Our Own Enchanted Forest

Last weekend we got out the wheelbarrow and the shovel and dug some holes.  

There were quite a few rocks to dig out. Peach did quality control.

We planted some apple trees, some pear trees,

some apple and pear trees, and a couple peach trees.

 And then we took some wheelbarrow rides.

Laundry Day

At our place every day is laundry day. Sometimes I do one load. Sometimes I feel like I've done 100 loads. My least favorite part about doing laundry is spot cleaning. And Bananas, Plum's favorite, create the dragon of all stains. They make everything look brown and ugly, and if you forget that your baby spred Banana on herself and wash her cloths without doing something about it the outfit is brown forever-after ~ NOT happily!

Until Now!

I was complaining about my lack luster laundry at a baby shower and one of the more experienced maidens suggested I use some ammonia. As unappetizing as that sounds, as soon as I got home I sprayed everything Bananaed with a bottle of cheap glass spray with ammonia I had lying around. Then I washed them.

The results were not as instantly brilliant as I would have hoped, so I did something else I've never tried before. All the just washed Banana cloths went into a gallon of water with one scoop of OxyClean. I added a few other clothing items as well, that had not been pre-ammonia treated. I wanted to know if it made a difference. After a good long soak everything went back into the wash.

Oh My Giant Pumpkin Coach, all of my pre-treated cloths came out looking sparkling new. The others came out looking lighter and I assume they just need a little "windex" treatment. I'm excited about my new discovery!!! It's like magic! Happy laundry day.

*** I would like to make an extra effort to point out that I ran the cloths through a full wash and spin cycle before I moved to a new spot removing chemical. Please be careful not to mix unknown chemicals together.We all know that ammonia and bleach don't mix. Don't take any chances with cleaning products that might contain these two chemical agents. ***

From a Cottage to a Castle

We Won!!!!

By some amazing twist of fate Charming and I won the From a Cottage to a Castle sweepstakes. The officials called us just before Christmas to say we could move into our castle mid-January. Everything else went on hold as we packed, cleaned, and made the necessary arrangement to move our Happily Ever After to a new location.

What an experience. What an adventure! First off, I had no idea how much stuff you could stuff into a cottage. Ours was obviously packed to the rafters. But then, I never realized how much stuff you need to fill a castle.

Other odd inclinations that have come over me post-move are:

~ When it's really yours you have a greater desire to clean it, or at least I do.

~ Having a nice castle kitchen and dinning room inspires me to cook more lovely meals for Charming, and actually set the table before he arrives for dinner.

~ I find myself actually doing my hair and makeup in the  morning. I think that has a lot to do with having a separate bathroom from the princesses or the opposite side of our home. More time and energy when I'm not worried about waking them from their beauty sleep.

I hope the spell lasts a bit longer. At least until we get everything out of boxes and all the pictures hung. Wish us luck.

Beans for a Ball

Do you sometimes wish your Fairy Godmother would come down and do a little number on week-night family dinner. We had 40 jars of magical beans in the pantry this year, and boy do those things get ordinary after a while. When the magic has run out on your favorite side dish, try this little trick.

Sauteed Almond Beans

1/4 cup raw almond slivers

1 med onion, sliced

1 Tab olive oil

1 quart, or two cans green beans, drained

Salt and pepper to taste

In a medium sauce pan, brown almonds over high heat.

When almonds are golden brown, add oil and onions. (If you decide to take pictures, try not to burn your almonds like I did.) Saute until onions are soft and translucent, about 2 minutes.

Now, add your drained beans and cook until beans are heated through. Add salt and pepper if you'd like.

And all of the sudden your beans are all dressed up and ready for the ball. They look really good next to a heart shaped stake. I'm just saying, in case you're looking for a fabulously easy side dish for the upcoming holiday.

Ruby Slippers

For reasons I'll explain in another post the Holidays were a flurry of excitement for us in a different way than you might expect. We did stop our non-Christmas halabaloo long enough to attend a Christmas Eve party.

At which, Peach snatched these darking little slippers.

Three clicks later, she was asleep and we magically made our way home.
Thank you for the fun Ray and Debbie.
And Hillie, thank you for the loan of your magic ruby slippers.

That's So Charming!

I am a lot of things to a lot of people, but I am NOT a cookie maker. When I think of all of the wonderful holiday treats that I grew up learning to make cookies fall very very low on the list. So, when Charming asked me to make cookies for our Christmas treat plates I was a bit timid. After all, Charming IS a cookie maker, and a darn good one. I guess you pick up a few things when you hang out in the royal kitchen for 18 or so years.

Well, I decided first to get the cookie making over with quickly, so I quadrupled my recipe, which is not hard because it only makes 1 1/2 dozen to begin with. Oh, but it was hard on my poor mixer. I broke my special cookie mixing paddles.

Then, with Peach's "help", I rolled out 6 cookie sheets of trees, stars, and cute little gingerbread men. We also dumped flour all over the table, floor, and ourselves.

Oh dear! I don't know what went wrong, but every single one of those batches came out flat and crispy. Not burned, but definitely not giftable.

I put off telling Charming that things weren't going well, so when he got home he was met by 6 batches of Cookie Crisp . . . what can I say, I thought things would get better if I just Believed hard enough.

That sweet prince of mine took one bite of cookie and said, "These taste really good."

And that, future Charmings of the world, is how you get your girl and keep the hot meals coming.

Because WE can help other people's Dreams come True!!!