HAPPY NEW YEAR~ 2014

Love and best wishes for a BLESSED and FABULOUS 2014!!!!

Yvonne xxoo

THE SCOOP #99

HI FRIENDS! 

Before we get "SCOOPING" I want to remind you to take a quick STONEGABLE READER'S SURVEY. NOW it's YOUR turn to help me build a better blog in 2014. I want StoneGable to be the blog you LOVE LOVE LOVE to read everyday!

Thanks, Bunches!!!!

Welcome back to The Scoop...

The weekly linky party featuring the scoop on the best posts from around the web!

More exposure + less time = win win!

We are 

Anita from Cedar Hill Farmhouse

Debbie from Confessions of a Plate Addict

Barb from The Everyday Home 

Yvonne from StoneGable 


and Suzy from Worthing Court 








Hi! I'm Debbie at Confessions of a Plate Addict and I am excited to be your host this week...and the final host for 2013!

Next week will begin a new year with lots more fun and inspiration and our 100th Scoop! Please be sure to come back to visit because we have a treat planned for you!

Also, once you have linked up and checked out all of the fabulous inspiration here at the Scoop, be sure to head on over to my blog where I am sharing my readers' favorite posts from this year...with some fun and inexpensive projects for you to try!


  But now...let's get this party started! I am excited to introduce our guest host...Kirby from Kirb Appeal! 

If you have never visited her blog, be sure to head on over because you are in for a treat!

Hi!

My name is Kirby and I’m an…oh, wait.  Let me start again.

My name is Kirby and I blog over at Kirb Appeal.  I am thrilled to be here at The Scoop, and here’s the scoop on me:

I am a wife (of DL, my partner in crime) and two grown (when did that happen?!?) children.  I also teach high school English to at-risk students and have a small furniture and home décor business.

In terms of blogging, I am pretty much just ridiculous.  If you want to read some of my silliness, here’s a post I wrote about decorating for the holidays.

It was definitely a treat to look at all the great projects and recipes this week; I managed to check out all the posts (no school this week) and everyone did a wonderful job!  I have had fun choosing a few to feature.

First, as you may have predicted, Home Is Where the Boat Is had me at candy cane vodka!

Next, I fell in love with the buffalo check curtains, awesome backsplash, and holiday touches that Patty has in her kitchen.

Just Not the Cakes had a yummy-sounding recipe for something called Banoffee Pie.  Yes, please.

And I love that Shopgirl gives us directions for a DIY boxwood wreath!

Finally, Chateau Chic was just that with touches of red!

Thanks so much to the ladies at The Scoop for asking me to participate…it has been fun checking everything out!

Thanks for joining us, Kirby! 

Thank you for linking up, friends!

Please read the guidelines before participating:

• Follow and/or subscribe to your host blog.
• Be sure to include THE SCOOP button or text link to in your linked post...mandatory to be featured!
• By linking up you are agreeing that the photos are yours or that you have permission to use them, that we may use those photos to feature your project on a blog post, Facebook, Pinterest, or Twitter with a link back to your blog, of course.
• Please go to the source of a photo to pin it to Pinterest so that the originator of the post gets the credit.

FIRST EVER STONEGABLE READER'S SURVEY

HI, STONEGABLE FRIENDS!

I've been thinking a whole lot lately about my blog, StoneGable... and ways to make it better and smarter and more reader centered and more inspiring and a place you can't wait to visit.

I want StoneGable to be the blog you go to when you open up your computer in the morning...a place that feeds your soul and your mind and creativity!

I need your help. NOW is YOUR chance to tell me how I am doing! Would you please take this short survey. I need everyone reading this today to take the survey. I want to hear from you... be honest and don't hold back...





I want to make positive changes with YOU in mind! I want to post more of what YOU love to read... more of what makes YOU smile... and more of what makes YOU want to visit everyday!

Also, you can leave any comments, suggestions, likes and dislikes in the comments AFTER you take the Reader Survey!

Thanks a bunch! You are the BEST!!!!

I'll let you know what I find out!

(Position your mouse over the survey and scroll down to answer all the questions)

PARIS GREY BUFFET TUTORIAL

There are just some jobs that I love to do!!! We were in DC for a work weekend at my daughter home.

They live in a 90 year old town home on Capitol Hill... the house has such great bones, and they have been breathing new life into it for the last 3 years.

This weekend Bobby helped Jonathan install real wainscoting in their dining room and I helped Jacqueline transform an old buffet into a beautiful "grey lady"...

This is how the buffet looked before we let the paint and brushes do their magic...

Great lines, but very tired!  We had already removed the doors, one drawer and hardware.

We began by giving it a good scrub and cleaning.

Then we turned it upside down on her dining room table to paint it. It is so much easier to paint chairs and tables and buffets like this upside down. We were painting while the boys were working in the same area... now that's what I call togetherness!

