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follow the adventures of amy powers
 goody goody gumdrops...
I am not an enigma. Sure, I would like to be a mysterious being. But you know me...I am more of an open book, heart-on-the-sleeve, wysiwyg girlie. So I really shouldn't be that surprised that all of you know me so very well. In the last two weeks I have been the happy recipient, as I mentioned in the post previous, of many, many surprises and gifts. All of them...each and every wonderful little thing was exactly the thing that I love. How did you know? There are a few gifts to meself thrown in to the mix as well. Click each picture to see it even bigger...but only if you're not the jealous type, okay?       1 These little pints of ice cream are only 1 inch tall. My sweet friend Alicia sent them to me. They make me so happy. 2 This pretty little button bobbie looks so sweet in my hair. 3-6 Little bitta everything is right up my alley! Alicia put together wonderful little bundles of all of the things that make my heart go pitter patter.       My friend Francie sent me a box of pink surprises...she's definitely got my number. Here are just a few (!) of the things she sent... 1 Everything was packaged in these two fabulous pink heart boxes that she decorated just for me. 2 I love these two pink vintage birds so much. If I wore hats, I swear I would put one in it. I can't decide where I want them...I'm moving them from room to room, keeping them together, of course! They are from her Auntie's floral shop which has been closed for 30 years! 3 These wonderful pink gloves were Francie's mother's. They are from the '50s. She remembers that her mother wore them with the cutest little hat. 4 A beautiful handpainted sign to remind me of my lifetime goal. 5 Francie bought this sweet little chair from a five and dime when she was a little girl! She remembers that if had a little pink velvet cushion on the seat. 6 Beautiful beaded posy.    I had tea yesterday with my wonderful friend Pam. Just look at what she made me! 1 Isn't this the prettiest little box? She made it. 2 It's as beautiful inside as it is out. And look at the little picture she made for my dollhouse. 3 And she made this wonderful screen for my dollhouse too!      My sweet friend Michelle sent me these wonderful surprises 1 I love these pink floral notecards... 2 Me, myself, and "I" 3 Michelle made this wonderful bunting for my workroom. 4 Look at these wonderful jars! I just love their fabric lids. 5 She made me this fresh collage...isn't it fabulous?    1 I bought this paper pack from Pam Garrison and I can't even bring myself to open it, it's so wonderful. 2 My friend Melissa sent me this swing for my littlest dollhouse. 3 This is a chair that I found when I was cleaning my stockroom. I used have dozens that I would give away as a free gift. I'd forgotten about them completely! Boy, do I wish I had more! I'd send you all one if I did.    These are all danglies from a baby crib mobile that I bought. I love it so much. I will keep it in my craftroom to float above my head as I create little things for you. Then someday when we have babies, I'll let them borrow it. It needs a little cleaning but I couldn't wait to show you. Whew! That was a heck of a long post. I hope you enjoyed seeing everything. For those of you who missed out on Club Little House, I will have another installment just for you before summer is through. There will be just 12 openings and they will be filled on a first-come, first-served basis. I'll give you a day's notice for the sign-up. Good deal? Okay, now go cross me off your meanie list and put me back on the sweet list, with a heart beside my name.
lucky me
 am so lucky. I think I tell you that too much. Do I rub it in? I have been the happy recipient of so many wonderful gifts in the past week or so. I have much to show you but I need to take care of some orders first. I'm way behind and I'm never behind.  I daresay the rain seems to have finally left us. You really wouldn't believe how much has dropped on us in the past few days. I'm so happy to see the sun again. It's shining in on me right now and I feel its little kisses on my cheek like a friend who's been away too long.  After I get my orders out and I'm all caught up...even on the orders which require me to make things...then I will show you all of the wonderment that has arrived to me by post. Did I ever tell you how much I adore my postman, Mr. T? He's amazing. He delivers mail to hundreds...possibly thousands!...of houses. Yet when you ask him who lives at such-and-such number on such-and-such street, he will tell you. He always asks me how "Mr. Rich" is doing and he calls me "Miss Amy". And with a chocolate-smelling pipe hanging out of his mouth, he always matches my excitement as I tell him what I think is in the packages he's delivering. I love you, Mr. T. Don't ever go away.
