Living Room - 2012 Show Us Your House Series

Welcome to our 1892 Colonial home in Maine!  Come in and make yourself comfy but don't mind the dog hair.  Our two pups like to help whenever the camera comes out.  

We're lucky that several period features were retained over the years like the pressed tin ceilings and wood trim work.

I found the Capiz mirror and turquoise glass lamp at Pier One.  They sell a different Capiz mirror now but they're still selling the same lamp.

Brewster fell in love the moment this comfy rug was unrolled.  It's the L.L. Bean rectangular 5'x8' chenille rug in Blue Meadow.  We live within an hour of their flagship store in Freeport, ME.  I found it deeply discounted at their annual Home tent sale.  It pulls together all the blue and green colors that I love.

The two club chairs with blue ticking stripe came from L.L. Bean too.

I love the textures on the love seat...

But it's not too precious to use everyday.  Everything can be tossed in the wash!

A daisy chain quilt that I made last year was intended for the living room but it's still hanging out in my craft room.   This reminds me that I need to bring it down to the love seat.  :)

I participated in Kelly's Show Us Your House series in 2010.  You can go here to see what my living room looked like back then.  I also shared more details about paint colors and what not before.

Visit Kelly's Korner to see lots of 2012 Living Room Tours this week!

A Few of My Favorite Products

The Nester is hosting a Favorite Things Under $30 linky party this week. 

I love variety so I try lots of different products.  Anyone out there want to trade half empty bottles of potions and lotions?  :)  I'll share some of my long standing favorites and what I'm loving right now.

Three of my "old standby" favorites (aka I buy these over and over and over...)

1) Burt's Bees Beeswax lip balm (the original version).  I've been using this for years.  I love the hint of peppermint.

I have them stashed here, there, and everywhere!

2) Burt's Bees Almond Milk Hand Creme is very think and rich.  This rescues my dry hands during winter.

3) Bath & Body Works Wallflower Bulbs in Sleep (Vanilla & Lavendar), Stress Relief (Eucalyptus Spearmint), Cinnamon & Clove Buds, and Fresh Balsam.

Three favorites of the moment:

1) Essie nail polish colors that get solid coverage with two coats.  Add a clear top coat and your fingers will be pretty for a week.  I love these two colors because they are deep, rich shades but are neutral enough that they go with everything.  

In Stitches - "a cheeky blush pink"  This is not your nana's pink.

Brownie Points - "a creamy rich brown"  This has some red in it.  

2) The Body Shop White Musk Eau de Parfum

3) I love the fresh and clean scent of Mrs. Meyers Basil Countertop Spray and Dish Soap.  Cleaning never smelled so good!

Favorite products for Maximus and Brewster:

1) Nylabones Dura Chew "souper size" bones...especially bacon flavored.

2) Natural Balance Sweet Potato and Fish Treats (small breed)

3) Planet Dog Orbee Tuff  "Tennis Ball" 3 pack.  These rate 5 out of 5 chompers and last a very long time (even with the Saint Bernard!).

Okay it's time to go make your own favorites things list and link up here.  I'm sure I'll discover some new favorite things from your list...

Pinterest Challenge!

It's time to take something from my Pinterest board and DO IT!  Sherry (Young House Love), Katie (Bower Power), Erin (House of Earnest), and Ana White issued an unofficial Pinterest Challenge and I'm taking it!  You can link up your project on any of their sites.

Since I'm arriving fashionably late, I chose something quick.  I picked my pin of the Reusable Swiffer Duster Cloths tutorial from Sew Much Ado for two reasons.  I only had one Swiffer duster left and I remembered that she mentioned it could be done in under 30 minutes.  Perfect!

Here's Sew Much Ado's all flannel version.  Her tutorial is well written and easy to follow so I'm not going to write out the steps again in this post.

Source: sewmuchado.blogspot.com via Alison on Pinterest

I made mine with 4 layers of flannel and 4 layers of fleece.  The flannel becomes ragged in the wash but the fleece stays the same.  I like the mix of fabrics.  For bonus going green points, I used up some scraps from a quilt I made for my niece's birthday.

You don't have to be exact with the pieces for each layer.  I caught myself being entirely too serious because I've been cutting a lot of quilt pieces lately.  Relax, it's a duster!  :)  In Sew Much Ado's step #11 you "Beginning with narrowest layer, clip edges of flannel at 1/2" intervals along length of duster" anyway.  See good is good enough.  :)

My supplies

I started sewing with two piles of 4 pieces.  When I make the next duster, I'll alternate the layers of fleece and flannel and add 1-2 more layers of flannel.  

