Easy and Elegant Autumn Tablescapes

Classic Elegance with Shiny Flair- Use of traditional fall themes pumped up notch with gold guilded fruits, pumpkins, gourds, hand-made gold leafed acorn and crab apple wine stoppers, displayed with hand-painted and hand-guilded fall glassware and traditional tableware.

Mediterranean Harvest-So many valley homes have the Tuscan and Mediterranean design sense, why not use the richness of an Italian Harvest to decorate your fall colors, using natural elements from the produce department and your garden…using lemon leaves, olive branches, pomegranates, lemons, artichokes, pears, figs, wine, and cheese, displayed with a very classic Italian Fruit Tableware

Contemporary Southwestern Eco-chic Outdoor Entertaining-
Use of classic natural elements (fall leaves, pumpkins, gourds, etc…carved out and used as planters for southwestern succulents and cactus (which can be transplanted when the season ends), with modern casual melamine tableware made to replace disposable plastic and Styrofoam tableware, but durable and casual enough for outdoor entertaining

Deconstructed Modern Fall Tablescape- Simple Organic elements from this time of year (fall branches, river grasses (cattail and pampas grass), river rock, feathers, leaf clippings, simple flowers, etc..)deconstructed into single elements, displayed in modern glass holders, with fiery fall colors making the design statement, and modern shaped tableware, also in fiery fall colors

Energize your fall table décor with bold fiery colors of the season, natural organic elements, and tableware that will be a useful and classic addition to your tabletop collection. Adding a modern twist to the classic fall decorating themes will take your tabletop from stuffy traditional to chic and inviting. While the traditional elements of a fall table still give me “warm fuzzies” due to memories of my childhood and never having a true fall season growing up in the valley, I think it is very important for the design conscious decorator to add a twist to the traditional. This sets her table apart from the ordinary and lends to even better entertaining ambiance during my favorite time of the year to entertain.
The key is to start with Natural organic elements, really try to stay away from the plastic contrived look that can be found in many seasonal displays. My favorite way to collect elements for my fall table is to take a field trip up to the high country like the Mogollon Rim, or Sedona and Oak Creek. This is the perfect time of year to hike, and find objects such as fall branches of oak leaves, maple, and sycamore, acorns, walnuts, river rock, cattails, feathers, fern clippings, whatever strikes your fancy. If a field trip is not on your calendar, try your local garden center and find fiery red and plum succulents and cacti, hollow out pumpkins and gourds, and plant the southwestern plants into the impromptu vases. Clip lemon and olive branches from your trees, and simulate a Mediterranean harvest with pomegranates, lemons, figs, pears, and grapes, and replace a cornucopia with a rustic Italian olive oil urn, spilling over with the Italian Harvest.
Go over the top with traditional décor of pumpkins, gourds, nuts, and corn, by adding gold leaf to the pumpkins and fruit, follow directions on the craft package, and age the guilding with antiquing glaze. Find cork wine toppers from your local kitchen store, and super glue acorns or faux crab apples on top and then guild with the gold leafing. Metallics are extremely hot design trends, and will add fire and flair to the traditional tablescape.
My best advice is to not overthink your fall table, use the materials and colors that make you the most happy, that evoke “warm fuzzies” in you, as this is the time of year for warmth, reflection, and nurturance. Simply add a twist, trying to not be too contrived, that surprises your guests when they admire your table.

For more entertaining ideas and beautiful tableware check out our website at:

www.tresorellehomedesigns.com

Happy Fall!

Happy Independence Day!

With the Fourth of July approaching, I was inspired to create a fun, patriotic garden centerpiece for my patio table. This project was so simple, my two year old even helped with the painting and assembly.

I started with the least expensive terra cotta pots that I could find. These small pots are cheap and perfect for children’s first attempts at painting creativity. For my project I decided on a Flag theme on three pots, in cascading size and assorted shapes, to create a tiered fountain of red, white, and blue flowers. If you’re feeling a little queasy about your painting skills, don’t over think it! Just glance at one of the hand-painted pots at your local retailer, probably painted overseas in Asia, take notice of all of its flaws, and realize that perfection is not the goal, but rather the overall whimsical, fun burst of color, and loose pattern that will provide a background for the true art, the summer flowers of your choice.

