November 3, 2016

Orange Crush



Helloooooo...
I'm on a mission to dehydrate enough oranges to make 
several wreaths for the holidays and have enough leftover for other things
like filling small baskets with greenery or using as tags on gifts.


I'm not sure if this dehydrator will work as well as the oven
but I'm going to find out.
So far, it's taking at least 12 hours to dry these large slices.
One batch took fifteen.


This is the one I chose- Magoo is very excited about making jerky with it.
I decided I'd get busy with my oranges before he gets ahold of it,
if you know what I mean.
It's simple as pie- slices are placed on the tray- time and temp are set
and I can walk away and forget it.
I've never used one before so fill me in if you have any great ideas.
I don't like missing out on great ideas, girlfriends. ;)

Before the days of blogging, I used the oven on 200 degrees and then would just watch them to determine when they were ready.
My favorite thing to dry was pomelos, because they are so huge.
One year I dried a zillion of them and hung them from a branch in the kitchen and covered the kitchen tree with them.
It was so pretty and the larger size of the pomelo equaled
a lot more bang in my book.
These oranges were large and not very flavorful- so perfect to dry.
Is something amiss with the orange crops this year?
I'll let you know how they work out.


I thought I'd show you a few more pops of orange around the kitchen.



My perfect little pie pumpkin is still hanging in there.
I always wash them with soap and hot water, dry them 
and then give them a coat of mod podge.
It really helps them last longer.

Feathers, dried oranges and chocolate velvet ribbon
sit in the transferware cup and saucer
and I'm just realizing that the spoon needs to go.
Anywhere but there!
I took it's tiny white pumpkin and gave it to my new bear.
Oh, well.

Ma and Pa have come out of the cupboard-
I bought them long ago for hardly any real money. 
(as Distressed Donna says...I love that saying!)


I embroidered this chocolate brown quilted fabric that I had 
with bright orange thread and framed it 
in a lonely frame that had nothing to love. 
It loves it's new companion, but I hope not too much because you know
I'm going to rip it out of there and replace it with a Christmas design
after Turkey Day comes and goes. 


This was an Instagram photo I shared.
I'm pretty good at pretending I have fall weather, hmmm?


I love candy corn and when it first hit the shelves this year, I bought this terrible maple flavored bag just so I wouldn't eat it.
It worked, too.
Until I went to buy Halloween candy.


And then, I bought the mother lode of delicious candy corn to put in pretty tall jars on my table and perhaps dip into 
one or twenty or a hundred times a day.
But the terrible corn looks pretty with a candle and was instant gratification when I wanted to add some fall feelings 
to my kitchen in September.
Bad corn below. 


I made pumpkin cookies today.
I ate pumpkin cookies today.


They might not last until the weekend.
I'll put the recipe up soon.

The last bit of my orange crush is the kitchen towels I 
sent in Lynn's giveaway package.
I love these patterns and they make me laugh.
How many times have you said these things in your kitchen?
Mostly I say "Simmer down, Boo" to Bruce.
He tends to get wound up if there's a salad on the counter...
he loves salad! 
And pumpkin cookies like his mama.



That's all for today-
Have a great weekend doing autumnish, sweater weather
boot wearing things!
We were at 88 degrees yesterday.
I'm annoyed and very envious of you girls engaging in these activities!
I do so enjoy living vicariously thru your photos in apple orchards
and golden landscapes so keep them coming please. :)


17 comments :

  1. When you're done with the oranges, reconstitute them and place them on tree branches for the birds. They'll look pretty for awhile, too!

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  2. I can just imagine how lovely your home smells with the orange slices everywhere! What a gorgeous wreath that will make, I hope you will share the steps involved so those of us who are not as creative might have a shot!

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  3. That face of Bruce is too adorable. Very innocent looking!!!! Love that you are having fun drying oranges they will look so pretty in your decor for Christmas.
    Hugs,
    Kris

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  4. I love the scent of oranges! I'll bet your house smells delicious with them and the cookies. Do you need my address for shipping? Lol You are so talented in so many ways! I love the things you embroidered! Bruce looks like he's full and plans to nap. :)

    I love, love candy corn! I can't eat it anymore...something in it triggers a migraine. :/ We've had some rain, it's overcast and it's in the 70's rather than high 80's. I keep wearing short sleeves, etc. and wonder if there will ever be a day to wear sweaters, jeans, boots, etc.

    Have a blessed day my friend!
    xo
    Pat

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  5. No boots for me, even in Wisconsin. I'm still wearing sandals. I want to bake me up some orange slices - some day.

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  6. I'll bet your house smells amazing! Ha, I hung 'you'll eat it and you'll like it' as soon as I took the Halloween towel down in the kitchen. Looking forward to the comments at dinner this Sunday:@)

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  7. Oh, Tina, you and I are on the same wave length, only you get to the task at hand much faster than I do. I am still in the 'thinking' stage until I get my nose out of Pinterest! I have a dehydrator too. It is a little different than yours but does a pretty good job. The last time I did oranges or apples, I sliced them too thin and they didn't look that great. Hopefully I'll get to them before Christmas. That Boo, what a handsome gentleman..Your kitchen looks so pretty. I don't think I have ever seen much of it..Happy Weekend..xxoJudy

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  8. The towels are awesome, and I'd love to dehydrate oranges they look great, but who am I kidding I never get around to half the stuff I want to do for the holidays.

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  9. I love how create a life to love! Every detail is as charming as can be and I enjoy the manner in which you tell your real life stories. It is all beautiful.
    As are your photos!
    P.S.
    Did that payment ever go through-I got all tangled up with the grands and an unfortunate little accident, so I am totally out of the loop. Tell me true.
    xo
    Jemma

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  10. My mother used to stick cloves in oranges...such a great smell! I'm going to have your embroidery on the blog next week!

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  11. you have the best ideas! I love the smell of citrus in the kitchen, but fresh baked cookies are my fav..lol Bruce has the same stare that our Rocket has..so sweet. Give him a big hug for me!
    We're still house hunting...lol.
    hugs,
    Marie

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  12. Cookies, candy corn, beautiful orange slices.... I love them all. I can't wait to see what all you do with the orange slices. So pretty! It's still warm here too. Shorts and flip flops amongst the Christmas decor ... I went to dollar tree yesterday and bought ornaments. That's how NOT crafty I've been this year. I've been too busy taking photos for IG. Lol! Hopefully I can get back in the groove soon. Have you tried the pumpkin cookies where you mix 1 can of pumpkin to a box of spice cake mix? Cream cheese frosting and I ate too many! I enjoyed my visit and I hope you have a great weekend!

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  13. Your house must smell heavenly with those oranges releasing their fresh scent, Tina. Your house looks warm and cozy with your accents of orange and I'd never guess it's 80 outdoors! We're being treated to an unseasonably warm long weekend and I'll be hanging laundry outdoors and washing windows before the snow flies. We'll be envying your sunshine in a few weeks when the gray days of late autumn settle in. I hope you get all your orange drying in before it's jerky time!

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  14. bruce is so stinking cute! :)

    hope your dehydrator works well for both of you. ;) and i like your little statues with doggies at their feet.

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  15. I bet those slices smell wonderful! They look beautiful! Hope you are doing well. We are back in Dallas and I'm still trying to get my bearings! Love and hugs to you! I've missed you!

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  16. I think you have the most beautiful oranges I've ever seen. Please don't tell Bliss though.

    =D
    -andi

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  17. Hello Tina! When I saw your oranges on Instagram I just had to stop by for the full story...THE ORANGES ARE GORGEOUS! The images are so pretty and the colors are simply stunning. You have created masterpieces Lady!

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