100% Mulberry Silk

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Spring Sale: 20% Off Promeed Silk Sheets

If you’ve been thinking about refreshing your bedding for spring, Promeed just launched a Spring Sale on their premium 100% Mulberry Silk Sheets (23mm–30mm) — and it’s a good one.

For a limited time, you can enjoy 20% off your purchase with the exclusive code PM20 at checkout.

Silk sheets are naturally cooling, gentle on skin and hair, and add a touch of luxury to your everyday routine. If you’ve been curious about upgrading, this is the perfect moment to try them.

You can shop the sale here

Starts 3/27/26 ends 4/10/26

(This post contains an affiliate link. If you make a purchase, I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you.)

 

The Great Cupcake Caper

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The Great Cupcake Caper

 Or, How I Learned I’m Officially One of the “Old People”

Elderly "Florida" squirrel returns from shoppingOk, I admit it. I’ve crossed over. I am now officially one of the “elderly,” and as one of the Old People, I tend to be a little forgetful. But I still make lists — real lists — written on actual paper with a pen or pencil. I use my phone for plenty of things, but grocery lists are sacred. I want the satisfaction of crossing things off as they go into the cart. It’s a ritual.

So last Tuesday I headed to Hannaford for my weekly grocery run. Back in the day I’d pop in whenever I needed something, but now I try to do it all in one trip. Why Tuesday? Because Tuesday is Senior Discount Day, and I am absolutely here for saving a few pennies.

Right there on my list, bold as can be: flour.

My mother always bought the giant bag, but since it’s just me, I stick to the small ones. Easier to store, less likely to go stale, and it forces me to keep an eye on how much is left. Well… it finally happened. Hannaford only had the big bags, so I skipped it. I wasn’t planning any baking anyway. What could go wrong?

Oops.

Fast‑forward to dinner. After all the pork‑chop experimenting I’ve been doing, I wanted something sweet to finish the meal. I had a cat on my lap, so I figured the urge to bake would pass. But no. An hour later, I still wanted cupcakes.

I remembered I had a box of white cake mix in the cupboard. Easy peasy. Except… the “Best By” date was 8/20/2020. Not months old. Years. I’ll use things past their date, but even I have limits. That mix was basically an archaeological artifact.

Fine. I’d make cupcakes from scratch. Mini ones, so I wouldn’t overindulge. I pulled out my favorite yellow cake recipe — it’s so good.

Who needs a box anyway!

Soft Buttery Yellow Cake (Perfect for Mini Cupcakes)

Ingredients

  • 1 ¼ cups all‑purpose flour
  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • ½ cup unsalted butter, softened
  • 2 large eggs
  • ½ cup whole milk
  • 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
  • ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
  • ¼ teaspoon salt

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350°F and line your mini muffin pan.
  2. Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
  3. Add eggs one at a time, mixing well.
  4. Stir in vanilla.
  5. In a separate bowl, whisk flour, baking powder, and salt.
  6. Add dry ingredients alternately with milk, mixing just until combined.
  7. Fill mini cups about ⅔ full.
  8. Bake 10–12 minutes or until tops spring back.
  9. Cool completely before frosting.

As I gathered ingredients, I noticed the flour bag felt suspiciously light. A quick check confirmed I had just under one cup left. But by then I was committed. I wanted cupcakes. I was emotionally invested.

 

So I did some questionable math, cut the recipe in half, and created:

Half‑Batch Yellow Cake (Perfect for 18 Mini Cupcakes)

Ingredients

  • ⅔ cup all‑purpose flour
  • ½ cup granulated sugar
  • ¼ cup unsalted butter, softened
  • 1 large egg
  • ¼ cup + 2 tablespoons whole milk
  • ¾ teaspoon baking powder
  • ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
  • Pinch of salt

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
  2. Cream butter and sugar until fluffy.
  3. Add egg and vanilla; mix well.
  4. Whisk flour, baking powder, and salt in a separate bowl.
  5. Add dry ingredients alternately with milk.
  6. Fill mini muffin cups ⅔ full.
  7. Bake 10–11 minutes.
  8. Cool before frosting.

These bite‑sized morsels are a treasure for your taste buds. Honestly, you don’t even need frosting — but if you decide to go all in, that’s when the real adventure begins. Now came the frosting. Have you tried frosting mini cupcakes lately? I’m fine with full‑size cakes, but minis usually end with frosting all over my thumbs, the counter, and sometimes the cat.

So I tried piping it on. I didn’t have any tips, so I cut the corner off a plastic bag and hoped for the best.

Here they are — not the prettiest, but absolutely delicious. Maybe even better because of all the drama.

