The Ways of Her Home

Embracing the homeward call

Biltmore in Bloom

In my last post, I shared photos from our tour of the Biltmore house! Today, I'm offering a virtual stroll through the enchanting gardens around the estate's property. I captured these photos with my iphone, but now I'm really wishing I'd taken my "real” camera. Also, as with the last post, I'm fighting the urge to dive into the details and history of each image! However, I'll try and go through these in steady pace. Just the walk alone from the house to the gardens is quite a pleasant experience. There are so many beautiful areas to pass through, beginning with this wisteria-covered pergola. I’m so fond of this side view of the house when looking back after exiting the wisteria walk. The ... Read more

The Beauty of Biltmore

Oh, we had a wonderful time in lovely North Carolina two weekends ago visiting the Biltmore Estate in Asheville! And before I go any further, I have to say that I got so tickled when I previewed this post and saw my tagline "Looking well to the ways of her home" over the image of the Biltmore house! Well, I can't imagine looking well to all the ways of this massive home, but it sure is fun to visit! I would love to go through these photos with lots of detail and history, but I'm playing catch-up this week for a lot of time lost sick in bed this past weekend, so this post will be more pictures than words. Today I'll share photo highlights from our walk thru of the house, and my next post ... Read more

Jack-O’-Lantern Cheeseburger Pie

Our family is big on traditions and celebrating holidays and special occasions in big ways. However, Halloween is just not one of our favorites. The neighborhood we live in goes a little overboard on the spooky, gruesome side of Halloween and our kids have never wanted to be out in it all on Halloween night. So, we've made our own tradition of staying in and watching It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown while eating Jack-O'-Lantern Cheeseburger Pie! This has gone on for years and my kids still love it and look forward to it. They are not budging. Jack-O'-Lantern Cheeseburger Pie is such a tasty treat! You could easily replace the cheeseburger mixture with a meaty pizza filling, a bbq ... Read more

The Blog Balance

Happy fall morning, y’all! And I do mean fall! We are finally feeling it here in Alabama! My younger kids and I are taking a fall break from homeschooling this week (my oldest is in college), so I'm taking advantage of the time off to catch up on some writing I've been wanting to accomplish. Recipes have been my fallback posts in this busy season of schooling because they are easy and quick to post. I'm always excited over a good recipe, and love to share them, but I've also had other posts in mind that require more thought, and I'm happy to finally have a little more time this week to explore those ideas. One of the topics I've been wanting to address is the delicate balance of blogging ... Read more

Happy is the House

The following post is a piece I wrote for my previous blog several years ago. Our home continues to be blessed with the happiness others bring into it! Have a lovely fall day, friends! Above our family’s front door hangs a plaque that reads Happy is the house that shelters a friend--a quote by Ralph Waldo Emerson. Although the plaque has hung in our home for over a decade now, I still smile every time I read it because Emerson’s words epitomize the blessings we receive when family and friends come to visit. Our family delights in welcoming people into our home and into our lives! You see, the joy begins with the anticipation of “company’s coming”— the planning, preparations, and excitement ... Read more

Apple Cheesecake Dip

Good morning! I was working on a different post for today, but it’s not ready, so I’m going cheat a little and offer a quick recipe instead. But I think you’ll like it! Apple Cheesecake Dip!  This recipe came from the Real House Moms blog several years ago (I need to check and see if they’re still around!), and I love serving it as a snack, appetizer, or dessert during the fall season. It’s sooo good! Country Girl and I whipped up a big ‘ole batch last week for our Bible study group, and because we doubled the recipe, we enjoyed snacking on it throughout the weekend. Apple Cheesecake Dip 10 ounce apple pie filling 8 ounce cream cheese, softened 1/4 cup plain yogurt 1/4 cup sugar 1 tsp ... Read more

Fluff the Nest Friday: Company’s Coming!

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. I’m really excited today because this week I did the bulk of my Friday cleaning on Wednesday afternoon, so today’s cleaning will just be a lighter fluffing! It’s pretty easy to get motivated for the Friday fluff knowing it’s not the big one for the week! We’re hosting our Bible study group for the month of October, which meets weekly on Wednesday evenings. It’s been a crazy week ... Read more

Butterscotch Pie

Hello, friends! Earlier this week I attended my cooking club and the theme this month was “Family Favorites”. I took Cottage Pie and Butterscotch Pie. The Cottage Pie is a scrumptious meat and potatoes dish which I posted Tuesday. Butterscotch Pie is nothing less than a sweet dream on a plate! Butterscotch Pie has been a favorite at our house for more years than I can remember. In just a minute I’ll tell you where I got the recipe from. It’s kind of cute, so stick around. I already have a few pie plates in my cabinet, but none of them were ideal for pudding pies. I had been looking for a new one that was deep, but with a good slant to the sides so the crust would not sink down. I found ... Read more