To begin, purchase basic craft acrylic paints in the colors of your choice, and a high gloss acrylic sealer (brush on or spray). Terra Cotta is extremely absorptive and will soak in water from the soil and bubble up the acrylic paint unless you seal the inside of the pot with the acrylic sealer first. I applied 3 coats of the sealer and allowed it to dry (this happens very quickly in our dry heat). Then I decided on a pattern for my three pots, and after dressing my toddler in a smock and plopping him on a plastic drop cloth with his own 25cent pot, a paint brush, and plate of paint, we both dove into our creative projects.

The stripes were simple enough, I found it best to started with the white first, as it went on thinner, and dried faster, thus avoiding pink stripes once the red was applied over top.

I have never been great at painting stars, there are just too many straight lines, so rather than using a foam stamp (which is another fun tool to use with your kids), I decided on white 5 petaled daisies to replace the stars, overtop a cobalt blue base paint, still giving the impression of stars, while corresponding with our garden theme. Their simple, organic shape is very easy to master with a small round or flat head brush. My smallest pot, I base coated a cherry red, and then added one single white daisy for a little modern whimsy. I had my toddler help with the centers of each daisy, dolloping a bright yellow spot in the center of each flower. After each pot dried, I sprayed on more acrylic sealer over the painted surface.

Now my boy and I were ready to really get our hands dirty. I purchased several 2 dollar six packs of summer annuals that are drought and heat resistant in corresponding patriotic colors. Five-petal White Vinca were perfect for the white stars, while the deep fuchsia Vincas were close enough in color to the cherry red of my striped pots. I also picked out some bright red Celosia (or cock’s comb) for extra texture and height, and some beautiful blue lobelia for their petite deep blue blooms, and dark full cascading leaves. I even found a faded remnant of a miniature blue delphinium on the clearance shelf for a little added variety, and the beautiful spring bloom still had a little life left in it. Since the Fourth wass just days away, I planted the centerpiece fairly tightly, to achieve a full abundant look, however, if creating your piece early enough, space the plants properly, and with proper care and watering, the flowers should fill in very nicely within a matter of days. Container gardens can get really stressed and dried out in the early summer heat, so be sure to water daily, and if your piece is getting blasted by late afternoon sun, move to a more shaded location. Once your special event is over, the flowers can be transplanted to your garden beds, where watering, while still important, is not required as frequently. Vincas and Celosia will thrive throughout the heat of the summer as long as they are kept watered, and both are more drought tolerant than most annuals. One small vinca plug should grow into a very nice cluster of flowers up to a foot in circumference.

This tiered planting project can also take on the shape of a cake, and is thus perfect for outdoor birthday parties and showers, just pick appropriate colors and have fun with shape and pattern, try stripes, checks, polka dots, or plaid. Have fun with your kids, and create their own precious hand-painted bud pots to give away as gifts to teachers, grandma, and neighbors. They too can try their hand at polka dots and stripes, or else use foam stamps, little hand-prints, or their own finger painting. Just be sure to get your hands dirty and let your kids get dirty too, creating fun and memories while also adding whimsy to your patio garden.

Summer Roses

June is for brides and roses, and maybe not in that order. Perhaps it is because of the sudden profusion of flora that explodes onto trellises, fences, archways, and garden beds, that brides have traditionally chosen this month over all others for their special day.

This is the month that the climbing varieties display their short but dynamic annual show, and the traditional and hybrid bushes are in full bloom, hopefully for the entire summer and into fall.

With the explosion of color, comes a little grower responsibility for best results. This is the time to give the roses extra care, be sure to water thoroughly and deeply in the early morning or late afternoon, into well drained soil. With all the extra water needed, nutrients can be washed from the soil quickly, be sure to feed with a ½ dilution of liquid rose fertilizer once every two weeks or so. Do not use high nitrogen fertilizers as this can burn the root system in the hot months. Be sure to have a thick layer of mulch over the root bed (pine needles work great). This will keep the soil moist longer during these scorching summer months. If you use manure around the root system, be sure that the cow and especially horse manure has aged and decomposed over a long period of time (a couple of years for horse manure), again to avoid burning the roses.

Dead-heading spent roses is crucial for more abundant blooms. If allowed to remain on the bush, the plant will expend energy in forming the rose hip full of seeds rather than new blossoms. Remove the faded blossom with a sharp knife or scissor to the point on the stem just above the first set of 5 leafed stems on full healthy plants, and three leafed stems on newer, less established bushes. Make a 45 degree angled cut, right above a bud node that faces outward from the plant. Be sure to stop pruning and fertilizing in October as the roses need a chance to heal over and go dormant before the hard frosts of winter.

