Strawberry Shortcakes

I have been soo anxious for Spring to arrive, and today was an absolutely beautiful day! I looked outside and saw some green shoots where my crocus' and tulips are coming up, and this made me smile. It will be here before you know it! 

Along with all of the beautiful weather and flowers that come with Spring, I'm also anxious for "Spring food."  I was so hungry for strawberry shortcakes today, and I had just picked up some strawberries from the store this past week - so I decided to whip some up.

I found an amazing recipe here: Strawberry Shortcakes

To get in the Spring spirit, I made my shortcake into a flower with a cookie cutter.

Le Cruset Dutch Oven

Whew! It's been a busy last two weeks - not a whole lot of time to sit down and blog! Today, I'm excited to post about a new kitchen toy I've picked up :) For the last year I've had my eye on a Le Cruset dutch oven... but they're sooo expensive! I would regularly check random places looking for a deal, and I finally found one! If you would have told me a few years ago that I would be this excited about a dutch oven, I would have laughed at you. They have so many lovely colors to choose from, but I've had my eye on the dijon color from their classic line. The new yellow (soleil) is also pretty, but its a bit to bright for me! I like that this one is more mustard colored. It fits in a little better with my kitchen. I also love their caribbean blue and the palm green, but those two colors didn't go as nicely with the rest of my kitchen decor. I have yet to make anything in my dutch oven because we've been so busy, but I cannot wait to finally scratch out some time to make a delicious soup. 

Le Cruset Dutch Oven

artichokes

The past few months I've developed a liking for artichokes. It started with the artichoke napkins I made (see previous post), then decorating with dried artichokes, and now this beautiful ceramic white artichoke. (I actually purchased it for my friend for her birthday, and I loved it so much that I added it to my birthday wishlist). I've also purchased artichoke seeds to add to our garden this year! Apparently, I'm not alone in this new artichoke obsession. As I've been paging through all of my home decor magazines and venture into stores, I spot random artichokes all over the place. I've seen artichoke lamps, artichoke salt and pepper shakers, and numerous other things with artichokes.

Below is a picture of my new ceramic artichoke. I love it, and I love that it's white. I'm not usually one to purchase nic nacs... but I caved for this one. 

This is a Home Decorator's Collection item purchased from Amazon.

I've loved decorating with artichokes, but I've never actually eaten an artichoke. Right now as I'm typing, I have one steaming on the stove top. Hopefully I love to eat them as much as I love decorating with them!

Hydrangeas

I love all flowers, but hydrangeas are one of my favorites. They come in so many different colors, and they are so easy to make arrangements with. All you need is a few blooms and a vase, and it effortlessly turns into something gorgeous. For the last few years, hydrangeas have been in all the home decor magazines. Last summer when they were in bloom I had them all through my house. The best part is... they're all still here and have dried so beautifully! 

I used to have absolutely no luck with drying hydrangeas. Everyone said it was so simple, because all you had to do was let them sit in a vase and dry on their own. I don't know how many times I was disappointed when this didn't work for me. I would come home from the grocery store every now and then with a beautiful bouquet, and I had high hopes that this bunch would dry nicely. It failed time after time. 

I do believe it depends on the type of hydrangeas you have. I purchased a limelight hydrangea last spring, and my problems were finally solved. While the shape of the blooms is slightly more cone-shaped as opposed to the big round balls, they are still beautiful. Nearly all my flowers from this limelight dried perfectly (and all I had to do was let them sit in a vase)! If you're like me trying to figure out the whole dried hydrangea thing - buy a limelight this spring! You won't be disappointed. 

Below is a picture of my dried hydrangeas. 

Pearls

I wouldn't consider myself a "jewelry person." In the mornings as I get ready for work, I often forget to even put it on. I'm not the type who expects a really nice piece of jewelry for Valentine's day, Christmas, and my birthday. In fact, I'd actually prefer home decor, clothes, or gardening supplies. (Side note - one of my Valentine's gifts this year was a galvanized bucket... and I was pretty excited about it!) I do think diamonds and precious stones are beautiful, I just don't often wear them, or get overly excited about them. I do love my pearls, though. They don't even have to be real pearls, and I love them. There is just something so elegant about pearls. A clustered pearl necklace is a great statement piece - simple, but classy.