talk of the Town@ Knick of Time

Welcome Home Wednesday@Suburban Simplicity

Work it Wednesday@The Bissful Bee

Thursday Home and Garden@A Delightsome Life

Share Your Cup Thursday@Have a Daily Cup of Mrs Olson

Share Your Style@Essence of Home

Favorite Things@Katherines Corner

Thoughts of Home@Poofing the Pillows

Making Broken Beautiful@The Curator’s Collection

Simple and Sweet Friday@Rooted in Thyme

Home Sweet Home@The Charm of Home

Friday Favorites@Must Love Home

Love Peace and Link@Twenty Something

Share it One More Time@Shabby Fru Fru

Sundays at Home@Thoughts from Alice

Best of the Weekend@21 Cottonwood Lane

Silver Penny Sunday@Finding Silver Pennies

Digging it and Dishing it

Busy Monday

Dwellings

Inspiration Monday

Monday of Many Blessings

Share it

Feather Nest Friday@French Country Cottage

Shabbilious Friday@Shabby Art

Boutique

Party of Three in Annapolis Maryland…

May 6, 2016May 16, 2016 ~ amykins100 ~ 46 Comments

Once upon a time, on the faraway island of Okinawa, a Pre-school teacher and a Naval Officer, met, fell in love, and were married…

…Life was busy and full of adventure but they both knew someone was missing from their home. So, they began a long journey to find her…a long journey indeed. Often they felt discouraged on this journey …holding on to faith alone and one day…

…They opened an e-mail and fell in love! And traveled half-way around the world to bring her home…

…They became a party of three on December 15, 2014…and a new adventure began…

And they have never been happier or more complete. Praise God from whom all blessings flow!

Sweet Inspiration@Repurposing Junkie

5 Star Fru Fru@A Tray of Bliss

Silver Pennies Sunday@Finding Silver Pennies

Inspiration Monday@Our Southern Home

Busy Monday@Pinch of Joy

Proverb 31 Link up@Proverb 31 Wife

No Place Like Home@Rose Chintz Cottage

BTTCG@Bernadeen’s Blog

Inspire Me Tuesday@A Stroll Thru Life

Wonderful Wednesday@Oh My Heartsie Girl

Titus 2 Tuesday@Cornerstone Confessions

Make it Pretty Monday@My Dedicated House

Wow us Wednesday@ Savvy Southern Style

Talk of the Town@Knick of Time

Welcome Home Wednesday@Suburban Simplicity

Home and Garden Thursday@A Delightsome Life

Share Your Cup Thursday@Have a Daily Cup of Mrs Olson

Share your Style@Essence of Home

Favorite Things@Katherines Corner

Thoughts of Home@Poofing the Pillows

Home Sweet Home@The Charm of Home

Love Peace and Link up@Twenty Something

Share it One More Time@Shabby Fru Fru

Sundays at Home@Thoughts from Alice

Best of the Weekend@21 Cottonwood Lane

Dishing it and Digging it

Monday of Many Blessings

Sweet and Simple Friday@Rooted in Thyme

Feather Nest Friday@French Country Cottage

Shabbilious Friday@Shabby Art Boutique

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May Day Delights…

May 1, 2016May 9, 2016 ~ amykins100 ~ 36 Comments

Oh the delights of this weekend…Introducing the Princess to a brand new friend at the National Zoo in DC…

…and enjoying the beauty of May Day in Annapolis. The competition is fierce as homes and businesses decorate doors and gates with the finest spring has to offer. Feast your eyes on some of my favorites from last year!