Answers to questions

I had a few questions asked on my post about Julia (my monitor top refrigerator), and the last post about the kitchen, so I thought I'd answer them here, even though I usually answer in the comments, by email, or in my comment on your blog.

I just figured that if someone asked, others might be interested too :)

While you read along, I threw in a few pictures of day to day life here.

So, first up is this comment from Diana:

"I, of course, love your kitchen, BUT, I am curious about your "every day, from scratch" cooking. Nobody does that much anymore and I would love to hear what you cook. Recipes not necessary, just a list. I love to read about your house and projects. Thank you for sharing! "

Here's the list of 5 dinners for this week:

Monday we had left over red beans and rice, which I had saved in the freezer.

Yesterday, we had a savory dutch baby with parmesan and mushrooms and a small salad w/ a homemade white balsamic vinaigrette.

Tonight I'm cooking a pork roast with acorn squash slices.

For the other two nights:

French onion soup

Steak with blue cheese, mashed potatoes and artichokes

I'll be going to the store Friday, as usual, to shop for the next 3 or 4 days, which is usually how long I plan out for dinners and then I'll go again on Tuesday. I've tried shopping once a week, but I would always end up not wanting what I chose 5 days in advance lol

Most of my recipes come from my cookbooks or family recipes, unless I find something on the internet that makes me drool.

For breakfast, I have steel cut oats with maple syrup and heavy cream, or granola, and John doesn't eat breakfast, except sometimes on Sundays, when he'll make something like french toast, eggs and home fries,

For lunch, I'll have something like cheese and fruit.

For dessert, I'll make a cake, cookies or pie, although we've been cutting down on sweets. Tonight though, I made a chocolate pudding cake from scratch. No cake mix for me!

Not chocolate pudding cake!

Just about everything is made from scratch. I make my own salad dressings, croutons, mock Bisquick, and broth, etc. 

making broth

The only already made things I buy once in awhile are crackers, bread (although I do make it occasionally), and sweets (in the hot summer months), but they're organic.

I do plan on learning how to can and hopefully, next year I'll have a vegetable and fruit garden.

I think I answered more than anyone wanted to know lol

Miss Merry asked:

"Can I ask the fragrance of your candle?"

It's just a candle I picked up at wallyworld, when I was in a hurry, called Banana Bread by Better Homes and Garden. Not too great, but not too bad either ;)

Dewena asked:

"Julia is beautiful and she should feel very loved after all your hard work! Congratulations on bringing her to a home I'm sure she feels very at home in. Does she keep cold? Does she have to be defrosted, a job I do not remember with pleasure? I know to you she would be worth it though. The next time I spot her sister in one of my old magazines I'll be thinking of her."

Yes, she keeps really cold! In fact, when we first tested her after bring her home, I put a glass of water on her top shelf and it froze within an hour. As far as defrosting, it's been almost a month and she barely has any buildup at all, so I'm not sure how often it'll have to be done yet, but I'm sure I will at some point. The other fridge had to be defrosted quite often, so I'm used to it :)

BJ asked where I got Julia:

We found her in an antique store down the street. At first she wasn't for sale, but one day she was and that's when she came to her new home!

Su asked:

"So the little freezer section on it, does it freeze? Some small refrigerators in Italy don't have a door on the freezer. Did he put a new motor in it?"

Yes, the freezer section works really well! This one had a door, but sadly it broke off. And no, we didn't need to put a new motor on it. We just needed to put a new seal around the door and paint it.

I think I answered everyone. If I missed someone or if anyone has any other questions, I'll be happy to answer them. 

Within reason of course ;)

xo

rue

Pumpkins and answers

As I've said before, I'm not much of a seasonal decorator, with the exception being Christmas, and as much as I had tried to get in the spirit of Autumnal decorating this year, it just really isn't going to happen.

I did create a pinterest board for it though, which was fun, but honestly, we celebrate Thanksgiving at my mom's house, so there's really no reason to pull out all the stops.

Plus, how much fun is it to decorate with paint cans everywhere?

I suppose I could put some pumpkins on them and call it a vignette ;)

That said, I did buy some cute mini pumpkins and scattered them a few places.

Oops! I forgot to turn on the light ;)

And I know how much some of you like seeing pictures of the same thing over and over again, so I'm indulging you.

Can you hear the dripping sarcasm? :p

Do you spy the little white pumpkin, on the bottom left?

Here's a closer look:

I bought it from my dear friend, Celestina, who I've known for a very long time. She creates beautiful things for her Etsy shop and sometimes shows them off on her blog Southern Daydreams.

Even her packaging is beautiful:

I like to support my friends, when I can, if you haven't noticed ;)

By the way, some of you have asked whether or not certain pieces of furniture are antiques.

Yes, almost all of them are, with the exception of the grandfather clock and chairs in my dining room, the daybed in the family room, and the coat rack below.

