Sunday Supper revisited.

Dear friends,

Back when I blogged under the name of Mayberry Magpie, I created a series of Monday posts called “Sunday Supper” about the family dinner I had created the evening before. I typically created elaborate place settings and menus, and then shared many photos of the table and all the recipes from the meal. On a handful of really complicated meals with multiple dishes, I even created step-by-step timelines to help the novice cook time her supper so that all dishes were ready to serve at the same time.

It was quite an undertaking. I often planned my meals a couple of weeks in advance, and I spent the entire day prepping, cooking, photographing and writing. I had a small but faithful readership and I did it because 1) planning and serving lovely meals is the thing I most love to do, an expression of art and love so inextricably linked to who I am that I very nearly consider it a calling; and 2) as silly as it sounds, I felt like I had found a creative niche. There are thousands of food blogs, but none other (that I knew of) that combined both cooking and table arranging into a single beautiful package. And I was always proud of the fact that I had no training and no hired help or stylists and I could say “Yes, that’s really what our table looked like for dinner and that’s really the menu I prepared.”

I suspect some thought my posts were for show. But the truth is I’ve not been blogging about Sunday Suppers for more than two years, but my family will attest that we still eat lovely meals I’ve prepared on tables set with china and linens most Sunday nights. I have an insatiable appetite for collecting dishes and linens and I figure my weekend enterprise puts my obsession to good use. Not to mention that the meals are usually pretty darn tasty.

And back to that calling thing — I feel so strongly about the value of family meals that I wrote this on my former blog:

     Family meal time is sacred. A home-cooked meal served on a lovely table in the company of loved ones will cure nearly all ills — nutritional, social, and spiritual.  Join me each week for a Sunday Supper that combines delicious food with inspiring tablescapes — the perfect combination for mealtime communions that create lasting memories.

I still feel that way, though I haven’t gone to such great lengths to share the results. But this week, I decided to wade back in to my old blogging waters . . . at least up to my ankles.

Last night we enjoyed one of the tastiest but simple meals I’ve prepared in a long time. I made this grilled tri-tip roast and served it thinly sliced with black bean and corn salad. That’s it, other than a few accompaniments like homemade salsa and corn tortilla chips, shredded cheddar cheese, and warm flour tortillas. I wrapped my beef in a warm tortilla with sour cream and cheese. Kate ate her beef with bean and corn salad over tortilla chips, nacho style. Parker and Mr. Mom simply consumed huge amounts of both beef and bean and corn salad. It was a style-your-own supper that worked for everybody.

And as usual, the table was colorful and pretty with black toile dishes, rattan chargers, a striped runner, red linen napkins, and a centerpiece of roses and hydrangeas.

Oh, and dessert was probably the best part! I warmed banana nut/chocolate chip muffins in the microwave and served each with a scoop of butter pecan ice cream and a drizzle of caramel/date topping. It was easy-peasy with a huge taste payoff, thanks to homemade muffins and the best date sauce you’ll ever eat. (For those interested in giving this a try, note that I followed the muffin recipe to the “T” except I added a half cup of chocolate chips.)

It was my friend and longtime reader Deb who commented on yesterday’s post and encouraged me to tell you about this Sunday’s Supper. And after being a lazy blogger for so very long, I decided to take her up on it, albeit with a slightly different format. Thanks, Deb, for reminding me how satisfying it is to share our family meals with a wider audience.

With gratitude {for faithful readers far and wide and and eager diners ’round my table},

Joan, who never knew how much she liked dates until she discovered the Date Lady (an Ozarks gem!) in a Springfield grocery store and is delighted to support a Missouri entrepreneur

Debt of Gratitude Corn and Bean Salad

(Also known as Joan’s Favorite Summertime Dip)

1 can of corn, drained
1 can of black beans, drained
5 green onions, chopped, including green parts
1 green bell pepper, seeded and chopped
2 jalapeno peppers, seeded and diced
2 avocados, peeled, seeded and chopped
1 bunch of cilantro, chopped
2 medium tomatoes, chopped
4 TBLS olive oil
4 TBLS lime juice
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper

Combine first 8 ingredients and set aside.  Whisk together olive oil, lime juice, salt and pepper.  Pour over other ingredients and mix well.  Cover and refrigerate until chilled.  Serve with tortilla chips.  Serves 8.

