Stuffed French Bread

Stuffed French Bread by Stacy Ruskusky

1 loaf French Bread
10oz. Swiss cheese
1/2 lb. shaved roast beef
1/2 lb. shaved ham or turkey
1 stick butter, melted
2tsp. poppy seeds
2tsp. minced onion
3/4tsp. Lawry's salt
1/2 tsp. lemon juice
1tsp. dry mustard

Cut open French loaf and layer cheese and meats evenly over bread. Close loaf. Place on foil and cut into serving sizes. Mix butter and seasonings; pour over top crust. Bake at 350 for 35-40 minutes.

Butterfinger Coffeecake

Butterfinger Coffeecake

1/4 c. margarine, softened

2 c. flour

1/2 c. sugar

1 c. brown sugar, packed

1 c. buttermilk (can use the instant mix also)

1 egg

1 tsp. Baking Soda

1 tsp. Vanilla Extract

6 Butterfinger Candy bars

1/2 cup chopped nuts, optional

In a large bowl, cream margarine, flour, & sugars. Reserve half of cup for later. Beat in buttermilk, egg, baking soda, and vanilla; mix well. Pour batter into a greased 9x13 pan. Crush candy bars with the reserved crumbly mixture and optional nuts. Sprinkle mixture over batter and bake in a preheated oven at 350* for 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

Serves 12

Furniture Tops

In this post I am going to show you a few of my favorite "tops" of things
in my sweet Aunt Carol's home. The above photo is in her formal living room.

I love the angel root vine she wrapped around the candles to give them some added texture.
A book is propped open on a cake plate on stand and then topped with a paperweight.

The cloche holds an abundance of juicy pears to help pull the yellow tones into the room
from the picture.

This photo is also in the formal living room just as you enter the room.

A square wicker shade adds warmth and texture. An old wooden bowl
is filled with an assortment of round balls. The wire basket on the left is
filled with pine cones, greenery and pheasant feathers...it is a gift we gave her in
remembrance of her husband, Larry. He loved the outdoors!
Some old books are pressed together in some Fleur-de-lis bookends...
notice the magnifying glass laying nearby?

This photo is from her living room. The room where she hangs out to chill and
read her favorite books and magazines.
A whitewashed arched clock, a bowl of apples, a stately urn filled with grass are among
a few of the things I love. The stacked leather boxes add subtle texture as does the rusty
armillary sphere. Notice she has a stone bird, some stacked items and an urn!
I talked about a few of those things in my last post.

Thanks Aunt Carol for such fabulous photos of inspiration.
Your home is always welcoming and of great comfort to me.
I always feel pampered when I visit.



I get my love of decorating from my mom, Sandy and my aunt, Carol. They ROCK!
and THANK YOU!

Quick & Simple Spring Decorating for your Living Room

Quick & Simple Spring Decorating for your Living Room

Spring is the time to renew, refresh & revive your living room. After the long winter days give a nod to spring with these quick & simple ideas that will give you the feeling of freshness!

Remove those insulated drapes or heavy window treatments and lighten up with light colored drapes, woven blinds, or let the full sunshine in with nothing at all on your windows! You may want to have a roller shade to pull at night if you are not in a private area.

How about your furniture arrangement? Try rearranging furniture so that the conversation area faces your windows, you may get a sneak peek of the robins looking for worms or a newly formed crocus slowly peaking its top out from the snow. Now is also a great time to get your rugs cleaned or better yet, pull out those sisal rugs or rugs with lighter tones, florals or light geometrics might be the answer. Change sofa pillows and throw rugs to lighter, casual colors. Lime greens, oranges, reds, pinks, aquas all look spectacular mixed with chocolates and ivories.

Clear off your fireplace mantle and show simplicity at its finest with a bouquet of tulips, a stack of gardening books, and a bird’s nest nestled under a glass cloche. Mix in a few colored tealight & taper candles for some added sparkle in the evenings. If you are done with your fireplace for the season, clean & empty out the logs and insert a basket of white twigs mixed with white fairy twinkle lights. These are similar to Christmas lights, but have teeny tiny bulbs for a magical effect.

Give your coffee & end tables a fresh look. Remove the stacks of books & clutter and go simple! A floral arrangement on the coffee table and a new spring decorating book or magazine is all you need. Remove the dark shades from your lamps and invest in new, lighter & brighter colored shades. What an easy and affordable way to change the look of those lamps you’ve had forever. Maybe they are in need of a little spray painting. If the base of your lamp is black, try painting them ivory. If they are brass colored, simply prime and paint them a hot new metallic like copper or brushed nickel.

For the top of an entertainment center, I like to place an urn filled with a trailing ivy plant, a stone bird, a birdnest, and a stack of wicker suitcases. If you don’t have wicker suitcases, try using a stack of wicker baskets, picnic baskets, or even a wicker charger propped up with an easel.

If you'd like to post on your blog, fabulous! Just reference my blog http://nataliemeester.blogspot.com

copyright 2009 Natalie Meester

Buzz Buzz

Thought I'd share some bee skep photos with you.

What is a bee skep you ask?

Well, let me tell you! It's a decorative garden object, conical in shape, usually made from braided straw. Once used to keep bees, they were discarded when hives that could be opened to harvest honey or care for the bees were developed, as the skep had to be destroyed to gather the honey. Also, it is now required that you be able to gain entrance to your hive for medication against mites, so skeps can no longer be used.

Our Home is For Sale-click on title to get to realtor page

OPEN HOUSE....MONDAY.....6 PM - 7PM......MOTIVATED SELLER.....PRICE REDUCED.......NOW $185,000....While sitting outside on the patio enjoying the pond or trickling waterfall, it will make you fall in love with the home before you even walk in the door. The minute you do walk in the door every room will "WOW" you and you will definitely love it. The owners have made this a special place including a beautiful kitchen, dining room, warm living room with gas fireplace, cozy front porch, three bedrooms upstairs along with a unique master bedroom. The newly remodeled family room, study offce & bath in the lower level makes you want to stay & watch a movie. The heated, exercise swimming pool is fun for the family too. Along with a great location, corner lot, unique landscaping & beautiful home. All of this will definitely be something that a new special family will enjoy calling their new home.

Call & make an appointment today.....Lori @ 319-415-9980

Barn Quilts of Grundy County 2004

Our Barn Quilt

Here is a picture of our corncrib on the family farm.

My husband and his brothers & sister grew up on this farm.

The corncrib is visible on the north side of Highway 20, about two miles west of the Grundy Center exit.

The farm has been in the Meester family since 1920 and the corncrib has been there since 1963. The quilt pattern displayed here is called "weathervane"

and is a double-block for easier viewing from the highway.

spring flowers

Taking in some art

On April 1, Cheryl Osterhaus and I took
Anna & Shakira to the Waterloo Center for the Arts Youth Pavillion
It features various artists and themes.
They had a blast playing in the various rooms.

Anna especially loved milking the cow. It felt very real but the cow milked out water.

Notice the ART photo. The artist created a face out of old junk.

Meester Family Picnic Summer 2008

Who's the princess?

Tristan & Anna playing dress up.
Which one is the princess?

Tristan is the Princess in this photo!

Tristan & Anna posing in our garden.

Tristan is sporting a new purse! I gotta get me that purse.......
do you think it
will hold all my goodies?
Tristan, can I buy that purse from you?