Table Setting Ideas

Do you host a lot of dinner parties and find yourself setting your table the same boring way each time? While I like the way I set our table for casual, last minute dinners, I need to spice up how I set it for more formal dinner parties.

I'd love to add more colour and flowers to my table settings. I also like the use of menu cards and place cards.

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Aside from these dishes being amazing, I love the pops of colour and the small floral arrangements scattered around the table.



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I love the small jars and the close pins on the menu cards. Adds a rustic, homey feel.



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I love the lemon place card holder, it's perfect for summer!



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What's not to love about this place setting?!

So tell me, how do you jazz up your table? Can you draw any inspiration from these ideas?

BBQ Salmon...

Do you love salmon as much as I do? I didn't used to be a big salmon lover but it's something that's grown on me over the last year. I try and make fish, usually salmon, once a week. It's light, easy and goes with almost any vegetable.
I came across this recipe on the Food Network site. It sounds delicious and something I must try ASAP!

BBQ Salmon on a Plank with Foccacia & Grilled Veggies

In total this will take you about 20 minutes of prep time... easy peasy!

Ingredients

• 1 Untreated cedar plank
• 1 red pepper
• 1 small onion
• 16 stalks asparagus
• 2 large mushrooms
• Cooking spray (Pam)
• 1 teaspoon Mrs. Dash Garlic and Herb Seasoning
• 2 pounds (900 g) salmon filets, boneless skinless
• 1 teaspoon coarse salt (try kosher)
• 1 teaspoon Mrs.Dash Original Seasoning
• 1 teaspoon rosemary leaves
• 1/2 cup grainy Dijon mustard
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar
• bottle Squirt bottle of water
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
• 1 loaf foccacia bread

 

Directions

1. Take out equipment and ingredients.
2. The night before: Soak your plank in water until you are ready to cook with it.
3. When you get home for dinner: Preheat BBQ to med (approx 350º F).
4. Cut pepper and onion into large chunks, heaping into center of veggie basket as you cut.
5. Snap off bottom node of each asparagus stalk and discard.
6. Break remaining asparagus stalks into 2 or 3 pieces and quarter mushrooms. Place all in basket.
7. Spray veggies with cooking spray, sprinkle with spice and place on lower rack of BBQ.
8. Rinse the salmon thoroughly under water, then pat dry with a paper towel. On one side only, smear salmon with the salt, spices and mustard then sprinkle on the brown sugar.
9. Place the presoaked plank on the grill. Close the lid for a few minutes but keep checking until you see smoke.
10. Turn the plank over and place the salmon, rub side up, on top of the plank.
11. Move the veggies to the top rack or on one side of the BBQ with reduced heat. Toss often.
12. The salmon will be ready when it flakes off easily with a fork (approx 10-15 minutes).
13. Squirt the edges of the board if they catch on fire. You will have to keep lifting the lid to check.
14. Drizzle olive oil and vinegar in a small bowl for dipping.
15. Toss foccacia bread on top rack of BBQ for just a minute while serving up the plates.

What do you think, something you'd try? Are you a salmon lover too?



Saw & Loved on Pinterest

Like most people, I am obsessed with Pinterest. I'm not someone who sits on it for hours at a time pinning away, but a couple times a week I'll check it out for sure.

The amount of inspiration I get from Pinterest is amazing! I came across these and just had to share them. Let me know what you think.

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I realize this wall paper is a bit out there but there's someone about this washroom that I'm loving. It may be the fabulous mirror.



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If I could create an adorable corner office for myself in our house I would in a heart beat. I love the cork board.



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I just adore this space. The painting is stunning and the use of colour is perfect.



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I am loving this table and the simplicity of this area. Less is more.

Where do you get your food, cocktail, decor inspiration from? Are you a Pinterest lover too?



Guacamole Grilled Cheese

I have a seriously love for grilled cheese and basically any toasted sandwich. Does it really get much better than a toasted tomatoe sandwich? I made one on the weekend with tomatoes from the farm, it was heavenly!

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Ingredients:

To make the guacamole:
2 ripe avocados
1/2 small onion, minced
1 clove garlic, minced
1 small jalapeño, stems and seeds removed, minced
2 tablespoons cilantro leaves, finely chopped
1 tablespoon of fresh lime juice
1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
A dash of freshly grated black pepper
1 Roma tomato, chopped
4 slices crusty white bread
4 slices Cheddar cheese
Butter, for buttering bread

Directions:

1. To make the guacamole-cut avocados in half. Remove seed. Scoop out avacado from the peel, put in a large bowl. Using a fork, mash the avocado. Add the onion, garlic, jalapeño, cilantro, lime juice, salt and pepper. Stir until well combined. Add the chopped tomato and stir.
2. Heat a pan or griddle to medium-high heat. Spread desired amount of guacamole on both slices of bread then top with cheese. Butter outer slices of bread and grill on one side for about 2 minutes or until golden and crispy. Flip the sandwich and grill until golden brown. Make the other sandwich the same way and serve warm.

