friday field trip — pleasure in simple things

Tag: friday field trip

a trip to marvin gardens

March

Today’s Friday field trip is to Marvin Gardens in Wilton, Connecticut.

If you are a decorator or designer in Fairfield County, you probably already know about this gem of a place. It houses an amazing array of all things decorative. Inspiration lurks in every nook and cranny; indoors and out.

As it turned out, I probably didn’t time my visit the best for photo taking purposes, since the shop was in the middle of a move – moving the entire inventory to a new space a few hundred feet down the road. The nice part about the timing of my visit was that a huge moving sale was in progress (through April 1^st) and some items were reduced as much as 50%. Very bad temptation…especially at this time of year when so many items were just crying out to be put in the garden or used as a container to plant something in!

Today I will share a few of the items that inspired me…I will need to make another visit when the move is complete so I can share some photos of the new space.

Wonderful items, don’t you think?

Truly a treasure hunt!

A great place to find a unique piece for home or garden.

Hope you enjoyed your visit to Marvin Gardens in Wilton, Connecticut.

Thanks for visiting. Have a wonderful weekend!

Remember to take pleasure in simple things, Jackie

(P.S. It’s a yellow property…weren’t you remembering Marvin Gardens from Monopoly?…it’s yellow, right next to the “go to jail” square).

I am sharing at the Vintage-Love Party at Blue Egg Brown Nest.

Comments Off on a trip to marvin gardens | field trips, garden

easter nostalgia

March

Can you believe Easter is in March and it is already March? This week, Friday field trip is a little trip back in memory to Easter’s past. I will also be sharing some Easter basket ‘goody’ ideas for Easter bunnies ;)

Easter was so fun when the children were young… leaving the carrot with the front teeth marks on the kitchen table so the kids could find it in awe; sure that the Easter bunny had visited and quickly thinking about the treats in store as they scrambled to rifle through their baskets!

My kids are college students now and Easter is celebrated a little differently. It still retains its awe, but in a much different way. It is the one holiday in our family where everyone is together, so it makes for a very special day.

In the morning, my kids still discover filled Easter baskets on Easter morning. They are the Easter baskets I made for them…yes, wove them….when they were babies. My daughter had a thing for yellow when she was small so hers was accented in yellow and filled with yellow ‘grass’. For my son, I made an apple basket and dyed it blue.

The basket contents these days are little different than when they were small, but I think the baskets are just as well received. Not as much candy in recent years, although their favorite candies are still included. My son loves Lindt truffles (red) and my daughter loves pear jelly beans. Jelly Belly brand jelly beans have always been a tradition in the Easter baskets. Each basket receives an assortment box, but my daughter always gets an additional extra bag filled exclusively with the pear flavored variety…that Easter bunny is just so darn thoughtful!

In recent years, egg hunts in the living room are replaced with a GPS egg hunt throughout the town and beyond with teams of twenty-somethings scrambling to locate the hidden eggs and be the first back to grandma’s house.

My young niece and nephews still search the yard for filled plastic eggs that my sister has strategically placed around my mother’s yard. When that is completed and trading of the contents ensues, everyone makes a guess as to how many jelly beans are in the huge glass jar my mom has filled and whose contents were accurately counted the day before. The person with the closest guess wins the entire jar (…and, may or may not share with the group lol). We always think my sister, the math teacher, is sure to win; but that is never the case.

An “oldie but goodie.” I started making these as a Kindergarten room mother…cellophane is shaped into a cone and is filled with anything orange…candy, goldfish, etc…fun!

My favorite part of Easter? Taking the annual ‘goofy cousins’ photo at some point during the day. And, I still love coloring eggs with my daughter which we schedule best we can sometime before Easter. What makes your Easter special?

Do you have trouble thinking of items to include in your child’s Easter baskets as they become college age? Necessities are always appreciated…you can’t miss with socks and underwear! Commercial washers and dryers are brutal on these items! Here is a list of possible goodies to choose from in a variety of price ranges. Remember to consider the recipient’s special interest or college major to make the items more personal. Have fun with it! Send me an email if you need some suggestions.

