Autumn flora in the home

19 Wednesday Oct 2016

Posted by Karen B. in Autumn, Fall Entertaining and Decorations, Flowers, Halloween, House and Home, Thanksgiving

Good morning, my friends! So much for getting back to regular posting, right?!

I am an avid fan of fresh flowers and plants in my house year round. I’ve used branches from shrubs and trees in the yard, and flowers from the market for our home most of my married life. I also have several living plants in my home. Ivy topiary, Peace Lily ‘spathiphyllum’ and a large pothos live in various rooms of the house. When Christmas rolls around I’m happy to use faux garland, embellished with live cedar and pine.

So it was with some hesitancy that I returned the kind email I received from Silk Plants Direct. They were offering me a shopping visit of their site, where they would ship a product of my choice (with a generous pricing limit) for my honest review. Still doubtful, I visited the link and found many of their plants to look very believable. The item I selected reminds me of bittersweet, something that is sold live per stem by florists this time of year in our area. I’ve always loved the look of bittersweet in autumn arrangements and wreaths, but couldn’t always find fresh stems.

I emailed my contact with Silk Plants Direct and was thrilled with the speedy delivery and the quality of the stems. The flowers filled the large porcelain blue and white vases and finished the mantle decor for the season for me. Thank you Silk Plants Direct!

Silk Plants Direct, a Silk flowers and plants retailer, has a user-friendly site and provides a column on their home page that allows shoppers to narrow their search by topics such as category, size, price, color, variety and season.

If you’re a die hard fan of real live plants and flowers, as I consider myself to be, you may be in for a surprise. I urge you to take a look at Silk Plants Direct.

Disclosure: I received a free product sample in order to do this review. There was no compensation. The honest opinions expressed are my own and not influenced in any way.

Garden, Home and Party wishes you a Happy Halloween

29 Wednesday Oct 2014

Posted by Karen B. in Fall Entertaining and Decorations, Food, Halloween, Holiday/Seasonal cooking

≈ 39 Comments

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Halloween 2014

This might be cheating, but today I’m simply sharing some Halloween images from Pinterest, blogland, and Martha. Those of you that adore this holiday probably already have your parties planned and decorations ready. It’s not my holiday…I enjoy the overall season, and I do like seeing the little trick-or-treaters at our door, but dressing up has never been my thing, so without further alienating the Halloween enthusiasts (many of them my friends)…

Leave it to Martha to pull off the good fairy costume with flair.

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If I hosted a party, I’d definitely want to copy this cheerful vignette. Truthfully, we have these black birds (American Crow) in our neighborhood, what are the odds of training a few of them to sit around and look slightly menacing for an evening?

{Country Living – photograph by Matthew Benson}

There is something so welcoming about light radiating from all of the windows in this charming home.

{Country Living – photograph by John Kernick}

This is more my speed, white mums, a white lantern and a bushel of white pumpkins!

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Mark D. Sikes…simply festive and elegant, as always.

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Kim, at Tidbits and Twine creates a beautiful autumn table as well…

Craftberry Bush, in addition to this fabulous table arrangement, is the place to visit if you’re interested in good ideas for recipes/food for any autumn event.

So while we’re on the topic of a party, here are some really yummy looking sweets for a Halloween party:

Jenny over at Everyday Occasions has a ton of great recipes. Her iced sugar cookies are my favorite.

{Everyday Occassions – Jenny Steffens Hobick}

{Martha Stewart}

{Martha Stewart – Halloween Whoopie Pies}

and, what Halloween party would be complete without apple bobbing?

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

What’s on your schedule for this Friday night holiday?

{GHP} Braised Short Ribs recipe and Happy Halloween

30 Wednesday Oct 2013

Posted by Karen B. in Halloween, Holiday/Seasonal cooking, Recipes

≈ 16 Comments

Since Halloween is on a Thursday night this year, I thought I would make Mr. B. and I a comforting meal to fortify us between the doorbell and goblins. I’m trying Braised Short Ribs from Jenny Steffens Hobick of Everyday Occasions. Doesn’t this look delicious? Jenny comes up with fabulous recipes and I’ve provided the link (above).

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Since it needs to cook some time in the oven, I’ll prepare them this evening and we’ll eat them tomorrow. That often enhances the flavors and makes everything taste even better.

I’m also including a few images I’ve gathered that might offer some ideas for last minute decorations…

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Do you get a lot of trick-or-treat goblins and princesses in your neighborhood?

HAPPY HALLOWEEN

♥

I’m linking to Savvy Southern Style’s Wow us Wednesday

{GHP} Autumn favorites, II

25 Wednesday Sep 2013

Posted by Karen B. in Fall Entertaining and Decorations, Halloween, Holidays, House and Home

≈ 30 Comments

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Autumn

Note of Appreciation: Some time ago my blog friend Leslie of Around the Table had a giveaway. Winner would receive one of the fabulous candle holders called Glassybaby. These beauties are made in Seattle and come in nearly every color under the sun. Well, imagine my delight and surprise, I won. {Thank you Leslie} If you’ve not already discovered Around the Table blog site, stop by. Leslie shares fabulous design ideas, great (and healthy) recipes and skin care information. Did I mention she has a degree in nutrition and is a licensed medical aesthetician. Most importantly, her posts are always useful and fun!

Glassybaby as displayed in Leslie’s kitchen.

