The Little Things

One of my awesome "sisters" is redoing her basement...and wanted to get rid of a piece of strained glass that she had in one of her basement windows. So - she shared with me! How cool is this?? Joe is going to solder some loops on, and we are going to hang it in a window...probably the kitchen window, seeing that the blues match our kitchen perfectly. Thank you B!! Love ya!

I love coffee. You all know that. It holds a special place in my kitchen. For a while, I had been storing it in an antique Blue Mason jar. But...Little Joe broke the glass lid, so it wasn't exactly working properly...So, I went shopping with a girlfriend last weekend - and we found THIS:

How perfect is this jar, right? I know, a minor thing...but majorly important in my world!!!

I also celebrated Fall by canning out of my garden...BEETS!!! How beautiful are these? The red is just amazing! And they smell so good! The brine had cinnamon and clove in it too - perfectly spicy, perfectly tart.

BUT...nobody told me hoe unbelievably hard it is to make beets. My fingers were stained red for a week! and I'm still scrubbing the red dye off of the counters and grout. Seriously. I'm not so sure I ever want to make these stupid things again!!!

And...if you ever want to buy a beanbag and stuff it yourself....DON'T!!!! We have these stupid Styrofoam bean-things all over the house. The directions SUGGESTED doing it in the bathtub. Boy, was that a good recommendation! but, Little Joe loves his new beanbag chair!!!!

And just a glimpse...this is one of my favorite coffee mugs EVER. True Norwegian...that's me! but..sadly, I noticed a crack in the mug this past time I used it. I guess it isn't exactly made for microwaving, etc. I have to be careful with it now. But, I'm going to get another one...just in case. Aside from going to MN, anyone know where I can find this? For a reasonable price too!??