...a basket full of posies!

...welcome!

I wanted a little wreath change for my courtyard

but I wasn't quite ready to give up on summer just yet

so off to Michael's I went

in search of something lovely!!

cart at the ready, I hunted up and down the isles

I saw ALOT of fall wreaths...

nope

....hhmmmm

maybe an all ivy one ~

yah no!

then

I rounded the corner

and my little eye spied these...

they looked like seaside flowers to me,

very muted beachy colors

yes!!

I like that...

I like my spaces to be pretty

no matter how small a function they serve

~ are you that way?

sometimes, when my hands are full

I need somewhere to rest my purse and packages to open the front door...

this little bench serves me well ~

and it's surprisingly very comfortable!

everything I needed was all 50% off

~

I like that too!!

my favorite is the wide burlap ribbon

...it just called to me.

this is my front gate door...

I found this great wicker basket thrifting acouple of weeks ago,

it's seen better days

but I bought it anyways ~

it's by Cynthia Rawlings and it has soft leather straps,

I love the color ~ a soft buttercream

it was perfect for my hydrangea's!

I also found this sweet little face

it called to me too

but I never found a place for her

...until now!!

she whispers "welcome dear ones"

everytime you enter...

and I adore that!!

...here's to a lovely basket full of posies for YOUR front entrance!!

... ~ ode to a bubble ~

midweek musings in the land of odds...

~

 ode to a bubble

iridescent bubbles ~

floating in mid air

pausing only for a moment

you know not of a care ~

take with you then

this simple wish

before you blow away

and when you

P - O - P

may all who feel

the tickle of your spray

be also filled

with such delight

as you have brought

upon this happy day!!!

much love & wonderment,

...a delightful summertime pizza pie ~

...Hello dearies!!

" Don't let's ask for the moon.

We have the stars."

~

Are you all enjoying the last little licks of

summertime?!!

...speaking of licks,

can you guess what this is?

how `bout now?!

yep!

...it's homemade pizza!

not just any ole pizza...

but what I like to call ~

de~light~ful summertime pizza!!

now, if you just gotta have meat on your pizza

you could very easily put your fav topping on

(next time around, I'll be using some prosciutto!)

but 

don't look for it today,

on these particular pies

it's our vegetarian day!

(hence the word de~LIGHT~ful!)

Do you enjoy garden fresh produce?

perhaps you enjoy the farmer's market delights?!

or maybe you

grow your own organic produce?

well,

I've got you covered

as this recipe showcases them all ~ perfectly!!

and the best part is

only a few ingredients are necessary!

I don't know about you but in these lazy days of summer,

I'm all about simplistic yummies!!

so without further ado

I give you

~ Summertime Pizza ~

*pizza dough

I take a little help here and "trader joe dough" it!

if you have a favorite recipe, feel free to you make your own

ahem,

 if you do have an ancient family secret pizza dough recipe ~ email me would ya`?!

I promise,

I don't make any dough, selling pizza in my etsy shop!!

(hahaha!!!!)

....hhhmmmm

note to self

research pizza dough profits...

now, where was I?

oh yes,

you could even use a boboli pizza crust

BUT 

you'd also MAJORLY cheat yourself out of seeing, smelling, tasting, touching ~

bascially using alllllll of your senses ~ engaging into this beautiful pie process

but I understand, really I do, so do what's best for you at this point of time.

I'm just sayin`

it won't be AS tasty!

*2 TBLspoons cornmeal

*2TBLspoons good, fruity olive oil

*1/4-1/2 head of escarole (torn to bits)

*1 large handful basil (torn to bits)

*2 beautifully smelling peaches

*flaky sea salt - freshly ground black pepper

*1/2 cup mozzarella (chunk it, slice it, shred it ~ it's really up to you!)

now, I just so happen to reeaaally like cheese, so I add more

same goes for any of this! ~ even swap the fruit if you like,

there are no pie cops patrolling around

so go ahead, it's okay to live dangerously here!!

*heat your oven to 425degrees

*grease your pizza pie sheet with olive oil and sprinkle with the cornmeal

*stretch your pizza dough to your desired shape

you can even get all fancy and through it up in the air like those hunky pizza boys do at the local wood fire oven joint ~ 

...my beloved had to get the ladder out when I tried that... 

*scatter the escarole, basil, peaches, flakey salt & fresh pepper

and creatively place your mozzarella cheese

remember, we eat with our eyes too and cooking is also an art form!

*drizzle with fruity olive oil

I let my pizza rest for about 20 minutes

`cause I like to see my pie rise, it's just so darn satisfying

so if you're in a hurry

may I suggest take out??