→Hi Everyone. I feel so much better. Seriously, to those readers that host a blog, don’t you sometimes feel like you’ve run out of ideas for a new post…in fact, I sometimes think, “what frivolous topics I gab on about, what am I thinking?” That’s what vacations are for. The break brought home that the fun of this is the blog friends and readers that check in, even if they don’t comment, and the creative wheels that turn each time I work on a post. So, thank you for your interest, friendship (of an internet variety) and support. I so appreciate it.

Are we there yet…has autumn arrived? I don’t care if it is still warmer than ideal fall weather should be, I’m sharing my annual autumn favorites. [It reminds me of back-to-school, when the new sweater was worn that first week back because you loved it and didn’t care if it was 90 degrees outside]

If you missed my fall favorites last year, have a look. You’ll see I haven’t changed much of what appeals to me about the season, other than to add additional images. 10 photographs just wouldn’t allow me all that I love about this time of year.

I always pause before stating this is my favorite season because when spring comes around, I think this is my favorite season! But it’s September 25th and I’m looking forward to the short weeks from now when I can expect to wear turtleneck sweaters, put a fire in the fireplace, have a casserole in the oven and a hot beverage in my hand.

Enjoy!

Have you visited this shop yet? Check it out ~ terrain

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Sitting by a fire, what could be more cozy? Having reason to stay indoors and read a book or two, one more reason to love cooler weather.

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I love turtleneck sweaters…this is definitely a reason to love autumn/winter.

Fall/Winter means comfort food for me. I use portion control to avoid winter waist expansion, but here are a couple of recipes that you might enjoy when it cools down…

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Maybe a ride in the convertible (that I don’t own) with Madison…

Finally, the promise of Christmas and…

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…on January 5th in the U.S, the return of Downton Abbey

Do you have a favorite season or a favorite thing about each season?

HAPPY AUTUMN

I’m joining in the fun: Savvy Southern Style, Wow us Wednesday and Stone Gable Tips and Tidbits

{Party} Autumn entertaining ideas and an easy recipe

09 Tuesday Oct 2012

Posted by Karen B. in Dessert, Entertaining, Halloween, Holiday/Seasonal cooking, House and Home, Recipes, Simple Meals for the Avid Cook

≈ 12 Comments

Tags

Apple Tart

I may have mentioned that I like to entertain, and cook. {I guess it wouldn’t be a very fun party if food wasn’t involved} The problem is this, I really, really like simple recipes and preferably recipes that can be made in advance when I entertain.

{Jenny Steffens Hobick}

Fall entertaining is especially fun and I enjoy some of the ideas I have ~~stolen~~ borrowed from very creative people across blog land. Jenny Steffens Hobick is one of my favorite sites for entertaining menus and table settings. She and her family recently moved, and with a baby, her recipes are practical and simple but her presentation is always beautiful and many can be made ahead of time. As you can see from the table setting above, simple but stylish tablescapes are the standard with her. If you’re interested in cooking, visit Jenny.

Another favorite site for delicious and healthy recipes is Marina over at Yummy Mummy Kitchen. Marina makes every dish she serves look appetizing and pretty on the plate, and her recipes are almost always lean towards healthy, although you’d never suspect it by the fabulous flavors each recipe provides. One more creative blog site to visit and borrow from when planning a menu for family and friends. I’ve you’ve never visited Yummy Mummy Kitchen I urge you to have a look.

{Yummy Mummy Kitchen}

Autumn table settings appeal to me partly because you can use natures bounty from the farm, {wish I lived on one}, the surrounding outdoors, or your market. Pomegranates, apples, leaves, acorns, nuts, gourds, mums and the ever-traditional pumpkin can all be arranged in any combination to create a beautiful and festive table.

~ Recipes from Yummy Mummy Kitchen and Jenny Steffens Hobick will be featured in an upcoming post ~

If you are planning a party that requires an invitation there are a variety of papers you can purchase that can be printed on a home laser jet printer. We have the good fortune of living near a Paper Source store, where there are more options than I can think of ideas for, but it’s sure fun to mix and match the various papers with inserts and envelopes.This is an invitation I made when a few years back I hosted my friend, Cayley’s birthday luncheon. She enjoys an autumn birthday, so brown tones seemed fitting.

{Victoria Magazine}

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If you are planning a Halloween extravaganza, wouldn’t it be fun to have Hubby or a friend dress up like a butler and serve beverages for guests?

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The table setting below is interesting and doesn’t follow the typical fall standards, bust out and try some of the new colored vegetables with your flowers and candles the next time you entertain. It’s fun to think outside the box sometimes (the rule-follower, ‘fraidy cat said).

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So, on to a great recipe…

Pioneer Woman posted a recipe for a “Quick Easy and Yummy Apple Tart” What’s not to love about this, right? But since I ~~insist~~ usually test recipes that I offer, I tried it. It is beyond really simple and it turns out {and tastes} as good as Ree’s picture looks, without stress or strain in the making. Rather than make you copy and paste the recipe, since I can’t figure out how to create a “printable copy” on my blog, I’ve given you the link, PW not only makes printing this recipe easy, she gives you a step by step pictorial tutorial on how to make this yummy dessert.

{Pioneer Woman Cooks}

If your weather hasn’t changed yet, or like a few of my blog friends, you live where it is just changing seasons to spring, you may want to move your party outdoors.

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