Girly Bobby Pins in 2 Minutes

I say this will take two minutes because that's how long it took me.  Not even kidding.  Timed it.  The only reason it took me 10 minutes to get this post up is because I stopped to eat a cookie.  

Don't judge.

So I'm going to be straight with you here.  I'm not the girliest of the girly girls.  Shocker.  Though I do like pink, lacy things, lip gloss, and dresses...I sit here writing this in blue jeans, a black sweater, wool socks, no makeup and a Marilla Cuthbert bun.  Sigh.  

Maybe I should add "femininity" to my New Year goals...it's not too late is it?

Alright, well before Christmas I ordered a green dress on sale from ModCloth to wear for Christmas Eve dinner because I was not in a position to make one...and $15 for a brand new dress was not the hill I wanted to die on.  When the box arrived with the dress, there was a little package of these ADORABLE bobby pins with covered buttons.  So cute.  Great marketing scheme Modcloth.  

They are awesome.  A plain Jane pony becomes quite a bit cuter with a little flowered heart holding back some bangs...or a whisp that escaped.

"How hard can that be?" I asked myself during a reflective moment.

Down the stairs I dashed to the button box {yes I have a button box full of randoms...that part wasn't minimized yet...remember what I said about judging} 

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Button Bobby DIY

1} I fished out a button with a loop back...not the kind with holes in the face.

2} Grabbed a bobby pin and threaded the button on

3} Glued the little guy in place...held firm until dry {wire would work here too if it's in your craft stash}

4} Wear it out on the town...or doing dishes. It doesn't matter. 

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PS TIP

Use covered button kits and bits of fabric to make a Button Bobby that matches an outfit.  Ta-da!

Also, these would make great gifts. 

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Learning to Dutch Oven

New Year = New motivation to learn new skills.  Since I'm all about getting-back-to-basics, I thought I'd take my cooking skills to the next level and dry some Dutch Oven cooking.  

Lucky for me, my sweet sister-in-law has done tons of Civil War reenacting and learned from very skilled ladies how to cook meals on an open fire.  Having this wealth of of information right in the family was ideal for my venture of learning to use my Dutch Oven. 

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PS TIP

If you have a family member or friend with a unique skill, take the time to learn it!  Chances are they will be more than glad to share.  This is how I learned to knit originally.  Just ask!  Instead of paying for a class or online tutorial, just ask someone who already knows!

Think of the possibilities!

Learn to spin yarn, make soap, plant an herb garden, take film photographs, hand quilt a blanket...the list is quite endless.

This is also a great way to start, build, or maintain relationships.  Showing someone you respect their skill in an area you know very little or nothing can go a long way.  Take a humble pill, admit you aren't an expert at everything and revel in the freedom of learning!

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Here are the simple steps that led to scrumptious, fire cooked rolls.  Ours took approximately an hour to cook.

Any roll recipe will work.  This is the one my sis-in-law whipped up while I held her baby being a shameless Auntie.  I do not apologize. 

Follow your recipe instructions up to the part where you shape the rolls.  Don't put them in a pan, put them in the Dutch oven to rise.  Once risen, put the lid on and head for the fire.

1} Make a bed of coals.

This is done by having a medium to large fire, letting it burn down, and harvesting the coals.  My helpful brother took three shovel scoops full of hot coals and made a "bed" about 5 feet away from the main fire.  The coals were chopped up on a flat spot and allowed to cool for a few minutes so they were not glowing red.  Red is too hot and ABSOLUTELY NO OPEN FLAME! Flames will scorch your dish.  No fuego. 

Okay so we made the bed - Check

Evenly spread coals around the edges {Not touching the side...just radiating heat} - Check

One scoop on the lid spread evenly around - Check

2} Tend the fire

You know in historical books or fiction about pioneers when they say "the women tended the fire".  That wasn't just oh-let-me-pitch-another-log-on-the-fire-so-it-doesn't-go-out.  No, that was a careful and continuous shuffling of coals around to create an even heat source to cook an entire meal.  While they had children to care for, mending to do, churning, meat processing for winter, gardens to tend...women we do not have it hard today.  We have it easy.  No matter how tough you think you've got it...it could be a much much harder life.

