The Ways of Her Home

Embracing the homeward call

A Grandparents’ Day Tradition

Happy Grandparents’ Day to all the grandmamas and granddaddies out there! We have a tradition of inviting our grandparents over for a meal to honor them on Grandparents’ weekend, and so yesterday Joel’s parents and mine joined us for lunch at our house. Having our big extended family together is always wonderful, but for this meal we enjoy  time with just the GRANDS! As we began setting the table yesterday morning, Country Girl and I had no idea what we’d end up with because the day before our special lunch, a certain very bad doggie, who shall remain nameless (ahem, Barney!), ate the zinnias we were planning to build our table around. So, I went rummaging through the cabinets and found ... Read more

Independence Day 2019: Country, Community, and Church

Hello! I hope you all had a spectacular Independence Day last week! Our family enjoyed a day that offered blessings of country, community, and church. We were home throughout the morning, working on various housekeeping chores and projects, but stopped at lunch for our traditional 4th of July hamburgers. During our lunch, we got into a discussion about a podcast on Focus on the Family about our founding fathers, and the privilege of living in an America that was founded on Christian principles—principles that allow us freedom of worship, among many other wonderful freedoms! That afternoon, we had the honor of attending the 100th birthday celebration of a family farm! This farm is owned ... Read more

Colonial 4th of July Table

I’d like to wish everyone an early Happy Independence Day, and naturally I’m going to say it with a table setting! This is a table I quickly put together last 4th of July. We had some neighbor friends walking over for fireworks that evening, and since we were grilling hamburgers for ourselves, we asked them to come early and join us for dinner. The plan was to eat outside on the patio, but the heat and humidity were crazy high that day, so we decided to enjoy the meal inside and go out after sunset to watch the fireworks. With a change in plans, I started pulling anything from my cabinets that was red, white, or blue. Before I knew it, we had a very patriotic vibe going on in the dining ... Read more

Coconut Cream Cake

  Good Monday morning! Blessings to you all for this fresh new week! I don't usually post on Mondays anymore, but we had such an enjoyable Father’s Day weekend and I want to share a part of it with you! And of course it’s a recipe! Haha. On Saturday we celebrated an early Father’s Day with my husband’s dad and mom. We took them out for lunch at a great Thai restaurant and then back to our house for dessert and visiting. Since my husband loves coconut, and I knew my F-I-L does too, I made this Coconut Cream Cake from Southern Living. I like that the toasted coconut adds a little brown color to the top of the cake. It went well with a burlap table runner to make the table display a tad ... Read more

Flag Day

I always enjoy sitting on my front porch in the summertime with my red geraniums and my American flag flapping in the breeze! There is something so summery and so Americana about it all! Today is Flag Day, and I must admit, although I have a deep respect for our country’s flag and its history, I don’t really give Flag Day much regard. Today is also my husband’s and my 23rd wedding anniversary!! When we set our wedding date on the calendar, we joked that he should always be able to remember our anniversary since we were getting married on Flag Day. The joke being who even knows when and what Flag Day is? Not to sound unpatriotic because we LOVE our good ole USA and all the other dates that ... Read more

Father’s Day Meal for the Meat and Potatoes Guy!

  Since Father’s Day is coming up this weekend, I thought I’d share some recipes for a special occasion meal that my kids’ number one Dad always enjoys! What man doesn’t love red meat with a side of starch? Here’s a meat and potatoes meal that’s always a winner with our Super Dad, and I’m assuming it would be with most other men as well. Let’s start with the MEAT!! I season some New York Strips with my favorite go-to seasoning from the Biltmore Traditions cookbook. It’s a very flavorful seasoning, full of herbs and spices. I always triple or quadruple the recipe to have plenty of extra on hand for other meals. I love this on beef, chicken, pork, fish, and potatoes! 1 1/2 tsp dried ... Read more

Fluff the Nest Friday: Front Porch Refresh

Around here, Friday is the day to “fluff the nest” which is just a much cuter way of saying “clean the house”. Am I right? So my Friday posts are all about tidying up and getting the house fresh and in order for the weekend. Some weeks my nest-fluffing comes more easily than others. I need motivation each Friday. *** If you saw my last "Fluff the Nest" post, you know my LOVE for February runs deep. In fact, my motivation for last Friday's cleaning was all about the arrival of this sweet month! Not only did I get the inside of my house cleaned, over the weekend I extended those efforts outdoors to my front porch entrance. This time of year I'm usually getting a little tired of winter. ... Read more

Fluff the Nest Friday: Make Way for February!

Happy Friday and Happy First Day of February! Around here, Friday is the day to “fluff the nest” which is just a much cuter way of saying “clean the house”. Am I right? So my Friday posts will be all about tidying up and getting the house fresh and in order for the weekend. Some weeks my nest-fluffing comes more easily than others. I need motivation each Friday. Today’s motivation for getting the house clean comes from the calendar. It’s the first day of February!! I LOVE February for two reasons. First of all, Piano Girl was born in February (the 12th)! Second of all, Valentine’s Day is in this month and I’ve always really liked Valentine’s Day. It's just such a sweet occasion. What makes ... Read more