Portland, Oregon!

I'm just back in from visiting my sister in Portland, Oregon.   We saw some beautiful gardens, ate at some wonderful restaurants, shopped at some super cool stores and experienced a few museums.  The Hollywood farmers market near her house was a lushness of fresh veggies that I just have to share...

I love the colors of these radishes.  They were truly perfect, not a crack among them.

Everything looked so fresh and inviting.  If you are in Portland, you must stop by!  http://www.hollywoodfarmersmarket.org/

Teacher's Gifts

The end of the school year is fast approaching so I thought I'd share what I am doing for teacher's gifts this year.  I often hesitate to give actual gifts, because no matter how nice you think the item is, it just might not be someone's taste.  I picked out something I thought would be useful, yet fun.

I found these wonderful baskets on Etsy at SewCute Thread's shop.  These baskets could be used to carry items to the classroom, the beach, on a picnic or the farmer's market.  My friend and I went together on these gifts, so we were able to fill them with some flowers and beautiful note cards from Target's Liberty of London line.  (On clearance!)  What are you gifting your child's teacher this year?

A Thank You to Mothers

A very happy Mothers Day to all moms out there!  It's only my 7th chance to celebrate the occasion, and as such I still think of it for a day to thank my mom and mother in law for all that they do.  Especially for what they have done to make me and my husband the adults we are today.  Our meal of choice is brunch because is it fun to make (and eat!)  I am lucky to have an abundance of pansies in the garden to decorate with so I added them to the watermelon, strawberry and kiwi salad.

My daughter helped decorate the table with more pansies.  Very elegant.

My husband treated us to his special handmade crepe recipe.  I especially love the crispy edges!

A strawberry coulis for an angel food cake.  I just threw some strawberries, lemon juice and a pinch of sugar in a bowl and pureed them with a stick blender.

I made some simple drop scones to tide the kids over until breakfast was ready.

2 cups all purpose flour
1/3 cup sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/3 cup butter
1/3 cup orange juice
1/3 cup milk
2 tablespoons grated orange peel
1/2 cup chocolate chips.  (Or white chips, dried cranberries or raisins)

Heat oven to 375 degrees, grease cookie sheets.
In a large bowl, combine dry ingredients well.  Using a pastry blender or fork, cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.  Add orange juice, peel and milk and stir until just moistened.  Stir in chocolate chips and drop by heaping teaspoonfuls on greased sheet.  Top each scone with cinnamon and sugar and bake for 8-10 minutes.  Serve warm.
*adapted from Pillsbury The Complete Book of Baking.

Some pretty gerbera daisies, one bouquet for each mom.

The grandest gift of all, handmade cards from my children.

Here's a bit of Inspiration for you....

Stephanie Nielsen is an amazing, inspiring woman who had made it through some huge life trials.  Just watch this short video and see if it doesn't give you a new perspective on your day today, as it did mine.  You can read her wonderful blog here.

Yummy Easter Cookies!

I just had to share some of the Easter cookies I made to to bring to a family dinner.  I had so much fun decorating them with the bright colors of spring!

Spring!

Things are rapidly turning green here on the east coast after much rain.  Here are some lovely things I've found while staying dry in the house...


Katya Trischuk creates Pysanky eggs in addition to being an established artist in Toronto.  You can find her beautifully detailed eggs at her Etsy store, Ukrainian Easter Eggs.

Look at the amazing details!  Each egg is drawn on with wax, then dipped in a color dye, usually the lightest, then more wax and another color and so on.  When the artist is done with the dyes, the wax is melted off to reveal the final design.  

I love the simplicity of this black and white egg.

This sterling silver necklace is available at Just Jayne's Etsy shop.  A darling gift for the Easter basket!

You know I love the whole concept of print at home. It's like instant gratification for those
of us who have so many things going on that a few things slip through the cracks every now
and then. Click on over to Andrea and Katie's Print Your Party Etsy store and you'll have a
file emailed to you. Print, glue and you are done! Andrea and Katie also have a blog where
they share all of their latest creations for celebrations.

Spring cookie

My mother in law asked me to make some cookies for a friends mom's 100 birthday party.  How amazing it that?  Imagine the things this woman has seen in her lifetime.  Since it's been so beautiful out, I was inspired by the bright green shoots that have been emerging after  long, snowy winter.

Enjoy your day and get out there and soak up some vitamin D!