Meat pies!

Hi all! I just made some Traditional British Meat Pies this past weekend. Pretty easy, just got some Pillsbury dough, ground beef, onion, carrot and celery.

I cooked up the beef with the veggies and seasoned with salt, pepper, red wine and worcestershire sauce. Then I put it all together in a muffin pan and you got some yummy little meat treats. I was just trying it out for christmas.

My Tumblr

Hey folks! I just started a tumblr. It's fun and I am enjoying all sorts or photos and thoughts on a whim. Check it out!

xoxo

My Tumblr!

Congratulations William and Kate

I am genetically predisposed to love all things British! I am excited about the Royal Engagement and plan to have a viewing party on the day of the wedding. I am excited to start

looking for inspiration for this Royal themed party. Most likely tea, cocktails, small sandwiches and crumpets!

Moon post... copy and paste from Martha's Blog

I found Martha's latest Blog post to be quite interesting. She talks about how there are different names for full moons of every month and why they are named as such. I also

really enjoy her photos as well. I am including two.

"Each month, the full moon has a different name. These names can be traced back to the Native Americans, who lived in the Northern and Eastern United States. As a way of keeping track of the seasons, they named each passing full moon for specific events occurring at that time in nature. There are variations on those names, but here are the ones most commonly used. The name fo January’s full moon is the Wolf Moon, for the hungry packs of wolves howling during deep winter. February’s is the Full Snow Moon for the month of heaviest snow. March is the Full Worm Moon for the earthworms that emerged from the thawing ground.

There’s the Full Pink Moon of April after the blooming wild ground phlox. May is Full Flower Moon for the abundance of flowers everywhere. June is called Full Strawberry moon for the sweet ripe berries, followed by The Full Buck Moon of July, when male deer grow new antlers. Fishing was good in August, thus, The Full Sturgeon Moon. The full Moon that occurs closest to the autumnal equinox is known as the Full Harvest Moon, usually September, but sometimes October. This is followed by the Full Hunter’s Moon, a time to hunt, and finally, the Full Beaver’s moon, a time to set traps."

Autumn is in the air!

Had a lovely time a few nights ago. Had some friends over, made some stew, and attempted to make this Martha Spiced Lemon Cake. It turned out ok, a little dry, but yummy all the same.

I have also pulled out all of my autumn/halloween knick-knacks! Exciting times. Thanks to Hillery for setting up my little autumn shelf! I think it looks quite lovely.

I did the little key setup on the wall, not sure how I feel about it.

Also next weekend is our (Jason and I) one year wedding anniversary! Very exciting times! Here is a photo that our friend Scott took for us. He is a friend of ours and a great photographer!

I'll have to make a wedding post soon. Lots of DIY stuff and Martha inspiration. The hanging tissue paper pom-poms are a Martha product! I love those!

Anyway, Happy Fall!

Ellicott City Visit

A few weeks ago my husband and I went out to Ellicott City to visit some friends at their new place.

Jason and I had spent our teenage years hanging around Ellicott City and I had worked at a coffee shop on main street for four years. I was excited to hear that our friends had moved there and couldn't wait to see their new place.

They moved into one of the most magical houses in the EC. My old boss used to live in this house so I had been in it before. It is an old cabin that was renovated, but still has exposed wood beams and stone visible. I love this house, it has so many neat nooks and crannies, the perfect place to have a cup of coffee and read a book on a rainy day.

After we had dinner I took our friends to this old graveyard that was tucked away up a private driveway. It was a little risky since we were technically trespassing, but it was worth it.

It was quiet as we moved about the graveyard. The fireflies where out and the air smelled sweet.

Here are two pictures I took and lightened up.

Ellicott City is the one place that I miss now that I live in the city. If we ever move back to the county I would want to live here.

Tea time.

Hello all!

A few weeks ago I took my mom to Tea on the Tiber for some traditional english tea.

Tea on the Tiber is located on main street in Ellicott City. The tea house is very quaint and old. The inside is interesting. Unlike other tea houses I have been to, Tea on the Tiber has items for sale in every room. In my opinion it was kinda tacky, no real british tea house would have price tags on every painting and tea pot you see, but I digress, we still had a good time. I ordered a pot of earl grey, mom got english breakfast. Then the waitress brought out a three tiered tea tray that had all sorts of small sandwiches and sweets on it. It was lovely and I was happy to treat my mom to high tea and to have a nice chat. Here are some photos.