Click here for other delicious grilled cheese recipes.

Long Weekend

The husband has left for a long weekend in Boston with the fellas which means I plan on having a very girly weekend!

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I plan on hanging out with some girlfriends, heading to the spa, writing our wedding thank you cards (7 months later) and taking tomorrow off of work!

That said I'll be doing this tomorrow, so this will be my last post until Monday. Have a great weekend all!

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Gold & Pink

Does anyone else love the gold and pink combo as much as I do? Gold and pink can do no wrong in my book. It is so feminine and classy ~ it's the Audrey Hepburn of colour combos.

I came across these gold and pink rooms and just had to share them with you. If I didn't think my husband would move out if I did this to our house, I'd 100% do it!




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I love love love this end table. The gold legs are to die for.

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There's is absolutely nothing I don't love about this area. The mirror and chairs are perfection if you ask me.

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How amazing is the powder room. The modern mixed with the antique is perfect.

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I could probably pull this off with little complaining from my husband.

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I'm drooling over the bed. How grand yet elegant is this room.

What do you think, are you sold on the gold and pink combo? What's your favorite colour combo right now?

The Boyfriend Jeans

I don't have a great pair of boyfriend jeans but I would love a pair. They're sexy, sassy, flirty and more comfortable then a skinny jean. You can pair them with flats, heels, a flowy short or something more fitted.

Here are a few pairs of boyfriend jeans I think would look great on every body.

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I like these ones a lot because they're looser and look comfortable and sexy!

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I love this wash for summer, not winter!

1 / 2 / 3 / 4

Are you a fan of theboyfriend jean? Do you have a pair? What's your favourite brand?

What We Call.... White Pizza

Some may call it pizza, some my call it foccacia, we call it white pizza. I posted this recipe over a year ago but I get questions about it often so I thought I'd share it again. Here it goes!

Here's the Bigioni family white pizza recipe that I've tweaked a bit!

• Depending on the size of your pan, use 1 or 2 doughs. I've used two with mine.
• Spray you pan with Pam and then drizzle olive oil on the pan. Make sure you rub the oil all over the pan and don't forget the corners.
• You want to spread the dough hours (I say minimum 4 for best results) before you're ready to cook it so it rises enough.
• To spread 2 doughs place one dough on top of the other. Drizzle a little oil on top and begin needing it. It will continually shrink into the middle of the pan, that's ok. Spread the dough for 2-5 minutes.

Cover with a piece of Parchment Paper and let rise. If you're in a rush and have a gas fire place put it in front of the fire for a couple hours, it helps the dough rise faster.

Here are the ingredients that I usually use for my white pizza: Onions, Pitted Black Olives, Bocconcini Cheese, Rosemary, Oregano, Salt, Pepper, and Olive Oil.

When you're ready to dress your pizza here's the order using the above ingredients:
1. Pre-heat your oven to Convention Bake 475 degrees.
2. Cut up the onion and bocconcini cheese
3. Drizzle olive oil on your pizza and spread around with your hands
4. Place the onions, cheese and olives on the pizza (I forgot to buy olives so I didn't use any this time)
5. Sprinkle a little bit of salt, rosemary, pepper and oregano

When your oven has pre-heated put the pizza in for 16-18 minutes depending on your oven and watch it so it doesn't burn. To make sure the bottom has cooked lift up a corner of the pizza with a spatula. Once the bottom is a nice golden brown colour your pizza is done.

Take you pizza our and let it cool for a few minutes before cutting it.

Make sure you cut your pizza with scissors and not a knife to ensure you don't scratch your pan.

Serve warm and your guests will love ya!

This pizza is best served as an appetizer any time of year; with a salad for dinner; or basically for any occassion!

Design & Wine

Last week I received an email from iYellow Wine Club inviting me to their +Design Series being held at West Elm. The evening promised to be filled with a gorgeous store, West Elm; delicious wine, Crush Wines and yummy snack, Mildred's Temple. Let me tell you, the evening didn't disappoint.

