Give me odorous at sunrise a garden of beautiful flowers where I can walk undisturbed.
Walt Whitman 

Flowers on the window sill is a reminder that Spring will be here soon. On this groundhog day, I am hoping that seeing the shadow will indeed bring an early Spring!

Looking forward to seeing all of the bulbs that Riley and I planted in the Fall.

Flowers always make people better, happier, and more helpful; they are sunshine, food and medicine for the soul.
Luther Burbank 

This week it has been hovering around zero degrees or below! I thought it would be nice to share my indoor gardening photos. It gets me through these next few months until I can really get outside and start!

Stay warm my friends....Spring is coming :)

I gratefully did not have a blue Christmas this year by any means. However, I am feeling blue after the Holidays as I always do now that my favorite time of year has past. So this year I thought I would accept that blue, surround myself by it and look forward to my second favorite time of year! My inspiration? Cupsogue beach, West Hampton.

I have been lucky enough to live half my life on the beaches of Long Island, and half my life enjoying beautiful mountains and lakes. This life has allowed me to fall in love with all that is nautical and really all that is blue.

Beach sand surrounding candles and a touch of blue in the carpet.

My beach inspired art work that were wrapped like presents.

Blue

Blue

Blue after Christmas...

And finally since it's still below zero in Vermont, a cozy blue blanket to cuddle up next to the fire. Looking forward to coming back home this summer to the beaches of L.I. and looking forward to boating on the lake...sigh......

Do you ever wonder what to do with your art work that doesn't always go with your holiday theme? I do! I have some beautiful canvas prints that are a little beachy.  At work one day I was talking to one of our new teachers, you know the young, energetic type? Well she gave me the idea to wrap those big prints. I couldn't find wrapping paper that was less loud so I went with letting the ribbon be the star of the piece! 

Something different and holiday decorating, I'll give it a try!

The more decorating on the inside will help with the lack of snow on the outside :(    I hope!
Still dreaming of a white Christmas!

In the beginning of December it felt like Christmas! The family cut down the tree and it was snowing in Vermont, really it was! Today it was sunny and 50! While some Vermonters I talked to today said things like...

"I'll take it," "fine by me, I'm not ready." I on the other hand longed for this...

So I took action and decided to come right home after work to make ornaments with my kids.
Knowing that I had driftwood collected and saved from the warm sunny days on the lake, I decided to take those warm weather memories and use them for creating hopefully cold weather memories... Christmas Memories!

While Christmas music was playing, arose a tiny reindeer...

Red ribbon, glue guns and such a clatter....

And then creative thoughts danced in Riley's head...

Leading to all of us hoping for SNOW!!!

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone! My chalkboard is finished and ready to display for Thanksgiving day!

I am looking forward to having my family join me for the feast this year. I love everything about Thanksgiving...the cooking, the parade, the great food and wine, and of course most of all spending the day with my family.

Here are two of my favorite recipes that I will be making along with a few others ;0)

Creamed pearl onions:

• 12 ounces pearl onions
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 tablespoon chopped flat-leaf parsley
• 1 garlic clove, smashed
• 1/2 teaspoon fresh grated nutmeg
• Salt and pepper, to taste
• 1 cup goose stock or 
• chicken broth

• Directions

  Blanch the pearl onions by placing them into a large pot of rapidly boiling water. Cook them for about 1 minute. Remove the onions from the water with a strainer, then plunge into an ice bath to stop the cooking process. Drain them, then remove the skins.

  Put the onions in a 3-quart saucepan and place over low-medium heat. Add the cream, bay leaves, parsley, garlic and nutmeg. Season with salt and pepper. Cover and let simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until thickened. Then, remove the cover and add stock. Season again. Allow to cook down for 5 minutes to tighten up the cream sauce. Discard the garlic clove and bay leaves before serving.

and from Southern Living, Black bottom

pumpkin pie

 

Ingredients

1/2 cup chopped pecans

• 1 cup cinnamon graham cracker crumbs
• 1 cup crushed gingersnaps
• 1/2 cup butter, melted
• 1 cup semisweet chocolate morsels
• 2 cups whipping cream, divided
• 2 (1.4-oz.) chocolate-covered toffee candy bars, finely chopped
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 large eggs
• 4 egg yolks
• 2 cups milk
• 1 cup canned pumpkin
• 1 tablespoon vanilla bean paste*
• 1/2 cup maple syrup
• Garnish: semisweet chocolate shavings

Preparation

1. 1. Preheat oven to 350°. Bake pecans in a single layer in a shallow pan 8 to 10 minutes or until toasted and fragrant, stirring halfway through. Cool 10 minutes.
2. 2. Stir together graham cracker crumbs, next 2 ingredients, and toasted pecans until blended. Press crumb mixture on bottom, up sides, and onto lip of a lightly greased 10-inch pie plate.
3. 3. Bake at 350° for 10 to 12 minutes or until lightly browned. Transfer to a wire rack, and cool completely (about 30 minutes).
4. 4. Microwave 1 cup semisweet chocolate morsels and 1/2 cup whipping cream in a small microwave-safe bowl at HIGH 1 minute or until melted, stirring at 30-second intervals. Spoon chocolate mixture over bottom of pie crust; sprinkle candy bars over chocolate mixture. Cover and chill 1 hour or until chocolate mixture is set.
5. 5. Meanwhile, whisk together sugar and flour in a heavy 3-qt. saucepan; add eggs, egg yolks, and milk, and whisk until blended. Cook over medium heat, whisking constantly, 8 to 10 minutes or until a pudding-like thickness. (Mixture will just begin to bubble and will hold soft peaks when whisk is lifted.) Remove from heat, and whisk in pumpkin and vanilla bean paste. Transfer to a bowl. Place heavy-duty plastic wrap directly on warm filling (to prevent a film from forming); chill 30 minutes. Spoon pumpkin mixture over chocolate; cover and chill 8 to 24 hours or until filling is firm.
6. 6. Beat remaining 1 1/2 cups cream at high speed with an electric mixer until foamy; gradually add syrup, beating until soft peaks form. Spread or pipe over pie.
7. *Vanilla extract may be substituted.

Weekend warriors, we try to be. After reading some magazines over coffee, I had an idea. My husband knew trouble was brewing when I showed him a picture and I said I'd like to make "this" sometime. So after the gym, we were on a mission! He is very supportive and loves a good project! It all started with a Thanksgiving post! ~ And these...

 and first of all this...

So then at 2 minutes to closing, Sticks and Stuff had this...

and these...

And after running around... to finally Ace really is the place these...

Busy at home with a saw and some glue we had this...

And finally at the end of the weekend approaching we had THIS!!!

At almost 9 PM, I wanted a harvest quote, I wanted to surround the masterpiece with pumpkins and garland made of leaves....

Then upon reading the chalk board paint directions? Do not write on for 36 hours... :(

Stay tuned, the weekend warriors just ran out of time! However, we were thankful for the journey!