The Best chewy chocolate chip cookies

I don't know about you, but I am definitely in the gooey, chewy, Chocolate Chip Cookie Camp. 

 While I'm normally a dark chocolate girl, these taste best with milk chocolate chips.  

And we're not talking just a sprinkling of chocolate chips- I mean, lots of chocolate chips -in every bite!

Your teeth will sink into these yummy morsels from heaven.
One of the most loved recipes of all time. 

 Here's the recipe I use- 

even after a couple days in an air tight container, they stay soft and chewy.

That is, if they last that long.

It also has a secret ingredient....

 One package of vanilla pudding.

Are you salivating yet?

Ok, here it is:

Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies

1 cup unsalted butter, melted (no margarine)

3/4 cup packed brown sugar

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1 small box of instant vanilla pudding

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla

1 tsp baking soda

2 1/4 cups all purpose flour

2 cups of chocolate chips

****
In a mixing bowl, cream butter, sugars and pudding mix.
Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.
 Beat in vanilla.
Combine flour and baking soda and gradually add to creamed mixture.
Stir in the chocolate chips.

I like to use an old fashioned ice cream scoop to get perfectly round cookies.

Drop spoonfuls {or scoopfuls} onto an ungreased cookie sheet.
Bake at 350 degrees for 8-10 minutes for regular size cookies.

If you use an ice cream scoop like mine, you may need to bake closer to 15 minutes.
Cookies are done when edges are golden.

Allow to cool slightly on cookie sheet before carefully moving to cooling racks.
Store in airtight container after completely cooled.

Enjoy!

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Tuesdays Treasures

industrial red cross table and an addition to the front porch

I decided to do a porch shoot today, even though the rain has returned.
 A couple of painting projects I've been waiting to work on, are now inside projects!

Yesterday I got a couple pieces started, and this one finished.

This little industrial table was pretty plain jane to begin with.
(you can see the before in my Instagram photos in my sidebar)

I always love functional, sturdy pieces.

I gave it two coats of Miss Mustard Seed's Ironstone.

I did a similar table this past January, and really loved it.  

It sold pretty quickly at Junk Salvation.

I painted a red cross on the top, and distressed it, then waxed the whole piece.

I also just got in an order of fun straws for Memorial Day and Fourth of July!

I sell packs of stripey straws at my space at Aunt Bee's, and thought they looked great with the table.

The Barbicide dispenser is something I picked up a few weeks ago on one of my shopping trips.  I had planned to put it in the Farmhouse Show, but I decided I liked it too much to let it go.
Formerly used in barber shops to sterilize combs, it's now cleaned up and a fun straw dispenser at our coffee / Italian soda station.

One of my requests this weekend for Mother's Day was a honey-do item:
hanging a salvage window frame I picked up for the front porch.

Last year when I wrote this post, I mentioned I'd love to find a salvage window frame to hang behind the swing to draw your eye forward- away from the neighbors roofline.

It had all the glass still in the panes, so we had a smash fest and broke glass in the driveway!
It took a bit longer than I anticipated, because there were lots of shards wedged into the frame after the big pieces were broken.
But now, it's hung and I love it.  Just another charming element to the porch.

We've had a lot of time to already enjoy the porch.
It's unusual- normally Spring time in Oregon is chilly and drizzly.
But we've had temperatures in the 80's for a nice long stretch.

Perfect for enjoying the flowers and a nice glass of wine.

I'm gearing up for summer items at Aunt Bee's House, so this will fit in perfectly with the Americana pieces I will be taking in soon.

That's all for today! 

 I'm going to continue working on the other piece, and finishing up a large armoire.

You can also see what I do to keep busy during the day by following my Instagram feed!

Happy Thursday!

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Be Inspired
Furniture Feature Friday
Fabulously Creative Friday

laundry room inspiration

Do you ever have projects for the home that make you feel like, if you don't act on it soon you will pull your hair out?

Yeah, me too.

I've got two actually, but one is definitely more pressing than the other.

#1. My laundry room.

If I were brave, I'd show you what it looks like at the moment, but I'll save that for post makeover.

We have a nice sized laundry room, but it is super disorganized, and one of the last spaces to have the yellow - brown - beige walls.

Yuck.

I didn't mind it too much when we moved in, but as we've slowly transformed each room, it has gotten more revolting to me.

So, I've been gathering up ideas via my Pinterest board, and planning how I want things to function and look like.