If your roses are stressed, and lacking water and/or nutrients, they may be prime targets for pests such as aphids and spider mites. Be sure to water often, and spray off the pesky critters with a hard stream of water, applied to the top and bottom of the leaves. Lady bugs are an aphid’s worst nightmare, and can be purchased from our nurseries, or online. If these natural treatments are still not doing the trick, a safe foliage soap detergent can be applied with the water. I don’t advise the use of insecticides, as there is nothing worse than drawing in a glorious scent of rose only to be tainted by the smell of harsh chemicals. We had a rose bush when I was a child that smelled of insecticide years after the previous owner had stopped treating it. They can also harm our local butterfly and bee populations. If you are noticing yellowing and spotted leaves, remove immediately, and do not leave the rotting leaves and wood around the root systems as this can proliferate fungus and disease. As our season becomes more humid, watering should be avoided later in the day and evening, as this can give time for molds and mildews to grow. Water instead in the early morning.

June is a very difficult month in Arizona for transplanting roses, the heat can be too much of a shock to the system. Transplant new roses once the monsoons move in, cooling our afternoons, and adding moisture to the air, and into early fall. A fun and economical practice started by the pioneer women of yesteryear is the simple propagation techniques of taking small cuttings (about 6 inches in length) from a branch that has blossomed, dip it in powdered rooting hormone, and stick in a 50/50 mixture of moist potting soil and pearlite (sand may be used in perlite’s stead). Place a mason jar, bell jar, or even ziplock bag over top of the cutting and allow it to take root in its new warm, moist environment. (Wait until daily temps fall below 100 degrees to do this process, otherwise, you can try in a sunny window indoors). Take the cutting with extremely sharp, clean shears, again at a 45 degree angle, strip a small strip of flesh up about ½ inch from the cut to promote healing and in turn root growth from the bud nodes. This is a great way to share with neighbors and friends. My parent’s entire neighborhood has fences lined with gorgeous fuchsia miniature climbing roses, in full bloom this month, all shared and propagated by one generous gardener years ago.

If you are bringing in cuttings for indoor arrangements, be sure to make clean sharp cuts, and bring the roses indoors immediately. Remove extra foliage that would otherwise be underwater. Fill a clean vase with lukewarm water and floral preservative. To prevent drooping of the flowers from air bubbles that become trapped in healed over stems, fill a sink with warm to hot water, and with your sharp knife, make a clean diagonal cut underwater, and then immediately place your blooms into the vase. Keep the roses in a cool part of the home, away from fruit which can let off gases that will cause the roses to wilt more quickly. This will ensure a more beautiful, fresher arrangement for days on end, a perfect, beautiful reward for all of the TLC that you’ve bestowed upon your prized shrubbery.

Invite Winged Guests to your Garden

The best part of cultivating flowers and fruit trees up in the High Country is the welcomed friends that come to see your handiwork. I get so excited when I see the first hummingbird of Spring make its way back up from Mexico to visit my feeders and flowers. The variety of butterflies up in Payson compared to Phoenix astounds me, and I am always happy to see the native bees, whose populations are dwindling, that fly around my parent’s fruit trees and gardens.

If you want to welcome nectar loving creatures into your gardens, now is the time to start looking for their favorite treats to plant. Hummingbirds love trumpet and tubular shaped, bright-colored flowers, and there are many drought tolerant flowers that will add color to your garden while also providing the high energy sucrose for the little jewel birds. Plant penstemon, salvia (or commonly known as sage), honey suckle, columbine, and paintbrush. If you are particularly generous, put out a variety of feeders for the birds. Each male hummingbird is very territorial, and will guard his feeder and/or flowers, but will allow females to feed. Hummingbirds also rely on the protein of insects and spiders, but need the instant energy that nectar provides for their bug hunting escapades. My grandma has always sworn that her hummingbirds only fed from feeders that contained C&H sugar water, and from research I’ve discovered she was correct in that the hummingbirds greatly prefer cane sugar to regular generic table sugar which may be made from beet sugar. The cane sugar contains the same sucrose that natural nectar supplies. To make your own affordable nectar, combine 4 parts hot clean water, to 1 part cane sugar, mix well, and place in your very clean humming bird feeder. The nectar need not be colored, as long as the feeder has red coloration to attract the birds. Do not use artificial sweeteners or honey in the nectar as these can end up poisoning the birds either by chemicals or the mold and fungus that feeds on these sweeteners. Be sure to keep your feeder clean on a regular basis with hot water, and a little vinegar if needed, just be sure to rinse well, and be very cautious with detergents. Hang your feeders under trees so that the birds may perch protected while keeping guard over their feeders.

