Thanksgiving Wishes And A Few Other Things

Welcome dear friends! I hope you all are having fun baking, cooking, and preparing your sweet homes for Thanksgiving day. I love this vintage postcard, just look at the pink coat the sweet little girl is wearing! I declared the turkey was her pet, but my dear husband insists she is luring him back to the farmhouse!



Yesterday I made a pumpkin pie for my husband and son and today I made them Cranberry Bread and Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Crisps. This recipe made a big batch, I have this plate, and a cookie jar full for them to enjoy. Tomorrow I will make dressing, sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes, green beans, rolls, a salad and turkey of course.

Here are the recipes if you would like to try them. I use all organic ingredients.

Oatmeal-Chocolate Chip Crisps

1 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup rapadura
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup canned unsweetened pumpkin
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
11/2 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon sea salt (I use Celtic)
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3 cups rolled old-fashioned oats
11/2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

1. Heat the oven to 350. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

2. Beat the sugars and butter together with a hand mixer until well blended and fluffy. Add the pumpkin, eggs and vanilla and beat until smooth.

3. Sift the flour, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon into the mixture and continue beating at low speed until well blended. Stir in the oats and chocolate chips.

4. Drop by tablespoons onto the prepared baking sheet. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes, or until lightly browned.

5. Cool the baking sheet on a wire rack for a few minutes before removing cookies. Cool them completely on wire racks and store in an airtight container. Enjoy!

Adapted from the cookbook Pumpkin



Cranberry Bread

4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted, plus more for pan
2 cups whole wheat pastry flour (spooned and leveled) plus more for pan
1 cup packed light-brown sugar
11/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon sea salt (I use Celtic)
1 large egg, lightly beaten
3/4 cup whole milk
1 bag (12 ounces) cranberries
1 tablespoon rapadura sugar (or turbinado) for topping (optional)

1. Preheat oven to 350; butter and flour a 9-by-5-inch loaf pan, and set aside. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt; set aside. In a medium bowl, combine butter, egg, and milk. Add wet mixture to dry mixture, and whisk to combine; fold in cranberries.

2. Pour batter into prepared pan; sprinkle top with rapadura or turbinado sugar, if desired. Bake until a toothpick inserted in center of loaf comes out clean; about 1 hour and 15 minutes. Transfer pan to a wire rack; let bread cool 30 minutes. Invert onto rack; then immediately turn right side up to let cool completely.

Adapted from Everyday Food Magazine




I have made two corduroy skirts and have three more cut out ready to sew. This is a gray one I made.



And here in the library, I am wearing the black floral one I made. I love this one best!



In my previous post I shared the wool rabbit wall quilt I made, here is a close up. These are so much fun to make, I have been making them for Christmas gifts.



I have been blessed by two sweet ladies that I won prizes from their lovely blogs. Dear Madai from her beautiful Forget Me Nots From Wren Cottage sent me this pretty package. She made the beautiful JOY banner, the star and heart, and enclosed some seeds in lovely lace with ribbon, and a sweet handwritten note. Thank you so much Madai, you are so generous and I appreciate you sending these pretties to me!!!



Dear Brook from her lovely The Home That Love Built sent me these beautiful JOY mosaic letters that she made. A few months ago I also won a beautiful mosaic frame from her. Thank you so much Brook, you are so generous as well and I appreciate you sending these letters to me!

I hope each of you and your dear ones have a wonderful and happy Thanksgiving Day tomorrow filled with God's blessings, good food and lots of JOY! I am so very blessed and have so much to be thankful for! May the Lord bless each one of you! Thank you for visiting me at my Rose Cottage by the Lake!


Psalm 118:1
O Give thanks unto the Lord; for he is good: because his mercy endureth for ever.

In The Garden, Crafting and Tea Time

Happy day dear ones! I hope this finds you all well and happy and busy (in a good way!) getting prepared for Thanksgiving. We have been cleaning the house and prettying things up. This week I will bake a few things ahead of time so I don't have so much to do on Thanksgiving day. My dear husband takes care of roasting the turkey. He ordered an organic turkey and picked it up at the health food store the other day. My son is so excited about that turkey! He loves food!

Above you see our Rose Cottage by the Lake. I am so thankful for our home, so thankful for my family and friends, which includes each of you sweet ladies that visit me here, and so very thankful for the Lord and all He has blessed me with!

It has been so cold the past few days and with this colder weather, the Dark-eyed Junco and White-breasted Nuthatch have returned to our feeders. How delightful it is to fill those feeders with good seed to help provide food for some of the smallest and most lovely of God's beautiful creation, when many bugs are not available for them to eat.



Violas (johnny-jump-ups) and Asylum in a hanging basket. So cheerful!

