Restoring A Family Heirloom

One thing I've discovered about myself is,

I love to restore old furniture.

I find it very therapeutic.
Plus, I love a good challenge.

I enjoy taking an old time worn piece

that had seen better days and turning it

into a beautiful piece that I'm proud to

display in our home.

I've restored pieces that I've picked up at

thrift stores for less than $10.00.

 Pieces that have been donated to me.

Heck,

I've even been known to pick pieces

out of dumpsters to restore.

I'm always on the lookout for an old

piece of furniture to restore.

My father-in-law has a dresser that I've

had my eye on for years.

This dresser has been in my Hubby's family for

generations and holds a ton of sentimental value.

I mentioned to my father-in-law that I would like

to have that dresser some day.

Well, that day has finally come.

Once we got this baby home I did a quick assessment.

Although the picture above looks nice, this dresser

needed a lot of TLC.

It had been stored in a damp basement and had a lot

of mold all over the entire dresser, both inside and out.

At some point in time, something was spilled on the top and

was never cleaned off, causing damage to the top corner.

This side of the dresser had a lot of moisture damage.

I was pretty sure that I would be able to repair
all the cosmetic damage that this dresser had.

What I wasn't completely confident about was trying

to get rid of the musty mildew smell that permeated

the entire dresser.

It was bad.

Real bad.

First up was tackling the mold issue.
I completely wiped down the entire
dresser inside and out with white vinegar
then let it bake in the sun for a couple of days.
To tackle the damage to the top,
I sanded it down as best I could
then set the dresser out in the sun
to dry out the wet area,
lightly sanding each day until
the area was completely dry.
This took approximately 2 weeks to complete.

I was hoping that by leaving the dresser out-
side for a couple of weeks it would take care
of the musty mildew odor.
Nope, didn't happen.
Not even a little.

Well, I'm happy to report that I was successful
at removing ALL of the musty mildew smell.

My secret.
 This miracle product.
I'm not kidding, this stuff ROCKS.

I wasn't even compensated for saying that.

Using my spray gun, I completely sprayed
the entire dresser and drawers inside and out,
with the exception of the top which I sanded.
I also have to mention that Hubby replaced
all of the drawer bottoms with new wood.
The drawer bottoms were too moldy
and warped from moisture. It wasn't
worth the effort to try and salvage them.

As I mentioned earlier,
I'm always up for a good challenge.
This dresser was definitely a good CHALLENGE.
There were times I almost threw in the towel.

This time worn dresser went from this....

TO THIS.

Just look at how beautiful that top is.

And that damage to the top.
G.O.N.E.

I loved the original keyhole covers but didn't know
if I could remove them without damaging them, and
if I could remove them could I clean them up enough to keep?

They came off super easy.
To clean them up,
I soaked them in 100% acetone,
a.k.a. fingernail polish remover,
and used an old soft toothbrush.
Under all those layers of dirt and grime
was a beautiful gold tone.

Using a paint brush I applied 2 coats of Farmhouse white paint.
To protect all my hard work I applied 2 coats of polycrylic to
the entire dresser, even to the inside of the drawers.
Once everything was dry new knobs were added to dress it up.

I'm a sucker for those curves.

Aren't they beautiful?

Oh, and the side damage.

You would never know it existed.

The final step was to find wooden wheels that the dresser
had lost over the years.
Mission accomplished.

I'm so glad I rescued this dresser when I did
before it got to the point of no return.

We now have a beautifully restored family heirloom
that will continue to stay in the family for generations to come.

That's it for this week.
Until Next Time,
Veronica

And So It Begins

For some reason I thought I had

another full week before Thanksgiving.

I think it has something to do with Thanksgiving

being early this year.

At least that's my story and I'm sticking to it.

I just realized on Friday that it wasn't so.

Panic mode started setting in.

There is so much that needs to be done

before Thanksgiving.

Does your family have traditions

that you celebrate each Thanksgiving?

One of our traditions is to have

our Christmas tree up and decorated.

It all started years ago when our Son was

just a little guy. We used to

travel 600 miles to celebrate Thanksmas

(Thanksgiving and Christmas) with our families.

We would stay with my In-Laws

and my mother-in-law always had

the house decorated for Christmas.

Although we no longer travel for Thanksmas

having our Christmas tree up and decorated

is one tradition that we will continue to do.

Besides, we love having our Christmas tree up early.

I need to get my butt in gear and

start prepping for Thanksgiving.

And so it begins.

That's it for this week.

Until Next Time,

Veronica

Coffee and Muffins

It's hard to believe that Thanksgiving

is less than 2 weeks away.

If you are hosting Thanksgiving dinner

you know how crazy busy the morning can be.

Before anything happens in this household

I like to enjoy a cup of coffee and a muffin before

I start prepping for dinner.

This girl just can't function without my

caffeine fix each morning.

In order for me to enjoy the morning,

I'll mix up a batch of muffins ahead

of time and throw them in the freezer.

I'll pull them out of the freezer the night

before to thaw than all I have to do

is pop one in the microwave for

a few seconds to warm.

