The Ways of Her Home

Embracing the homeward call

At My Sister’s House

My younger daughter is playing soccer this spring which is keeping us on the go! When we saw that she had two games in my sister's home city, the two of us were excited to plan an overnight trip to visit with Allison. The day before leaving, we got word that the games were cancelled due to rain, but my sis said, "Come on anyway!" And we did! It was a very quick and fun 24-hour trip. Allison and her family live in a beautiful older home in a historic district. The photo above is of the stone courtyard in back of her house. I took this photo looking out her back door. Such a lovely and peaceful spot under this gorgeous saucer magnolia! If I'm not mistaken, I believe she transplanted this ... Read more

Red Velvet Pound Cake with Cream Cheese Filling

Valentine’s Day is quickly approaching so I thought today would be a good time to share a lovely red recipe. Red Velvet Pound Cake combines two Southern classics--red velvet cake and pound cake--into one sweetheart of a dessert! I shared this recipe several years ago on my old blogsite, but I think it is definitely worth repeating. And I can’t remember exactly where this recipe originally came from, but I’m guessing Paula Deen...maybe. Red Velvet Pound Cake Cake ingredients: 1 1/2 cups unsalted butter, softened 3 cups sugar 5 large eggs 1 tsp. distilled white vinegar 1 tsp. vanilla extract 3 cups all-purpose flour 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder 1/2 ... Read more

Weeknight Fried Rice

Our family is in a season of busy, bustling weeknights with my teen daughter going to evening soccer practices, and my son taking taekwondo two nights a week. It's taken some trial and error, but I think we've finally settled into a workable dinner routine that still gets us together around the table with a homecooked meal most weeknights. In order to make this work, I'm always on the lookout for meal ideas that are quick to put together and easy on the budget, but still as healthy as possible. I recently tried this Ground Beef Fried Rice recipe from The Salty Marshmallow blog that uses ground beef, rice, and frozen veggies. Our whole family LOVED it so I just had to share the recipe ... Read more

Easy Crudité and Charcuterie Boards for New Year’s Snacking

Anyone else getting tired of eating? I think one of the best and worst things about the holidays is the food! We love it, until it's too much. After Christmas we're ready for some healthier eats, but there's still New Year's to go. Crudité and Charcuterie boards are a healthier option that still looks and feels all fancy-schmancy for New Year’s! A Crudités Board is typically veggies and dips only. I’ve been adding just a little fruit and nuts to ours lately, but the emphasis is still very much on the veggies.Veggies can include just about any you like and are usually served raw, but for the firmer veggies such as green beans, asparagus, carrots, snap peas, etc., I blanch them in ... Read more

Family Nativity Dinner

For about the last ten years, our family has kept an annual tradition of a Nativity Dinner in December. Some years it's just us, some years we invite friends, and some years we use the menu for our small group Christmas party. Since we were home for Christmas Eve this year, we planned our Nativity Dinner for that night, with just us, and it was so special! I arranged my tablescape earlier in the month to stay set up through all of the holidays, New Year's included. My table arrangement is similar to last year's New Year's table, but with a few tweaks. And I kept with the same Christmas Biltmore inspiration I used in the den. This was such a fun and colorful table to put together, ... Read more

Christmas Morning Coffee Cakes

I love a good coffee cake, but I must admit that my first experiences with this baked treat weren’t too impressive. First of all, I questioned the audacity of a recipe to call anything that was not topped with icing a "cake"! Ha! Secondly, they just seemed a little blah. Until.... I became a COFFEE DRINKER! I clearly remember my first piece of coffee cake with a cup of coffee. My goodness, it was so good! And then it became clear that my problem with coffee cakes hadn't really been the coffee cakes themselves. My problem with coffee cakes was that they were truly meant to be eaten while sipping a cup of steaming coffee. The two compliment each other, and together they are a delight! ... Read more

Snickerdoodle Pie and Pumpkin Ice Cream

I wrote this post last fall but didn't get it worked into my posting schedule. Hopefully I'm not too late for this year either. At my house, we are still very much enjoying the flavors of fall and I'm trying to squeeze in every last fall recipe and tradition before Thanksgiving. But, now that I think about it, I make this dessert all through the winter too! Snickerdoodle Pie is like a extra thick, extra soft snickerdoodle cookie baked in a pie shell and it's sooo delicious. Add a scoop of pumpkin ice cream and it's over-the-top good!! Snickerdoodle Pie (I do not even remember where this recipe came from. I searched the internet to find the original source but only found other ... Read more

Scarecrow Treats and a Fall Bible Lesson

The following post is one I put together last year but did not get worked into my posting schedule before the fall season was over. I've just about missed it for this fall too! Today I have couple of fall goodies that my son and I have been working on for his friends and cousins. I started doing these when my girls were younger so it’s been a lot of fun to repeat with my son. Candy scarecrows are so cute to pass out to the kiddos for a fall treat! You just need a box of raisins for the torso, Smarties for the legs, Tootsie Rolls for the arms, a round candy for the head, and some raffia for the neck straw. Use hot glue to attach candy pieces together in the shape of a scarecrow. Of ... Read more