Placemats, doughnut muffins & resolutions

Excited to show you one of my latest projects (and a major labor of love), which is six Christmas placemats that I made and gave to my mother-in-law for Christmas. I found the pattern in my Amy Butler's In Stitches book - which has TONS of cute projects. This is the first and only project I've completed from this book - but I plan to do many more down the road.

I made my mother a baker's apron - will show in a future post...I need her to model it for a picture!

Over the Christmas break I made these delicious Doughnut Muffins. Highly recommended by my husband and his co-workers. He is already begging me to make them again. I like this recipe because they are made just like muffins (no frying required) but you can satisfy your doughnut craving because they taste just like the real deal! YUM. Click here for the recipe. WARNING: You may pass out when you see how much butter is involved. Do not attempt if your New Year's resolution has anything to do with being healthier in 2011.

I hope all of you had a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! I'll end with a few of my New Year's resolutions (I always have more than one in hopes that it will increase my odds of achieving at least one)....

• Blog more often (you will notice that the last time I blogged was September) - goal is to blog at least twice a month.
• Learn how to use my Nikon D40 camera to its fullest potential - I'm not sure to measure the success of this resolution, but I'll try to post about any new tricks I learn and hold myself accountable through my blog
• And my most important resolution: complete a good deed for someone else once a month. This does not include everyday kindness to others - I'm talking about something that will make a significant impact and will include a significant sacrifice for myself. The important part is sacrifice.

Ready or not, here comes 2011!

First Experience with Reupholstery

I really wanted some black chairs for my dining room....but we couldn't afford 6 brand new dining room chairs. So I kept my eye out all summer at garage sales and on Craig's List for THE 6 black chairs. Of course, I was never able to stumble upon EXACTLY what I had in mind (beggers can't be choosers).

So, when I found these 6 chairs at a local garage sale, I snatched them up. One problem - they were the wrong color and they had white seats that were begging to be replaced with something ultra cute.

So, I spent a few hours sanding them down and used the Rustoleum spray paint (which saves tons of time and I highly recommend for painting furniture). I visited my favorite online fabric shop, Sew Mama Sew, and was pleasantly surprised to discover that reupholstering furniture is much easier than I had envisioned.

Here is my finished product (one of six mind you):

The Art of Preserving Herbs

My neighbor was kind enough to let me take some cuttings from her oregano patch. That night I made a pasta dish, but didn't want the rest of the herbs to go to waste. So, with some help from my good friend Google, I was able to combine bits and pieces of advice on how to preserve herbs. Here is what I came away with and it worked out great (and easy too)!

The first step is to gather the stems of the herbs you cut and place them upside down into a paper bag (one that you cut several slits in for air movement). Wrap the top of the paper bag around the ends of the stems and tie a string around all of it to keep them hanging in the bag without dropping to the bottom. Then, hang the bag upside down for at least a week. Once the herbs are dry, chop up the dried leaves (or stems too depending on the type of herb you have) and place in an empty jar for later use.

Have any of you tried drying or preserving your own herbs? If so, please let me know if you have any alternative methods!

~ Lindsey

The Simple Things In Life: A Lesson From a 15-Month-Old

Well, no tutorial or showing of latest project with this post - just a few notes on life at the Hotz Ranch. Our little family has had (and it isn’t even close to being over) a VERY busy summer. Later this month our best friends are getting married, then we’re off to the Ozarks, then it’s Jeremy’s Grandmother’s 80th Birthday Bash, then football. Phew.
As we took a break to catch our breath on Monday after the 4th, we were lucky enough to spend some good, long quality time with The Bug (aka Lily).

What is it about the simple things in life that make life so fulfilling? The Bug reminded me that we don’t need anything but love and a laundry basket to have a good time. These are the moments that make life worth living and these are the moments that matter. Not the extravagant vacation you’ve been planning for months, or the new toy or gadget you want so badly. It’s all about the small, simple pleasures such as riding around in a laundry basket. She couldn’t be happier and no amount of trips or toys can replace or replicate the joy I saw in her face on Monday when it was just the three of us and our love and laughter. I hope everyone had a wonderful Fourth of July and was able to enjoy time with what matters most, family.
 

Oversized lounge pillows

I know, it has been over a MONTH since my last blog. I'm sure all my blog fans are so disappointed - ya right! Here is what I've been up to....

I was lucky enough to come across some extra large (30"x30") pillow forms at Hancock Fabrics at half-off! Every family room needs extra large lounge pillows for movie night and to add a little cushion barrier from the stone fireplace for the kiddos.

Since I didn't use an already developed tutorial for these....yes...I really did make these using my own imagination. The idea is so simple, I'm sure the instructions below will make expert sewers laugh uncontrollably...but I wanted to share for those that are new to the sewing world. So, for all you novice sewers who read my blog (ha, who am I kidding!?), here you go:

I cut two square fabric pieces - both about 1 - 1.5" wider than the dimensions of the pillow form.

Since my pillows were extra-large, I used 24" long zippers - I wanted to make sure I could take the covers off for washing....with kids, everything needs to be washable. :o)

My first step was to fold over and iron down one side for the zipper:

I then sew the zipper to both sides of fabric (as you can see, I chose to use different fabrics for each side of the pillows).

