What to Do on A Snow Day

Measure donuts.

Yup, I did say measure donuts. Feeling a little under the weather today, I really don't feel like doing what I feel I should be doing on a day like this (ie. cleaning out all the closets in the whole house!).

We (my son, husband and I) are having a snow day at home because of a huge snowstorm supposed to be happening here with up to 12" of snow by later this afternoon....at the rate of 1-3" per hour.

Not too bad....yet

There was not much snow when we finally got up around 9 a.m. so my husband decided to make a run to Breen's Market right down the road in the village of Palmyra for some donuts. He's been doing that a lot lately, especially on Saturday mornings. But never on a Wednesday morning!

Not many fit in the box....two have been consumed!

These are not your typical donuts. They are HUGE!

And delicious! My favorite is the Apple Fritter. There is not one bit of apple it it. I must ask them about that one day.

This is the size after I ate about a third of it. Can you see that it is 6" wide?! They all are. I eat mine a little at a time because it is just too big and I would be too naughty to eat it all at once!

A brand new Dunkin' Donuts just went up within walking distance of Breen's. Sometimes those big chains ruin it for the little Mom and Pop stores in small towns. Breens has been there since 1908. But, no worry, the donut business is booming at Breen's. Maybe it has something to do with the fact that they are more than twice the size of Dunkin's and they taste fabulous!

I'm not trashing Dunkin'......we drink their coffee every morning, I drink a medium decaf French Vanilla Iced Coffee with four creams on the side all summer, and I even have a Dunkin' gift card with me at all times. But when I went in last Friday at 9 a.m. for their two donuts for 99 cents special, I couldn't find any that I wanted! Shoulda gone to Breens!

It is getting snowier here as the day goes on. It's also almost time to brew up some decaf Dunkin' and have a little more of my apple fritter.....

What do you do on a snow day?

AnnMarie  xo

I am linking up with these great blog parties this week:

Thursday Favorite Things
Share Your Cup Thursday

Bunny Musings

My love of bunnies goes back to the 1980's when I started decorating my farmhouse. I love vintage or new....whichever one tugs at my heart when I see it. 

I treat myself when I see one I just have to have. I never purposely started a collection, it just kinda happened.

Some have a special spot in my home year round and others come out to play in the Spring. These floppy eared stuffed bunnies have been sitting on my oak wash stand since the 80's, first in my farmhouse bathroom and now in my spare bedroom of my Victorian home. They are faded and probably a little dusty but they bring back memories that I want to savor for a while.

This resin bunny nibbling on his carrots finds a place somewhere in the house every Spring. This year he will be nibbling at the foot of my just acquired chippy rocker.

This is a pipe cleaner rabbit with a vintage paper face. He likes hanging around my corner cabinet.

I just found this great mini wooden sideboard/dresser today and thought that Mrs. Bunny with her 2 boy bunnies and 4 girl bunnies would look great on top. Her children all fit neatly inside her when they are done playing.

Now, I am not complaining, but the bright sun today made it kinda hard to get the pictures I wanted in my window seat! The hydrangeas are dried from my yard, the pink pumpkin is still in great shape from last Fall and the shiny pink vintage bunny is one I found at a thrift store last year. 

This is one of my most favorite places in my house to create a seasonal vignette. The vintage rose doily stays year round, the lamp is a vintage find I just had to keep for myself and the bunny on a pedestal is one of my favorite in my collection.

Down at their feet is my Victorian bunny that comes out every Spring. I have had her forever. When she appears it means there are brighter days ahead.

This cute Lefton bunny planter is listed in my Etsy shop. I can't resist sometimes decorating with some of the great items I find to sell. They are usually the ones that go the quickest!

Peter Rabbit has a backpack full of dried flowers, "fur" and the cutest face. He hangs out in different places every year. This year he likes the paint splattered, chippy chair I found at a garage sale for $2 with a basket full of veggies from Mr. McGregor's garden! My bunny rabbit rug is out from hiding near my bed for a Spring debut.

This bunny is not vintage but is made to look it using paper mache and a great paint technique.

I am not sure where I got this large, cardboard two piece egg. It is quite old and beat up. It has a new baby and bunny family on both sides.

I found this great ceramic Easter basket dated 1986 at a thrift store and it brought back memories of my 20's when I would go to a nice lady's home to make different things for myself. I have a small basket like this of my own. The bunny is also from the 80's and glazed to look like the chocolate ones.

Here is the same basket with my collection of Jim Shore carved eggs. Love his quilted look items.

A local artist made chalkware bunnies for a limited time so I grabbed two of them.

