The Target Birds Invite You

Did you get your invitation? I really hope so, but Susan has been pretty busy planning that other wedding. She may have missed you. I hope not, because we've got a surprise. The Target birds are LOVE birds!!! The wedding is going to be a glorious event. Savannah Grace has a designer gown and will be resplendent in her matching veil. The groom is in full tails and a top hat of course. It's going to be the event of the season!

After the ceremony we'll be off for a few more days. We love birds deserve a honeymoon! We work so hard gracing all those tables! So we are off to the Canary Islands. We love you but we're leaving you with one final message:

Lots of other Target birds have been out on adventure this week. You can find out what they've been doing with Susan at http://www.betweennapsontheporch.blogspot.com/

Three or More..What's on Your Bedside Table?

I've had a lifelong love affair with books. I began my fascination at a young age with an appetite for biographies about anyone in any time period. I love mysteries, whodunits, and true crime. I read the Bible, devotionals, and the occasional self-help book (although I can't say that self-help books help). I buy and read cookbooks the way other people read paperback novels. I like historical fiction, chick lit, and the classics. My favorites are legal thrillers; my least favorite is the Harlequin romance. I refer to Harlequin romance novels as "milky white bosom" books! Did you ever read one in which the heroine didn't "heave her milky white bosom" at least once? So this is what's on my bedside table now...now, when I shouldn't be reading at all (except the devotional). Now, when I should be planning a wedding.

The devotional is Experiencing God Day by Day by Richard and Henry Blackaby. I am beginning my third year in a row with this book . Like the Bible, I find something new in it each time I read and appropriate for different times and circumstances in my life. True Evil is a novel by an author I love, Greg Iles. Iles grew up in Natchez Mississippi and writes about people I understand and places I know. The Bride's Book of Etiquette is my working manual now that we are planning my daughter's wedding. It's helpful, but not much has really changed since Amy Vanderbuilt advised me almost thirty two years ago. Bunny Williams's An Affair with a House is providing me with much needed time to daydream and bask in beauty created by others. That's my collection of Three or More things sitting on my bedside table. Join our hostess Tam at http://gypsycorner.blogspot.com/ and see some other collections and let me know: What's on your bedside table?

He is Risen

Wishing you and yours a happy, joyous Easter-Susan

Pear Bunny Salad

I 'm at an awkward age. I thought I was over those, but it seems once again I'm a "tweener". My children are young adults--too busy to want to decorate sugar cookies with me, too old to dye eggs, and too diet conscious for Easter baskets. I don't have grandchildren, those adorable cherubs that look out me from everyone else's wallets. It seems I'm "between" children, the way some people are between husbands or between jobs. But I do have a three year old niece and several children who refer to me as SuSu--specifically their SuSu. I remembered this salad and made it for my niece who visited this week. It's cute and easy as can be. The body is a canned pear with the smaller end serving as the face. The eyes are raisins and the nose is a cherry. Push whole almonds in for the ears. I used chocolate covered pretzel sticks for the whiskers, but you can use licorice. The fluffy bunny tail is just a squirt of whipped topping. I put it all on frilly green lettuce and added a baby carrot with parsley. They may not eat it, but they will love looking at it! I certainly enjoyed creating it--I don't want to lose my touch. One day I may need these skills again! Click on the Foodie Friday button to visit our hostess Gollum and see what she and every one else has cooked up! Happy, Blessed Easter and Passover to all.

All "Set" for Easter

Our friend Susan is our gracious hostess for the Tablescape Thursday Event. This ought to be a fun and beautiful event with many people preparing to celebrate Easter and Passover and pulling out their finest. I know I did and had a wonderful time doing it. I'm not one of those people who endorses saving the fine china and crystal for later. I think our "stuff" is only as precious as the memories it represents. So I have set the table in preparation for family and friends with love and in anticipation of making more memories.

We'll be eating in the dining room on Sunday around one or two in the afternoon. The children (who, of course, aren't really children at all), a couple of friends, and the son-in-law -to- be will join us.

