friday field trip — pleasure in simple things

Tag: friday field trip

summer chillin’

July

I adore frozen treats…Popsicles, freeze pops, snow cones…I love them all! A simple pleasure is definitely an icy pop on a hot summer day! Today’s Friday field trip is to Lil’ Pop Shop…a ‘cool’ store in Philadelphia that creates ice pops from natural ingredients.

The shop also has a food truck, and because I have a dream of creating and running a food truck myself someday, I always enjoying checking out food trucks that sell food I would be proud to serve myself. The Lil’ Pop Shop in Philadelphia has one of these trucks. Hand-crafted in small batches using seasonal ingredients, the ice pops are sold in the shop and from the truck that travels the Philly streets.

A Chocolate Salted Caramel Brownie ice pop from Lil’ Pop Shop in Philadelphia.

Lil’ Pop Shop owner Jeanne Chang, trained as a pastry chef at the Culinary Institute of America, comes up with inventive ice pop flavor combinations that truly appeal to me.

Some of the flavors?

To name a few… Red Hot Mango & Chile Pepper, Earl Grey with Vanilla Bean & Black Pepper, Chocolate with Salted Caramel Brownie, Raspberry Lemonade, Pineapple Basil, Vietnamese Ice Coffee, Green Tea with Mochi, and Goat Cheese with Black Raspberries & Honey.

On my last visit, Creamy Sweet & Salty Summer Corn was just added as a seasonal selection.

Goat Cheese, Black Raspberry & Honey Ice Pop from Lil’ Pop

Shop in Philadelphia.

Would you like to try making your own unique flavored ice pops? You can start with this recipe, courtesy of Jeanne Chang at the Lil’ Pop Shop:

Avocado Coconut Pops

½ cup coconut milk
¾ cup water
½ cup sugar
2 small, ripe avocados
2 Tablespoons lemon juice
Pinch of salt

Bring water and sugar to a boil in small saucepan until sugar is dissolved. Cool to room temperature. Cut and remove pits from avocados. Combine sugar-water mixture, coconut milk, lemon juice, salt and avocados in blender or food processor and puree until smooth.

Use mixture in your preferred molds. Freeze until solid. To unmold pops, dip the mold into warm water for a few seconds. Each recipe makes 8 to 10 pops, depending on your mold.

Try creating some unique flavor combinations of your own this summer! Don’t be restricted by traditional flavors…I am planning on experimenting with some farmer’s market purchases! Do you know what Popsicle lists as their best-selling flavor? Cherry. Sounds pretty boring to me. ;)

Thanks for visiting! Have a wonderful weekend!

Remember to take pleasure in simple things, Jackie

Sharing at The Tablescaper.

1 comment » | field trips, food & festivities, recipe

a special garden tour

July

When I asked my friends Phyllis & John to agree to have their home included on a garden tour; they were hesitant. In my mind, they were the perfect couple to ask…their yard was certainly my favorite.. Geez, I would like to retire to their yard! They live on a golf course, have a beautiful built-in pool, a vegetable and herb garden, a potting shed, and gorgeous flowers and plants everywhere…what more could you want?

Anyway, once I explained that the tour was a scholarship benefit, they readily agreed to participate. Today for Friday field trip, we are visiting the breathtaking grounds surrounding their 1852 home in Fairfield County, Connecticut on the day of the garden tour.

It was very hard to edit this post since there are so many facets to this yard, designed and planted solely by the homeowners. Such a fun yard to explore…Phyllis has created beautiful vignettes in every nook and cranny.

John’s ‘baby’ is the vegetable garden. A retired giant pumpkin planter (yup…he once grew a prize winner that weighed 625 lbs!), he now concentrates on vegetables and herbs. In addition to the planting, he built the stone walls and fences that so beautifully surround the space. Yes, that is an outhouse in the back of the garden…original to the property. John also crafted the handsome birdhouse that stands in the front section of the property.

What do you serve for refreshments on a garden tour? I really wanted to create a menu that was true to the house…concentrating on fresh vegetables, herbs, and flowers. I spent quite a bit of time on it and finally decided on rosemary sea salt shortbreads, rosewater meringues, fresh tomatoes with basil and marinated mozzarella, watermelon with fresh ricotta drizzled with extra virgin olive oil and finished with salt, pepper and mint, and lemon raspberry tartlets. Beverages served were cucumber water with nasturtium and pansy ice cubes and home made iced tea lightly sweetened with simple syrup infused with lemon and mint.

