Lemons, Oranges Oh My!!

What does lemons, oranges and figs have to do with Christmas - well nothing really. 

Since it is a beautiful sunny day here in southern Florida, I hung sheets outside (love the way they smell)  and then I decided to make some lemon cookies. I have two lemon trees in pots on our deck and the lemons are ready to be picked. Love this time of year when the fruit trees are doing their thing. Thought I would share them with you.

Ripened Lemons

Decorative Christmas Boxes

                                                                      

Decorative Christmas Boxes

Sometimes you just need a little box or maybe three! They can be used for decorating or for gift giving. These cute little boxes are easy to create and inexpensive as well. 
I purchased these paper mache boxes at my local craft store A.C. Moore. They cost $1.00 each. You could also use small tins instead or even large ones depending on your particular need. 

Travel Mug with Fabric Stocking Tag

It seems that I always have a travel mug in my hands, either with hot tea, water or iced tea. I actually have a separate one for water. I don't like any other flavors to affect my water. I guess I'm a little odd.

I see others carrying their mugs too, so I thought that a travel mug would make a good Christmas gift or teacher gift. I always try to have extra gifts already made, since you never know when you might need one. I always need a little something! 

Vintage Yellow Vase with Fall Arrangement

Vintage Yellow Vase with Fall Arrangement

Hope you had a great weekend. Mine was awesome! 

Found this yellow vase at a church flea market. Loved the vintage look of it, although not sure how old it is. 

The finish on it has a "crackling" glaze to it. It might just be the way it is made, but I loved the look and thought it would make a great addition to my fall buffet display.

Close up of Yellow Vase

Rustic Turkey Salt and Pepper Shakers

Rustic Ceramic Turkey Salt and Pepper Shakers

Rustic Ceramic Turkey from Pottery Barn

I was looking through one of my favorite magazines, Pottery Barn and saw this picture of a Rustic Ceramic Turkey, which is no longer available. I fell in love with it, but it cost $159 - too expensive for me. 

So I wondered if I could re-create this look. I didn't want to buy a large ceramic turkey to experiment on and as luck would have it, I found a set of rustic ceramic turkey salt and pepper shakers at a garage sale for 50 cents. What did I have to loose!

Butternut Squash Soup

This is the time of the year when soup warms you up on a cold evening or if you live in Florida, a cool evening. My son’s crop was fantastic this year. So when I came back from Vermont recently, I brought one with me. 

Not sure where the original recipe came from since I have doctored it up over the years. It is an easy recipe that takes around 45 minutes to make.  

Vintage Bobbin Spool and Old Spring Display

Vintage Bobbin and Spring Fall Display

Bobbins and the machinery they ran on were some of the greatest inventions of the Victorian Era. Since most textile mills had their own machine shops and their own favorite shape of bobbin, we see many varied bobbin designs. 

Recently I came up with the idea to combine vintage bobbin spools with old springs. I  found these unique spools, which are different from most of the wooden bobbin spools that I've collected. Someone thought they might have been for quilting, but I can't find any reference to that. If you know specifically what they were used for, please let me know. 

Vintage Bobbin Spool and Old Spring