Carved

We carved our pumpkin tonight before taking in the porch furniture and bracing ourselves for hurricane Sandy. All of our fingers are crossed that we keep our power and Halloween isn't cancelled for the second year in a row. But just in case I don't have a chance to say it....

Happy Halloween!

Heavenly Roasted Tomato Sandwiches ~ With or Without Bacon

Roasted tomatoes are heavenly. There I said it. Tomato sandwiches are nothing new to me. There was a time in my life I tried very hard to be a vegetarian and often for lunch a girlfriend and I would eat tomato sandwiches from our high school cafeteria. The lunch lady would stare at us from above her glasses, as if we had lost our minds when we ordered just tomato, lettuce, and mayo between two slices of bread. As you can clearly see from my sandwich it didn't stick, even though there are times I wish it had. You don't have to be a meat lover or a vegetarian to make an absolutely mouth watering roasted tomato sandwich - because the trick is indeed the tomatoes. My dear hubby doesn't even care for tomatoes all that much and he loves them.
So whether you put them on toasted wheat bread, with bacon, or perhaps a nice pesto and mozzarella, here is how to make a tangy sweet roasted tomato.

Roasted Tomatoes

1 or 2 cartons of  rinses cherry, plum, or Capri tomatoes cut into 1/2 or 1/4 

4 Tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil (the greener the better)

2 Tablespoons of Sea Salt

1 Large shallow baking pan

Preheat your oven to 250 degrees. Lay your tomatoes out nice and evenly on the baking pan and drizzle them with the olive oil. Salt them evenly and put them in the oven. The key is to let them slowly roast away. Check on them in about an hour and stir them a bit so they don't stick to the pan. The peel should start to look wrinkly and the juices bubbling. Depending on your tomatoes, and your oven, roasting can take about 2 to 3 hours. You will know they are done when your house starts to smell like homemade sauce and the edges start to turn a golden brown but the inside are still red. Let them cool for about 2 to 3 minutes before eating and then try to share them.

Autumn Mantel

Finished staining the fireplace mantel to a nice rich dark walnut color yesterday.

My reward this morning was being able to decorate it for the season.

Unexpected Surprises

Last week went by much faster than I thought it would, in fact on Friday the DJ on the radio said that it felt like the longest week ever, which left me puzzled. Monday my dentist preformed a root canal on my tooth. When entering the room he shook my hand and said "Amanda it's nice to see you again" to which I replied "It's nothing personal but the feeling isn't mutual - it's just the whole dentist thing". He laughed. Then he told me exactly what he was going to do, a part I wish he left out.
All week my mouth felt achy and sore. On Friday, he finished the second part - and I'm glad that is over.
The weekend brought unexpected surprises. Damien slept at his first friend's house sleep over. Video games,  staying up later than normal, and being away from his siblings - you could say he was in his own little heaven. Saturday on my way home from work I saw signs for a barn sale and was happy to see they were still open. I walked around a bit and asked if they had any area rugs. Their rudeness surprised me "Does it look like we have any rugs?!" If it wasn't for a small table top wooden filing cabinet, I would have left with nothing. Once home I opened the drawers on my treasure to find a signed picture from Hank Aaron inside (I didn't know who this was but dear hubby filled me in). One word - Karma.
Sunday the red orange shag carpet got removed from the living room and we found nice hardwood floors. Today I'm finishing up the fireplace (hopefully) and we will move on the the dining room. We've already put up more grey paint swatches in anticipation. Maybe anticipation isn't exactly the right word. How was your weekend?

