lavender iced coffee

May 31, 2024

I love culinary lavender.

A subtle taste of lavender in a drink or a baked item is delicious! So, I was very excited when I heard Starbucks added lavender drinks to its menu. An iced coffee with a hint of lavender sounded very appealing to me! That is, until I actually visited my local Starbucks and found out the only way to get a lavender drink was with the addition of a lavender sugar syrup! “Is there any way to add the lavender to a drink without adding the sugar?” I asked the barista. “The lavender is part of a sugar syrup. That is the only lavender we have” was the response I received. Yuck! Determined to enjoy a lavender iced coffee without sugar, I set out to make my own.

The usual iced coffee I make at home is made from organic coffee. I combine brewed coffee I keep in the fridge with walnut ‘milk’. The walnut ‘milk’ I buy is from Elmhurst and has two ingredients – water, walnuts – that’s it! (These ingredients make my everyday coffee very clean!) Using my usual iced coffee ingredients, I was determined to create a lavender iced coffee. I came up with a very simple way to accomplish this!

I filled a tea infusion ball with culinary lavender and dropped it into a glass jar filled with my walnut ‘milk’. (Use whatever nut ‘milk’ you prefer.) I left this jar in the fridge overnight and by the next morning the milk was infused with a lovely, subtle lavender flavor!

I combined my infused ‘milk’ with some of my cold, pre-brewed coffee and voila! I had a lavender iced coffee with no sugar or other unwanted added ingredients!

The taste of my lavender iced coffee was perfect! (Of course, the longer the lavender remains in the ‘milk’, the stronger the flavor. Overnight was just the right subtle flavor for me.) Mission accomplished!

I hope you will try your own iced coffee creation by creating your favorite flavor(s) in a clean way!

Thanks for stopping by!

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

P.S. Be sure to use culinary grade lavender – lavender that is intended for ingesting! It will be marked accordingly. I usually can find it at a bargain at Home Goods or TJ Maxx – in the food aisle. Try it in your scones!

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free gingerbread house gift wrap

November 24, 2023

Start saving your grocery bags! Trader Joe’s has started using its holiday bags and they are super cute to use as holiday gift wrap! So, forget about adding the bags to your recycling bin and start adding them to your holiday wrapping station!

This year’s holiday bags sport a cute gingerbread house pattern with a light blue accent.

White or light blue ribbon make for a great addition to complete a package.

After wrapping gifts with the bags, use the scraps to make gift tags.

I hope I have inspired you to create some free gift wrap from holiday bags!

Thanks for stopping by!

Remember to take pleasure in simple things, Jackie

P.S. Would you like some other ideas on how to repurpose brown bags? Click here!

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shades of green pumpkins

November 17, 2023

I did a couple posts this fall about color and styling of pumpkins. There is one more color palette I want to mention before we leave this topic!

When styling pumpkins for fall, green is an option we hadn’t really seen in the past. What fun varieties there are now! So, in this post, I am offering up some examples of how the color green can be added to pumpkin vignettes!

Not only are pumpkins offered in a variety of colors, but have you noticed there are pumpkin offerings in softer, muted looking tones?

Of course, a multi-color theme is a styling option as well and incorporating fall flowers is so fun! And though pumpkins come in a variety of colors, fall flowers, like the colors of the falling leaves, are available in even more!

No matter your preference, I hope you are having fun with color this fall – whether it be with pumpkins and/or flowers!

And yes, I know Christmas décor is coming in hot, but it is technically still fall and I like to embrace the fall décor at least until Thanksgiving!

Have a wonderful weekend and thanks for stopping by!

Remember to take pleasure in simple things, Jackie

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leaf candle diy

October 27, 2023

Remember using an iron to press leaves between two sheets of wax paper? I loved this activity as a kid. Collecting the most colorful leaves I could find and preserving them was so much fun! I would hang my finished masterpiece from yarn in front of a sun-filled window.

As an adult, there are so many variations of this craft that can provide satisfying DIY results.

One of these variations, you have probably seen, is to use wax paper and an iron to apply leaves to a pillar candle.

As an adult, my taste is a little more sophisticated than back in the day of multi-colored leaves and I shy away from rainbow color palettes – preferring neutral or monochromatic themes. So, my pillar candle creation will not be full of multi-color leaves!

For this project, I went out and collected as many leaves as I could find in a burgundy color palette – burgundy being a favorite accent color of mine.

Once the leaves had been collected, the project is really simple to create. All that is needed, in addition to the leaves, is a pillar candle, wax paper, and an iron.

