Ariel's Candelabra and “Under the Sea” Party

I'm hosting an Under The Sea BabyShower for my son Daniel and his long time girlfriend, Jennica, (they got engaged earlier this year).

Jennica decided about 2 months ago that the baby shower was either going to be themed for a boy, (King Triton) or a girl, (Ariel). We found out in July that we're having a girl, and they're naming her Lilly! 

So Ariel's Under The Sea it is.

One of the decorations we decided to make was Ariel's candelabra.

And really it has been one of the easier decorations I've made so far!

I was able to find an old brass candlestick at a thrift store for .90 cents and used silverware which was .30 cents each.

Baltimore, Maryland and Edgar Allan Poe

Poe's Grave

Baltimore and Poe

I have always been fascinated by what drove certain authors to write what they did, or where they were living at the time of writing such great works.  I have toured a few famous authors’ homes or “chased an author” as I call it, including Washington Irving’s Sunnyside in New York. 

And we recently started a book club and along with reading books from all different genres, we also sometimes take field trips related to the current book we're reading.

For August we read two tales and one poem by Edgar Allan Poe (or more if we were so inclined). I grew up on Poe and loved his stories of lost love, terror, suspense, and horror.

Zucchini Bread

Yowza! What to do with all the zucchini my garden produced this year!

Zucchini is one of the easiest vegetables to grow and as such, it's known far and wide among home gardeners for overwhelming crops. 

When cooking, zucchini is treated as a vegetable and is usually cooked and served as a savory or side dish. 
Botanically, however, zucchini is really a fruit.

Not only is the zucchini versatile to cook with, but it’s also loaded with nutrients and vitamins that can help prevent cancer and heart disease. 

Shrimp BLT Sandwich

My son Daniel is always looking for new and unique recipes for me to make.  Recently he picked up a magazine from the grocery store and marked a few recipes to try and this one for a Shrimp BLT sandwich was at the top of his list. 

My husband Bill and I had just gotten back from visiting Historical Jamestown and Assateague Island along the coast of Virginia and enjoyed fresh seafood for 4 days straight.  Right now, anything with seafood sounds really good to me.

Building A Hog Trough

We decided to raise a feeder pig this past spring for butchering in the fall.  We purchased “Burt” a Hampshire breed, from a farmer for $50.00.

Hampshire Hog History

Hampshire hogs are black with a white belt, heavily muscled, lean meat breed.  They are the fourth most recorded breed of the pigs in the United States.

The Hampshire breed is also the oldest, early-American breed of hogs in existence today. 

Canning Carrots

We love carrots and eat them in many different ways.  There is nothing better than raw carrots dipped in Ranch dressing! I put carrots in just about all my homemade soups, chicken pot pie and we love them steamed or candied (brown sugar and butter).

I try to grow a crop of carrots every year, but some years I only get enough to eat fresh and not enough to can.  
This summer Ohio was reported to be the wettest in history, so I'm having a pretty poor crop harvest, and that goes for vegetables such as onions, garlic, and green beans too, ugh.