pleasure in simple things

blended, not stirred

January 15, 2022

Isn’t it something how our beverages of choice change with the seasons?

The first thing we wanted to do on a recent girls’ trip to Florida was to sample the frozen drinks! A mere matter of hours ago we had been in a snowstorm and SO cold…we hit Florida and, just like that, we were ready for the cold beverages!

How wonderful to have our drink choice be the big decision of our day!

It was fun while it lasted, but of course, once we are back in New England and single digit temps, it’s all hot cocoa, hot tea or coffee!

What is your favorite cold weather drink?

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

Inspiration idea: Tomorrow is the 126^th birthday of The Breakers in Palm Beach. Guests can enjoy a Tootsie Roll (created in 1896) martini or an Aged to Perfection cocktail in honor of the anniversary. I say, buck the system and try one of these cool drinks this weekend! Both use orange juice, so make up a fresh batch in advance!

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candy cane chocolate hearts

January 7, 2022

So, I have quite a few candy canes left from my holiday decor. I love decorating with them, but I don’t really eat them! Now that the holidays are behind us, I was trying to come up with some ways to use the leftovers! Using them to stir hot cocoa is always fun! I have pushed them into chocolate covered marshmallows which is also a fun way to use them.

I have never though, tried to melt them…until now! After some experimentation, I discovered my candy canes got nice and soft, but not very hot, after being in a 250 degree oven for 5 minutes. The softness made them flexible. Since Valentine’s Day is approaching, I decided to make some hearts by putting two candy canes together. I simply put the candy canes on a baking sheet covered with parchment paper in the basic shape I wanted. After 5 minutes, I took them out of the oven and gently pinched the ends together.

Deciding to add chocolate – they are for Valentine’s Day after all and mint and chocolate go great together, right? – I took the hearts off the parchment paper and drizzled some dark chocolate onto the parchment. I put the baking sheet into the fridge for a little bit to set the chocolate. After taking the baking sheet out of the fridge, I set my candy cane hearts on top of the chocolate drizzle.

Next, I filled the hearts I created with melted white chocolate and popped the baking sheet back into the fridge to set.

After the chocolate was set, I took the hearts off the pan and ended up with some pretty drizzled peppermint/chocolate hearts! A great recycling of my leftover candy canes!

There are so many variations possible with this simple procedure. The drizzle can be pink or red if you prefer. Or, forgo the drizzle and write a name on the heart when the chocolate is set.

I hope you are inspired! Set your oven to 250 degrees and start getting creative with those leftover candy canes!!

Thanks for stopping by!

Remember to take pleasure in simple things, Jackie

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easy diy marker ornament

December 17, 2021

Making holiday ornaments using paint markers and glass balls is always fun to do. It doesn’t take any talent to come up with a nice looking ornament for tree hanging or as a gift. The only supplies needed are clear glass ornaments and paint markers. A pretty ribbon, of course, goes without saying!

Craft stores sell boxes of clear ornaments. Picking up a box or two when they are on sale is a great idea – having these ornaments on-hand means a homemade gift is always at the ready!

For the design here, in addition to the ornament and marker, I also used some stick-on crystals from the craft store.

This design is probably the easiest one I have ever done! Give it a try! (I spray painted the silver top of the ornament with a burnished gold paint and added some glitter – the silver was a little too shiny silver for me!)

For some more ideas for DIY glass ball ornaments, click here and here.

I hope you have fun decorating some glass ornaments to give as a hostess gift or to hang on your tree!

Thanks for stopping by!

Remember to take pleasure in simple things, Jackie

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christmas is in the air

December 10, 2021

Holiday decorating comes in a close second to holiday wrapping for me.

Traditionally, the day after Thanksgiving is a day for retreating to my ‘wrapping room’ for a full day of creating wrapping for gifts I plan on giving. Sometimes, like this year, I am not able to fit in my favorite creative activity of the season.

But something I always have time for is to incorporate new items I have found or made during the year to my holiday decor. Today I am sharing a few.

You know I have a great new bathroom this year (click here to see) and, of course, I needed to find a few decor items to add to it for the holiday season! I found these swoon-worthy chandelier ornaments at an after Christmas sale last year – aren’t they perfect?

And, I love these sparkly guest towels I found at T.J. Maxx.

A special ornament always looks best displayed on its own. This one is just propped on top of a rattan covered drinking glass.

And, I made this mini wreath specifically to use in the new bathroom. (At the end of last holiday season I made tons of 6″ wreaths using many of my collected ribbons and bottle brush trees – so fun to make!)

New incorporated items popped up in other parts of the house as well. I picked up this pretty white pedestal dish at a thrift shop and it is so perfect for displaying a single decor item.

And, my favorite new ornament is this stack of books!

Have you incorporated any new items into your decor this year? It is fun to find things throughout the year that may work during the holidays.