I just cut a strip of wax paper the width of the candle – long enough to wrap around it. I plugged in my iron to get it nice and hot (not using the steam setting). Once the leaves are positioned where I wanted them, I put the wax paper (wax side down) over the leaves. Holding it in place, I ironed the wax paper until I could see the wax melting. After waiting a few seconds, I removed the wax paper. Viola! A beautiful fall candle!

I hope I have inspired you to create a candle decorated with fall leaves! Maybe give new life to some old candles and use them for your Thanksgiving table!

Thanks for stopping by!

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

Jackie

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coat closet to pantry diy

April 14, 2023

I have a small coat closet off my kitchen that I hadn’t opened all winter. Not because I don’t have coats. Believe me, I have tons of coats! But I wore the same warmest, longest winter parka I have for the entire winter and there had been no room for switching it up!

Every time I looked at the closet, I thought about what a waste of space it was. One day I was just fed up with that closet and I took out every last coat and piled them up on my couch. I looked at the empty closet and got so excited about the possibilities! The only thing left in the closet was a single shelf and the bar where the coats had hung. My first inclination was to remove the bar and fill the closet with shelves. But, when I started thinking about what would be most convenient to store in the closet, I changed my mind.

What would be great to have in that closet? My lunch bag and a couple other bags I use on a regular basis for starters. Well, those things would be great to hang on the existing bar! I decided to use S hooks (Which I happen to LOVE for organizing – it’s how I hang all my jeans in my closet!) to hang these items on the bar.

What else would be handy? Definitely some cleaning products – mops and my Dyson. So, I added mop holders first off and also mounted my Dyson to the inside of the door. After mounting the Dyson, I examined the inside of the door and I saw more available space. Next, I added a really cool rack I found on Amazon to store a couple pair of exercise shoes that usually lived on my kitchen floor.

This closet already felt like heaven! Next, I needed a place to put returnable cans. Presently, I was hanging a plastic bag on the closet door handle for this purpose and it just had to go! I bought a waste bin that fit nicely inside the closet to throw my empty cans and water bottles until I returned them to the store.

This closet was everything already! And, I still had some room! I put a large basket on the floor and decided to keep the shelf that existed in the closet; adding two more. I used my favorite IKEA baskets (Byholma) on the shelves to store some health books and cleaning products.

My son cut some wood for my two added shelves and I painted them the same as the rest of the closet (BM Simply White).

I added a hook for that one coat I wear all winter and a couple of bins to the inside of the door – I wanted to utilize every bit of space.

Point is – the coat closet wasn’t working for me so I needed to find something that would! Moral of the story is not to accept what is there just because it is there lol!

Now this closet makes me SO happy! I use it ALL the time and it is so much more practical as a pantry type closet rather than a coat closet.

What, you ask, happened to all the coats? I purchased two wardrobes (Brimnes) from IKEA for storing the coats and that is where they stay until the rare occasions they are needed!

I hope I have inspired you to rethink/rework some of your space!

Thanks for stopping by!

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

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diy floral egg cups

March 10, 2023

Using egg cups as part of your spring décor is super simple. Egg cups are very easy to come by this time of year and are very inexpensive. I think most of mine came from the bargain bin at Target, but I have found vintage ones at thrift stores as well. Sometimes I add my own embellishments – like the white egg cup in these photos where I added a painted gold metallic rim.

In addition to displaying painted or decorated eggs in egg cups, they also come in handy as vessels for flowers. Adding fresh flowers to an egg cup is an easy DIY and can serve as a wonderful addition to any Easter table!

To make a floral egg cup; first, cut a piece of floral foam to fit into the chosen egg cup. (If working with fresh flowers, be sure to use an egg cup that can hold water!) Decide on the flowers you will be using and bundle them together. Pick a flower with a stiff stem and use a small piece of floral wire to tie the stems together. The wire will also be helpful when sticking the flowers into the floral foam – making it easier to push the stems into the foam. Add water if you are using fresh flowers. Finish your arrangement with some moss to cover the floral foam.

Aren’t these sweet? Make a bunch to use as place cards on your Easter table and/or as a cute takeaway for each guest. If you have snowdrops blooming in your yard, they would be perfect to use for this project. If not, you can find small fresh flowers in plants from your local grocery store or Trader Joe’s. (I was able to make 4 egg cups from one $3.99 plant from the grocery store.)

I hope I have inspired you to create some egg cup floral arrangements!

Thanks for stopping by!

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

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boycotting egg painting

March 4, 2023

Wow! This is my first post of 2023! Since I started this blog in 2012, never before have I had such a lapse in posts! It is very sad to think I haven’t been using my creative side in quite some time!

The good news is that I have been busy organizing myself in finances, work, and wellness and making great progress!

I’m happy to say, I do now, have a couple projects in the works!

