Vintage Home and Farm

Decorating a gingerbread house at Christmas time has become a tradition in our home.  Normally we buy a kit with the gingerbread shapes already baked and ready for assembly.  This year, for the first time, we decided to make the entire gingerbread house from scratch! We were inspired by a book we came across in the library, A Year of Gingerbread Houses by Kristine Samuell. It wasn't nearly as difficult as we thought it might be to do the entire thing ourselves. The three main difficulties in making a gingerbread house from scratch are: 1) Finding inspiration for the design of the house; 2) Being patient enough to wait for the house to finish baking; and 3) Using caution when assembling the house, by allowing adequate drying time for each phase of assembly. As for the first challenge, our daughter Elizabeth provided the inspiration for the house.  We decided to create the design on the computer, using Microsoft Word to insert shapes (squares and triangles) to create the f...

Even though we've had a lot of chores and projects keeping us busy on the farm, we've found time to have a little fun, too.  I thought I'd share a few recent photos. A tradition for our family is participating in the neighborhood Independence Day parade.   This year, our daughter and her friends decorated the golf cart and joined the parade.  While waiting for the parade to start, Andrea visited us with Reggie the Miniature Horse, who is the star of the parade every year. We stopped work on painting the house and enjoyed sitting at the clubhouse while watching the parade go by. It was nice to rest for a bit before we returned home to finish painting. The pool is open and our daughter has spent a few hours making good use of it.  Her friends joined her a couple times as well.  We're looking forward to spending more time at the pool now that our house painting is finished. This family of deer live on our property.  Mama and two twin fawn can be seen ever...

Patch the Donkey There was finally a break in the rain today and so we headed outside to visit with the farm animals. As we entered the community barn, we noticed how festive it looks with red ribbons hanging along each stall. Our neighbors have been busy decorating. Each of the animals in the barn has a Christmas stocking as well.  Mocha the Horse Mocha is always eager for attention. She's a rambunctious horse and so we handle her with care. Before long, we were also greeted by Barney the Barn Cat, who hopped down from a bale of hay to come over and greet us. Loud meowing and purring are hard to ignore and so Barney was thoroughly petted before we headed back outside. Barney the Barn Cat We walked out to the end of the field to take in the shiny foil decorations hanging on the fence posts all along the horse field.  The decorations are a tradition for our neighborhood.  Before we left the barn, we were fortunate that Andrea stopped by to get Reggie dressed up for his hol...

We're sending the warmest and happiest holiday wishes your way this Christmas!  Despite the unusually wet and dreary weather of the past few days (we've had an "atmospheric river" pass over this side of Washington), we are keeping warm and staying in good spirits thanks to both the wood fires burning in our hearths and our family and friends who have warmed our hearts with their love and good cheer.  We are reminded of the special meaning of Christmas and know that we are truly blessed. As is our tradition, our Christmas tree is decorated with all the handmade and gifted ornaments we've collected over the years. It's a family Christmas tree with no other theme except treasures that have special meaning to each of us. As I write this, dinner is cooking in the oven and we are kicking back and relaxing after spending the day traveling to visit family.  My daughter is drawing next to the tree and my husband is reading. This year we decorated with min...

With Thanksgiving upon us, are you counting your blessings? While holiday activities draw everyone out and about, keeping us all busy with preparations and gatherings, it's nice to pause for a moment to ruminate on and share our blessings.  We've had ups and downs this past year, and have faced a number of challenges --  but even so, we have much to be thankful for!  I am thankful for my family and friends, who are a tremendous blessing to me. So, are you ready for Turkey Day?  Despite the holiday falling a bit later in the year, it's still been a mad rush to get everything done so that it will be ready for the table at the big feast.  Hopefully you won't have to travel far, as we hear the weather is promising to be frightful for the long weekend across most of the country.  Here at Vintage Home and Farm, our family has two celebrations -- one at my father-in-law's house on Thanksgiving Day, where we will be bringing two pumpkin pies, dinner rolls and ...

Dense, dark, rich and sweet, this fruitcake is as enjoyable to make as it is to eat. I didn't think I liked fruitcake all that well until I decided to try making one soaked in Brandy.  There's something fascinating about soaking a cake in spirits and then aging it. If you enjoy sampling Brandy and other spirits, then you will find that tending to a cake by pouring alcohol on it is quite fun. Oh sweet, wonderful fruitcake soaked in Brandy!  I gaze longingly at you for two long weeks, waiting for you to be aged to perfection. What intriguing, experimental loaves you are, sitting there aging on the counter this holiday season.  I can't wait to cut into you and sample your rich fruits and moist, spirited goodness. Once you've started aging the cake, you may want to pick up another bottle of Brandy.  That is, if you enjoy sampling Brandy while tending to your cake as I do. A great place to pick up the dried fruit is Trader Joe's.  Out of everywhere tha...