A Storybook Life - Page 22 of 28 - Creative Home and Garden Ideas From Our Cottage in The Woods

Micro Mini Sinningias – how to grow the smallest flowering houseplant in the world!

August 19, 2020March 9, 2007 by Pearl Sanborn

I love flowers! I love them even more when I can enjoy them all year! But, beautiful blooming plants that come in tiny little packages are what I love most of all!

When you grow small house plants, you don’t have to worry about the biggest problem that most people face when trying to enjoy a touch of nature indoors – space! And, if you’re like me, once you have a few plants, you’re going to be hungry for more 🙂 When I found out that plants don’t have to be big to be beautiful, a whole new world opened up to me!

For some reason, I’ve always been infatuated with all things miniature! In kindergarten, I remember my teacher reading us a story called “The little old lady who lived in a vinegar bottle.” Although I don’t remember anything about the story itself, I can still remember dreaming about what it might be like to live in a tiny little cottage hidden somewhere among the ferns on the forest floor. And, after all these years… I’m still dreaming 🙂

Many years ago, my aunt gave me a tiny little egg-shaped container that held a sweet little surprise inside! As I opened the top, inside sat the tiniest little plant – almost unbelievably tiny! The plant had lots of velvety green leaves, piles of little white slipper-shaped blossoms, and even a bit of moss covering the soil. The most amazing thing about this gift was, from leaf tip to leaf tip, this little potted gem was only 1 1/2 inches across! This was the beginning of my love for miniature houseplants.

Introducing the – Micro Mini Sinningia

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Brand New Site Almost Done!

September 24, 2013March 3, 2007 by Pearl Sanborn

Hello everyone!

Our new site is almost complete! After years of having a website online, I felt is was finally time to do some spring cleaning – and organizing 🙂

As you can see, I haven’t been able to post here for several days, because I’ve been really working on re-building my website.

After lots of programing, everything is nearly done! I’ve been writing online for many years now, but I haven’t had a good way to share all of my articles – while keeping things organized for my readers.

I’ve finally completed the new article database & I will be spending the next few weeks adding all of my past articles to that section. Here are just a few of the ones that I’ve already added:

Learn to Raise Magnificent Monarch Butterflies
Cake Recipes – Scrumptious Easy Layer Cake
Make your own pita bread!
A New Way to Save Using Rain Checks!
How to Safely Transplant Your Garden Plants

Check back often – as I will be adding new articles on a regular basis!

Pictured:
I’ve always loved the colors pink & green together. Here, I’ve mixed a piece of pottery ($5 at TJ Max), a small iron bunny ($4), a Waverly mustard & red toile tables runner ($6 TJ MAX) and my gathering basket.

Happy Valentine’s Day!

September 24, 2013February 14, 2007 by Pearl Sanborn

I hope you have a wonderful day with those that you love!

Here in Upstate, NY, we are supposed to get another 3ft of snow – on top of the 112+ inches that we’ve gotten over the last few days. So…my family & I will be spending some “quality” time together inside (except for the shoveling & snow blowing festival that will happen sometime today – so we can make our way out of the forest if we need to 🙂

I wanted to share some beautiful vintage Valentine greetings with you!

I just love vintage postcards! I think that the early greeting cards are some of the most beautiful cards ever printed! They are full of beautiful colors, intricate artwork, simple innocent verses, as well as the occasional feathers, ribbon, or glitter. They speak to your heart with the letters from loved ones written across the backs, and speak to your creative side with what I like to call – “eye candy for the soul!”

My grandfather Yates kept a collection of vintage postcards (which has now been passed down to my mother), and I have decided to take up the tradition to pass along to my children as well 🙂

I hope you enjoy these bits of art – Happy Valentine’s Day!
Vintage Valentine's Day Postcard

vintage postcard
valentine's day card

valentine card
vintage card

vintage postcards

Winter Snow in Upstate NY

September 24, 2013February 8, 2007 by Pearl Sanborn

As you’ve probably heard all over the news, we’ve been getting more than our share of snow over the last few days here in Upstate, NY. We are VERY used to getting snow (and lots of it), but this year has been very mild with almost no snow until last week. Then… it all started coming in at once! We’ve been getting a couple ft of snow every day!

Here in the picture, you can see my husband trying plow out our country lane. My goal is to have a large tractor for this job next year 🙂

Easy Noodle Casserole – A Warm Dish for These Cold Winter Days

September 24, 2013January 30, 2007 by Pearl Sanborn

As you can see by the picture, we had another 4 inches of snow fall last night. Although we (well – my hubby) have to work to clear a path for walking – as well as our driveway (750 ft long), it is so beautiful to look at! We love looking out the windows to see the trees dressed with piles of freshly fallen snow. I feel like we’re in our very own winter wonderland!

Because we are “very” used to having snow this time of year, the kids hardly ever have a snow day (last year I don’t think we even had one!). So… things continue on as normal.

I wanted to share a little recipe with you that we had for dinner this week. It’s a warm hearty meal – great to have on Winter days like these.

Noodle Casserole (Some people call it lazy pierogi)

As in every recipe that I make, things can be added or removed to taste. This is a recipe that might not have exact measurements – you kind of “feel as you go” 🙂

– One container (2 handfuls) of fresh mushrooms
– One large onion
– 1/2 stick of butter
– 1 27 oz can of sauerkraut
– 2 lbs Polish kielbasa
– 1 lb noodles (I used fettuccine)
– 1 26 oz can of cream of mushroom soup

While preparing the other parts of this dish, cook kielbasa by broiling it in the oven, or BBQ on the grill (which is what we decided to do, because we love that flavor!) Once it’s finished, slice into chunks & put into large mixing bowl.

At the same time the kielbasa is cooking, cook the noodles according to package directions. Drain & run under cold water to stop cooking process, then add to mixing bowl.

Clean & slice mushrooms, add to a large skillet to which the butter has been added. Cook over low heat until browned. Remove from heat leaving butter in pan, then add to the mixing bowl.

Add onions to the pan & cook until just tender, then pour in sauerkraut (and juice). Let simmer until juice starts to reduce (this helps the flavors all mingle together). Add all contents of the pan to the mixing bowl.

Warm the can of mushroom soup & an equal amount of milk on the stove or in the microwave – then add to the rest of the ingredients.

Mix all ingredients well, and pour into a large baking pan. You can sprinkle bread crumbs or grated cheese on the top if you wish.

Bake at 375 degrees until brown & bubbly.

This dish is wonderful the first day & even better the next day for lunch!

Enjoy!