june book giveaway!

May 29, 2015

For June, the giveaway book selection is Vibrant Food by Kimberley Hasselbrink. This book celebrates the ingredients, recipes, and colors of each season. I really love when recipe books are organized by season, because it encourages healthful eating and is so compatible with healthy shopping! What better way is there to shop at this time of year than to visit farmer’s markets for in season ingredients that are fresh and grown local?

The author invites you to look at ingredients differently – to let the colors inspire! This book can help you think about produce in terms of color and can reinvigorate your relationship with food. In this collection of recipes, Hasselbrink employs aesthetics, flavor, and texture to build gorgeous yet unfussy dishes for every season.

Leave a comment for a chance to win this wonderful selection! I know the winner of this book will enjoy jumping right into ‘the bold colors of summer’ section to create some wonderful summer dishes!

Now, to announce the winner of last month’s giveaway selection. Daria was chosen at random from the comments left during May and will receive a copy of the book Secret Garden by Johanna Basford. And, I have added a box of brightly colored pencils to the giveaway! Congratulations Daria and happy doodling! Thanks to everyone that left a comment. :)

In honor of the June book selection, the Instagram challenge for June is to share photos of your own vibrant food! Use hashtag #pleasuregram to post photos of brightly colored in season ingredients throughout the month of June.

Thanks so much for stopping by! Remember to take pleasure in simple things, Jackie

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pink, white & gold baby shower

May 26, 2015

I promised to give a few decorating ideas for a pink, white, and gold baby shower. You know I love a theme – so, I took pink, white, and gold; added a few polka dots and created some fun ways to decorate!

Finding a pink beverage is certainly not a problem. There are plenty of options including pink lemonade, rose, sangria, or punch. Some easy favors? No problem!

The votives shown here are really easy to create – adding a candle is a nice touch.

A small plant (these are English daisies) wrapped in a coordinating tissue paper, square of fabric, or burlap is also a nice option, or…

A theme colored candy in a cute container. :)

For my shower, I made state shaped sugar cookies (and gift tag), because I was recognizing the hometowns of the families of the soon-to-be parents. Change it up to suit your own shower. Take your cues from the way the nursery is decorated or from the registry. For instance, if the nursery is decorated with a jungle theme, make animal shaped cookies. If the registry shows a crib sheet in a heart motif, make heart shaped cookies, etc.

Of course, the gift has to also be right on theme! I chose a baby outfit and wrapping to coordinate with the theme and also made a gift. I painted a personalized canvas for the baby’s room. You can get the DIY by clicking here.

If you don’t know the baby’s name in advance, leave the heart blank to add later, or paint in the word ‘love.’

I hope I have jumpstarted ideas for your own pink, white, and gold shower!

Thanks for stopping by! Remember to take pleasure in simple things, Jackie

Sharing with Crafts a la Mode, House of Hipsters, Nancherrow, The Shabby Nest, and Craftberry Bush.

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a wordless year

May 22, 2015

I didn’t choose a ‘word of the year’ for 2015. I was thinking about that on my walk by the water today. I wondered why I wasn’t inspired to come up with one this year.

I thought if I had, it would have been something that expressed a need to keep things fresh…to constantly learn new things…to go on new adventures.

I don’t have the ability to travel to foreign lands or visit exotic cultures. But, I am still able to find new adventures every day.

Not a day goes by when I don’t learn something new that creates a special interest or the need to explore.

But, I certainly wouldn’t want to confine that need to discover to a single year…maybe that is why no word for the year?

I hope you enjoy joining me on my walk today for Friday field trip…

Have a wonderful weekend. Thanks for stopping by!

Remember to take pleasure in simple things, Jackie

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3 ingredient lemon mousse shooters

May 19, 2015

Dessert shooters are always fun– a nice little bit of sweetness without the heaviness of a traditional sized dessert.

This three ingredient shooter is super easy to create. Great for a party, these lemon mousse shooters can be made ahead, and if you use little disposable decorative cups, are clean-up free!

The lemon flavor for these shooters comes from lemon curd. I love lemon curd and very often use it in tarts – it packs so much flavor. For today’s dessert, I used store bought lemon curd (a 10 oz. jar is approximately 2/3 cup) and lightened it up by folding it into some whipped cream. With this mousse mixture and some gingersnap cookie crumbs, the shooter is complete!

Raspberries, mint, or lemon slice candies make great garnishes, but if you want to stay strict to three ingredients, top the shooter off with a piece of gingersnap cookie instead.

The hard store bought gingersnaps work best to make crumbs. If you are not a gingersnap fan, you can easily change the gingersnap crumbs for some shortbread cookie crumbs.

I hope you enjoy these little lemon mousse shooters!

Thanks for stopping by! Remember to take pleasure in simple things, Jackie

P.S. The napkins and the mini baking cups I used here are from Home Goods.

