The Faces of Santa at Applejack Lane

Good afternoon from Applejack Lane!  Before Christmas 2012 gets packed into the bins, I made a collage of my favorite Santa faces.

Happy New Year!

PicMonkey and PicFont

I have been playing around with two new free programs called PicMonkey and PicFont.  I want to create a new header in the future, but for now I am making simple collages and watermarking pictures. Here are some of my experiments.

It's going to take me a while to get the hang of things.  And I am sure that one day my son will have to bail me out of some computer problems.  But, I will persevere!

ARRRR! Talk Like A Pirate Day!

Jo Ann, one of our Applejack Lane friends, constructed a calendar that she gave to friends at Christmas.  Loaded with her favorite photos for each month and birthday reminders of special family and friends, she added one special day in September-Talk Like A Pirate Day.  I thought it was a joke so I asked her about it.  Sure enough, September 19 is the official day to talk like a pirate.   

Ahoy me hearties! No swabbin' the deck today.  Spice the mainbrace instead!  Fairwinds, me buckos!

An Autumn Affair at Applejack Lane

Last Sunday, seventeen friends attended An Autumn Affair at Applejack Lane.  It was a beautiful day for an afternoon party with the girls.  There was only one glitch.  I didn't take any pictures to amount to any thing!
Mr. Scarecrow Man made himself comfy on the dining room table...

 A sample of the goodies I made...

Pretty fall Caspari napkins...

 An Autumn Affair at Applejack Lane Menu

Chicken Salad Croissants with Cranberries and Pecans

Southern Pimento Cheese Sandwiches

Savory Palmieres

Tomato-Mozzarella-Basil Appetizers

Fruit and Cream Mini Tarts
Cheese Straws
Raspberry Jam Thumbprints
Sour Cream Sugar Cookies
Cranberry-Pomegranate Spritzer
Wine
Southern Sweet Tea

Looking forward to An Autumn Affair 2013!

The Boss

Sunday, I took Kahlo for a little outing at the school.  When it was time to go home, he plopped down at his new resting place...

Marbled Cheesecake Brownies

We had our family reunion today, and I was asked to post my recipe for Marbled Cheesecake Brownies.  Here goes...

Marbled Cheesecake Brownies

1 package fudge brownie mix-family size for a 13 x 9 pan

6 oz. cream cheese

6 T. butter

1/2 cup sugar

2 T. flour

1 t. vanilla

2 eggs, lightly beaten

Prepare the brownie mix according to the package.  I make the cake recipe with 3 eggs.

Spread 2 cups of brownie batter in a greased 13 x 9 pan.

In a second bowl, beat cream cheese, butter, sugar, flour, and vanilla together.  Add the eggs.  Spread mixture over the brownie batter.

Spread the reamining brownie batter over the cream cheese layer.  

Cut through the batter with a knife or spatula to swirl the layers.

Bake at 350 degrees for 28-32 minutes.  

Cool.  Cut into squares.

Happy 4th of July!

A Happy 4th of July to all!  I'm in the midst of preparing for friends and family to celebrate with a backyard barbecue this afternoon at Applejack Lane!

 Bandana handkerchieves that we will use for dinner napkins...

A patriotic trifle for dessert...

 Yummy...

Happy July 4!

Hurray For the Red, White, and Blue!

Today is Flag Day.  My doors are all dressed for the red, white, and blue!

Front door...

 

Back door...

 

Happy Flag Day!

Best Chocolale Chip Cookies Ever!

Here at Applejack Lane, I've just finished baking the best chocolate chip cookies.  The recipe came from Pinterest via Apple A Day.  This is my new go-to recipe when I need a cookie fix.  They are puffy, soft, and absolutely scrumptious!  Plus, they are quick and easy.

I only had an opportunity to eat a few of this batch.  These went to church to help feed a luncheon...

Here is the recipe...

