Luxurious Retreat Tips

pumpkin votives

~ pumpkin votives ~ Time to start decorating for Autumn! Today I’ll be taking my Autumn decorations down from the attic and packing up the white slipcovers, blue & white and “beach house” decor for another year. Here’s one of my favorite, easy, centerpiece ideas for this time of year. I alternate mini pumpkin votive…

thrift store score

“When I go to a country, I go to flea markets and antique stores. I am always looking for something.” ~Ursula Andress Gracie and I went on a little thrift store/antique shop excursion today and I found lots of fun things. A couple items I’m going to share with you were found on earlier expeditions…

fresh herb tea

~fresh herb tea~ “Teaism is a cult founded on the adoration of the beautiful among the sordid facts of everyday existence. It inculcates purity and harmony, the mystery of mutual charity, the romanticism of the social order.” ~Okakura Kakuzu, 1906 We have a ton of fresh herbs growing in the container gardens out back on…

sandy erdman talks herbs & edible flowers

I would like to welcome my friend, and newspaper columnist for the Rochester Post Bulletin, back to ChinDeep! She has some fun, delicious tips and a recipe to share with us. EDIBLE  FLOWERS~ Use edible flowers in your cooking and salads and your guests and family will think you’re a gourmet cook! In the past…

picnic

“A book of verses underneath the bough, a jug of wine, a loaf of bread and thou…” ~Edward Fitzgerald It’s my birthday week and the first celebration was a little picnic under our oak tree. We made a Muffuletta sandwich, sipped wine and rosewater lemonade, and had creamsicle Oreos and dark Dove chocolates for dessert.…

six senses saturday

~seeing~ about 25 bald eagles flying overhead and My family enjoying dinner out on the deck… ~hearing~ Alexi Murdoch on the iPad ~smelling~ fresh spearmint-infused iced tea ~tasting~ Romanian basil-beef kabobs after my son-in-law-to-be showed me this yummy recipe! ~feeling~ happy, grateful and exhausted after a long day ~knowing~ that this is a good match…

vintage pretties

Today I met my friend Clare at her gorgeous quilting studio here in Red Wing. After moving some furniture into her new space, we noshed on banana bread, black pepper kettle chips and rosewater lemonade. This time I made my lemonade with Lebanese rosewater (which, according to many rosewater enthusiasts, is the best rosewater you…

the languid step of spring

The house needed a little TLC both inside and out and because it was gorgeous over the long weekend I decided to start outside. I cut at least 30 oak tree saplings out of our front bulb/fern garden… cut back the MAMMOTH ROSE BUSHES without too much bloodshed, which was a first. One year I…

ritz carlton ginger tea

Here is a wonderful, natural drink that is not actually tea, but a ginger infusion. I know a lot of people who suffer from seasonal allergies, so I thought I’d pass this little recipe along. Ginger tea is a fantastic home remedy for indigestion, nausea, and to help cure colds, the flu and ailments associated…

six senses saturday

~seeing~ The world from this point of view as I sip my first cup of morning tea… ~smelling~ the lily of the valley that’s blooming like mad all along the wraparound porch ~feeling~ excited for the long weekend ~hearing~ Beth Orton she cries your name stolen car central reservation ~tasting~ THIS bread… with more of…