Rant over

So every 10-15 minutes I stuck my hand down by the sides of the Dutch Oven to make sure there weren't hot spots and cool spots and then shifted {or had my trusty brother shift} the coals around, sometimes adding to, sometimes backing some off.  Around every 20 minutes we added another scoop on the lid as the old coals died down.  Again...don't get over zealous and heap red hot coals all over.  Slow and even radiant heat is the goal.

3} Check the Progress.  

Alright, listen up.  The whole point of the Dutch Oven is to trap the heat and cook your rolls {or whatever dish you chose} like a regular convection oven.  Lifting the lid every 10 minutes to see the progress only lets all the heat out from the top so you'll have done edges and soft middles. It's like trying to cook a turkey with the door open. Don't over do the checking!  

Granted, it is kind of a guessing game, but wait until the rolls have been cooking long enough that you think they are close to done.  Scrape the coals off of the lid, blow all the dust off, and using a hook {or bent stick as in my case} lift the lid a tiny bit to inspect.  

My rolls were brown on the edges and one side was starting to scorch but the tops of the rolls looked doughy.  I pulled the coals back from the edges and added a heaping scoop of coals to the lid.

10 minutes later they were done!

I had lined the Dutch Oven with foil in order to lift the rolls out easily.  Once the Dutch Oven is removed from the fire...it's still hot and will continue to cook what is inside, hence my roll evacuation plan.  Also I was surrounded by my hungry family who had partaken in this adventure and I wanted to gratify their appetites as soon as possible!

The side I thought had been scorched was only just.  One roll had a half-dollar sized dark portion on the edge, but it wasn't even burnt all the way.  I'd say one casualty is pretty good for a first try!

They were fantastic!  Oh my.  Eating hot rolls we just baked in the Dutch Oven on the fire as a family while standing in the fresh air on a beautiful Oregon afternoon was an AMAZING way to star the New Year!  I'm very thankful for the support of my Ranch Family as I explore new skills and adventures.  Pretty sure as long as I feed them yummys they will keep supporting :)

Now it's your turn!  Go learn something new.  Try the Dutch Oven or something else and broaden your horizons.  It's a New Year.  In 364 days, what do you want to have learned or accomplished?  Don't wait.  Make 2015 a year of learning and improving! Set a goal...you've got a little less than a year to reach it.  GO!

New Year's Decluttering {A Closet Story}

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The wrapping paper is gone, the food coma has worn off, the relatives have evacuated, the New Year approaches and your closet/house/under your bed/spare room/every room is full of new things, presents, the old clutter and and it's overwhelming.  

It's smothering.

It's asphyxiating.

HELP!

I was about to go bonkers with how full my bedroom/home office/living space was getting.  

NO MORE!

Those blogs about minimalist living were calling to me in sweet, steady, simple whispers promising freedom from stuff and methods to dig out from the pile of unnecessary stuff.

This was one of my favorites with some great step-by-step ideas.  I'm not a lock stock and barrel minimalist...but I'm borrowing some practices.

I chose to start at the Achilles heel of most women's accumulation.  

The closet {Insert dramatic Phantom of Opera music}

My first step was to empty the whole contents of closet and shelves onto my bed and line up all of my shoes.  

1} Get everything out where you can see it.  EVERYTHING. no cheating.

2} Get rid of duplicates.  I did this with tennis shoes {and a few other things}.  I have two pairs...old nikes from college, and new-ish trail running shoes that I use now that I live in the boondocks again.  I only use one pair.  So the other goes bye-bye.

3} Hold the garment up and ask honestly. "Do I wear this?"  Don't ask if it's a good brand, a quality piece.  Do you wear it or do you reach past it consistently for something else?  I have a perfect white cardigan, Eddie Bauer brand and everything.  But I ALWAYS reach past it for a gray cardigan I found at a second hand store in Alaska.  It has no tag and the buttons were broken so I took them off...but it's my favorite sweater...it goes with everything...and it doesn't need friends that never go out hanging next to it.  Bye-bye unworn white cardigan.

4} Give question mark garments a trial period.  I have a few really interesting pieces that I never wear but they would make the CUTEST outfit {so I imagine} but somehow those "cutest" outfits never happen. Like the red knit top pictured above...perfect details, so many possibilities...yet still unworn. I took photos of the question marks and gave myself one week to work them into an outfit.  If they don't get worn in that week...off they go.  

