Decorating your Spring Table

It's official - Saturday is the first day of spring! This is a wonderful time to freshen the home, and with Easter and Passover quickly approaching a new table setting could be the perfect way to officially welcome the changing of the seasons.

To get started, a few of my favorite things to do are:

• Begin with a color scheme or pattern
• Definitely mix & match
• Contrast shapes and details
• Have fun and trust your instincts!

For a more in depth steps read my newly posted article on my website: Decorating your Spring Table



If you’re curious about what I used above in the picture – here’s a list of the new spring linens on my spring table!

• Papillion Jacquard Jade Tablecloth as layering cloth
• Primavera Peridot Tablecloth folded to create a runner affect
• Poet Jacquard Blue 20" Napkin Bundle with the Flora Pink Beaded Napkin Ring
• Garden Jacquard Pink 20" Napkin Bundle with the Dragonfly Pink Beaded Napkin Ring
  
• Rose Garden Patchwork Multi Quilted Placemat
• California Check Green 20" Napkin Bundle basket lining
  

Live Beautiful, Feel Beautiful, Be Beautiful

April

Napkin Giveaway! + Satisfying Salad Recipe

My sister, Moralea, first started me on a version of this salad in the Cayman Islands, a little while later I modified it with the addition of pine nuts – suggested by my neighbor Marty- it is absolutely delicious, a meal in itself, and a nice break from heavy holiday meals. Make it small for a few or double up for a party. Serve with French baguette.

Napkin Giveaway! Post your favorite type of salad & your email address (so we can contact you if you win). The random number generator will choose 2 winners for the Amandine Light Blue Napkin Set! We'll announce the winners next week, so stay tuned...

-- Satisfying Salad --
In a large and pretty salad bowl mix:
* Greens – I like to use mixed baby lettuces with the addition of arugula for its nutty flavor.
* 1 large avocado sliced
* ½ large apple [Honeycrsip, McIntosh, so many tasty ones to choose from!]
* 15-20 cherry tomatoes sliced
* ½ cup of raisins
* ½ cup extra sharp cheddar cheese [Cabot if available!] bite size
* Small container blue cheese crumbles or feta cheese crumbles
* Pine nuts
* Mushrooms

1. Mix everything together- making sure some tomatoes and raisins and crumbles remain on top for a colorful presentation.

2. In a frying pan – fry sliced mushrooms and pine nuts [or slivered almonds] in butter.

3. Top salad with mushrooms and nuts before serving- finish with a salad dressing of choice- preferably a vinaigrette [raspberry is lovely with all of the mix of tastes] - having a great neighbor, I occasionally use ‘Marti’s Magical Maple’ dressing – also yummy!

4. Place your bowl on a pretty cloth, or if the table is small, a colorful tea towel. Set up your plates and forks, your warm bread and be prepared to hear ‘this is the best salad I have ever tasted! What’s your recipe?’

Please send me your favorite salad and you could be the proud owner of a new set of napkins!
All the best for the awesome decade to come!

April

Live Beautiful Feel Beautiful Be Beautiful


We have our two winners - please congratulate: Terri A. and Suzanne M. on receiving the April Cornell Amandine Light Blue Napkin Bundle! Thank you all for participating - it's a joy to read each entry!
(Our winners were chosen by Tara Frey's Random Number Generator)

Finishing Touches: Printable Gift Tags & Place Cards

As we wrap our presents and wrap up the to-do list for Christmas you might find that you are in need of a few finishing touches. Do you have gift tags for your loved ones? Do you perhaps need place cards for your wonderfully prepared table?

I have just the thing for you! You can print and cutout these simple, yet gorgeous, last minute necessities.

Links:
Holiday Gift Tags
Festive Place Cards


Enjoy!

April

Be Beautiful, Live Beautiful, Feel Beautiful

The "Killer" Eggnog Recipe

From spur of the moment visits for afternoon tea to carefully orchestrated, elegant New Year's Eve galas, social gatherings, in all their many forms, are the joyful heart and soul of the winter holidays. We connect in special ways with family and friends to share long-cherished traditions to celebrate significant events in our faiths and cultures.