(Please pin from Pinterest or the original source, not here on my blog so that original posts can be credited!)

via Country Living

I like the ticking stripe curtain- I definitely want to do this under our utility sink. We have so much cabinetry, I think it would help soften the look.

photo Michael Luppino via Braeborne Farm

I am trying to decide if I want to keep our wood cabinets as is, and just add pretty new knobs, or paint them.  

Then the dilemma is, white or a fun color?

source unknown

 I like the pale blue on these cabinets- it would probably be the only color I would consider because of the scheme I have going on in there right now.

But I am also loving the look of warm wood tones with white. 

Cozy and clean.

via Our Vintage Home Love

Maybe a long rug in front of the washer and dryer?

Trying to decide if it would add something or be more of a trip hazard and sock hider.

Sarah Richardson

I love the color in here.  

But it's also functional, with pretty utilitarian pieces!

via housetohome.co.uk

I don't have a ton of pins to my Wash Day board- honestly, I have a hard time finding ideas on Pinterest that I like.  

Most laundry room ideas are too cutesy for me.  

I want a pretty space that is functional.  

Not a lot of unnecessary fluff- and I'm not talking about lint!

;)

What about you?  Any good ideas you'd like to share on pretty and functional laundry spaces?

I'm all ears!

vintage summer bunting

Well, I had all kinds of grand plans to do a couple more posts last week, and it ended up getting kinda crazy by the end of the week.

A big piece from my booth sold, so I had to scramble to get something in it's place- it was holding all of the Harmony Farm candles I sell, and everything I have waiting in the wings at home didn't fit the bill.

A "free" afternoon turned into a junk hunt.

And then, a 1-2 hour morning of re-shuffling my booth turned into an all day re-set!

Throw Mother's Day festivities into the weekend mix....well, I guess you get the idea of my absence!

ha!

It's all good.

Today was a productive work day at home.  

I've also had a few things leaving my Etsy shop, and it was time to get some fresh goods in there.

This fun summer bunting was something I made out of a sentimental piece.

 It was my first vintage tablecloth I ever purchased.

I bought it on Ebay several years ago.  

It had a couple small holes in it when I purchased it, and even with careful washing, it eventually started to disintegrate.

Before it got too shabby, I used it in a table decorating contest that our state fair puts on every year in the Home Economics building.  

It's one of my favorite exhibits to check out every year, and I'd always had visions of what I'd do if I ever entered.

Well, one year I finally did.

And looky what I brought home!

I have photos {somewhere} of the table setting, but I have no idea where they are at the moment.

These are hanging in my studio, as a reminder that if you want to do something, you just have to do your best and go for it.

(You can even see my entry tag to the left there...)

(pssst- the secret to winning at the Oregon State Fair?  

They are very particular about correct placement, practicality, and use of your theme....)  

It was a cute table, nothing super fancy. 

The tough part is that they only allow you to use a 3 foot table.

Kinda tough to do much with a tiny table setting, but I made it work!

Anyway.

The majority of the fabric was still vibrant and in good shape, there was just a section near the middle that was no good, so here's the new, repurposed look!

I love it.  So fun and cheery.

Even though it's not a traditional Fourth of July theme, I like the red, white and blue in the colors, and think it would be fun for an Independence Day picnic.

****

I hope you enjoyed your Mother's Day weekend- we sure did!

I got something for my mom that she was not expecting, and I loved her reaction.

I may post some photos on my Facebook page here in a bit- hopefully I won't embarrass her!

Me? 

My hubby and girly took me to my favorite nursery and I got to shop for some flowers.

They bought me a lemon tree.

:)

I also picked out a beautiful peony with some birthday money I had.

Hoping you all enjoyed your weekend, and if you are interested in purchasing the bunting seen here, I have it listed in my Etsy shop!  

Limited quantities available!

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Tuesday's Treasures

romantic spring living

When I was little, my mom went through a popular course called, The Image of Loveliness.

It was all about knowing what colors and styles worked best on your individual features.  You were either a 'summer', 'spring', 'winter', or 'autumn' based on your coloring.

I've always said this house is a summer house.

It shows it's best when the sun is shining and bright.

We've had an unseasonably warm spring, and all the spring flowers are bursting.

My snowball bushes are finally getting huge, and it's fabulous to step out into the yard and cut these beautiful blooms to bring inside.

I especially love our living room and dining room this time of year.  It's airy, light and cheery- and opening the windows to let the fresh air in just makes my heart happy.

 This pretty marble base candelabra is a new addition to my dining room- it was a piece I took with me to The Farmhouse Show, but I'm going to enjoy it for a few days before taking it into the shop.

The snowballs also make a nice bouquet in my French flower bucket in the living room.

