Spring Has Sprung In My Dining Room...

Hello, everyone!

Hello, Spring!

Welcome to my dining room!

I've been busy playing over here...

Playing with dishes...

robin's egg blue ones...

flax-colored linens...

golden Fleur-de-Lys tumblers...

vintage bottles that catch the light and show off their lovely pastel hues...

and glorious cherry blossoms galore...

I was dreaming up this Spring scene the other day...

and I was envisioning loads of cherry blossoms on the table in the corner...

 So I was in the midst of planning my shopping expedition to  

 spend an exorbitant amount on flowers that would be dead in a matter of days  

get me some...

when I happened to be a few blocks away from home and I couldn't believe my eyes...

a team of guys literally chopping down a cherry tree...

branch by beautiful, blooming branch...

about to put them into the chopper.

Aaaaaagh!

I raced home, grabbed my clippers, raced back...

and leapt out of the car yelling "No! Stop!!!"

or something ridiculous like that...

Whatever it was... it worked. 

I got to clip to my heart's content and came home with a trunk-load of branches.

Fuh-ree. Love that.

So I've been playing with my cherry blossoms...

and eggs that were on the Easter table at the thrift store...

attached to the ugliest puny brown grapevine garland there ever was...

so I clipped them right off of there and figured I'd do something Easter-y with them...

like make little nests in robins' egg blue bowls...

and a beautiful log of bark I found on a walk...

oh yes, and the tablecloth I got for a steal at Restoration Hardware...

just $120.00...

April Fools! You think I'd spend that on a tablecloth?

Not this shabby chick.

No no no, 

that pretty baby was $18. at the paint store...

yes, a RH drop cloth ;-)

with plenty of fabric for draping and pooling and looking luxurious.

So that's what Spring looks like...

in my dining room.

I hope you are getting some Spring on wherever you are...

yours in shabby Springy goodness,

oneshabbychick

Sharing at...
The Shabby Nest
Chic on a Shoestring Decorating
At The Picket Fence
Stuff and Nonsense
A Beach Cottage
Delightful Order
Common Ground
Tatertots and Jello
Serenity Now
Boogieboard Cottage
The House In The Roses
Savvy Southern Style
Between Naps on the Porch

One Of My Peeps Is A Winner...

 First of all...

THANK YOU

 to ALL my peeps

who entered the giveaway

and left such lovely comments about this blog...

I'm thrilled that you are enjoying it...  

enough to keep coming back!!!

Here's what I've been up to...

randomly selecting a winner.

I tried out that Random Number Generator on-line...

but that felt about as exciting as punching numbers on my desktop calculator 

and totally lacked any pomp and circumstance.

No, I needed a little bit o' ceremony for this...

 So last night I got home from my evening rehearsal...

poured myself a glass of wine...

and printed out all of the giveaway comments.

I sat here and cut them up into little slips of paper...

feeling a little like a wine-drinking kindergartener.

I cut them out and folded them all up into itty-bitty bits.....

and still couldn't bring myself to choose just one....

I threw them into that sweet galvanized bin and went to bed.

And then this morning... 

I picked one.

And the winning peep is...

Congrats, Jennifer!!!

Look for an email from me so that I can get you your goodies!...

And thank you to everybody for commenting and posting and tweeting...

and visiting me here at oneshabbychick!

*************

So.....

you remember those other Peeps, who helped me out with the giveaway 

and made such a sweet appearance here?

Well, I'm sorry to report that they 

ended up getting involved with some pretty shady characters around here... 

They were forced to participate in some brutal sport...

and met a most unfortunate demise...

it's called Peeps Jousting.

It involves two Peeps, toothpicks and a microwave.

And it's not pretty...

... but it tastes pretty darn good.

More soon...

oneshabbychick

Giveaway countdown begins... don't miss it!!!

 Hey, Peeps.....

Didn't want anybody to forget about... 

oneshabbychick's Big100 Spring Giveaway!

Sunday March 27th is the last day to enter....

so go stake your claim on all the shabby goodness...

good luck, chicks!

x & o ~ osc

Food Of The Gods... A Recipe

OK, chicks...

Today I'd like to talk about granola.

Not just any granola.

I'm talking about oneshabbychick's Homemade Granola.

How it came to be,

and how you can get some of your very own...

I first encountered this utter scrumptiousness years ago...

when a family friend brought a batch of this glorious stuff for a week at the beach...

and ever since then, I (and everybody else in that beach house) have been hooked.

I scribbled that recipe on a beach town grocery store receipt...

 and I have made it time and time again since...

I have tweaked the recipe a bit here and there over the years...

and I think I have hit the "sweet spot of granola".

At least I can't imagine it being any better.

The thing that I think is so special about this granola is

 it's made with rather everyday ingredients...

nothing terribly special on its own...

but mix them all together and toast them up in the oven...

and you have made something absolutely transcendent...

food of the gods, people.

