Porch Club Monday .... BEWARE this NOT pretty

WELCOME and a WARNING ... what you are about to see is not pretty, if you are looking for pretty please STOP here! ... Like I said it's my goal to keep this new group, Porch Club, real and casual ... no pressures. So, what did I do to myself when I started to think about my first post? Put the pressure on of course! ... I thought I needed to clean my porch, get it picture perfect, remove the cobwebs, toys, dust, set the table, plump the cushions, vacuum, etc... {small voice of reason} Whoe Nellie!! get a hold of yourself ... this was not your intention. Yeah, but that's always the direction I revert to. Not this time, I put the breaks on and took pictures of my sun porch "AS-IS" ... completely untouched ... this is as real as it gets girls ...

Here is one of the two doors that lead to the sun porch off my living room, there is one on either side of the fireplace ... the sun porch is not heated or air conditioned ... right now it is a frigid 15 degrees out there ...

 Immediately upon entering you are greeted with this mess ... if you prefer, please feel free to use the tube to crawl in ...

 I gave you fair warning, no? ... since we are not using this room at the moment it has become a "catch all" for everything that needs to disappear quickly ... I am also half way thru a little face lift. I got the walls painted and the ceiling primed ... and that's it.

 So, here's my plan ... since we need to seal this room off for the rest of the winter {the cold air is seeping into the living room} and I will no longer have access to it until Spring .... I've picked three projects to pull out and move to the basement, then I can work on them over the winter and come Spring at least I'll have something accomplished!

 Project 1.) Paint this chest of drawers {anxious to do this!}

 Project 2.) Paint ceiling fan? ... just blades or whole thing? ... looks like a black hole right now. {NOT looking forward to this project}

Project 3.) Replace worn out fabric on chairs 

...and that's my porch, in it's current state of being.

 Okay well, since my to-do list is lengthy ... I'll keep the appetizer portion short and sweet. I've tried bunches of cocktail wienies and this easy, easy recipe always comes away as the winner.

Spicy Sweet and Sour Cocktail Franks:

2 packages (8oz each) cocktail franks

1/2 cup chili sauce

1/2 cup apricot preserves

1 teaspoon hot pepper sauce

additional hot pepper sauce {optional}

Combine all ingredients in slow cooker; mix well. Cover; cook on low 2-3 hours. Serve warm or room temperature with additional hot sauce if desired.

I like to slice a baguette down to serve along side  .... this way you get a little bit of 'bun' with your wiener.

Can't wait to see what recipes you all share ... I hope to try one or two to serve while we watch the BIG GAME on Sunday ... it's big to us, we're STEELERS fans!

There ya go that's it. I've done my best to keep it real {my porch} and casual {my recipe} ... sorry if I've disappointed anyone, but just think how awesome the 'after' picks will be! ... and if you do need a bit of pretty you can always check out this past post, when my sun porch doubled as my studio.

Check back tomorrow, Tuesday, February 1st, for the FIRST 'Porch of the Month' reveal .... now this one is pretty!!

Next week's Porch Club topic of the morning:

"Romancing the Porch"

 What is it about the porch that says romance to you?

Is it an intimate corner for a private conversation?

An old fashioned swing?

A kiss goodnight on the doorstep?

What is the most romantic vision of a porch you can dream up?

A wrap-around deep in the sultry South?

A broken down fixer upper waiting for your hands?

A craftsman bungalow overlooking the Pacific Ocean?

See you next week back on the porch! ... until then, make sure you take a minute to visit your participating neighbors all linked up below.