The Three Tiers

Mom

Me

I have to say that my mom's taste has really rubbed off on me. She loves all things British. We used to goof around and talk about what it would be like to have tea with the Queen.

So I just wanted to share some photos we took at the tea house. For laughs I edited the photos to make them look old timey. Ha!

I think Martha would like to have high tea at Tea on the Tiber, but she would disapprove of the price tags in plain view, and the fact that our table did NOT have a table cloth.

Cheers!

Design Sponge

Here is a great guide to Baltimore from the blog Design Sponge.

I love this blog. Always inspiring, always beautiful.

Fairie Festival at Spoutwood farm

This May day my friend Aliza (from baltimorediy) and I went to Spoutwood Farm's 19th annual Fairie Festival.

I have been going to this fairie festival since 2002. I have not gone every year, but I have been to the festival around five times.

Spoutwood is a orgainc farm that has wooded areas and streams running though it, a perfect habitat for fairies. Truly magical!

The weather was wonderful! Aliza and I had a nice time and enjoyed the whimsy of the whole event. Every time I go I love to stroll around, look at vendors arts and crafts, eat food and watch all the fairies, child and adult alike.

It is good to get out of the mundane, sit under a tree and listen to the Baltimore Mandolin Orchestra.

Here are a few items I picked up at the festival.

Some raiku fired leaf pendents, a ceremaic flying fairie by Feywood, and a beautiful carved butter slab by Jonathan.

All in all a great day.

Here is a quote from the Spoutwood website about May day and the origins of the celebration

"The fairie and May Day themes go back to ancient times in almost all cultures, especially to the Celts of the British Isles who had a festival on the first of May called Beltane. It was a time of great rejoicing at the return of the earth's abundance in spring and the impending bounty of summer. The Celts celebrated the spirits of nature by honoring not only the plants that they could see and smell but also the unseen beings of the fairie realm."

Cherry Blossoms.

Living in Stonehill has been wonderful. After living in an apartment for five years I am really enjoying living in house. It is great to have a yard. Especially when a tree like this one lives in it.

This is our tree that lives in the front yard.

Happy Spring!

Lights.

Hung up some lights on a spring night.

A day off.

It's Monday.

It is my day off and I have been cleaning my house and watching Martha on Hallmark. It is amazing, Martha is on the Hallmark Channel all day! I feel like I am 40 instead of 27, with the cleaning and Hallmark, but thats okay, it is making me happy!

I had a wonderful Easter holiday yesterday. We spent the day at my mother in-laws for her birthday. Sitting out in the sun, barbecuing and admiring the spring flowers. A wonderful day!

Easter Time!

Dog sitting the black pug Ash today.

I have the day off and I am watching Martha Stewart. Today she has on Author Jan Brett . Jan's book The Easter Egg magically illustrated. I urge you to check it out. Perfect for children!!

Jan also has pages for coloring for kids (or adults) on her website from the book! Color Pages

Very Magical!

My First Sewing Project.

Here it is!

Last week my mother taught me how to use the sewing machine. I told her I needed a small curtain for my bathroom so she gave me a lesson on how to make curtains.

I thought that I was just going to hem up a piece of fabric and make a pocket for the rod to go in. But mom took it a step further and taught me how to make it ruffle. I think that it looks quite nice!

I think that I shall continue on with the sewing lessons.

Martha would be proud!

Thanks mom!

Little Terrariums

So Magical!

I love these little terrariums from Etsy Seller WarmCountryMeadows.

I want to live in there.

First Post

Hello all!

This is my first post.

I (like many others) love Martha Stewart.

I subscribe to her magazine and always refer to them when thinking of a project to do or any decorating tips.

In this blog I want to share any "Martha Like" things that I see and do.

I was inspired when I held my first family gathering after moving into our new house. I used Martha to get ideas for decorating. Mixing it with my own style I tried to make the look of the whole occasion Martha-esque with out it feeling to over done.

I wonder if Martha would be proud.

hello