Melissa

Cara Cara Orange Glazed Chicken

“Orange is the happiest color” ~Frank Sinatra This chicken turned out so tender and juicy on the inside with a caramelized sticky tangy-sweet crust, I just couldn’t keep this recipe to myself. I used Cara Cara oranges which I think make the sauce on this chicken extra special. Cara Cara oranges are navel oranges that…

Lemon Bars

“Knowest thou the land where the lemon trees bloom, where gold orange glows in the deep thicket’s gloom, where a wind ever soft from the blue heaven blows, and the groves are of laurel and myrtle and rose?” ~Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe These are the best lemon bars I’ve ever made. They’re adapted from Ina…

Visiting Red Wing-Red Wing Trolley Company

Today I am writing my 200th blog entry! Thank you faithful readers! I was thinking it might be fun to write about something new, and decided to add a sub category to my ‘Travel Journal’  for those of you who may want to visit Red Wing some time. I didn’t grow up here, so I…

Serendipity, Tea and Me

“I don’t drink coffee, I take tea my dear.” ~Sting If I told you about all of my adventures in tea I could absolutely write my own book…maybe two. I’ve already given you a little history in my blog entitled “The Mysteries of Tea.” How I just ‘happened’ to buy my first home a block…

Party Under The Big Top

“Let me bring lollipops and confetti and silly things and place them at your feet.” ~Barbara Ann Kipfer Time for another theme party! 🙂 This past Saturday my little grandgirl, Maddie May, turned one year old! When we were picking a theme for her party we knew we were going to ‘do it up BIG’…and…

Rhubarb Custard Cake

While working at the ‘Tale of Two Sisters Tearoom’ here in Red Wing Minnesota, I learned about a wonderful recipe for using up some of that rhubarb that is starting to take over in your garden. It is so wonderful that after partaking you may dream about it and have it for breakfast the next…

Music Review-Alexi Murdoch

The first time I heard Alexi Murdoch‘s music was while watching the movie “Away We Go.” He has a hauntingly beautiful voice, and his song “All My Days,” gives me goosebumps every time I hear it. I’m in the process of ordering every CD he’s ever made… ~Melissa

Current Crush-Penguin Classic Cloth Bound Books

“To sit alone in the lamplight with a book spread out before you, and hold intimate conversations with men of unseen generations – such is a pleasure beyond compare.”  ~Kenko Yoshida LOVE LOVE LOVE these! Penguin cloth bound classics available at Anthropologie… look at this gorgeous copy of “Alice in Wonderland” ! wouldn’t these look…

Fresh Air Rooms

“And they were canopied by blue sky…so cloudless, clear and purely beautiful.” ~Lord Byron In my book, “Welcome Home-Simple Tips for Turning Your House into a Luxurious Retreat,” on page 54, I wrote all about ‘Fresh Air Rooms.’ Porches, sun rooms, patios, decks, and gazebos would all fall into this category. The wrap around porch…