a bit of monday silliness
apologies and a pot roast
I'm sorry to everyone who missed out on signing up for Club Little House. I know how disappointing it must have been. There will be more opportunities for sure. I'll give you details later this week, okay sweeties? Meanwhile...back on the ranch...  Yum! Today I cooked a traditional Sunday dinner...pot roast. Here's the recipe: Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a dutch oven. On a plate add salt, pepper to flour. Coat pot roast, all sides, with flour mixture. Brown all sides of the roast in the oil. Add a couple of handfuls of pearl onions to the pan, cover and cook for about 10 minutes. Then add a few handfuls of baby carrots, a palmful or so of herbes de provence, and two cups of low sodium V-8 juice. Cover and cook for 3 to 4 hours or until meat is oh-so-fork-tender. Add frozen peas to the pot 15 minutes before serving. Voila! And for the very best mashed potatoes: Figure about 1 1/2 large baking potatoes per person (trust me, they make the best mashed potatoes!) Peel and cut each into chunks. Cover with salted water and boil for about 25 minutes. Then drain the water, put cooked potato pieces in mixer bowl. For three big potatoes, I added 2 tablespoons butter, a splash of milk, and ~3 ounces of cream cheese. Mix until just mashed...not too much more or it gets all gluey and yucky. For heaven's sake, don't leave the mixer going while you wash the dishes or something silly like that. Bon appetit!
Ready....set...
 For more details and to officially sign up for Club Little House, click here. There are 12 slots available and sign up will be on a first-come-first-served basis. In order to sign up, you must go to the page linked above, click on add-to-basket, and follow the ordering sequence as you would if it were an item you were ordering.  The cost for joining this gift exchange is $12 which is to cover the cost for me to ship the complete package to you. Good luck! I hope everyone who wanted to get in, gets in!
Club Little House Sign-up~TODAY!~
the chicks
welcome little ones
I am just as tickled pink as I can get with the two little Lumplings that I just adopted. Friends, meet sweet little Mums & Word:  I just welcomed these two little lumplings into my door today. What? Don't know what a Lumpling is? Can that be? Get thee to Amy Rue's site just as quickly as you can! The latest herd are all adopted by lucky people like me but new ones pop up regularly (and always go quickly!) Stop by Amy's blog, for sure. She's as sweet as a Georgia Peach, which is a nice coincidence since that is where she calls home. p.s. Amy just started offering various sundries and happy things. I picked up the Fairy Soap because I love the idea of soap saying "good night" to me. And Miss Amy sent me a perfect little bundle of buttons. See, didn't I tell you? She's awful nice.
little house furniture
 My sister Jennifer found all of this dollhouse furniture for just $1 each! Site-unseen, I told her to get every last bit of it. The scale is off for both houses (except for the big table, which wasn't part of my sister's lot) I definitely need a new dollhouse. I am thinking of doing what Vicki and her sweet family did here. I am going to paint all of the furniture to give it more of a cottage look. I'll reupholster the chairs and sofas, too. So think of this as a sort of "before" picture. Heaven knows when the "after" picture will come...I'm up to my elbows in alligators. I have lots to do today so I'd better get started. Hope you have a great day ahead of you.
perhaps an intervention is in order
When my parents were visiting not long ago I went to the store to get decaf coffee pods for them. The shelves where they normally could be found were empty. I looked at other stores and still I couldn't find them. And unfortunately (or perhaps fortunately, continue...) this particular coffeemaker can't use other brands of coffee pods. Oh no, I thought, they must be discontinuing this coffeemaker and its pods. I need a new coffeemaker. Rational, yes? I bought this coffeemaker after sampling the coffee at Williams-Sonoma. There were tons of different pods (called K-cups) and they seemed readily available. Target had them. Williams-Sonoma had them. In my mind, I think I must have imagined dozens of other places that would have them. My problem seemed to be solved. Or was it? Last week I went to Williams-Sonoma to buy more K-cups. You can just guess what happened. It starts with a dis and ends with a continued. They no longer carry them. And neither, unfortunately, does Target (who only ever carried two varieties of which I was tiring). My name is Amy and I have a problem.  I don't normally hoard things. Really I don't. But I went a little crazy at the Keurig site. I don't have to worry about buying more K-cups for approximately 300 1-cup-aday days. p.s. The original coffee pods for coffeemaker number one indeed have not been discontinued and can now be found just about everywhere, including my grocery store.
