A Botanical Brunch

A couple of weekends ago in a magical place called The Flower House, as my home has become so affectionately named, a group of lovely, beautiful girls gathered for a magical botanical brunch experience. Upon arrival, cocktails were created and served and each guest was able to go out into the garden and select which fresh herbs they wanted for garnish in their “Aunt’s Garden” cocktail. What’s an Aunt’s Garden you may ask? It’s named after the many beautiful botanicals that reside in the garden of Aunt Jet and Aunt Francis in the novel/film Practical Magic. Here is the recipe:

Equal parts Grey Goose and St. Germain Elderflower Liquer (about one shot of each in each drink)

Essence of chamomile and honey from Meadowland Simple Syrup

Very fresh lemonade to the top

Glasses rimmed with lavender honey by The Honey Truck Co. and dipped in raw sugar

I used violets frozen in ice and many other fresh herbs for garnish, things like mint, lavender, strawberry leaves, and pineapple sage

Then we all came inside for brunch. At this brunch I served prosciutto goat cheese crostini, blackberry cucumber caprese skewers, a double English cream fruit tart, and a biscuit bar! I make it a point to keep lots of different jams and honeys on reserve for occasions just like this. A big favorite was the creamed lemon honey by Savannah Bee Co. All of these things are super easy to whip up and most can be prepped the night before.

A great recipe for home made biscuits can be found in the new cookbook called Magnolia Table by Joanna Gaines. I LOVE Magnolia and if you aren’t familiar with what I’m talking about, definitely check them out here. Most of the decor on the table is Magnolia as well and can be purchased at your local Target. The cucumber blackberry caprese skewers are a super yummy and fun twist on your traditional caprese salad. I alternated cucumber, mozzarella balls, and blackberries and drizzled them with a balsamic glaze. Fresh basil also would be a lovely touch in there, but I’m not a big basil fan.

After Brunch I had something really special planned for my friends that unfortunately  not a lot of photos were taken of. It is my dream to one day start my OWN flower truck, so I wanted to bring this (on a much smaller scale) to my friends at brunch. I clipped about fifty blooms and branches of greenery from my own garden and supplemented more blooms from Publix. I put them all in different pitchers and vases and jars and completely stuffed my parlor room with flowers so that it would feel like a florist’s shop. Each person selected their blooms and greens and I did a flower arranging demonstration to show them how to bring life and volume to their bouqs. Here are the results, and my happy customers!

After our very fun photo shoot, we had cake and earl grey lavender lattes for dessert!

There’s nothing yummier than a Chantilly cake from Publix! We had so many laughs and so many good eats, it was my best brunch yet, and definitely the happiest!

X0X0

Spring Faves 2018

Hey y’all! It’s March and spring is in full swing down here in sunny Florida. I love this time of year for so many reasons. The weather is glorious, flowers and fresh food are blooming everywhere and everyone seems to be in an all around great mood. I wanted to share with you guys some of my favorite reads, products and general STUFF that I enjoy this time of year.

 

In my opinion, the best thing you can do during this time of year is tend to your garden, or start one. If you have no ambition to start a garden, or maybe no spare time, the best thing you can do as an alternative is attend your local farmer’s market to get some great, fresh goods. In Florida, all my favorite things are coming into season starting in March. Leafy greens, strawberries, beets, radishes, and then soon it’ll be avocados and peaches and magnolias and…well I’m getting ahead of myself. You get the picture. My point is, don’t sleep on the great deals you can get at your local market. And please, for the love of all things good and holy, please DON’T tell me you can keep plants alive. With the proper TLC, I am a firm believer that anyone can grow!

Right now I am loving botanical based hair and skin products! I tend to be super busy this time of year because I have so much going on and so many farmer’s markets to get to, so here are the products keeping my skin alive:

I use Checks and Balances by Origins in the morning and this AMAZING Rose Cleansing Milk by Sephora before bed. Also, my skin is VERY dry, and I have found a holy grail moisturizer: When Hope Is Not Enough. Just DO IT! This stuff has seriously been a game changer for my skin. And as far as hair goes, this Death Valley dry shampoo by R+Co not only is great for when I’m crazy busy, but it smells soooooooo great. Not enough O’s in the world to express how much I love it. Get it here.

Spring is also a perfect time to refresh your space. Get the windows open. Out with the old and in with the new, in lots of ways. For me, vintage is always in style, and one wonderful old school trend that I love is coming back into style: enamel pins! I have a small but mighty collection, and it’s growing! Pins are a great accessory to any outfit.

At home, my refresh has been all about Hearth and Hand by Magnolia for Target. Everything they have put out so far has not only been adorable and functional, but also heirloom quality! I have invested in many pieces that I know will last me a long time, maybe forever if I’m careful. They add a simple elegance to any room. I could talk about the magic of Magnolia for days.

