Cooking School

This weekend I went to the most amazing cooking class with my mom. The class was held in an open barn on a beautiful vineyard in Southold,NY which is on the North Fork of LI. It's a beautiful part of LI known for it's wineries and very popular farmstands. The host and hostess were great! They make Rose' wine (which is sampled during the class) and their property is just gorgeous. The owner, Paula Croteau has a schedule of classes some on the weekend and some during the week. Each class has a different theme. This weekend's was Totally Tomato. Paula is very relaxing to listen to and has so many great cooking tips! We got to help prepare many new recipes and of course sample everything we made. My mom really enjoyed the day! I highly recommend this place for anyone looking for something different. I think gift certificates to her school make great gifts even for couples. What a great bridal shower gift! The contact info for the school is: Farmhouse Cooking and Baking School email: Paula@FarmhouseKitchen.US
Look at this beautiful display of tomatoes!

Mom enjoying the cooking!

New Florals and Vintage Jewels!

I just finished some new florals that I will be listing this weekend. A couple of new wreaths for your front door and a wall cone all dressed up with some dupioni silk ribbon from Midori and a pink sparkly vintage earring. I love adding vintage jewelry pieces to my florals. It's also a really nice way to display a special piece from a relative. I think many of us have an old pin or other jewelry in a box somewhere. Why not put it on display so it can be enjoyed everyday!

Tea Party Time!

Yay! The Make Mine Pink Tea Pary has begun. I can't wait to check out all of the great tea parties going on around the world. I was so excited about this. The first thing I did was run out and buy this beautiful teapot. I didn't own one and decided that I NEEDED to have one!

I had so much fun with my kids preparing for this tea party. They wanted to be a part of it so we did it on Saturday and I decided to just make lunch out of it. My oldest daughter made the scones from scratch by herself and they were so good. She told me today she wants to open a tea cafe when she gets older.

We made cucumber sandwiches, chicken salad with cranberries and celery on mini croissants, and quick and easy linzer tart cookies ( using store bought flower shaped sugar cookies and sandwiching them with raspberry preserves in the middle). I also served store bought mini bluberry muffins, shortbread cookies and chocolate dipped wafers. We had blueberry green tea with our lunch ( kid's pick). And it was so delicious. Of course we served everything on the dessert stands that I sell in my shop, but don't they make the table pretty?

I loved how my kids came downstairs all dressed up for tea! It was really fun for everyone. I might have to make this a regular thing in our house. BTW, my husband was also part of the event, but came to the table in work clothes ( he was doing yard work ), so I chose not to photograph him!

Please visit http://www.makeminepink.blogspot.com/ for more virtual tea parties this week!

Tropical Party

Over the weekend, we had a tropical theme barbeque at our house. I love to have a theme when we entertain. This one was a lot of fun! We served drinks and appetizers outside and set up the dinner buffet inside. I love to create tablescapes. It makes the buffet table more interesting with different levels and props. I use hatboxes under the tablecloths to add some height to my platters. I layer different fabrics and add flowers and for this party theme, I added seashells and clear flat marbles. We also hung colorful paper lanterns and lots of light outside unter the umbrellas.

I tried to stick to the theme with the menu as well without getting too exotic or spicy as most of the caribbean foods are. We made some Key Lime Pie martinis to start and they were sooo good! For appetizers, I made Pig on a Stick (pork tenderloin strips) with orange marmalade sauce, Margarita Shrimp Cocktail, Bacon wrapped Pineapple, and my mom made Chicken Morsels with Mustard dip, I also put out some banana chips and tropical dried fruit and nuts. For dinner we had Flank Steak marinated in a tropical teriyaki and Jamaican Jerk Chicken. I also served Jasmine Rice with Pineapple and Fresh Ginger, Sweet Potato Fries, a Fresh Bean salad and a tossed salad with cranberries and sunflower seeds. For dessert I made Baked Bananas and served fresh Mango slices. It was a little bit of sweet and a little bit of spicy. I got all of my recipes from a few different cookbooks and magazines and would be happy to send any out if you are interested. Just let me know! It's also fun to make little signs for the different dishes. This way everyone knows what they are!

And for one last touch that is really nice - we made party favor music cds for everyone to take home. Lots of fun reggae and other caribbean songs that we had played during the night.

My New Look!

How do you like my blog's new look? I am still working on it. I need to figure out how to make the header bigger and I will be changing the background as well. As soon as I am happy with the way it looks, I will redesign my website to match! I would love some feedback on my new logo.