But, aside from the daybed, all of them are pretty much vintage, considering that they're all over 30 or 40 years old.

Also, some of you were curious about the antique book in my office that I showed last week.

It's a Family Bible from 1767

Not my family's Bible sadly, but the Hirschbek Family.

I bought it on Ebay for a song, so if anyone knows anyone with that last name I'd be happy to return it to their family.

It's gorgeous inside, but very fragile.

So that's it for today.

I haven't had time to answer all your questions or sweet comments from non-bloggers, or visit everyone's blogs, in my last few posts, but I plan to catch up soon.

I hope you understand :)

xo

rue

Answers

Miss me? ;)

I was out of town camping for a few days and I'm beat! But, I thought I'd sit down to answer your questions today. I didn't want you to think I'd skipped town again ;)

How many square feet is your house?

1800 sq. feet, but the main living part upstairs is only about 1000 sq. feet.

What would be your dream job? 

My dream job would be to restore old homes to their former glory.

I have been wondering about your son? I know you had said in your previous blog that he was joining the service (if I remember correctly???). You have mentioned your sweet daughter Annie a couple of times now and was hoping and praying your son is safe and happy? What made you choose Arizona? I hope those aren't too personal. :) Also, one last one.....where do you get your vintage clothing goodies? Do you have a good online source, or hand-me-downs from your mom? Just curious. 

My son, Alex is 24 and going to Military Officer's School in another state right now, after having served as an enlisted soldier for four years. He's healthy and doing well :)

I chose Arizona, because I wanted to be close to my family and I wanted to be back on this side of the country again. My mom and my brother and his family all live down south about an hour and a half away, but I love seasons, so I moved up North.

I get all my vintage dresses from Ebay, Etsy and in thrift stores, if I'm lucky. My mom is only in her early 60s, so she wasn't around in the 40s and too young in the 50s ;)

Do you miss your home in Ohio?? and also a dumb question Rue do you miss the fire fly's ??? I know as a kid growing up in Iowa we had them every night and would catch them..when we moved to Calif it was the first thing I missed..

Sometimes I miss the old house, but because I love this one so much, it makes up for it ;)

I miss the fireflies terribly! I think that's the only downside to living here.

Do you do facebook?? if so what's your fb name??

I have a Facebook account for a private organization I work with, but not a personal one. I'm not a fan of the majority of social media LOL You can find me on Pinterest and here, but that's it.

That glass fronted cabinet in your living room....is there a story behind it? It's quite beautiful. As a matter of fact, I'd be interested in any back stories to your furniture. I really find it fascinating where people "get" their furniture...gifted, inherited, thrift stores...that's the fun part of telling the story of a life!

I might do a post on the back stories about my furniture, but for now I'll just tell you about the one you mentioned.... I was in an antique store called The Pine Trader in Santa Barbara in the early 1990s (It's moved since then to Santa Ynez) and I was looking for a hutch to hold my china for the dining room in another house. They had a back room with furniture that had just come in from Europe and it was covered in dirt with the glass broken out of it. They dug it out for me and I had the glass put back in. Originally it was a library piece, which is what it's used as now, on the top half. It's from England originally and made in the 1800s.

How in the world did you find such a cute, cute, cute house? Can you tell I love it? As someone who's read you for many years, this house so fits you. The nooks and crannies, it's you.. But, the setting, the look, how did you find it?

Thank you! Would you believe that I saw it online? I knew it was my house at that very moment. I was still in Ohio, so I had my mom look at it and she called and said "This house is you!"

Your kitchen has a stainless lab table - does that work well for a work table? I've seen them but didn't know if they were really doable for a "real person's" kitchen as opposed to a staged kitchen.  

It depends on how you want to use it. I needed a place to have my cutting board and it works well for that, but I wouldn't place food on it. In fact, I'm hoping to find a wood island that's skinny enough for the kitchen and add a marble top for rolling dough, but this works for now :)

What will your new vehicle be??

I want to get an old 50s truck eventually, but my everyday car is a Cadillac.

Would love to know what state/town you are in now. Ha!!! I know it sounds warm. Where in the world is Carmen (Rue) Sandiego!!!

I live in the mountains of Northern Arizona, where we have all four seasons. Most people think Arizona is all dessert, but the top half of the state isn't at all :) The average temperature at this time of year is 55, but today it's 38 and snowing lol

I just have one question. Can I buy your house??

HAHAHAHA..... no :p

No questions for you, except I did notice someone mentioned Ohio. I lived in Columbus for 14 years.

I lived in Delaware, so maybe we were neighbors at one point? :) Then I moved to Xenia for about 3 years.

Some of the questions I was a little vague on and I'm sorry about that, but I'm kinda keeping  some of my private life private, if you know what I mean. 

I know you'll understand :)

I hope everyone had a great weekend!

xo

rue