Ironstone, Linens and A New Favorite Recipe

I am forever rearranging things.... I have always been that way to, I like the refreshing feel it gives around me. It may be even more now due to our current home being in a total disarray for the pending upcoming move.... (Nothing new on that subject either ... ugh). I only have so much out that isn't yet boxed, so more frequent moving things around helps me in not losing my mind with the clutter that is all around! 

I am the type that cannot handle things not where they belong or disorganization, and living in a home that is partially packed away is starting to make me a little crazy!

A lot of my ironstone I haven't packed yet so I have that to enjoy and shuffle around :)

And my linens as well.... it's the little things, right! And fresh flowers always help too!

These linen remnants are of my favorite colors, I love beige and grays and of course whites. Gingham or checkered patterns as well... (Besides my other favorites ticking and stripes!).

I have been trying to come up with a new creative outlet to fill my decorating void though, and I am really getting into cooking and baking more than ever (If you follow me on Pinterest you've seen a lot my recent pins consist of all that and more!).

If anyone is interested in this adorable cow butter dish, I found it on Ebay (New) for $12 and free shipping!! I love anything with cows or goats! :)

I really wish I would have grown tomatoes this summer,  I LOVE tomatoes and I have been reading up on all that can be preserved and canned too, maybe next year...
I am going to be bringing in my herbs and trying to maintain them through the winter months for meals, as they can get ridiculously expensive to buy over the winter.

I'm a big soup maker too (not just in the winter months either) and I found a recipe on Pinterest last week that is so SO good and I thought I would share it here, it is a MUST try if you like potato soup! It is my new favorite to say the least! Sorry I don't have a picture to show of it, but trust me....you will love it! In fact it's what's on the menu for dinner again tonight too :)

(Shameless Plug) These three bowls are available in my Etsy shop currently too! Link in the right sidebar.

**The only changes I made to the below recipe is I didn't have any thyme on hand so I didn't add that, and I always use heavy whipping cream in my chowder type of soups not half n half, I think it adds to the perfect richness. And I used chicken broth in substitute of the five cups of water, I think that was key as well.** 

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/465700417697119483/

Summer Corn Chowder

Ingredients

Meat

• 1/4 cut into 2-inch pieces 5 slices bacon

Produce

• 1 Bay leaf
• 2 tbsp Chives, fresh
• 8 ears Corn, fresh sweet yellow
• 1 clove Garlic
• 1/2 tsp Thyme, dried
• 1 Yellow onion chopped (1 1/2 cups), medium
• 1 lb Yukon gold potatoes

Condiments

• 1 tbsp Honey

Baking & Spices

• 1/4 cup All-purpose flour
• 1 Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Dairy

• 3 tbsp Butter
• 1 Cheddar cheese
• 1 cup Half and half

Liquids

• 5 cups Water
• 
  

• Melt butter in a large pot over medium heat. Add the onion and bacon and cook, stirring frequently, until onion has softened and just starting to brown around edges, about 8 - 10 minutes. Add in the flour and garlic and cook 1 1/2 minutes. While whisking, slowly pour in 5 cups water. Bring mixture to a boil, stirring constantly, then stir in corn kernels and potatoes. Add in thyme and bay leaf and season with salt and pepper to taste. Bring to a light boil, then reduce heat to medium-low and allow to simmer, stirring occasionally, until potatoes are tender, about 20 minutes.
• Remove bay leaf then transfer 2 1/2 cups of the chowder to a blender and blend until smooth. Stir the mixture back into the pot then stir in half and half and honey. Sprinkle each serving with chives and optional cheddar.
• 
  

Until next time! :))

Just Some Randomness

Well that was a quick four months! I thought I would check-in with a small post of a mish-mash of a few pictures (Sorry if you follow me on Instagram, you have pretty much seen these already) but I wanted to update my blog as I am tired of seeing the previous posts pictures! ha ha

I have spent the last few months packing away the things we don't use on a regular basis in preparation for our upcoming move. Which we still are uncertain of the where and when part of it! What we do know is that our landlord has tentatively sold this place, and has told us that the closing will be roughly October 31st. That is about what we know for the when part, but the "where" part, that is still very much up in the air! We really want to move out of this state, as the only reason we are even here is due to my husbands being stationed here in the Navy. We want to move out East but the timing is just not going to be right for that to happen yet.... So another rental it will most likely be here in Washington until we can get our ducks better lined up.

In the meantime we will still be looking for our forever farmhouse (As I like to call it :) out East - NY, PA, NH, CT, NC primarily. It is so disappointing the way this is unraveling, and so quickly! But with our landlord selling our current home out from under us, we don't have enough time to prepare for something as big as a cross country move.... Heck, I told my husband if we find THE farmhouse in the meantime that we really, really like, we are putting an offer in on it, even site unseen!! Yep, I'm a risk taker like that!