Please Join Us For Tea!

Fill your week with Tea Parties !!!
Starting Monday September 10, have a fun filled week with the
Make Mine Pink Bloggers as they host a virtual Tea Party.
Visit the Mine Pink Blog for all the information and a list of participating
Make Mine Pink Blogs.
Why Tea Party? Well what can be more fun, tea for two, tea for one, a princess tea, a mother/daughter tea, best friends tea, long lost friends tea, or to just take a moment to slow down and enjoy the tea.
Join in on the fun and host a virtual tea party too. We will be visiting all the Make Mine Pink blogs and yours too if you decide to host your own party.
You will see beautiful and unique tables set for tea; many will have a special theme. Will you join us and post a photo of your Tea Party on your very own blog?
Post a comment on Make Mine Pink’s Blog and we will include you on the list.So expect many visitors~ please have cookies ready.

Not Just Roses and Hydrangeas!

So I went to the NY Gift Show last week. So much fun! I get so inspired by all of the color trends and new styles to create and design new products. I found some great new containers for my florals in tin and stone, and of course some gorgeous new roses and hydrangeas to fill them with. But I do arrange with other materials too. I just finished this cone for a customer. I have already made her a few floral pieces for her living room, so we needed a non-flower piece for the wall. This was done in greens, twigs and berries. It was the perfect finish to her living room!

New Bingo Game Starts Today!

A new BINGO game starts today at Make Mine Pink! It's so much fun and there are great prizes too! Check it out!

Family Vacation

We have just returned from our summer vacation. We haven't been to Cape Cod, Massachusetts in about 12 years. So this summer we decided to take the kids. We rented a home in Chatham near the beach. What I loved the most about the area were the numerous Hydrangeas all over the place. There wasn't a home without them! I thought I would share some pics of the beautiful area.

The house we stayed in had a name - Serenity Shores

Every summer, we take pics of the kids wearing white on the beach. Sometimes I print them in black and white, sometimes color. This is one of my favorites!

I have always wanted to see Martha's Vineyard, so we took the ferry over and had dinner there. Here is a pic of a street in Edgartown, such a quaint and beautiful area!

Birthday Cupcakes

I can't believe it has been 2 months since my last post. I am going to try to keep up with my blog posts because I really do have a lot to say and ideas to share. I just need to make a regular time just for blog posts, along with exercise and everything else I want to squeeze into a day! Anyway I made these really cute cupcakes for my son's birthday. I got the idea from my sister and the recipe is from Family Fun. They look like mini buckets of popcorn. I made my labels on the computer using publisher. These were such a big hit and they taste great too with the marshmallows on top!

I've Been Tagged!

I have been tagged! Thanks to one of my Pink Sisters from Make Mine Pink, Dianne of Mama's Pocketbook, I get to share some strange facts about myself!

Here's how it works ... each player starts with 7 random weird facts/habits about themselves. People who are tagged need to write on their own blog about their seven things, as well as these rules. At the end of your blog, you need to choose 7 people to get tagged and list their names. Don’t forget to leave them a comment telling them that they have been tagged and to read your blog!

1~ I drink my morning coffee in the shower! I wake up, jump in the shower and my dh delivers my cup to me in the shower. This is the only way I get to enjoy it in peace and drink it while it's hot. Once I get out, I am bombarded with "I can't find my underwear, clean socks, etc!" from my kids. Which leads me to fact #2.

2~ I have laundry issues. I will wash, dry and fold it, but many days it doesn't make it into everyone's drawers. So, I always have a few clean baskets around the house that everyone digs through to find what they need! We are a family of six, so I have laundry coming out of my ears!
I also hate to iron and sew clothing that need repair. My husband does most of the ironing in our house and he has even sewn a button or two. But he really doesn't mind!

3~ Whenever we leave the house for the day, the first 15 minutes of the trip is spent discussing what we may have forgotten to bring or shut off in the house. If we are going somewhere that requires tickets, I need to physically see that my husband has them. It is not sufficient for him to say "they are in my pocket". He is so used to me doing this, he just goes right along with me!

4~ If I smell the scent of popcorn, I must buy some!

5~ I often fall asleep during movies, either at the theater or at home.

6~ I have a craft and decorating magazine and book fetish. I accumulate them and have a very hard time throwing any away!

7~ I dip my french fries in mustard!

Now I need to go find some friends that have not already been tagged! I need to do some research!

Someone Will Win a Pink Diamond!