A bright spot.

Dear friends,

As you know if you read yesterday’s post, there was no TG in my IF this week. In addition to working Thursday and Friday night and all day Saturday, I ran over my dog, which is a sure way to ruin one’s weekend.

Things are looking up for Sunday, though.

I made some yummy banana-nut muffins for breakfast and I have this mouth-watering recipe on tap for our first Sunday Supper since Kate moved home for the summer. (And everybody knows how much I love family suppers!)

And . . . I added a lovely burst of color to our otherwise neutral living room in the form of a new rug and some throw pillows. Take a look:

As you can see, my furniture and my jute rug are all shades of camel. And my walls are white — which makes for a pretty bland room. (I know some would say my neutral palette is “calming” but I’m a person who craves color.) My pottery and art add pops of color, but I wanted something to grab your attention.

Here’s a close-up view:

Isn’t it amazing what a colorful rug and pillows can do for your room?

I’ve selected some bright yellow fabric to sew a slipcover for my ottoman. And I hope to reupholster the sofa in a luxe navy velvet if I ever save enough money.

In the mean time, my pretty new rug perks things up considerably.

And sometimes, a bright spot is all a girl needs.

With gratitude {for a quick fix},

Joan, whose also thrilled to have her favorite grocery shopper back in the house, despite what it means for her snack habits

A place for everything. And everything in its place.

Dear friends,

I was a busy bee yesterday. I took a day off following three consecutive 60-70 hour weeks. And while I was tempted to laze around, I had a project or two on my mind that urged me out of bed at 6:00 am and kept me working all day.

Remember my mud room makeover? Well, when I tackled that project I left a corner undone that has been bothering me ever since. You see, my mud space is an alcove that faces another alcove — which I didn’t show you in my last post. Basically, when you sit on my mudroom bench, you face an alcove that is lined with shelves. They’re nothing fancy, so as soon as I moved in, I hung curtains to hide the space — partly because it was more attractive, partly because I didn’t take time to organize the shelves.

So I spent a portion of Friday cleaning out and sorting all my cleaning and crafting supplies. Here’s a peek at the newly organized space:

I keep the curtains closed for a sleeker look, but it’s nice to know that everything behind them is tidy now.

I also went to work on a corner of our laundry room, which adjoins this space. One of the many things that sold me on this house is the enormous laundry room. It’s about 17′ X 17′ with three walls of built-in cabinets. Although it’s a bit plain — with white walls and white cabinetry — it’s certainly bright and has plenty of room for Mr. Mom’s projects, and lots more.

Here’s a view from the mudroom:

That drafting table is mine, but Mr. Mom co-opted it long ago as his preferred laundry folding table. It’s a much better height for my 6’6″ laundry man.

Here’s another view of the built-in desk:

This is Mr. Mom’s domain. It’s where he reads email, pays bills, talks on the phone and, of course, does laundry. It has been command central during our mountain saga and you can see he has a topographical map of  Colorado pinned above the computer and all his files (in the filing cabinet) nearby.

I don’t spend much time in the laundry room, except to retrieve my laundry, and I think Mr. Mom likes it that way. I’ve been thinking of hanging some sunny yellow wallpaper to break up the vast expanse of white walls, but I just haven’t gotten around to it. And I think Mr. Mom likes that, too.

On the opposite side of Mr. Mom’s desk is another bank of cabinets, with a sink and space for the washer and dryer. And until yesterday, there was an unused corner just waiting for me to make better use of it.

Voila! I created a sewing corner:

In the short time I’ve been sewing, I’ve grown weary of pulling my machine out of the closet and setting it up on my dining room table. So I sub-let Mr. Mom’s empty corner, set up a folding table, and created a space to store my supplies.

Here’s a close up:

I sewed a slipcover for the table so that it would look prettier and so I could hide things underneath. The dust cover for my sewing machine is merely the box it came in (top removed and turned upside down) with matching fabric glued on. And my supply caddy is nothing more than a $9 vinyl shoe organizer picked up at Lowe’s.

Underneath the table, I’ve stored my fabric and a stool to sit on.

All in all, not a bad day’s work I’d say.