My current favorite things to listen to are instrumentals and folk. Here are a couple of my right-now favorite albums:

And as far as books are concerned, JEESH there are so many:

I love the Edible Wild Plant guide! It has come so in handy while I am out foraging and adventuring. Speaking of adventures:

My husband got an SUV back in October and we have been taking it everywhere! I make the back into my own little cozy cabin, because even adventurers need rest. Read about our road trip to Saint Augustine in my previous blog post!

Finally ^ glitter lattes. They’re a thing.

Hope y’all enjoyed reading about what I’m into currently.

X0X0

Clothing Swap 2018/Life Update!

Hey everyone! I’m so excited to be writing about this year’s spring cleaning clothing swap. But first I thought I would give you guys a little update on everything going on my life right now: I have been having nothing but fun and good luck since the beginning of the year. I have been spending my days off being productive and loving on my friends more than ever. I can’t believe how strong my tribe has become! I knew going into 2018, things would be better than last year and that has already proven to be true so many times over. It is only the end of February and I have already been to the beach twice, been on several adventures, and have given my house a glorious (and much needed) Spring cleaning. The sun is shining, Florida is all warmed up and my flowers are blooming. What more could I possibly ask for? Honestly, I think this might turn out to be my best year ever. I plan to keep the momentum going and keep my goals high. Working hard at the things I love every day makes a huge difference in my mentality. Every day has become important. Let me know how your 2018 is going down in the comments!

Now for the swappy good stuff!! We started out with an AMAZING brunch. I would tell you all about it, but let me show you instead:

For brunch we served:

An Avo toast bar (for toppings I included two types of hummus, microgreens, flax and chia seeds and butter) but the avocado was honestly so good and ripe, it was perfect on its own. I bought a yummy seeded loaf of organic bread to spread it over.

A strawberry Caprese salad with fresh mozzarella and microgreens

A beautiful English fruit tart with edible flowers from the garden

For drinks I made a pink magnolia cocktail of my own design, and I’m NOT giving away my secret recipe, in addition to some Gardener’s Tea. That’s what I call whatever herbs are abundant in my garden with a few types of blended fruit tea sweetened with  honey.

Of course my friends were as generous as ever and brought tons of beautiful snacks like sandwiches, cupcakes, home-made lemon lavender donuts, frosted rosemary almond cookies, a whole charcuterie board, among several other things. I’m thankful to live in the south where everyone brings something. It’s a belle’s job as a party guest and it’s my job as hostess to thank them endlessly and send them home with boxes full of leftovers LOL!

Simply put, this swap was the best ever. Everyone went home with items they adored. My favorites included a new pair of boots, an ABH glow kit, a wide brimmed hat and vintage emerald jacket. I wanted to post all of my finds, but there was so freaking much this year that I couldn’t possibly have enough time to take all the photos I would need.

If you want to host your own swap, read more about how to on last year’s swap post here. And make sure to invite me! Stay tuned to my blog next week for my spring favorites.

X0X0

Favorite Fall Drink Recipes

Fall is officially here! Although if you keep up with my blog you know that I have been ready since mid-August and you know that autumn is positively my most favorite time of year. In my last post “Ultimate Autumn Bucket List” (which you can read here) I talk all about my goals for this season and one of things I really wanted to do was share with you guys all my favorite fall recipes, all created by your truly. I’m not going to beat around the bush and tell you some ridiculously long story to go with each recipe because I simply despise it when I click through to a recipe on a blog and the description seems endless when all I want is the instructions! So without further ado, let us begin with my drink recipes.

I would like to preface by saying these could all be made to become boozy, however I’m not a big drinker so they are all virgin. I’d be happy to know how y’all spike them though! (Let me know in the comments) All drinks are made to create a per-person beverage, meaning only one drink, but it’s pretty easy to guesstimate how much more you need to put into each recipe if you are serving a crowd.

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Caramel Apple Spice

For this recipe you will need:

One cinnamon apple tea bag

One cup of hot apple juice or cider (I prefer cider)

2 Tbsp. caramel (You can buy the tub from the store or make your own, which really isn’t very difficult. Here’s a link to make your own)

Whipped cream, optional

Cinnamon

This will taste just like the Caramel Apple Spice from Starbucks, if not better. Heat the juice via microwave or stove, I prefer stove. Steep your tea bag for at least 2 minutes, then remove. Stir in caramel. Top with whipped cream and cinnamon.

