Carol's Carmel Corn

2 c brown sugar
2 sticks (1 c) butter
1/2 c Karo
1/4 tsp cream of tartar
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp soda
8 - 9 c unsalted popped corn

Mix sugar, butter, Karo, cream of tartar, and salt in saucepan.  Bring to a boil while stirring.  Boil 3 minutes, stirring constantly. 

Add soda and stir. 

Prepare a cookie sheet with foil and spray foil with Pam or grease lightly with butter.  


Pour over popped corn and bake at 200 degrees for 1 1/2 hours, stirring every 15 - 20 minutes.  Cool before serving. 

Pumpkin Spice Muffins

1 package spice cake mix
1 can pumpkin pie filling
1/4 cup water
2 peeled, cored, diced apples or 1 c. raisins or craisins

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Prepare muffin pan.  Mix ingredients and spoon into pan.  Bake for 15-20 minutes.  Makes   2 dozen. 

April 2010 Focus: Guest Bath

The towels we got as a gift inspired us to go a bit of a different direction with this bath for now.  We had started collecting white and black enamelware and old barber / powder room / shaving stuff to make it primitivish but the towels had fisherman and fish on them.  Sooooooo, we went ahead and revamped the storage shelf into a "water closet" with a pull chain and brass pipe.  We moved the family heirloom tackle box from Landon's John Deere bath and put it on top of the water closet.  There is also a display of fishing flies.  We added a few fishing signs and got a new rug and stool/shelf.   On the stool/shelf we put an enamelware pan to hold magazines and an enamelware bedpan to hold the hand towels.  It's too funny!

By using the new towels, we can still use the navy blue shower curtain and keep the vanity top the same verdigris color for now.  We still have the Sears catalog page on display in here, though!  We'll try to get some more pics of the towels and enamelware on here soon.



 

Spring Break 2010 Mini-Focus: BBQ Patio

We took all the gray/black granite bricks (from the old Methodist Church that our neighbor recycled) - the ones that had lined the driveway in the front and had been part of the pond, and we created a little patio for Jesse's barbecue pit, smoker, etc.  He and the boys also retrieved a big slab of black and white granite that our neighbor had, and they put it on a metal tool cart/stand next to the new "patio" to make a cutting board/countertop  We enjoyed burgers and fajitas over Spring Break from this new outdoor kitchen! 

Nailed to the tree branches behind the grill is a sign made out of old barnwood that says "Grillin' Station"  with pegs for all of Jesse's barbecuing utensils.  We are also thinking about putting a smaller sign with it that says "Ribs Beans Gas."  :-)

February 2010 Focus: Dining Room

We spent the month of February focused on the dining room.  We put down vinyl flooring, added a punch of bright white with new baseboards and door/window casings, and new blinds like the ones in the master bedroom and bathroom.  Jesse added some tin doors to the jelly cabinet - it still needs to be "rusted" and have a design punched in it.  We are looking for a new curtain rod and we plan to add some greenery to the top of the hutch.  Next month we are going to work in the guest bathroom since we got new towels as a gift recently.

January 2010 Focus: Texas Bath

Here is the progress we made in our bathroom during the month of January 2010. Lots of old barnwood trim!  The mirror/shelf is barnwood, and Jesse made a little stepstool, corner table (to hide the catbox), trash can cover, and shelves out of it.  I love the little iron star details on the shelves - we got a box of stuff like it at an auction!  We decided to keep the door painted like an outhouse because it worked so well with the gray tones of the wood.  Also at the auction, we got a new towel bar for by the shower. I got creative with the rusty-iron textured spray paint and made a toilet brush holder out of one of Jesse's old boots!  Since I took these pictures we also got a longhorn topped paper towel holder that we are using for extra rolls of T.P.  and a new white blind and white Battenburg lace curtain to match the ones in the bedroom.  Oh... I added some fake bluebonnets to the flag toothbrush holder that is on the shelf under the mirror and we picked up a few towels that are red and look like they have blue bandana trim on them. Next month we are moving on to the dining room!