Another important factor when welcoming hummingbirds and other colorful winged creatures to your garden is to avoid harsh pesticides which can poison not only the insects in your garden but also the birds and lizards that feed on them. Keep a few of the less obnoxious spider webs around as the hummingbirds use the sticky silk to create their nests. Pesticides can also kill off the beautiful multi colored butterflies that are so welcomed up in the high country, and they are also contributing to the very scary declines of the honey bee populations through out the U.S. Most of our population is unaware of how essential these winged pollinators (bees especially, but also moths, butterflies, and even hummingbirds) are to our food sources. My apple trees alone, must have the presence of bees to cross pollinate, otherwise, we will see no fruit this fall.

Both wild and honey bees love small flowers created by planted herbs including rosemary, thyme, and basil, along with beautifully blooming lavender and nasturtium. Even the common flowering weed is a great source of nectar for bees.

For attracting butterflies to your garden, you can plant items that both attract the adult butterflies but also attract the juvenile caterpillars. Plants that attract caterpillars include red oak trees, hollyhock flowers, cosmos, zinnia, milkweed, and red clover. The adult flying flowers love the following flowering plants: butterfly bush, milk weed, coneflower, goldenrod, asters, violets, and coreopsis. Butterflies need a lot of sun light to warm their cold blooded bodies, so plant in open sunny places, incorporate rock gardens that can also provide a warm resting spot. Also be sure to leave cool, damp shaded areas where the butterflies can hydrate and cool off in our hot afternoons.
Ask the local nursery to show you through their stock of plants when choosing the appropriate flowers, herbs, and shrubs. There are so many available that will thrive even in low water environments once established, however, if just now planting, be sure to keep them hydrated while they are taking root in our extremely warm afternoons. If your yard is extremely sunny and dry, you may want to wait until monsoon season before trying to establish new plants. And again remember to take a few moments to observe and enjoy your garden guests this summer.

Spa Indulgences Using Natural High Country Elements

Urbanites pay high dollar for it, Hollywood stars seek it out, we high country residents are surrounded by it. It is the peace, healthful benefits, and refreshing serenity that spa treatments try to provide.
Usually these treatments emulate many of the elements that we live with every day up in the Rim Country -- fresh spring water, clean air, stimulating herbal and botanical treatments, hot springs, invigorating exercise and healthy food.
After our recent stretch of cooling rain, I wondered at the beautiful herbaceous scent in the air afterward, much different from the creosote smell of the desert rain that I grew up with, and finally realized it was the juniper trees emitting their essential oils in the cool humidity.
The blueberry-like cones have been used to flavor gin, for their medicinal, antiseptic and diuretic attributes, and to flavor wild game for centuries, and are now also being used for aromatherapy and other spa treatments for their stress-relieving qualities.
Like most hard-working folk, when life gets too hectic and stressful, I sometimes need a reminder of just how lucky I am to live up in a high country paradise, stock full of Mother Nature's natural stress relievers. This weekend, after a long week of work, I took a moment to enjoy the unexpected rain and cool weather, took a long walk, and decided to make a bathroom centerpiece that would remind me to take the moments, and to pamper myself just a bit, even if it is just in those quick five minutes that it takes to shower.
Here are a couple quick and easy projects that make terrific gifts, home accents, or just simple bath accoutrements for those rare occasions when you remember to spoil yourself.
Bring nature inside with a eye-opening shower bouquet
This project is a Rim Country adaptation of one of Martha Stewart's going green Good Things. Gather a few small branches of juniper with its ripening berries, a sprig or two of herbs from your garden, such as lavender flowers and rosemary, and a couple of branches of dried eucalyptus branches from the craft store. Bundle together with raffia or twine, and hang in your shower or bath, away from the stream of water. The hot steam will awaken the essential oils in the plants (much like after the rain), and will wake you up with a natural, chemical-free aroma therapy treatment.
Replace the bouquet after two weeks, and I recommend experimenting with various herbal and foliage combinations. Try mint sprigs (it grows wild near my folks' home on the East Verde), pine needles, fragrant rose buds, sage, thyme, cinnamon sticks, jasmine flowers, whatever may strike your fancy. The bouquets can be augmented with a couple of drops of essential oil, available in the home candle and fragrance section of many stores.