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

P.S. If you are interested in ordering your own 4 favorite things tote, like the one I’ve shown on the start of this post, check out The Shop Forward.

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sweater weather decor

December 3, 2021

One of the great things about spending some time visiting favorite stores at the holidays is picking up some decor inspiration.

I have a quick DIY to share with you from a visit to one of my fave gift shops.

Out and about on a recent shopping excursion, I saw these vases at Grace in Niantic, Connecticut all wrapped up in ‘sweaters.’ So cute, right?

What a great way to turn any old, boring clear vases (the ones that come from the delivered floral arrangements) into fun seasonal elements!

And even if you don’t have any old sweaters or clear vases laying around – they are the perfect items to thrift!

Love this! Use sweaters that best match your decor. Check out my creations in upcoming Instagram stories!

Happy crafting! Thanks for stopping by!

Remember to take pleasure in simple things, Jackie

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frozen holiday yogurt bark

November 19, 2021

If you follow this blog, you know how much I love frozen treats – ice pops…frozen drinks….I’m a sucker for any icy goodness!

Well, I came up with a frozen, guilt-free holiday treat. No, it is not an ice pop! It is a frozen holiday bark!

I mixed 2 cups plain nonfat Greek yogurt with ¼ cup honey and 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract. I spread this mixture on a parchment-lined baking sheet to about a ¼” thick – it made an 11” x 7” slab on the parchment.

Next, I added some fun extras – dried cherries, pistachios, and cocoa chips.

So now my guilt-free creation is looking like a festive holiday bark!

I popped it into the freezer to set and then broke it into pieces to eat! The remaining pieces are stored in a covered container in the freezer.

Fun, right?

There are so many fun variations to try – you can come up with some using your favorite extras – dried fruit, raisins, sunflower seeds, nuts, sesame seeds, etc. I like the consistency of the chewy dried fruit with the yogurt.

I haven’t been this excited about a snack since I discovered frozen grapes! Maybe if I make a version with lemon peel I could forgo my Thanksgiving lemon meringue pie? Now I wouldn’t go that far!

Thanks for stopping by!

Remember to take pleasure in simple things, Jackie

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mini cloche diy

November 5, 2021

This is one of those super easy, super satisfying DIYs! I happen to see these great mini cloches in the Target bargain section. And, they weren’t made of plastic – they were ceramic with glass domes! I was so in love with them, but, of course, not in love with the color!

I knew it would be super easy to fix them up by simply painting them with chalk paint! What an easy transformation!

And, they will be super for Christmas! Since I don’t yet have my Christmas decorations out, I purchased an ornament at Walmart for $1.98 just so I could use the ‘guts’ of it to give you an example of a Christmas themed mini dome!

There you go! And they will look super displaying some of my little bottle brush trees! Everything looks better in a cloche!

Thanks for stopping by! Here’s to some great finds in the Target bargain bin!

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

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not your grandma’s pumpkins

October 29, 2021

If you’ve shopped for pumpkins recently, you know the pumpkins available today are not your grandmother’s pumpkins!

The basic round orange pumpkins I knew as a kid have been replaced with endless varieties of pumpkins and squash. A trip to a local farm stand can be as aesthetically stimulating as a visit to a museum!

With the weather in Connecticut starting to get crisp, I spent part of a recent day off checking out such a museum – a local farm! I wasn’t planning on buying anything – just checking out what was on display!

I’m sharing some of what I saw on my visit – probably my last farm stop of the season – though I may make a stop at the one that serves apple cider slushies!

I hope you are enjoying some of what fall has to offer near where you live.

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

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pumpkins with natural style

October 22, 2021

At Terrain recently, I couldn’t help but admire some of the pumpkins adorned with natural elements. They reminded me of some pumpkins I decorated with found materials last year. You can see those by clicking here.

I thought you may be inspired by the ones I saw at Terrain. I especially like the decorated heirloom pumpkins!

I hope these photos will get you started on decorating some of your own!

Enjoy!

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

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pumpkin oyster shells

October 8, 2021

I don’t know what happened this year…by now I would normally be knee-deep in velvet pumpkins! I always enjoy creating pumpkins from velvet and adding real pumpkin stems. You’ve also seen me try new fabrics – new and vintage – each year.

I hope, if you have been following this blog, you have tried making some yourself. You can find detailed instructions by clicking here.

This year though, I haven’t made a single fabric pumpkin! I guess because I had been working on the oyster shell garland, I just stayed in oyster shell mode for fall!

And, instead of pumpkins, I’ve been making fall themed oyster shells! If you want to try making some yourself, the complete instructions can be found be clicking here.

I hope you are inspired to create some fall decor of your own!

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

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blended, not stirred

candy cane chocolate hearts

easy diy marker ornament

christmas is in the air

sweater weather decor

frozen holiday yogurt bark

mini cloche diy

not your grandma’s pumpkins

pumpkins with natural style

pumpkin oyster shells