Pumpkin Spice Latte

For this recipe you will need:

1/4 cup strongly brewed coffee or 2 shots espresso

2 Tsp. vanilla

1 and 1/2 cups of steamed or stove top heated 2% milk or milk alternative of your choice

2 Tbsp. raw sugar

2 Tbsp. pumpkin puree

Whipped cream

Pumpkin pie spice

Now I’m not one of those fortunate people who owns an espresso maker but I do own a french press which allows me to brew strong coffee in small batches easily. So first, you’ll make your coffee. While that’s brewing start steaming or stove heating your milk. Add vanilla, sugar, pumpkin and coffee to cup, stir. Pour in milk and stir until all ingredients are combined. Top with whipped cream and pumpkin pie spice and enjoy this healthier alternative to the Starbucks PSL that is equally as yummy! I tested this at my last event and it was a big hit. They said it was “like Starbucks but didn’t taste like candle.”

Butterbeer Latte

For this recipe you will need:

1/2 cup brewed coffee or 1 shot espresso

1 cup hot milk

2 Tbsp. pure butter, such as kerrygold

2 and 1/2 Tbsp. brown sugar

1 Tsp. vanilla extract

For this Harry Potter favorite, first melt your butter and brown sugar together and mix thoroughly until you have a caramel like texture. Add your coffee and stir. Add vanilla, stir. Add milk, stir. Very simple! Very delicious.

Pumpkin Juice

For this drink that is actually chilled you will need:

1 and 1/2 cup apple juice

A splash of orange juice

2 Tbsp pumpkin puree

3 Tbsp raw sugar

1 Tsp pumpkin spice

1 Tsp cinnamon

Combine all ingredients and stir vigorously. Add some ice to the top and put it in the fridge for about 30 minutes, this is best served quite cold. When you take it out of the fridge give it another good stir and serve. This is definitely a crowd favorite, even for people who don’t love pumpkin.

I hope you all have good experiences trying these drinks. I promise to do an autumn food recipe post a week or so before Thanksgiving for recipes you can try out to bring to Thanksgiving dinner. X0X0

 

 

 

 

 

 

An Autumnal Afternoon

On October 1st, 2017 I think I may have hosted my favorite brunch of all time, and her name: An Autumnal Afternoon. I don’t know why I hadn’t thought of it before. It came to me in a daydream. How would I celebrate October 1st this year? Would I go to a pumpkin patch? Would I watch Hocus Pocus and Halloweentown and Practical Magic on repeat? No, I’ve already done those things this fall. I wanted to do something extra special for some extra special people. An Autumnal Afternoon was born.

I knew I had to pull out all the stops for this intimate event. Tons of decorations, a mini pumpkin patch in my front yard, mums everywhere, and of course PUMPKIN EVERYTHING.

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I didn’t make a whole ton of food because I know my friends well and I know that they are insanely generous and wouldn’t dare come empty handed to such an event. I did make a beautiful autumn salad:

I used radishes, romaine, garlic and herb goat cheese, apples, chia and flax seeds and topped it with an apple dressing, delish! I also made crock pot pumpkin french toast (worth getting up at 5AM to start it) and I served it with hot maple syrup, granola, and maple pumpkin butter. I also purchased apple cider donuts. I really wanted to make baked ones, but unfortunately I ran out of time and store bought would have to do because what fall event would be complete without them?

For drinks I made my famous, or rather infamous, caramel apple sangria along with home made pumpkin spice lattes which I put into perfect little “pumpkin everything” to-go cups. You can find my PSL recipe, and some of my other great fall drink recipes here. My caramel apple sangria is always a big hit and so easy to make!

I use one whole bottle of Riesling wine. I suppose you could use any white wine but I find Riesling to be the sweetest and therefore it’s my favorite. One pint of apple cider, 2 chopped apples, 3 tablespoons of caramel and I spice it with apple pie spices and cinnamon. So simple!

And of course my friends generously brought tons more food.

After eating, we took photos out in the pumpkin patch and walked through the garden. Some girls stayed until late into the afternoon and chatted with me by the mums. It was utterly perfect and lovely.

One little tip I wanted to throw out there was that I purchased all my smaller pumpkins and gourds (the real ones) at home depot for just 12 dollars. They would normally be 3-4 dollars each at the market, which seems steep in my opinion. The artificial pumpkins were purchased at Target, Walmart, Hobby Lobby and Michael’s and were very reasonable. I picked up real leaves to use as place cards and my friends loved that sweet little detail.

To make your brunches, dinners, parties and general entertainings really nice, always use real plates and silverware and linens too if you have them. Bust out the vintage china if you can. Let people know the occasion is special and that you are happy to have them there. I happened to have cute sunflower paper napkins ready, however I am in the market for some cloth autumn print napkins, so if you know of any places to get nice ones, please let me know!

Hope you enjoyed this dose of fall and may you be inspired to host your own brunch! And be sure to invite me.