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summer in the city

August 31, 2018

party in battery park

Are you gearing up for this holiday weekend?   I look forward to my family being together for a laid back weekend with friends.   We call it “No Labor Day” – a much more accurate name for the weekend activities!

flowers battery park gardens

I am doing my best to grasp every last, wonderful bit of summer!  I hope you are able to enjoy some “No Labor Day” time as well.  Have a wonderful weekend!

statue of liberty from battery park

The photos today on Friday field trip were taken at Battery Park while attending a family party.  It was a wonderful summer day in New York City!

lady liberty in distance

Thanks for stopping by!

statue of liberty photo op

Remember to take pleasure in simple things, Jackie

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sprinkled with love

August 28, 2018

baby shower sprinkle theme cake

I truly believe personalization is the key to a great party.  And, creating favors that do a great job of embracing the occasion are a key component of any successful celebration!

I have a great example from a recent family baby shower I wanted to share – it should definitely get your creative juices flowing!

So, the mom-to-be had a passion for a particular brand of sprinkles. The future dad had always loved animal crackers.  What better way to personalize a baby shower favor, than to incorporate these 2 loves!  How?

animal crackers sprinkled with love

To execute this into a baby shower favor, a tin baby-sized cup was used to house some animal crackers.  To elevate the garden variety animal cracker, they were dipped into white chocolate and then sprinkles before getting packaged in cellphone bags.  Baby bracelets crafted of beads by the grandma-to-be were attached to each cup as a place card and a ‘sprinkled with love’ tag was added.  Cute, right?  Of course, there were many ways to carry through the sprinkles (like the cake!) and animal themes throughout the rest of the party!

animals and sprinkles

Can you think of a cool way to incorporate personal elements into the favors you create for your next celebration?

sprinkle shower theme

Thanks for stopping by!

Remember to take pleasure in simple things, Jackie

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september book giveaway!

August 24, 2018

book and pencil giveaway pleasure in simple things

Because of my unplanned summer hiatus, I am changing up the timing of my monthly giveaway a little bit.  Today I am announcing the July winner and at the same time, I am putting up the September giveaway.  This gives you a little extra time – from now until the end of September – to leave a comment for a chance to win this September giveaway.

I don’t know about you, but I constantly seem to be bombarded with creative ideas just when it is time to drift off to sleep!  (Either then, or in the middle of washing my hair in the shower!)  In an effort not to lose my marvelous thought, I have to quickly locate a pencil and paper to jot down my thoughts or I can not get to sleep!  So, when I saw this book, I had to pick it up to use as a monthly giveaway!  The title:  Can’t Sleep Write Now…a nocturnal journal for tireless thinkers.  The perfect journal to keep bedside!

giveaway pencils with reading sayings

In addition to the journal, I am including in the giveaway, some custom pencils I had imprinted with ‘bookish’ phrases and a custom designed bookmark.  Just leave a comment and you will have a chance to win this giveaway!

September giveaway

Congratulations to Diane, winner of the July giveaway – the Kate Spade notebook.  To see more, click here.

Thanks for the lovely email message Diane!  Enjoy the notebook, I know you will put this win to good use!

Instagram users, please read on!  From now until the end of September, please share your favorite reads from this summer.  Just share a photo with hashtag #pleasuregram.  I will be sharing some on my Instagram stories.  I was able to get some great advance copies and I have some recommendations to share!  (How many of you have read Educated this summer?  Amazing, right?)

september 2018 instagram challenge

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

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cereal treat bowls

August 21, 2018

a pb mousse in choc cereal treat bowl

Cereal treat dessert bowls have been popular for a while now.  I thought I’d give it a try just once so I could put my own spin on it.

Since everything I’ve seen has been made with plain rice or fruit cereal, I decided to make some cereal treat bowls with a chocolate cereal.  And what flavor goes best with chocolate?  A darker chocolate?  Coffee?  Raspberry?  Peanut butter?  That’s it!  I decided on peanut butter.