I hope you enjoyed our Friday field trip garden tour! Thank you John and Phyllis…your yard is truly a labor of love and it shows! Thanks also to the beautiful and talented gals – Emma and Sara.;)

If you haven’t already, please ‘like’ my facebook page to see additional photos. You can also follow me on Instagram and Pinterest.

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

Sharing at Mona’s Picturesque, Little Red House, and Craftberry Bush.

6 comments » | field trips, food & festivities, garden

little cakes with big attitudes

June

Do you like cupcakes? For the second time, a Connecticut team won the top prize on the Food Network show Cupcake Wars.

SuzieCakes of Milford won the top prize of $1,000 and the opportunity to make 1,000 cupcakes for a Hollywood inspired poker party!

The bestselling “All About Ethel” cupcake at SuzieCakes in Milford, Connecticut, winners of Food Network’s Cupcake Wars.

Cousins Sue Schowerer and Darlene Delaney are the owners that create “little cakes with big attitudes” at the newly opened shop on River Street and I ~~wanted~~ needed to check it out!

After seeing the episode featuring the Connecticut store, I knew I had to feature it on a Friday field trip. Of course, this required tasting some of the products!

I sampled five different varieties, including the top seller inspired by the show I Love Lucy. Seeing themselves as a modern day Lucy and Ethel, Sue and Darlene named their bestselling cupcake “All About Ethel.” This tribute to Ethel Mertz is a chocolate cake filled with peanut butter mousse, topped with chocolate mascarpone frosting, and finished off with a mini peanut butter cup. Intense!

But, my favorite was a different chocolate and peanut butter creation called “Mail Guy.” A chocolate cake with peanut butter frosting and caramel drizzle garnished with a chocolate dipped pretzel and crunchy pretzel salt.

The shop features some of their most popular flavors on a daily basis, but also rotates additional flavors each day. I decided I need to go back on a Wednesday to try a “Rosie.” This is a pistachio and rosewater cupcake with rosewater buttercream, custard filling, dark honey/vanilla buttercream and crushed pistachios on top. Sounds wonderful! If you find yourself in the vicinity of Milford, the shop is definitely worth an exploratory visit. ;) Bet you can’t try just one!

Thanks for stopping by. Hope you enjoyed Friday field trip to Cupcake Wars winner SuzieCakes in Milford, Connecticut.

Remember to take pleasure in simple things and have a wonderful weekend, Jackie

Sharing at The Tablescaper, and Crafts a la mode.

2 comments » | field trips, food & festivities

but i don’t care for roses…

June

A rose has never been my favorite flower. When all my friends would hope for a dozen roses on Valentine’s Day, I was wishing for an arrangement of many different varieties of flowers – all white. Or, a single variety of something unique or exotic.

So, when a friend suggested I visit the rose garden in bloom at Boothe Memorial Park in Stratford, the idea of making the trip was met by me with lukewarm enthusiasm. Not one to dismiss new experiences, I decided to surrender a little bit of my time to the roses in bloom.

Today’s Friday field trip is a visit to this rose garden. And, with hundreds of different types of roses represented, it was really hard to edit my photos to just a few representations. The weather had been very rainy and I was lucky to time my visit between a series of rainfalls. I thought the weather actually added character to the photos, although an excursion like this really makes me yearn for a good camera. (hint, hint Santa!)

Enjoy our little stroll through the garden…

And yes, I did change my mind a little on the roses…still not my favorite, but I definitely have a new respect for them after this experience…hard not to, right?

I hope you enjoyed sharing the Boothe Memorial Park rose garden with me. We even happened upon a lovely volunteer caretaker during our trip :)

I will be posting more photos from the Boothe Memorial Park rose garden on my Facebook page in the coming days…please ‘like’ my page if you haven’t already and please feel free to share any rose experiences! Also, please feel free to ‘pin’ any photos you like :)

Have a wonderful weekend. Thanks so much for visiting.

Remember to take pleasure in simple things, Jackie

Sharing at Mona’s Picturesque, Little Red House, and The Tablescaper.

9 comments » | field trips, garden

monthly book giveaway for june!