I cannot wait to hang my laundry out to dry on my own clothesline, to be able to renovate and restore as I have dreamed about for so long (If you've seen my Pinterest, you'll get it :) and my own white picket fence... to just name a few. There will be plenty of blog posts then, you can count on that!

But until then, we are going to have to make due with one more stepping stone. That is what I am spending a lot of my time on lately, finding a decent rental here to make-do with until we can make our big move.

So please have patience with me as I post sporadically here, and in my strategic photo taking elsewhere, as much of my pretty things are now in boxes lining the walls here... making it not very picture worthy :)

I also updated my Etsy shop today https://www.etsy.com/shop/FARMHOUSE1711 with some new items as well! Here is a few of them :)

A Few of My Favorite Things

Old white ironstone: Whether cracked, crazed or chipped I love it! It is my favorite thing to collect! Although lately I am leaning more towards all white than discolored. I do have many pieces that are discolored and I will probably never part with them, but the crisp white pieces I am now gravitating towards.

 Ironstone milk pitchers are another favorite I am always on the lookout for as well. Bowls of all sizes ..... stacked or grouped together or even used to free up counter space. I have ironstone in probably almost every room :)

Soaps: I am always on the look out for pretty neutral colored soaps. Whether they are old or new...
I do love vintage French soap blocks but they can get costly, so I usually buy mine through Amazon. These French Savon de Marseille blocks are a fraction of the cost through Amazon and they still come from France too :)

I am also a sucker for pretty packaging and typography!

Grain sacks: I will never have enough and of course vintage linens too, especially soft and floppy ones with either no markings, or with red or blue stripes and monograms. I absolutely love them all!

I wish there were more of the taupe/caramel striped grain sacks around and not so darn costly! eBay is the best place to keep an eye out for good deals on grain sacks though I have found, even more so than Etsy. The one above with the c.1912 stitched in it, was a splurge but otherwise I don't mind if they have small stains or rust marks because those are typically the less expensive ones and usually with a good soak they will clean right up!

I also keep an eye out for old linens whether pillow cases, tablecloths or fabric pieces at the Goodwill or any thrift store, as you will find they are super inexpensive! And I like the look of stacked cutter pieces here and there in my favorite colors and patterns, not just in the sewing room :) The above was in my craft room but now sadly so much is boxed as we will be moving soon. 

  On that note, I also wanted to say I am sorry that most of my photo's are close-ups here and on Instagram and not a wider view, but with there being boxes in most room corners for what feels like forever now, and a lot of my goodies are in boxes as well .... So until we get moved, close-ups are gonna be it from me :(
But! When we get where we are going next and settled in, I will for sure be sharing wider view shots! I cannot tell you how excited I am for that..... a blank template! :))

                                                ..... More of my favorites to come!

                                  I hope everyone is enjoying a nice Spring where you are!

Small White Chest of Drawers

Hello! Remember me?

These last few months have just been a whirlwind! We are in the midst of a lot of upcoming changes and transition here, and I am looking forward to what's next on the horizon for us! (More on that in another post).

Anyways ... I thought I would clean up my blog some today and create a fresh new blog post. I have been contemplating deleting this blog and starting over, which may still happen, but if I do I will post something here first.

The above small chest of drawers is a recent gift to myself for Christmas :) I just adore it and thought I'd share a little about it. It's from the store Hobby Lobby, that I had never even heard of until reading a post on the blog FARMHOUSE5540 that Megan mentioned a recent purchase she had made there. So after looking through their website (Being the closest store here is about 50 miles away at least) I found this great reproduction (at a great price!) that I just repainted in white (from the terrible colors they sold it as) and I couldn't be happier! So thanks Megan :)

Also, just in case any of you have not seen Megan's blog, she has the most beautiful farmhouse she is renovating and I get lots of decorating inspiration from her. You must check out her blog if you like "farmhouse style" as much as I do, hers is the real deal!

 The drawer pulls almost match the pulls on my antique cupboard!

So moral of the story here is, if you ever find something that you really like but don't like the color of, remember you can always paint it!

And per usual this time of year, I have the worst Spring fever going on.... so much that I've already painted my front porch little table and chairs... I cannot wait to open the windows and get outside and start gardening! This year I am thinking of growing a bunch of different varieties of herbs too, nothing beats cooking with fresh herbs!

But until then, this is what I see all around my house, green mossy trees.... That's Washington for ya!

 I did clean up my lone strawberry plant I bought on clearance last Fall, I am hoping that it will have a good production this summer, I may have to pick up a few more depending on how this one does, as I have never grown strawberries before. When I was little I remember my grandma always had a little hill behind her house that was just covered in the most delicious strawberries, and I want to eventually do the same :)


Until next time!

Shannon