My Favorite Chocolate Frosting (Buttercream Style)

Ingredients

  • ½ cup unsalted butter, softened
  • 2 ½ cups powdered sugar
  • ¼ cup cocoa powder
  • 2–3 tablespoons milk
  • ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
  • Pinch of salt

Instructions

  1. Beat butter until creamy.
  2. Add powdered sugar and cocoa gradually.
  3. Add milk a tablespoon at a time until smooth and spreadable.
  4. Mix in vanilla and salt.
  5. Pipe or spread onto cooled cupcakes.

Enjoy!
And remember: sometimes the best desserts come from a little chaos, a little improvising, and a cat who refuses to move from your lap.

 

 

Pork Chops, Take Two: The Marinade Edition

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Pork Chop experiments continue in Dusty's test kitchen

Overnight Soy & Worcestershire Pork Chops

Can success strike twice in Dusty’s Test Kitchen? Let’s find out.

It was another busy day in Dusty’s Test Kitchen, and yes — the pork‑chop experiments continue. My first attempt, Rediscovering Pork Chops: A Cast Iron Success Story, turned out so well that I had to try again. Could I repeat the magic?

This recipe is a little more involved than the last one, mostly because it needs an overnight marinade. But once the cooking starts, everything moves fast and easy.

Ingredients

Marinade

  • ½ cup soy sauce
  • ¼ cup Worcestershire sauce
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 tsp paprika
  • 1 tsp garlic powder
  • 1 tsp onion powder
  • ½ tsp black pepper
  • ½ tsp salt (optional, depending on your soy sauce)
  • Optional: 1 tbsp brown sugar
  • Optional: ½ tsp ginger powder

Finishing

  • 3–4 tbsp butter, cut into pats
  • Optional: 2 smashed garlic cloves or a few thyme sprigs

Instructions

1. Marinate Overnight

  1. Whisk all marinade ingredients together.
  2. Add pork chops and coat well.
  3. Refrigerate 8–24 hours.
  4. Remove from the fridge 20–30 minutes before cooking.

2. Pan‑Sear

  1. Preheat oven to 400°F.
  2. Heat a cast‑iron or heavy skillet over medium‑high until very hot.
  3. Add a thin layer of oil.
  4. Sear chops 2 minutes per side to develop color.
    • Do not cook through during this step.

3. Oven Finish with Butter

  1. Turn off the stovetop heat.
  2. Add the pats of butter to the bottom of the pan.
  3. Place the seared chops on top of the butter.
  4. Transfer the pan to the oven.
  5. Bake 5–8 minutes, depending on thickness.
  6. Remove when internal temperature reaches 140–145°F.
  7. Let rest 5 minutes before serving.

Notes

  • This method keeps thinner chops tender by combining a moisture‑boosting marinade, a quick sear, and a gentle oven finish.
  • The butter melts underneath the chops and bastes them as they finish, giving a glossy, savory finish.
  • Works with bone‑in chops too — just add 2–4 minutes to the oven time.
  • I served mine with oven‑roasted potatoes. I started the potatoes when I took the chops out of the refrigerator, so they had a 30‑minute head start.

My Rating

I’m giving this one 4 stars. Very flavorful, very tender — just shy of that 5‑star wow factor for me. But you can be the judge.

 

Why I Might Just Stay Put in Massachusetts

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3 Reasons Why Massachusetts Might Still Be the Best Place to Retire

After another long snowstorm, I stopped and asked myself why I wanted to leave a state I’ve lived in for more than fifty years. I hate the cold now. Traffic makes simple day trips feel impossible. And I’ve listened to too many people who left with a grudge and want company. But when I looked past the frustration, I remembered why I stayed so long—and why staying might not be so bad.

Weather and Natural Beauty

Massachusetts gives you four real seasons. Winter drags, but spring brings color and birdsong. Summer offers beaches and warm nights. Fall steals the show with bright leaves and crisp air. The state packs a lot into a small space: coastline, forests, mountains, islands, and quiet towns. Many places also come with a story, which adds charm to every trip.

 

A Lifestyle Full of History and Culture

If you love history, this state delivers. The Pilgrims, the Revolution, the witch trials, and so many writers and thinkers left their mark here. You can walk through centuries in a single afternoon. Museums, theaters, galleries, and festivals fill the calendar. And sports? People here treat their teams like family. It’s loud, loyal, and part of the culture.

Boston Marathon

Quality of Life That Works for Retirees

Massachusetts isn’t cheap, but it offers strong benefits. Social Security isn’t taxed. Healthcare ranks among the best in the country. Smaller towns—especially west of Boston—cost less and are easy to walk. Locals may seem blunt, but they protect their communities and welcome people who respect them. Diversity isn’t just accepted here. People defend it.

Wicked Boston said it best when they posted this:

 

Massachusetts has its flaws. Winter is long, and traffic tests your patience. But the state also offers beauty, history, culture, and excellent healthcare. After fifty years, maybe there’s a reason I never packed up and left.