This year I made a batch of

Pecan Cranberry muffins.

What's Thanksgiving without some form of cranberries included?

We're not big fans of cranberry sauce,

our family prefers turkey and gravy,

 but we do enjoy them

mixed into muffins, breads and cookies.

Hubby loves these muffins.

I don't make your standard size muffins.

Oh no, not in this house.

I go for the large size.

One of these is plenty with your morning cup of Joe.

It keeps me satisfied until dinner time.

Don't care for cranberries?

Give these Pecan Cranberry muffins a try.

I'm sure you will be a fan too,

just like my Hubby.

PECAN CRANBERRY MUFFINS

INGREDIENTS:

1+1/2 cups Fresh Cranberries, chopped or whole

2 cups Sugar, divided

3+1/2 cups All-Purpose Flour

4+1/2 teaspoons Baking Powder

1/2 teaspoon Salt

1/2 cup Unsalted Butter, cold

2 large Eggs, lightly beaten

1 cup Milk

1 cup Pecans, chopped

1 Tablespoon Lemon Zest

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 350°.

In a medium size bowl, toss cranberries with 1 cup of sugar; set aside.

Combine flour, baking powder, salt and the remaining 1 cup of sugar. Whisk together to combine.

Using a pastry blender, cut butter into mixture until it resembles coarse crumbs.

Combine your lightly beaten eggs and milk together. Add into the flour mixture and stir until

just moistened. Your mixture will be very thick, unlike cake batter.

Fold in chopped pecans, lemon zest and cranberries.

Fill paper lined muffin cups about 3/4 full.

Bake for 25 minutes, or until muffins test done with a toothpick and tops are slightly golden.

Cool in pan for 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.

Recipe adapted from Taste of Home.

That's it for this week.

Until Next Time,

Veronica

Steak and Ale

Hubby loves a good steak

smothered in onions and mushrooms,

paired with a glass of ale.

When I stumbled across a recipe

for Steak and Ale soup that combined all

of Hubby's loves for a good steak,

I knew I was onto something good.

Saturday I made a pot of Steak and Ale Soup.

Even if you aren't a beer lover,

(I personally hate the taste of beer)

 I guarantee you're going to love this soup.

When my father-in-law recently came for a visit

 I made a pot of this soup, knowing that

he's not a beer drinker either.

I wanted to see if he would enjoy it too.

He absolutely loved it!

He kept commenting on how GOOD this soup was.

He didn't even realize that there was beer in it.

He enjoyed it so much that he asked for it

the next day for lunch.

Coming from a non-beer drinker,

that's saying a lot.

If you're not a beer drinker, or are concerned

about the alcohol content in the soup,

I get that you would be hesitant

about making this. You needn't worry

about consuming the alcohol though.

When cooking with any type of alcoholic

beverage, it only takes 20-30 seconds of

simmering to start evaporating the alcohol,

yet leaving behind the flavors.

The longer you simmer, the more the alcohol evaporates.

Whenever I cook anything with alcohol

I make sure that I simmer it long enough

that even my grandbabies can eat it.

Pair this soup with a crusty bread

and you have a wonderfully flavored meal.

Even though I'm not a beer lover,

I don't understand how I can love this soup.

All I know is, adding the beer to the soup

is like Martha Stewart saying, 

"It's a good thing".

Enjoy my tweaked version of the soup.

STEAK and ALE SOUP

INGREDIENTS:

2 pounds Steak, trimmed of excess fat and cubed

Salt & Pepper, to taste

4 Tablespoons flour, divided

2 Tablespoons Butter

2 Tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil

1 large Yellow Onion, chopped

1 pound Mushrooms, sliced

4 cloves Garlic, minced

1 teaspoon Italian Seasoning

1 teaspoon Worchestershire Sauce

1 cup Beer (I prefer the flavors of Sam Adams Boston Lager)

6 cups Beef Stock (48 ounces), Heated

Parsley, to garnish

Thyme leaves, to garnish

DIRECTIONS:

In a large bowl, add the cubed steak and season with salt & pepper. Stir to coat. Add 2 tablespoons
of flour, stir again to coat. Set aside.

Place a large dutch oven on the stove set to medium-high heat. Add butter and oil to the pot and melt
until hot and bubbly. Add the cubed steak, sear until all sides are browned, stirring constantly. Remove from the pot and set aside.

Add the chopped onions and mushrooms to the pot and saute until lightly golden, approx. 10 minutes.
Add garlic, stir and cook until aromatic, approx. 3 minutes. Add Italian seasoning, beer and Worchestershire Sauce. Simmer for 5 minutes, or until mixtures reduces and thicken slightly.

Stir in the remaining 2 tablespoons of flour. Add the hot beef stock, stir and simmer uncovered for
25 minutes or longer.

Turn off the heat and add the browned steak, along with its' juices, into the pot. Allow the soup to sit for 5 minutes before serving.

Garnish with parsley and thyme before serving.

Recipe adapted and tweaked from: Ingrid Beer

I hope you enjoy it as much as we do.

That's it for this week.

Until Next Time,

Veronica