Merry Christmas to All!

 

Merry Christmas to all of my Capricious Whimsy readers! I hope you are all having a splendid time enjoying the holidays with you families and friends :-) 

We're Off To See The Wizard!

 After a particularly stressful week, we decided to relax with an indoor activity to release some little ones pent up "cabin fever" energy and to take our minds off the hustle and bustle of the busy holiday season. We went to The Henry Ford Museum. They are certainly ready for the holidays! We stopped to admire this splendid tree.

Here we have a closer peek at the ornaments that adorn it.  In these photos we have a blue gingham ribbon, a hot air balloon, a beautiful Garland, a pointy witches hat and a ruby slipper. Can you see a theme going here?


During our wanderings the wind began to switch, the house to pitch and suddenly the hinges started to unhitch. Just then a witch- to satisfy an itch, went flying on her broomstick thumbing for a hitch!

And oh, what happened then was rich. The house began to pitch. The kitchen took a slitch. It landed on the Wicked Witch in the middle of a ditch!

We were scooped up by a tornado and blown to very different place. Toto, I don't think we are in Kansas, er Michigan anymore!

 Look at the size of these shoes and that hat! What kind of place have we landed in?!

 

We are in the land of Oz of course! 

 The only way home is to follow the yellow brick road. 

 

First we met Scarecrow. He is looking for a brain. We suggested he follow us to see the wizard. Surely he will know what to do!  Then we met a Tin Man looking for a heart. He was to busy to get a picture. Many little ones were helping to oil his squeaky joints.

 

Next we found a Cowardly Lion! He is searching for courage. He decides to ask the wizard for some, so he tags along too.

 

We took some flack from some witch and her flying monkeys along the way. But then we found what we had come for in the first place!

 

At Last the Ruby Slippers! These are a replica on loan from MGM.  No one knows how many pairs of slippers were actually made for the movie. After the last scene was complete the props were sent to the incinerator.

A quick thinking man named Kurt Warner, who worked for MGM's costume department, rescued them. There are only five known pairs in existence and are the most recognized piece of movie memorabilia on the planet.

We have finally reached the wizard! The Scarecrow found his brain, the Tin Man his heart and The Cowardly Lion his courage. With a few clicks of our heels we are on our way home!

 Thank you for sharing our journey through the land of Oz and back. I hope you are all enjoying time with your families this holiday season! 

Bacon Memorial Library

"I am the Library. I am the wisdom of the universe captured and arranged for you.

I am an open door...........

Enter"

The Bacon Memorial District Library in Wyandotte is one of my favorite places to visit. It is located inside a 3 story Queen Anne Victorian that was built in 1897 by the Detroit firm Malcomson & Higginbotham for Mr. Ed Ford (no relation to Henry) and his wife Carrie. Mr. Ford was the son of plate glass pioneer John Baptiste Ford. The senior Fords only lived in the house until 1900. It was then occupied by Mr. Ford's son John B Ford from 1900-1902. Mr. Ford's daughter Mary Ford Bacon and her family lived on the property from 1902 until 1927 when the family moved to California. In 1942  Mary bestowed it to the Wyandotte Public School system to be used as a library after the death of her husband, Mr. Bacon.  There is a lovely portrait hung in the former dining room, of Mary Ford Bacon reading to her grandchildren. 

 The home, which sits on four city lots, boasts 27 rooms,11 fireplaces and a three story bell tower in the rear. I have photographed  just for you, a few of the fireplaces that are available for view on the guided/self tours. Guided tours are offered the first Saturday of the month at 10am, self guided tours are available during regular library hours.  

The craftsmanship and the tile just blow me away. They are absolutely stunning. True works of art, I tell you.  This was the epitome of luxury in the 1900's. One of the things I adore about historic homes the most, is the character and charm that they represent. The opulent fireplaces in this home offer a glimpse of the life of wealthy society in the late 1800's . 

Here we have a green glass subway-style tile.

Just gorgeous, even after all of these years! 

The white fireplace in the front room to the right of the main parlor is still pristine. 

For me its all about the details. These columns are from the fireplace opposite the parlor room.  