sweet stuff
The gals at The Cottage and I were asked to do two rooms here this weekend. We're pulling things together and it is really coming together. I don't want to give too much away but here are some things that I made...    Kitchen utensils framed in a shadowbox! I'm so happy with how they turned out. This will also be there...  I found this yesterday and could hardly contain my excitement. If it doesn't sell, I might end up keeping it for myself. I love child-sized chairs! Here's something that I made that I've been wanting to show you...  It's an old Singer sewing machine, painted and decorated. Isn't that a fun prop? Other things to show you from around The Cottage...    
club little house!
family traits
 This is my father as a little boy. What is striking about this photograph is how much Seth looks like my father in this picture. And to further amaze, my brother looks exactly like my father, as a boy and as a man. My cousin Kenny, who was just buried this weekend, complete with military honors, couldn't get over the similarities in our family. He would always shake his head in disbelief and would say it many times. It's like rewinding time, seeing my father now looking just like my grandfather, my brother looking just like my father, and my sweet little nephew Seth looking like them both. And the magic for me is that I see myself in all of them too.
my daddy
 This is a picture of my father as a young man with his father, on Broad Street in Richmond. Happy Father's Day, Daddy. Thank you for being such a loving and wonderful daddy.
betterpack 333
 The stockroom is well on its way to ship-shape. Items are all lined up like toy soldiers.   I still have much work to do. I am rededicating myself to keeping the stockroom, which is where I prepare orders, clean and orderly and, most of all, inspiring. Here is the corkboard that I have hanging in my wrapping station. My favorite picture of all of them is the one of Seth as a baby, holding a real rabbit.  And this, my friends, is one of my favorite things ever. Just seeing it here, you might not suspect how much this gadget has improved my life. My Betterpack 333. When I first started my business, one of the first things I did was buy packing tape. I can't stand the clear plastic kind. I hate it with a passion. So I bought the gummed kraft kind in bulk, in yellow, blue, and fragile. I had hundreds of rolls of each! I looked into buying the machine that licks the glue but it was so terribly expensive. So this is what I used to do...I dunked each length of tape into a basin of water, quickly stuck it to the box and then rubbed it down with a towel. This is fine for one or two boxes. But when you do it to dozens of boxes at a time, let me tell you, it ain't pretty. So about a year or two ago, it looked like my supply of that tape was finally dwindling. I decided that I really fancied the idea of having custom printed tape made for me. Since I still hate the clear plastic kind, this new (very expensive tape) is the same kraft gummed kind that has to be moistened. Knowing full well how inefficient the dunk method was, I decided to buy my very own, very expensive, Betterpack 333. And everytime I crank that wonderful handle and the tape magically spits out, perfectly moistened, perfectly sized, I am so thankful that I did. Betterpack 333, I love you. I really do.
she's a bad, bad girl...
I flew the coop today.  And rewarded myself...  Generously...  Without working, not even a little bit, in my stockroom.
countdown to camp wilderness
 In just under a month I am going camping. I know what you're thinking. I'm not the camping type. You're right. But I married into a family full of the camping type so I'm bound once a year (at the least) to this excursion. We are driving 13 hours, all the way to Grand Rapids, Michigan. Isn't that a terribly long way to go just to sleep on the ground under a thin layer of vinyl? I say yes. However, most of Rich's family lives in Michigan, including and especially his grandmother. We missed the last two years of camping and I missed the year before that so it's been a very long time. Believe it or not, there's a part of me that's excited about this trip, albeit tiny. I won't bother mentioning the things that I'm not looking forward to. They are too numerous and obvious. But here are some things to make me excited about it. 1. Swarms of happy children all around. 2. Waking up to coffee perculated over a morning fire.* 3. Waking up to the smell of bacon (and knowing it is for me).* 4. The gourmet camping kitchen we've yet to use. 5. Lazy days filled with nothing in particular. 6. Many wonderful stops along the 13-hour way to and fro. 7. We're finally (!) getting a bike rack so I can take my sweet bicycle. 8. New tent with 4 "rooms" that we can supposedly stand up straight in. 9. Packing pretty linens and plates and cups, especially fun foods and snacks. 10. Fresh new pajamas. *Perhaps I am dreaming too much. I will probably have to wake up to make these things. But a girl can dream.
nanny mcphee
 Thanks to Netflix I just got finished watching Nanny McPhee. Oh how wonderful. Have you seen it? You really must. Thank you everyone for your very kind condolences. It is so hard to lose someone you love.