One is a coffee table and the second is the transformation of a coat closet into a pantry. (More on these projects as they develop!)

Normally, at this time of year, I would already be working on Easter eggs…coming up with a theme and painting them appropriately. This year, in a kind of personal protest against grocery prices, I decided not to paint eggs. I don’t normally buy eggs, except at Easter time, and I decided I am not going to purchase them to paint this year.

For the purposes of this post, I am including photos of one of my favorite past Easter egg themes – topiary. (Cactus, picnic, and constellation were also some of my most favorite themes).

I enjoy having some of the topiary eggs out in a bowl – I don’t think skipping a year of painting eggs will bother me! I did put out a little bit of Easter/Spring décor – have you? Remember to bring in some cut branches (magnolia, forsythia, etc.) – it’s the perfect time to force blooming!

I’m counting down the days when the clocks will change because I really dislike leaving for work in the dark and coming home from work in the dark!

Have a fabulous weekend!

Remember to take pleasure in simple things, Jackie

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easy diy gingerbread gift wrap

December 2, 2022

Hi! I know it has been a minute…but, I’m happy today to have some time to show you a really simple, very low-cost way to wrap your holiday packages! These DIY gingerbread gift tags are made from discarded cardboard and a marker! So easy!

If you don’t already have a white, oil-based marker or a white permanent chalkboard marker, purchase one from the craft store to complete this project. If you want to make coordinating wrapping paper, purchasing kraft paper is not necessary – brown bags work just as well! (Note: Trader Joe’s holiday shopping bags work great since they already have a gingerbread house design on brown paper bags!)

A pencil can be used to draw some basic shapes onto corrugated cardboard. (There is certainly plenty of this around with all the holiday deliveries rolling in!) Then, draw the shapes onto the cardboard using a white, oil-based marker and decorate them as you would gingerbread – except use a marker instead of royal icing!

When the drawings are completed, cut out the shapes and add a hole in the top for hanging. Simple!

To coordinate gift bags, just use the same white marker to add a blizzard of ‘snowflake’ dots.

Isn’t this a great project to do with children? All their original drawings can easily be transformed into gingerbread gift tags!

Thanks for stopping by! Have a great weekend!

Remember to take pleasure in simple things, Jackie

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mini pumpkins and faded blooms

October 14, 2022

As the garden starts to fade and all things pumpkin are amped-up, it seems a no-brainer to combine the two!

I collected some faded garden blooms and some sweet little pine cones from a tree out front to use as baby boo embellishments.

Little white baby boos are my favorite pumpkins and combining them with items from my yard is a really easy, no-cost way to create some fall decor!

I hope you are inspired to use some of the items in your yard to create some pretty fall décor for your home or to gift.

Thanks for stopping by! Have a great weekend!

Remember to find pleasure in simple things, Jackie

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pumpkin play

September 30, 2022

Planting inside a pumpkin – whether real or artificial – has been going on for quite a few years now. Certainly, new colors and types of pumpkins pop up every year, but there are also some ways to make this season’s pumpkin – whether planted, or part of a planting – look fresh for the current year!

Let’s look at four easy ways to update your planted pumpkin creations this year!

Add a decorative non-living item to your planting. There are infinite ways to make a pumpkin planting look updated, simply by adding a decorative item to your arrangement. In the examples here, decorative metal items are used. Shop your local garden store gift shop or find something unique at a vintage store or thrift shop.

A great way to make your arrangement look super current, is to add an item currently trending – in this case, a mushroom!

Glue dried items to the outside of your pumpkin. You have seen me glue dried items to pumpkins in years past and this is a great idea for anyone that feels they don’t possess a green thumb! A glue gun and some found (or purchased) dried items from nature are all that are required! And, although this is not exactly a planted pumpkin, it creates the same appeal as one! Small pumpkins are especially great for this because very little material is needed to add some instant drama!

Incorporate a nest into your pumpkin arrangement. You know I have a passion for nests and why not use them with your pumpkins! Items from nature are always favorites of mine and nests can mix really well with pumpkins! You probably already have some nests, packed away with your Easter or spring décor, that can do double duty!

Add a pumpkin to an already fabulous living arrangement. Any arrangement you already have can look seasonal with an added pumpkin! Nobody does this better than Terrain – look at the examples here! Choose a pumpkin(s) that coordinates in color and/or style to your current planting! Have fun with it!

I hope you are inspired to add some seasonal décor to your home! The photos I used as examples here were all taken by me at Terrain in Westport. If you live local, be sure to visit Terrain for The Autumn Bounty Festival on October 1^st, 11:00 am to 4:00 pm.

Thanks for stopping by!

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

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boycotting egg painting

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mini pumpkins and faded blooms

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