holiday seaside neutrals

December 25, 2018

Did I mention this year has been a little crazy? Many of my holiday traditions did not happen this year. One of these traditions was going on my annual ‘shop hop’ with the gals! We always have such a fabulous time! We plan it out so we can visit our favorite shops close to the official holiday reveal date.

I did make a quick stop to one my favorites, as you saw it a previous post. But I didn’t go close to the reveal date this year so the merchandise and décor was not at its true magnificence!

Nonetheless, in honor of the holiday week, I am sharing some photos from my quick holiday trip this year to Taken for Granite on this week’s posts. No matter what day the visit – it is always a pleasure and an inspiration to visit the store.

I hope you are having a fabulous day with the special people in your life. Enjoy the photos.

Thanks for stopping by!

Remember to take pleasure in simple things, Jackie

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pick a wish

December 18, 2018

With all the craziness going on in my life during 2018, I didn’t design an Advent calendar as I usually do each year to kick off the holiday season.

So, this year, rather than inspire you with one of my creations, I want to show you something wonderfully inspiring I saw at one of my favorite gift shops.

It is not exactly an Advent calendar, but I am inspired to create an Advent calendar using the idea from this beautiful ‘grab a wish’ display at Taken for Granite in Stonycreek, Connecticut. What a beautifully executed way for the shop to give each of their customers an individual holiday wish!

Each pocket contains a written sentiment with a clear star ornament attached. The wish I chose was absolutely perfect for me! It read: Have the courage to step off the ledge so you may realize you’ve had wings all along.

I hope this inspires you, as it does me, to create something similar.

Thanks for stopping by!

Remember to take pleasure in simple things, Jackie

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a life-size gingerbread house

December 14, 2018

Yes, I am a Food Network junkie. And, since I love to bake, I particularly enjoy any show that includes baking! Currently, that show is The Holiday Baking Championship on Monday nights!

I was recently lucky enough to meet a current contestant, 35 year old Lerome Campbell, one of 3 bakers at the Ritz-Carlton beach resort in Naples, Florida.

At this time of year, Lerome is something of a local celebrity because of his part in creating a gingerbread house in the lobby of the Ritz hotel. Each year, pastry chefs at the Ritz-Carlton beach resort plan, bake and construct a life-sized gingerbread house. This year’s creation used 60,000 pieces of candy, 1,200 gingerbread bricks, 464 eggs, and is held together with 400 lbs. of icing! No small feat, the house required 1,000 hours to put together!

The first challenge on last Monday’s episode of The Holiday Baking Championship was for contestants to prepare a classic chocolate holiday dessert with the addition of two common pantry items. Lerome chose to create a chocolate trifle that incorporated potato chips and red wine…interesting combo! Coating the potato chips in melted chocolate and then sprinkling them with peppermint insured a crunchy, flavorful chip. He simmered the red wine into a thick reduction and layered it into the dessert.

Even with the twist of having to incorporate the secret ingredient of fruit cake into his second dessert creation of a pecan financier on the episode, Lerome was able to avoid elimination and is advancing to the finale.

I’m rooting for my new friend Lerome next Monday (December 17^th) when he competes on the finale episode!

I should mention, since the gingerbread house at the hotel is not available for tasting (it is lacquered after constructed – so it is totally inedible), I made sure to taste every one of Lerome’s creations while visiting his hotel! I probably tasted at least a dozen desserts and they were all beautiful and delicious! One of my favorites was the yuzu crème brulee.

Hope you enjoyed today’s Friday field trip and a glimpse of the 2018 gingerbread house created by Lerome Campbell and the bakers at the Ritz-Carlton beach resort in Naples, Florida.

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

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christmas in a teacup

December 11, 2018

Would you like to try a Christmas craft that is a little different from creating a gingerbread house? Maybe even a little less intimidating? How about crafting a holiday scene in a teacup?

I recently met a good friend at a tea house for breakfast and came upon these lovely centerpieces on the tables…instant smile makers!

Of course this one is my favorite…it most closely matches my decorating style!

Isn’t this a great DIY craft idea? Even for inexperienced crafters, creating a little holiday teacup scene is not intimidating at all! A few little decorative items and some artificial snow are all that is needed to transform a teacup and saucer into an enchanting holiday scene!

I love this idea! I have plenty of vintage teacups since I sometimes use them to serve crème brulees or to plant moss or small plants. If you don’t own any, pick one, or several, up at any Goodwill or tag sale. Better yet, use a family heirloom to build your miniature scene!

I can’t wait to take out my box of miniature white bottle brush trees to get started! You know I don’t decorate in red and green for the holidays, so I can’t wait to create some scenes in neutrals! I think shells and sea glass are also in order! I see coastal holiday scene teacups in my future!

I hope I have inspired you to create some Christmas scene teacups of your own this holiday! Use your imagination and have fun with it!

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

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holiday 2018 at terrain

November 27, 2018

This may be the first year since it opened that I did not attend the holiday open house at Terrain. I know I usually share some photos from the day since the store is so inspiring!

