Blueberries and a Buckle

 Blueberry season arrived and off we were to fill our buckets earlier this week. 

 We're fortunate to live close to a couple pick-your-own blueberry farms... this was our first time visiting this farm and it was overflowing with rows of beautiful bushes.  We planted some blueberry bushes in our own backyard last year... they are producing berries but still very small... this farm had me dreaming of " maybe one day". 

 Since we were there at the beginning of the season, we had to pick for the ripe berries.  Next time we go I have a feeling we could simply stick our buckets underneath the clusters and let the berries drop.

 Of course I came home and the blueberries were just begging to be baked into something sweet.  I made this buckle (or coffee cake) one afternoon, which was a delicious treat, and may have been eaten for breakfast once... okay, twice... this week (smile).  This buckle isn't very sweet as I was trying to limit the sugar, so feel free to add more if you desire. 

 Blueberry Buckle Recipe

Batter

1/4 cup sugar (I use organic cane)

4 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted

1 egg

1/2 cup milk

 1 tsp vanilla extract

2 cups all-purpose flour (I use unbleached)

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp sea salt

2 cups blueberries

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.  Whisk together the sugar, melted butter, egg, milk and vanilla extract.  In a separate bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder, and salt.  Stir in the dry ingredients until combined.  Fold in the blueberries.  Spread the batter into a baking dish (I used an oval 1 1/2 qt casserole dish).

Topping

1/3 cup sugar

3/4 cup all-purpose flour

1 1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp sea salt

 1 tsp lemon juice

4 Tbsp unsalted butter

In a bowl, whisk together the sugar, flour, cinnamon, salt and lemon juice.  Cut the butter into tiny pieces and add to the rest of the ingredients, using either a pastry cutter or your hands to create a crumb mixture. Sprinkle the topping over the batter.

Bake the buckle for approximately 50 minutes.

One last thing... if you happen to have any leftover blueberries!  The last couple years I have frozen blueberries... they are one of the simplest fruits to freeze and are perfect in the winter to add in muffins, pancakes, and baked goods.  I wrote a post on how to freeze blueberries last year, but basically all you do is spread them in a single layer on a pan, put them in the freezer for a few hours (or longer), remove the pan and place the frozen berries into freezable containers or bags. 

Happy Blueberry Season!

P.S. I also wanted to say thank you to Jennifer from Celebrating Everyday Life for featuring my blog today.  She is lovely and so talented... most recently she was featured in Southern Living Magazine and even publishes a beautiful magazine of her own.  Her blog is a real treat! 

The Front Porch

 I hope you had a wonderful weekend!  Over the weekend we finished our front porch remodel.  Yesterday afternoon I went outside with Rosetta, propped my feet on the coffee table and as we swung back and forth listening to the birds chirping, the feelings that came over me were exactly what I had hoped to accomplish with our project.  More than anything, I just wanted to create a space to enjoy the outdoors that was comfortable, relaxing and peaceful. 

BEFORE

This was a "before" picture I found buried.  It was taken about 6 months after we moved into our house.  My style has changed a bit over the past few years and we've done some yard work, but the elements (round aluminum columns, vinyl shutters, light fixtures, etc.) have all stayed the same until recently. 

AFTER

 The biggest transformation was building square columns on the porch.  Justus and I have wanted to do this since the day we moved in, but as it always go, we've had to prioritize.  The columns completely transformed the look of our house... it was so exciting to see the exterior come together.  Justus actually just framed around the existing columns and then it was time to use wood filler, caulk and paint.  (The UPS man probably thinks I'm crazy as he drove by three days in a row last week while I was still puttying and sanding.)   I mentioned in an earlier post that we also removed the shutters and it instantly gave the front porch such an open feeling. 

 Our front porch is huge, so I really wanted to focus on creating a couple different seating areas that would invite somebody to sit down and relax. 

 Justus gave me the swing a couple years ago as a birthday gift but I've always thought how nice it would be to have a place to prop feet.  So I came up with a basic design and asked (okay, begged) Justus if he would build us a couple pieces of matching furniture for the porch. 

 I love what he came up with.  Once he finished building, I stained the pine and sealed it.  I wanted something that was simple, yet had that farmhouse plank appeal.  

The coffee table also doubles as a bench if we ever need extra seating.  

 The "tray" on the coffee table is an old box (from the 1950s) that my father-in-law had... he gave me a few of them and on this one I removed the lid to convert it into a tray we could use outdoors.  The rope handles are just perfect.

To complete this seating area, I added a natural seagrass rug and some outdoor pillows from Lamps Plus. 

 

 We still have the same four flower planters we built last summer and right now they're packed with Vinca (my favorite annual for shade).  

In the background you can see our chicken house. 

 On the opposite side of the porch, I created another seating area, but this one had to allow for a walkway as the driveway is to the right of the porch (you can vaguely see the gravel in this picture) and we come up on this side of the porch. 

Justus also built this side table and it has the same design as the coffee table.  I really wanted a little table here so there was a space to set down drinks, etc. 

And of course there had to be room for accessories, like a lantern (smile)! 

This is the Mini Penny hydrangea I recently planted... I love its pale pink blooms. 

 I also gave the front porch a fresh coat of paint.  It's just a shade darker than what it had been.

 These light fixtures are really what inspired the entire look of the porch and prompted me to go with soft grays... I love how the nickel color gives such a light, fresh feeling. 

If you missed the post about our front door makeover, you can catch up here. 

Thanks for reading... I hope I haven't bombarded you with pictures!  If you have any questions, feel free to ask (smile)! 

P.S.  You may have noticed that somebody had a lot of fun running back and forth sampling the lemonade while I was taking pictures!  

Porch Posts:

Porch Planning here

The Front Door here 

Source List:

Door Paint: Benjamin Moore Essex Green Semi-Gloss

Porch Paint: Valspar Satin Porch & Floor Paint Light Gray 

Column Paint: Martin Senour Great Life Exterior Bright White Semi-Gloss

Furniture Stain: Rust-Oleum Ultimate Wood Stain Sunbleached

Furniture Sealer: Satin Polyurethane

Door Hardware: Rust-Oleum Universal Titanium Spray Paint

Porch Rockers: Cracker Barrel and Wal-Mart

Porch Swing: Purchased locally and made by a craftsman in Nashville

Lamps Plus Seagrass Rug 5x8

Lamps Plus Maxine 18" Outdoor Pillows

Lamps Plus Galvanized Steel Round Tub

Lamps Plus Kichler Energy Star 12" Outdoor Wall Sconces

Lamps Plus Rustic Iron Candle Latern

A huge thank you to Lamps Plus for providing me with all their fabulous outdoor decor items!

Garden Greens

 It seems like it's officially summer when we get to bring in a bowlful of veggies every day from the garden.  A little bowl, but a bowlful nonetheless! 

Right now we're enjoying everything green: zucchini, cucumbers, lettuce and green beans. 

 I had forgotten I had planted a bush bean that has yellow pods... when I noticed I had beans, I did a double take when I saw they were yellow (smile).  They're called a Golden Wax Bush Bean and they are so delicious. 

I'm anxious to show you our entire garden and share a little more about the heirloom seeds I planted, but right now it's a sight that just about has me running screaming... since I've been spending every spare minute on our front porch, the garden is showing its neglect in the form of weeds!  (We finished the porch today though... can't wait to show it to you!!)

I snapped this picture yesterday as I was cooking dinner.  I looked over at the kitchen table and both girls were helping with the beans while talking away.  My heart melted! 

Happy Summer to you!