Christmas Blessings

I have so much to catch you up on!

I have been working 'round the clock

and I am so, SO behind in all things Christmas.

{I haven't even sent Christmas cards out}

I have been blessed with so much and am so 

grateful for everyone who has made my dream

come true with their continued support of the Bakery. 

Every day that passes is one day closer to opening the doors

and that makes my heart so happy.

I will fill you in next week when I have a few days scheduled off.

I hope you all have a Merry Christmas and a New Year

filled with love and all things good.

love, Amber

A Side To Share, Again

Thanksgiving is almost here!

I shared this recipe last year (afterward) but

wanted to freshen your memory in case you

needed an extra vegetable side or are taking

a dish to a gathering.

You will not regret making these, I promise!

Click any photo to take you to the recipe.

Happy Thanksgiving!

A day in the life...

Well hello!
I hope you are all doing well.
It's been quite the whirlwind around here lately
with all the wonderful things going on,
that sitting down to edit photos and journal,
has been pushed to the back burner.

One thing that brings me calm and peace
on the crazy days {every day} are my girls.
My little piece of a farm heaven consists merely of hens
and just like any other crazy chicken lady,
I think mine are exceptional.

These girls keep us pretty well stocked
unless I have recipes that call
for multiple eggs, but
 I would love to add a few more layers.

We'll wait for Spring for
those Easter egger babies!

I turned the girls out in the garden the other day 

hoping they'd till up the soil.

No. They were more interested in the grass and

dried meal worms I threw out to entice them to cross

the coop threshold. 

We'll try again today.

I took a fun video to post but being the 

non-technical guru that I am,

I am having issues. I'll keep trying.

If you're interested in what we're doing at the bakery,

click the link on the upper right

that says FPH Bakery and 

you'll be transported!

See you all soon.

Fall at FPH

Yes, it's been a while. I am finished with my day job
and am back to work for me.
Our poor house was neglected for about 6 weeks
so I've been playing catch up the last few days.
I finally had a chance to take a few photos
of the house with Fall decor.
I don't do much but a little jewel tone
surely does wonders.

Our living room...

Into the dining room....

I just dyed the chandelier shades. They were originally white
but to me, they just didn't "go" so I started with pink
and that was a hmmm, not quite,
so I went with a mink color.

Oh, that red wall. I will leave it alone until after the holidays since it's so festive.

and the kitchen...

I keep stacking my vintage mis-matched china on the cabinets that
I've been hunting and collecting for the bakery.
I'm running out of room!

My kitchen is rather cramped these days with the huge
industrial rack in there that holds all of my baking essentials.
We haven't been able to sit in the window seat either since it's piled with
bakery stuff. It's going to be a day of celebration
when we are moving all of this out of the house and into the boutique.
A day I look very forward to!

Thanks for stopping by. See you again soon.

Oh My!

And it is ours!

We gained custody of our building last Thursday

and finally got to do something with it this weekend.

Bruce headed over Sunday morning with a 

friend and started deconstruction.

By the time I had arrived (after my morning work at the pumpkin patch),

half of the dining room had been finished.

I am certain that the tongue and groove had been there for

many, many years because it is extremely thick and heavy, 

and although we are very adamant about

preservation, we needed/wanted to peel back the layers to 

1. strip the place of it's disastrous, unsafe electrical (wow).

2. assess any damage so it can be repaired properly. 

3. expose the brick for our rustic style.

After removing some of the wall between the dining room and kitchen,

it was discovered that there may have been a fire in there at one time.

Although not charred through, there is definitely some remnants

of seared wood. Bruce also found some areas where the wiring 

was exposed and had been arcing on wood. There is/was A LOT

of exposed, open ended wire in that place!

As the guys worked on that, I ran back to the house 

(a minute and a half drive) 

to pick up the weed whacker and other garden tools.

One of our pet peeves is the amount of grass that

grows in the sidewalk cracks and gutters.

Bruce bladed the sidewalk and I went around

the building picking up trash and weeding it.

Yeah, it's not there anymore.

Power washing comes next. :)

Cleaning things up makes such a difference.

I suppose that is why I don't mind doing it.

Instant gratification!

It's a new day and new things to work on.

I'm headed to my work but my mind will be there,

at that gem that is getting some new life.

I'll continue to update because this little

bakery is just as much yours, as it is ours.

xo, Amber

A Brick and Mortar

I can't believe I'm typing these words.

We are buying a building.

An old fashioned, free standing, brick and mortar 

with lots of history and lots of potential.