The ceramic basket bowl is another thrift store find that I filled with Jim Shore eggs. Great to fill with jelly beans or those Cadbury mini eggs I am afraid to buy....I would eat the whole bag! I found the nest in my yard. There are always abandoned nests laying on the ground. I have one that the birds made from the pinata pieces left after my son's birthday party.

The two Peter Rabbit's are collectibles I originally bought to sell. May not happen now! The small one is a salt shaker and the large one is a trinket box.

These three bunnies are off to deliver their eggs. They are paper mache, painted to look vintage and then dusted with clear sparkles.

They have a special place on the parlor table every year with my granddaughters and a very old picture of my daughter and son.

These next set of bunnies are from my farmhouse in the apple orchard and now sit on my dining room windowsill year round in my Victorian house. I couldn't get a good picture with all the bright sunshine so I had them sit in the vintage high chair while I took their picture. The wooden bunny is an actual puzzle. I took it apart once and then never again!

The chocolate mold is a real treasure. The small bunny with the cute smile is a shelf-sitter, or in my case a windowsill sitter.

Some of these treasures are listed in my Etsy shop and some probably will never be! I am not ready to part with them yet.

Another reason to keep thrifting and picking new ones to sell.

Spring is almost here and for me, the official start of picking, garage saleing and antiquing season.

Pickers, get your eagle eyes and dollar bills ready! See you out there!

AnnMarie xo

I am linking up with these fun blog hop parties this week:

The Scoop Mega Spring Linky Party
Be Inspired
Feathered Nest Friday
Freedom Fridays with All My Bloggy Friends
Lets Connect Social Media Round Up Blog Hop
Thrifty Life Thursday
Anything Blue Friday
Pink Saturday
Sincerely Paula's No Rules Weekend Blog Party
Make it Pretty Monday
Amaze Me Monday
Nifty Thrifty Tuesday
You're Gonna Love It Tuesday
What's It Wednesday
Thursday Favorite Things
Share Your Cup Thursday
Cottage Style Party
It's a Spring Thing
Strut Your Stuff Saturday Link Party
Sundays at Home

Blah Blah Blogging.....

The winter blahs, that is.

So I have been feeling a little guilty about not posting anything in 2 weeks. But I've got nothing to post because I am having a severe case of writer's/ideas block. I thought for sure by now something would have popped into my head.

Nothing.

Winter is just tough. If you don't snow ski or ice skate or do outdoor activities, what's left to do but eat out, rent a movie or go shopping? It is all good for awhile but by around March 1st it has gotten oh so old and not really good material to blog about.

Oh, but it is so pretty!

So I googled "blog ideas" and there were lots of sites making suggestions. One site, 101 Fabulous Blog Topic Ideas, did not really help. I liked a couple of them, like the how-to blog post and the list blog post.

Now I need ideas on what to how-to about and what to list.

How to survive winter in the northeast. Hmm, if you live here and don't know by now, I hear that North Carolina and states south are nice places to live. Oh, yeah, wait, they've been having the same weather!

How to get your garden ready for Spring. First, wait for all the snow to melt. Second, wait for the new snow to melt.

How to transition your clothes closet for Spring weather. No hurry on this, we will be wearing boots, winter coats and sweaters till mid-April. For now you can just drool over all the fashion magazine pages, store displays and racks of Spring clothes that are already out, that you won't be wearing yet.

Okay, let's try the List blog post idea.

A list on stuff to always have in stock in your kitchen. Boring.

A list on 10 ways to beat the winter blahs. Number 1....some sunshine.

A list of great books to snuggle up with. ZZZZZ, what? Oh, yeah, I'm here.


Maybe I am expecting too much for wanting a really unique topic to write about. I've done the personal story post, the family recipes, the holiday recipes, the flowers in my garden, the decorated mantel. I even did a blog post about nothing, during my last bout with writers block. I've done the inspirational post, the trip to an interesting place, and wrote about all my fabulous thrifted finds. More than once.

Actually that has been the most fun I've had this winter. Picking and thrifting the local VOA, Goodwill and Savers for donated goodies from people who have actually put their time to good use cleaning out their basements and attics. Right now though, I am in the business of filling up my basement with great old stuff! But I digress.....

For now I will blame my writer's block, along with my non-stop head cold, dry skin and achy joints on winter. He can take it. Because He (Old Man Winter) will be back next year and we can do this all over again.

Any ideas for me for posts? I have another 6 weeks of winter to fill!!

