"A Fish Story"

     "Wait a minute Rita"..."You have gotta see this!" my neighbor Lauren shouts as I pass by on my bike heading home. [Screeching]... as I come to a quick stop and now I'm thinking okay...it's a ornate gold trimmed mirror, and antique or something she found that she thinks I'll love.

     Oh my goodness I say...I have never seen a fish that big before...well at least not close up. So I go to my house [2 doors down] to grab my camera and ask for a picture. Here it is...and this is no fish tale, but the real deal. Except for in all my excitement I forgot to get some details...except it's a bass.

     I hope your weekend will bring some big "tales" to share with everyone...just make sure you have your camera handy!

     The Blue Farmhouse.

Steve the fisherman

"CC and Me"

     I received a call on Friday morning, "Hey Rita I would like to take you to a really nice spot in Avila Beach for lunch tomorrow." And boy what a fabulous day Cecy had planned for me... Just to give you a glimpse...

Entering WoodStone Marketplace at Avila Village

My friend CC

 Delicious chicken pasta salad

Turkey-Cranberry Sandwich

 Vintage plates

[I found some like these earlier last year]

Pair of vintage lamps

I love transforming these beauties with some white paint!

     It truly was a magical day with a special friend who also loves thrifting, as well as, discovering some new beautiful spots to relax, eat and shop on California's Central Coast. Thanks for dropping by and I hope you'll return to see the lamps after I re purpose them. 

     Until next time happy collecting, thrifting and discovering new places in your neck of the woods! 

     The Blue Farmhouse.

"Friends, Food & Shopping"

     As I contemplate the fun I had with some beautiful and very 'stylish ladies' the lyrics to this song came to mine...

Lovely Day by Bill Withers

A lovely day...

Lovely day, lovely day, lovely day.

     And that's the kind of day I had...a lovely day of shopping at one of my all time favorite store Avec Moi Decor in beautiful Los Olivos, CA., and lunch at another favorite spot, Paninos. Also, all along the way we stopped for garage sale signs and of course, thrift stores and found some gold frames I plan to repurpose and put in my space at "Sweet Repeats".

     So now that you have heard about my day...may I ask how was yours? I sure hope that it was a ~lovely day~ and if not tomorrow will be! Thank you for dropping in for a visit and please do come again.

     Until next time happy collecting, thrifting and Happy New Year!

     The Blue Farmhouse.

  Stylish Sisters

Ready for lunch

Artichoke Bisque Soup and Sandwich at Paninos

Look what I found!

A beautiful place to shop

Ave Moi Decor~Proprietress Michele Power

It truly was a lovely day...

"Did I Ever Mention...?"

     Did I ever mention that one of the of things that I love to do other than collect beautiful things is...cook. More than that I love watching cooking shows and my all time favorite is Barefoot Contessa. I love her story and her husband Jefferey has to be the luckiest man in the world along with her circle of friends who get to eat at her table. And if you have never been to North Carolina (my birthplace) well the Chapel Hill area is beautiful, lush and green.

     And I like Giada at Home...I mean who doesn't love that smile and envy that figure! Honestly folks who eats like that and stays that shapely, well it's not me. Oh oh oh I can think of another infectious smile (just like Giada's) I recently discovered.

     Her name is Lissa and she has a beautiful blog keepitsimplekeepitfresh.blogspot.com. Is her smile infectious or not?! I don't know her personally but she looks like lady it who would be a pleasure to know and eat some of her dishes too!

Photo: Quentin Bacon

Giada on my TV

Ready... set...Smile

Painted Toe

     And of course, here's a smile we absolutely can not live without and that's the smile of "Painted Toe". Her precious smile eagerly awaits us come rain or sunshine....and this is how I started out January 1, 2013...with a smile. 

     Until next time I hope your day started with one or that you gave one away! That's a smile....

     The Blue Farmhouse.

"BBQ Pulled Pork Results"

     Well I certainly missed my Saturday deadline~sorry...but the results were "a hit" and we're busy trying to consume the rest of it.

     Here's a few pictures of what really is a delicious and simply recipe for delicious pulled pork barbecue!

I hope you give it a try....The Blue Farmhouse.

You can use fries or chips

A closer look

Thank you Paul and Cathy

"Christmas Party~Pulled Pork B.B.Q"

     Umm...just typing in the title makes the taste buds on my tongue salivate with anticipation of the announcement "time to eat."

     Now in case you didn't know I'm from the South and in my book the words.. The South and B.B.Q. go hand in hand. But because I haven't lived in my birthplace in "many moons"... I must say that I have discovered some pulled pork sandwiches that would stand toe to toe with the best!

