...butter, and flour, and sugar...oh my!

...three days and counting, and it's all about baking. For all the years I have mixed, whipped, kneaded, and folded, I am always amazed at what these 3 simple ingredients can transform into. For me baking is more that just the sum of it's actions. If your patient, and can follow directions, almost anyone can bake. It's a kind of chemistry. Measure the ingredients carefully, mix together, bake and a magical transformation occurs. I believe though, it's more than that. It's more about the items you don't find in any recipe. I cup of caring, a pinch of love, a teaspoon of self. And a bit of chocolate never hurts. A lot of myself goes into what I bake and hopefully into the hearts of the recipients of my labor. The next couple of days are about the treasure boxes of love and care that will be my Christmas gifts to those I love.
And of course I'll be sure to take out all the calories!

...Four Christmas Trees and a Mantle.

Nature Tree in the Living Room

Dining Room Tree - Antique Ornaments and Chandelier crystals

Kitchen Tree

Shiny Brite Tree in the TV room

Living Room Mantle

...four days and counting! While I make my lists and check them twice (and thrice), and work on the menus, and re design the table again, and again, and maybe throw in a batch of Christmas cookies...you can sit back with a cup of coco and take a quick peak at the trees scattered about the house. A wee house, but very tree worthy. After all - "tis the season".

...countdown to a holiday dinner party.

And so it begins... the countdown to my annual Holiday Dinner Party. Each year, my Christmas gift to my friends is an over the top, culinary and sensory extravaganza. Ten of us get together to spend the evening reminiscing about the year almost over, and to fill each other with hope and promise for the new year to come. The invitations have been sent and all have RSVP'd. Now comes the frenzy to pull it all together, and I thought this year I would share the whole experience with you. So...we'll start with the invitations and count down each day this week until the big event on Saturday. 5 days and counting...
This years invites were inspired by my dining room chandelier and one of my most favorite Christmas stories by Alan Le Grock. Stumped creatively in the beginning, I was off and running once I found the gorgeous hand made silver and turquoise paper ... I used silver embossing power with a beautiful chandelier stamp and hand applied jewels for some of the crystals on top of quartz shimmer paper. I attached The Chandelier story with an antiqued silver jewel brad. You can read the story here. It is a sweet and touching Christmas tale that I think about each year as my friends and I sit down to celebrate the season.
Stay tuned this week, for a wild ride of decorating, baking, cooking, and creating!!

...Happy Halloween.

Whoever's porch you are traveling to tonight...Have a safe and Happy Halloween!

...A Sunday visit to the stables.

There is something about the outside of a horse
that is good for the inside of a man.
~Winston Churchill

...retail therapy and a velvet pumpkin.

Every holiday season starts with the same inward conversation. "Look, but don't buy...You have enough", I tell myself. Boxes and boxes of Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and all the holiday trimmings in between. After all, I can't imagine there could be anything out there that I don't already have. Well...never say never.
I ventured out Sunday afternoon, with a dear friend visiting from the East Coast, for a bit of retail therapy. The Indian Summer heat wave had recently ended, and the air had the touch of a crisp fall chill. Great for window shopping and the first Pumpkin Spice Latte of the season. Off we went to visit some of my favorite spots here in my little corner of the world. Hidden little gems far from the pages of the more over shopped "catalog" establishments. We were doing quite well until our last stop, Ellington and French. A magical corner store that fulfills my every fantasy about what it must be like to live in Provence. I never leave there without a wistful sigh...speaking of leaving...we were almost out the door when my friend spotted these fantastical velvet pumpkins of varying sizes gracing the porcelain plates and saucers of the front window display. One look and I knew...there was no way I could resist these little puffs of art that looked like they were straight from the pages of a fairy tale. The toughest part was which one. Now for anyone who has ever gone Christmas Tree shopping with me, you know...I am all about the perfect choice. At times it can be a painstaking process and many a friendship has been tested by my design neurosis. One look at these photos and you can see I made the right decision.
Oh, and as for not buying anything new this season...well, after all, who doesn't need a little velvet pumpkin?

...think Pink!

{image via Feel Your Boobies}


From Pink Petals to Pink noses...October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month.
Be aware of your body...be knowledgeable...and be proactive!
For more information, click on the Feel Your Boobies link above!

..a Fall morning at the Farmers Market.

"Thy bounty shines in autumn unconfined
And spreads a common feast for all that live.
- James Thomson

...a explanation (sort of).

Wow, 2 months with nothing to say. I sit here now, looking a blank page, trying to find a photo appropriate for this post, and an explanation for being away so long. No excuses really...I guess I just didn't feel "it". What is "it" you ask? Oh, I guess you could say creative, or inspired, or moved. About anything really. I suppose some call it being in a funk. I told myself that no one will notice if I don't post for a day, or the week, or even the month. Sure, things happened that I could have written about. I was rear ended in a car accident, and am still recovering from whiplash (Oh how I hate the over used word that really doesn't do the experience justice). I turned 50. Spent the day in a limo headed for the wine country with great friends. Pretty big milestone...could have written about that. Celebrated a few milestone birthdays of those close to me...60,85,90! All with photos of the big events...could have written about that. But I just couldn't really get myself to sit down and share. All the while I would get e-mail updates showing how many visitors stopped by. Amazing! People were reading even though I wasn't writing. Well, thank you to all those who visited in my absence. And to those of you reading this...I'm back. New photos, new projects, and a renewed sense of creativity. So to get back to the photo...I'm poking my head back out into the blog world with a vengeance and flying out the door of my creative funk!

...lemon bars on a stormy day.

I quietly keep repeating the phrase..."April showers bring May flowers" trying to convince myself that there will be a wonderful reward for all this rain, but frankly I'm kind of tired of it. After a week of beautiful sunny days viewed from my window at work...I want a sunny weekend! I guess Mother Nature has other plans. And so must I. So...I baked up some sun in my kitchen. Sweet, tart, buttery, and flaky, these are truly a mouthful of spring.

For the Crust
1/2 pound unsalted butter
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 cups all-purpose flour

1/8 tsp. kosher salt

For the Filling
6 extra-large eggs at room temperature
3 cups granulated sugar
2 tablespoons grated lemon zest (4-6 lemons)
1 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 cup all-purpose flour
Confectioners' sugar, for dusting

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

For the crust, cream the butter and sugar until light in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Combine the flour and sale and, with the mixer on low, add to the butter until just mixed. Dump the dough onto a well-floured board and gather into a ball. Flatten the dough with floured hands and press it into a 9 x 13 x 2 inch baking sheet, building up a 1/2-inch edge on all sides. Chill.

Bake the crust for 15-20 minutes, until very lightly browned. Let cool on a wire rack. Leave the oven on.

For the filling, whisk together the eggs, sugar, lemon zest, lemon juice, and flour. Pour over the crust and bake for 30-35 minutes, until the filling is set. let cool to room temperature.

Cut into bars or triangles and dust with confectioners' sugar.

Compliments of The Barefoot Contessa Parties!

...Easter Sunday.

"Twas Easter- Sunday.
The full blossomed trees filled the air with fragrance and with joy."
- Henry Wadwsorth Longfellow

...Sunday in the garden.

Mom worked in the garden all day, pulling weeds...
and I helped.