I forgot to take photos in the organic vegetable garden, but I will soon! I am so pleased that the seeds we have planted are sprouting and growing well. We already have lettuces to eat, as the ones from spring reseeded themselves. We planted more lettuce along with swiss chard, beets, broccoli, brussels sprouts, green onions, arugula, parsley, spinach, peas and carrots. We are still harvesting jalapeno peppers from our garden and have a few bell peppers that are almost ready to harvest, we also have several very green tomatoes. I don't know if they will ripen, so I may bring them in and hang them on the peg rack. The jalapeno peppers were extremely hot. I did not eat any, but my husband and son enjoyed some last night with grass-feed beef, organic lettuce, salsa, black olives, raw cheese and tortillas.



We have plenty of pine needles that have fallen and it makes a wonderful covering and mulch for the flower beds. I have read that pine straw is good for roses, they like the acid it provides. Our dear Rose Cottage is in need of roses!!! I am hoping to order several old roses this winter. I can hardly wait!



The Coneflower (Echinacea) is thriving in this cold weather, it did not endure the summer heat well. I am so thankful to see it is blooming!



Lovely!



The Saliva is thriving too!



So is my sweet son! He seems to grow taller everyday! We are so thankful for this boy!



We have been working on making our library more cozy. Here is a spot I would like to share with you. Remember those cabinets were once hanging on the wall in the sun porch? Well, here they are all painted (thank you dear husband) and filled with our art supplies. I made the curtain panels for the front. I also made the sweet rabbit wall quilt. I used a flannel background and wool for the rabbit and leaves and vintage buttons for the "flowers", then I framed it in fabric. I am going to make some of these for Christmas gifts. They are very fun to make. If you use wool felt, these can be made with all your scraps. I used this pattern, Itty Bitty Button Pictures. I loved it! They are easy to make and the instructions are clear. The designer recommends you frame them, but I decided to make them into little wall "quilts." I forgot to take a close up for you, but now my camera needs the batteries charged so I will take one soon. You can also see where I decided to hang my redwork quilt I found at the antique store.




I have had this wooden box for some time and decided to make a little dollhouse, or should I say a doll room!" I found the wicker chair at the antique store and I used a wood candlestick and paper mache box I had on hand for the table, painting, then gluing the two together. I found a tiny tea set at Hobby Lobby. I made the bird that is hanging up and found the Christmas tree in a lovely Esty shop called Brandywine. She has so many delightful things. I have always been pleased with my orders from her. Now, I just need to make a doll, which I hope to do soon! Oh, the stickers I used for artwork are also from Brandy. I had the little heart shaped wreath for years and hung it with a feather my son found. The trim around the box it the decorative tape my son gave me for my birthday.



Here is the little tea set. I am going to take some old lace and make a tablecloth for it.




A place for extra teacups and saucers.



I also decorated this little glass bottle that my husband bought for me at a yard sale for 50 cents!



I tied some old lace round the neck, and an old key my son gave me out of his collection, and sewed a vintage button onto the lace. Then I glued some pretty scrapbook paper and a vintage paper (also from Brandywine) heart I cut out to the front. This was easy and fun to make and would be lovely Christmas gifts. You could put dried herbs or dried flowers in it as well.



Yesterday my son and I enjoyed tea and cookies together. We had chai tea and I made my son oatmeal cookies from my new Cookies cookbook and made myself cookies using almond flour.



We enjoyed reading the Bible, God's word is so comforting, and having our tea and cookies together, talking and making sweet memories.

I hope you all are having a very lovely day! Thank you for visiting me!


Sing unto the Lord with thanksgiving; sing praise upon the harp unto God. Psalm 147:7

Recipes For Autumn Baking, Sweet Garden Flowers, And Encouragement For Nature Journaling

Hi there sweet friends! So glad you came by my Rose Cottage for a visit today. I have a few recipes to share with you for your Autumn baking. I use all organic ingredients in my recipes.

Pumpkin Bread

1 cup canned unsweetened pumpkin
1 cup rapadura
1/2 cup melted butter or coconut oil
2 eggs
1 3/4 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon celtic sea salt
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup nuts (walnuts or pecans) chopped

1. Heat the oven to 350. Grease an 8x4 inch loaf pan.

2. Beat together the pumpkin, sugar, butter, and eggs in a large bowl.

3. Sift the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, salt, and baking powder into the bowl. Stir to combine all the ingredients. Fold in the nuts. Pour into the prepared pan.

4. Bake for 60 minutes (I check my at 40 minutes, then every 5 thereafter so I don't overcook it), or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack. You can also wrap this up well and store it in the freezer for up to 3 months. Adapted from Pumpkin.


Pecan Fudge Brownies

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, plus more for pan
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
2 ounces unsweetened chocolate, coarsely chopped
1 ounce semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped (I use the same chocolate as above)
1 cup packed dark-brown sugar
1/4 cup rapadura
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup pecans, coarsely chopped

1. Preheat oven to 350. Butter an 8-inch square baking pan. Line bottom with parchment paper, leaving an overhang on two sides. Butter paper; set pan aside. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt; set aside.

