Special touches

There are many things I love about our house, but the very best things are the special items we have that were made by our friends and family.

These door handles were custom made for us by our friends Zeke & Marty, very talented artists with a studio in Edom. They are jewelers now, but started their art career as workers in leather, metal and horns. I found a picture of a tree-like door pull in an architectural magazine. I took them the picture and asked if they could make us something similar. This is what they did. Magnificent, isn't it?
Z & M also created the wonderful leather and bone piece that hangs in our hallway and the painting in our bedroom.

The bathroom sink was made by Edom friends Doug and Beth Brown, the Potters Brown. Doug Brown was the first artist to move to Edom in the early 70s and has had his shop and studio there every since. He organized the first Edom Art Fair, which continued for over 25 years and has been reborn as the Edom Festival of the Arts. We chose the glaze colors with the understanding that the pattern would be up to chance, the kiln and the art gods. They all did good. You can see the lovely pattern of the wood of the countertop here as well. This is black walnut cut off our property years ago.

Speaking of cabinets, here's another look at the kitchen cabinets James made for us from wood off our land. You can also see more pottery from Potters Brown. I have a lot of their pieces. They are functional and beautiful.
Below is the material on our kitchen countertops. Not a very good photo, but it may give you an idea of the look. It is recycled glass in a resin background. Installs and acts like granite, but more colorful and more sustainable. It was manufactured in Plano, TX and when we went to pick out our colors, we discovered they used glass recycled in Tyler, so some of those chips could be from our very own recycled gin bottles. They have several glass colors, included clear, mirror and porcelain (which they assured us came from chipped, never used, toilets) and an array of resin colors. It has held up very well and needs no maintenance.

Spiced Coffee

We are getting our first really cold weather of the season tonight. This morning was chilly so I decided to warm up with this spiced coffee recipe I first tried during the holiday season.

We go to a Lebanese restaurant with my in-laws and I always enjoy their coffee. It is sometimes called Turkish coffee, served in a small espresso cup, redolent with cardamom. So when I saw this coffee recipe with exotic spices in it, I had to try it. It is not as stout as Turkish coffee, which is the consistency of sludge, and the brandied whipped cream on top softens the flavor even more.

There are a number of ways you can purchase cardamom. It is the 3rd most expensive spice on the market, but you only need a little. Here you see whole pods, decorticated (shelled), and ground cardamom. The whole pods and shelled seeds keep for a long time in a glass jar. I ground them in a coffee grinder just prior to using. 

This recipe also calls for freshly ground nutmeg. I never liked nutmeg much until I had freshly ground. Now it is the only way I use it. I buy the whole nutmegs in the Mexican spice section of my local grocery store, where I buy a lot of herbs and spices because they are much cheaper. The packaging is usually thin plastic bags, so I transfer everything into glass jars.

We have this special grater we use only for nutmeg. It grinds it very finely. We could probably use this grater for other things, but it has to be something very hard. 


Here is the recipe for this luscious coffee. Note the recipe calls for medium roast coffee. If you use a bold roast, it disguises the flavor of the spices.

Spiced Coffee with Brandy Cream

The exotic aroma and flavor of this coffee warms the soul on a wintery day. Serve in a glass cappuccino cup to watch the whipped cream on top slowly melt into the hot coffee. Substitute pure vanilla extract for the brandy in the cream if you don’t want the alcohol.

3/4 cup medium roast coffee, freshly ground

1 1/2Tbs ground cardamom

2 tsp sugar

1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

3/4 tsp freshly grated nutmeg

8 cups cold water

3/4 cup heavy cream

1 Tbs powdered sugar

1 Tbs brandy (optional)

To make the coffee, use a drip-style coffee maker. Place a paper filter in the filter cup. In a bowl, mix the coffee, cardamom, sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg. Stir to combine, then pour this mixture into the coffee filter. Add water to the coffee maker and brew.

While the coffee is brewing beat the cream in a medium bowl with an electric mixer on medium-high. When the cream starts to mound softly, add the powdered sugar and brandy. Continue beating until it is firm.

To serve, pour the coffee into cups warmed with hot water. Garnish each cup with a large spoonful of whipped cream. Sprinkle with a scant dusting of fresh nutmeg if desired. Serve immediately.

Serves 8

more interiors

Before the holidays I left you in the front of the house. Now we can tour the back of the first floor.

Turning left in the hallway, you enter the bedroom. Through the french doors is a little deck which overlooks the back patio. One day we plan a spiral staircase from this deck down the ground.

This is the wall behind the fireplace. We saw little built-in nooks in a house we rented in Mexico and decided to add them somewhere in our house. This was a convenient location, but because of the chimney flue they are only about 3 inches deep - not wide enough for most items I want to put there. The stucco backs makes it hard to place hangers.

The painting is a house-warming gift from our friends Zeke & Marty. It depicts a spot where we vacationed together in Belize.

From the bedroom you walk through the big closet into the bathroom, then through to the laundry room. I wasn't sure how we would like this arrangement, but it works well.

