Melissa

Six Senses Saturday

~Feeling~ Thankful ~Seeing~ This book! Can’t put it down! ~Tasting~ Cherry Polish Paczi (pronounced punch-key) From Hanisch Bakery Red Wing mmmmmmm….. photograph by Melissa Placzek ~Hearing~ Pomplamoose! ~Smelling~ Stuffed Acorn Squash cooking in the crockpot! Here’s the RECIPE ~Knowing~ That soon the snow will melt and Jeff will suggest we go HERE for dinner. We…

Repurposing Ideas

~Vintage Suitcase as Correspondence Center~ I loved turning one of my vintage suitcases into a correspondence center! The perfect vessel for holding stationery, writing pens, stamps, stickers, envelopes, cards and books on letter writing…my favorite is The Gift of a Letter by Alexandra Stoddard. The top part of the suitcase can be turned into a…

Beef & Basmati Dumplings with Lemon Sauce

photograph by Melissa Placzek ~Beef & Basmati Dumplings~ These Greek meat and rice dumplings are moist and flavorful, and surprisingly low in fat when you use extra lean meats. I have made them with fattier meats before, but because of the way these little dumplings are cooked, the extra fat really isn’t necessary. This way…

“Priceless” by Dana Stenholtz

I just love this article that Dana wrote! So sweet! Enjoy. Priceless The two loves of my life are my nieces. Elyse and Aubrey are 7 and 5, and anything Auntie Dana gives them is special. That is one of the best things about kids. They don’t know if you spent five dollars or 5,000…

Thrift Store & Antique Treasures

I went thrift store shopping with my daughter Andrea today and found sooooo many good things! pretty plates… a platter decorated with sweet peas… a cool china teacup, saucer and dessert plate… silver and silver plate hidden under layers of tarnish… after using a little elbow grease, it shined up beautifully! some gorgeous vintage runners…

The Mysteries of Tea ~ Rooibos

  “Each cup of tea represents an imaginary voyage.” ~Catherine Douzel photograph by Melissa Placzek :: Tea of the Week :: Rooibos This tea is produced only in the Western Cape province of South Africa and is also known as rositea, red tea and red bush. It is believed to aid longevity and is called…

Scenes From Valentine’s Day ~ A Strawberry Menu

~Valentine’s Treat 7~ A Strawberry Menu “…Sit on a cushion, and sew a fine seam, and dine upon strawberries, sugar and cream.” ~From the Mother Goose nursery rhyme “Curly-Locks” Happy Valentine’s Day! We started celebrating yesterday… We started the day with Strawberry Milk and I made a loaf of Strawberry Breakfast Bread This got rave…

my vintage valentines & “book of love” brownies

~Valentine Treat 6~ My vintage and antique valentines are featured in this weekend’s edition of The Rochester Post Bulletin! My friend, Sandy Erdman, wrote a great article! There was only enough room for two of the valentines to be pictured….soooo… I thought I’d share some of my other favorites here. and the following selections are…

Six Senses Saturday

~Hearing~ This gorgeous soundtrack from the beautiful movie Love in the Time of Cholera Love Hildebranda’s and this… Valentine playlist ~Seeing~ This romantic handkerchief coverlet ~Tasting~ Sweet & Salties Preheat oven to 300 degrees F. Line cookie sheet with heavy-duty foil. Grease foil. Cover tray with Saltine crackers… Mix 1 cup butter and 1 cup…

Repurposing Idea ~ Romantic Vintage Handkerchief Table Coverlet

Valentine Treat 5 ~Vintage Handkerchief Table Coverlet~ Jeff and I went thrifting together last week… I was searching for something specific that day… Vintage handkerchiefs! I found 24 of them! Vintage handkerchiefs + A sewing machine and thread… = A romantic table coverlet! photographs by Melissa Placzek Just go to your nearest thrift store and…