supper

Last week we had some friends for supper.  We love eating on the porch when it isn't too hot.

I love how sweet the zinnias looked in the vintage glasses I got at Goodwill.

The beautiful napkins are from turkish-t and are carried in our Atlanta store.

I love making watermelon mojitos in the summer and serve them early in the evening because they are stronger than you think!

I hope that your weekend is off to a great start!

eddie ross

Eddie Ross nails it again. Visit his blog to see how he made this beautiful cake!

larabar

I always sit down and enjoy breakfast and dinner but sometimes I eat lunch on the go.
This was my lunch today and it was yummy. I am adding this to my list of grab and go snacks to have on hand.

something to drink by the fire tonight...

I am craving some of this eggnog by Jen Altman found via Design Sponge.

Happy Thanksgiving

I hope that you all had a happy Thanksgiving.

We had a wonderful and relaxing day.
Scott make a very yummy 27 pound turkey.

My daughters did a great job creating a pretty table.

Everyone pitched in and we enjoyed a yummy meal followed by watching Planet Earth.
Later we went to a friends and had delicious deserts. I am looking forward to tomorrow when we will pick out our tree, decorate and eat turkey sandwiches.

apron sale

We are offering our polka dot aprons at 50% off this weekend.

I think that they make a great gift paired with a cookbook.

Then again I could be accused of being a hoarder when it comes to vintage cook books.

fast food

Some days I don't have the time or energy to make a fabulous lunch. (I have never like traditional fast food.) My new favorite thing to eat on the go are these packages of nuts and dried fruit from Trader Joe's.
Some of my kids love them too. How about you? Do you have a Trader Joe's? If so what do you love to get there?

happy birthday to me

Forty five is the new 30 ....or at least that's the way I like to look at it. We had a fun party in the office this morning. Caroline decorated with some of the wedding present goodies.

Do you still love the wedding china that you picked out?

I am off to have dinner in the retirement home with my mother in law. We have the same birthday. Is that a little weird or what?

Hope you all have a wonderful weekend!

xokc

dinner

I have recently enjoyed cooking some new fall dinners as well as some old favorites. This one is an old favorite. We have a big pizza stone which makes in easy to make a yummy crust. I like to roll out the dough on parchment paper and slide the dough and the parchment paper onto the stone. This recipe is my version from an old cook book called pizza by James McNair.

ingredients:

12 garlic cloves

olive oil

basic pizza dough

8 oz mozzarella cheese

8 oz crumbled California chevre or other goat's milk cheese

12 sun-dried tomatoes in olive oil,well drained and slivered

salt and pepper

1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

To roast the garlic, preheat the oven to 300F. Place the garlic cloves in a small baking dish and toss with 3T of the olive oil. Cover the dish and bake until the cloves are tender but not browned, about 30 minutes. Remove from the oven, cool and chop.

I like to have the oven preheated on 500 for a while so that the stone is super hot. I cook the rolled out dough for a few minutes alone. Then I remove it from the oven and let it cool a bit. I flip it over and start to pile on the toppings. This gives you a crust that is a little crisp.

I use the oil from the garlic and spread it all over the dough. Add the cheese and then all of the other toppings. Cook it on the stone and add the Parmesan when it comes out.

cheating

A wise woman knows know when to cook a yummy meal and when to cheat. Last night I did the latter. After I dropped off ballerinas I stopped at the produce place. I could not resist the figs that were perfectly riped.

I love their chicken salad and cheddar cheese with crackers. I also picked up their salad and some sesame dressing.

Dinner is done in time to head to the third open house/meet the teachers of the fall.

How do you like to cheat? Come on share the love.

bread

I love to make whole wheat bread. This is what the wheat berries look like before I grind them into flour.

As soon as they hear the noisy grinder the helpers flock to the kitchen.

A few hours later I take 5 of these out of the oven. Covered with butter and a little jam it is one of my favorite things to eat.

Happy Birthday Betsy

The best part about my job is the wonderful people that I get to work with every day. Betsy has been here for two years and I don't know how we ever managed with out her. She does it all and always with a smile. Today we got to celebrate her birthday with a yummy breakfast. It included scones from Provence which is what I would like to eat every morning. If you live in Nashville be sure to treat yourself....they are worth every calorie.

recipe from last night...

Here is the link for the recipe I cooked last night it is from Publix. This is the first one we have tried, I wonder if any of the others are this good. The salad would be yummy on its own for lunch.

plastic grass

I am loving these happy party scenes with plastic grass!

The first is from orange and blossom via pink cupcake vintage and the next two are from alannah rose via sara's party perfect.

today's breakfast

Kayce's photo

I am a breakfast girl. Breakfast must be awesome or my day goes down hill from there. This morning it was English breakfast tea with honey and half and half and fresh from the oven oatmeal muffins. (After I took the picture I sliced the muffins in half and added a liberal amount of butter.) I have had this recipe for over 10 years and apologize that I don't know where I found it.

OATMEAL MUFFINS

1 cup buttermilk

1 cup rolled oats

1 egg

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 cup whole wheat flour

1/2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

4 tablespoons vegetable oil

Combine the buttermilk and oatmeal and let stand for 5 min. Add the egg and brown sugar and mix well. Add the other ingredients and mix by hand. Spoon the mixture into a greased muffin tin and bake for 15-20 min at 400.

fast food

Some of my favorite things to eat aren't really "recipes". Lunch today: one ripe avocado drizzled with olive oil and balsamic vinegar and add some salt and cracked pepper.

what's for dinner?

images via Martha

I am having a bit cooking slump this summer.  I am looking for easy, healthy and yummy.  Please let me know if you have any great cook books, cooking blogs etc.

final sale

Our shipping is moving from our office to a real distribution center.  This will free us up to do other things but it means that we will no longer have warehouse sales.  We will miss seeing all of our customers face to face.  I hope to see everyone on Tuesday or Wednesday.  Every thing is at least 75% off.  Olivia is making some treats for you.

new love....

I am not a soda drinker except for an occasional coke (never diet).  This is like a grow up version of soda.  It is so yummy yet not too sweet.   I am in love.  It also comes in glass bottles...which of course taste even better.

great book

I just finished this great book by Michael Pollan.  (by great I mean that it confirms everything that I already believe)