This was the first piece Jacqueline had ever painted. It was so much fun to instruct and help her.

After two coats of Annie Sloan Calk Paint in Paris Grey we gave the body of the piece (not the drawers or doors) a light coat of clear wax and massaged it into the paint with 320 grit sandpaper.  I learn this technique and I almost always use it. It leaves such a gorgeous finish on a piece.

Our work station was a the end of the table.

The doors and drawers were also given two coats of ASCP in Paris Grey and left to dry.

Then we put an ASCP Pure White wash over the Paris Grey and wiped it away with cheese cloth.  This leaves a striped/grainy look. This is my favorite technique.

When everything was dry we put a thin coat of clear wax over the doors and drawers, and messaged the wax into the wood with 320 grit sandpaper.

ON THE MENU ~ WEEK OF DECEMBER 30, 2013

Since my double knee cap surgery I have put on a few unwanted pounds! This is especially disheartening because over the last 18 months I have lost 90 pounds!

Lots of yummy meals from friends, Christmas goodies and inactivity have not been good to me... and let's not even get into lack of self control!

But now that I am somewhat feeling better, and am going out for my first test drive by myself today since surgery... I'm getting right back on track and continuing my lo-carb lifestyle...

Hopefully, I'll be able to knock off those extra pounds in a few weeks. I just may dip my toes back into the pool this week too. Swimming is my favorite activity and I try to get in the pool 3-4 times a week.

Now, here's what's on the menu this week...

MONDAY

HAM AND CAULIFLOWER HASH

Black Raspberry, Red Onion and Butter Cup Lettuce with CHAMPAGNE VINAIGRETTE

TUESDAY

KIM RICE'S CHICKEN ENCHILADAS

MEXICAN EXPLOSION SALAD

WEDNESDAY

DELMONICO STEAKS

(cooked in a cast iron pan)

WEDGE SALAD

BLEU CHEESE DRESSING

THRUSDAY

CHICKEN PAPRIKASH

Rice

ROASTED CARROTS

FRIDAY

KILLER FAJITAS

Fixins'

SATURDAY

GRANDMA LOBIANCO'S NO FAIL ITALIAN MEATBALLS

Over Spaghetti

CAPRESE SALAD

SUNDAY~ SLOW COOKER DAY

BROCCOLI CHEDDAR SOUP

Crusty Bread and Cheese

OTHER DISHES ON THE MENU THIS WEEK...

CHOCOLATE FILLED SHORTBREAD COOKIES

STONEGABLE GRANOLA

PERFECT CHICKEN NOODLE SOUP

Remember to...

I'm partying with:

FOODIE FRIDAY

5 BIG DECOR MAKEOVERS OF 2013

2013 was a HUGE year for decor makeovers at StoneGable!

After living large at StoneGable for 18 years... much of our home needs a facelift... a makeover... or a total gut job. 

Here are five BIG home decor makeover projects from 2013...

MAIN STAIRS MAKEOVER

Our latest makover started this fall. 

Our main stairs were a blur of golden oak and they desperately needed to be updated. 

We tore out the old runner, painted the stair risers white, painted the railing glossy black, took off the old marbleized wall paper tiny bit by tiny bit, painted the walls Benjamin Moore Sonnet, painted the trim Benjamin Moore Atrium White, added a natural runner, bought a large mirror for the wall and painted it Annie Sloan Chalk Paint Graphite, and made a wall art display about our family (that is still a work in progress).

You can see more of our stairs here...

MAIN STAIRS REVEAL

LIVING ROOM GUT AND MAKEOVER

This project started in Nov. of 2012... and is still a work in progress.

We totally gutted the living room taking out the old carpeting and installing hardwood floors, adding new baseboards, painting the walls Benjamin Moore Sonnet, painting the trim Benjamin Moore Atrium White, buying new/ upcycling  furniture and accessories and making and hanging the curtains.

I am still on the lookout for the perfect arched hutch, and I have to paint and upholster a Chinese Chippendale side chair. And we still need to install and paint crown molding.

Here's a look at the room right now with our new zebra hide rug...

GOING WILD

DINING ROOM GUT/MAKEOVER

When we start a project we "go big"! At the same time we installed our living room hardwoods we also installed the floors in the dining room!

This room was another total gut.

We ripped up the carpet and laid the hardwood flooring, painted the wainscoting and trim Benjamin Moore Atrium White and the wall above it Sonnet.

I painted and reupholstered the 18th century mahogany chairs (a HUGE project), painted the buffet, bought/upcycled existing furniture/ bought a new chandy and made and hung the curtains.   

I am still looking for 10 decorative soup tureen lids to hang on either side of the mirror and I would love to have a metal bamboo bar cart to add to the dining room!

Here is the most current update of the dining room...

DINING ROOM CURTAINS

You can read the saga and tutorial of painting and upholstering the dining room chairs here...