Fall Knitting

Yesterday we discovered on Halloween we will have a lion, a bumblebee, and Mario from Nintendo collecting candy. I've always said, since Odyn's first Halloween, that he would make a great lion. We also drove around looking for antique thrifty store in the area. Landing at some of my favorites up in Woodstock, Connecticut - I found a cute little enamel table in a soft butter color with wooden folding sides (in the first picture) and an old wicker hamper for the bedroom. The table fits perfectly in our kitchen between two windows. There was a bit of a panic when didn't think it would fit in the car with all three children but we did it. Dear hubby's knees were a little squished but he managed.  We took a scenic route home...right into Rhode Island, oops, but getting lost made us admire all the colorful trees. It's the best time to get lost in New England.
It's been a bit chilly lately, with us having to turn on our heat for the first time the other night. The perfect weather for knitting a pair of socks scarf. I tried double pointed needles (DPNS)  the other day and realized I just wasn't ready for them. Someday I will make some knitted socks just may start with a loom instead. With the kids in school on Friday, my face a bit swollen from a tooth problem that is being taken care of today, and just a general need of getting out of the house, Odyn and I took a trip to the yarn store. I've never seen it so busy on a weekday and played bumper carts with a woman going down the same isles as me. Odyn picked out the prettiest red yarn, a color I don't use often enough. I still haven't decided exactly what to do with it yet - any ideas? The silky blue gray bamboo yarn was my pick and with a headache, due to the tooth, I came home and found a scarf pattern to start right away. At the moment it's satisfying my need of knitting something.
*Just a quick note - I want to thank everyone who has left us comments about our new house, or about finding my blog someway, or just all the warm kindness lately. I may not be the greatest at replying to everyone but I just want to say I appreciate every comment ♥ Thank you!*

Feeling Fall

 In the morning, with my walks to the bus stop with Damien, we can see our breath in the air. The nights are getting chilly and it was time to take the plants off the porch table. Leaves are everywhere. Whirly helicopters from the trees are scattering our walk way, Odyn keeps trying to sneak them into the house. Aries is having fun petting the moss in our yard, she would be grinning like a cheshire cat if she could make it into a pillow. Sunday we plan to pick out our pumpkins, our Halloween costumes, and do other fun fall things. We have finished painting our living room the most perfect gray. There is still a mystery under the carpet, which we hope to discover soon. That will have to wait because fall only comes once a year - and it's my favorite. Are you getting ready for it?

Our Neighborhood

 There are so many reasons why we love our new neighborhood, and I think this surprises us the most about our move. We knew exactly what we were getting with the house but sometimes neighbors or the surrounding area you just don't know until you move in. After a long day at the art fair on Friday, it was nice to come home and relax on the porch with Rob. We talked, while the kids played in the yard with a young girl who lives 3 houses down. The neighbors across the street said Hi when they came home, and even inquired about the fair.
Later that evening I checked our mail to discover a letter inviting us to a neighborhood party for a woman who lives a road over, who is moving to Florida - a "we'll miss you" party. Handwritten at the top of the flyer was "Welcome to the Neighborhood".
So this is our neighborhood. Friendly neighbors, kids to play with, an always open rose garden a block away, houses with character and charm - sometimes hidden but there, and cats that feel like they own the street, so much so that squirrels walk on the power lines to stay away from them. What is your neighborhood like?

Crafts and Art Marketplace

Tomorrow, if your in the area, stop by the Crafts and Art Marketplace - I will be there!

One Financial Plaza

1350 Main St. Springfield, MA 

From 11am - 3pm

I'm finishing up lots of things tonight - like watercolor prints, some bibs, crochet rock paperweights, and more Let It Snow garlands. Also I will have a couple bags, fabric covered thumbtacks, a few reusable snack bags, and a toddler quilt. If you do go, please stop and say hi - bring coffee :) !

Beyond Disorganized

We worked this weekend on stripping all the wallpaper off the living room walls and taking the varnish and yellowish stain off the fireplace mantel. It was a bit addicting - in fact dear hubby found a way to get an entire strip of wallpaper off in one piece, something that made him really satisfied. Now we just need to prime, paint, and get rid of the shag carpeting. Of course I am still tackling the fireplace mantel a bit, soon it will be a rich dark brown - more of a suitable color for the grey walls.
In the process I have been trying to do some crafting for the upcoming a handmade craft fair happening this Friday. As you can see everything is everywhere - which made for some choice words when Buster ran by chasing the kids knocking over a box full of thread spools. Did you know they bounce? Also there was a small melt down by myself, which I'm sure looked a little funny. It wouldn't have been so bad if everything was a bit more organized but as it stands there still is no real organization.
While the inside of the house is deyond disorganized, we are enjoying the outside as much as possible. The leaves are starting to turn crispy, and twirl down in there pretty orange red yellow colors - there are little tree helicopters everywhere, and we put out some fall mums on our stairs. There is this musty earthy smell at night  and the air is getting a little chilly. Soon we will carve pumpkins on the porch! Can you believe it's October already?