I don't know about you but my tablescapes (we will four) are still in the works. I am heading to town to pick up some fresh flowers to add to what I have available in my yard (not much). So if you need some last-minute inspiration I am sharing some of my favorites and some of my past incarnations. You can make your table feel festive with just a little simple styling with your favorite dinnerware and foraged flora. Any one of these could be tweaked just a bit for a pretty Xmas table as well. ...
Entertaining
Healthy Fall Soup and Salad Dinner
As soon as fall hits I become soup obsessed. I am particularly fond of a roasted vegetable-based soup. You can make one of these soups with practically any vegetable. All you need to do is roast the vegetables with onions and garlic, add your favorite seasonings, serve with a simple salad and wha- la, you have a great healthy fall soup and salad dinner. I am getting lazy in my old age. Here is what I served for the appetizer. I tried to copy the lovely hummus ...
Thursday Fun Stuff-Great Links & A Favorite Summer Salad
Sorry for being MIA. Last week I picked up baby Summer on Thursday morning. Steve and I had her all to ourselves for two days and then her parents joined us for the long weekend. Needless to say, I enjoyed every minute but didn't get anything else accomplished! Today I am popping in for a quick Thursday Fun Stuff post. I am sharing some fun links and a favorite go-to summer salad of ours. Ina Garten's Panzanella. I make this salad a lot during the height of summer when ...
Hearty Mexican Street Corn Soup
Today Mary Ann (Classic Casual Home), Annie (Most Lovely Things) and I are joining two of our pals Lisa from Shine Your Light, and Celia from After Orange County. We are sharing some of our favorite winter soups. I don't know about you but once the air chills I fix soup about once a week. I always love finding another great soup to try. This hearty Mexican Street Corn Soup is one of our favorites winter or summer. You can prepare it as is or add shrimp or crab right before you serve ...
Project Design-Thanksgiving It is All About The Sides
Welcome to our latest Project Design, Thanksgiving It Is All About the Sides. Annie from Most Lovely Things (the newest member of our Project Design Team) suggested to Mary Ann and I that we do a post on our favorite sides for Thanksgiving. We agreed that it was a fabulous idea and Annie took the ball and ran with it!! After all, what is Thanksgiving without all the wonderful sides? ...
Project Design-Simple Summer Entertaining Tips
Welcome to our latest installment of Project Design! We planned a simple dinner at the lake with friends for Steve's birthday that just happened to be on Memorial Weekend. We like to keep entertaining simple at the lake so we made this easy appetizer. All it takes is three ingredients; a wedge of Brie, TJ's corn salsa (at Amazon if you don't have one nearby) and Terrapin Ridge's Hot Pepper Bacon Jam. (also on Amazon click the link) We set up dinner on our lower patio because it ...
Simple Summer Dinner By The Pool
My husband’s brother and his fiance were in town over the weekend. We wanted to spend the day in Carmel so I prepared the dinner in advance so we could get home and just enjoy the views before the sun set. I gathered a simple bouquet of hydrangeas, eucalyptus, and fennel blossoms from my yard and plopped them in one of my vintage glass jars. ...
Simple Summer Barbeque at the Lake
We have the best neighbors at the lake. They keep an eye on our house when we are away and we love to spend time with them when we are there. We usually keep entertaining simple but I like to make it a little more special because they do so many nice things for us. This time of year we entertain on the lower patio which is shaded and has a lovely fountainThe table was made by our wonderful friend Jim, who recently passed, comfortably seats 10. Every time we dine here we think of him. I ...
Last Minute Hostess Gifts Under $20
I love this apron from World Market for $14.99 and…. the matching kitchen towels for $4.99. I could think of a number of goodies to stash inside and take to your favorite hostess. $20 at Williams Sonoma LOVE these black and white bowls…great for dips, soups, you name it!! One of my all-time favorite Hostess gifts are candles. My favorite holiday candle is the Thymes Frasier Fir. They come in multiple sizes including votives. They now have hand wash , room spray, diffusers ...
