• Celebrate - Food - Holidays

    Groundhog Day Breakfast: Punxsutawney Pancakes

    It’s Groundhog Day…again. Sure…it’s groundhog day, and we all know what that means. It’s the one magical day each year that we all collectively lose our minds and look to a fortune telling rodent for answers. We can chalk this up to the fact that being cooped up indoors may have started to adversely effect our mental capacity, but instead of seeking help for our addiction to psychic rodent prognostication we can just embrace the insanity and celebrate it for all of its goofy silliness! What better way to start your Groundhog Day with with a nice hearty breakfast in the shape of today’s…

  • Celebrate - Decorating - Holidays

    A Kiss at Midnight: A New Year Celebration

      Spending New Years Eve at home doesn’t mean you can’t celebrate and bring in the new year with style!    We dressed the table in a lovely “Kiss at Midnight” theme complete with silver and gold accents, a clock plate at every place setting to count down to midnight, confetti streamers and of course, Hershey Kisses so that everyone gets a kiss at midnight! Sparkling Cider or Champagne makes a great centerpiece. The non-alcoholic grape juice or apple juice versions mean you can bring this celebration into New Years Day for a lovely New Years Day brunch, or let the kids…

  • Celebrate - Tablescapes

    Thanksgiving Table: The Spendor of Autumn

    This Thanksgiving I used all my restraint to resist the urge to let our Christmas decor arrive early. So often I cannot resist that urge and we end up with a Thanksgiving/Christmas fusion.    Everything stayed well within the Autumn color theme this year without even a hint of Christmas! Burlap has always been an inexpensive fabric mostly used for making things like potato sacks or for wrapping shrubbery for the winter, but somehow it has become very popular in decorating as well. It does offer a nice warm neutral base and lots of texture so it makes sense that…

  • Celebrate

    Halloween 2015

    This Halloween we wanted to create a spooky haunted forest but still keep it light and playful enough that it was still warm, inviting and not too gloomy.   Some dead tree branches from the yard were perfect for making a huge impact – and the best part is that they cost NOTHING! When you bring lots of natural elements into the decor everything falls into place. Sea shells, leaves, branches, pine cones and any other natural element can cover your decorating schemes for all the seasons and holidays. “Creepy Cloth” is a very loose weave gauze-like fabric that can…

  • Celebrate - Holidays - Uncategorized

    Pineapp-O-Lantern: A Tropic’alloween Treat

    Who says you can only make a Jack-O-Lantern out of a pumpkin?  Not me!  Allow me to introduce you to a frightfully fun Halloween treat that makes a great presentation when serving a fruit plate, or fruit and cheese platter or even an awesome Halloween breakfast! I’m calling it a Pineapp-O-Lantern: A Tropic’alloween Treat! It’s basically the same process as carving a Jack-O-Lantern, so I wont bore you with an in-depth how-to, but I will share some tips. I went the traditional route – cutting the top to make the ‘lid’ of the Jack-O-Lantern and then scooping out the contents, but I’ll definitely be…

  • Celebrate - Uncategorized

    Seashore Tablescape – Oysters and Pearls

    Oysters and Pearls : A Seashore Tablescape for Summer.   It’s not quite summer yet but most people see Memorial Day Weekend as the official start of summer fun and festivities.    So after a quick change from the red white and blue (that will all come back with extra sparkle for July 4th) we converted into a nice beachy summer at the seashore look.   Oyster shells and pearls are the theme this time and they are a perfect combo because pearls come from oysters!    We grabbed the pearl garlands from our Christmas decorations, and we have lots…

  • Celebrate

    Cinco de Mayo

    Cinco de Mayo Celebration! Hola and Happy Cinco de Mayo! This is one of my favorite celebrations to decorate!  I just love all the bright bold festive colors.  We’ve been collecting pieces for this celebration all year long!  We scored a Mexican serape at Savers this winter for only $2.40.  We folded it and used it as a table runner that gives a bright festive pop of color to the whole table. We added the plates to our collection last May for Cinco de Mayo after admiring them for quite some time.  The China pattern is Mambo by Royal Norfolk.…

  • Celebrate - Recipe

    Amazing Pecan Mini-Pie Recipe for a Kentucky Derby Soiree

    This amazing Pecan Mini-Pie recipe is a family favorite that we have been making for at least 25 years.  Our traditional recipe uses Walnuts, but to celebrate the Kentucky Derby, we wanted to make mini pecan pies — so we swapped the walnuts for pecans. Some folks call these Tassies, others call them Tartlets but today we are calling them Mini Derby Pies because they are part of our Kentucky Derby Soiree! This amazing Pecan Mini-Pie recipe is a family favorite that we have been making for at least 25 years.  Read more about that here – where you’ll find lots…

  • Celebrate - Cooking - Food - Holidays - Recipe

    Insanely Yummy Benedictine Spread Recipe For A Kentucky Derby Soiree

    Benedictine Spread Recipe This Kentucky Derby staple was brand new to us, and it received rave reviews from all in attendance at our Kentucky Derby Soiree! I didn’t take any pictures of the process of making the spread or the canapes, but I’ll do my best to describe it all! The ingredients were just the basics: 1 block of Cream Cheese 1/4 cup of Sour Cream 1 whole Cucumber, finely grated 1/4 of a White Onion, finely minced The key to this recipe was the draining of the excess moisture from the Cucumber and the onion.  The way we accomplished this was by…

  • Celebrate

    Kentucky Hot Browns – Kentucky Derby Soiree

    Kentucky Derby Hot Brown Bake Recipe In our home, when we find a new event to celebrate we are always very excited.  We love all the research and exploration of the traditions or customs behind any event we are about to celebrate for the first time.  We love the decorating and all of the creative challenges that come along with it, but one of our family’s favorite parts of a new celebration is trying new foods. It feels so adventurous to try new things, even if it is from the safety of your very own dining room! At the same…