May

author conor grennan

Congratulations to May’s winners Lenny, Angela, and Betty! You will each receive a signed copy of last month’s selection A Diary of Healing, My Intense and Meaningful Life with Cancer written by Mary Ann Wasil. I know you will enjoy this heartfelt memoir.

Now, on to June’s selection. Since it is the last day of the month, this week’s Friday field trip will be to visit the author of June’s giveaway book…

I meet a lot of authors. And, once in a while I have an admiration for an author apart from an appreciation for his/her writing. This month’s author is one of those cases. His name is Conor Grennan and he is from my home state of Connecticut and a NY Times bestselling author.

I got the opportunity to talk with Conor on several occasions when his book Little Princes: One Man’s Promise to Bring Home the Lost Children of Nepal was chosen as a town read selection in a nearby town. He not only made an appearance at the town library, but also talked with the town in a couple of Skype sessions. In my estimation, when a town chooses an author’s book for a town read, the author can’t help but develop a special bond with the readers. The entire town, after all, is embracing his/her labor of love! I am not sure if that was the reason for my immediate admiration for Conor or if it was his genuine nature and old-school values. In any case, I liked him instantly. He also has a wonderful sense of humor for the everyday, which you may know if you have read his posts on Huffington Post or follow him on Facebook.

At 29 years old, Conor Grennan decided to spend a year traveling the world, beginning with three months as a volunteer at an orphanage in Nepal. After arriving at the orphanage, Conor soon discovers that the children are not orphans, but had been taken from their families by child traffickers. And what starts as a volunteer assignment to help legitimize a trip traveling the world turns into an experience that shapes Conor’s life…as well as the lives of the families he reunites.

Little Princes is a true-life story documenting Conor’s experience and demonstrates how one man can truly make a difference. It is a remarkably inspirational memoir that is sure to captivate. A signed copy of the book will be given away randomly at the end of the month. Just leave a comment to win! Good luck!

Thank you so much for visiting!

Have a fabulous weekend, Jackie Instagram users, please read on…

In an attempt to promote some sharing on Instagram, I am posting prompts for each month…share one day or every day! Just add #pleasuregram:) to your photo! I put the :) on the end to be sure our hashtag is totally unique! Have fun with it! Here are the June prompts:

2 comments » | celebrity, good reads, monthly book giveaway

a hip brunch in philly

May

peanut butter chocolate dessert tapas at Continental Mid-town in Philly

Enjoying the tapas-style desserts at The Continental Mid-town in Philadelphia.

When you say the name Stephen Starr in Philly, it means two things: good food and long lines. Starr is the restaurateur who owns over a dozen restaurants in the city – all hot spots. For this week’s Friday field trip, we are visiting one of Starr’s restaurants.

On my last trip to Philadelphia, we were looking for a different place to go to brunch and decided on The Continental Mid-town. We knew it was a Stephen Starr restaurant and that was enough of a recommendation.

Trendy, fun, and looking like a perfect set for a Mad Men episode, Continental is easy to spot by the big martini olive adorning the outside corner of the restaurant.

We were in a breakfast mood, and ordered some ‘brunchy’ type food, but with all the creative tapas-style desserts on the menu, we couldn’t resist trying some out after our meal – which ended up being our favorite part since we felt justified in ordering several ‘tastes’!

s'more dessert tapas at The Continental Mid-town in Philly

A S’more tapas-style dessert at The Continental Mid-town in Philadelphia.

lime cotton candy at The Continental Mid-town in Philly

The cotton candy chef’s selection (lime) of the day on our trip to Continental Mid-town in Philadelphia.

After finishing our food, we investigated the three floors of the restaurant before we left and decided it must be a popular Rittenhouse Square nightspot since it has a really cool rooftop dining and lounge area on the third floor.

A fun spot to visit on your next Philly trip!

The remains of a flavorful salad during brunch at The Continental Mid-town in Philadelphia.

Thanks for visiting today’s Friday field trip to The Continental Mid-Town in Philadelphia.

Have a fabulous weekend, Jackie

Sharing at The Tablescaper and Little Red House.

1 comment » | field trips, food & festivities

handcrafted fabric tableware

May

I recently fell in love with the handcrafted fabric placemats, coasters, and table runners created by artisan Eileen Duffy. For Friday field trip this week, we are taking a trip to Eileen’s studio.