Easter Basket Gift Ideas

I found these for my nursing student’s Easter basket :)

Candy – favorites or novelty
Band-Aids
Alix & Ani bracelet
James Patrick Keil bracelet
Vitamins, aspirins, etc.
Any toiletry item
Toothbrush economy pack
Lottery tickets
ITunes certificate
Train/bus ticket to come home for a family function
Laundry card, token, or coins
Dunkin Donut or Starbucks certificates
Printer cartridge
Drug store, gas station or Amazon certificate
Chegg money for renting textbooks
Paper cups/plates/utensils
A gift certificate to something local to their school
Key covers – they have fun ones in Home Depot
Cell phone covers – can be personalized/decorated
Family photo – a recent one or one from childhood
Concert or sporting event tickets local to their school
Easter motif socks or boxers
I found these hair brushes in a pattern my daughter is sure to love!
Laundry bag or laundry bag for delicates
Hair elastics
Nail polish pen
Emery boards in funky pattern
Flash drives (these come in silly patterns – surfboards, Legos, sushi, etc.)

I hope you enjoyed today’s Easter nostalgia and some tips for Easter basket gifts. I hope my Easter nostalgia caused you to reminisce about some special moments of your own Easter’s past.

Stop back tomorrow when I will announce February’s book giveaway winner and the giveaway selection for March.

Have a wonderful weekend. Thank you so much for visiting, Jackie

1 comment » | holiday, nostalgia

a vintage egg cup collection

February

For Friday field trip this week, I am taking you with me for a cup of tea to the home of a friend. She collects vintage egg cups and I thought with the Easter holiday approaching, it would be a fun thing to share with you. The vintage egg cups are scattered throughout my friend’s beautiful old home located in a historic district. I have always been fascinated with her collection and had fun examining it once again while we chatted over tea.

My favorite piece is definitely the sweet little chick egg cup in the opening photo. The egg cup below holds some incense, but most of the egg cups throughout the house are empty. How fun would it be to fill them with colored Easter eggs?

This piece was really unique to the collection because it was the only one of clear glass…

Some of the pieces looked extremely old, like the striped one in the photo below…

This piece proudly displays the owner’s heritage…

The collection displayed on the stove held wishbones from Thanksgivings gone by…

Roosters seem to be a popular egg cup motif…I love these with the pink interiors…

I hope you enjoyed sharing this vintage egg cup collection with me. I don’t have photos of every egg cup I saw, but I do have additional photos I will post to my facebook in case you are interested in seeing more from the collection. I am also sharing at the Inspiration Gallery, Crafts a la Mode, Common Ground, The Charm of Home, and Craftionary.

Thanks for sharing. Have a wonderful weekend and remember to take pleasure in simple things, Jackie

7 comments » | field trips

in search of bubble tea

February

This week, our Friday field trip is to an Asian market to get the scoop on making bubble tea.

Bubble tea is a sweetened cold tea drink mixed with chewy tapioca pearls (boba). If you have had it, you probably have thought, like me, ‘how the heck do they make this?’

Since it originated in Taiwan, I thought an Asian market would be the best place to do some research on how to authentically create this beverage.

I made a trip to the most authentic Asian market I could find and discovered the manager was from Taiwan…perfect!

If you are a bubble tea lover, you know that the two most important requirements are 1. the tapioca pearls or boba, and 2. the straws… Yes, the straws are major. An extra wide straw is needed to accommodate the boba. Without the availability of the special straws, continuing the research seemed a waste…so, I first needed to confirm these two items were available in the market. They were!! I was so worried the straws would be hard to find. But, the market carried them and a package was only 99 cents!

Now to figure out how to actually make the beverage…It quickly became evident that the manager did indeed know how to make bubble tea, but my accurate translation of her explanation was another story completely! She barely spoke English and most every product in the store had few markings in English. This would be a challenge!

I did find that the store sold a commercial mix for bubble tea in a variety of flavors, but I decided against using a mix since I thought this would be cheating! I wanted to have an authentic bubble tea experience. Plus, I wanted to forgo adding any unnecessary artifical ingredients to my beverage.

So, after quite a bit of discussion (and some creative sign language) I learned how to prepare bubble tea. The store manager suggested coconut as my flavor of choice…I ran with it!

The items I purchased at the market were: boba, a can of coconut milk, STRAWS, and palm sugar.

Although it is not a difficult drink to make, the tapioca or boba used in the drink require some advance preparation.

The preparation of a sugar syrup also requires advance preparation. I discovered, after some experimentation, I preferred the sugar syrup over the palm sugar as a sweetener for the drink. Palm sugar was a sweetener option that was suggested to me.

A photo of tapioca pearls (or boba) prepared for Bubble Tea.

Tapioca preparation

Add one cup of tapioca pearls to a couple of cups of boiling water. The pearls should float – keep them stirred so they don’t stick to the bottom of the pan. Boil the pearls for 25 minutes and then turn off the heat and let the pearls sit in the water for another 25 minutes. Drain and rinse the pearls with lukewarm water. The final consistency of the pearls will be like chewing gum. I only prepared enough pearls for what I was going to use because I was told they harden over time.