2. Place butter and chocolates in a double boiler of simmering water. Heat until smooth, 2 to 3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat, and stir in sugars, eggs, vanilla, flour mixture, and half pecans. Transfer batter to prepared pan; smooth top. Sprinkle with remaining pecans.

3. Bake until a toothpick inserted comes out clean, 30 to 35 minutes. Set pan on a wire rack; let cool completely. Using paper overhang, lift brownie onto a cutting board; cut into 16 squares. Store brownies in an airtight container at room temperature, up to 5 days. Adapted from Everyday Food. I love these little booklets, they are filled with wonderful recipes for meals and desserts!


You can find the recipe, in my archives, for the Mini-Chocolate Chip Scones.


And now lets look in the garden for a few sweet flowers that add a bit of cheer to our cottage!



Oh, but first look at this little visitor. He blends right in to my garden ornament. I am always amazed at God's beautiful creation. I love being out of doors! Living in the hot humid south makes it difficult for me to spend a lot of time outdoors during the summer months, but this time of year is wonderful for being out of doors. I find though, as I am sure you do, you must make yourself get outside, there are always so many things to do in our homes, that a whole day can go by without spending any time outside. I think it is very good for our health to breath that fresh air, have our eyes look at things in the distance instead of all the close-up things our eyes are accustomed to, like computer screens, good books and such.

My son and I love keeping nature journals. We follow the Charlotte Mason method of home education and enjoy it so very much! Good books, good music, beautiful artwork and a love of learning! Nature journaling is a wonderful way to record the blessings we are surrounded by that God has created for our enjoyment. Whether you sketch a bird, leaf, toad, frog, insect, flower or whatever may strike your fancy, you can keep a nature journal. You don't have to draw perfectly, it is for you and your enjoyment. You can also write a bit about what you are recording, the weather, a Bible verse, quote or poem. This is a good way to get out of doors and in that fresh air, take a few field guides, sketch pads, pencils, colored pencils and watercolors or watercolor pencils and find a pretty spot, lay out a quilt and enjoy taking in all the beauty around you. You and your dear children will feel blessed, thankful and refreshed. You will also have a beautiful journal that will eventually be filled with all sorts of nature finds and you and your children will also find your drawing skills improving.

Here are a few books we have that we enjoy and find very helpful:

A Charlotte Mason Companion by Karen Andreloa, this is my very favorite book about Charlotte Mason! How can I ever thank you dear Karen for writing this and for the encouragement I receive through your lovely writings!

Handbook Of Nature Study
An excellent reprint of an old book, filled with a lot of interesting information, poems and such.

The Country Diary Of An Edwardian Lady
This book is gorgeous (also a reprint of an old book) and is a real nature journal of a British Naturalist.

Keeping A Nature Journal
Wonderful ideas for getting started in nature journaling.

And lots of field guides for the area you reside in. I purchase these at our local bookstore.




I love johnny jump ups and their sweet smiling faces!



They have such beautiful coloring. I think I just found something to add to my nature journal!



A pretty pink miniature rose that smells so sweet!

Thank you for visiting me. May the Lord bless you in all your homemaking endeavors, and remember to take some time to get outside and enjoy God's creation, relax, and maybe start a nature journal of your own!

Antique Finds

Hello sweet friends! Last weekend my husband took me to the antique store and I found a few things for our cottage that I would like to share with you. Isn't antique shopping fun? I love old things and I love to imagine who owned them and if it is something handmade who made it, and was it for their home or a gift for a dear friend or family member. What fun it would be to learn the history behind all the vintage items we find.

Well, on to the pretties! I found this lovely floral tray that was made in England. I always love to find things made in England! A sweet sewing basket, crocheted doily, blocks, a doll quilt, a redwork quit, and two red stars which are new.



The inside of my sewing basket. It is in very good condition so I will fill it with notions and put it to use.



Here is the redwork wall quilt I found for $12 which I think is quite the bargain. Just think of all the work someone put in to stitching it. Be sure to click on the photo so you can see it better. All my photos are clickable!



The sweet doll quilt. I love the pattern and the pink patches. I am sure this little quilt brought some little girl a lot of joy as she used it to keep her dolls warm.



And a sweet embroidered pillowcase. I love the colors especially the pink. The pillowcase is damaged so I may make a pillow out of it. If I do, I will be sure to share a photo of it when I finish. Now, the fun part, to find the perfect spots for my new finds and add a bit of charm and coziness to our home.

I hope each of you are doing well and having a lovely Autumn. As the days grow shorter I find myself wanting to sew, embroidery, knit, read, cook and bake more. There is something about this time of year that makes your home feel so cozy! I am going to start making Christmas gifts and my son is making plans for all the cookies he wants us to bake together. I look forward to making sweet memories. So, have yourself a cup of tea and enjoy making some Christmas gifts, Christmas will be here before we know it!

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend! Thank you for visiting me here at my Rose Cottage! I appreciate all the sweet comments that each of you leave for me! It blesses me so much!

A hundred men may make an encampment, but it takes a woman to make a home.
~Chinese Proverb