Spring Fever and MacKenzie-Childs

 "It's spring fever. And when you've got it, you want - oh, you don't quite know what it is you do want, but it just fairly makes your heart ache, you want it so!"  Mark Twain

 I'm always happy to Spring Forward! Mother Nature is teasing us today with warm air and sunshine, but tomorrow we will have a winter blast. That didn't stop me from setting up a spring table with flowers and butterflies. When I was setting the table, I envisioned hosting a party for the gals with a high table and tiers for desserts. Lots of clear glass on that table. Striped pastel chargers were used with the MacKenzie-Childs plates in keeping with a colorful spring theme.

 If I were to host a party for the ladies, I would use a black tablecloth and several vases of flowers including daffodils.  There would be meatless tea sandwiches made with wholesome breads, scones with lemon curd, blackberry and strawberry jelly in a three-section dish and a huge tray of cookies.

I love how the butterflies are flitting about on the tablecloth.

I would have cake pedestals holding three kinds of cupcakes, all in black and white. I took this photo before I decided to put the butterfly tablecloth on. 

MacKenzie-Childs "cupcakes" in honor of St. Patrick's Day and Cuisine Kathleen's St. Patty's party.  I've been working overtime so I didn't set a St. Patty's table this year.  At least the cupcakes have no calories.
♣♣♣
This non-Irish gal did a little Googling about St. Patrick's Day.

Did you know that in Great Britain, the Queen Mother used to present bowls of shamrock flown over from Ireland to members of the Irish Guards, a regiment in the British Army consisting primarily of soldiers from both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland? The Irish Guards still wear a shamrock on this day, flown in from Ireland.

You probably know that Chicago dyes its river green and has done so since 1962 when sewer workers used green dye to check for sewer discharges and had the idea to turn the river green for St. Patrick's Day.

Close to my home, in the city of Syracuse, NY, Saint Patrick's celebrations are traditionally begun with the delivery of green beer to Coleman's Irish Pub on the first Sunday of March. Coleman's is located in the Tipperary Hill section of the city. Tipperary Hill is home to the World famous "Green-on-Top" Traffic Light and is historically the Irish section in Syracuse. Saint Patrick's Day is rung in at midnight with the painting of a Shamrock under the Green-Over-Red traffic light.

Did you know that Montreal's flag has a shamrock in one of it's corners? 

 Joe spotted some Mary Ann Shell Pans from the1940's in a shop and envisioned having Patti at Pandora's Box paint them in Courtly Check so we can use them for tea light holders. I love how Patti painted them!

The cast:

Chargers - Christmas Tree Shop many years ago

Plates, Mugs, Casserole dish, Vase, Planter, Heart dish, Cake Pedestal:  MacKenzie-Childs

Butterfly Tablecloth:  Several years ago in Canada

Cupcake Pedestals:  Partylite

Dragonly napkin rings: Pier One

Hang in there, it's almost spring!

I am joining these hostesses:

 Susan at Between Naps on the Porch for Tablescape Thursday

Cuisine Kathleen for Let's Dish

Thanks for stopping by!

xo

Debbie

Key West and the Beautiful Blue Morpho

Water truly defines the Florida Keys, and we always enjoy a visit to this watery wonderland. Each evening is a celebration to marvel at the sun's descent into the Gulf of Mexico.
I have to ask my fairy blog mother to remove the snow from my blog. LOL

We visited the Key West Butterfly and Nature Conservancy and saw some beautiful winged creatures. Here the Blue Morphos are dining on a fruit platter.

We saw an impressive collection of flowers, birds, cascading waterfalls and trees. 

This little guy was being so cooperative so I could photograph him.

Who doesn't enjoy watching a Flamingo.

It sure felt good to have wings and warmth. The lower the latitude, the better my attitude ;o) 

The tropical flowers at our hotel were bursting with blooms. 

Of course we had to bring some food items home with us. Joe bought some small-batch honey and sea salt and we are having a taste of the Keys at home this week. 

This is what all tourists do.

 I spotted this bike and have named it " The Keys"

 Back to reality. Thank you for stopping by! I am joining The Tablescaper for the Places I've Been.

Debbie

Key West and Bougainvillea

In February, we try to get away to a warmer climate while Joe is on school break. Our mode of transportation while in Key West is walking, and the Bougainvillea was showing up everywhere with great bursts of color.

The flower is small and white. The colorful leaves feel like paper if you rub one between your fingers.

The branches are long and woody, and they can grow up to 40 feet high. I've seen them at the nurseries here in New York, but they are small due to our short growing season.

I'm still going through the many photos that we took in Key West, so feel free to stop by later in the week for my next post. 

Thank you for stopping by!

xo

Debbie

Happy Valentine's Day

I don't even remember where I got this picture, but Happy Valentine's Day all!!

xo

Debbie

Death By Oreo Cupcakes

Martha Stewart

A warm welcome! This beautiful centerpiece is for all of us to enjoy. 

I'm joining Rattlebridge Farm for the return of the Mystery Ingredient Club. All the hearts and flowers and chocolates, Valentine's Day is fun to share with anyone special in your life. Not a year goes by when we don't have chocolate on Valentine's Day which is also our wedding anniversary. A friend of my mom's made cupcakes for a birthday party, and I fell in love with them. They will be enjoyed by all my special Valentines.  ❤ ❤

Ingredients:

1 package Oreo Cookies, regular size
1 package Mini Oreo Cookies, for decoration (optional)
1 package chocolate cake mix (mix according to directions on box)
8 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
1/2 cup butter (1 stick), room temperature
3 3/4 cups powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
cupcake liners

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix packaged cake mix according to directions (do not bake). Line cupcake tins with liner, place a regular size Oreo cookie in the bottom of each liner. Take 1/2 of remaining cookies and chop coarsely and add to cake mix. Fill the cupcake tins. Bake for 15 minutes. While cupcakes are baking make the frosting.

Cream together butter and cream cheese. Add vanilla, then add powdered sugar slowly until blended well. Chop remaining regular-sized Oreos very fine (I put the cookies in the food processor instead of trying to chop them up super fine and it worked out really well). Add to frosting. After cupcakes have cooled frost and decorate with Mini Oreos. The recipe made 24 cupcakes.

❤ ❤
Debbie