With gratitude {for my man, who gave up a corner of his decidedly atypical man cave and even helped me organize it},

Joan, who is itchin’ to make more progress on her quilt now that she’s in tip-top organizational shape

MUDandSTUFF.

Dear friends,

Because I couldn’t wait — and because I just KNOW you are as excited as me about my big reveal — I finished up my Mud Room Friday evening so I could show it to you today.

I couldn’t be more pleased with how it turned out.

And because, of course, I want the biggest ahhhhhh possible, I’m going to make you sit through two “before” photos one more time.

Here’s the space before we bought the house:

And here’s what it looked like for the first two years we lived here. (This photo is taken from the opposite side as the previous photo. The reflection in the mirror is the view of our laundry room, which sits just to the west of this alcove.)  And, yes, all I did initially to “improve” this space was hang a mirror and throw a bucket in the corner as a catch-all for shoes and other junk. It’s clear it wasn’t much of a catch-ALL, as most of our junk ended up on the floor.

I have only one word for this photo: YUCK.

But all traces of yuckiness have been banished. And here’s what it looks like now, after my flurry of online shopping and with Mr. Mom’s help:

This photo is a tad underexposed so you can get a sense of the new light fixture, which I love, love, love.

And here’s my very favorite part:

I knew I wanted something to really give a punch to the accent wall and I had my heart set on individual letters that spelled out something appropriate for the space. I decided on MUDandSTUFF because it just seemed so . . . so perfectly descriptive.

This addition was my biggest expense. The letters are custom fabricated from aluminum and painted in a high gloss paint. I chose this professional sign company as my source because they offered many font choices, virtually any size, and custom colors. They are adhered to the wall with a fast-setting epoxy glue that was a pain in the butt to use. As you can see if you look closely, we messed up a little on the capital D. And Mr. Mom hung the lowercase n upside down, but figured it out about 30 seconds later and managed to pry it off  the wall just before the glue set so hard we would have had to take a sledgehammer to it. In total, my MUDandSTUFF art cost just over $300 — definitely a splurge but worth it, I think.

By the way, the coat racks (there are two of them hung side by side) are from Bed, Bath & Beyond. I thought they were a bargain at $29 each.

Here’s another view of more wall art. I bought a $10 poster from Urban Outfitters and a $25 K-Mart frame. It helped offset the cost of the custom lettering.

And here’s a close-up of the key rack, also from Urban Outfitters.

By the way, the beautiful girl in the photo is our niece. And the vase is a vintage treasure from my beloved native state.

Here’s a close up of the bench, from West Elm:

My West Elm rug is on backorder, so the one you see in the photo is a runner from Urban Outfitters that I purchased for the hallway leading to the kitchen. It’s roughly the same color as the one I’m waiting on, so it worked as a stand-in for this photo.

I’m under no illusions that the space is going to stay this organized. By next week, there will be 25 pairs of shoes strewn around the bench and 14 jackets on the coat rack, but it looks nice for now and that’s what matters when the post-DIY glow is still strong.

And because I just can’t get enough, here’s one final look:

With gratitude {for Mr. Mom who puts the “Y” in DIY and who graciously did all my fetching, toting and hanging for this project},

Joan, who has loved wallpaper since she sold it for $4 an hour at Barlow Interiors, her very first job in 1981, which convinced her a college degree might be just the ticket out of retail hell

The mud room. Errrr, space.

Dear friends,

As if I wasn’t planning enough activities for spring what with my newly rekindled passion for needlework and sewing, I’ve also got another big project on the front burner — a new mud room.

Okay, room is a stretch.

A mud corner?

A mud alcove?

Mud space?

Whatever you want to call it, no matter the size, I’m planning a re-do. Actually I’ve been planning a re-do since the day we bought our home, it’s just that it took me two years to move from planning to doing.

I perused untold photos on Houzz and Pinterest looking for mud room inspiration. And all this time, I figured the perfect execution of my plan involved hiring a carpenter for built-ins.

Finally, I realized my little spot just needs better organization, function and decor — and all of that could be achieved without custom woodwork.

You see, my space is five feet wide and nearly three feet deep. It sits right between the garage and the laundry room, so it’s the perfect spot for shoes and coats and bags and all that stuff that accumulates near doors.