Doctor up affordable spa products with the real thing for sophisticated display
I purchased some very affordable small glass containers (for more character, you can also reuse vintage glass bottles readily available in our local antique shops), and filled them with Village Natural's Stress and Tension Therapy products, mineral bath salts, bath gel, and bath oil, dropped in a small cutting of juniper with the berries in each bottle, and tied raffia around each bottle for a little flourish.
I topped each bottle with river rocks or natural corks. This collection of spa products uses juniper essential oil as its main ingredient for stress relief, and it's refreshing blue color reminds me of the fresh water so abundant in our streams and rivers and clear blue skies that we so often enjoy.
The floating juniper sprig just adds an extra organic dimension of beauty to your bath décor.
For a beautiful candle centerpiece, I layered from the bottom up: small river rocks, juniper cuttings and eucalyptus leaves, juniper berries, larger river rocks, and Dead Sea Salt mixed with blue mineral bath salts layered at the very top into a large glass candle hurricane container.
I then set in three to four green herb-scented tea lights into the salt layer, being sure to level the top of the tea light cup with the layer of salt.
I then tied a raffia bow around the hurricane and set it on a large glass platter, surrounded the hurricane with more river rocks, my shower bouquet, and a couple of awesome handmade herb soaps purchased from Pine's Honey Stand around the platter.
The centerpiece brings the outdoors in, emulating one of our natural stream beds, with the earth (river rock), water (emulated in the blue salt layer), and foliage (herb cuttings), along with the natural element of fire, for an invigorating, fragrant, beautiful arrangement for your bathroom. Be cautious when using flame, be sure that the flammable herb cuttings are set well below and away from the flame of the tea lights in the arrangement.
Just be sure to actually take a few moments, light the candles, hang your shower bouquet, and take the time to indulge once you've created your natural spa treatments, and remember how lucky we are to live up here.

To See the article in its entirety check out my local newspaper at: Spa indulgences using natural high country elements
Sarah McAnerny
Friday, May 30, 2008
Urban flatlanders pay high dollar for it, Hollywood stars seek it out, we high country residents are surrounded by it. It is the peace, healthful benefits, and refreshing serenity that spa treatments try to provide.
Usually these treatments emulate many of the elements that we live with every day up in the Rim Country -- fresh spring water, clean air, stimulating herbal and botanical treatments, hot springs, invigorating exercise and healthy food.
After our recent stretch of cooling rain, I wondered at the beautiful herbaceous scent in the air afterward, much different from the creosote smell of the desert rain that I grew up with, and finally realized it was the juniper trees emitting their essential oils in the cool humidity.
The blueberry-like cones have been used to flavor gin, for their medicinal, antiseptic and diuretic attributes, and to flavor wild game for centuries, and are now also being used for aromatherapy and other spa treatments for their stress-relieving qualities.
Like most hard-working folk, when life gets too hectic and stressful, I sometimes need a reminder of just how lucky I am to live up in a high country paradise, stock full of Mother Nature's natural stress relievers. This weekend, after a long week of work, I took a moment to enjoy the unexpected rain and cool weather, took a long walk, and decided to make a bathroom centerpiece that would remind me to take the moments, and to pamper myself just a bit, even if it is just in those quick five minutes that it takes to shower.
Here are a couple quick and easy projects that make terrific gifts, home accents, or just simple bath accoutrements for those rare occasions when you remember to spoil yourself.
Bring nature inside with a eye-opening shower bouquet
This project is a Rim Country adaptation of one of Martha Stewart's going green Good Things. Gather a few small branches of juniper with its ripening berries, a sprig or two of herbs from your garden, such as lavender flowers and rosemary, and a couple of branches of dried eucalyptus branches from the craft store (Wal-Mart stocks these menthol packed branches in their craft/floral department).
Bundle together with raffia or twine, and hang in your shower or bath, away from the stream of water. The hot steam will awaken the essential oils in the plants (much like after the rain), and will wake you up with a natural, chemical-free aroma therapy treatment.
Replace the bouquet after two weeks, and I recommend experimenting with various herbal and foliage combinations. Try mint sprigs (it grows wild near my folks' home on the East Verde), pine needles, fragrant rose buds, sage, thyme, cinnamon sticks, jasmine flowers, whatever may strike your fancy. The bouquets can be augmented with a couple of drops of essential oil, available in the home candle and fragrance section of many stores.

