pleasure in simple things

cocktails with a view

May 12, 2017

The Seafood Bar, located in the historic Breakers hotel, was completely reimagined around its stunning Atlantic backdrop in late December 2016 and we are visiting it today on Friday field trip.

This place lets you experience the allure of the yachting lifestyle with great nautical details, beautiful new aquariums, and a front-row seat to ocean views.

Of the two large aquariums housed in the Seafood Bar, the most spectacular is the one that creates the bar itself.

It makes sitting at the bar an amazing sensory experience – looking ahead is a view of the ocean and looking down is a view of fish swimming under the spot you placed your drink!

The Seafood Bar serves lunch and dinner. Cocktails are offered at the bar until 1 am.

The beverage menu is wonderful. For something tropical and a little different to try, there is a watermelon jalapeno or a smoked coconut margarita. Local drafts are offered, as well as a great selection of alcohol free elixirs. My favorite is a coconut lavender lemonade made with lemon juice, coconut water and lavender simple syrup! Craft sodas are another great alcohol free option – like an organic summer pear!

The Seafood Bar is definitely Palm Beach life at its best!

Thanks for stopping by! Have a wonderful weekend!

P.S. If you are wondering about the maintenance involved with this unique bar – hours are spent each morning cleaning both the inside (delicately) and outside of the tank!

Remember to take pleasure in simple things, Jackie

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plants of palm beach

May 9, 2017

As I start to clean up my garden and plant some annuals here in Connecticut, I can’t help but think of some of the inspiring plantings I saw on my first trip to Palm Beach, Florida.

Like all things in Palm Beach, the green spaces are magnificent. So today, as part of my Palm Beach homage, I am sharing some of my favorites from the great plantings I spotted!

Some of my favorite container plantings were located around the pool at The Breakers hotel…

This colorful orchid was one of many located in an interior courtyard at The Breakers. This beautiful variety of flower can easily grow on the trees in Palm Beach.

The Living Wall (located on the west wall of Saks Fifth Avenue) on Worth Avenue, has to be the most high-profile garden in a Palm Beach public space! It was assembled in 2010 as part of the nearly $16 million beautification of Worth Avenue. A computerized system provides water and nutrients to the more than 10,000 plants in the 24-foot high, 36-foot wide grid. Amazingly beautiful!

These topiaries were also spotted on the famous high-end shopping street, Worth Avenue.

I found this cool looking flower in some shrubbery on the grounds of The Breakers hotel…not too sure what it is, but I thought it was uniquely beautiful.

This simple but majestic container planting was spotted outside Henry Flagler’s 1902 Palm Beach estate. Flagler was the gentlemen that established Palm Beach as a resort.

And, of course, you can’t help but notice the beautiful palms when in Palm Beach! They are everywhere! The coconut palm is not native to Florida. It’s presence in Palm Beach is due to a shipwreck back in 1878. The ship, traveling to Spain from Havana, was carrying a cargo of coconut palms and many of the coconuts were salvaged; many planted.

I hope you enjoyed sharing a few of the many plants that caught my eye while in Palm Beach. While inspiring, they certainly make my humble garden seem a lot less exciting! I have to remind myself that Connecticut is lacking the tropical rain forest climate of Palm Beach!

A dish garden I admired on a table inside The Breakers hotel.

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

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a little bit of lilly

May 5, 2017

I promised some Palm Beach flavor in the month of May!

Palm Beach is the birthplace of the Lilly Pulitzer style and no visit to Palm Beach would be complete without a visit to a Lilly Pulitzer store!

The way the historic story goes is that Lillian McKim eloped with Peter Pulitzer and moved to the fabulous resort destination, Palm Beach, when Lilly was just in her 20’s.

She opened a juice stand off Worth Avenue, squeezing the juice for all her famous friends.

Needing to camouflage the colorful juice stains (occupational hazard when you are a juice squeezer!) on her clothing, Lilly created a brightly printed, easy shift dress to work in…the start of all things Lilly!

The bright, fun details pictured here were taken in the Lilly store located at the iconic Breakers hotel in Palm Beach.

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

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palm beach style

May 2, 2017

You know how I love a good theme! Currently, it is all about Palm Beach! Today, I am sharing a glimpse of a super cool project I created with Ralph & Martha.

For a gal that is all about neutrals, embracing Palm Beach – in all its pink and green glory – has been a big departure from my usual color palette! But, what a fun time I have had immersing myself in all things Palm Beach!

For this specific project, I chose some fabrics and ribbons to create some key chain gifts. So fun!

The construction part was all Ralph & Martha and they are such professionals (and perfectionists), I knew my end result would be fabulous!

Aren’t they great! I think we nailed the Palm Beach vibe! ;) Think about what great wedding favors these could make for a summer celebration!

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

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may book giveaway!

April 28, 2017

Since I have immersed myself in the Palm Beach culture of late, my book giveaway this month is a little different. Instead of a book, I am giving away a Palm Beach inspired prize package!

The winner of this month’s giveaway will receive this Palm Beach inspired collection of gifts! The basket includes a scarf, a drink hugger, a cosmetic bag, a key chain, and a jewel box. As usual, the winner will be chosen at random from comments I receive in response to this post. Good luck!

Congratulations to Amber, the winner chosen at random, of the April giveaway book, Fire Pit Cooking by Vanessa Bante. This book is sure to inspire some fireside meals! Thanks to everyone who entered. To read more about the book, click here.

Instagram users, read on!

The May Instagram challenge will follow the Palm Beach theme! Let’s share photos inspired by the Palm Beach lifestyle! Channel your inner Lilly Pulitzer and post a Palm Beach inspired photo using the hashtag #pleasuregram! And, be sure to check out May’s posts for some Palm Beach fun!