 I swear this tile looks like mother of pearl. I also love the mirror above. Several of the fireplaces in the home have them. The more details the better :-) 

A closer look. Beautiful blend of color.

 In addition to the lovely fireplaces, this home also has an impressive collection of stained glass sprinkled throughout the space. 

 This little alcove would be a perfect spot to cozy up with a book and read away the afternoon. 

Here is a better shot of the glass. 

These beauties hold an antique book collection in the Billie Simmons room. In 1996 President Clinton visited the library, on his way to the National Democratic Convention in Chicago, to discuss the importance of children's literacy. He was photographed for the Heritage Newspaper at the desk to the right of these bookcases. 

The stained glass in the old billiard room. 

This set of glass resides at the top of the main staircase off the parlor. I tried to get the best shot I could. Even though it is a cloudy day the sun still streams through. 

At the top of the staircase. 

 A better close up of the glass. The photos do not do justice to the color that is present in this glass. You can tell it is quality and hand made. There is a milky white color that runs through the pale green glass and it just has a lovely vintage look to it. 

I love the staircase! Especially the rounded banister at the bottom. The wood work is time worn and feels so silky under the palm of your hand. 

 The parlor off the main entrance. 

 Another shot of the parlor and the staircase. Going up are various photos of the home dating from the late 1890s to present. It's amazing how the house is still ripe with original character, despite a few additions and "remodels". I am so very happy that this library is still open for us all to enjoy!

This is a photo of  how the parlor looked when the Ford-Bacon family lived in the home. 

 This is the Billie Simmons Room. Here is a photo of President Bill Clinton seated at the desk on the left during his visit in 1996.

 As if this home needed anymore charm, there are various built in units all over the house. This one is located in what used to be the dining room. I wonder if it was used it for a buffet or sideboard? It kind of looks like it could even be used as a desk. The various photos are of the Ford Bacon family. 

I hope you enjoyed our little visit to the Bacon Memorial Library today. If you are interested in finding more information about the library click here. If you are ever in the area stop on by, it is a unique and wonderful place to spend just a few minutes or the entire afternoon.

Dinner For Less

A few semesters ago I took a Personal Finance class at school. My professor was an extremely educated business women with multiple degrees, a Masters in Business and in addition to teaching, she also runs two of her own very successful business's. She speaks with a thick Jamaican accent and takes sass from no one, I loved every minute of that class! She taught us many important lessons and I am grateful for a seat in her classroom. I learned so much. Her teachings changed my approach to our finances at home and taught me the skills to manage my budget and my time in a more effective manner. I was able to develop a better system that has saved me time and money. This little system has helped me slash my grocery budget by $175 a month. 

If I told you that you could make dinner for two weeks for less than $70 would you believe me? That breaks down to around $5.00 for a meal that feeds a family of 4. I am not talking about Extreme Couponing or anything like that. I am not a die hard couponer. I use them now and then but I don't really bother with them too much overall. I don't really have the patience for all that mess. 

My mother does though, she is the original Extreme Couponer. I can remember sitting at the kitchen table every Sunday, helping her clip, sort and file coupons. Sandi got the easy job, she just had to pull the expired ones. When we argued about it, mom made us stand there nose to nose with a coupon in between. Followed by our extreme couponing, was the trip to the store. It was at least two hours and most of the time two carts. I understand now why it was necessary, mom was trying to feed 8 people on a budget. Not an easy task.  Needless to say coupons sort of left a bad taste in my mouth and I am not a big fan of grocery shopping with them. If you are though, more power to you, save that money!

Now the 411 on my big secret system is .............. preparation. I choose 15 meals that we will be eating over the next two weeks. I tally the ingredients, make a list and then buy in bulk whenever possible. I shoot for 5 chicken dishes, 5 beef dishes and 5 hamburger dishes. It is much cheaper to buy a large family package of beef or chicken and cut it up my self, than it is to buy them individually packaged. I buy good cuts of steak and cut them up to make them go further. Today I bought 4 huge new york strip steaks for $14.00. I was able to get 5 meals out of all of that.

