Meditation

I'm thinking about these words this morning and singing them to myself as I realize that my desires need some realignment.  William Williams penned these lyrics in the 1700s. Grateful for the encouragement they brought me today. 

Weekend Eats

(photo by Travis Rathbone)

I tried a couple of new recipes over the weekend and they were both quite yummy, so I thought I would share. 

Friday night we made Grilled (or in our case broiled) salmon with a blueberry pan sauce. The sauce was really lovely and mellow with balsamic vinegar, shallots, blueberries and fresh mint. Sadly, the salmon fillet I bought was FULL of bones, making the over all dining experience less than pleasant. Argh.  Does anyone know what the deal is with that? I mean, was it up to me to know that there would be lots of floss-like bones still in the fish and I should have removed them? Not sure what the deal was there... but anyway - the sauce was delish! 

We added in baked sweet potatoes and a green salad with toasted almonds and goat cheese. 

Sunday lunch was chicken with herb roasted tomatoes and pan sauce. Let me tell ya - those roasted herb tomatoes? Fabulous. I want to run out and buy a few pounds of cherry tomatoes right now and make a tub of them, so I can smear them on anything - toast, cheese, by themselves. They're that good. 

(photo by Romulo Yanes)

The tomatoes were super easy: olive oil, freshly ground pepper, kosher salt and Herbs de Provence. Couldn't find Herbs de Provence at the store, so I used an Italian blend that I already had on hand and it worked just fine. Warm the aforementioned ingredients in a skillet and oven roast for 15 minutes until the tomatoes start to pop and their juices start flowing. Oh mama. Take them out of the oven and drizzle with Worcestershire sauce. SO good! And that's just the tomato part. The chicken was delicious too. 

What did you eat this weekend? 

Flowery Friday: Delphinium

I know I say this about every flower I've posted about lately, but the Delphinium is truly one of my favorites.  I was so fond of it back in jr. high that when I got my very first email account my address was delphiniumgirl. I kept the address for so long that I used it as a contact for  job interviews in college (not super smart) and got chided by a prof in  front of my entire class  for keeping it because it wasn't professional-sounding. I was a dork, what can I say.

So back to the flower. Did you know:

- Delphinium symbolizes boldness

- The name derives from the Latin for 'dolphin' as its buds appear to resemble the aquatic mammals.

- The prime growing season for Delphinium is June and July and be sure to stake these beauties because they grow rather tall and tend to break or topple over in the wind. 

- The delphinium normally is found in shades of blue, ranging from light periwinkle to deep cobalt but also comes in salmon and light pink. 

Here I used individual delphinium blooms pulled from the tall stalks in this woodsy bouquet. 

White roses, pale blue hydrangea, berzillia berries, lambs ear, white roses, tweedia and plumosa fern were included too... 

Delphinium is often found in English cottage gardens. It seems to thrive in the cool climate of the UK. 

(image)

I'm loving this whimsical little bouquet by Portland based design Franciose Weeks. 

(image)

Bring some of the delphiniums incredible color in to your life with these... 

(Love The Print)

(rsharts)

(holcroft)

(couple home)

(studio botanica)

Current Obsession: The Green Smoothie

(twopeadsandntheirpod)

I recently read a book on detoxing and healthy eating. While a lot of the stuff in there was a bit on the extreme side for me and mine, I've happily incorporated the recommended green smoothie into my daily routine. I throw in a mix of romaine lettuce, spinach, an apple, pear or peach (or a combination of those three) some water, a few cubes of ice and a few squirts of fresh lemon or lime juice. This is surprisingly tasty people!

It's not very sweet, but has a fresh, earthy taste and I'm pretty much addicted now.

Why I love this:

- Long have I wondered how to incorporate more veggies into breakfast, beyond onions and spinach in an omelet. I don't want to eat a salad for breakfast, but I WILL gladly drink down a smoothie. This solves my veggie dilemma in the morning. 

- This smoothie keeps everything in the digestive tract moving along nicely, if you get my drift. Enough said there.

- This smoothie is easy to change up. If you have a bunch off berries on hand and no apples or pears, throw 'em in there. Add celery, cucumber, kale - whatever greens and green veggies you happen to have on hand. Just avoid melon according to the original recipe. It makes things funky.

- My husband will gladly drink it, so I send half the mixture out the door with him every morning. Thank for being open-minded, Ike. 

- We just got a new blender last night to increase our smoothie blending power (hooray!) specifically for these  green smoothies. Our little cheap-o blender from 9 years ago when we got married just wasn't gettin' the job done. I made it this morning with our new blender and it was whipped up in the half the time and tasted twice as smooth and creamy as before. Jack pot. 

Here's the orginal recipe if you'd like to give it a try:

Glowing Green Smoothie

Flowery Friday: Ranunculus

Oh the ranunculus. It has always topped my list of favorite flowers. The tight clusters of delicate petals that open up into a full bloom or fluttery loveliness (can you tell I like them?) are just heavenly. 

The above bouquet is one I did for my sister's wedding a few years back. Their colors were chocolate, ivory and a hint of pink, so I used pink ranunculus, pink pepper berries, chocolate orchids, ivory roses, lisianthus and fiddlehead ferns. Her bouquet was one of my all-time favorites. She cried when I gave it to her (and she didn't even cry when she saw her groom for the first time she later told me - so that's sayin' something!). 

Did you know:

Ranunculus is native to Asia and celebrated for it's medicinal properties.

A bouquet of ranunculus means "I am dazzled by your charms". (Ooo la la!)

Ranunculus is available February for May, if you're thinking of requesting it for an arrangement.

Aren't these pale pink ranunculus with the soft green centers beautiful? Mixed here with lily of the valley and deep green galax leaves, they create such a sweet and simple bouquet....

(wedding chicks)

They also come in the most beautiful yellows. Bits of velvety gray lambs ear tucked between the blooms are so pretty... 

And then there's crimson. So stunning. I arranged these a few years ago for a photo shoot...

There's nothing like fresh flowers but if you'd like to add some ranunculus to your life in a more long term way, take a peek at these inspiring options from where else but Etsy: 

(Lauren Everett Finn)

(Alice B Gardens)

(Brigite)

How incredible is this felted ranunculus. This girl's got some mad skills.

(From My Atelier)

Loving the clean and simple ranunculus design of this tiny pillow. 

Wear This! (It's New)

Every girl needs a chunky pendant in her jewelry collection, I think. If you agree, then you might just fancy the new necklaces I've been making as of late. I've been combining large circles of vintage fabrics finished with brooches, vintage buttons, beads and twine to come up with some fun stuff. 

Both of these pretties are up for grabs in my shop today! Swing on by!