Sweetener preparation

Combine 1 cup white sugar and 1 cup dark brown sugar with a cup of water. Cook over medium heat until the sugars cook down and the mixture boils. Cool and store in the fridge. (If you don’t care about being authentic, you can sweeten your tea with honey or sugar while still hot and forgo this preparation.)

Coconut Bubble Tea Recipe

Prepare black tea. You will need 4 oz. for each serving. Put in fridge to cool.

Combine 4 oz. of water, 4 oz. of coconut milk, 2 oz. of milk, and 4 oz. of prepared tea for each serving. Add 1 or 2 Tablespoons of the prepared sugar syrup sweetener. Blend until fully mixed.

Spoon 4 Tablespoons of cooked tapioca into the bottom of a large glass. Pour coconut mixture into the glass. Add ice. Serve with an extra wide straw. ENJOY!

I hope you enjoyed sharing today’s field trip. I was so excited to discover the authentic way to make bubble tea! I don’t think it is something I will make on a regular basis, but it will be nice to be able to make it when the mood strikes… and, I may try making some other flavors in addition to the coconut!

Have a wonderful weekend…here in Connecticut we are expecting BIG snow…

Thanks for visiting and remember to enjoy pleasure in simple things, Jackie

8 comments » | field trips, food & festivities

discovering orchids at terrain

February

It is no secret, whether I am in Connecticut or Pennsylvania, one of my favorite stores to visit is Terrain. If you are a frequent visitor to pleasure in simple things, you have shared quite a few visits with me to the Connecticut store since its opening in Westport, Connecticut last spring.

Friday field trip this week is to Terrain to check out a demonstration on planting orchids. Not knowing very much about orchids, I was intrigued watching Mary Ann from Terrain demonstrate how easy an orchid can be planted and also to learn that their care is not that difficult. This particular weekend, Matthew, the Terrain landscape designer from the Pennsylvania store, was also on hand. It was great to have the opportunity to speak with him. He is a great resource for design questions – pertaining to landscapes or to interiors.

I watched Mary Ann carefully remove an orchid from its pot, removing as much of the moss as she could. She trimmed away any rotten or blackened roots (with the really pretty scissors they sell at Terrain!) This particular orchid was put into a container Mary Ann had crafted from birch bark and made to hang.

In nature, these plants thrive in strong light (but not direct late afternoon sun); high humidity; air flow around roots; regular periods of drying, alternating with drenching rains; and in temperatures between 50 degrees and 85 degrees. So, the closer you replicate nature, the more success you will have in growing orchids.

At Terrain, the orchids are watered infrequently, but misted on a regular basis. In the summer orchids need to be watered weekly, but in the winter, closer to once a month.

Did you know in nature, orchids are epiphytes? That means they grow on other objects, clinging to rough bark or even stone. Here, Mary Ann has created an orchid planting very much embracing the way an orchid would grow in nature. After covering the roots of the plant in moss, she tied it to a piece of a white birch log. Terrain actually sells pieces of white birch logs so that if you wanted to create one of these plantings yourself, you could do so. A screw eye, picked up at Home Depot, is easy to attach to the top of the birch log for hanging. Or, you could have Mary Ann create one for you! Either way, it makes for a beautiful hanging.

I had fun admiring many other beautiful orchids in varying colors and varieties throughout the store.

I think this deeply hued hanging orchid would make a wonderfully romantic Valentine’s Day gift!

I have a new appreciation for orchids after my visit to Terrain…I also feel a little less intimidated about trying to repot some plants myself! This field trip definitely made me yearn for spring though!! How many more days!?

I hope you enjoyed our Friday field trip to Terrain to discover orchids…maybe it inspired you to create a planting of your own? Or, to give one as a gift?

Thanks for stopping by and have a wonderful weekend, Jackie

Comments Off on discovering orchids at terrain | field trips, garden

beach colors in january

January

What are “beach colors” to you? Beige and blue?

Friday field trip this week is to the beach at sunset to explore January’s beach colors.

Not yet cleaned up after Hurricane Sandy, technically the beach I am visiting has been closed since the storm. That, coupled with the fact that the temperature is in the single digits here in Connecticut, I wonder why I chose to make this a field trip! Largely because of the frigid weather, my trip to the beach is a short one.

My stay is not more than twenty minutes long, but as always, I am not disappointed by the display of colors. I don’t get as many opportunities to view the sunsets at the beach in the winter months since they occur during work hours…my sunset viewing usually limited to the weekends…until the days get longer anyway.