The French Pressed Home will

be opening a small Boutique Bakery here in

Union Springs, Alabama. 

We close in mere days and once

keys are in hand, we'll be starting

on the improvements. 

I'm looking forward to documenting 

and sharing our renovation

because we will be taking things back to some 

original brick and fixing up the 

huge wood walk in cooler.
What we'll do with it, I don't know, but
it is so very cool!

It's been told to me, by several people, that the 

late Bing Crosby frequented the 

Holmes Cafe when he came to town

on his hunting expeditions. 

I'm hoping there are some photos
floating around somewhere because I'd love
to make copies.

Every day that passes, I find out more and more
about this building. And every story has one thing in common:
Pie

I may be getting my hands on a few of those recipes.
What a fabulous way to pay homage to a place
that so many people remember fondly.

This photo shows the original brick on the sides and front.

The windows on the side have since been boarded, so 

yes, we will be removing the boards and hopefully

the old windows are still there, intact. 

If not, they will be replaced because you know
me and natural light!

The front has since been updated
which gives us a new slate to play with.

Bruce said he was glad it was re-done 

because the old windows remind him of jail.

Only him. And I wonder how he knows what jail looks like. 

He sees jail, I see this:

With the new windows in place, we won't be

able to paint much black but oh, I will

find a way to incorporate my beloved color.

I played with a photo a little and this is just an idea...

The interior, shown below, will look a little different when

 we're done. We have some plans and ideas

but I'll save those for when we get to that point. 

And the menu.

I am not going in over my head so we'll be 

starting small and manageable and growing

as we go. We do have a destination but

that will come in time and in increments.

We're looking forward to getting our hands dirty

and bringing this place back into the mix

of people, food and memories.

Never in a million years did I imagine we'd 

be here, right now, doing this.

I do believe there is a plan for each of us and

when it unfolds before your very eyes, it makes

 you very humble. 

We have been very blessed since

moving to our new place we call home. 

Not just the house but the State and City we chose.

I think we were destined to be here, 

at precisely the right time. 

Now.

The Market at Chapel Hill

Although I didn't take a million pictures or sneak inside 

the Chapel to see what goodies were to be had (yes, I 

have regrets!), I did manage to use my new phone to click a few

quick pictures of the tent that we shared with other vendors.

It was rainy and mucky but it definitely did not stop the shoppers!

My favorite parts of the day were seeing familiar faces from town and meeting 

lovely blog friends, face to face. 

Our FPH Bakery set up was so easy and quick.

We were there for about an hour on Friday setting

up the tables and cabinets.

Bruce did an awesome job of 

building everything and it looked pretty

spectacular with the shelves filled with goodies.

I had a fantastic helper (my Petunia ~ Karli).

As you can see, it was a little "damp" but it certainly 

did not hinder sales. It was a true Fall day, nice and chilly.

And that about raps it up for The Market on Chapel Hill 2015.

It would be wonderful to be back again next year.

That is, if we can manage to sneak away from our

new store. More on that next time.... ;)

On The Menu

Our first show is exactly one week from today!

I've been working on my baking

menu and schedule {even in my sleep}

because this will be our first ever

pastry booth/show.

I have to admit; I'm secretly really, really glad

I'm baking instead of gathering goods and

having to do a full boutique set up.

Those were the days!

I have managed to put my husbands 

carpentry skills to work with my 

pastry stands (to sell) and 

we'll be finishing up on some

chalkboards this weekend.

He's also making me an

awesome counter for our pastry display

cases which I'll be skirting in my beloved burlap.

Oh yes, I will take lots of pictures. 

One other thing I've been playing with is

fabric remnants and the pumpkin stems

the kindergartners picked up for me at the patch 

last year. 

It's amazing what a thrift store bridesmaid dress can turn into. 

Now to the menu...

We'll be bringing LOTS of deliciousness!

Cakes & cupcakes (in several flavors), mini pies, big 'ol cookies,

candied popcorn, dipped pretzels, an array of candies, our 

ever famous Scones in several flavors, gourmet caramel apples and 

lots of other yummy goodness!

It will be a very busy week but 

I do not mind being busy in the kitchen!

I probably won't post again until after

the show so, if you are within driving distance,

come to the Market!

Petunia and I will be out in the big white tent

just in front of the straw bale seating area.

Come say hi!

p.s. The chocolate cake is to die for. Just sayin'!

p.s.s. There are some very good things coming down the line.

If you come to Market, you'll be the first to know. 

(insert big cheesy grin)