Here’s a photo of the space that I snapped on the day we toured the house with a realtor in February 2011. I’m standing in the laundry room looking toward Mr. Mom, who’s going out the door to the garage. The hall to the kitchen is behind him. You can see my mud space is a perfect little spot. You can also see the former owners cared more about functionality than decor.

I mean really . . . could the space have been anymore boring?

The first thing I did when we moved in was paint the walls in this area a nice gray (Stonington Gray by Benjamin Moore), which I continued throughout the hallway and the kitchen. I also took down the previous owners’ ugly coat rack, which is the only thing in this photo they left behind, thank goodness, and which Mr. Mom was thrilled to put in the garage for his grimy motocross gear. I also hung a mirror and added a big basket to catch shoes, but you know that wasn’t enough. The space is still dreadfully plain. And horribly cluttered.

So my plan is to add a bench, a pillow, a coat rack, a key hook, some artwork, a rug, and a new light fixture. Oh, yeah, and I’m going to hang some wallpaper for a graphic punch. Here’s my source board of all the items I ordered on a day off two weeks ago.

Can’t you just IMAGINE it? I can! All the items have arrived except the rug, which is on backorder until May. Mr. Mom has already hung the new light fixture and a professional wallpaper installer is coming on Wednesday. After that, there’s just a few more things to do, including picking up my poster from the frame shop, and I’ll be done. If all goes right, my mud space might be finished this coming weekend.

I’ll be sure to take the “after” photos I know you can’t wait to see.

How do I know you can’t wait? Because I can’t either . . . and you know what they say about birds of a feather.

With gratitude {for online inspiration and a tidy little tax refund that is finally making my mud room project a reality},

Joan, who thinks turquoise blue and seafoam green are two of the best colors of all time

When life hands you snow . . . think spring!

Dear friends,

It’s been snowing endlessly ’round my place.

The temps have been frigid for weeks and, just when the sun comes out and we think we might warm up (where warm equals anything above 40 degrees), the arctic air sweeps back in and brings snow or sleet with it.  Today’s snowstorm is the just the latest in what has been a long winter.

I took a couple of days of vacation to bookend my weekend and celebrate spring break, only my break is decidedly un spring-like.

So as the snow piled up Sunday, I did what any pajama-clad, home-bound vacationer would do: I cooked and crafted.

Earlier today I made biscuits and gravy, bacon, and Pioneer Woman’s eggs in hashbrown nests. Right now I’m waiting on the short ribs in my oven to finish braising so I can smother a big dish of polenta with fork tender ribs and their gravy-of-goodness.

In the mean time, I’ve been re-styling my buffet and mirror from a Valentine’s vortex to an Easter epiphany. Here’s a wreath I made after seeing a similar one on Pinterest.

It took all of 15 minutes to make. It’s just a Styrofoam wreath wrapped with “eyelash” yarn. The flowers are cut from lace trim and held on with pearl-tipped pins. It makes me long for a lush lawn and the opportunity to romp barefoot with the dogs.

In addition to this wreath, I added some paper lanterns, some Easter egg garland, and a S-P-R-I-N-G banner I made from a bit of leftover burlap, rickrack and twine. Here’s an artsy-fartsy photo of all that (where artsy-fartsy equals a Snapseed edit on my iPhone because I’m so lazy these days I hardly ever get out the Nikon).

The snow’s really piled up now so I think I’ll adjourn for supper. I hear those short ribs calling my name.

With gratitude {for any excuse to stay home and putter},

Joan, who wonders what spring projects you’re preparing to tackle

March, muffins and motherly musings.

Dear friends,

I made Banana Nut Muffins this morning. I had four very sad bananas on my counter and unlike most weeks when I simply toss expired fruit, I turned the bananas into a tasty breakfast for my boys — breakfast being a relative term since I’m typing this at 10:30 am and both of them are still fast asleep despite the aroma of warm muffins.

In case you’re curious, I don’t have a go-to muffin recipe. I found this one last night and decided to give it a try. My only word of review is YUM. My only alteration to the recipe is that I added half a cup of chocolate chips. By the way, I’ve been adding chocolate chips to banana muffins/bread since 1986 when my Boston roommate showed me her trick. If you haven’t had chocolate chip banana nut muffins before, I exhort you to try them.