So, what do you think of as the colors of the beach? Would these colors come to mind?

How about these?

Maybe not so much?

The photos I am sharing today were all taken at the same beach on the same visit and within a 20 minute time period. I did not alter anything on any of the photos (not that I would know how to if I wanted to lol.)

Isn’t nature amazing?

Can you tell one of my fantasies is to create a paint line lol? I also dream about creating a collection of nailpolish colors with cute, cheeky names, but that’s for another day…

I think showing swatches of some of the colors I saw on my beach visit is the best way to illustrate the amazing display and range of colors I witnessed on this frigid visit…I think it was even too cold for the seagulls!

So beautiful!

I hope you enjoyed the amazing collection of colors from a winter day at the beach…especially those of you that may be landlocked.

Have an amazing weekend and remember to take pleasure in simple things…beauty is all around us!

Thanks for visiting, Jackie

I am sharing this post at Mosiac Monday at Little Red House.

6 comments » | field trips, sand & sea

grilled cheese from a truck

January

Today’s field trip is a lunch excursion. I had some business in New Haven and decided, while I was in the Yale University neighborhood, to take a lunch break at my favorite food truck…The Caseus Cheesetruck. This truck is a mobile version of Caseus Fromagerie Bristro – a restaurant and cheeseshop in downtown New Haven. The star of its show is grilled cheese. Who doesn’t like grilled cheese? If you don’t, you will most likely find a version you will like here.

There are many combinations of ingredients available…one better than the next! You can bypass cheese entirely and order a soup or salad….or, how about a grilled nutella and banana?

With temperatures in the 20’s and a stiff wind, it probably wasn’t one of my better ideas. During the week, the truck is always parked on or around the Yale campus so the surroundings are always fun to admire, and on this trip I was trying to use them as a distraction from the cold. I have an obsession with the doors on campus, so I tried to concentrate on them and not on my impending frostbite! I almost decided to give up on taking any photos entirely as my fingers went completely numb!

I forged on…determined to show those of you that might not have ever seen the truck, just what it looks like. Don’t let the sunny look fool you…it was freezing!!

Admiring the doors of the buildings on Yale University campus while walking to the Caseus Cheesetruck for lunch.

I opted to go for the traditional grilled cheese – in the case of Caseus, this involves a combination of seven or so cheeses. I decided to add one ingredient – pesto (just because I love pesto). I do think a classic grilled cheese and a tomato soup is a great choice for a first-timer. It helps you realize just how elevated this standard can be when prepared by Caseus.

A photo of my choice for lunch from the Caseus Cheesetruck…the classic with pesto added. The sandwiches are served with a side of pickles and mustard.

There have been times (when the weather was nicer and my visit to the cheese truck was more leisurely) when I have been lucky enough to witness a ‘cheese truck challenge’ in process. This is something worth witnessing at least once. Any one customer able to consume 10 sandwiches in under an hour recieves the sandwiches free and can name the sandwich. The challenger is required to add at least one ingredient other than cheese to the sandwiches. The “tekin” for example, is named after Etkin Tekin. Tekin was the first one to successfully complete the challenge. His creation consisted of adding guacamole and bacon and he completed the challenge in 32 minutes and 4 seconds.

It is a fun visit, challenge or not…

The cheesetruck is definitely worth trying – if you go, maybe just pick a day where the temperature is at least a little above freezing!

Thanks so much for visiting!

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

Comments Off on grilled cheese from a truck | field trips, food & festivities

the road less traveled

January

friday field trip

There is nothing new about a brewery in Connecticut…it isn’t the first, by any means. The interesting thing about this newest brewery in the state is the location. It occupies an old factory building not far from the historic district in the south end of Stratford – oh, and it has a cool name. It is called Two Roads Brewing Co.…hard not to like something named after a Robert Frost poem.

A brewery is certainly “a road less traveled” for me, not being much of a beer drinker…or any kind of drinker for that matter. I was really more interested in checking out the renovated building and the state-of-the-art brewery than I was to sample the product.

There is a very large ‘tasting room’ that oozes with future possibilities…private parties are inevitable and, with so many colleges nearby, I expect many young people also.

The ‘tasting room’ overlooks the brewing facility, making it an interesting place to meet a friend for a drink. The place has a warehouse vibe – a unique environment that has incorporated many of the original parts of the building it inhabits. My favorite was the top of the bar. I later found out it was made from wood repurposed from the original factory floor.

