I Have An Announcement!

I've been secretly working on some sweet stuff.

It's been on my mind for years and before moving to 

our Sweet Home Alabama,

 there was no probability at that time.

Well, lo and behold,

THINGS CHANGE!

Laws change.

GOOD things happen!

The French Pressed Home has a bun in the oven!

We will soon be opening 

The FPH Bakery!

I just certified as a 

Cottage Food Operation

meaning I can make and sell baked goods from 

our beautiful French Country kitchen!

It will be a great way for us to see if it's a fit 

for our family and to see where it will take us.

I will be baking to order and customers will

pick up from our home or we will deliver,

depending on each situation.

I cannot sell online nor ship but I can advertise

my baked goods and mention where we will be selling

(markets and events).

I am really excited because honestly, I've been down

in the dumps for a while about reinventing myself

after we moved. It's funny how things just don't fall 

into place until they are meant to.

I am working on a new logo and plan to

have a separate site for the FPH Bakery because I still

want to keep up on the house stuff on this site.

Regardless, it will all link together.

My main stays for my Bakery will be party and bundt cakes,

 naked wedding cakes, which are simple, rustic, beautiful cakes,  

gourmet cupcakes and other pastries, cookies and breads.

Big sis, twin one and two will also become their own 

Entrepreneurs, selling fresh eggs in a few months.

So, here's to new adventures and sweet things!

Homemade Coffee Creamer

Since we were out of the chemical coffee creamer 

{read the ingredients on your bottle}

this morning, I decided to tap into my trusty go-to 

place for a good recipe.

I found a coffee creamer that was quick to make and 

one for which I had the ingredients.

And, being a lover of Vanilla,

I {once again} modified the recipe.

~insert big cheesy grin~

I was also curious about what is

considered French Vanilla, so I looked it up:

According to the Chicago Tribune,

"The name refers not to a vanilla variety 

but to the classic French way of making ice cream using an egg-custard base."

Although I'd like to call it French, we cannot for the above reason. 

Here's what you'll need:

One storage bottle or mason jar with lid, large enough to hold 2.5 cups

One can of condensed milk

1.5 cups of milk {I used 1 cup whipping cream, 1/2 cup milk}

1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon of FPH Baker's Vanilla

{I love the vanilla bean flecks in my creamer}

Pour all ingredients into bottle/jar and shake!

It doesn't taste exactly like the chemical kind

but it is VERY good {I'm picky}!

This will keep for about 2 weeks but I'm sure it won't last that long.

I'll be making Amaretto next!

Here's what I was looking out to from the kitchen window this morning 

as I enjoyed my yummy coffee...

See you soon. xo

le poulailler

I'm back!

I had to take a vacation, although it wasn't planned.

My computer got a major virus and it took

 some major surgery to fix it.

I suppose the length of time of recovery 

would have been shortened if

I had gotten it into my guy sooner. 

In my "down" time, we've been working on backyard projects.

It's all ugly right now because of, well, winter, and the lack

of any other plants or trees, up until recent. 

But, we finished the outside of the coop and run!

Once it warms up, we'll paint the interior, get the nesting 

boxes built and put up that chandelier. 

Some may think it's over the top but you know what?

Since it is in our backyard, it must fall in the 

cute factor category!

We used hardware cloth for the runs 

to keep our girls super safe

and I dug down all around the outside

 perimeter to bury a good foot of wire, 

just in case. We have wooded acreage behind us and I know

there are raccoon's, armadillo, foxes and coyotes  around

 {because I have seen them in our yard}.

The perimeter of our "backyard" will be fenced 

soon, giving us another layer of protection. 

Those lanterns were slated for the trash.
Bruce (hubby) replaced entry lights for a
neighbor and they just wanted to trash these.
I think they're the perfect size and style. 

My Cecil Brunner will climb the coop
with rich green foliage and
gorgeous baby pink mini roses.
I can't wait to look out at it from the house. :)

Aren't these darling?!

We added a run to the back so the
girls can have shade any time of the day.
It gets hot here in South but the shade stays cool.

The coop is going to make for a great backdrop for my garden, which will be planted directly in front of it.

I just love how it turned out.

We've planted several varieties of fruit trees,

got some roses planted, a red honeysuckle put in on

the SW corner of the coop for afternoon shade and

I planted a couple varieties of Peonies. 

Those are an experiment. 

I have some berries and grapes that need to get put in the ground right now, too.

I just need to get my hunny to help with the posts and wire!

And finally, our kitchen screen door...

...and yes, she's a slammer!

February....

We are in our second month of the year already.

It's time to start making time count

instead of watching it tick by.

Here's to finishing projects, showing more love

to our loved ones and really living the life you love.

Happy February!