the thing about accidents
The thing about accidents is that they happen without warning. It's part of their nature to come unannounced. Like a punch in the gut, we're left stunned and gasping, with questions that have no answers. Early yesterday morning, my cousin Kenny was killed in a car accident. He was 59. They say that he drifted off into another lane and, when he saw a truck coming his way, overcorrected. His car went off the road and he died instantly. The weight of it all is only starting to settle in. He'd only just recently, in the last decade, found his true love. He and she were embarking a second life, complete with new children and grandchildren. He lived, breathed, and loved horses. And they said that he had such a way with them. He could tame the wildest. I'll remember always his wink when he talked about his horses. I think he was closer to them than any two-legged being.
a new coiffure
 Everytime I see a picture of me I make this mental post-it to myself: Try not to smile quite so large and don't squint your eyes. But alas I forget everytime. What can you do when your natural smile is truly ear-to-ear and as toothy as all get out? Please don't let these things distract you from my cool new hairstyle (and eyeglasses). Dusan spent 2 hours creating this new style just for me. He really understood what I wanted and what I didn't. And he understood my style. I will definitely save up my pennies so that I can go back to him in the prescribed 6 to 8 weeks.
today's reward
 Isn't this just about the prettiest dessert you've ever seen? This is today's reward for my 3 hours of work cleaning up my stockroom. I still have a long way to go but I made a good start.  I have new eyeglasses. They are much like my old ones, minus about a billion scratches. I can see so much better. I found out at my eye doctor's last week that neither contacts nor surgery would completely correct my vision. I have to wear glasses. So that's that.
whistle while you work
 I have a big job ahead of me this week. I have to clean and organize my stockroom. I will work and work and work until it is sparkling clean. This is not something I am looking forward to but it is terribly necessary. To help me along, here is my schedule of rewards. Yes, I know what they say about a job done well being its own reward. Maybe for you, sugarpie, but me? I need more. Monday Work for 3 hours Reward: Trip to my favorite grocery store and from the patisserie, something decandent and sweet and wonderful (will post a picture tomorrow) Tuesday Work for 5 hours Reward: A ridiculously expensive, but oh so good, haircutWednesdayWork for 5 hours Reward: An afternoon of dilly dallying in my craft room and watching Keeping Up Appearances at 2 pm Thursday Work for 3 hours Reward: A trip to the new Paper Source store in Alexandria Friday (if I'm still alive) Work for 5 hours Reward: A terrificly clean stockroom
tiny garden
 My little friend Talia made this miniature garden. Isn't it lovely? When I was in about the fourth grade I had an issue of Holly Hobbie magazine "Home Times" that I loved. I read and reread it. I even stayed after school and copied the cover illustration (Holly Hobbie on a tree swing!) of the magazine onto Mrs. Brown's bulletin board. There was an article in this magazine with instructions on making a miniature garden. It had rows of real tiny lettuces and a little garden shed. Tiny plant stakes. Tiny radishes. Itty bitty rakes and hoes. I studied the article and the photograph, wishing that I too could have a tiny garden with real miniature lettuces and real dirt. So you can imagine when I saw little Talia's garden how my heart skipped a beat. I was reminded immediately and completely of my dream miniature garden. My little friends Talia and Drew are enjoying childhood. They play in the brook, finding crawfish and frogs and who knows whatelse. They create tiny gardens. They ride their bikes freely all about their farm playing an imagined game only they know, cows mooing loudly as they pedal past. There are hammacks and tree swings everywhere you look. And in the upstairs room of their playhouse is a bed, swathed in mosquito net with a moat of books, just waiting for a lazy afternoon of reading and napping.
doggy at large
 Today I had a little visitor at the cottage. A little dachshund just waltzed right through the front door. What fun! I swept him up and he just put his little head on my shoulder. The next door neighbor has two hot dogs...one's just a baby (can't remember his name) and the other is Elvis. I rang the his doorbell twice...no answer. So, I left a note telling him that Elvis was hanging out with me. Boy, was it fun to have him there! I closed the front door because I didn't want him to run out into the busy street in front. He checked out all of the rooms, including upstairs. He was so cute. He kept coming back to the counter and looking up at me. I picked him up a few more times. After a while I heard Todd next door calling him. I called back and Todd came running into the shop, out of breath and worry all over his face. When I told him that Elvis walked right through the front door, he said "That's not Elvis...That's Emmett, Elvis' best friend!" Todd is dogsitting him while Emmett's owner's band is on tour. He said that it's bad enough when you lose your own dog, but when it's someone else's dog you really feel bad. A couple of months ago I saw a big white rabbit with black spots hopping around a parking lot near the cottage. I think he must've been someone's pet. He hopped away in a hurry but wouldn't it be fun if he showed up at the door one day. Last summer a deer wandered into a shop in Georgetown so stranger things have happened.
