That’s all, really. But it is, isn’t it? And if it isn’t, then we need to try to make it that way.
Americana
A not-quite recipe for not-quite 4th July
It’s nearly 4th July! There is something very ‘4th July’ about red, white and blue puddings and sweet things. So we thought we would share these white chocolate dipped strawberries, but it seems a bit cheeky to actually call it a ‘recipe’. All you do is melt some white chocolate in a bowl over some simmering water (be extra careful because white chocolate goes hard and grainy very quickly if it is overheated), then dip the bottom of the strawberries first in the chocolate and then in some blue sugar. We made these today but they are to likely to make it through to Saturday… Happy 4th July when it comes!
Happy Thanksgiving!
We love Thanksgiving – and even if you don’t live in the USA, it’s one to celebrate. What could be better than a chance to reflect over a good meal on what really matters? We’re thankful for friends, family, health and good fortune, obviously. We’re also thankful for original ideas and artwork (see above) and all the amazing, creative people who help make our lives more colourful and interesting. If you are reading this, we’re thankful for you too!
And shells and sea glass, picked up on the beach.
And guilty pleasures like French’s Fried Onions. In catering packs.
And always, a glass of champagne. Happy Thanksgiving!
Gorgeous stair risers
First of all, an apology because we could just as well have called this ‘The One With The Bad Photography Part II’. But here’s the background…
We saw this lovely staircase at the Edgartown Bookshop in Edgartown, MA on the way to dinner one evening and had to grab a picture then and there because there wasn’t going to be a better opportunity!
If you look at their website you can see a much better picture (turns out that good lighting, a decent camera and adequate time does wonders for photography – who knew?).
Anyway, the idea is that the risers (the parts of the stair that go up, as oppose to the treads, which are the flat bits) are decorated like shelves. Their are piles of books on them and in a variety of suitable fonts are the department titles, like ‘travel’, ‘mystery’ and ‘historical fiction’. It looks great and is a clever way to decorate a staircase which really dominates the view from the door of the shop.
Inspired by this we checked out Etsy and a search on ‘stair decal’ or ‘stair sticker’ brings up a few other ideas such as chevrons, numbers, inspirational sayings and patterns that look like ceramic tiles. There are also some clever people who can custom-make decals for you! But even just painting the risers in a colour that contrasts with the walls or different shades of the same colour could look good too. Lots of possibilities for one of the most used and under-decorated parts of the house!
Happy 4th July!
That’s it really – happy 4th July!
Love the photo above – if you are going to make a statement, make it a big one. As for the photo below, at Hingham House the garden is all ready for planning tonight’s dinner.
The book on the table is a much-loved first edition Betty Crocker Picture Cookbook, originally published in 1950 by McGraw Hill (copyright General Mills Inc), but a facsimile edition was published in 1998 by John Wiley and Sons and is available here from Amazon. It’s a delight if you love old cook books and has this recipe for a cherry pie, complete with a hatchet decoration:
The caption suggests it would be suitable to celebrate George Washington’s birthday, but we think it would be equally suitable today too.
Happy 4th July!