(My teenage son, if he read this, would ask for the definition of exhort. I think he wonders why I favor non-standard words. All I can say is that I learned it from my mother. And I guess I’m passing it on, though I rarely hear my children say things like “I exhort you.” I love the fact that my mother was a high-school dropout and yet had the vocabulary of a highly educated person. She was a voracious reader, proving once again the good that select books and periodicals can do in your life.)

Now that I’ve prattled on about my muffins and my mother, will you indulge me in a few words about my daughter? I’m just bursting my buttons with pride. Her tennis team is on an impressive winning streak. This weekend, they played and whipped two opponents in San Antonio, including an upset win over a ranked team, which gives them a 9-1 record at the mid-point of their season. Besides the fact that I’m delighted for these young women, I’m tickled pink because Kate got her first two wins.

When Kate made her college choice, she knew she would be joining a talented team. She knew she’d be getting top-notch tennis instruction, but she didn’t know if she’d ever play a match her first season or two. When the program’s longtime and nationally recognized coach departed not long after her arrival, her tennis future seemed pretty uncertain. (I don’t mean to sound like a mother who values athletics over academics, but because Kate aspires to become a tennis coach, her athletic and academic futures are entwined.) The new coach has clearly hit the ground running, and so has Kate. After playing a handful of exhibition matches, she got the opportunity this week to play her first matches among the “Top 6.” (The team has 8 players, 6 of whom play any given match.)

Kate won her singles match 6-0, 6-1. She and her partner, Lusy, won their doubles match 8-0. Those zeros  in a match score — they’re called “bagels” in tennis. And a bagel is a beautiful thing when you serve one up to your tennis opponent.

So, yeah, Mom is over the moon. Kate’s 20th birthday is Friday and we’re traveling to Oklahoma to watch two days of tennis matches and host a birthday dinner.  The weekend following that, Kate will be home for two days in what suffices for spring break for the tennis team. The weekend after that, we’ll have the great pleasure of watching her squad play two Missouri teams just a few miles from our home. With three consecutive weekends where we get to see Kate, March just may be my new favorite month.

Oh — one more thing.

While we’re visiting Kate, we’re going to meet this little girl.

She’s a rescue dog. Her foster mother thinks she’s part Lab, part Redbone. Mr. Mom thinks she’s part Walker. She is all parts adorable and, if the stars align, she’ll come home with us. We’ve been thinking of adopting a new dog ever since Frito died, and if this adoption happens, March will be officially perfect.

With gratitude {for the most wonderful, springy, time of the year},

Joan, who tackled her spring project list yesterday with a Pinterest idea that she looks forward to telling you about soon

This will change your life.

Dear friends,

I know that’s a bold claim. Anything life-changing sounds too good to be true. Especially something as simple as a container. This container:

But when you love to cook as much as I do and you spend any time at all in the kitchen, trust me when I tell you this little tin will change your life.

It’s called a Masala Dabba box and I learned about it from my friend Rama who recently gave me an Indian cooking lesson. Each large tin holds seven small tins and comes with a clear inner lid and a stainless outer lid. I noticed that Rama moved effortlessly around her kitchen because she had a couple of Masala Dabba boxes filled with spices on her prep counter.

Rama’s demonstration was in stark contrast to the way I cook. I rarely organize a mise en place, nor do I bother to pull all the spices out of my cabinet before I begin a recipe. Invariably, I’m foraging through my spice cabinet, yelling at Mr. Mom “Where’s the cumin?” or “Are we out of cinnamon?” It’s a rather herky-jerky approach to cooking that I’ve never seemed to overcome.

So as soon as I spied Rama’s Masala Dabba box, I realized my life would never be the same after I organized my spices. I ordered two last week, thinking I’d create an “Indian Spices” box and an “Italian Spices” box. But after labeling them and filling them yesterday, I realized I need a “Baking Spices” box, a “Chili/Mexican Spices” box, and maybe even a “Basics” box.

These tins easily stack in a cabinet or store in a drawer. So when you’re ready to cook, simply pull out one or more tin, remove the lid, and you’re ready to go.

Are you ready to change your life?