Entertaining presents a multidimensional palette for our creativity and imagination; it enfolds the ways we decorate our homes, the favorite foods and beverages we offer, and the festive fashions we wear.

A party quickly pulled together is as much fun as a long-planned, complex affair. Any great gathering can be helped with a stellar traditional recipe - that guests will be talking about for months to come!

My recipe for traditional Christmas or "Killer" Eggnog as my friends like to call it. Enjoy it now, you may have to wait until next year to enjoy it again!

April's Traditional Eggnog

* 18 eggs
* 2 cups extra-fine granulated sugar
* 1 cup cognac
* 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
* 4 cups light cream (or table cream)
* 6 cups heavy cream
* Grated nutmeg

1. Separate eggs, placing yolks in a large bowl and white in a second large bowl.
2. Add sugar to the egg yolks, beat until fluffy. Stir in bourbon, cognac, vanilla, and light cream. Chill several hours or until very cold.
3. Beat egg whites until they stand in peaks. In large bowl beat heavy cream until stiff. Fold beaten egg whites and whipped cream into egg-yolk mixture. Pour into a very large bowl. Sprinkle with grated nutmeg.
4. Ladle into punch cups.
Serves 24.


In the mood for more Eggnog? King Arthur Flour (also based in Vermont) has many fantastic recipes, but this one is certainly fitting for season - while being a great twist on a common baked good:
http://www.kingarthurflour.com/recipes/easy-holiday-eggnog-muffins-recipe

You can find more entertaining tips newly posted on my website: April's Entertaining Tips

Or find more holiday recipes like this one in my Recipe's section on my website: April's Holiday Recipes


April

Be Beautiful, Live Beautiful, Feel Beautiful

Shortbread Cookie Recipe

Many say that the Shortbread cookie is the cookie for the Holiday's, it's been a favorite of mine for some time now. Here's a simple recipe to enjoy the simple pleasures that make life so sweet!

Ingredients:
2 cups white flour
1 cup butter
1/2 cup icing (confectioners or 10-x powdered sugar
1 egg yolk
dash of salt
3 or 4 caps of almond flavoring (up to 1 tablespoon)

To make:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. In a medium bowl soften butter slightly.
3. Stir in sugar, salt, almond flavoring, and egg yolk with a spoon. Gradually add flour to butter mix, combining thoroughly.
4. Turn onto a floured board and knead lightly until dough begins to crack. Roll out 1/4" thick and cut into shapes.
5. Place shapes on ungreased cookie sheet. Bake at 350 degree until delicately brown (8-10 minutes).
6. Cool completely on wire racks. Store in airtight cookie tin.

Enjoy with family and friends! If you're gifting these, or bringing them along to a party you can wrap them up in a festive tea towel and ribbon or place them in a basket lined with beautiful napkins.

Have you had the time to make some scrumptious sweets? What cookies have you baked so far, any family favorites? Please post your favorite cookies (or recipes if you're really ambitious!) that make your Holiday's brighter and tighter in the waistline!


April

Be Beautiful, Live Beautiful, Feel Beautiful

Favorite Colors for Autumn Decor

I arrived back home in Burlington over the weekend from Delhi and was greeted by lovely fall weather. I settled in on Sunday and feathered my nest in some new prints. It's so easy to change the feel of the house for the seasons by switching out tablecloths for fresh autumn colors, and switching out cushions and pillows in chairs and sofas in a fall palette. 

     One of my favorite ways of changing the color tones for the seasons is to display a basket filled with nicely folded napkins that are mixed and matched in patterns and textures that mirror the feel of the season at hand. This year I am blending deep purples, pinks, taupe, and greens. What do you think? What are your favorite colors for fall this year?

April

Feel Beautiful, Live Beautiful, Be Beautiful