Best-Ever Chocolate Chip Cookies

barely adapted from Anna Olson, Food Network Canada

Ingredients: 

3/4 c. unsalted butter, softened 

3/4 c. brown sugar 

1/4 c. granulated sugar 

1 egg 

2 tsp. vanilla extract 

2 c. all purpose flour 

2 tsp. cornstarch 

1 tsp. baking soda 

1/2 tsp. salt 

1 c. bittersweet chocolate chips-Applejack Lane uses Ghirandelli chips

Directions:

1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

2.  In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream together butter and sugars until fluffy and light in color. Add egg and vanilla and blend in.

3.  Mix in flour, cornstarch, baking soda and salt. Stir in chocolate chunks.

4.  Using a standard-sized cookie scoop or tablespoon, drop dough onto a prepared baking sheet.  Bake for 8-10 minutes, until barely golden brown around the edges.  (The tops will not brown, but do NOT cook longer than ten minutes.)

5.  Let cool, on the sheet, on a wire rack for five minutes.  Remove from baking sheet and let cool completely.  Makes approximately 3 dozen.  Try not to eat them all.

Sunday Dessert

Good afternoon from Applejack Lane!  I had girlfriends over for a little brunch of bacon potato zucchini quiche,  tea biscuits with preserves and jam, and mimosas.  But, the dessert looked and tasted spectacular!
Fresh fruit with homemade lemon curd, puff pastry, and real whipped cream...

Scrumptious!

Love My Danskos!

Happy Mother's Day from Applejack Lane!  I have to show you my new Danskos my hubby, daughter, and son gave me.  I call these my Wendy shoes since I first saw them on my friend Wendy at the Y. 

So c-o-m-f-o-r-t-a-b-l-e!  

We had a lovely meal on the grill with a strawberry, blueberry, raspberry, and rhubarb cobbler as a kicker.  Great job!  Thanks for the day!

We Had A Little Hail...

Last week we had a little hailstorm at Applejack Lane.  I told my brother I would send him pictures.  The National Weather Service made a random call to our house to see if we could verify the report the agency  put across the weather channel trailer.  Yep, they were very accurate with the location and size of the hailstones.  They asked us to send them pictures, too!

It looked like it had snowed mothballs...

  I had some new plants in planters that the hail shredded...

 A stone next to a quarter...

 When Mr. W came home two hours later,  he asked what in the world had I put around the shrubs.

The Master's Tournament, Waynesboro County Club, and Pimento Cheese

On this Easter weekend, hubby and friends are recreating their own Master's Tournament at the Waynesboro Country Club. 

Each player drew a partner's name from the Master's roster after Round 2 was completed.

I understand that Pimento Cheese is a Master's tradition.  So in honor of the tradition, I've made my pimento cheese spread to entertain my lady friends...

1 8 oz. block* of extra sharp cheddar cheese

1 8 oz block* of sharp cheddar cheese

1 1/3 cups mayonnaise

1 4oz jar diced pimento

1 teaspoon Worchestershire sauce

1 teaspoon grated onion

1/8 teaspoon red pepper

* Block cheese is a must.  Preshredded does not work nearly as well!

1.  In a large bowl, combine the mayonnaise, pimento, Worchestershire sauce, grated onion, and red pepper.

2.  Grate the cheese using two graters-one with a  small shredding side and one with a large shredding side.

For instance, grate the extra sharp cheese using the small size and the sharp cheddar cheese on the large size.

3.  Add the grated cheeses to the mayo mixture.  Stir thoroughly and chill for several hours. (I use a hand mixer or food processor) 

4.  Enjoy!

This will make almost  4cups of pimento spread.. 

Happy Easter from Applejack Lane!

April Fool's Day

It's April Fool's Day at Applejack Lane.  I hope Mother Nature is not pulling a trick on us with the gorgeous weather we have been having these last few weeks. These are some of the views outside my windows.

Apple blossoms for  Applejack Lane...

