Good morning all, today I am just sharing a few favorite inspirational quotes with you. Not a lot of writing from me today, because you know how I can write on and on. If you have a chance please share one of your inspirational thoughts, ideas or quotes. Wishing you a wonderful wandering Wednesday. With Love, xo Jemma

Greetings friends, from my real working Kitchen,  a fully working kitchen that bakes way  too  much. You know what I mean. I eat what I cook.  And you know what that means... hmmm.   Lots and lots of walking and gardening to keep the sugar gremlins under control. This is a kitchen that seems now to have the full responsibility of keeping me grounded. I have written before how I feel that the kitchen is the  heart of our homes. My farmhouse/french style kitchen has not complained yet and hopefully never will. I try to keep her spic and span and all shined up.  Today, some very sweet friends- Stacey from Poofing the Pillows  as well as Laura  from  White Spray Paint ,  are sharing their kitchens with you too. I realize that I have five favorite things about my kitchen that inspire me and encourage me. Everyone needs a little inspiring, right?   How about a Brown Mountain Cake recipe too-yes, no, maybe??? If you like a seriously, scrumptious rich chocolate cake, then this one is for you.

We had a little impromptu family gathering last weekend so I made two desserts. Brownies for part of the family and homemade sugar cookies for the other half. I wanted to dress things up a bit, so after dinner I created a little dessert presentation with  two basic elements.  These two basic elements will transform your dessert table from  pretty to fabulous, in no  time at all. Tip One - A proper pedestal to display your desserts on is essential. A tiered stand creates charm and adds elegance, it is a perfect way to serve cookies, brownies, cakes, or cheese and assorted hors d'oeuvres.               Tip Two- There is nothing that adds more beauty or charm to a table than a fresh bouquet  of  Flowers. A scattering of flowers can can take an occasion from ordinary to delightful and with such  little effort or worry. No matter the occasion, large or small, planned or impromptu. Add  fresh flowers and a proper pedestal to your next dessert presentation! I sure hope that you have time

Good morning it is Wandering Wednesday, April 6th, 2016. It is the middle of the week and here is where we share what is on our mind, in our hearts,  where we  have been or  where  we are going. Before I take you on a little Texas walk I'd like to announce the winner of the  TOHOT Giveaway from last week.  Congratulations to link entry number 12, Rita C. from Panoply, chosen by Random.org. You have won a subscription to Southern Lady magazine. Will you walk with me? Just for a short spell over a hill, into a hollow where a bank of swaying  wildflowers  dance in a singing Spring breeze. Endless banks of the Indian Paint Brush bow their colorful noggins as the evening sun  gently slides into the early evening horizon. Soothing shadows beckon a tired walker to sit and stay awhile. Perfectly posed wildflowers, no need to straighten or fuss with a stem. They beg me to take my camera out of my pocket and snap a photo of just them. The hum of nature speaks with out saying a word... Listen

In between this and that falls gardening, if you were sitting beside me right now, you would  hear me singing the word gardening, and maybe sing along too . You see I have this theory, that if you are in need of a little joy, a little comfort, maybe even a little work out of sorts, the garden is the place to find all three. When my mind is in a whirl and my heart feels hurt, the garden is the place I want to be. The garden~ singing again... It could be a patio garden, balcony, containers, raised beds whatever your heart desires. Oh, also if you want to burn about 200-400 calories, and for me personally that would be those four Dove chocolates I have after dinner every night, gardening takes care of that  as well. Well, today I am going to share the progress of the garden and some neat little tips too. On February 22, I shared with you the beginning of our garden in  Five Tips For Growing A Garden . I guess that was about 6 weeks ago or thereabouts, well I am happy to report that it

This is it, the year of  Living plain and simple . I wrote a little post awhile back on my goals of reclaiming the lifestyle of another era. So far so good, the garden is growing(big post on it's progress this coming week.) Making bread pretty faithfully... However, I am finding that living plain and simple is  much like Christmas, it does not arrive all neatly packaged with a ribbon and a bow. It arrives with a diligent mindset, requires much effort and a Farmhouse sink. Some of my best memories from childhood and well into adulthood with my own children took place around the kitchen sink. I don't recall now the style of the sink, but they all seemed to hold water and bubbles and that did the trick. My farmhouse sink has become a comfort, a soothing reminder a gateway to the past. My sink holds me accountable to reclaim what was and make it what is. It is the Farmhouse sink that could. I have washed four babies in four different homes, i n four different kit