A New Window Seat

My niece was looking for a window seat to put in a garden shed that she has converted into a summer sitting room.  We were thinking that some kind of a trunk with a cushion on top would be good, but most of the trunks you see around would be just too big for the space.  I stumbled across this handmade pine box of sorts at a garage sale, so I picked it up for twelve bucks - it's 12 inches deep, 37 inches long, just the right height to sit on, and storage space besides.

 

Original Pine Box

Original Pine Box

 

 

I painted the whole thing with Annie Sloan Chalk Paint in the color called Emperors' Silk.

 

First Coat: Annie Sloan Chalk Paint "Emperors' Silk"

 

 

Next I painted over the Emperors' Silk with Annie Sloan Chalk Paint in the color called Versailles, except for the inside.

 

Second Coat: Annie Sloan Chalk Paint "Versailles"

 

 

My husband came home after work and said, "I thought you had that painted red.  Didn't you like it that color?" Well, not wanting to explain my whole plan, I just responded, "It was ok, but I have other plans."

After the coat of Versailles I put on a thin coat of clear wax and let it dry.  Next I took some fine sandpaper and started sanding down to expose some of the Emperors' Silk.   I wasn't sure how I liked it until I started waxing it again - another coat of clear wax with dark wax over the top, some drying time, some buffing, sewing a cushion for the top, and Oh My Gosh - I love those two colors together and so did my niece.

She's going to add a hinge on the front to add a little more character, but here is the finished window seat for her little summer sitting room.

 

 

Window seat after two coats of clear wax and one coat of dark wax.

Finished Window Seat

 

 

I will not walk past a handmade pine box at a garage sale again! This was a fun project - a simple pine box with heavy coats of varnish, given a new life with some Annie Sloan Chalk Paint and some of her great wax. Now all I need is a picture of it in its new home - that great garden shed that's been transformed into a great summer sitting room. 

I should add that there was an inspiration piece that my niece saw - a small shelving unit with a cushion on top and listed for $499. I made this for $23 plus the cost of the paint.  

I also made the cushion from a piece of canvas drop cloth that you can find at any home improvement store. I had watched a video by Miss Mustard Seed about buying, washing, and using these drop cloths for slip covers and things like that. It worked out great! I bought one that was 9' x 20' for about $18. I was afraid it would come out of the dryer a wrinkled up mess, but it washed and dried very well. I put bleach in when I washed it as suggested by Miss Mustard Seed and it came out a nice oatmeal color. I will be trying some slipcovers on a couple of chairs that I have. 

The Internet is so wonderful and gives me so much inspiration and instruction.  :)

Everything but the Kitchen Sink Breakfast Muffins - AKA Baked Oatmeal

Since a box of Zucchini showed up at my house I've been shredding and baking.  It's so nice to have a loaf of Zucchini Bread to pull out of the freezer from time to time.  I just added some fresh blueberries to a batch and it is so yummy.  

This morning I went to the refrigerator to decide what I'd eat for my breakfast and saw the big bowl of shredded zucchini that I worked on yesterday.  Hmmmmm - could I include that in my breakfast?  YEP!!!!

Our family loves Baked Oatmeal.  It is a recipe that I got while at a church camp many years ago and I just keep playing with the recipe to make it healthier and handier to grab and run with.   It started out being baked in a casserole dish and now I bake it in muffin tins.  Today I decided that they should be called, "Everything but the Kitchen Sink Breakfast Muffins".   For the first time today they have zucchini in them and they are yummy.

Here is the basic recipe:

Mix together in a large bowl:

• 1 cup vegetable oil (I use unsweetened applesauce instead of the oil.  Buy the little individual 4 oz. cups of it to have on hand for baking and swap out when your baking recipes call for oil.)
• 4 eggs
• 2 cups milk ( I use low fat milk.)
• 2 tsp. salt
• 1 T. plus 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1 1/2 cups sugar  (I DON'T USE ANY SUGAR - I'VE FOUND YOU JUST DON'T NEED IT IF YOU'RE SWAPPING OUT THE APPLESAUCE FOR THE OIL AND PUTTING CHOPPED UP FRUIT IN THEM.)

Next add the "Everything but the Kitchen Sink":

• chopped apples ( I use a large apple or a couple small ones.)
• shredded zucchini  ( I probably used a couple of cups - nothing is exact here.)
• dried cherries ( I use about a cup - I chop through these, too, to make sure there are no pits and you also get little pieces of cherry throughout the muffins that way.)
• ground flax seed (I just sprinkle some in - maybe a tablespoon or two.  I do it differently just about every time I make these. You can actually use ground flax seed in the place of oil and eggs in some recipes.  Look into it.  I found it right on the bag that it came in - 1 T. ground flax seed plus 3 T. water mixed together and let sit for 2 minutes equals 1 egg.)
• cinnamon (to taste -  a lot of recipes call for a tsp. or two but I probably put more like 2 T. in it.  I like it and cinnamon is good for you.)
• nuts  (I use about a cup and use whatever I have - walnuts, pecans, almonds - today it was sliced almonds.)

Anything else that you think would go well in a breakfast muffin - just mix it in!

Stir in:

• 6 cups of uncooked oatmeal  ( I usually have Quick Oats, but have used the long-cook kind and even a multi grain before)

Spray your muffin tins with non-stick spray.  Fill the cups level - I got 22 muffins today.  It really depends on how much stuff you've loaded them up with.

Bake at 350 for about 20 - 25 minutes - you can do the toothpick test.  Store in the refrigerator or put in a Ziploc bag in the freezer and take out a couple at a time.  I have made jumbo ones before and you'd just have to bake them longer.   In a 9 x 13 pan in takes about 30 minutes.

As you can see, nothing is exact with this.  It's just a recipe that was good in the beginning and just keeps getting better and healthier.  If you still like your oatmeal with brown sugar, you can do that, too.   It is yummy warmed up with a little butter and a little sprinkle of brown sugar, but I like that they are good enough that I feel I can skip those extras.

So today the new ingredient was zucchini.  For those family members that say, "Yuck, I don't like zucchini," they'll never know - just slip it in there and feel good that you're adding a serving of vegetables to their breakfast.

I said "breakfast", but these are great for a snack when you start to feel that afternoon slump.  They are hearty enough to give you a boost and keep you going until supper time.

 Enjoy!

(I can't imagine a flop on these, but don't hold me responsible if something goes wrong.  I play with this recipe just about every time I make these.  I've never had them not turn out.  I did use pumpkin instead of applesauce one time and found that I should have added just a little sugar.  That time we added the little sprinkle of brown sugar on top.)