Peanut butter mousse in a chocolate cereal bowl sounds like a good combination!

a chocolate cereal treat bowls by pleasure in simple things

I made the standard cereal treat recipe of 3 tablespoons of unsalted butter, 10 oz. of melted marshmallows, and 6 cups of cereal.  I lightly sprayed some small bowls with cooking spray (and sprayed a little on my hands as well).   Using my favorite little Anthro bowls as a guide, I spooned the mixture into them and used my fingers to form the mixture into a bowl shape.  Since I don’t have air-conditioning, I popped them into the fridge for a little bit to set them up.

a choc cereal bowls with peanut butter mousse

I chose little bowls to make a nice sized individual serving, but you can make your bowls in any size you’d like!  Since I am making a mousse to put inside, I am leaving them as is.  If you plan on putting something more liquidy (I know this probably isn’t a word) than a mousse, I would suggest melting some chocolate and spreading a coat to harden on the bottom before adding anything so it will act as a seal and prevent any of your dessert from leaking out.

a filled choc treat shell with pb

For the peanut butter mixture – kind of a cross between a mousse and a cheesecake – I beat together 4 oz. cream cheese, 1/2 cup smooth peanut butter, 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract, and 2/3 cup heavy cream till smooth and then beat on high speed for a minute or two.  I spooned this into the cups and garnished them with milk chocolate shavings.  I think peanut butter ice cream would have been a better choice than the mousse idea.  Whatever you spoon into the dessert bowls, be sure to do it just before serving so the bowls don’t get soggy.

Make a cereal treat bowl.  Check.  Have you tried making one?  What did you serve inside it?

Thanks for stopping by!  Have a great week!

Remember to take pleasure in simple things, Jackie

P.S. If you liked this, click here to see a similar treat I made recently…peanut butter cereal treat bites.

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white flowers are the best flowers

August 17, 2018

part of the moon garden on a rainy day

One of the first perennial borders planted by the founders of White Flower Farm was pure white. (For a short time, the owners even considered growing and offering only white-flowered perennials and shrubs..I wish that was carried through!)

pleasure in simple things blog moon garden

ferns at Whites

I call my all-white garden a ‘virgin’ garden.  At White’s, the all-white garden is called a ‘moon’ garden.  The white border is planted with a white tree wisteria and looks crisp and refreshing during the day and positively glows at twilight – the reason for its name!

white cosmos and white house

pretty white flowers pleasure in simple things blog

This garden is my favorite at the farm, but visitors can’t get too close to admire it.  This changes once a year when White’s has their open house.  During the open house tour – and the best part of it – visitors can get up close and personal to the fabulous moon garden!

daisies in the rain

white flowers in moon garden

This year, the open house happened on a rainy day, but I wasn’t going to miss the tour and my chance to get close to the moon garden!

pretty contrast in the moon garden

rock staircase Whites

Today, on Friday field trip, I am sharing some photos from the beautiful moon garden at White Flower Farm in Morris, Connecticut.  Enjoy!

moon garden against the trees

white cosmos pleasure in simple things blog

Thanks for stopping by!  Have a fabulous weekend!

Tiers of white flowerswhite mass of flowers

Remember to take pleasure in simple things, Jackie

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lesson learned

August 14, 2018

white cosmos in the rain

There are some things that are just out of our control.  I learned this the hard way recently.  I also learned how very lucky I am.  The support I have been receiving from my family and friends during this tough time is truly amazing!  I am humbled by all the amazing people that surround me.

Thank you.  I could never even begin to express the love and gratitude I feel.

pleasure in simple things white cosmos

As I continue to grow stronger each day and try to get back to my regular schedule, I am happy to welcome you all back into my life.  I may be a little slow on the upswing, but I am back!

Remember to take pleasure in simple things, Jackie xo

P.S.  I will do the July giveaway I missed while on break next week.

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