And I have tried other granolas...

other homemade granolas, 

being sold at farmer's markets in cute little brown paper packages... 

for some ridiculous number of dollars per ounce...

or served in über-hip coffeehouses...

and I have not found a granola that I liked as much as

oneshabbychick's humble homemade granola.

So, I think this is your lucky day...

because you found this lil' ol' blog...

and this lil' ol' blog is gonna rock your granola world.

{ok, maybe not so humble after all}

 Here ya go.....

oneshabbychick's 

homemade granola

4 cups rolled oats 

1 cup sliced almonds

1 cup coconut

1/2 cup oil

1/2 cup honey

1/4 tsp. salt

1 cup raw cashews or other nuts

 dried fruit

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

In a large bowl, mix together oats, almonds and coconut.

In a small bowl, whisk together oil, honey and salt until well-combined.

Add oil and honey mixture to dry ingredients and mix until evenly distributed - 

you want the dry ingredients to be well-coated.

Spread mixture evenly on an 18"x13" baking sheet (preferably non-stick) -

but you'll want to leave some clumps.

Spread the raw cashews out on top of the granola.

Bake until granola is a nice golden brown color - about 15 - 20 minutes - 

turning sheet halfway through so it bakes evenly. Do not stir.

Remove from oven and allow to cool 5 - 10 minutes.

Check granola to see if it has cooled enough to stay in clumps. 

When it has, use a spatula to separate the granola from the pan.

Sprinkle your favorite dried fruit over the top of your granola.

Cool completely, then scoop into your container of choice.

*****A word or two {or 50} about ingredients *****

This is a simple recipe...

 but I have found the quality of ingredients makes all the difference.

So....

I only use Quaker Oats.

I prefer unsweetened coconut, which can be hard to find...

 and I like the texture of big coconut "chips", which I buy in bulk from Nutty Guys.

The flavor of the honey has a big impact on the flavor of the granola. 

I experimented until I tried orange blossom honey. I search no longer...
It took my granola to the next level.

You can add whatever nuts or dried fruit float your boat. 

My favorite combo has cashews, 

Trader Joe's Golden Berry Blend (golden raisins, cherries, blueberries, cranberries),

and diced apricots I buy in bulk from Nutty Guys.

I like a good mix of sweet and tart...

But you get to add whatever you want!

Here is our granola jar...

it sits in our kitchen and crooks its crunchy finger at us...

and we are unable to resist...

this granola gets munched by the handful more than any other way, I think...

But the truly heavenly way to eat it is on top of some homemade yogurt...

{made with my favorite yogurt maker - and I have tried a few}

but you can have a similarly divine experience with Fage or another kind of Greek yogurt.

And there you have it.

I hope this granola makes you as happy as it makes me...

Yours in toasted, honey-coated goodness,

oneshabbychick

P.S.

Don't forget to enter... 

oneshabbychick's Big100 Spring Giveaway!

Sharing at...

oneshabbychick's Big 100 Spring Giveaway!

My Dear oneshabbychick Readers,

It's here, it's really here!

Spring is here!

And so is my Big 100 Giveaway!

I have had so much fun with these first few months of blogging...

and wanted to say THANK YOU to all of you...

who have been here for me at the beginning!

So, I've been sitting around here, day and night, wracking my brain... 

trying so hard to think of what I could possibly do about a Giveaway...

what to do? 

what to give away, that says oneshabbychick all over it, that everybody would love to get?!

And then it suddenly hit me...

 that I am a bargain huntress...

and what better way to figure out this silly conundrum...

than to go on a huntin' expedition... 

And then I was ALL kinds of excited about this giveaway...

cuz I knew I could find something fun and fabulous for you {and not break the bank}...

and I got to go shopping.

So, you probably know where I went...

that's right...

Pottery Barn 

and 

Anthropologie.

I am lucky enough to have both of them really, really, dangerously close...

But I never pay full price for anything, so I'm not too worried...

Anyhoo.......

I found everything at Pottery Barn...

and I fell in love.

please take a gander at what I found for you...

Wire, galvanized metal, and shabby terra cotta... 

Love.

First, I found this absolutely adorable wire garden chair...

which came with this tag...

yay... let's hear it for rust and patina...  ;-)

then I found... 

two of these great little "dirty mossy" terra cotta pots...

 to plant some pretty spring flowers, or herbs for the kitchen...

and last but not least I found... 

these numbered galvanized-metal boxes...

{which I loved so much I had to get some for myself, too :-)}

These goodies are my way of saying

THANK YOU 

to all my Followers and Subscribers...

So...

here's how you can enter

oneshabbychick's Big 100 Spring Giveaway...

1. Be a follower or subscriber and leave a comment letting me know that you are...
2. For an additional entry, post this giveaway on your blog, facebook or twitter 
and leave a separate comment letting me know.

This giveaway will close Sunday the 27th at 9 pm EST

***********

I had SO much fun shopping with you in mind...

I wish I could send these out to each and every one of you!

I hope you love the goodies...

Thanks for being here, all you shabby chicks!

xo,

oneshabbychick