With gratitude {for friends with ingenious solutions to life’s challenges},

Joan, who graciously accepts your gratitude in advance for this life-changing tip because that’s what friends are for

Hibernation.

Dear friends,

Source: Mary Kate McDevitt

It seems I’ve been tucked away in a state of winter hibernation. I never meant to be away from this space for so long, but life has been wonderfully sleepy and vibrant at the same time. That’s what I love about winter: it seems perfectly natural to alternate long naps with flurries of inspired, pre-spring planning and daydreaming.

So much has happened since we last visited. In no particular order:

I learned how to cook Indian food from an authentic Indian cook. My friend Rama is a whirling dervish in the kitchen. She’s inspiring to watch and she’s promised to follow up her first lesson on northern Indian cuisine with a second lesson on southern flavors and recipes. In return, I’ve promised to offer a baking lesson. My niece has challenged me to tackle these lovelies and I’m just waiting for a spare moment to roll up my sleeves.

Though I’m following from afar, I’ve become the world’s biggest fan of Kate’s college tennis team. The new coach has arrived, the girls are deep into their season with a 7-1 record, and I’m loving that modern technology and social networking has allowed me to follow their every match even though I haven’t been able to attend any. That’s soon about to change, though. In two weeks, we’re headed to Kate’s campus to celebrate her 20th birthday and watch two days of competition live and in person. I can hardly wait!

Mr. Mom and I took a quick trip to Naples, Florida, where we celebrated Valentine’s Day and consumed an obscene amount of seafood. Last year I wrote this post during a business trip, after which I vowed to take Mr. Mom with me next year. “Next year” arrived last week and we enjoyed two unplugged days of adult time before I kicked into high-gear for 48 hours of jam-packed business appointments. Mixing business with pleasure in the Sunshine State was the best part of this dreary February for me.

The worst part? I brought home a nasty case of strep throat, followed by a sinus infection, and I spent three days in bed this week. I’m still coughing like a coal miner and limping back to some semblance of normal. Unfortunately, between vacation and illness, I’ve fallen seriously behind on my running program.  At least I’ve got about 42 weeks to catch up. A thousand miles seems far, far away from my sickly seat on this cold, winter day.

Still, the sun is bright today, the thick layer of ice that coated our part of the state on Wednesday is slowly melting, and I’m snuggled up with my two favorite boys researching gnocci recipes for our Sunday supper. With all that, who can complain?

With gratitude {for good meds and a winter that’s almost over},

Joan, who has a long list of spring projects on the docket and anticipates a lovely and productive March

It’s starting to look a lot like Christmas.

Dear friends,

I spent my evenings last week putting up the new Christmas tree in the Den and spreading a little holiday cheer around the house.

The tree is loaded with all our favorite ornaments:

The mantle is festooned:

And the buffet is adorned with my Grandmother’s Santa Mug collection:

I’ve got more than a dozen large totes of Christmas decorations. Given that I limited myself to a single tree, the mantle, and the buffet, I think I showed considerable restraint. (I also sent a tote with Kate so she could decorate her college apartment even though I know I’ll have to haul it home for the summer). Gone are the days when it looks like the Macy’s Christmas Store exploded in every room of my home.

Now all I need to do is buy a handful of additional gifts and get to wrapping. I gave up on the whole holiday card thing years ago. I’m deeply appreciative of those folks who take the time to send them, but in an era of Facebook and Twitter and Instagram and blogging, there’s really not anyone who desires to keep up with us who can’t do so electronically. I don’t know if I’ve succumbed to the forces of modernity or indolence, but I’ve succumbed.

And, finally, I made reservations for our family at our favorite restaurant for Christmas Eve. I’ll cook on Christmas Day, but our family has always celebrated both occasions and last year I decided I didn’t really have to prepare two lavish spreads in less than 12 hours. The impulse to do it all has faded, thank goodness.

So that’s it. My list is checked twice and the stockings are hung with care. It’s starting to look and feel a lot like Christmas.

With gratitude {for a season of maternal maturity when Christmas can feel like relaxed contentment},

Joan, who’d love to tell you all about the cool tradition she decided to start this year but is still keeping it a surprise from Kate and Parker, who are known to read her blog now and then, so she must keep her lip zipped until after Christmas