I love that snowballs are so casual and carefree- hinting at warmer days of summer, just around the corner.

Such a pretty, generous flower.  Easy and carefree.

In 5 years, they've grown from a 3 foot plant, to a 10 foot hedge.

A little romance from the garden to indoors.

Are you bringing a little love inside?

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The Farmhouse Show

I hope you are enjoying a relaxing weekend!  

It is 82 degrees here in the Willamette Valley, and I am taking a break from gardening to show you a recap of my space at The Farmhouse Show!

I only had time to snap some really quick shots, but here's how it looked:

(if you follow me on Facebook, you got to see most of these already!)

It took me both set up days (Wednesday afternoon and most of the day Thursday) to get things looking the way I wanted.  

Lots of driving back and forth to set up and replenish over 3 days, plus a work shift at the show on Thursday.  

All that was wedged in between softball, family activities, and regular life.  

No wonder I only got one post in last week!

I really loved the vintage school map- I had hoped I could find a spot for it at home, but no.

It sold the first day.

It was also fun meeting some new friends while I was there, and there was a great mix of vendors at the show.  I did much better than last year, and only came home with two bins of smalls, and both my outdoor sets I previewed a few posts ago.  

Not to worry- now I have some springy stuff for my booth at Aunt Bee's House!

What I was most happy not to have to haul home was the dining set I was working on the last two weeks.  I never did get a chance to get some beauty shots of it, so here's a few from the set up:

The chairs were all covered in a horrible red vinyl.  

I replaced them with tan and white ticking.

{You can see before shots in my Instagram feed- see top right corner of my blog}

The table was also in really rough shape when I got it, and a perfect candidate for getting a paint job.

I completely sanded and then stained the top in Dark Walnut, and gave the table and chairs 3 coats of Cottage White with the Webster's chalk paint.

Just a bit of distressing to highlight all the character in this beautiful set.  

6 chairs, and 2 leaves for this beauty.  

I think it is my favorite dining set to date.

I also brought some planter boxes that I dressed up with a white wash and graphics:

I loved the little crystal lanterns hanging inside the umbrella.  

There were lots of hanging flower baskets for sale for pre-Mother's Day weekend.

The funky green chair was something I picked up on my last visit to see Amanda.

It went home with someone the first day too.

Of course, I brought in lots of flowers too to tuck into vases, watering cans, and bottles.

I sold all of my ironstone.

Thanks again to everyone who came out and supported the show.  

We all appreciate you!

I'll be restocking my Etsy shop soon, and my space at Aunt Bee's House!

How to install a doorbell- and add character to your entry

First of all, thanks so much for the birthday wishes!

We had a great weekend- a softball game, parties, hair appointments, and lots of prep for The Farmhouse Show!
I start set up tomorrow!
{whew}

****

One small project we did yesterday was to remove our old doorbell, and install this fun new one:

One of my very first posts on this blog was about wanting to add some character and unique touches to our exterior.  

This little cutie was one I've been wanting a long time!

The doorbell that was installed by the builder was about as cheap as you can get.  

Glow in the dark plastic.  

Functional, but incredibly boring.

It doesn't do much for me and the entry.

First off, we unscrewed the doorbell and untwisted the wires from the housing.

Your doorbell might be slightly different, but they're all pretty simple in design, so it's not hard to figure out.

I asked Jon if we should turn the power off during installation and he declined, saying it was low voltage.  

You do what you feel is safest - I'm a safety girl, and would have opted to shut it off, but Jon is a wild and crazy guy, and really likes to live dangerously. 

It's how our marriage works.

;)

Anyway, once that is removed, we took the new doorbell, and put the wires through

Two screw down clamps.

When the buzzer is pressed, it clamps down on the copper wire and rings the bell.
Again, super simple, and Jon was such an incredible installer, he didn't even need a screw driver.
{wink}

We did use our drill just a bit to widen the hole in the siding where the wires came out.
This new one was slightly wider than the original, and needed more room to go into the siding.

Just a couple tries, and it was snug as a bug.

We drilled some pilot holes through the new installation holes in the doorbell, screwed in the matching brass screws, and in a total of 5 minutes, have a fun new doorbell for our guests.

This style was something I've had my eye on for a long time- when I first started looking, they were around $40, which is why I dragged my feet for so long.

House of Antique Hardware sold this beauty for under $9.
And they are right here in Oregon!

They have lots of other great styles as well, but you could also try these sites for some other options.

Rejuvenation Hardware
My Knobs.com
Historic Houseparts


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