Spring Ideas with Rabbits and Eggs

Now that spring is here, lightening up the home decor with fresh flowers and garden themes suits me. Today, I have a roundup of ideas for tablescapes along with some delicious ideas for meals. So, let's start with setting a table. I did this one for Easter dinner in 2017. It has the fun Easter …

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Cooking from Backroads Italy

One of the great benefits of my collaboration with Milk Street is sometimes getting a new cookbook before it publishes. One came last week, and I have been devouring the recipes and stories it contains. It is Milk Street Backroads Italy: Finding Italy's Forgotten Recipes by Christopher Kimball and J.M. Hirsch. It was apparent that …

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Asian Influence for Spring

Warmer weather brings out the desire for lighter dishes and interesting flavors for meals. I love Asian influences in food and tablescapes, and today I'll share a new table along with some of my original recipes for the food. This would be so fun to share with friends! A few years ago, I did an …

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Sunday Chat

It was a fun week this past week, with a couple of days to sew, plus Virtual retreat on Friday. I got out the scraps from the mis-cut pajama pants, and I think I may have enough fabric to get a top, if I find the right pattern. Going through my pattern boxes, I did …

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It is February Already!

I have a couple of days to sew this week, and I am looking forward to Virtual Retreat on Friday as a sew day too! I have started a secret project, and all I can show you for now is this. It is going to be so fun! More details later when I can reveal …

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Sunday Chat

Since we didn't do the house party because of the snow, I had two pints of blueberries to use up. I decided to do some blueberry muffin tops, with a basic muffin recipe from my Good Housekeeping cookbook. I use a Muffin Top Pan, one that doesn’t have a deep well.  This gives you beautiful …

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Hen Party

This week, I planned to have a couple of friends over for a day of sewing and chatting, and maybe just a touch of stitch-and-bitch. My Sweet Babboo always calls this a Hen Party, so I got out my chicken table topper for a nice tablescape for lunch. I put my gold chargers at the …

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Stuffed Peppers for Two and More

When it is cold outside, I get a craving for a comfort food dish like this one. Since there are only two of us in the household, I need recipes that serve just us, with not much in the way of leftovers. When I hit upon this idea, it seemed perfect. The stuffed peppers are …

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Prime Rib Stroganoff, and Virtual Retreat

Christmas dinner at our home has been a prime rib for many years now. It is an expensive cut, a special treat for the holiday. I use a slow cook method that results in lovely medium rare center, with the end slices a bit more done for My Sweet Babboo. We enjoy it on Christmas …

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Sunday Chat – Christmas Fun

This past week, we went with friends to see the Lake Julian Festival of Lights. I love this small, drive-through light show in a small park in Arden, NC. We go most years, but I have to say I had more fun this time than ever. We listened to Christmas music, circled the route twice, …

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