...from the hunky pizza joint down the street?!!

(I'm not tellin` ya the name of it ~ get your own joint!!)

*then bake for 15-20 minutes or until the cheese is golden bubbly goodness!!

 

tada!!!

doesn't that look good?!

I do hope you will give this summertime pizza a try

and let me know if you liked it

or if you added some other tasty ingredient to it

 as summer is winding down quickly

and I would love to capture it again

 at least

 one

 more

 time!!

here's to tasty morsels!!

*quote taken from:

 Now, Voyager

...my mac attack!

...happy friday dearests!!

Have you ever come across something simply beautiful 

and

IMMEDIATELY

you were inspired?

and you just knew you'd never be the same after having seen it?

...this happened to me this week ~

le macaron violette

there was no rhyme or reason that it should have struck me so...

there I was

minding my own business when

K-A-B-L-A-M

(Adam West style!!)

(for you dear younger readers, that was the original batman!)

anyways...

 look at it

~

just sitting there looking 

all temptingly elegant like!

...

so

...

now

...

 I am completely obsessed with this beautiful little something ~

hibiscus macarons with lavender

seeking creatively flavored recipes and heeding all the little tips

from others who have been "mac" attacked as well!

I'm guessing right about now,

you do KNOW I'm talking about macarons and Not mac n` cheese

~ although a bowl of truffle mac is pretty tasty

(focus Rosemary!!)

Apparently,

it is also imperative that you simply must have a good foot

for successful macarons,

and at the time of this writing

 I have two ~ soooo, I'm good to go!)

hahaheheho!

pretty in pink macarons

oh, don't worry!

I wouldn't be trying this if I didn't think that I could stand on my own two feet in the kitchen...

okay

seriously

enough of the foot cracks!!

oh crack!

I hope I didn't go and ruin my first time good luck chance with the mac gods!!

(as this is exactly what I wish for my macarons to NOT do ~ crack!)

 by the way

I

have

a

confession

to make!

(and curious that I should bring this up NOW!!)

but

I have

 NEVER

 even had the pleasure of trying a macaron before!!

(I know, I am random like that!!)

..but my thinking is

these are just oh-so-lovely

~ how bad could they really be?!

hhhmmmmm....

I better be off to Whole Foods quick ~

before I unknowingly say anything else to ruin my chances with the mac gods...

so it is to the bat mobile I go ~

with a most unique shopping list in hand,

 anticipating the outcome with utter delight

  

...all because of that little picture.

wishing for a happy little something this weekend

to make YOUR heart sing...

...be the change

a random reflection from behind the curtain...

~

...to change the world

simply use your hands...

~

start with one step...

however small,

..the first step is hardest of all.

but...

 when you give ~

you begin to live!

...and if I could tell the world just one thing,

it would be that we're all OK ~

and not to worry

'cause worry is wasteful

and useless...

I won't be made useless!

I won't be idle with despair!

I will gather myself around my faith...

for light does the darkness most fear ~


~

I choose to be the change

that I want to see in the world...

*lyrics and a quote by:

Dave Mathews Band

Jewel

Mahatma Gandhi

...do you see what I see?!

...happiest monday dear ones!

Did you have a lovely summer weekend??
I hope so...
well ~

this is what one might call
an "up close" post!!

no
nothing earth shattering personal...
more like a pleasant discovery!

sometimes

I am delightfully surprised when I learn something new about myself

and

sometimes

this something new
 becomes a quiet passion...

as in ~

it slowly grows on you...

and without question

becomes
a part of you ~

it kinda just sneaks up on you

and suddenly

one random day...

YOU ARE

 H

  O

   O

     K

      E

              D...

yep!

you're like a fish on a line 

~no question~

you just know you're a goner!!

and forever changed!!

now, being the creative readers that you are ~

...I know that you "get this"

taking creative pictures has become...

a secret passion

if you will.

I don't really see myself doin` it professional like

it's just for me
and another personal expression of the way I see things... 

~

my beloved gave me an early birthday gift...

yeh ~ he's good like that,

 always supporting my most secret passions!!
(don't get any ideas...he's MY beloved!!)

can you guess what it is?!

I'll give you a hint...

you can get super-de-duper close to a subject...

(hey! that's actually hint #2...hint #1, as you may have gathered by me blathering on

has to do with photography!)

okay, okay I'll tell you

no need to twist my arm!

it is


drum roll please............

..............................................

a MACRO LENS!!!!!!!

and I am having so much fun using it!
these are my very first photos!!

and I know I have so much to learn about using it...

and I know that it will come with time...

but for now,

I'm just grateful I dusted!!!

Hahahah!!!!