AnnMarie  xoxo

I am linking up with these great parties this week:

Seasonal Sundays
Inspiration Monday
Amaze Me Monday
Nifty Thrifty Tuesday
You're Gonna Love It Tuesday
Wednesday's Adorned From Above
The Scoop
Treasure Box Tuesday
Treasure Hunt Thursday
Thursday Favorite Things Blog Hop

Thrifting: Parting is Such Sweet Sorrow

Ah, thrifting can be so bittersweet.

My main goal for thrifting is to find unique vintage treasures to sell in my Etsy shop. At least that is the story I am sticking with. I don't need a thing for my home.

But that doesn't mean I don't WANT to keep some of the things I find FOR my home!

I shop what I love so everything is going to be perfect for some nook somewhere.

I have vintage on the brain 24/7 and have my eye out for it whenever I leave the house. I pick up some of my best stuff when I just happen to see something. But when I get the itch to go all out thrifting for the day I expect to come home with a trunk load of good stuff.

All from one former trip!

My recent day out was not so great in volume but oh so good in variety and value.

I see so much of what I already have in my shop so I have to resist buying another one of this or that. I am looking for unique and different. I think I found it this time.

My first stop was the Habitat for Humanity ReStore. It is a great place to donate items or find great vintage items. They use the proceeds to build homes for those who can't afford them.

I found this great cane seat rocker tucked all the way in the back, marked down to 1/5th it's original price. It is perfectly chipped and weathered and vintage.

Of course I can find a perfect spot in my dining room for it.

 But, alas, it will go in my shop.

I also found this solid, heavy cast iron ornate Rococo frame, the gold gilt perfectly worn in all the right places. It was more than I would spend on a thrifted item but it was marked half price and worth every penny.

Looks so good on my side table in the parlor with my hand painted rose milk glass lamp (a thrifted item that I gave in and HAD to keep for myself!).

But alas, it will go in my shop.

My next stop, was the Volunteers of America, which is a wonderful place to donate or thrift, whose proceeds go to help the hungry, homeless and helpless in the community. I only found one item there but it is unique and from a local department store of my youth, Sibley, Lindsey and Curr or Sibley's as we all called it. Gone now, it was one of the best stores for everything!

A set of four playing card holders, spring loaded to hold your cards with ease!

This is a great novelty gift for the card enthusiast, so, it will go in my shop!

I found this great Art Nouveau brass inkwell stand with the pen holder and couldn't resist it's Downton Abbey flair. Yes, I can see Violet now using this to write a scathing note to Isobel about how she talks too much!

At my final stop I couldn't resist getting a few things for the porch or garden, as if buying them now would make all the snow go away. These are heavy, cast iron tea light lanterns. Growing up spending summers on the St. Lawrence River in Upstate NY, I am partial to the fish. The kitty is pretty special too.

I could easily hang either lantern on my side porch. And when I did, and took a picture, it started snowing on my fish....hey!! (You may have to click on the picture to see it snow).

But alas, these will also go in my shop.

So I mentioned that thrifting can be bittersweet.

I love the sweetness of the hunt and finding wonderful deals while contributing to the cause of local charities. The bitter comes when I have to part with those treasures because people actually want to buy them!

Parting is such sweet sorrow, but, it is all good!


AnnMarie xoxo

I am linking up to these great blog parties:

A Bouquet of Talent Linky Party
Amaze Me Monday
Make It Pretty Monday
Nifty Thrifty Tuesday
You're Gonna Love It
The Scoop
Adorned From Above Link Party
What's It Wednesday
Thursday Favorite Things Blog Hop
Be Inspired
Freedom Fridays with all My Bloggy Friends
Pink Saturday

Pasta and Chocolate

Mmmmm....my favorite Italian comfort food meal is pasta, a little salad, some crusty Italian bread and chocolate for dessert.

That is just the meal I made recently for an informal dinner party. Aside from being an easy - albeit time consuming - dinner, it is a real crowd pleaser.

I would even call it the Ultimate Italian Comfort Meal.

I have been craving for a good, hearty Lasagna because the last few times I made it, it just didn't come out very good. It just isn't tasty enough when made and served the same day.

I think I may have finally figured out the secret to the ultimate lasagna.

36 hours.

You know how certain foods taste so much better the next day? Homemade Italian spaghetti sauce, chili, and dishes like Lasagna are among them. Something about marrying all the flavors for that extra 24 - 36 hours makes all the difference. So, this time I made my Lasagna the day before and I made my sauce 2 days before! I even par-baked the lasagna for 30 minutes the day I assembled it. Turns out it was in and out of the oven and fridge 3 times before we actually ate it. My guests were running late and I had to try and estimate when to put it in the oven and have it done for when they got there!