ONE PAINTED DINING ROOM CHAIR

MANTEL MAKEOVER

We are currently updating our family room... installing hardwoods in January and at some point adding a wall of window's and transoms.

We stared this makeover with our mantel... after all it is the focal point of the room.

The before picture shows the dated green tile and the brass accents on the fireplace.

The mantel itself is timeless and very classic... so that stayed the same.

We resurfaced the surround of the fireplace with a neutral brick, painted the brass accents on the fireplace a heat resistant oil rubbed bronze, repainted the family room Benjamin Moore Sonnet, painted the trim Benjamin Moore Atrium White, replaced the mirror with a huge clock, repainted the lamps and added new shades, and added antique black chippy shutters.

You can see updated pictures of the mantel here...

SHUTTERS ON THE MANTEL

J AND J GUEST BEDROOM MAKEOVER

Making over my daughter Jacqueline's girly room into a guest bedroom was another total gut job!

We ripped up the carpeting, installed hardwood floors, steams and scraped wallpaper off the walls, painted the walls a soft creamy white (I forgot the color), painted the trim Benjamin Moore Atrium White, bought all new furniture, bedding and accessories for the room.

This makeover was started in 2012 but really did not get going until 2013! 

Jacqueline and her husband Jonathan now have a cozy room at StoneGable when they come to visit.

You can see the latest update here...

MAKING A COZY BED

This just makes me tired reading about it! Although it was a whole lot of work... it was also fun! Bobby and I work well together and we spend lots of time scheming and dreaming and getting the jobs done!

Here's what we will be making over in 2014.

The first thing we are doing is installing hardwood floors in our family room. I can't wait!

Our patio is very small and is beginning to sink in the middle.  We plan to enlarge our patio and make it two levels with a built in fire pit.  We will be CONTRACTING OUT this job! Hopefully it will begin in late March!

Here's a snippet of the patio taken at Chris and Abby's Northern wedding reception.

I would also like to install glass in the upper cabinets in our kitchen.

And I am now working on decorating a second guest room that was my son's Christopher's room.

So far we have ripped up the carpet and laid hardwood floors, repainted the walls with a fresh white paint and Bobby made a headboard from old shutters.

I'll be starting the French Blue buffalo check curtains next week!

Partying with:
DECOR ADVENTURES~ YEAR IN REVIEW
WOW US WEDNESDAY
BE INSPIRED

STONEGABLE'S 10 TOP RECIPE PICKS FOR 2013

Here are my Top 10 best recipes for 2013. All are BIG family favorites and very delicious! 

Give these yummy recipes a try... I bet they will be your favorites in 2014...

You don't have to grill to use this scrumptious MAGIC RUB ! It can turn a plain chicken breast or thigh into a delicious meal... just bake! 

Once you make it you will be hooked! It tastes great on chicken, pork and beef. 

I make a big batch and keep it in a mason jar in my pantry!

 CHERRY PIE IN JARS WITH STARS is a sweet and fun dessert! Swap out any berry or fruit to have a dessert that you guest will oooh and aaah over!

I DO love food in jars! Here's a great idea for the upcoming Super Bowl! CHILI AND CORNBREAD IN JARS won 2nd place in MIZ HELEN'S TEXAS STAR CHILI COOK OFF this year!

Oh, YUMMY! MEXICAN TRAIN FLAN is one of my very favorite desserts. A creamy custard with a sweet Kahlua sauce built right in!

We eat this whenever we play a competitive game of Mexican Dominoes!

GNOCCHI WITH VENISON STEW (or chuck roast for the faint of heart) is one of the best things you will ever eat!

It is warm, SCRUMPTIOUS and lick-the-bowl-and-ask-for-more good! If you don't have venison in the freezer make it with chuck roast!

 This is a gotta-try recipe!

The most requested recipe at StoneGable is AUNT SUE'S MACARONI AND CHEESE! It really is the best Mac and Cheese you will ever eat! No kidding!

It doesn't need to be summer and you don't need a garden to make these crunchy sour and garlicky refrigerator pickles! Crazy easy and puckery good GARLIC DILL REFRIGERATOR PICKLES are good any time of year!

I was introduced to RAW APPLE CAKE the first year I taught, many moon's ago... and I still make it. It is moist with a crunchy top and is perfect when served with a scoop of vanilla ice cream! YUMMY!

Once you make your own salad dressing and see just how wonderfully simple and heavenly from-scratch salad dressing tastes, you won't go back!

Here is a SALAD DRESSING PRIMER with tons of ideas and helpful hint for making tasty dressings!

I love the idea of this as much as the taste of  SALAD IN A JAR. This salad is portable and mouthwatering and can be tweaked so many ways!

So, there you have it... my TOP 10 RECIPES FOR 2013!

Yummy!



Look for these recipes and others at

FOODIE FRIDAY
FULL PLATE THURSDAY