The centerpiece is one of my favorite bunnies in an antique foot bath surrounded by eggs. I have given the children an egg with their name and the year on it every Easter since they were born. Some are wooden; some are china. Some were pricey and some came from Walgreens (those years I forgot until the last minute!) But we love them and and like Christmas ornaments they bring back memories. I surrounded the candles in the large stemmed containers with pastel malted milk balls. I think originally the milk balls were a little deeper, but Beloved has been disappearing into the dining room mysteriously after dinner for a couple of nights :)! I found these small stemmed votive holders at the dollar store and they also hold milk balls.
This is the china I picked out as a young bride and I love it as much now as I did then. It is Rosalinde by Haviland. The very center has a white background while the outer portion of the plate has a cream background. That is helpful when mixing patterns and choosing linens. The silver is Burgundy by Reed and Barton. It is not as ornate as some patterns, but still dainty and elegant. The final touch is Waterford Crystal. The pattern is Lismore, one that seems to be timeless. I finally relented this year and started using napkins that are not all cutwork linen--I hate ironing! I bought these In Virgin Gorda and they look almost as nice with a tenth of the effort. I am so happy to share this with you. I am looking forward to visiting with you at beteennapsontheporch.blogspot.com/

Happy Easter from our house to yours!

Met Monday and Digging in the Dirt

I am moving slowly into Susan's Metamorphosis Monday...just getting my feet wet a little bit. Or in this case, my hands dirty. Okay, so I'm not digging in dirt. I'm digging in potting soil, but oh it makes me so happy! It's still a little early for bedding plants at my house. My dad always told me never to plant before Good Friday. Good girl that I am, I listen and rarely plant before. It turns out, according to Dave the weatherman, we are having one (hopefully!) last cold snap tonight. But I just couldn't wait. Those bedding plants are like sirens calling me. So, I compromised. I decided to redo my window boxes. They were a ragged, empty, pitiful sight While I was at Big Lots, I spotted these heavy metal window boxes with a liner for only $10!--a steal! So off to my local hardware. It's a small local one and usually the first to have great plants--not so practical and budget-friendly for buying in bulk, but just right for the "digging-in-the-dirt" fix I needed. I've experimented over the years with different plants and slowly have come up with good combinations that work well together and in this spot. Today I planted red geraniums, white and purple verbena, and pink impatiens. I love the mixture of colors, textures and heighths. I added some ivy in one corner and will probably add trailing miniature petunias on the other side when I find them.

One more little thing I wanted to show you. This is a hellebores, commonly called a Lenten rose because of the time of year it blooms. Although mine is green, others bloom pink, mauve, and yellow. Another variety, the Christmas rose, blooms in December. Our hostess Susan is using power tools! Join her now at http://www.betweennapsontheporch.blogspot.com/ and see what she and every one else is up to for Met Monday!

Mississippi Mud Cake

If you visited my table scape yesterday you already know that we entertained real people for dinner this week. Real people require real food. Beloved cooked a pork loin on the grill. I made a hash brown casserole and whipped up a salad with baby greens, strawberries, and orange slices. The true star of the event, however was dessert-Mississippi Mud Cake. Not good for you, just plain good, for you! I cut it into bars and served it on a crystal cake stand. This was my grandmother's cake stand and I use it every chance I get. I think she would like that! I decorated with a few pansies that hadn't been beaten to death by wind and rain. The outcome was divine!

Mississippi Mud Cake

1 cup chopped pecans, toasted 1 cup butter, 4 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour ,1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa 4 large eggs ,1 tsp. vanilla extract, 1 bag miniature marshmallows , and chocolate Frosting

Microwave butter and semisweet chocolate in a large glass bowl on high for one minute or until the chocolate is melted. Stir frequently to avoid burning. Whisk sugar and next five ingredients into chocolate mixture. Pour batter and spread in a greased 9x13 cake pan. Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for twenty minutes. Remove from oven and sprinkle marshmallows evenly over the cake. Return to oven and bake 8-10 minutes more or until the marshmallows are lightly browned. Drizzle warm cake with chocolate frosting and sprinkle with toasted pecans.

Chocolate Frosting

1/2 cup butter 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa ,1/3 or more cup of milk, 1 (16 oz.) package confectioner's sugar, 1 tsp. vanilla extract

Mix and melt first three ingredients in a saucepan over medium heat. Cook, stirring constantly, until slightly thickened (about two minutes). Remove from heat and beat in confectioner's sugar. You may add more milk if the frosting is too thick. The leftover icing is great on ice cream! I know you'll want to join our host Gollum for Foodie Friday and see what else is cooking. Click on the button and join in the fun!