 Our Lynwood forsythia has never been fuller...

The white Bleeding Heart made it through low 30 degree temps, but the red one is limping along...

The Cherokee Brave Dogwood is more heat tolerant for our windy hill...

Join me again soon!

Big Giraffe- Little Giraffe

Good evening from Applejack Lane.  My great niece Emma got a giraffe for Christmas that looks a lot like this...

So I found a little yellow button giraffe in my sewing box, and with the help of a tutorial on Pinterest, I made a hair bow for her that looks like this...

I hope she loves it!

Valentine Pretzel Buttons

Hello from Applejack Lane.  If you have never been to Pinterest, you are missing out on a wealth of fun ideas.  Recently,  I found a Valentine treat called Valentine Pretzel Buttons from The g*rated Girls.  It was a quick, easy, and tasty treat. 

All I needed was small square pretzels, Hershey Hugs, and M and M's.  

Arrange pretzels on a cookie sheet.  Place a Hershey Hug on each pretzel and  bake in a 200 degree oven for about four minutes.  Remove the cookie sheet from the oven and immediately place a M and M in the center and push down.  Allow to cool until all the candies are set. 

This is so simple and good.  The saltiness of the pretzel balances the sweetness of the candies.  I packaged a dozen in snack-sized zip lock bags to hand out to my gym buddies on Tuesday.  

Happy Valentine's Day!

Homemade Orange Marmalade

Good Sunday morning from Applejack Lane!  This morning Cathy made  marmalade from oranges.  It only took about 30 minutes to do.

It tasted great on the morning pancakes!

Birthday Lunch at Devil's Backbone

This week was a milestone birthday for Guy-the retirement age birthday.  So Dave and Cathy decided that we needed to go to the Devil's Backbone Pub and Brewery  in Nelson County for lunch.  Guy played golf this morning in 3 !/2 hours so that he would be not be late for our departure time.  It was cold and gray in the valley, but on top of Afton Mountain, it was foggy and snowy. Guy didn't  have a care in the world.  He just sat back, and let Dave do the driving...

After a 45 minute drive, we came to the brewery at the foot  of the Wintergreen Resort.  The outside of the pub/brewery is a beautiful stone and wooden structure...

The entrance had interesting door hardware, and  lighted trees, laurels, and grasses graced the landscape...

  We were greeted by many stuffed specimens of wildlife throughout the restaurant...

 A wily fox  was dressed to the nines...

An elk presided over our side of the dining area...

 

 Here are some mighty full diners with doggy bags to take home.  Only the birthday boy ate every morsel on his plate...

 My pictures are not the best.  With the skies being so gray, the restaurant itself was on the dark side so many of my interior shots didn't make this blog.  I hope to return on a sunny day and be able to enjoy the scenery.  Meanwhile, Happy Birthday, Guy!

The Holly and the Ivy

Happy Rednesday from Applejack Lane!  I have been featuring some of my snow people during the month of January.  I want you to meet a very special snow lady   This is Holly Snowflake with her snowball Ivy...

 

 Holly and Ivy were given to me by my friend at Snap Peas...

 Isn't her outfit fabulous?

 

And Ivy just bounces around with her in her plaids and red boa!

Come back soon!

Tabletop Tuesday

Here at Applejack Lane, snowflakes have made their presence in the past 24 hours.  The inside is a little flaky, too, with snow people here and there.

Smiling Snow Faces

During the Christmas holidays, I use Santas and Gingerbread people at Applejack Lane,  So during the month of January, I decorate with snow people.  Check out their smiling faces... 

Happy January!

An Unexpected Gift

Hello from Applejack Lane.  This week, my niece Beth surprised me with a Christmas gift that she crafted from an old Presbyterian hymnbook. 

Since I am Presbyterian and played the piano for my church for about 25 years, she picked the perfect materials.  I am not putting this decoration away.  I think this angel can stay out on the piano for a long time to come.  Thanks Beth!