Author Archives: countrygirlbling

About countrygirlbling

I am a 55 years young, divorced (many years) mom of 2 great kids. My son is 28 years old & my daughter is 24. They are both out on their own forging through life as successful, functioning adults . . . a mother's dream! I hope that my blog and my experiences will encourage you & give you hope. Our journey through life can be unpredictable at times but KNOW that if you are a believer in Christ, HE will always have your best interest at heart! (Even when things don't make sense!) Toodles
Jul27

Vintage Bar Stools – Redo

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Remember my Vintage Bar Stools score?

Time for the re-do!  I decided on Rust-Oleum’s “Heritage Red” spray paint in a satin finish.

I used a sanding block to remove all the loose paint.  Some places went down to the actual metal.  Then wiped them down with a damp cloth.

My saw horses were the perfect holder!  And the only shady spot to spray paint was in my garden.

The feet on the stools had nothing in them and I didn’t want the metal scraping up my deck or concrete.  I found these cup inserts at Home Depot!!

They went in really easy, just a few hits with the mallet.

Voila!!  Love the red!

Here’s a close up – “Heritage Red”.  Now just waiting for my cushions to arrive.

 

Jul26

WOW Me Wednesday!

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Foil packets on the grill!!!!  I don’t have central air conditioning so it’s a bit warm in my house during the summer months and I HATE to turn my oven on.  I found some “Grill Packet” recipes on Pinterest and gave one a try.  This one is called “Southwestern Chicken”.

I mixed one can of kernel corn, one can of rotel w/lime, one can of black beans and 1 TBS. of taco seasoning.  I did buy “grill” foil for these.  I scooped some of the mixture onto the foil, added a chicken breast with some salt & pepper and also squeezed some lime on it.  I preheated my grill too about 400 degrees.  It was 3 of my burners lit to about medium.

I probably cooked them a little longer than needed but I was afraid of the chicken not being cooked.  This was about 45 min. soooo 35 min. probably would have been enough.

After it cooked I added some cheese, guac and I thinned out some sour cream with fresh lime juice.  I forgot to add the cilantro!  It was yummy!!!

Here is the original link: http://www.dessertnowdinnerlater.com/southwestern-chicken-packets/

 

Jul25

2017 Pumpkin Crop

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Pumpkin crop is coming along.  I was super late getting these planted.  I actually had seeded some plants in the house but they all died.  I planted these seeds outside the middle of June so I’m not sure if I’ll have pumpkins for my Harvest Party this year.  The harvest time on these seeds was a bit shorter than last year’s crop and these are my first blooms for the season, sooo maybe pumpkins in time.  I actually saw a couple of bees inside the flowers when I took this pic this morning.  I seriously need to do some weeding!

Jul24

Long Lasting Lemons

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I had seen this idea on Pinterest and it works.  I was going out of town and had recently purchased these lemons so I thought I’d give it a try.  Nothing to loose cause they surely would have been rotten by the time I returned.  I washed them first and then covered them in water in a wide mouth mason jar.  I did this on July 4th, left on the 5th and returned to town on the 14th.  I actually cut one of them last night – 3 weeks later and it was still perfectly fresh and juicy, great idea.  Here’s the original link:  http://www.thehappierhomemaker.com/how-to-keep-lemons-fresh-longer/

Jul20

“Welcome to the Farm”

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First let me say that I love Behr’s Barn & Fence paint.  It only come in red or white and is not sold in all Home Depot stores.  I used the white last year on my pumpkin patch fence and my potting bench.  It goes on thick and has great coverage, even on this old wood.  And it’s only $15 gal.

I had a left over 2x6x10 from my deck and I’ve been wanting to put a board across the top of the garden entrance to define it more and to hang a sign.  So I cut it to size, painted and my neighbor helped me lift it into place.  Yes, that is “iced coffee”!! YUM

I love the overhead board and the fresh paint.  I didn’t, however, love that my sign was too dark and kind of disappeared into the landscape.

I’m sure I’ve mentioned in the past that spray paint is my best friend, soooooo I had some high gloss white spray paint.  I painted it, let it dry and then took some sandpaper and ran it over some of the high points – just to knock off some of the shine.

Wayyyyyy better!

One of my friends/coworkers (Mamma Mia) found this sign for me over a year ago at an antique shop.  It’s been hanging in my house and my intentions were always to have it hang over the garden entrance.  Yahoo!!!

Jul19

My Garden is Flourishing!

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I took this picture on June 13th.  Make notice of my little cherry tomato plant in the center, right in front of the bee bath.

Wholly molly, right!?! I took this picture this past Sunday, July 16th – just about a month’s worth of growing.  That cherry tomato plant has like quadrupled in size.  It’s the one in the middle in the yellow cage!  You can’t even see the bee bath any more.  I cannot wait to harvest these babies.  A good amount of green cherry tomatoes as well as regular tomatoes.

They’re twin boys!!!!  Remember . . .

3 Bumps = Male Bell Pepper: Less seeds and better to cook with.

4 Bumps = Female Bell Pepper: Best for eating raw, they’re sweeter & have more seeds

Jul18

Cali Trip – St. Helena

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One of my girlfriends (Sherry) came & picked me up at my brother’s a couple days after the wedding.  We went “up valley” (I was in Napa) to St. Helena for some shopping, wine tasting & food.  I grew up in Napa and remember driving by this motel everytime we went up valley.  It began as a religious retreat in the 1940’s and changed into an art deco motel in the 1950’s.  Well the rooms are totally updated, very nice and very clean.  It’s located right off the highway as you enter into St. Helena and they have a continental breakfast with pastries from Butter Cream Bakery (which is a well known bakery in Napa).  http://www.elbonita.com

It’s a really cute property, lots of huge trees.  If you’re ever in Napa and traveling “up valley” to do some wine tasting, look into to staying here!

They have a swimming pool (not huge), a separate hot tub and also a sauna.  It’s surrounded by lush greenery and a large hedge of jasmine.

Anddddddd if you’re looking for a great place to eat – Tra Vigne Pizzeria!!!  You could walk there from the motel.  I’ve been there once before and couldn’t wait to go back.  It is delicious!!!!  Sherry and I had the garlic rolls “Saporito”, they’re truffle french fries with aoli and a simple salad with a lemon citronette dressing.  Oh my word – they alllllll were sooooo delicious (the pizza is also fantastic)!  The hotel is on the left side of the highway and the restaurant is tucked in behind a building on the right side – just about a block north of the hotel and over the railroad tracks.  You won’t be disappointed!!  http://pizzeriatravigne.com

We also drove up to Calistoga for some wine tasting.  Sherry’s friend Lydia and her family have a winery just outside of Calistoga and a store front on the main street (Lincoln Ave.) in Calistoga for wine tasting.  It was great!  Cute little shop with wine and trinkets.  We each brought back a bottle (not from this list) lol.  I purchased their “Farm Worker” Chardonnay.  It’s a great, light, fruity, not too sweet summer wine.  We had a great time “up valley”.  Be sure and stop by their place!  Calistoga is just up the highway from St. Helena.  https://maldonadovineyards.com