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a flirty restaurant

August 30, 2024

For me, this may be the summer of visiting restaurants with beautiful wall paintings!  In my last post I showed you some beauties in Connecticut and today I want to share some I found in Massachusetts.

wall painting coquette

I found these paintings on a recent trip to Boston, when I had dinner at a wonderful restaurant called Coquette at the Seaport in the Omni Hotel.  The food was fabulous and the aesthetics were just as great.

menu at coquette

Right in line with the restaurant name (translating as flirt), the vibe was definitely flirty!  My favorite part of the décor though were the paintings on the wall.

How pretty are these walls?

corner painting coquette

And, I had a major crush on these light fixtures!

light fixture coquette

Some other favorite décor details:

The chandelier in the main dining room, some of the large-scale paintings that truly added to the feel of the place, the ceiling above the bar, the toile wallpaper in the restroom, and the seahorse doorknobs!coquette details

mood at coquette

If you should ever be at or near the Omni – even if you don’t eat at Coquette (which I highly recommend) – I would peek inside and check out the décor!

artwork at coquette

Thanks for stopping by!

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

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chocolate bunny beverage servers

March 22, 2024

strawberry milk in a chocolate bunny

Want a fun way to serve milk at your Easter breakfast this holiday?  Use a hollow chocolate bunny!  What child (or child at heart!) wouldn’t like Easter breakfast milk served in a chocolate bunny!

Here I’m using Lindt chocolate bunnies because Lindt 3.5-ounce hollow chocolate bunnies are the perfect size to serve a small drink!  (Each bunny holds about 4 ounces.)  Plus, they are very easy to find…pretty much any store that sells Easter candy will carry them.  I purchased mine at Target.  The bunnies are sold wrapped in gold foil with a bow around their neck.  The bow color distinguishes the type of chocolate of the bunny…a red bow is milk chocolate; a brown bow is dark chocolate and a cream color bow is white chocolate.

milk in a chocolate bunny

Are you wondering how I got the milk into the bunny?  It was pretty easy.  I heated up the spout of a small stainless-steel funnel.  While the funnel was hot, I gently pushed it into the chocolate bunny to make a hole.  I used the funnel to pour milk inside the bunny via the hole and added a straw to serve!

Easter bunny chocolate beverage

milk in a chocolate bunny

Serving milk in a milk chocolate bunny is the obvious combination of tastes, but there are so many more great combinations!

For my milk chocolate bunny, I poured in banana flavored milk!  I think a chocolate milk would also taste great.  For a more adult treat – how about Amaretto?!

I decided to pour my favorite beverage – iced coffee – into a dark chocolate bunny.  Yummy!!  I bet Kahlua or Baileys would taste great in the dark chocolate as well!

iced coffee in a chocolate bunny

For the white chocolate bunny, I poured in strawberry flavored milk – a great flavor combo!  For an adult version, I would try Chambord or Limoncello!

Wouldn’t these bunnies make a great favor at Easter brunch or breakfast?  Tie a bow onto the bunnies, like I did here, to match your color scheme.  How fun for your guests to eat the container when the drink is finished!

I hope you are inspired to serve a beverage from a chocolate bunny this holiday – what will you serve in your bunny?

Thanks for stopping by!  Have a fabulous weekend!

Remember to take pleasure in simple things, Jackie

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shades of green pumpkins

November 17, 2023

misc pumpkins

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!

tower of pumpkins

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!

green striped pumpkin

green and orange pumpkins

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

pile of green pumpkins

pumpkin tower

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!

green squash

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

bunch of pumpkins

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!

3 green squash

green striped squash

Have a wonderful weekend and thanks for stopping by!

squash snakes

Remember to take pleasure in simple things, Jackie

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pumpkin’ to talk about

October 20, 2023

outdoor fall decor

Growing up, pumpkins were one shape and one color only.  Today, there is a myriad of varieties of pumpkins/squash that are so far beyond the plain round, orange pumpkin from my childhood!

crates of pumpkins

study in orange

orange in peppers

Of course, there are certainly plenty of styling options staying within the traditional orange color palette, if that is your preference – but so many more choices than just a round orange pumpkin!

bunch of pumpkins

orange striped pumpkins

orange mums

tons of pumpkins

standout pumpkin

The photos here are some fun vignettes I’ve seen this year!

oranges of fall

Are you inspired to put out some pumpkins?

fall in orange

Thanks for stopping by!

squash in fall

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

Jackie

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white pumpkins and burgandy

October 1, 2023

fall plaid vibes

If you are wondering why my photos look like they were taken in the rain, it is because they were!

My fall meandering this season has been very wet!  Not by choice.  It just couldn’t be helped – rainy days have been the norm here in Connecticut for way too long!

white fall

If you know anything about me, you know typical holiday colors are never my favorites.  And, white is one of my preferred colors.  White pumpkins are always the best pumpkins and I enjoy combining them with other neutrals or, sometimes other colors.

burgandy fall vibes

I really enjoy burgundy as an accent color for both fall and at Christmas time.

burgandy plants

Here I am sharing some great styling examples with white pumpkins and burgundy I recently found at Terrain in Westport.  Isn’t it a great combination?

fall burgandy

If you want to add some cozy feels when putting together your own fall vignettes, add a blanket or scarf.  Don’t discard ripped blankets in your favorite colorways.  They can be repurposed while styling your pumpkins!  If not blankets, fabric remnants or discarded corduroy or flannel shirts are also great to reuse!  If you have nothing of your own to utilize, thrift shops and consignment stores are great places to pick up items to use.  I never get rid of a piece of clothing or fabric I love…down the road it may turn up as part of a tablescape or made into a pumpkin!

white and burgandy decor

I hope you are inspired to put some white pumpkins and burgundy together this season.  If not, I’ll have some more traditional color combination examples next time!

white pumpkin burg

Thanks for stopping by!