After I sew the zipper on, I then turn the fabric pieces so right sides are facing each other. With zipper open, I sewed all around the outer edges of the cover. When finished, turn right side out and insert pillow form.

Here is a photo of the pillows turned over...

Kittens!

Our beloved farm cat had kittens!

Aren't they adorable?!? Our farm cat, Sluggo (my husband named her....in case you are curious), is an amazing cat. She is our only farm cat and she's very special. When we were completing our house addition, she accidentally hitched a ride in the back of a construction worker's pickup truck. Thinking that she was just an old farm cat that we didn't care about, he dropped her off in the ditch on the side of the road on his way home once he noticed she was in his truck (many, many miles away from our ranch). We were so sad to notice she was missing, and she was gone for about a week when she showed up again - boy were we surprised, and the construction worker, when he saw she had returned and proceeded to tell us his story in disbelief that she made it back home.

Anyway, here is a picture of the beautiful momma...

Child's Bean Bag Chair

Had to share this great project I had made for Lily's 1st Birthday. She loves to perch on this chair and watch Saturday morning cartoons. I found out pretty quickly that bean bag pellets are pretty pricey....so I just filled the bag full of scrap fabric and tore up an old comforter that I was about to send to Goodwill. Click here for the tutorial.

Ready, set, wait

I planted all my cold weather veggies a few weeks ago. Each night when Lily and I get home, we run over to the garden to see if anything has sprouted or changed. I'm a dork, I know. My onions and radishes are coming up now, but someone/something (or the wind) stole two cauliflower transplants right from the ground. Oh well - that has been my only set back so far. Here is my "2010 Garden Plan". I created a document so when my labels in my garden are missing, or I need to refer to what I did this year for next year, I have it all documented. I've been told that what plants you "follow" with what matters. Also - I must admit, I don't think I really know what each of these look like as a plant...and if I need to pull weeds...I better know the difference!

Here is the grand plan (with some extra space in the far south-west corner for tomatoes and maybe strawberries):

My garden bed is ready to go!

Yay! My husband slaved all Sunday afternoon and made me a garden bed! I'm so excited to start growing some fruits & veggies this summer!

Here are some plants I definitely want to try growing this year:

peas
green peppers - maybe red and yellow too
strawberries
radish
cucumber
egg plant
tomatoes
raspberries - these will have to grown outside the garden bed...and won't be "ready" for a few years

Let me know if you have any suggestions for me. I'm new to this...in fact....Jeremy picked up some reading material today on starting a garden, and I also reference the Iowa State horticulture extension website A LOT.

I guess Sunday was a BIG STEP closer to my dream of living off the land...here we go!

Summertime Family Table

Another great Craig's List find. Earlier this week we found this amazing table listed, and today, my husband and his dad picked it up and brought it home. We live on top of a hill and surrounded by open countryside....so it is very windy. We knew we needed furniture on our deck that would withstand the winds out here and this table is PERFECT - and really heavy! It was custom made in Australia and is made from iron wood (really dense wood). The guy we bought it from works for Rockwell and was stationed in Australia for awhile - the army moved him and this ridiculously heavy table and benches home to Iowa.

I'm visualizing many, many years of summertime family meals gathered around this table.

And check out the branding on the top of the table:

How perfect is that?!

Turning Boring & Old to Cute and New

With Lily being sick the past few days, I had a bit more time on my hands than normal. This usually translates to more sewing time. Yay! My latest project was taking this:

Into this:

I found the idea here (includes brief tutorial). It took me only one "Lily nap" (that is usually my standard measurement technique for sewing projects).

Join the Food Revolution!

Click on the icon below to join Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution. Jamie's concept:

I believe that every child in America has the right to fresh, nutritious school meals, and that every family deserves real, honest, wholesome food. Too many people are being affected by what they eat. It's time for a national revolution. America needs to stand up for better food!
You live in an amazing country full of inspirational people and you have the power to change things. With your help, we can get better food into homes, schools and communities all over America and give your kids a better future.

Sign the petition and be a part of the Food Revolution. It could be the most important thing you ever do for your family. America's health needs you now!

Why Rural Love?

My first post. Hmmm. I guess I should start by answering the question: Why "rural love"? I decided to start a blog about my adventures in rural Iowa. Boring? Heck no! I grew up in a small town, but definitely a "city girl". My husband grew up on a farm, and when we got married we decided to stay on his farm and raise our family in the country. I fell in love with the country lifestyle instantly...and it hasn't faded. Surely my children will have a completely different experience growing up than I did, and I'm excited to learn and experience the lifestyle right along with them.

I love homemade. Everything from making a meal from sctratch, to sewing a new toy for my daughter. I decided to blog about my adventures of our rural lifestyle and my pursuit of wholesome living. We have no crops on our farm, just cows. My dream is to expand into chickens as well as having my own garden. Living off the land is an ultimate goal of mine.

So, I'm planning to share my ideas, projects and love of the farm with anyone who is interested. If you love to craft, stay tuned. I LOVE sewing and crafts. I plan to share my projects as I go along...and a few recipes along the way.

Take care and God Bless! HAPPY EASTER!