A Week of Valentine’s Treats ~ Day FIVE ~ Jeff’s Creamy Chicken Marsala This is the first dish that Jeff ever made for me. One night, we decided to cook together, and while he made this I prepared a simple recipe for Fettuccine Alfredo. We were 22 years old when we started dating, after having…
A Week of Valentine’s Treats ~ Day FOUR Today I put together some Valentine’s gifts for my daughters Andrea and Grace. Little “girly” baskets with cute heart socks, candies, cookies, and THESE adorable “Spa Sundaes,” among other things. These little “sundaes” would be great party favors for a girlfriends’ spa day or tea lunch. Just…
A week of Valentine’s Treats ~ Day THREE! ~ A LOVE NOTES JAR! Today I made a jar of love notes for the hubby. I included coupons for hugs, kisses, back rubs, batches of cupcakes, movie dates, tea dates, lunch dates, candlelight dinners, morning walks, theater tickets, sunset viewings on the porch (with vino) and…
It’s finally here! Day one of my “Week of Valentine Treats!” This is my third year doing this, and I have to say, it’s some of the most fun I have blogging. Everyone seems to really enjoy it, which makes it even more of a delight to work on these posts. So…settle back with a…
smelling ~ rich, chocolaty espresso, tomatoey soup simmering, italian food, garlic roasting, THIS PERFUME seeing ~ snow gently falling in perfect puffy flakes… I caught some on my mitten today and looked closely…such amazing detail…fireplace blazing, amber candles glowing, vintage valentines and decor finally up and embellishing our rooms with romance, silly sweet fuzzy wuzzy…
This is one of my favorite recipes for tea bread. The flavors are the perfect accompaniment to almost any black tea or fruit tea. I make this for our Valentine’s Day breakfast every year, but it’s awesome any time. If you’d like to make a loaf you’ll need : 1/2 cup butter, softened (plus a…
~ peppermint ~ ~ orange ~ ~ coconut ~ ~ cayenne ~ Hello my lovelies! Here is the 7th surprise in the “Week of Valentine Treats” line up. I hope you’ve enjoyed the romantic posts this year. I made up a batch of these delicious, melt-in-your-mouth chocolate mousse truffles. These little yummies would make a…
I would like to welcome my friend and talented flower artist, Karen Toocheck, to ChinDeep today for a very special Valentine’s post! She is the proprietor of a wonderful business called The Crystallized Flower Company located in Willoughby Ohio and has generously agreed to share some of the magic and wisdom that goes into…
Today we took a leisurely Sunday drive over the bridge into Wisconsin. The Great River Road meanders along the Mississippi river and Lake Pepin through these sweet, quaint villages that remind me of vacations we’ve taken to Door County Wisconsin and Cape Cod Massachusetts. These are places we visit over and over again and they…
Valentine Treat #5… My favorite passionate cookbooks! The Passionate Palate by Desiree Witkowski Aphrodite by Isabel Allende Intercourses by Martha Hopkins & Randall Lockridge The Erotic Baker Cookbook by Karen Dwyer & Patrika Brown Romancing the Ordinary by Sarah Ban Breathnach Stay-in-Bed Fruit and Wine Omelet recipe adapted from the beautiful book… The Passionate Palate…
~ rose ylang ylang massage oil ~ “All thoughts, all passions, all delights, whatever stirs this mortal frame, are all but ministers of love, and feed his sacred flame.” ~Samuel Taylor Coleridge Did you know that I wrote a “home spa” book? Yup. I did. It’s called Chin Deep in Bubbles and on pages 35…
~ ghirardelli hot cocoa ~ Hello my lovelies! Here’s the second surprise in this weeks line up of Valentine’s treats. Ghirardelli cocoa! There’s nothing quite like this rich, wonderful cocoa. 12 years ago Jeff and I visited San Francisco California and just had to stop in at Ghirardelli Square. We ate some lovely chocolate treats…
~ heart strings ~ It’s that time of year again my friends! A week of Valentine treats here at ChinDeep! I’ve been feathering our nest with my favorite valentine things… Hearts, flowers, vintage linens and lace, romantic books, movies and music, vintage valentines, candles, vintage candy boxes, red…white…and, of course, pink! I’ve also been busy…
~ winter ice ~ “A rich and luscious sweet wine; white-gold in color with intense flavors and aromas of melon and peach. Estate Grown St. Pepin grapes make this a well-balanced wine with a crisp and refreshing finish.” ~winemaker’s notes “At Cannon River Winery, they use St. Pepin grapes for their ice wine in order…
the loot 😉 … after a fun couple hours treasure hunting…we decided on Fiesta Mexicana for dinner… I had the tamale, enchilada, chilie rellanos combo… and Jeff had the Carne Asada… This week for date night we were out for an evening walk and happened to see an estate sale sign. We discovered this treasure…
Remember when the quiz called “getting to know your friends” was floating around on the internet a few years back? My friend Dana just posted her, I LOVE Quizzes entry on ChinDeep as a guest blogger a few days ago and it made me think about this little quiz that got it all started for…
“Love and scandal are the best sweeteners of tea.” ~Henry Fielding One of the things I like about the tea ritual is that it can be made as simple or elaborate as you wish. Today I decided to fill a teapot with lilacs, pour iced tea with lemon and mint into our crystal wine glasses,…
~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…
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…
Valentine Treat 3 ~Jars of Delight~ “Every object, every being is a jar full of delight. Be a connoisseur.” ~Rumi photographs by Melissa Placzek A sweet idea for giving Valentines to your best friends! Just buy a bunch of small, quilted canning jars… Put a little circle of vintage fabric or a cupcake paper between…
A Week of Valentine Treats ~Valentine Treat 2~ “But you have no chocolate! I think of that again and again! My dear, how will you ever manage?” ~Marquis De Sevigne (In circa 1677 letter to her daughter.) photograph by Jeffrey Placzek :: 10 Chocolate Sweets for your Sweetie :: Totally Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cookies Flourless…
It’s the beginning of our week of Valentine treats! Just like last year, I’ll feature something for you having to do with love, friendship and romance every day for a week. Enjoy… ~Valentine Treat 1~ Homemade Valentines & Envelopes I made my valentines using cream colored card stock for the base and wallpaper hearts from…
I have to dedicate this post to some of my favorite readers! Thank you soooooo much for your encouragement and for your beautiful letters! I appreciate you more than I can say. I love our daily banter, your funny comments, thoughtful posts AND the tokens of friendship I find in my mail box! You rock….
“There is no greater risk than matrimony. But, there is nothing happier than a happy marriage.” Benjamin Disraeli 1870 (in a letter to Queen Victoria’s daughter Louise, congratulating her on her engagement) This past Saturday Jeff and I hosted an intimate anniversary party at one of our favorite places. A gorgeous building called The Sanctuary….