happiness in a vase

I've decided that nothing speaks Spring more than a vase with some freshly cut flowers in it. Not only does it look pretty and clean in my bedroom and kitchen, but it also helps me make use of all the fabulous bud vases I received as wedding gifts.

Since yesterday was Easter, I was able to snag a few Easter lilies from the Church after the morning service. They look so sweet sitting in my Nambe bud vase in my kitchen.

And I spent a good twenty minutes outside in my mother-in-law's backyard yesterday clipping off a bunch fragrant gardenias from her monster sized gardenia bush. So jealous. I want one in our yard! They smell simply superb and the fragrance is addicting. I placed a bunch of them in a cereal bowl and another bunch in a bud vase. Twenty four hours later, my kitchen, bedroom and bathroom all smell like gardenia. I love it.

Plus just seeing these little tidbits of white flora in my house just makes me smile. I should get flowers for the house way more often.....

in the bedroom

in the bathroom

floating in the kitchen

In my shopping cart

One of those rainy Saturdays right now and the blasted satellite dish is out. Grrrr......technology. I'm quickly running out of things to occupy my time. Snacking, done. Updating iTunes, done. Mani pedi, also done.

These are the types of days that get could potentially get me into trouble with the online shopping. Plus husband is stuck at the yacht club preparing for some manly fishing tournament tomorrow. Hence, no one to stop me with the purchasing. :)

But, I'll be good. Just looking today. Tomorrow might be a whole different story.

Here's what's currently in my Anthropologie.com shopping cart.

Laguito Blouse. Perfect for wearing slightly off the shoulder.
Oh la la.

Aurora Tank. Super soft and made of silk.
I adore.

Mirrored Waves Top.
Slubby cotton AND sequins. Jackpot.

Double Braided Belt.
Skinny and neutral. Perfect for belting blousey dresses.

Tempering Chocolate

Ok so I was craving a little chocolate this past Sunday and thought I'd give my patisserie skills a try. Well, I guess not exactly patissier, more like chocolatier yum.....

A few months back husband and I had ventured to the Godiva store at Merrick Park here in Coral Gables where we'd bought some hostess gifts for some parties. My eyes however were plastered to their "chilled case" that held the oh so tasty and delectable looking Godiva Kabob. Yes, they make Kabobs.

Consisting of chocolate covered strawberries and bananas on a skewer I eagerly purchased this spontaneous looking snack like a 5 year old in a candy store. Compulsive shopper, also yes. To my chagrin the prize winning chocolate Godiva Kabob cost about 15 dollars or something absurd like that....no more brand name kabobs for me after this husband told me.

So this Sunday, I decided to take matters into my own hands and try "tempering" chocolate to dip fruit into. Tempering equals making a double boiler over your stove to melt the chocolate pieces via the steam rather than directly over the heat source. It might have looked like a bit of a chemistry project gone awry in the kitchen, but the melted results were so smooth and perfect for dipping.

Husband approved and although not skewered, my chocolate covered fruit turned out to be just as amazing.

Don't forget the parchment paper for superb nonstick results.
And don't forget to chill the dipped fruits in the fridge after.

Greek Salad

There are some recipes that are almost too easy that it's a joke why I don't make them more often...

One of my previous "go to" salads was this beautifully bluntly chopped raw Greek salad. So easy, so tasty and so colorful. It's great for impromptu dinner parties and will dazzle your guests with its bold, bright colors, yet it's perfect for those cozy dinners at home with the husband (but he always asks for extra feta, so beware).

Roughly chop a couple ripe tomatoes, peel and chunk up a cucumber and then cut up a sweet onion into medium to small pieces. Mix all these veggies up in a big bowl and drizzle some amazing olive oil over it all. Shake a little sea salt on it and then pour a couple of spoonfuls of good white wine vinegar on top. Toss and then lay a couple of freshly sliced feta cheese pieces over the top. I only buy the chunk feta, never the crumbles, it just doesn't taste that good. Lastly crack some pepper over it all and finis! 

I guarantee complements. It also works as a great quick healthy lunch too. Imagine the possibilities!

The colors are gorgeous

Greenthumb

I might not be able to keep many things alive (fish, herbs, hamsters back in the day) but recently I've found my extreme talent at growing orchids...

 This flora fabulousness made its way into my skill set when I was visiting my wedding florist last year. My wedding florist had an entire orchid graveyard in her workroom where she had snipped off all the gorgeous blooms for centerpieces the weekend before. As I was walking out the door she asked if I wanted to take any of these castoffs as they would continue to bloom the following year if I took care of them.

And behold, I am the QUEEN OF ORCHIDS now. Kind of like the "Queen of Hearts" character in Alice in Wonderland, but way better of course.

I tied all the dormant orchids to the palm tree that grows in husband's and my courtyard and despite their unpleasant ugliness without blooms during the winter, these babies sprout the most dazzling blooms this time of year.....

Poof! Our courtyard has been turned into a tropical orchid wonderland and I'm proud of my pretty orchids and I probably brag about them more than I should. But hey, what are blogs for? Obviously when I've worn out my bragging rights with my other friends.

Enjoy the pics.

Peacock on my roof

Nothing like having your amazingly well home cooked dinner being interrupted by an irritating and unnerving bird call. Correction, I think it was a mating call.

Husband and I could not figure out what the strange noise was coming from outside our courtyard, until he hopped up and went outside to investigate. And there, standing on top of our old Spanish tile roof was the tomcat of peacocks in all his feathered glory, honking and squawking for a woman friend. Sweet.

We attempted to capture Mr. Peacock with our blackberry camera. We aren't the greatest photographers obviously, but there really is nothing like seeing a large bird on top of your roof hoping to find a "lover bird."

And then he flew off awkwardly over the palm trees. Interesting. Back to dinner then.

If you have 20/20 vision you might be able to see the peacock
standing in between our two sky lights
*time to invest in a better camera for all these shenanigans*