5} Bag up the rejects right away.  Don't let the pile be visible or hang about.  Put it in a trash bag by the door on its way to a second hand store or charity.  You'll be surprised how you can't even remember what was gotten rid of.  I can't recall right now and it's been only a few days.  

6} Enjoy your extra space and decreased clutter!

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PS TIP

Make a rule to help yourself not have to do this grueling and emotional process again...or at least not as soon.

Closet Rule: If something goes in, something comes out.  

I'm surprised how well this has already worked.  I received a new scarf and pitched and old one.  Hopefully I can keep up with it and stay disciplined!

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Meet My Ranch Family

We're an odd bunch but I love them dearly!

{He's a hoot...he's my bro...he's awesome}

{This is his lovely wife who is the best thing to happen to the Ranch since...well...Dad married Mom}

The newest Rancher.  He belongs to my Bro and his wife but I lay claim to him too.  Can a face get more precious?!}

{Sweet Mom.  Dad's best decision 30 years ago}

{Dad...the man who has had the same style since he graduated high school...the most steady person I know}

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{PS TIP}

If you have family you are close to...be thankful and do not let those relationships fall into disrepair.  Don't sweat the small stuff and be gracious about the big stuff.  Respect each others boundaries and care for each others needs.  Once those relationships are gone, it's near impossible to get them back.  

Don't be lazy about your loved ones!

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My family has had some of the BEST times around fires.  Bonfires, campfires, fires in our stove...we are a bit of a family of pyros...also considering two of us are wildland firefighters I suppose it's inevitable.  

I've never really been one for New Years Resolutions but this year I'd like to set some goals to reach.  Life is busy and all over the place for me spending my winter on the ranch and traveling then summers fighting fire in the Western US...it's easy to drop things along the way or think I don't have time in the whirl of my life to send a postcard.  

BUT one of my goals for 2015

Put my family and close friends first.  Don't cop out and think "they understand I'm busy".  Make a real effort to make them my priority. 

What are your New Years Resolutions?  Share them in the comments :)

How To Make a Simple Country Christmas Table

If you were like me this Christmas, you had a wonderful Pinterest vision of a stylish and elegant Christmas dinner table.  But if you are like me in that you didn't actually see if the idea was going to fit on the existing table and if the materials were in fact all in the house...then you may have come upon a serious road bump...kind of like those pot holes you never see until your knees have wound up where your chin should be. {You're welcome for the Suess-like poetry}

Sometimes since I live on a ranch I just assume we have a giant farm table when reality is we don't.  We like to eat Christmas dinner in our "Big Room" with giant windows and the Christmas tree...not in the dining room which has a little round very ancient heirloom table. Nope, for the Big Room we have an old church table. You know the kind with the fold down legs and the pretend wood top and the round corners?  Yes that one.

It's really quite ugly all alone but is handy as a craft table or when we have guests over.  BUT my Pinterest idea was a barn board runner down the center with greenery and matching votive jars.

A) The barn board is too wide for the center...the plates will not fit on the edge without a 4" lip.  Bad deal when using the good china.

B) All my greenery that had been cut and I had saved for this moment was no where to be found. The men of the ranch assumed I did not need it anymore and burned it all.  

C) Those votive candle holders had RED candles burned halfway down into them and were stuck like a little boy boot in not set concrete. Not the white light dream I'd imagined.

Now what.

My Dad was quite sweet...he came out to the Big Room to see how I was doing and found me, hands on hips, looking mighty focused on a table with one board and a plate in haphazard places.  He kindly looked at me and promptly left the room.  He knows not to break my focus in desperate times.

New plan.  I went to my cedar chest and pulled out every white linen piece I'd inherited from my Great Grandmother's on the ranching side.  Table cloths, runners, napkins, doilies, dresser toppers, pillow shams, bits of tatted lace...Everything was pulled out and hauled to the Big Room.

Next I found every mid-sized jar, sugar and creamer set, measuring cup...anything antique, glass, and small.

Basically I did reverse of my original plan and with more candles.  

PS TIP

When in doubt, put LOTS of candles out.  Candles look cozy and can hide a multitude of flaws.  They create a wonderful aroma and soft light even makes a bad makeup job look good.  Candlelight is your friend.

The centerpiece is a mirror tray on a pedestal with...more candles.  Tapers in the center add height and bring more light to the dimly lit room.

