It's Summer Somewhere

It may be getting chilly here and the first flakes of snow have made an appearance so it is hard to believe that on the other side of the world they are beginning their summer season. A read a few blogs from down under and one of my favourites is Ada and Darcy. It is so refreshing to see lots of bright colour and sun filled rooms when here on the east coast the sun goes down at the depressingly early time of 4:30.

Recently I was reading an excerpt from the New Zealand food magazine Dish and found these beautiful photos as well as some great recipes for salad dressing.

This page looks all funky and hard to read on my monitor so I've retyped the recipes below.

Flat Leaf Parsley, Smoked Paprika and Lemon

1/4 c flat leaf parsley

zest of 1 lemon

1 tbsp lemon juice

1 clove garlic, crushed

1/2 tsp smoked paprika

1 tsp honey

1 tsp Dijon mustard

4 tbsp olive oil

salt and fresh ground pepper

Place ingredients in a food processor and process until smooth.

 Shallot, Red Wine Vinegar and Grain Mustard

1 tbsp red wine vinegar

1 clove garlic, crushed

1 tsp grain mustard

4 tbsp olive oil

1 small shallot, very finely chopped

salt and fresh ground pepper

Whisk the vinegar, garlic, mustard and oil in a bowl, add the shallots, salt and pepper.

Tarragon, Orange and Honey

1 tsp finely grated orange zest

1 tbsp apple cider vinegar

2 tbsp orange juice

1 tsp honey

1 clove garlic, crushed 

1 tsp finely chopped fresh tarragon

4 tbsp olive oil

salt and fresh ground pepper

Whisk all ingredients in a bowl.

I made the Tarragon, Orange and Honey recipe and it was very good. I doubled the recipe and stored it in the fridge for use throughout the week. I knew my family would not like too much orange zest so I adjusted the amount to just a pinch. I served it over lettuce greens with avocado and pecans and everyone loved the tangy sweetness.

Pretty

Today is one of those days when I just want to cruse around on the web and look at pretty pictures. Do you ever have days when you just want to sit around in your PJ's, drink coffee and read magazines all while lounging on the sofa and occasionally flipping through the channels? Yup, it's one of those days! So nothing fancy here, just a good old collection of photos that make me happy. Unfortunately the only problem with Tumblr sites is that the original source of the picture is lost. Do you Tumblr? Here's a good site to check out called Pretty Stuff. I find that it is so much easier to scroll through Tumblr blogs on my iphone or ipad rather than on my desk top.(format is more user friendly on these devices). If I am sitting around waiting for an appointment or on the train I usually pass the time by flipping though my favourites. Oh, and and another one I really like is The Glitter Guide.

So here we go...

Miami Moments

This is our last day in Miami and I am determined to spend it at a prime location near the pool. In order to secure a good location for some ray catching one must be totally ruthless. Yesterday I was a little late getting outside and all that was left was a chair in the shade near the bathroom. I only lasted about half an hour because at this time of year it is chilly without a bit of sun. So today I got up early, had breakfast with the husband before he went off to his meetings and then I did the unthinkable...I went out and threw towels and various magazines on two prime lounge chairs and then I went back to bed for an hour! I know, I am so bad.

I am off to the pool now to get a little vitamin D and hopefully I'll go home looking a little less white and fleshy!

Worlds biggest throw pillows at the Fontainebleau!

 Me on the boardwalk.

 Crazy chandelier in the hotel lobby.

 Original "Bow Tie" marble floor from the 1950's

Gorgeous Art Deco architecture.

Thanksgiving

Wishing all of my American friends a very happy Thanksgiving.

Miami

I am writing this blog post from the Fontainebleau Hotel in Miami Beach Florida. It is 80 degrees out and the sun is shining brightly and I can hardly believe that I am here! Husband is here for a conference and unfortunately he is ensconced somewhere in the vast bowls of this hotel listening to a speaker blab on about the "fiscal cliff" that we are all going to fall off and perish. Poor him, lucky me!

This is my first time in Miami and so far this is what I've seen...

 Women wearing shoes like this to shop!

 Men that look like this. 

 Lots of shops selling bling of all types. Love that gold Cartier!

 The beach.

 $22 cocktails!

I am off to relax in the sun with a good book and a diet Coke!  Talk soon. OX

Brass is Back!

Over the weekend I had a little brass attack! First I popped into Homesense to do a quick once over vowing to myself before I entered not to buy any thing Christmas related--repeat in head "No Christmas!" What is it with that store that so sucks me in when it comes to holidays? Anyhoo, while I was browsing the isles I spied this amazing tray...I just plunked down some flowers and books for the photo to hide the price sticker because I was too tired to try and get that sucker off. (Stickers and why I hate them is for another post!)

Right away I knew it was good quality and probably came from a higher end manufacturer and I also knew that I had seen it before somewhere.

 $59.99

After a little digging look what I found...

 $400.00

The very same tray! My lucky day! 

Then on Sunday I was driving near my house and out of the corner of my eye I see this brass and glass table. I skidded to a stop (with a fire truck on my bumper) and yelled at my husband to get out and put it in the back of the car. He looked at me like I was crazy, but he did eventually jump out and snag it. 

 It's heavy brass and is in almost perfect condition, just needs a good cleaning.

It looks very similar to this one...I found here

  $785.00

 Have you found any bargains or curb side gems lately??