Sharing at Craftberry Bush, Thoughts From Alice, House of Hipsters, Nancherrow, and Sand & Sisal.

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a visit to ben wolff pottery

May 15, 2015

Because I am so enamored with his handcrafted pots, I have wanted to make a visit to Ben Wolff’s studio for a long time. Even though it is located right here in Connecticut, the studio was one spot on my ‘to visit’ list that never seemed to get crossed off.

That changed this past weekend when my son asked what I wanted to do for Mother’s Day. I decided I could pass on a meal and, instead, we aimed to get Ben Wolff’s pottery studio crossed off my list of places to visit- yippee! It was a great day for a drive and the ride provided some great alone time with my son – catching up on what was going on with him.

If purchasing flower pots were my goal, it would have been easy enough to just order them online. I’m not saying I didn’t want any pots, but that was not my main reason for the visit. I wanted to see the studio and meet the artist. As luck would have it, I was able to do both.

Ben and his wife, Corinne, were both in the studio when we arrived. I knew Ben was a third generation artisan and he was happy to share his history and explain how he got started learning his craft at the age of two!

It was a great visit and it turned out my son’s gift also included a few of Ben’s pieces! As a lover of neutral color schemes, the pots Ben creates in white clay are my favorite! I carefully picked out a few; choosing ones with Tuscan rims.

They are just so gorgeous! It is hard to imagine using a terra-cotta pot after you have seen Ben’s work. (If you read this blog, you probably have already figured out that I don’t use terra-cotta pots because of my aversion to the color and that my passion in the garden is for all white flowers!)

With pieces starting as low as $8, they are affordable pieces of art – each signed by Ben.

I haven’t yet planted in my new pieces, but for Friday field trip today, I hope you enjoyed sharing some of Ben’s works of art – a few from the thousands of flower pots he creates each year on his potter’s wheel in Goshen, Connecticut. I photographed them with some of the early bloomers from my garden.

I hope you are enjoying some of your own garden flowers. If you follow my Instagram, you know I have been enjoying mine!

Ben Wolff Pottery Studio pleasure in simple things blog

The outside of Ben Wolff’s pottery studio in Connecticut.

Thank you so much for stopping by! Have a fabulous weekend, Jackie

Sharing with Craftberry Bush and French Country Cottage.

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state shaped sugar cookies

May 12, 2015

Remember when I made the state gift tag for a baby shower I was attending? I was attending a party in Connecticut for a baby being born in Florida. I really wanted to acknowledge both states in my gift and I came up with the idea of using both shapes as a gift tag. (See the gift tag by clicking here.) As the date of the shower got closer, I thought “Wouldn’t it be cool to make cookies in the shape of the two states to add to the dessert table?”

I had visions of spending many hours cutting each state cookie out by hand – since once I have an idea like this; I have no choice but to follow through on it! No question, I have cut out many unusual shaped cookies in my day – particularly for children’s birthday parties. In the past, I have made cookies of each one of the Wizard of Oz characters and all the Ninja turtles – cutting out each shape carefully with a dull knife.

With visions of cutting tons of Florida and Connecticut shaped cookies using a knife, I wondered if there might be state cookie cutters available. Sure enough, I searched the Internet and quickly found, not only could I order a cookie cutter for any state, but I could get them pretty darn cheap! What a time saver!

So, I made my sugar cookie dough, rolled it out, and cut out the shapes of the two states using my new cookie cutters. What an awesome way to acknowledge the two states!

Are the wheels turning? Are you thinking of all the ways you could use state cookie cutters? Showers, rehearsal dinners, reunions, graduations – even Christmas tree ornaments! So fun!

I decorated my state cookies to match the colors of the baby’s nursery – pink, gold, and white. (Did you see the shower gift I made? Click here to see. )

After the shower, when the baby gifts got packed up to be sent to Florida, the Florida cookie cutter was tucked into the box. :)

Thanks so much for stopping by. Remember to take pleasure in simple things, Jackie

Sharing with Crafts a la Mode, The Shabby Nest, and House of Hipsters.

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flip flop messages in the sand

May 8, 2015

For today’s Friday field trip, I am taking you to the beach.

Why? Not that I really need a reason to go to the beach – but, today we are going to test out my message flip flops.

It is a very simple concept. I attach letters to the bottom of some flip flops, so a message will be imprinted in the sand as I walk across the beach.

At least I thought it was a simple concept! I quickly found a major flaw in my execution! I forgot I would need to flip the letters when I attached them to the flip flop! That is the reason ‘love’ is backwards!

Other than that, it worked like a charm! If you want to replicate this, just glue some letters to the bottom of an old or inexpensive pair of flip flops. You will want to create a depth of ¼’ with the letters to make a nice imprint. I used a foam letter, but really any material will work. You may be able to find wooden letters at the craft store. If the letters are thin, just keep adding layers until they reach a ¼” thickness. They can even be crafted out of cardboard if you prefer not to purchase pre-cut letters or symbols.