Now living in Connecticut and commuting into New York City, Eileen can be found selling her wares at upscale farmer’s markets in Connecticut on the weekends.

A former Ralph Lauren designer, and more recently the designer of her own handbag collection, Eileen has decided to focus on creating her table accessories while she continues her fashion and prop styling work in the city.

Can you guess which ones are my favorite?

Eileen seeks out really cool textiles from a variety of sources to create her beautiful, and surprisingly affordable, handcrafted table accessories.

Some of her fabrics feature some really great flower photography.

In the photo below, you can see one of Eileen’s inspirational ‘mood boards’ hanging in the studio.

If you live in Connecticut, or are close enough to visit on a weekend, Eileen can be found at The Dudley Farm Farmers’ Market in Guilford. It is a great place to purchase local and organic seasonal produce and handmade crafts. The market sits on ten acres of sheep pasture and gardens filled with flowers and heirloom vegetables. Check the Dudley Farm website for the current time schedule and directions.

I hope you enjoyed today’s Friday field trip to Eileen Duffy’s studio to see some of her handcrafted fabric coaster, placemat, and table runner creations. Thanks for letting us take a peek Eileen!

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

Remember to take pleasure in simple things, Jackie

I am sharing at The Tablescaper, The Shabby Nest, Craftionary, Little Red House, and Craftberry Bush.

4 comments » | field trips, swag

coastal nail colors

April

This is an unusual Friday field trip. It is a trip to the beach…we all need that right about now, don’t you think? I know, a Friday field trip to the beach is not that unusual…especially for me. But, the reason for the trip to the beach is a little unusual…the reason is to create a nail polish collection!

I have always wanted to create a nail polish collection and I have been inspired to do so from so many sources…I could create an entire collection just from the colors of my sea glass or, an entire collection of neutrals just from the white flowers in my garden.! And, there definitely is plenty of color inspiration at the beach…many more colors than I wanted for just one collection. I decided the collection would be six shades…the top six…and these shades would be the ones I most wanted to wear. A versatile collection and, a realistic one. Cutting it down to six was not easy! This meant I had to eliminate watermelon slushie, beach donuts, gull, lavender sea glass, and ragosa – to name a few.

I think a beach collection has to contain some blue…there is so much blue at the beach. Rather than go with the obvious…water…I decided to get inspired by the sky.

The beauty of the sky at the beach is that it is always changing. Sometimes, when the weather is the most severe, the sky is the most beautiful. A clear sunny day may be what a beach lover craves, but it certainly is not the most beautiful sky at the shore. This photo illustrates this point perfectly… a clear, sunny day would not be as beautiful as the sky I captured in this photo on a very cloudy day. Because of this, the blue shade inspired from the sky is named cloud.

Neutral colors are definitely my favorites and there are plenty to choose from at the beach. Just as beautiful as a shell or a piece of sea glass, are the many stones at the beach. They are sometimes speckled or striped…some are the most beautiful when wet with salt water. The color inspired by one of these beauties is called beach stone.

Old whitewashed fences and posts are everywhere at the beach. The old ones have so much more charm than anything new. The age of the shore is part of the beauty contained in the wood. This is the inspiration for the third color called old fence.

Not all the color inspirations at the beach are natural objects…a beach umbrella, a horse on the carousel, or a striped beach towel can all prove to be color inspirations. Here, I am inspired by the color of my sunglass lenses and I am naming this color reflection.

An obvious choice for color inspiration is a shell. The subtleties of color on some of the shells (both interiors and exteriors) on the beach are just so beautiful. Here it is the blush of mauve. I’ve named the color shell.

For the last color, it really needed to be a gray tone to round out the collection. And gray is an easy color to come by at the beach. For this shade, I was inspired by the wet footprints on the sun-bleached wooden path and named it footprint. That makes six…

I present to you, the entire CONNECTICUT COAST NAIL COLOR COLLECTION 2013:

What do you think? I would wear all of them!

I hope you enjoyed our Friday field trip to the beach to create a fantasy nail polish collection.

Dreaming of warm days and salty breezes :)

Thanks so much for visiting. Have a wonderful weekend, Jackie

I am sharing at Boogieboard Cottage, A Pinch of Joy, and Little Red House.

4 comments » | field trips, sand & sea

baby chicks

March

In the spirit of Easter, I thought Friday field trip today would be a visit with some baby chicks :)

These little ones are only one week old…

Sure to put a smile on anyone’s face :)

They are just so adorable!