Doctor up affordable spa products with the real thing for sophisticated display
I purchased some very affordable small glass containers (for more character, you can also reuse vintage glass bottles readily available in our local antique shops), and filled them with Village Natural's Stress and Tension Therapy products, mineral bath salts, bath gel, and bath oil, dropped in a small cutting of juniper with the berries in each bottle, and tied raffia around each bottle for a little flourish.
I topped each bottle with river rocks or natural corks. This collection of spa products uses juniper essential oil as its main ingredient for stress relief, and it's refreshing blue color reminds me of the fresh water so abundant in our streams and rivers and clear blue skies that we so often enjoy.
The floating juniper sprig just adds an extra organic dimension of beauty to your bath décor.
For a beautiful candle centerpiece, I layered from the bottom up: small river rocks, juniper cuttings and eucalyptus leaves, juniper berries, larger river rocks, and Dead Sea Salt mixed with blue mineral bath salts layered at the very top into a large glass candle hurricane container.
I then set in three to four green herb-scented tea lights into the salt layer, being sure to level the top of the tea light cup with the layer of salt.
I then tied a raffia bow around the hurricane and set it on a large glass platter, surrounded the hurricane with more river rocks, my shower bouquet, and a couple of awesome handmade herb soaps purchased from Pine's Honey Stand around the platter.
The centerpiece brings the outdoors in, emulating one of our natural stream beds, with the earth (river rock), water (emulated in the blue salt layer), and foliage (herb cuttings), along with the natural element of fire, for an invigorating, fragrant, beautiful arrangement for your bathroom. Be cautious when using flame, be sure that the flammable herb cuttings are set well below and away from the flame of the tea lights in the arrangement.
Just be sure to actually take a few moments, light the candles, hang your shower bouquet, and take the time to indulge once you've created your natural spa treatments, and remember how lucky we are to live up here.
http://www.paysonroundup.com/section/localnews/story/34514

Savor the last of Spring with a Crowd Pleaser

As mentioned before, serving up a meal for our huge family can be quite the feat. However, here is one more meal that was a big hit for our last Sunday Supper get-to-gether. I guarantee this will be one of the best hams you have ever tasted (and the easiest to prepare!).



Honey-Mustard Glazed Ham prepared in a slow cooker

You will need:

1. Spiral sliced ham (we usually find the largest one that will still fit in our slow cooker



2. 1 6-8oz jar of honey



3. 1 stick of butter



4. 1/2 cup of brown sugar



5. 3 tablespoons of stone ground mustard



6. 1 teaspoon of mustard seed (if you have it...)



7. sprinkling of ground cloves over the ham(to your taste)



8. You may also add a can of crushed pineapple including juice if you like that with ham, we usually just stick with the honey mustard.

Unwrap the ham, remove all plastic and place in the slow cooker fat side up. Melt the butter in a microwave safe bowl, add honey, brown sugar, and mustard, mix well with a fork. Sprinkle ham with cloves and then add entire glaze mixture overtop. Seal up slow-cooker and set to high. Cook 4 hours. Every once in a while you can spoon some of the glaze over the top of the ham. Don't forget to try a nibble...just for quality control:)

For simple sides, heat oven to 425, coat fresh asparagus with olive oil, sea salt, and cracked pepper, lay in single layer baking dish, and roast for 15-20 minutes.

In a separate pan, lay out diced red potatoe (skin still on, about 1/2" dice) coat with olive oil, plenty of sea salt, cracked pepper, thyme, parsley, oregano, (whatever herbs you like...just becareful with rosemary, a little goes a long way...), toss together, spread out onto baking sheet and throw in the oven with the asparagus. Once the asparagus is done, take spatula and turn over the potatoes, and cook for an additional 10 minutes. (You can add 1-2 tablespoons minced garlic and cook for another 5 minutes...just don't burn the garlic).