There are many applications for this ….I think it would work really great for a prom proposal…a walk at sunset on the beach when ‘prom?’ magically appears written in the sand…cool, right?

I know. We are not all going to prom – no matter how much we wish we were! Maybe instead, come up with some ‘mom’ messages to use on your beach walk this weekend? Just remember to flip the letters before you glue them!

Have fun with it! Thanks for stopping by!

Have a wonderful weekend and remember to take pleasure in simple things, Jackie

Sharing at Sand & Sisal, Coastal Charm, and The Shabby Nest.

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fresh fruit topiary diy

May 5, 2015

Why not pass on the flowers this Mother’s Day and instead, make your mom an edible arrangement as a gift?

Healthier than a box of chocolates, a fruit topiary is a tasty way to show Mom you care. And, when you create it yourself, you can be sure to include all mom’s favorite fruits and treats!

I started with a 4” high pot – the perfect single serving size! Choose a container in a color to coordinate with mom’s kitchen so she is sure to reuse it! To prepare the container for the arrangement, fit some Styrofoam into the container and covered it with some salad greens.

I will show you what I used to make mine to give you an idea of what you need to get started on your own creation!

My supplies:
– 4” pot, 4” high
– 4 oz. bag Lancaster soft caramels (I had a few left for tasting)
– 3” (approximately) square Styrofoam, trimmed appropriately
– Salad greens
– Assorted fruit
– Skewers (if you only get one size, purchase long ones – they can always be trimmed)
– Ribbon (optional – a bow can be added by attaching to a skewer)

My skewers:
3, 8” skewers of cantaloupe slices
2, 8” skewers of grapes (4 grapes)
3, 6” skewers of grapes (4 grapes)
4, 6” skewers of strawberries
9, 6” skewers of chocolate dipped strawberries
15 caramels on toothpicks

Tips for assembly:
– Don’t use really fresh fruit – you want firm fruit so it will hold up.
– For the same reason, only use sturdy fruit. (I learned this lesson pretty quick when I tried to use raspberries – they are too soft.)

– Use Styrofoam in your pot, not floral foam.
– Cater to your recipient – use edible items that will appeal to the recipient. Instead of caramels, you may decide to use baby rounds of cheese, cookies, dried apricots, etc.
– Use decorative cutters – you can use cookie cutters to cut hearts, melon ballers, etc. to ‘fancy up’ the fruit.
– Don’t put it together too far ahead. You can wash and dry the fruit, dip the strawberries, and cut the fruit ahead – but wait to assemble your creation until the last minute.
– Lay salad greens over the Styrofoam before you start assembly and use some after assembly to fill in any holes or skewer parts that may show.

Lastly, have fun with it!

Thanks for stopping by! Remember to take pleasure in simple things, Jackie

Sharing at Craftberry Bush, Thoughts from Alice, Sand & Sisal, and Coastal Charm.

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may book giveaway!

May 1, 2015

Doodles have been getting plenty of attention. In recent years, Google has definitely helped elevate doodles to an art form – don’t you agree? Who hasn’t checked out the cool doodles on the Google search bar? Now, there are a flurry of books published on the topic of doodling.

One of the more popular published works of doodles recently is Secret Garden by Johanna Basford. Designed to be interactive, this book is touted as a coloring book for adults – chock full of black and white doodles just crying out to be colored in!

Like me, many of you life-long doodlers out there may be thinking “Why the heck didn’t I think of that?” Somehow, the fact that a published book of doodles exists seems to validate the compulsion we all have to create scribbles on paper. I wonder if the author’s grade school teacher complained when the margins of her assignments were full of squiggles! Ms. Basford has made those squiggles pay off – literally!

For the May book giveaway, I will be sending a copy of Secret Garden to one of my readers. In addition, I am including a box of colored pencils from Target. (Have you seen Target’s newest section of craft supplies?!) To win, be sure to leave a comment on this post. I will pick a winner at random from all comments I receive about the giveaway on my social media during the month and announce the winner at the end of May. Good luck!

The winner of the April giveaway (that includes two books – click here for more) was chosen at random from the comments I received. These books will be going out to Michelle from New York. Congrats to Michelle!In celebration of all things doodle, the May Instagram Challenge will be to share your doodles! For Instagram followers, please share your doodles throughout the month of May using the hashtag #pleasuregram. Doodle on!

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Have a fabulous weekend and remember to take pleasure in simple things, Jackie

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pleasure in simple things

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june book giveaway!

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a wordless year

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a visit to ben wolff pottery

state shaped sugar cookies

flip flop messages in the sand

fresh fruit topiary diy

may book giveaway!