Posted in Holidays, tagged Cinco de Mayo recipes, Savvy Entertaining, Shanna Hatfield on May 3, 2013| Leave a Comment »
With Cinco De Mayo coming up in a few days, I thought I’d share some links to some yummy Mexican recipes.
Enjoy!
Chicken Tortilla Stack from Taste and Tell
Seared Steak Fajitas from Martha Stewart
Tamales Verdes by My Humble Kitchen
Mexican Wedding Cakes from Cooking By Moonlight
Mexican Hot Chocolate with Puff Pastry by Today’s Nest
Happy Cinco de Mayo from She Who Needs to Make Some Churros
Posted in Family, Flowers, Home and Garden, tagged Johjnny Jump Ups, Savvy Entertaining, Shanna Hatfield on May 2, 2013| Leave a Comment »
The other day I noticed a random pot bursting with colorful blooms in the wasteland of our backyard. I didn’t plant these sweet little violas here, they somehow, magically, grew without my help (which is probably why they look so good!).
These little flowers are pretty special to me. They remind me of my Grandpa, my dad’s father, who always had them growing in his flowerbeds. He called them Johnny Jump Ups, so that is what I’ve always referred to them by.
Apparently, viola tricolor is a European wildflower and also known as heartsease, heart’s ease, heart’s delight, tickle-my-fancy, Jack-jump-up-and-kiss-me, come-and-cuddle-me, three faces in a hood, or love-in-idleness. Americans bestowed the Johnny Jump Up title and refer to it as a wild pansy.
Whatever you want to call it, I know that the sight of one of these darling little blooms always makes me smile. Not only because of the bold, bright colors, but because it reminds me so of my Grandpa.
She Who is Feeling Nostalgic Today
Posted in Entertaining at Home, Holidays, tagged american holidays, american traditions, May Day, Shanna Hatfield on May 1, 2013| Leave a Comment »
Happy May Day!
Captain Cavedweller and I were just discussing May Day and memories we have (him not so much as me, but I think the holiday tends to capture the interest of little girls much more than little boys).
May Day is a spring celebration that falls exactly half a year from November 1. It’s related to the Celtic festival of Beltane and the Germanic Festival of Walpurgis Night. As Europe became Christianized, the pagan holidays lost their religious foundations and morphed into the popular secular celebration.The celebration in America is best known for its tradition of dancing the maypole dance and baskets of flowers left on doorsteps as a surprise gift.
I remember one year at school we had a maypole using one of the pieces of playground equipment. Someone climbed to the top and fastened crepe paper streamers and then some of the students got to weave the streamers in and out in the traditional dance. I thought it was awesome. CC remembered doing something similar at his school using the tetherball pole.I also remember making May baskets and leaving them on a neighbor’s doorstep. My mom was also the recipient of some of my early May Day basket efforts which no doubt involved dandelions shoved into a canning jar.Wherever or however you celebrate this welcoming of spring, I hope you have a beautiful day!She Who Should Make a May Basket or Two
Posted in Captain Cavedweller, Entertaining Ideas, Flowers, Home and Garden, tagged Heirloom Tulips, Shanna Hatfield, spring flowers on April 30, 2013| Leave a Comment »
I’ve blogged about these beauties before, but I love these tulips.
The deep magenta and the soft pink tones speak to my heart and make me smile.
The original bulbs came from Captain Cavedwellers great-grandmother. We got our starts from CC’s grandma. Where we have them planted they are always the last tulips to bloom, usually after the threat of frost has gone and spring has truly arrived.
I can see them from my kitchen window and all it takes is a glance at their vibrant blooms to make me smile.
The other day the sun was shining just right to take a few fun shots of the tulips (and the bugs hiding on the petals).
The blooms were absolutely gorgeous.
Rich and colorful.
And the sky was a fantastic shade of blue.
That made me really glad I took a few minutes to stop and enjoy my tulips.
She Who Loves Spring Flowers
Savvy Entertaining 