Where do you think is the best place to retire—and why?

Hidden Gems Across Massachusetts

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Bridge of Flowers is a truly magnificent concept. Its a lovely place for a visit

Four Massachusetts Spots Worth Rediscovering (or Discovering for the First Time)

Every now and then I stumble across an article that reminds me just how much there is to see right here in Massachusetts. You can live in a place your whole life and still find new corners, new stories, and new surprises tucked away in familiar towns. It got me thinking about the places I’ve visited, the ones I’ve written about, and the ones still sitting on my “someday” list.

Here are four Massachusetts spots that deserve a little extra love — whether you’ve been there before or, like me, are still discovering them.

🌾 Old Sturbridge Village

I visited Old Sturbridge Village long before I started this blog, sometime before 2011. It’s one of those places that stays with you. I even mentioned it in my early post “Itchy Feet” from November 7, 2011.

“No, it’s not athlete’s foot. I’ve been around home too much. I’m getting restless and need to go exploring.”
(Internal link: https://arounddustyroads.com/2011/11/07/itchy-feet/)

Old Sturbridge Village is a living museum in Sturbridge, Massachusetts, recreating rural New England life from the 1790s through the 1830s. It’s actually the largest living museum in New England, spread across more than 200 acres of historic buildings, working farms, and costumed interpreters who bring the past to life.

One of the things I’ve always loved about OSV is the way the demonstrations feel so authentic — from blacksmithing to cooking over an open hearth — all done in period clothing. I just missed their maple sugaring season this year, which started on February 18, but that’s one of the experiences I’d love to go back for someday.

Even though it’s been years since my last visit, Old Sturbridge Village is one of those places that reminds me why I love exploring New England. There’s always something new to learn, even in a place dedicated to the past.

🌸 Bridge of Flowers

The Bridge of Flowers is one of those places that feels almost magical, and I first wrote about it way back on May 20, 2011, in a post called “Turner Falls, Flowers and Pot Holes.” At the time, I admitted it had been years since my first visit — and I even misremembered the location. I thought it was in North Adams, but it’s actually in Shelburne Falls.
(Internal link: https://arounddustyroads.com/2011/05/20/turner-falls-flowers-and-pot-holes/)

The Bridge of Flowers is truly one of a kind. Originally built around 1908 as a trolley bridge, it spans the Deerfield River between the towns of Shelburne and Buckland. When the trolley line was abandoned in 1928, the concrete bridge sat unused until Antoinette and Walter Burnham proposed a bold idea: turn the old trolley span into a giant flower garden. By 1929, their vision became reality.

Today, the 400‑foot, five‑arch bridge is planted with over 500 varieties of flowers, all chosen to ensure blooms from early spring straight through late fall. Volunteers tend every inch of it, keeping the bridge vibrant and colorful throughout the growing season.

I included some of my original photos in that 2011 post. They’re probably buried in my 10,000‑plus image archive. Even so, the memories are still vivid. The Bridge of Flowers is a place that stays with you.

🎨 Norman Rockwell Museum

I’ve lived in Massachusetts my whole life, and somehow I’ve never made it to the Norman Rockwell Museum in Stockbridge. I know it’s one of those places everyone talks about — especially around the holidays when Rockwell’s paintings seem to pop up everywhere — but it’s still on my “someday” list.

The museum houses the world’s largest collection of Rockwell’s work, including his famous Saturday Evening Post covers. Even if you’re not an art buff, there’s something comforting and familiar about his style. His paintings feel like snapshots of small‑town America, full of humor, nostalgia, and little moments that say more than words ever could.

I’ve heard the grounds are beautiful too, especially in summer and fall. Maybe this will be the year I finally make the trip. It’s funny how you can live in a state for decades and still have places left to explore.

🌿 Long Hill Estate

This one genuinely surprised me — I had never even heard of Long Hill Estate until I came across the article that inspired this post. It’s in Beverly and managed by The Trustees, which already tells me it’s going to be beautiful. They have a knack for preserving some of the most scenic spots in Massachusetts.

From what I’ve learned, Long Hill is a former family estate with formal gardens, woodland trails, and a historic home. The gardens are supposed to be stunning in spring and summer, filled with color and carefully tended plantings. It sounds like the kind of place you wander through slowly, camera in hand, soaking in the quiet beauty.

Now that it’s on my radar, I’m adding it to my “must‑visit” list. I love discovering new places close to home — especially ones I somehow missed all these years.

🌤️ Final Thoughts

Massachusetts may be a small state, but it’s packed with history, beauty, and surprises. Whether it’s a place I visited years ago, a spot I’ve written about, or a destination I’ve only just discovered, there’s always something new waiting just around the corner.

Have you been to any of these places?
Which ones are your favorites — or still on your list?