Pumpkin Coffee Cake.....

I wanted to share this pumpkin recipe before the holiday. Amongst my dearest family and friends, it has been every bit as loved as pumpkin pie and is also great to have in the morning with coffee if you have overnight guests! It is a Sour Cream Pumpkin Coffeecake. This dessert will be great for Thanksgiving or for Christmas - because nobody wants the "pumpkin recipes" to end. I guarantee your loved ones will want seconds!

Have a Happy Thanksgiving and Enjoy! ~Cheryl

½ c butter
¾ c sugar
1 tsp vanilla
3 eggs
2 c flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda

1 c sour cream
1 ¾ c (16 oz can pumpkin)
1 beaten egg
1/3 c sugar
1 tsp pumpkin spice
Streusel

Cream butter, ¾ c sugar, and vanilla in mixer bowl. Add 3 eggs, beating well. Combine flour, baking powder, and baking soda. Add dry ingredients to butter mixture alternately with sour cream. Combine pumpkin, beaten egg, 1/3 c sugar and pie spice. Spoon half of the batter into 13x9 baking dish; spread to corners. Sprinkle half of the Streusel over batter. Spread pumpkin mixture over Streusel. Carefully spread remaining batter over pumpkin mixture. Sprinkle remaining Streusel over top. Bake in slow oven (325°) for 50-60 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Makes 12 servings.
Streusel: Cut 1 cup firmly packed brown sugar, 1/3 cup butter, and 2 tsp cinnamon together until blended. Stir in 1 cup chopped nuts.

Ever changing Christmas palette........

aqua, gold, silver & glitter!

country christmas !

lime green, red & glitter!

Aqua & Rust

1. rust + aqua = heaven, 2. Aqua, 3. Aqua-flections, 4. NK/SHO, 5. Chain Hole, 6. GMC, 7. Untitled, 8. Smiley Buttons, 9. Ol' Reliable


My son's car was my inspiration today. He is an "old soul" in a young body. When he brought this car home he knew mom's heart would melt "just a little". A car built in the 1950's - and it is aqua! I LOVE aqua and rust!!! It's the whole "vintage thing"! With the above mosaic that I have created, you will see that there are many of us out there drawn to these two colors - a beautiful combination. The 50's brought us Aqua....and time has brought us Rust. This post is for those of you who share in my adoration! Enjoy! ~Cheryl

Caught me by surprise!

Holly Bush

Camellia Bud

We had a day of rain the other day which kept me from my daily morning walk ( I'm not that dedicated). I followed through yesterday though, on a foggy, groggy morning. After our walk, (I walk with my "neighborbuddy" Danielle) we got hung up discussing the "cracks" in our driveways. We ended up venting to one another (as girlfriends do) because both our builders have told us the same story "all concrete cracks" (UGH!!)

As Danielle and I were displaying this negative energy (shame on us, nothing is going to come of it) I turned toward my home realizing the fog had lifted. The morning sun was peaking through a left-over haze and glistening on the dew drops that were "tippy-top" the millions of blades of grass! What a sight to be seen!! As I walked up my walkway to the porch,  my holly bushes caught my eye. RED BERRIES !!!!  Then I turned to glance over the rest of my bushes and to my amazement my camellia is blooming! What a morning this is becoming. I didn't even know that camellia's bloom in the winter. I'll have red berries and pink camellias for Christmas. What more can a girl ask for?

So, imagine that, right near that "darn" cracked driveway, nature's beauty was taking place and "caught me by surprise"!

Chicken Noodle Soup

It's that time of year when the upset tummys, coughs, and runny noses start to appear. Going back to the basics is always most welcoming when not feeling well. Mom's homemade chicken soup seemed to be the cure for our "cold and flu" symptoms....or maybe it was the "love" that went into making the soup that was the true cure. My hubby has been sick for the past few days so it was time to break out the big pot. Here is your standard Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup. I like to add extra black pepper or a big pinch of cayenne pepper (antioxidant) to help open up those sinuses! 

3 quarts of canned chicken broth

3 carrots sliced in rounds - as thick as you want

3 stalks of celery sliced

1/2 onion chopped

3 cups of cooked chicken meat - white or dark

Salt and Pepper to taste

Fresh or dried parsley or dill

Egg Noodles - cooked

Low boil the chicken meat until tender. White or dark or both...whatever you have in the house. Let it cool and then shred it. Put the cut carrots, celery and onion in just enough water to cover the veggies. Bring to boil and simmer until tender. Add the canned broth to the vegetables, put in the chicken, salt, pepper, and dill or parsley. Heat 10 minutes and serve piping hot over cooked egg noodles.

Feel better and Stay healthy!

Cottagecharm

My "girly" Toolbox!

"Junk to Treasure"
(old sewing machine drawer turned trinket box)

What we call "chippy"
This is heart-stopping peeling paint in the "shabby" world!!
(old head and foot board I turned into a patio bench seat)

I wanted to give you a little background about "Cottagecharm". Cottagecharm, began in 1998. I started, like many of you, at the Saturday morning garage sales. Oh, the things WE would find!! Vintage linens, antique furniture and pure junk that would eventually be turned into lovely treasures. Some Saturday mornings, coffee in hand, "we" was me and my hubby. Other, more serious, Saturday mornings, maps in hand and strategic routes planned, "we" was me and my best garage sale buddy, Susan. To make a very long story short, eventually Susan and I collected so much stuff that we needed to do something with it.....we furnished our homes and we became part-time vendors at the Ventura Flea Market. We also held our own garage sales, of course, to make room for more "treasures". Cottagecharm then expanded to "Cheryl's Cottage" which was located inside of "LaDeeDa" at the Antique Mall in Agoura Hills. LaDeeDa was frequented by Rachel Ashwell as well as famous stars that lived in the Malibu area. Of course, Rachel Ashwell was the inspiration for all of us who bought and sold "shabby-chic"!

Shabby Chic style has changed some over the years and I, too, have changed a bit. I still love the comfort of cottage style, but I am now living in the country with farms all around. My feeling of farm style is a little "heavier" and darker than cottage. As I mentioned in the  "about me", we have built a home which is "European Villa" in it's achitecture. Stone, brick, high pitched roof's, Old World textured walls. Hence; CottageFarmVilla! Someday I would like to share the process of building a home from the ground up, in this blog. From California Cottage style to Texas Farm style has been a big change and the transformation to "Farmhouse Villa" is slow going, but I hope you will enjoy visiting from time to time.

Day One - Inspiration

I quickly became inspired by all the beautiful blogs I stumbled across last week. It all started as I was visiting The Old Painted Cottage and while there, I noticed a list of "blogs" being followed. Fellow bloggers who were intertwined with one another.  I was pulled into a place I couldn't escape. Each time I thought I would shut down the computer something else captured my attention ....... beautiful photographs, gorgeous decorating, spectacular handmade jewelry, blogger's eye candy everywhere ........ like looking in a new magazine, page after page, after page .......

~ Cheryl