Theme Party

20 years ~ a scenes post

October is our wedding anniversary month, and we pretty much celebrate from the 1st until the 31st. This year we’re celebrating our 20th, so we decided to make it extra special by throwing an intimate, casual soiree at our home. Here are some scenes from the month so far… kittens frolicking in the dappled light…

scenes from the past few weeks

A farewell party for my dear friend, Josh at the gorgeous Jean Acres Farm in Ellsworth Wisconsin. It was such a pretty venue, and the night was perfect for a party in the country. The farewell was bittersweet. Miss him already. We celebrated my birthday at The Smack Shack Restaurant where I had the giant…

72 picnic foods ~ a “movable feast” recipe collection

Salad in a Jar Four Refreshing Summer Picnic Beverages “To Go” Macaroni Picnic Salad Layered Salad in a Cake Pan Cowboy Caviar orzo picnic salad German Coleslaw Papa’s Potato Salad Candied Broccoli Salad Tequilaberry’s Salad Provence Potato Salad Classic Greek Salad Vineyard Crunch Salad German Potato Salad {served warm or cold} Black Bean & Mango…

halloween 2011 ~ part 1 ~ decorating and pumpkin art

~ halloween throughout my house ~ The Halloween celebration started last night. We put on an extra layer of woolies, carved pumpkins on the deck, (also known as the “dock”) and had a camp fire.  At dusk, we drove over to Grandview Avenue here in Red Wing, armed with  a thermos of hot, spiced Honeycrisp…

six senses saturday ~ tea party!

tasting: apple cider floats, carrot cheddar curry tea sandwiches with raisins and apple on whole grain sandwich thins (and cut into wedges), cucumber sandwiches, chili and pumpkin filled crescent rolls. smelling: pumpkin crescent rolls baking in the oven, spicy candles burning, and fresh roses (that hubby gave me for our anniversary.) feeling: blessed by the…

butternut squash & apple bisque

~ butternut squash & apple bisque ~ I’ve gotten quite a few emails asking me to please post the recipe for the butternut squash & apple bisque that was pictured in my “teacup lunch” blog post on Tuesday, October 4th. Soooo…..without further adieu, I give you one of my favorite autumn soup recipes. I hope…

proper cucumber sandwiches

I invited my friend Nancy over for a relaxing lunch to celebrate her birthday. Before she arrived, I lit candles everywhere, started Nora Jones playing low over the iPod dock, put the tea kettle on the stove, and made a batch of proper cucumber sandwiches. I’ve made almost as many cucumber sandwiches as I have…

teacup lunch

~teacup lunch~ I came across this sweet idea for serving lunch in a stack of teacups while paging through one of my favorite magazines awhile back. I decided immediately that at some point I was going to enjoy a teatime lunch this way. Today was that day!  It was really simple and I love the…

A Royal Wedding Afternoon Tea

Today I got to celebrate the royal wedding with two lovely friends. What a fun, fun day! What better way for Anglophiles to celebrate the royal wedding then to have an afternoon tea? with gorgeous tea sandwiches… fruit, Devon cream and lemon curd… triple berry, apple cinnamon and raspberry white chocolate scones… and a champagne…