Sewn and cut up

This hadn't been washed yet.  It'll get fluffier each time it is washed and that'll help it work even better.  It's hard to see in the photos but there is the same amount of 'duster' on the top and bottom.

Mussed up a bit on the Swiffer Duster handle 

Even though this was a super fast project, Maximus the Little Prince Super Schnauzer settled in for the long haul...

The duster works well and inspired me to also make eight reusable Swiffer Sweeper/Wet Jet cloths the next day using scraps from another quilt and something a gal from my sewing class recommended.  It's pretty dang clever and cost effective.  I'll be including some reusable sweepers and dusters in future hostess, housewarming, and holiday gift baskets.

Now go check out the Reusable Swiffer Duster Cloths tutorial from Sew Much Ado and get to it.  I'll post a tutorial for my reusable Sweeper/Wet Jet cloths this weekend so check back later if you want to be a lean mean green cleaning machine!

Dog Treat Voluntary Recall

A reader brought the following recall to my attention today.  Thanks, Ryan!  I haven't noticed this brand at my local pet store but it is distributed throughout the U.S. and I'd rather be safe than hear that someone's pet is ill.

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MERRICK PET CARE RECALLS JR TEXAS TAFFY PET TREAT (ITEM # 27077, ALL LOTS UP TO AND INCLUDING 10364) BECAUSE OF POSSIBLE SALMONELLA HEALTH RISK
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - January 28, 2011 – Merrick Pet Care, Inc. of Amarillo, Texas is recalling the Jr. Texas Taffy pet treat (ITEM # 27077, UPC # 02280827077, All Lots up to and including 10364) because they have the potential to be contaminated with Salmonella. Merrick Pet Care has made the decision to recall all Jr. Texas Taffy pet treats in the abundance of caution. Salmonella can affect animals and there is risk to humans from handling contaminated pet products. People handling the treats can become infected with Salmonella, especially if they have not thoroughly washed their hands after having contact with the chews or any surfaces exposed to these products.  


Consumers with questions may contact the company at 1-800-664-7387 M-F 8:00am – 5:00pm CST.

Please visit the company's website to view all the voluntary recall information: http://www.merrickpetcare.com/about_us/news_article.php?tid=438

I forgot to mention something when I shared Lindsey's Homemade Peanut Butter Biscuits recipe the other day.  There aren't any preservatives in the recipe so I'd plan to use up the biscuits in the same amount of time that you'd eat human cookies.  I store them in the freezer to extend the biscuits' shelf life by a couple weeks.  Bru and Max like them straight from the freezer.

Thanks again, Ryan!

Lindsey's homemade peanut butter dog biscuits

Remember the awesome homemade dog cookies that Lindsey sent Max and Brewster for the Christmas pet gift exchange?

A couple weeks ago, she very kindly shared the recipe in the pet exchange post's comments and also emailed me photos she took while making the biscuits and adorable photos of Jasper and Precious with their Christmas gifts.  I thought it'd be nice to post the recipe and photos for everyone to enjoy today.

Peanut Butter Dog Biscuits

 Prep Time:

15 Min

Cook Time:20 Min

Ready In:35 Min

Ingredients

• 2 cups whole wheat flour
• 1 tablespoon aluminum-free baking powder
• 1 cup natural peanut butter
• 1 cup skim milk

Directions

1.     Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Grease cookie sheets. Stir together the flour and baking powder; set aside.

2.     In a medium bowl, mix together the peanut butter and milk. Stir in the flour mixture until well blended. Turn out dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth. Roll out to 1/4 inch thickness and cut into shapes using cookie cutters. Place onto the prepared cookie sheets.  (They don’t really expand in size, so you can place them close together - about ½” apart.)

3.     Bake for 20 minutes in the preheated oven, or until lightly brown. Remove from cookie sheets to cool on wire racks. 


Note from Lindsey: I used different shape cookie cutters I found to make most of them, and then I had a letter brander for meat when we grill, so I used the letters from that to personalize the heart dog biscuits.


UPDATE 2/7/2011: I forgot to mention before...  There aren't any preservatives in the recipe so I'd plan to use up the biscuits in the same amount of time that you'd eat human cookies.  I store them in the freezer to extend the biscuits' shelf life by a couple weeks.  Bru and Max like them straight from the freezer.  -Alison

 Jasper and Precious are such cutie pies!  I'm so happy they're enjoying their gifts.

Lindsey, thanks so much for sharing your recipe and all these photos!  I can't wait to make a batch for Max, Bru, and all their doggy buddies.  :)