We are so excited! As a proud member of MakeMinePink.com, we have joined with other Pink Boutiques and Make Mine Pink for the “Pink Diamond Campaign”.
Every year Make Mine Pink likes to do something special to honor our valued customers, clients and friends. In all, $2500 worth of fabulous pink prizes will be awarded throughout the contest with a Grand Prize of a genuine pink diamond pendant.
There are several fun ways to win prizes for the Campaign, by just visiting the boutiques at Make Mine Pink and locating the six diamonds hidden among the participating Pink Boutiques each of the six months, or you may see one of the Make Mine Pink boutique owners wearing her pink rhinestone “MMP” pin as she goes about day to day activities, or making a donation to a favorite women’s charity. A monthly prize will be awarded for May, June, July, August and September entries with a grand prize awarded for the month of October. It’s that easy!
Join us in our excitement by visiting the boutiques at Make Mine Pink.
For more information, you may visit the “Pink Diamond Campaign” link at Make Mine Pink.

Gift Wrap

I just wanted to share these pretty little communion favors I just put together for a customer. They are wire votive holders that I wrapped up in tulle, tied with pink ribbon and my favorite part is the little tag I made on my computer. I love pretty little gift tags. And I think wrapping gifts are so much fun and just as important as the gift itself! I guess that is why I just bought ANOTHER book to add to my collection. This one has such pretty pictures and some great gift wrapping ideas!

Girls Room Redo

I have just finished a really fun project. I was hired to redo an 11 yr old girl's bedroom. I have posted the before and after shots. She wanted a lime green and blue color scheme. Her mom wanted to keep the pink rug in the room so we worked a little pink in the bedding and accessories. I just finished hanging wall accessories today and I think we might need just a few more things to complete the room. So, for this project I went on a couple of shopping trips with the girl and her mom and we picked out bedding, window treatments, side table, lamp, hardware and shelves. We found some good bargains for this room such as a small metal side table from Ikea ($19.99) but it was black so I painted it blue! And the full length mirror in the corner was a great find for $50 but it was a dark stain so I painted it white. I also made a fabric memo board for the room and installed new drawer pulls on the dressers. Such a difference! Another great find were the paper lanterns in the corner of the room. They were at Old Navy 2 for $10 and they have battery operated lights inside. So cool! I just love projects like these.

Make sure you stop by Sanctuary Arts at Home for more Before and After projects!

Pink is the New Black

I have to share this adorable tee I found at Old Navy for my little one. I know my friends at Make Mine Pink are going to love this one! I wonder if they have them in adult sizes, I didn't think to check when I was there!

And I am just curious, how many of you decorate your home with Pink? I love the color, and a lot of my creations contain pink. However, on LI, I don't see a lot of customers asking for pink. But it seems popular on the internet and I believe it is becoming a new color trend. What do you think?

Back to Creating!

I have been so busy with a couple of customers' projects that I have not had much time to just create and list new items on my site. I was so excited to have an order of 40 of my hand painted Easter eggs. A very nice customer was giving them out as favors at her anniversary party. I am also working on a bedroom redo for an 11 year old girl. I will post pics when it is all complete. I love projects like those. But I am happy to get back to creating! I just finished this floral piece which I will list on my site very soon! Hydrangeas and Roses - my favorite!

Dining Room Makeover

Well, I haven't posted on my blog as often as I would like, but I am working on that! I have been pretty busy lately working on projects both for my business ( I will talk about those in my next post) and at home. Our latest project was and still is the dining room. We called it the extreme dining room makeover as we started the project just weeks before Christmas. Yes, we are crazy. At that time the room was full of toys. Here are some before shots (after we emptied the toys).

So, we took the wallpaper and mirrors down and painted a deep red wine color ( Cottage Red from Benjamin Moore) It is very dark, but I do love it. We painted the trim and bottom half in Benjamin Moore's Linen White. We do all of the trim in the house this color. It is creamier than a bright white and I love the contrast. My husband is still going to add boxes with moulding below the chair rail. I want the finished room not to be very formal but more of a romantic cottage style. This might be a challenge with the color we chose. We still need to find some furniture for this room. A friend gave us the dining room table and chairs. They are in great shape, I just need to refinish the top and I want to paint the chairs. I was thinking about painting roses on the backs. That will be a project for the summer. We also need to find a hutch for the big wall and a sideboard. I will probably look for something that we can paint to match the table and chairs. And then the accessories! I have already picked up a mirror that I just loved! The curtains I reused from our previous home and the hardware is from the Simply Shabby line at Target. I will post more pics as we go! Let me know what you think so far!