Mangle

I used this intimidating machine to iron my table cloths for the holiday. It worked famously. In case you do not know what this beast is...it is called a mangle. Translation: industrial sheet iron! My grandfather worked for Hilton Hotels back in the day so that is how it came to me. Pre wrinkle free fabrics the bed sheets in hotels and all the other linens were ironed by some poor sole who had to stand over this hot, heat generating beast.

It makes me laugh that it is called a Speed Queen. I suppose it is faster than the ironing board and definitely gets hotter! This thing will burn your flesh off in a hot second. So here's a post to doing things the old way, enjoying its simplicity, and remembering those family members long past. Is there something you enjoy doing "the old way"?

Mama Said Sew

I followed up on a lead from my friend Morgan this weekend and explored this little fabric shop in old town Ft. Collins. I was super happy I did! There were lots of cute things and the fabric options were fabulous! A lot of stuff in the vintage modern category that is my personal fav.

They had a super selection of Amy Butler and Oliver + S patterns. Several of the books on my wish list were right there on the shelf and probably the best part was they had an area for toddlers so mommy could shop uninterrupted! I love how these ladies think. It was like the fabric shop of my dreams came to life!

The shop has only been open 8 months. I want to make sure it stays around so please go visit them at Mama Said Sew.

Winter

Strawberries

Golden Sage

Burning Bush

It would appear that winter is finally here. I have been very spoiled by the prolonged 70 degree fall days! We have now had two snows in five days. Sigh. I am somewhat of a warm weather lover. The cold makes me well, grumpy. I need to be able to feel the sun on my face and warming my body. The running furnace dries out my hair, skin, throat, nose......sigh. The only plus I can see it that it is soup season! One large pot of something warming and hydrating to last the better part of the week. My kind of cooking I say! What is you favorite winter food?

New Gear

It is finally here! I am the proud owner of a Canon Rebel XS and I could not be happier about the idea of learning photography.....again! Quite a few of the photos from my senior year book are mine but that is probably the last time I took the art seriously. A point and shoot is fun but I really wanted to take it a bit further especially since I know what I am capable of! You can see that I did not have it long before fashioning a more appropriate camera strap! Now to read the manual.....

Leaf Collection

We were finally able to get to filling up the leaf bin this past weekend. I wanted to share this image with you because it helps to illustrate how truly simple the set up is.

Pumpkin Puree

I was recently looking for an easy way to do pumpkin puree and found this insanely easy technique. All you need to do is use a sharp knife to poke four holes in a whole pumpkin. Put it in an oven proof baking dish with a quarter inch of water, slide into the oven at 350 for about an hour depending on the size of the pumpkin.


Once you can easily stick a fork in it and turn, take it out and let it cool for a bit. Cut the top off, scrap out the seeds and then scrape the flesh from the skin. It should be really easy and almost creamy.

You can puree it before you bag it or puree it later. I went straight to the freezer bag. After cooling and labeling, I put it in the freezer. Can you say pumpkin pie?

For the Birds

Today we harvested sunflower seed heads. I plan to store them for winter and bring them out for the birds when food sources are low. It takes little more than cutting them off and carrying them to the garage. They are sure to bring pleasure this winter not only to the birds but for bird watchers as well!