It only made it all the more scrumptious!

I mentioned that this meal can be time consuming. Well, making the sauce two days ahead takes some planning to make sure you have the time ( I cook my sauce for 6-8 hours) and then preparing and putting the layers together for the Lasagna takes a good part of the afternoon. This Lasagna has 8 layers consisting of 8 eggs, 3 pounds of ricotta, 2 boxes of noodles, and 2 cups of mozzarella.

Of course you don't have to make yours this thick or big (I used a lasagna pan which measures 15 x 10). The recipe below is for one box of noodles in a 9 x 13 pan and makes about 4 layers.

My only side dish was an antipasto salad.There are many versions of this Italian specialty and I usually make mine meatless if serving it with a meal. I use romaine lettuce, canned artichoke hearts, jarred roasted red peppers, provolone cheese, green and black olives, chick peas, pepperocini and italian dressing. Layered on a large platter, it is beautiful!

Wrap a loaf of Italian bread in foil and put it in the oven with your lasagna and it comes out all warm and crusty. Three course meal, done.

The dessert I made is an all time favorite that I go to when I want simple but fabulous. It is called Jimbo's Chocolate Cake and it is a rich chocolate bundt cake with some chocolate chips inside and frosting on the outside. It is the only chocolate cake I will eat, as I don't really like the stuff! I served it cold out of the fridge with chocolate chip ice cream.

Here are the recipes:

The lasagna recipe is compliments of Treasured Italian Recipes, distributed by The Rotary Club of East Rochester, 1990. My copy is quite worn from making a lot of the wonderful recipes inside.

Lasagna Deluxe
(Make a day ahead)

1/2 lb. ground beef
1/2 lb. sausage, casing removed
1/2 cup minced onion

2 quarts of your favorite spaghetti sauce

2 lb. ricotta cheese
1/2 cup romano cheese, grated
2 raw eggs
salt, pepper, garlic powder to taste
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley or 1 tblsp. dry

1 lb. lasagne noodles
8 oz. mozzarella cheese, grated
6 hard boiled eggs, peeled

Brown meats and onion in a lightly greased saucepan. Salt and pepper to taste. Add sauce and let this simmer.

Mix ricotta, grated cheese, raw eggs, salt and pepper, parsley and garlic powder to taste.

Boil noodles in salted water with a little oil in it to prevent the noodles sticking together.

Layer as follows in your lasagna pan:

spread bottom of pan with sauce mixture
layer with noodles
sprinkle with romano
spread a layer of ricotta
top with slices of hard boiled egg
sprinkle with mozzarella

Continue layers beginning and ending with the noodles. Cover with a layer of sauce and sprinkle with romano.
Bake at 350 for 45 minutes or until heated through and bubbly. If it is refrigerated first (recommended to make a day ahead!), it will take longer to heat through.

Notes:

- if possible make this a day ahead, parbake for 30 minutes and then refrigerate till ready to cook the day of eating.
- don't put any sauce in between the layers. This is the first time I followed this tip and the lasgana stayed perfectly layered when cut. It becomes too soupy and sloppy to cut with too much sauce.

There is nothing like ending a filling, satisfying pasta dinner with chocolate!

Jimbo's Chocolate Cake

1 box Duncan Hines chocolate fudge cake mix (no substitute if you want the chocolatey goodness!)
4 large eggs
1 box instant (3.5 oz) chocolate pudding
1/2 cup oil
3/4 cup water
1 cup sour cream
1 cup chocolate chips

Frosting

1 cup chocolate chips
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons water
confectioner's sugar

Mix all cake ingredients, except chocolate chips, by hand till moistened. Then mix in electric mixer for 3 minutes. Pour into greased bundt pan. Sprinkle 1 cup chocolate chips over batter and press in. Bake at 350 for 50-55 minutes.

For the frosting melt 1 cup chocolate chips with butter and water. Add confectioners sugar to thicken to pouring consistency. Drizzle over the top of the cake. Refrigerate and serve cold for best taste.




This meal totally satisfied my cravings for the ultimate Italian comfort food. I don't mind the cold as much now!

AnnMarie  xoxo

I am linking up with these great blog hops:

Be Inspired
Weekend re-treat link party
diy Sunday showcase
Bouquet of Talent Linky Party
Sweet and Savoury Sunday
Make It Pretty Monday
Nifty Thrifty Tuesday
You're Gonna Love It
The Scoop
What's It Wednesday
Wednesday's Adorned from Above Link Party
Showcase Your Talent
Thursday Favorite Things Blog Hop
Share Your Cup Thursday