Decorating on another snowy day :-)

Snowy day in St. Louis.  St. Louis Missouri Botanical Gardens.

(Photo credit Erin Wilson)

I can’t believe this!  Yesterday, I was riding around, COATLESS, singing in the Spring sunshine. Today, I’m bundled up INSIDE, watching the wet, cold snow fall.  Before it’s all said and done, we’ll be getting somewhere around 10 inches of the white fluffy stuff!  That’s St. Louis for you!  It’s a good thing I didn’t plant my little garden like I was SO tempted to do!

We’ve not really had a very relaxing weekend.  It’s a GOOD thing though 🙂  Julia, Ben and I decided to move her bedroom upstairs to her sister’s old bedroom.  The room I’d wanted to turn into my library.  Oh well, maybe I’ll do that when she’s in college…. 4 more years.  I’m not rushing things.  Anyway, we have 2 spare bedrooms upstairs.  Neither one of them had been deep cleaned for AT LEAST 5 years, probably more.  I wish I could describe the dust that was hiding underneath all the furniture.  Wow!  I’m ashamed.  lol  I mean, I clean, I just hadn’t moved furniture.  We took out half a dumpster load of trash and things I’d been hanging onto for God knows WHAT reason.  The trash man is NOT going to be happy with me tomorrow 😦  We’ve been painting for 2 days now and the end is in sight!

Julia’s new bedroom is going from pink and girly to dark turquoise with white accents.  The only input I had was the chandelier I insisted she have.  It’s turning out a WHOLE lot better than I’d envisioned, mostly because of my chandelier 🙂  lol  It’s going to look something like this when we get done.

(Does anyone want to paint that white tree for me?  We certainly can’t do that but we really REALLY want it!)

I love that Julia’s being so involved with the decorating.  Really I do.  I argue with her a lot, trying to show her MY way is best.  There is no arguing with this child.  When she dies, she’ll argue with God.  I’m sure of it. lol  It’s all good because she knows what she likes and won’t back down.  Really, why would I want her to.  This is HER room and I want her last few years here to be good and peaceful ones.  You’ve GOT to pick your battles.  Besides, it’s a bargaining tool.  If I give in to the way she wants things, I can ALSO say that she has to do every bit as much work as we have to do 😉  There is a method to my madness.

Hubby is also building me my bookshelves in the other tiny bedroom.  We’ve moved all my furniture in that one and it will be my little office / bedroom / closet / reading nook.  We’re NOT painting this room yet.  It’s the same ugly khaki color that it’s been for 5 years.  Now that it’s clean and organized though, it’s kind of cute again!

So yeah, Spring cleaning on a winter day.  Maybe it will stay clean for another 10 years!  lol

Snow on the clover!

Happy St. Patrick’s Day!  Hopefully the rest of the world is having GOOD weather and you can celebrate safely on NON ice slicked roads!  In Mid America, where I live, I woke up to snow and ice on our clover patches.  We’ll be staying indoors, where it’s safe and warm 🙂

To celebrate, in our own very simple way, I’ll be making my Irish Beef and Guinness Stew.  If you haven’t tried this recipe yet, today’s a VERY good day to give it a whirl!  Remember, it looks like this when you’re all done (and taste even better!).

Can’t stop there though!  I’ll be making a different potato dish other than the usual mashed!  lol  I get my Irish recipes from a cookbook called, Ireland’s Comfort Food (Pidgeon Press Publishing) and I haven’t come across a bad recipe yet!  The recipe’s I’ve tried have been PACKED with flavor.  That’s what I look for in a good recipe 🙂

*Note:  This recipe calls for Durrus Cheese and from what I’ve been learning, the closest that I can come to Durrus Cheese is Gouda or maybe even Swiss.  Today, I’ll probably use a mixture of Gouda and cheddar.

Durrus & Potato Melt

2 pounds waxy potatoes, cubed (I use small red, quatered)

2 onions, finely chopped (I use sweet or Vidalia)

2 TBSP butter

1/2 LB bacon slices, cut into small pieces

1 LB Durrus Farmhouse Cheese, cut into cubes (I will use some Gouda and shredded cheddar)

8 oz tub of creme’ fraiche (I will use sour cream because that’s what I have)

butter, enough to butter an ovenproof dish

salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Parboil the potatoes and set aside.  Meanwhile, saute the onions in butter until translucent or clear.  Remove from pan and set aside.  Meanwhile, fry the bacon until crisp and crumbly but not burnt.  Mix the creme fraiche, potatoes and Durrus cheese together.  Add onion and bacon, mix well and pour into a buttered, oven proof dish.  Sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste.  Place in preheated oven and bake for 15 to 20 minutes, stirring gently, halfway through cooking.

What are YOU doing for St. Patrick’s day?