Lot's of candles did I put out,

Because that's what country's all about!

{Another rhyme for thine pleasure}

For those of you who are 4-H table setting alumni, you would be horrified that I did not match the fork handles exactly one-and-a-half inches from the edge.  Nope...and the 4-Her inside me trembled as I ventured far from my roots and matched the tines instead.  Somehow I thought the design was more interesting that way.  Don't hate me forever!

There you have it.  Nothing Pottery Barn about this table setting, just all the little odds and ends we've had around for ages displayed in a new way.  

Hope you're having a Merry Day After Christmas!

Xtra Tuff

Here in the grand and wonderful Pacific Northwest, we have rain.  Heaps of rain.  Gobs of rain. Gargantuan amounts of rain.  Sometimes it's called liquid sunshine...yet it bears no warmth in its "rays" so I say nix to that analogy. 

I remember at college in Iowa when a few random drops would come out of the sky and umbrellas popped up EVERYWHERE!  I even had one offered to me and not being quite as gracious as I should have been asked in confusion "Why?".  But in my PNW brain...unless it's running off your nose, down your neck, and sopping into your jeans then it's not raining.  Simply a mist or light sprinkle.

These fabulous boots are XTRA TUFF brand that I picked up when I spent a summer in Southeast Alaska.  They saved me.  These guys have soft walls that roll down when you want to {I wear them with shorts on warmer days} and the seal nicely around pants when the cuffs are tucked down inside.  I know they aren't the chic Hunter boots that are all over Pinterest {follow me there too} But these are the real deal for real people who live in real rainy conditions and need something that lasts.  Plus they are American Made.  'Merica!

So there's my not so fashion-y tip for you this thunderously deluging Saturday! Stay dry folks and don't forget to follow my blog!

Busy Times = Easy Food

Ah the Holidays.  It's not Silver Bells I hear that tell me it's Christmas.  No it's the list of Christmas cards I haven't sent,  the decorations still in boxes in the rooms where they should be gracing the walls, those random sweet Pinterest DIY gifts that eat at your soul each day they go unmade {they seemed like a good idea at the time}

Reality is the Holiday's can be hectic! It's not L.L. Bean plaid pajamas, sipping peppermint tea by the fire all season.  There is a lot to do and we women can get eaten alive by it.  

One of the hardest thing to do when things are busy is make a healthy, clever meal.  Papa Murphy's Pizza just sounds so good when you're up to your elbows in tinsel and Christmas socials.

Here's one scrumptious recipe I found on a particularly busy day that saved my bacon and filled my family with healthy things! 

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Crock pots make my life much easier.  Chuck a bunch of ingredients at it and the trusty little guy makes dinner for you!  It's like Mrs. Patmore of Downton Abbey.  You don't know how she works and dare not ask questions...just enjoy the food!

Seeing as how I'm feeding my very manly Father.  A vegetarian meal was not going to suffice.  Been down that road...it didn't end well.  SOLUTION! I added a pound of our home grown natural ground beef.  That bit of beef flavor made a world of difference in the happiness of the ones around my table.  

I would suggest though...not being shortsighted like I was in one point in particular.  Don't use chicken broth when you are adding beef.  It didn't taste bad...but I feel like one meat flavor is enough.

Quinoa is tricky.  Sometimes it's hard to cook fully and sometimes it's altogether the blandest bland food that ever was bland.  I've only been cooking with it for a handful of months and some days are success and others...well...bland.  

PS TIP

One tip I've learned when cooking quinoa is LEAVE THE LID ON! Don't peek at it over and over and let all the moisture and even pressure out.  Let it be until the timer goes off and even then...let it rest off of the heat source for a few minutes.  

Another tip is to not stir it with a spoon.  Don't even bring a spoon to the quinoa party!  Fluff it with a fork.  Now this is tricky if you use non-stick cookware and don't want to scratch the coating...I understand completely...but there are wooden forks out there that can save the quinoa from a spoon inflicted demise.

Aaand here we are all crock pot ready and 6 hours before supper.  What a relief on the brain, knowing dinner is taken care of.  One less thing to stress about.

I would encourage you {and myself} to take time to enjoy the season.  That sounds so cliche but really...make some tea...put on something plaid and listen to a Christmas album and ENJOY the fruits of your hard work and endless lists!