eye candy
ladies who lunch
Today, I'm going to have lunch with my best friend, Debbie. I will illustrate this post with the wonderful things she sells.  I met Debbie almost 6 years ago. My parents were visiting for their birthday (did I ever tell you they have the same birthday?!) For fun and diversion, my mother and I ventured out to a local craft show.  I love going to craft shows with my mother. Everyone falls instantly and completely in love with her. And she stops at nearly every booth to talk to each person about their craft. The one thing that she does that I don't like is when she says things like "I think I will buy this one so that I can take it home and figure out how to make it myself" She has no clue how offensive that is.  So we were slowly going from one booth to the next. It was almost Christmastime so I was thinking of gifts to give when I saw Debbie's booth, chock-full of primitive pieces that my sister Jennifer would love. Stacked benches, framed quilt squares, wooden boxes...all in the style and colors of my sisters very primitive, colonial home.  I introduced myself to Debbie and we started talking about our online stores. We found out that we were using the same ecommerce solution, which was pretty unusual. From that day we emailed each other a little bit and little bit by little bit we became the best of friends.  Debbie's business has grown by leaps and bounds. She no longer carries the primitive pieces that she did when we met. Instead she has grown into a business representing the works of fabulous artists, all items to help us celebrate the seasons. I am her official web designer. When we get together, we have marathon brainstorming sessions. Ideas come as fast as lightening and they are almost all dead-on great ideas.  We haven't seen each other for over a month. There was a time when if we hadn't seen each other for a week we'd have a fit. I'm extra excited to see my sweet friend today. I have lots to show and tell her. She's such a good friend. I love her so.
baby shelby
 I've been waiting for a long, long time to share this bit of wonderful news. My brother and his wife (Seth's folks) are having a baby. She's a girl...we just found out last week. Her name is Shelby. My brother's initials are SAK. When my sister-in-law married him, her initials became SAK. So when Seth was born, they named him so that his initials would match theirs. Shelby is destined to follow suit. When my brother Shawn was a little boy, he had a burgundy monogrammed sweater. Actually, we all had them. The unfortunate thing for Shawn is that he never seemed to outgrow his sweater. And for some reason my mother never seemed to notice that for three years in a row, that sweater is what Shawn wore on picture day. I wish we could find it (probably moth-holed) and take a picture of Seth with it on. Visit my friend Mo's site to get doo dads like those I decorated this sonogram with. It's an easy and fun way to fancy up your photos.
she seemed very pleased
 My friend Melissa (Little Melfred) made this little tin for me. I know I do seem very pleased with myself an awful lot. Thank you so much for putting up with it. I have always loved show and tell and this blog seems like a new showcase for that old assignment.  Whenever anyone comes to my house I have to control my urges to show them one thing after another, like some sort of marathon show and tell session. But somehow with this blog I feel absolutely no need to surpress that urge. I mean, I have to show you something, right? Isn't this what it is all about? Today I have a whole list of things to do but I'm stuck in the Monday doldrums, as usual for Mondays. Remember that day a couple of weeks ago when I listed all the things I needed to do? I rethought that idea and realized how terrible it was. I'm sure none of you were really interested to know that I never really get around to doing my laundry. Were you? Hopefully tomorrow's post will be better. Remember it's Monday and it's asking a heck of a lot of me to put together any semblance of an organized thought. Tuesday is always better.
espresso italiano
As you witnessed in my post last week Rosanna from Italy showered me with many, many gifts. One of the wonderful gifts was an espresso maker. It is a Bialetti Moka Express. Here is how you make espresso with this wonderful coffee maker.   Take the pot apart just so.  Add water to the bottom compartment to the line. Do not overfill.  Place the little cup over the water compartment. Fill with especially ground espresso (not too fine). I may have put too much in because it is very strong. Maybe you like it that way?  Fit all of the parts together again and put directly on stovetop over medium to high heat. After just a few minutes, the pot will make a swooshing sound and you know that the coffee is ready. Magically, the coffee appears at the top of the pot.  It's ready for you to pour and enjoy.  I made the most wonderful cappuccino a few days ago. I made the espresso as outlined above and I used my Cocomotion to perfectly heat and froth the milk. Perfetto!
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