The Auction has begun...

Please stop by and visit it here

February 14th at 9 pm...

will be the beginning of The Penny Feather Tree Auction. I will post the link as soon as it becomes available so please check back.

Over 30 handmade ornaments from over 30 wonderfully talented artists.
100% of the proceeds will go to The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.

If you pop on over the the Pfatt Blog you can view a slide show that has a photo of each and every ornament. They are fantastic!!
(scroll down to the second slide show on the main page)

To learn more about sweet Penny's fight go to her blog, Penny vs. Cancer.

This is SERIOUS business people.....

When it comes to food....the Moody's don't mess around.

Seriously.

I first fell in love with food after we remodeled our kitchen about 4 years ago. We did what the experts tell you to do.

We bought the worst house on the best street.

But it was bad.

I mean BAD.

The kitchen, and especially the oven and stove, were bad enough for me to wave a big white flag and say...I GIVE UP....I'm not going to try to "cook".

We lived on pasta, bagel bites (which I still love), and those fantastic Costco pot stickers that you find in the freezer section.

There isn't anything wrong with any of those things. I still serve them up from time to time...and we enjoy them. But feeding 4 hungry guys...I needed more... and when your stove takes FOREVER to heat up and even longer to cool down and never quite gets to boiling...or just burns.

Forget about it.

Cookies that stay raw in the middle, cakes that don't rise.



Why bother?

When I was planning my kitchen I chose to splurge on my oven and stove and scrimp a little on my floors and cabinets.

I have no regrets.

Once the kitchen was done I jumped into cooking, full force, and loved it.

I still love it.

It's relaxing and enjoyable...and it doesn't hurt when you have 3 young men....and an old man....who love to eat.

So tonight....we go with grilled cheese and short rib sandwiches with pickled caramelized onions and arugula.

I love bon appetit magazine.

I love their photographs (who knew their was such a thing as a food stylist), their readers' favorite restaurant recipes and their Quick Everyday Foods section.

Would you like to come for dinner?

We would love to have you. But you aren't allowed to do the dishes.

Thems the house rules!!

Bon Appetit !!

p.s. The recipe for the ah-mazing short rib sandwich is here...YUM!!!

Mark your calendars....

February 14 will be the start date for The Feather Tree Auction in honor of our Sweet Home Alabama Girl...Penny McAllister.

You can read all about it here...and stay tuned for more details.
Please note...all proceeds will go to the Acute Leukemia Chapter.

To read about Penny's fight you can visit her here.

Cubbies, drawers, boxes and more....

I'm a sucker for organization. Well...maybe not organization in general... but more like....those things that can help you be organized.

Like this piece. Tons of little shelves for all your little doo dads....

Oh...(insert squeal of delight here ) Look at those sweet little drawers that pull out...and check out those drawer pulls... LOVE LOVE LOVE....SWEET LOVE IT IS

Check it out ... cubbies AND hooks...HELLLLOOOOOOO...you can't go wrong!!!
( all pieces available at Ballards.com)

Even though I have "Organizational Love" for those pieces above....here are few shots of some of my own organizational loves....from my studio....

I showed this piece once before but I love it so much...I'll show it again.

MMMM....yummy....old suitcases and doll trunks all filled with treasures.

I haven't quite figured out if I love these or not. The two middle boxes are quilted hanky boxes. They are frou frou and lovely....yet they work well with my darker, more primitive pieces. So yes, I think I love them.

The top box is from my dear sweet and lovely friend. I know I love this....wish I had more...hint hint.

This is a great piece...you can't quite tell because of all my mess in it but HEY....cut me some slack...I've been working and digging in here to find treasures.

Last but not least...I had to show this. It's a "re-do" on the vintage laundry basket. I have the real deal....a vintage one and I LOVE it. I scoot it all around my laundry room.
Well let's be serious for a moment.
My laundry room isn't really a room but more like a "space". But I still scoot it and it's great. So if you can't find a vintage one you can snag one here.
They call it a French Wire Hamper.
Just a little fyi though. You can get a vintage one for a tad bit less than this one at your local antique market. What a great excuse to go shopping!!

Speaking of cubbies, drawers, boxes and more...

I just updated my "available" page with some Valentine goodies. There are a couple of pieces in fabulous old boxes.

Check them out.

Love is in the air...

Sweetheart dollies coming soon....

Hhmmmph....

Wow, I feel like I just pretty much disappeared out of blog land. Where are the days going? The cold (yes, 40 degrees is cold to this California girl) weather seems to have me in a bit of a funk. I've been spending my days in the kitchen (and grocery store) cooking up a storm for the starving boys in my life. They are all deep into their sports and are feeling the calorie burn. For those of you that like hearty stews, slow cooking, sauces and gravies...check this cookbook out. Williams Sonoma always gets it right!!

I just ordered this one off of Amazon. It's a real "meat and potatoes" type of cookbook. I have cooked a number of things off of her blog and it makes the boys really happy.

Speaking of her blog...grab a big cup of tea and spend some time perusing. It's delightful.