Voila! An elegant, simple, Sunday dinner with less than 1/2 hour prep time.

For Desert, slice up some fresh strawberries, sprinkle with sugar, spoon over pound cake or angel food cake, add add fresh whipped cream

.

Traditions Revisited

As many of you know, we come from a very close knit family. One of our most favorite things to do is to be together, and of course, to eat. For such a large family (seven siblings all together), there wasn't always a lot of money for life's luxuries, but one thing we splurged on was going out to eat. And, yes, I agree with many financial gurues, that this was probably a tremendous waste of money, but I think the family is all the better for the quality time we set aside to spend together. We were quite the sight, Mom, Dad, and seven little followers entering the restaurant. Thank God, we were pretty well mannered. Even as we all grew up and out of the house, we still made time to get together after church on Sundays to eat lunch together at some restaurant.

However....we are now encountering a huge and ever growing problem...our family is just getting too big to get together at a family friendly restaurant. And even family friendly restaurants require somewhat well behaved children, and maybe its because I have two little boys, and we were mostly well behaved young ladies when I was young, but I've come to the understanding that I would have to be crazy to try and bring both a toddler and an infant to a restaurant and expect to get any food actually ingested. My sister Mary discovered this about 2 years ago once her second child was born, when I was still judging her, thinking that my first little angel was just perfect in restaurants at that point. And now, my sister Rachel is about the experience the joy too with baby boy number 2!

So, we've begun to improvise, and this is where the topic of Traditions Revisited comes from. I have a couple warm, fuzzy memories of going to my great-grandma's tiny little home on Sundays after church and eating Fried chicken dinners with her, my grandparents, my parents, and sometimes an aunt and uncle, a cousin or two. And although I was very young (probably around 7 or so), I still remember those times with a lot of joy. So for the last month, my mom and I have been trying to alternate preparing a very simple Sunday lunch for whatever family can make it over. I am far too busy to try and fry chicken for what can sometimes be a get together of 15 people, but I have discovered a few very easy, yet still fancy enough ideas for a very nice Sunday dinner. And all of a sudden, what was once an old far-off tradition, is becoming new. Maybe it is the spring air combined with what just seems like such a beautiful and what was once normal standard for families, but it has made my Sundays feel like a family day once again. Running a business can end up being a seven day a week job, and setting this day aside to entertain my loved ones, has been very relaxing actually. My elderly grandma is now comfortable enough to join us for these lunches (she was always a little hesitant to brave the chaos of restaurant dining with our crew), I have been able to sit and talk with aunts that I have long missed fellowship with, and best of all, my two year old can run and play once he's done eating, and mommy can still try and eat something!

Martha Stewart I am not though, so here is one working mom's tips for an easy, delicious meal for a Sunday afternoon. I will try and post a new idea next week (maybe with some pics too!)

1. Find you favorite frozen lasagna, buy a big enough size that will feed all your anticipated guests, (plus a couple more servings in case you decide to invite more). Since we head off to church on Sunday mornings, I set the oven about 25-50 degrees cooler than the directions state so that I can leave the lasagna in for an extra 45 minutes or so (just make sure it is still loosely covered).

-For sides, buy a bag of baby spinach leaves and toss in small amount of water and lemon juice once your back from church and browning the top of the lasagna. Bring the water up to a boil and allow the spinach leaves to just wilt (don't overcook them...and don't be afraid to salt them...nothing like bland slimy vegetables in my humble opinion.) The lemon juice works great to cut through any bitterness. The spinach tastes great with the ricotta cheese from the lasagna and will help take away the guilt from such a sinful main entree!

-We also love the Ceasar salads in a pack, have your mom or sister or whoever (even my hubby could manage this chore), toss together packet ingredients in a big salad bowl.

-Splurge on a great loaf of artisanal bread from a good local grocer's bakery. Have soft butter or herbed olive oil waiting, and dig in. A high quality crusty bread just seems to elevate the rest of the meal, and usually is only an extra 2-3 dollars that added sense of luxury.

If you pick a good lasagna, and let is set up for about 5 minutes after cooking, open up a really nice bottle of red wine (still probably less expensive than a by the glass charge at the restaurant), and dig in, you should be rewarded with a fun family experience that is just as delicious as the local chain Italian restaurant, and a little less hectic for a large close-knit, and in our case loud family!