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

Jackie

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mini pumpkins and faded blooms

October 14, 2022

mini pumpkin hydrangea

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

decorated white boo

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

pinecones and mini pumpkin

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!

faded blooms mini pumpkin

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.

boo on blanket

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

striped mini pumpkin

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.

pumpkin with metal flower

pumpkin with metal acorn

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

pumpkin with 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!

dried flowers on pumpkin

pumpkin with burgandy dried

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!

white nest pumpkin

nest with pumpkin

pumpkin in nest

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!

orchids and pumpkin

pumpkin in black urn

pumpkin and ferns

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 1st, 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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unexpected fall colors

September 16, 2022

green pumpkin in chair

I don’t like orange as a basic fall décor color.  I’m mostly about neutrals, as you probably know.  And, I do love black.

black fall accents

So, it makes sense that I would like a black and white fall palette.  Let me show you what I mean!

stacked white pumpkins

On a recent trip one sunny afternoon to Terrain in Westport, Connecticut – my favorite garden store – I come upon some pairings of white pumpkins with some really dark colored plants that basically read like black.

pumpkins with black

I really love color choices that aren’t orange for fall and I particularly loved this unexpected pairing of black and white as an outdoor landscape color scheme.  What do you think?

white pumpkins

I hope you are inspired to change up your fall décor colors this season!

terrain westport

Thanks for stopping by!

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

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easy diy glazed donut nails

August 5, 2022

easy glazed donut nails

I’ve never had gel or acrylic nails.  Heck, I barely ever polish my nails these days.  With all the gardening and painting/crafting, my nails are barely ever all the same length.  And, if my nails aren’t all the same length, I don’t draw attention to them with polish!

But recently, by some strange miracle, my nails haven’t been breaking and they are, in fact, all the same length!

I don’t go for all the crazy nail trends since I prefer a natural, subtle looking fingernail.  I prefer an understated polish – like Essie’s ballet slippers, for example.

But I have to admit, the ‘glazed donut’ trend is one that I actually like.  It is shiny and subtle and looks oh so much like summer!

I’ve heard that Hailey Bieber was the cause of this trend and that she used a chrome powder to get the look.  Though I was interested in getting the look, I was not interested in getting a salon manicure or buying a bunch of products to get it!

glazed donut nail polish

I ended up getting something that looks pretty darn close and all I did was buy one bottle of Essie nail product to get it!

Essie is my ‘go to’ nail brand and I already had some polish in a shade called sheer fantasy that I had picked up as a substitute for ballet slippers when my local Target was out of it.  I purchased Essie FX Expressie from my local CVS in iced out to add more of a luminous look.

products for glazed donut nails

To achieve the trendy glazed look, this is what I did.  I already had a clear top coat and a coat of Essie’s sheer fantasy on my nails.  I added a coat of the Essie FX Expressie in iced out on top of that.  I ended up adding another coat of sheer fantasy to make it a little more subtle – less purple.  I liked the way it looked, so I added a clear top coat and that’s that!  Easy peasy!  An inexpensive version of the glazed donut nail look!

glazed donut nails

I hope you are inspired to try a new nail color of your own this summer!  (Click here to see my dream nail polish collection!)

Thanks for stopping by!

Remember to take pleasure in simple things, Jackie

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philadelphia flower show 2022

June 24, 2022

philly flower show fave

I have been to the Philadelphia Flower Show in years past.  Hailed as the world’s longest-running and largest indoor show in the country, it is hard for any flower lover not to visit at least once in their life!

The gazebo at fdr

But I have never been to the Philadelphia Flower Show since COVID.  And since COVID, there has been one huge change to the show – it moved outdoors from the Pennsylvania Convention Center.

pavillion orchids

Because of the change, I was especially excited to visit the show this year – my first with the outdoor venue.

orange at the pavillion

sky at fdr

The site for the show since COVID has been FDR Park – a 348-acre park located in South Philadelphia along the Delaware River.

orchids for days

The venue turned out to be really great – even though the day my daughter and I chose to attend was a 94-degree day!  Yes, it certainly was hot, but we found some nice breezes and some shady spots to rest.

orchids over water

The food and drink options were fabulous with many great seating areas available.  We chose to have a snack in the boat house which provided a shady spot with a picturesque view of the river.

pavillion at fdr

orchids philly flower show

Though I prefer white flowers over multi-colored and I am not particularly an orchid fan, the flower installation in the gazebo overlooking the river was my favorite!  A profusion of multi-colored flowers, predominately orchids, dazzled in the space.  The photos I share here are all from this installation.

roses at fdr

My daughter and I hadn’t been to Philadelphia in quite a few years and we had many stops on our list!  I am glad we included the flower show as one of our stops because it really was enjoyable – particularly because it was held outdoors.

pavillion orchid display

urn at FDR park

Thanks for stopping by!  Have a fabulous weekend!

philly flower orchids

Remember to take pleasure in simple things, Jackie

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