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

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making old school ice cream sandwiches

April 25, 2017

Not since Alton Brown made his candy corn recipe public, have I been so excited about trying out an old school recipe! And, even more important than the recipe, I found a pan that bakes the cookie layers with the appropriate design of imprinted holes! (It is just not the same without the holes!)

The recipe and the baking pan (a genius 3 piece creation) come together in a set. The set makes baking the cookie pieces, as well as assembling the sandwiches, super easy.

Since I wanted to make some special ice-cream sandwiches for my daughter’s birthday as my first use of the set, I chose to use her favorite ice-cream – Halo Top. My plan was to use birthday cake ice-cream and garnish the sides of the sandwiches with multi-colored sprinkles! Adorable, right?

When I got to the grocery store, I couldn’t find Halo Top in birthday cake flavor, so I purchased two alternate flavors, and decided to make two ice-cream sandwiches in each flavor. The ice cream sandwiches might look old school, but I have replaced the standard vanilla ice cream with mint chip and peanut butter cup – I don’t ever remember these flavors as options back in the day. ;)

The instructions provided with the pan were very easy to follow. The only part of the process that took a little time was smoothing out the batter for the cookies in the pan, but even that was pretty painless. Measuring out an exact 1 tablespoon of batter for each mold created a perfect result!

I was happy with the ice cream sandwiches I made on my first attempt! I can’t wait to try making some using home churned ice-cream this summer!

If you are interested in making your own, I found the ice cream sandwich making set at Sur La Table. You can purchase one through their website. Currently, the set to make 4 sandwiches is on sale for under $10!

A word of advice: The set makes 4 ice cream sandwiches. If you choose to make only four, do not make the entire recipe of cookie batter. You will only use 8 tablespoons of batter to create the cookies for 4 sandwiches and the batter from the recipe provided probably makes enough for 50! Cut the recipe way down if you only plan to make four! Enjoy!

Thanks for stopping by! Remember to take pleasure in simple things – like enjoying an old school ice-cream sandwich on a warm afternoon!
xo Jackie

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redecorating

April 21, 2017

I was reminded today of my word for the year- treasure.

I walked by my daughter’s old room and was flooded with emotion. Right now the room is in the process of being redecorated and I can’t help but think of the last time I decorated that room. I had emulated the vibe of the Polynesian hotel at Universal Studios in Florida that my daughter loved so well. Mahogany furniture, golds, elephants parading around the ceiling on the wallpaper border… all the little details I used to try and capture my daughter’s imagination by bringing back memories from a family trip to Florida.

I usually never post ‘before’ photos until I have the ‘after’ photos that go along with them. But, for Friday field trip today, I am treasuring the ‘before’ of the room of a little girl…my favorite little girl.

Now that girl is moving out…what will become of the room? You will have to wait for the ‘after’ photos to find out!

Have a wonderful weekend! Remember to take pleasure in simple things, Jackie

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jewelry display diy

April 18, 2017

Today I was styling some jewelry. I was being resourceful and using anything I could find that was readily available – household items, found items from outdoors, etc.

It occurred to me what a great item a clipboard can be to showcase jewelry. For such a ridiculously inexpensive, utilitarian object – it can really show a whole lot of style!

If you are putting together a display of your jewelry on your dresser or in a walk-in closet, consider using one or more clipboards. One clipboard can be displayed on a stand on it’s own or several can be displayed this way in a group. Or, several clipboards can be hung on a wall for a display of multiple pieces.

I created this super easy display piece in about 3 minutes. I grabbed some paint and sprayed the metal of the clipboard. There was only one can of spray paint handy and it happened to be off-white…if I had my choice, I would have used something more reminiscent of rust, but I used what I had. I rubbed a little metallic paint I found hanging around onto the cream paint – just so it wouldn’t look too perfect. Then, I used a page from an old book as the background for the display of the jewelry piece – first ripping the edges of the paper to give it a little character.

Super easy – right? A series of statement necklaces on clipboards would make cool wall decor. And, there are so many different ways to provide a background. Think about fabrics, book pages, wrapping paper, old photos, etc.

I hope I have inspired you to use a clipboard as a display piece. Have fun experimenting!

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

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happy spring friends!

April 14, 2017

Hello all! Please have the very happiest of weekends! It is a hectic one for me since I am working this weekend and also trying to get ready for a family meal on Sunday – I’m on desserts! I am taking inspiration from Chef Adam at Sift Bakery :)

For Friday field trip today, please enjoy my favorite homage to Earth Day, coming up on April 22^nd.

Click here to see Repurposed Brown Bags. Have a wonderful weekend!

Remember to take pleasure in simple things, Jackie

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congrats sift bakery!

April 11, 2017

Sunday night was the finale of Food Network’s Spring Baking Championship and today’s post is dedicated to finalist Chef Adam from Connecticut’s own Sift Bakery in Mystic!

Finalist Adam Young from Sift Bakery and his answer to the whoopie pie ‘creature’ challenge on Food Network’s Spring Baking Championship competition.

It was so exciting to cheer on a contestant from my home state – particularly from a bakery I so admire. Creating everything about Sift – not just the baked products he sells, but the bakery space as well, Adam is a true artisan.

A pastry case at Sift Bakery in Mystic, Connecticut.

His unbelievable attention to detail is a turn-on for me! This detail extends from the bakery products to the thoughtfully arranged display cases, beautiful packaging & display cards, and the shop’s impeccable cleanliness.

Trying to limit an order to one French pastry is a challenge – there are so many seductive choices!

A custom cake created at Sift Bakery in Mystic, Connecticut.

If sweets are not your thing, don’t despair! Sift creates breads, quiches, and sandwiches as well. In fact, you need not even eat a thing to enjoy Sift…you can enjoy a specialty latte that is sure to rival anything offered at your local coffee shop!