A perfect symbol for Easter…one of new life.

Just remember, as you get involved with all your holiday preparations…

to take pleasure in simple things…

and to hold your loved ones close.

Easter is a time to celebrate with those you hold dear.

Wishing you and those you love, a very blessed Easter!

Thanks for sharing. Love, Jackie

Sharing at Crafts a la Mode.

5 comments » | field trips, holiday

terrarium love

March

Today, Friday field trip is a visit to my friend’s house. Her name is Phyllis, and we are getting together for what she affectionately refers to as “a playdate.” On this occasion, we are making terrariums. We had recently picked up some terrarium plants and supplies at Terrain and we were very anxious to start creating! I am sure we will have future field trips to Phyllis’s home since it is amazing! I have so much inspiration I could share with you…her decor, her gardens, her handcrafted jewelry…well, everything! But, for today, I will limit my sharing to our terrarium creations.

When I got to Phyllis’s house we started right in…covering her large kitchen island with newspaper and taking out all our various supplies. In addition, her entire dining room table was covered with assorted containers and possible decorative terrarium items. She showed me the terrarium she had already completed. Wow! It is so beautiful…a little watering can!…and a hanging plant! Isn’t it great?

Because Phyllis already knew all the terrarium basics, I didn’t have to worry about doing alot of research. She explained about the rocks for drainage on the bottom (I think I would have figured that out) and a layer of activated charcoal (I would not have figured that out) before the layer of soil. So, after a quick lesson on how to proceed, I needed to decide exactly what I wanted to put into the terrarium.

I figured I had two ways to go. I could do an Easter/spring theme and use eggs and nests OR I could do my standard (coastal/beach) theme. I decided to go with a ‘beachy’ theme and got some possible items assembled. The interesting thing about putting a terrarium together is that you don’t really need as many plants or decorative items as you may think. Less is really more. So, I decided my main decorative item would be a sand castle.

From there, I would use some rocks, shells, sea glass, and moss that reminded me of the beach. For the plant? Phyllis and I had both fell in love with a plant called Breynia Snow Bush that we found at Terrain and that would serve as the highlighted plant in my creation.

And…this is what I came up with…what do you think? I love it! Isn’t the little colored gravel so great? I think it is sold as fish tank decor. I had some old glass ‘bubbles’ that were used many years ago with floating candles that lent themselves perfectly to the ‘beachy’ terrarium.

Adorable, don’t you think?

You are probably wondering what Phyllis was working on…wait until you see! Phyllis and I had both been intrigued by the ‘pussy willow teepees’ we saw in some of the terrariums at Terrain…like the one on this bunny arrangement. So, Phyllis decided to create one in a pretty metal container she had on hand.

This beautiful arrangement is what she came up with! So gorgeous!

She created the “teepee” from stalks of pussy willow. She attached them on top by putting an elastic band around a piece of moss she harvested from her yard. So beautiful…and with the pussy willow and the addition of some real quail eggs from Terrain, the perfect Easter arrangement! You can see in this closeup that the elastic is not even visible once it is put into the moss.

Playdate successful!

Consider ‘shopping’ your basement and garage for possible terrarium containers and decorative items…Terrain has some really cool terrarium items if you want to purchase some or supplement what you can find around your house. Miniatures from train sets or Christmas villages can also be used. The sand castle I used was actually a repurposed photo holder – I just trimmed off the wire stand. Just remember to use soil appropriate to the plants you select.

I hope you enjoyed my Friday field trip to create terrariums. Special thanks to my partner in crime! I forgot to mention the homemade golden pea soup I had for lunch (so yummy!) or the eggplant and famous key lime pie (heaven!) from The Pantry in Fairfield…ahhh..the perks of the playdate! Thank you so much for stopping by!

Have a fabulous weekend, Jackie

I am sharing at Little Red House, Serenity Saturday, The Inspiration Gallery, Craftionary, Common Ground, Give Me the Goods Monday, and The Well Crafted Home.

16 comments » | field trips, garden, sand & sea

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Tag: friday field trip

summer chillin’

a special garden tour

little cakes with big attitudes

but i don’t care for roses…

monthly book giveaway for june!

a hip brunch in philly

handcrafted fabric tableware

coastal nail colors

baby chicks

terrarium love