I head to my local fruit market to get the veggies, and then over to the supermarket to get the rest of the ingredients. When I get home, I put the meat in the fridge while I wash and cut up all the veggies. I separate them into bowls, then cut the meat.  Once I am finished with the meat, I bust out the Ziplocks and start filling them.  I put in veggies, raw meat, and seasonings then zip up the bag, making sure to get out the air and freeze. 

Now dinner is essentially ready. All I need to do is decide what we are having, pull it out the night before, then toss it in the skillet or oven and dinner is complete in 30 minutes or less. If I used the crockpot, dinner is waiting when I get home.  

This little system is simple and although it will eat up a whole afternoon of your time from start to finish, it is well worth it.


The benefits are that I have prepackaged dinner ready to go. There is no temptation to pick up dinner on the way home saving me from budget destroying  impulse spending.  We waste less food and subsequently less money, since everything is chopped and then frozen. No veggies are wasted and none go bad waiting to be cooked. I also get to spend my evenings with my family instead of spending an hour and a half in the kitchen preparing dinner. My family is still eating healthy and nutritious food with no preservatives and food additives, helping us all to monitor our sugar and salt intake as well as carbs and calories.  We are still eating very well and there are never ending combination of foods that can be explored. In the next two weeks some of the meals we are having are: meatloaf, beef stew, pepper-steak, chicken tenders,  chicken & steak fajitas, chicken noodle soup, beef stroganoff, chicken and broccoli, tacos, spaghetti, lemon chicken & rice, goulash, and grilled chicken ceaser salad.

Preparing meals this way has had a positive effect on our overall budget. I am more organized, we are wasting less food, we are eating healthier and the bonus to this system is that I am not subject to as much neuromarketing in the grocery store.


We all know that the grocery store can be a money trap. We go in with the best of intentions to just get a few things for dinner and then we leave $50.00 lighter. It happens to all of us at one time or another. The experts advice to avoiding it is to stick to a list, shop the perimeter of the store, and limit impulse purchases. Since I am doing most of my shopping from the perimeter of the store and I have a list, I am less likely to impulse purchase, over buy just because there is a sale, buy something I already have at home and buy something more expensive out of convenience.

I hope that these tips help you out as much as they have helped us. I know it is a pain in the ass to spend a whole afternoon preparing, but the benefits so out way the negatives in this case. You will be eating fresher and healthier while you save money.

Lately You Might Find Me.....................

                              Decorating for the Holidays 

The top of the curio.  

  

This is a split shot of the top of the cabinet. I just adore this sweet little reindeer. 

Here is the right side. I added a few vintage glass ornaments to the glass dome. I love that you can change out the stuff inside to accommodate each season.

My dining room is ready for the holidays. I say every year that I am going to refinish my table but this year its really going to happen! I want it to look something like this. Stunning huh! I love me some Miss Mustard Seed. She has a fabulous sense of style, she provides me with mucho inspiration and an incredibly insightful tutorial section on her website :-) Yep, I am so gonna tackle this table in 2012!

Watching my Parents and Sister in a Music Video

My parents and little sister were recently filmed for a music video shot at their church. What an inspiring message! Check them out at the 1:06 and 3:25 marks :-) 

One Step (At a Time)  

Creating Holiday Memories With The Doodle 

If you have not checked out Elf on A Shelf yet, I highly recommend that you do, click here to see what all the fuss is about. It is a cute little Holiday tradition we are happy to start with the Doodle this year. I wish we would have found this when he was younger. We are having so much fun with this little guy. We used our own elf since they have special meaning to the Mr. Elf is a little mischievous though ;-)

Elf bakes cookies and makes a mess. Doodle said "I am not cleaning that up mom!" 

 

He makes Doodle's breakfast,

and steals kisses too!


And last but certainly not least, you can find me giving cookies to this naughty kitty. He will not stop hiding under the Christmas Tree skirt. He waits for unsuspecting feet to walk by and then he pounces. The Doodle is NOT a fan of this game, and loudly voices his disconcern.  :-) I find it mildly amusing, so long as nothing gets broken off the tree. Besides, how can I say no to this face? 

Have a Happy Sunday my friends!