No matter what you have planned for Thanksgiving, whether to host a party or be a guest, please be sure to take a few moments in your day to be truly thankful, for everything that make up your life. {Photo source}
For the most part, I’ve taken off the side dish from my everyday life – staying true to eating less starch and more plant based – but of course, the holidays are upon us, and one staple for a Thanksgiving dinner is mashed potatoes. But as I have learned over the years, there is a trick to making the best mashed potatoes and then there are mistakes to creating a lumpy goo easily mistaken for a mixture of cement or grout for that tile work you plan to install. So on to the perfect mashed potato from this wonderful site I turn to learning all the tricks of the trade. and the winner or the traditional mashed potatoes in my household is combo hand and fork mashed, with heavy cream, garlic, grass-fed butter, light sea salt, ground peppercorn and chives to taste. Simple, easy and the best tasting of all mashed potatoes I have ever had. How do you make your mashed potatoes?
Thanksgiving being an American holiday is not the only reason one considers hosting a cocktail party. It is the beginning or kick-off to the holiday season in the U.S. But for those expats introducing the tradition to the friends you’ve made abroad with a dinner party, please consider this list of cocktails to raise the stakes, if you will. 😉 Do you have a favorite cocktail you’d like to share?
We tend to stress the most about presentation, I think. Because after the cooking and baking some of your best of recipes, it is important to make the most impressionable presentation of your signature dish and otherwise to draw your guest to the table or buffet. So here’s a list of creative thanksgiving decor and this one for those tapped out of ideas: {featured image source}
Normally my appetizer set-up trumps the actual ‘non-turkey’ oh alright, a sliver of turkey dinner. The reason for that is, most folks arrive at my doorstep very hungry, and very thirsty for a cocktail, so the ritual begins, munching away at appetizers while cocktailing. So by the time dinner rolls around, folks are too full to indulge. I haven’t yet figured out how best to settle this matter except perhaps try an array of light appetizers. But that doesn’t mean I won’t share some of the appetizers that are making their way to my list for this year’s dinner gathering. For the rest of of the 123 recipes which by the way are great suggestions for any parties, including Christmas, or New Years, go here And how to host Thanksgiving or any party without the stress – although I welcome the stress – it is invigorating I think
Just dream along…I mean what else do you have to do this early Saturday morning? Neutral and steady hues of white are my first and foremost choice for my primary home 🙂 – and then I’d like to have a second place where I can add all the wonderful colors to create the whimsical of space. Or maybe the guest house out back would be that attempt-in my next life since now I am content with my current living space. But the first house would look something like this And my charming guest house or second home used solely for my writing 😉 What decor would you opt for? And how do you get rid of negative energy in your home {featured image source}
I walked past the pop-up in San Francisco- Maiden Lane, when my thoughts were elsewhere and it wasn’t until I got home that I realized the opportunity I missed to walk into a Sézane store in my hometown, that would have taken me away to somewhere in Paris and perhaps do a little shopping for these chic pieces:
I love carrot cake, and it is probably the only one I won’t pass up on if I were anywhere in the world offering the option. So a carrot cake recipe is always in order, and this chai infused one is one I am trying on Saturday: For the cake: 1/4 cup of almond milk 1 tbsp of Assam tea 1 cup of sugar 3/4 cup of ghee, melted 3 eggs, room temperature 1 tsp of vanilla extract 2 cups of flour (310g) 3 tsp of baking powder 1 tsp of salt 7 – 8 turns of fresh ground black pepper 1 1/2 tsp of cardamom 1 1/2 tsp of ginger 1 tsp ground cinnamon 2 cups of fresh shredded carrots, about 2 large carrots For the frosting: 1/2 cup butter, room temperature 8oz of cream cheese, room temperature 1 cup of sifted powdered sugar 1/2 tsp of vanilla 1/2 tsp cardamom 1/2 tsp ginger 1/2 tsp cinnamon pinch of salt {more} Do you have a favorite cake? And a well-tested recipe you wish to …
Ah, the characteristics of a European home, even while remodeled, I simply cannot get enough. Fortunately for me, I have family sprinkled across England and France and in their quaint homes I take refuge and feel the most inspired by their choice of decor. On another note: Have you been watching The Crown Season 3? If so I have some thoughts to share Do you agree that the age of maturity and clash of generations is the main topic of the era covered in season 3? What do you think of Princess Anne’s relations with Parker Bowles – what web of drama the royals have shared? Watching Prince Charles life unfold in season 3, do you find yourself emphatetic towards him? How about towards Prince Phillip? What’s your favorite scene? Although there are many, I favored the one about Prince Phillip meeting the men who walked on the moon and his expectations from them regarding one of the most important moments in history – episode 7
I thought about this topic a few days ago, when I decided to watch ‘You’ve Got Mail’, (for the millionth time) to help me get out of the funk I was in, and also to do character study for my novel. And it did, giggling, tearing up, beaming, and feeling over the moon about the idea of two people, who cross paths on a daily basis, end up falling in-love in the most peculiar of way, over the internet/and kind of in person. Realizing the influence of certain actors in character have over us. Who’s your celebrity-in character crush? {featured image source}
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