Aged and Gilded (Palazzo-Interiors & Gardens)

Happy Weekend: It's a Shore Thing

Maybe you don't live near the beach like I do, but I hope this weekend you find a place that restores you as much.

Decorating Vintage Style/Christina Strutt

Quiet Time

There are days when solitude is a heady wine that intoxicates you with freedom, others when it is a bitter tonic, and still others when it is a poison that makes you beat your head against the wall.  Colette

Provence Style of Living/Jerome Coignard

Never be afraid to sit awhile and think. Lorraine Hansberry/A Raisin in the Sun

Style de Provence/ed. Angelika Taschen

Only in quiet waters do things mirror themselves undistorted.  Only in a quiet mind is adequate perception of the world.  
Hans Margolius

Decorating Vintage Style/Christina Strutt

We visit others as a matter of social obligation.  How long has it been since we have visited with ourselves? 
Morris Adler

Provence Style of Living/Jerome Coignard

Set the Table

I love romantic table settings. I like taking the time to make what might have been just an ordinary meal into something special. Somehow, the food just seems to taste better when you do. The average American spends six years of life eating. Hopefully, some of us are still eating at the table. We could learn a lesson or two from the French who spend more time sleeping and eating than any other wealthy nation. Despite food-on-the-go, the French still spend more than two hours a day eating. They understand that meals should be a pleasurable experience with talk and laughter. (Your own, not the television.) Crisp linens, mismatched china, the patina of old silver, flowers, and the flicker of candles makes a meal an affair. After all, six years is a long time. Some of my favorite colors for the table are white, gold, pink, purple and blue.

Shabby Chic Sumptuous Table Settings & Other Lovely Things/Rachel Ashwell

I like the purity of white against the wood. I have also fallen in love with table runners.

So pretty. It's all in the details.

A lovely buffet where color is the central theme.

A whimsical brunch.

Previous 6 images/Table Inspirations/Emily Chalmers

An outdoor tea party

Rachel Ashwell for House Beautiful

Poolside

Leave it to those decadent Romans to build the first swimming pool. The first heated pool was built in Rome in the 1st century B.C. Swimming is excellent exercise providing improved muscle tone and cardiovascular health. The longest pool, Orthlieb, is located in Casablanca, Morocco and measures 1,574 feet long and 246 feet wide. Talk about a workout! Belgium is home to the world's deepest pool. Is there any better way to beat the heat of the summer than to take a nice cool dip? Sadly, the only drawback--wearing a swimsuit.

 
Campagne Decoration/Guillaume de Laubier

 
Living in Provence/Barbara and Rene Stoeltie

 
Living in Provence/Barbara and Rene Stoeltie

Livingetc/Jean-Marc Wullschleger

 

previous 3/Cote Sud

 

previous 2/Provence Style of Living/Jerome Coignard

Mosaic Monday: At the Beach

1. beach cottage, 2. Beach Cottage, 3. Beach Cottages, 4. Beach at Lynn and Haimid's Cottage, 5. Cuckmere Cottages & Beach, 6. Cottage on the beach - Donegal, 7. Hyams Beach Seaside Cottages 4, 8. truro beach cottage, 9. Beach Cottage (Gray), 10. Florida - Palm Beach - Sea Gull Cottage, 11. Beach cottage fence, 12. Coronado Island Beach Cottage by eCoronado.com

Party On

Hope this weekend finds you festive. Throw some lanterns in the garden, chill some cocktails, play some music, invite some friends.

Cool It! Sicilian Granita Recipe

Almond Milk Granita Laced with Amaretto (Serves 8)

2/3 cup blanched almonds
1/2 cup sugar
1 quart ice water
3 tablespoons Amaretto liqueur
shallow freezer tray 1 inch deep

Put almonds and sugar in food processor and grind finely. Add 2 cups of ice water and process for 2-3 minutes til milky.

Pour this mixture into blender with remaining 2 cups ice water. Blend on high for 2-3 minutes to grind almonds as finely as possible. Pour into a bowl or pitcher, cover, transfer to refrigerator for several hours or overnight.  Strain the settled almond milk from the sediment through a fine strainer or cheesecloth into the freezer tray. Stir in Amaretto.

Cover and freeze for about 30 minutes, until edges start to freeze. Scrape the frozen edges into center with a fork and mash mixture evenly. Repeat every 30 minutes until it forms a mound of shimmering ice crystals. Serve in chilled glasses with your prettiest silver spoons.

A recipe excerpt from Easy Mediterranean: Simple Recipes from Sunny Shores

 

Food and Friends

When I buy for my store, I usually start with what I would like. If it's not visually pleasing (very high on the list) or highly functional--I'm just not interested. When I make an endorsement, it isn't empty rhetoric. I truly believe in what I'm presenting. I have to say I am just so excited about this last book order of mine. A great book just makes me happy. In the cookbooks we stock for Summer Holiday, the latest collection at Palazzo, the recipes are luscious and the photographs are absolutely beautiful. I'll be adding at least three books to my own private library.

One of the greatest joys is sharing food with friends and family. What I like about Food for Friends is that it addresses every occasion; gives suggestions for the style, tone and mood you might like to convey; gives you a complete menu for a set number of people; tells you what drink to pair with the food and gives you a work plan--what to do the day before, on the day, and just before serving. Can it get any easier than that?

 

 

 

Lazy Days and Beach Blankets is all about summer eating. It is full of recipes that you would actually like to try. (Because a cookbook is only worth it if it has recipes you'll use.)

Eat, Drink Live

 

Al Fresco

For some reason, doesn't food always taste better when you're eating it outdoors? Is that why the cafe lifestyle is so popular in Europe?

I love the deep blue against the weathered wood of the table.

An elegant, outdoor affair.

A pleasant respite from the summer heat.

A riotous party. I imagine lots of laughter at this table.

Mosaic Monday: Out to Lunch

1. Honfleur, 2. RUSTY BUCKET OF FLOWERS, 3. "Say it With Flowers", 4. ShedChic_pg131.jpg, 5. garden party, 6. All set, 7. Table set for the 2008 Harvest Dinner, 8. Untitled, 9. Outdoor table setting IMG00226, 10. Table with Flowers, 11. shabby flowers, 12. Table with flowers