Chicken & Rice with Carrots

I made chicken & rice with peas yesterday and added sliced organic carrots for tonight's dinner. I love having leftovers that I can improve with added ingredients the second time around. The stoneware dish with handle has a "chimney" top and I have three of them. They are the best for microwave cooking or heating leftovers. I cooked the carrots alone for a minute or two before adding the chicken/rice to reheat on top. So good. The brown and white transferware plate is one of my favorites. I don't often photograph my food but I'm glad I decided to snap this one. xo

UPDATE: If you ever see one of these in a charity or thrift shop, RUN and grab it. As I mentioned, I have three of these and use them every day in my microwave. They were originally "As Seen on TV" as the Stone Wave Microwave Cooker at $10.00 each. Now I see them on eBay for $39.00. The handle is hollow and they are honestly just wonderful for heating up leftovers or cooking some things (like carrots) quickly. I found the original link selling them for $7.94 each HERE. I'm tempted to order more but will resist. Three is the perfect number for me. They clean like a breeze too. Let me know if you get one or more. I have never had good luck backing a potato in one. They are perfect for my chicken & rice dish. xo

FABLE: THE BABBOON'S UMBRELLA

HAPPY MONDAY

It's Laundry Day here at the cottage.

Weather is nice enough to hang things outside.

Rain coming at 5:00 this afternoon.

Have a good week.

xo

 

My Miniature Daffodils

These miniature daffodils in my front garden are in full bloom and they make me very happy just to look at them. The deep yellow color is glorious.

I divide them each year and I have 6 clumps about this size. They were presented as hostess gifts to realtors who attended a broker open house several years ago. Each year, I email a photo to that realtor and thank her once again for them.

xo

Houses and Gardens I like

Southern Living has a great article with many more charming photos HERE. These are a few of my favorites. Enjoy. xo

Snowdrops Under a Tree Overlooking My Cottage

Are you tired of snowdrops yet? I have seen so many blooming daffodils in friends' yards but mine are all still in the bud stage. Snowdrops never disappoint and keep on blooming until the other spring bulbs start performing. I started these clumps in the fall and they are loving this woodland setting. Have a great Wednesday evening. xo

Patio Gardening

Somebody's been busy forcing bulbs in terracotta pots and it's paying off. What a delightful small walled garden. found here. 

I took my pruning shears on my walk this afternoon and got carried away cutting down multiflora rose. It's pervasive and has to be controlled along my paths or it will soon take them over. It was very satisfying. The thorns on those wild rose bushes are evil.

xo

Happy First Day of Spring

I honestly woke up to a bird singing the same song over and over this morning to welcome the first day of spring. I think this rooster has been used several times on this date in past years but here he is again. He's an engraving from one of my antiquarian books, The Royal Book of Crests. I hope your day is like mine with bright sun and a blue sky. xo

Lisa D. wanted to know the name of that bird I heard. I found a YouTube video of New Jersey birds singing and have identified my bird as THE TUFTED TITMOUSE, the first bird in this YouTube video. Enjoy seeing so many of the birds of New Jersey who enjoy bird feeders and sing for their supper. xo

Hunt Board & Art Wall in My Kitchen's Nook under Attic Stairs

I am standing in front of the door that opens into my kitchen off the vestibule. The Dutch door for my office/pantry is behind me. You can see a corner of my farm table in lower right corner. The shiny thing on right is my refrigerator. This little nook is another favorite area in my cottage that evolved over the years. The sideboard was my mother's and was in her apartment downstairs until she died in 2012. We bought it together at an estate sale in Madison,NJ. We toured the sale, I bought a few things, and when we got in the car I asked her if she wanted the sideboard for her room with the sliding glass door and she immediately said YES. We rushed back and bought it ($100.00) just in the nick of time before another person said she wanted it but we were already in negotiations and had paid!!!!!! My mother used it in her sitting room and loved it. I love it too! It's just the right scale for this nook with a low ceiling. The back wall is clad in old wood that was attic flooring salvaged when the roof of my kitchen was raised during the renovation. The lamps with blue silk shades came from a local estate sale. 

I have been gathering things all week for a Girl Scout Textile Drive at a nearby elementary school. I cleaned out stored linens and blankets and used clothing. The girls were young and very enthusiastic about the volume I collected. They were going to sort for the homeless and donate the rest for textile bundling to be picked up and made into rag rugs. I hope they do this again next year. Such a worthy cause and so easy to drop off. This is my favorite kind of recycling and donating.

Have a great weekend. xo

Happy St. Patrick's Day

I'm very late in posting this greeting as St. Patrick's Day will soon be over. A friend came for lunch and I honestly don't know what happened to the rest of the day. There's plenty of daylight left for me to try and do something constructive though. Wish me luck. 

Greeting found on Google Images

xo

Up With The Sun This Morning

I seem to be adjusting well to the new time. Today is the second day I've awakened a few minutes before the alarm went off. I had already finished my coffee when I took this photo in my kitchen. Have a great Thursday. xo

Contest: Best White Cake Mix ~ Surprise Winner

Southern Living blind-tested 5 popular boxed white cake mixes. Easter is coming and there will be cake so you might want to read the article and pick up a few boxes of the winning mix. Read the article HERE. Were you surprised? I was! xo

Snow Day????? Not Really❄️

Remember these show shovels I left leaning on the wall last fall? They are working to scare the snow away, just as I hoped they would! Now if I could just devise something to deter the high winds coming later. I have a friend in the Berkshires of Massachusetts who's getting two feet. Be safe if you live in such an area. I always remember getting real winter weather in March, just when spring is right around the corner.

xo

Beatrix Potter ♡ Four Illustrations Today ♡

We have a little garden,
A garden of our own.