A few followers that live out of the area emailed and asked me about the open house – hoping to see some photos again this year. Since I don’t want to disappoint…I made a trip over last Sunday morning so I could take a few photos and share them with you! Walking around early on a Sunday morning with a cup of coffee proved to be a peaceful and beautiful way to start the day!

It is not exactly the same as the magnificent open house day, but for those of you who aren’t lucky enough to have a Terrain within visiting distance, the photos are fun to look at!

My favorite things are always the plants and I was not disappointed. The terrariums and the way they incorporate holiday elements are fabulous!

The miniature zinc village is one of the stars of the show…as it was last year. It looks like some new pieces were added this year. I am still totally in love with the zinc advent calendar!

Santa forgot to bring it to me last year…maybe I will have better luck this year!

Sorry I didn’t get open house photos posted this year. I hope you got a little bit of a Terrain holiday fix from these Sunday morning photos!

Thanks for stopping by! I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving and a great start to this holiday season!

Remember to take pleasure in simple things, Jackie

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country living fair atlanta 2018

November 9, 2018

If you follow this blog, you know I am a big fan of the Country Living Magazine Fairs.

The fair takes place in four different U.S. locations each year. Rhinebeck, New York is the closest location to my home and I have been to that fair every year since it started. It is a fabulous venue – with great food, real bathrooms, and plenty of green! The Dutchess County Fairground is just lovely!

You may remember my friend Wendy and I embarked on a road trip last year so we could experience a second fair location. (I shared plenty of the trip on the blog.) We drove out to Columbus, Ohio. It was a great trip. I think we caught the travel bug after that trip because we thought it would be great to check out a third Country Living Fair location this year!

So, I asked everyone in my family to gift me some travel points for my birthday this past year, and we made a trip happen! Where did Wendy and I decide to travel to for our third Country Living Fair destination? Atlanta, Georgia.

Do they not have hydrangeas in the South? I thought it was funny that several booths were selling hydrangeas…they grow like weeds in Connecticut!

I had not ever been to Atlanta (or Georgia, for that matter). The venue was Stone Mountain. It was a cool location, with paths through forests, that was contained inside a huge park.

The only thing that wasn’t so cool was the weather! Thinking Georgia was all hot sunshine, it was a little disappointing to have two days of rain. We didn’t let the rain slow us down though!

We were happy to have light rain the second day after experiencing torrential rain the first day!

We discovered that the beauty of the Atlanta venue was the open space. The crafters and artisans were able spread out and display their wares in fabulous ways…there was even enough room to fit a Volkswagen in a display space!

I hope you enjoy sharing some of my favorite fall images from the Country Living Fair in Atlanta on today’s Friday field trip! Next week I will share some of the holiday inspiration I found at the fair. I also have some other fun Atlanta stops to share! :)

Thanks so much for stopping by! Have a wonderful weekend!

Remember to take pleasure in simple things, Jackie

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november book giveaway!

November 6, 2018

Preparing for the holidays is usually the opposite of calm, right? This whole time of year causes so many people stress. So, I thought the perfect book to give away for November is one called Calm: Calm the Mind, Change the World by Michael Acton Smith.

Using a combination of creative prompts, activities, and motivations, Calm will open your eyes to the pleasure and richness of everyday life. Discover how to take back a little bit of peace, space, and all-important time for yourself.

You can pick up Calm whenever you need it during the holidays…an inspirational and practical book with a wonderful Origami surprise at the end!

Leave a comment to let me know you’d like to win. The winner will be chosen at random at the end of November from the comments left during the month.

The pink velvet pumpkins for the October giveaway are going out to Lisette. Click here for more information on that giveaway. Congrats Lisette…I know you really wanted those pink pumpkins! Please email me the address where you’d like me to send them. Enjoy!

Instagram users, please read on! This month, the Instagram challenge is to post photos showing how you achieve your calm. It can be a place…a person…whatever creates your calm. Use the hashtag #pleasuregram to share.

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Remember to take pleasure in simple things, Jackie

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sea glass green and white pumpkins

October 23, 2018

One of my favorite color pairings with white pumpkins is the color of green sea glass. I am talking about the color green that is also the color of Jadeite. And, also the color you can find in hydrangea when they turn color in the fall.

A far cry from the traditional orange and black colors of the season!

My love for the green/white combo is how I originally got started planting inside white pumpkins. These images are from something I posted on planting succulents in a white pumpkin back in 2012. To see the original post, click here.

I hope you are inspired to try a new color combination with white pumpkins this Halloween season!

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

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autumn porch goals

October 19, 2018

I think most of us like to create a little sense of the season on our porches. It may be a simple seasonal wreath on the door, or something more elaborate; like assembling a pumpkin topiary.

One of the best examples of a seasonal porch is at my friend Phyllis’s home! Each season she does a wonderful job of creating a sense of welcome at the back entrance of her home – the entrance that all the true friends use to enter! (How cool is that kale?!)

For Friday field trip, you can experience this sense of welcome as well!

Thanks for stopping by!

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

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changing perspective

October 5, 2018

It has been a really tough week for me. I lost someone who was very special in my life. It’s the type of event that makes one take stock in life and creates a change in perspective.