We (my friend and I) arrived around 8 and were immediately greeted with two wines glasses to be filled at any of the Crush Wine bars set up around the store. We spent the next hour walking around, sipping wine and drooling over everything West Elm had to offer. Here are some of my favourite things at West Elm.

How great are those shower curtains!

I was obsessed with everything on this cart. I need to go back and buy one of those glass cake stands, they are amazing.

I love everything about this display. The colours wouldn't work in my house but I'd be willing to change the whole theme for a few of these pieces.

Happily, I came home with two pieces that I love.

How adorable is the owl - I love it!

One of my favourite things of the night was chatting with a few fabulous bloggers! You can check out their blogs here, here and here!

Have you ever attended a iYellow Wines event? What's your favourite West Elm piece right now?

Grilled Peach, Mozzarella & Arugula Salad

I know this post is coming a lot later than usual but I was out last night and have had a crazy busy day. I haven't posted a solid recipe in a few days and thought today would be a good day for it.

Every Thursday in Stouffville there's a farmers market from 2pm to 7pm and this salad made me think of it.

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How amazing does this look! For the recipe and directions please click here.

On a personal note, two fun things this week! Last night when I got home I found this on the counter waiting for me!

I mentioned to Michael earlier this week that this would be the perfect EARLY birthday present. Side note, my birthday is in October - basically I just wanted it now and was justifying spending the moula! Anyways, all he said to me was don't worry about it, I'm on it. I figured that meant maybe in September he'd come home with one - not the next day. I haven't had a chance to use it yet (damn work) but plan on exploring tonight.

Secondly, people may think I'm nuts but little Charlie is 3 months old today. Before Charlie I wasn't a dog or animal person but now I'm hooked and couldn't love the little guy more if I tried.

Happy Thursday :)

Green & Blue Inspiration

How lovely and summery are green and blue. They're so fresh and warm if you ask me. When I came across these green and blue inspiration pictures I knew I had to feature them.

Our house is still a bit confused. I love our kitchen except for one big empty wall. Our great room needs some loving. One of my favourite hobbies is searching online, through magazines and in stores for inspiration. We haven't been in our house for a year yet and being that it's new we've been told to wait at least one year to paint. Waiting is killing me. Not that we know what colours we'd go with. That just means I always have my eyes open for inspiration.



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 I adore this shower curtain and the colours.

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I love this vignette and the shade of blue. It's such a warm piece. We have a few places in our home where this would look great. Definitely something to keep in mind.

Tell me, where do you get your home inspiration from? Any suggestions?

On a side note, tonight I'm off to +Design Series hosted by iYellow Wine Club at the Liberty Village West Elm store and I cannot wait. Is anyone else going?

Hair 101

For the most part I'm a hair down kind of gal. When it comes to fun ponytails or anything of that sort I'm not good at them. I've yet to master the sock bun even though I've watched the online videos and read the tutorials. Thankfully my husband didn't notice how many of his socks I cut up one morning trying to figure it out :)

Whenever I see neat up dos on Pinterest I'm always intrigued. How hard can it be, really?  Check out these hair styles for your up-coming event.

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You would for sure need a professional for this one but isn't it neat!

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I recently cut my hair to my shoulders so this isn't something I could do. I personally am loving all the braids I'm seeing right now!

So tell me, what your go to hair style? Would you try any of these?



Decorating Your Walls

Art is something I know very little about and don't really think I have a certain style or preference for. I see something I like, I buy it want it!

Art on our walls isn't something we've really tackled yet but something I certainly want to tackle in the future.

I came across these and could totally picture them in our house.



Rain Tree

Cotton Picking



Invincible

Do you have a certain art style? Which of these are you most drawn to?



Fancy Ice

Fancy ice you say!

Serving a delicious cocktail at your upcoming event is one thing but why not add some fancy ice and make a real splash. 

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Frozen Gummy Worms

Granted this one may be better served at your kids birthday party but I still think they're super cute and wouldn't pass it by.

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Frozen Fruit Skewers

How delicious and eye appealing would these be in a fruity cocktail!

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Flavoured Ice Cubes

I picture these floating around a big bowl of punch on a hot summers day.

There you have it, some fun, colourful ways to add a big splash to your next cocktail.

Have a fabulous weekend. Stay cool!

Style Alert.... Floral Pants

I did a post a while back about coloured denim and how the fad had grown on me. I'd love to own a fabulous pair of green ones but have yet to buy a pair. I've started to see a new trend on the rise, floral denim pants. Have you bought into this trend?



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What do you think - is this a trend you're on board with? The first pair are my favourite! Which pair are you loving?