Female rabbit entering her burrow.

Gentlemen came every day,
Till Cecily Parsley ran away.

... And this pig has none.

Illustrations from: 

Cecily Parsley's nursery rhymes

found here

Enjoy! xo

1916 Silver Trophy Cup: Dog Show

I love old sterling presentation cups with unique engraving.

This one is dated 1916 and was won by a Scottish Terrier.

She was a good dog!

Maybe this post will encourage me to polish some silver.

I'll do it along with my spring cleaning.

I did my bedroom yesterday, all but the dusting.

It was still dark this morning at 7am.

Have a great Sunday.

xo

MORNING SMOOTHIE or "HOW I EAT MY GREENS"

My Oster blender has an additional container for smoothies and it works wonderfully. I filled it about half full with soy milk but you can use the liquid of your choice. I add 1/2 a banana, sliced. Then I put in some leftover beets, some leftover crushed pineapple, and two really big handfuls, tightly packed, of raw collard greens. I buy them in a large bag already washed and torn into small pieces and they last me at least a week. Raw collard greens are the best greens you can eat for your eyes and I can honestly say my vision has improved in only two weeks of making these smoothies. I vary the ingredients but the banana and collards are always included as is the soy milk.

This is a closeup before my first sip.

I ordered these stainless straws with an adjustable sipper and cleaning brush recently because a standard straw is too short for my Oster container. They are made by OXO (see link HERE) and there is a carrying case for travel. These are life changing and I love them. What do you think of My Breakfast of Champions? I was having an awful time eating my greens in other ways so this has solved my problem completely. If I somehow miss it at breakfast time, I will have it for my dinner. I add berries too, just didn't this morning. I always have frozen blueberries on hand. Each one has been delicious and the greens don't impart much of a taste but the banana does! HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND.

Here is my complete Oster package.

Maybe you have the same one hiding in your cabinet like I did.

xo

Please Don't Eat The Snowdrops

This must be in England because I have snowdrops everywhere and nothing has ever eaten them. It's an adorable photo though, isn't it? Happy Friday! It's raining at my cottage and will continue all night into Saturday. Have a great weekend no matter the weather. via

xo 

I searched Google Lens for source of original photo and found this. 

The rabbit is eating snowdrops in a meadow in Germany.

My Entrance Vestibule

My vestibule, photographed with the wide-angle lens. The front door is on the left. Door opening into my kitchen is on the right. Behind me is a coat closet with door. Each wall flanking closet has coat hooks and there is a tray for wet boots on the floor with a bootjack for easy removal. This area was a covered porch when I bought my cottage and the front door was on the wall where the chair is located. I could never have gotten my furniture in the house without my current setup. The outside of my cottage looks as if it has always been this way. That's always a good sign of a thoughtful restoration. I'm meeting two girlfriends later for an early dinner.

xo

Another View Inside My Pantry/Office

Does everybody like this new template? 

This is my pantry/office wall to the right of the front window.

So you can see it really does function for office work.

Let me. know if you like my blog this way.

https://contentinacottage.blogspot.com

It's as close to the look of my original blog as I can get.

Fingers crossed.

If you like it, thank Tara Dillard.

She sent me an email explaining her problems.

Tara, Do you like it now?

We shall wait for her reply.

xo

Snow Day From My Windows

It snowed overnight and I wasn't expecting to wake up to this scene from my kitchen window.

Another kitchen window looks out to my weathervane.

View from my pantry window showing the road is black.

My front walk is already melting. 

That's the nice thing about March snows; they don't last long.

Have a great Tuesday.

Thank you for stopping by. I know some of you are upset by my new look but try to remember it's still me behind the keyboard and camera. 

Rosemary

I post daily photos on Pinterest HERE and they link to daily blog posts. This is another way to scroll thru CONTENT IN A COTTAGE.

xo

 

Weekend Pics Around My Cottage, Inside & Out

This is the second year for these snowdrops that were transplanted and they are loaded with flower heads.

Wild raspberry hoops swaying in a gentle breeze.

The beginning of a walk to the way back to pick up sticks.

Heading back home. I like to keep my property stick free and it's easy to do every day when I go out on stick patrol. 

Everybody likes this little room off my kitchen. It was once a screened-in porch. I love sitting here with my computer, looking out the front window with the tin cat figure. A geranium is wintering over at the back window. 

Another view showing more of the floor space.

Happy Monday. Hope you are having a nice day.

xo

NEW BIRD PHOTOS

Mourning Dove looking to the right,

Here she is looking to the left with her tail feathers in the water.

Male cardinal feeding from the ground.

The sun was at the perfect angle to capture this male cardinal's true color. He wears his red feathers proudly, doesn't he?

Enjoy this lovely Sunday.

xo

Good Morning Sun

Sunday morning coffee time in front of the tv watching Antiques Roadshow from Palm Springs on PBS. I haven's raised my other shade yet.

My view from the front window looking at my across-the-street neighbor's red barn. The blue sky and the bright morning sun are so very welcoming.

I hope your Sunday is lovely too.

xo

Snowdrops are for Sharing

I discovered some rogue snowdrops on a bank where I threw some weeds from one of my beds with snowdrops and daffodils. It's impossible to weed those areas and not pull up snowdrop bulbs so I am careful to dispose of the weeds in a designated area. Each spring I have blooming bulbs to share with friends. I took these two pots to a friend who lost her mom recently and told her to plant them where she can see them. They always bloom in February and will be the start of her memory garden.

Have a great weekend.

xo