Beer is sold in tasters, pints, growlers, and six packs and there is already a strong local following and a presence across Connecticut. Someone ordered a growler to take home when I was there and I have to admit I was kind of mesmerized by the machine that filled it up. It is probably standard brewery equipment, but I had never seen one before.

A photo of a selection of tasters at Two Roads Brewing Co. in Stratford, CT. The bar is made from the original factory floor repurposed from the old building the brewery occupies.

I probably should have planned my visit a little better since I did not realize tours were given on a formal basis and I wasn’t there at an appropriate time to take a tour.

Although there is no food being served at Two Roads, I heard the Caseus Cheese truck (the Caseus Cheese Shop food truck from New Haven that serves gourmet grilled cheese sandwiches during the week to the surrounding Yale community) parked outside one weekend and other local food trucks have plans to make future appearances. What a great idea.

All in all, Two Roads Brewing Co. was a really interesting place to visit and, if you are a beer drinker, a wonderful place to drink. I would like to make another trip when I can take the tour. Are you wondering if I tried the product? Yes, I did. I’m still not a beer drinker, but I would make another trip to Two Roads Brewing Co. Hey, it’s all about trying new things, right?

Thanks for visiting.

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

Comments Off on the road less traveled | field trips

dreaming of a pink christmas

December

I’m dreaming of a…pink? Christmas…

I know many people associate red and green with the holidays…or, like I do, many decorate with whites…but, how many fest the Christmas halls with pink?

I found a shop in Seymour, CT that embraces pink for the holidays. For this week’s Friday field trip, I would like to share some photos from my quick stop at Tickled Pink and a little bit of the Victorian vibe that fills this quaint little place in the center of an old factory town off Route 8 in Connecticut. I was passing through and had very little time to spend in the shop, but I did find out that the annual holiday open house is held in October. So, I guess I missed the shop when it was fully stocked with Christmas treasures. But, I was able to capture some photos to share. Enjoy.

Decking the halls with all things pink at Tickled Pink in Derby, CT.

A “Tickled Pink” Christmas

I hope you enjoyed these photos of a “Tickled Pink” Christmas. Have a great weekend.

Thanks for visiting and, remember to take pleasure in simple things :)

3 comments » | holiday

meeting thom filicia

December

I first noticed Thom Filicia when he was one of the “Fab Five” on the Emmy-winning television show Queer Eye for the Straight Guy. For me, he was number 1 of the 5 because he was the one that tackled the interior design part of the segment. His witty, warm style made him a natural as an on-air personality and, after “Queer Eye”, he continued to spread his decorating advice on Style Network and HGTV. His talent as a designer has earned him many accolades, including being named a “Top 100 Designer” by House Beautiful.

I got the chance to meet Thom when he visited Wakefield Design Center in Stamford, CT to sign copies of his newest book American Beauty: Renovating and Decorating a Beloved Retreat.

A fan of Thom’s design aesthetic, it was a bonus to get the opportunity to see Thom’s new fabric collection for Kravet during my visit to Wakefield, the destination for this week’s Friday field trip.

Meeting Thom was great. His personality is consistent with his on-air persona – very warm and instantly likeable. He spent a good amount of time socializing and telling stories as if he were attending a family gathering.

When the time came for him to sign his new book, he continued to engage everyone in stories of the fixer-upper he bought and transformed in Skaneateles Lake, New York – a place he discovered during his childhood and brought to life in his book.

Elm Street Books in New Canaan was on hand with copies of Thom Filicia’s newest book, American Beauty: Renovating and Decorating a Beloved Retreat.

I couldn’t decide if he chose to sign books in orange sharpie to match some of the inside pages, or as a nod to his alma mater (Syracuse), but either way, the attention to detail was noted.

A photo of Thom Filicia, one of House Beautiful’s “Top 100 Designers”, at a recent appearance in Connecticut.

All in all, a really fun night. I got the chance to meet some really great people at Wakefield Design Center, the opportunity to talk to some great designers, AND the chance to enjoy a glass of wine with Thom Filicia.

Thanks for visiting. Have a great weekend, Jackie

A little trip back in time for any other “Queer Eye” fans (Don’t we all have this on our playlists?):

1 comment » | celebrity, field trips

↑ Back to top

pleasure in simple things

search

categories

recent posts

archives

my friends & favs

Tag: friday field trip

a trip to marvin gardens

easter nostalgia

a vintage egg cup collection

in search of bubble tea

discovering orchids at terrain

beach colors in january

grilled cheese from a truck

the road less traveled

dreaming of a pink christmas

meeting thom filicia