The cabinet in the bath is also made from wood off our property - white oak. The top has beautiful grain. I will show the handmade sink in another post.

The shower is a walk-in. James installed the glass block wall and window above the regular windows. The shower is wonderful in the summer but cold in the winter.

James also did all the tile and rock work in the bathroom. I wanted slate tile around the tub, he wanted iron ore flagstone on the walls and floors, so he did both. I think it turned out beautifully. I just noticed this picture was taken before the faucet was installed on the side wall.

Here's a detail of the front of the tub showing the transition from slate tile to rock. I was afraid the stone floor would get slippery, but it hasn't been a problem. We just scrub it with a stiff brush every few weeks.

Here are the cabinets in the laundry room, opposite the washer and dryer. They are made from red cedar off the property and are the most gorgeous cabinets in the house. Too bad they are in the very back corner.

The pale cabinet is a Murphy-style, fold down ironing board. We installed it in our little guest house and James (who is the only one of us who irons), likes it so much he moved it to our new house.

This concludes our tour of the main part of the house. We do have a basement, but it is still unfinished, so I won't show it until it is done.

more christmas decor

My favorite Christmas decorations this year were my centerpieces. I actually stole the idea from James' cousin Nancy who did this at Thanksgiving. She stole it from a magazine.We agree that good ideas are worth stealing and passing along.  I thought it would be perfect for my table candelabra. I like to use the votive cups as vases instead of candle holders.

Fresh cranberries act like a floral frog holding up the flowers. James found these gorgeous orange roses with rosy tips. They were the perfect color for the table.



Below is my table set for 10 with the candelabra running down the center. Notice I have to use several different sets of stoneware when I feed a crowd. I just mix them up.

We had 18 for dinner this night so I had to set up 2 long tables. On the other table I had totally different colors but the same floral theme.

This skinny vase showed the cranberries and roses perfectly.

Decorating inside

We never have a Christmas tree. In years past, we didn't have enough room for one. We also don't believe in cutting down trees for seasonal decoration. So I put up an artificial garland and hang ornaments on it.

This keeps the ornaments out of reach of the cats.  It looks almost snowy outside but it is just rain.          

I love these bird ornaments - they echoe the view just outside the window beyond where a birdfeeder hangs.

I add a little bling with a metallic garland and glittery clip-on birds.  I tried LED lights this year to conserve on electricity but I hate their blue color. It clashes with my yellow-orange sconces on the wall above. Next year I will try to find amber lights.

Here is my mantle. Last year I covered it with magnolia tips, but the summer really did a number on the magnolia trees so there wasn't much to cut. Instead I put up some gold angels and draped them with gold material I have had for years. I thought it needed a spot of color, so added the poinsettia and ribbon.

Christmas decorations

Even though I am married to a man who does Christmas lighting, we do not light up the outside of our house for the holidays. I like to keep my decorations simple and natural.

This is the extent of my outdoor decorating this year. The door swags are made from material cut on our property. We do this at Blue Moon Gardens for our Luminations celebration in early December. We give a free swag to everyone who comes to the event. These are leftovers.

 Luckily, the weather has been rainy and cool so the greenery has continued to look good without any work on my part.

The wreath was made by my sister Ann. I have matching over-the-door swag but I didn't get around to putting it put this year.

A couple of years ago Ann made wreaths for everyone in the family. They are all gorgeous.

The colors match my inside decor quite well so sometimes I hang it inside.

Welcome - come in

Now for a tour of the inside of our very fine house. Come up the front steps to the porch.

We want to screen it in, but that will be a chore for the future. 

I looked and looked for furniture for the porch this year but couldn't find anything I really liked that would fit the space. I really want teak because I love the warm look and durability. 

Walk in the front door and you are immediately in the great room. To the left is the southern exposure - that wall is mostly windows, letting in beautiful natural light and lovely views of the woods. 

Straight ahead in the hallway is a vignette my friend Amy Bott created. She has a re-design business named SpaceLift http://www.spaceliftinteriors.com/spaceliftinteriors/Welcome.html. When I moved in she helped arrange the furniture and hang art. 

The living room. Notice we have no window coverings. Not necessary in the country. The fireplace has a heat exchanger that vents outside air into the firebox and blows hot air out into the room. It is very efficient, unlike conventional fireplaces and heats the whole upstairs in the winter. The spot to the left of the fireplace was intended for firewood, but houses our TV which pulls out on a rotating tray.

To the left of the front door, adjacent to the kitchen is the dining room. My business partner Sharon gave me this fabulous country dining table that seats 10. The chairs are from a local Amish furniture store (as are the rocking chairs in the living room). It is wonderful to have the room to entertain a crowd. This weekend we are hosting our local friends Christmas dinner and having serving 19. We will set up a folding table in front of the desk for the overflow.

Since I have this nice, comfortable space to work I no longer use my little studio building. I am considering turning it into a real craft studio when I take up basket weaving (no kidding, I really want to learn to weave baskets).