     The places that my husband and I will drive to in a heart beat are Firestone in San Luis Obispo and order "The Pig", The Oak Pit B.B.Q. Company in Arroyo Grande (check out my post "Memoriable-Memorial Day for photos) and the last but not least Rancho Nipomo B.B.Q. But don't just take my word, get in your car and go taste for yourself some of the best pulled pork b.b.q sandwiches on the Central Coast!

     Hmm..okay okay back to my story....the recipe for the sauce is called "Mom's Barbecue" by K. Young in Hardy, Va. This recipe came to me via my brother and sister in law who pastored in Marion, Virginia as a gift Christmas gift in 2002. The cookbook features a collection of good down home cooking from church members throughout the State of Virginia and they are good!

     I've cooked this several times and my boss has requested it on a couple of occasions. In fact a lady who ate some asked that I make her the sauce and then wondered if I considered bottling the sauce to sell. Well I was flattered but declined the offer but, if you were close by I would treat you to sandwich, topped with homemade cole slaw, glass (notice I didn't say mason jar) of sweet ice tea and french fries. Okay....here's some pictures of preparations and you can see the final results tomorrow.

     Enjoy and hope to see you on Saturday, December 22, 2012.

     The Blue Farmhouse.

Simple ingredients

Roaster and pork loin

Add loin

Add ingredients

Recipe

Simmer on the lowest setting (the longer the better)

Cover (I slow cook until the next day)

"Chicken Soup For The Soul"

     Perhaps you read the post "I'm Sick" and I was... but now happy to report that I'm feeling much better. I started to feel cold and weak last week and just ignored all the symptoms and BoOm it all came crashing down Friday night after work.

     Well I don't know about you but I rarely complain about being sick...too many responsibilities and demands...but it all came to a sudden halt! Thankful for the prayers, well wishes and some "muy" delicious soup from a friend and sister in Christ, Hermana Chonita Ortega.

     I wish I had the recipe to share with you because it's certainly worth sharing...better yet I hope you have a friend close by that'll deliver "chicken soup for the soul" when you need it most. I'm on the mend and life goes on....

     The Blue Farmhouse.

Lunch for 2

Homemade Chicken Soup w/ Tortillas & Spanish Rice

Ummm...good to the last bite

"Easy As 1, 2, 3"

     I don't know about you but I much prefer to purchase my own chickens and cook them over store bought rotisserie chickens. And other than enjoying this simple but delicious meal, there's nothing like the smell of oven baked chicken filling the house.

     I love cooking but must admit I don't do as much as I use to because more than often no one is home until late at night....and then the scavenger hunt begins! So, if you have never tried this recipe, please do because it's as simple as 1, 2, 3.  And now are you ready for some Sunday night football!

     Enjoy....The Blue Farmhouse.

    Large rectangle baking dish with carrots, Walla Walla sweet onion and baby red potatoes tossed and coated with olive oil, salt and pepper.

Chicken's has been washed and seasoned with salt, pepper and rubbed slightly with pats of butter and then placed directly on top of vegetables.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees and place on rack to slow roast (about 1-1 1/2), allowing all those delicious juices to be absorbed by the vegetables.

Cover with aluminum foil and let rest on counter before serving with a fresh salad or whatever you prefer.

"Sunday's Best"

     I start preparing this Sunday's dinner on Saturday night so that it slow cooks and simmer till the meat just literally melts in your mouth. I've been making this "Sunday's Best" (pot roast with carrots and whole potatoes, cornbread, candied yams, cabbage or sometimes collard greens with ham hocks for years).

     Only to find out that one of my children (adult-child) and I won't mention names said, "I have never really liked pot roast"....what? no way! after all these years and you're just not spilling your guts! Well, I guess she'll (oops!) be BYO (bring your own) from now on when I make this meal.

     Now that I have that out of the way, what I really wanted to share with you was the process. It really is delicious and the longer it slow cooks and the gravy thickens the better it is.  Better yet, I'm happy to be cooking it in my "found" blue Le Cresant pot!

Lightly brown onions with a small amount of oil in the pot

Small rump roast light caramelized on both sides

Cover meat with beef broth

Add bay leaves, carrots and whole potatoes

Salt & Pepper

Cover & Simmer

(I simmer on lowest setting overnight)

 Added a flour and water rue to thicken for gravy

Hot cornbread and butter

Final Results

Dinner Anyone?
(No one ate so I have the entire pot)