Cups of Tea (3/28-4/3)

For those of you celebrating Easter, Happy Easter, and for those who are simply enjoying their Sunday – here’s to a beautiful day which is hopefully filled with leisure, pleasure and time.

This week’s favorites evoke two themes involving French wisdom and the beautiful bounty of that spring provides.  Enjoy picking and choosing your way through all of them. 

As promised, the winner of the delicious Brandini Bites, Barefoot Contessa’s Back to Basics cookbook and Rachel Zoe’s Style A to Zoe guide is Caitlin of Pour L’Amour de Fashion.  Congratulations!  And to everyone who entered, thank you for stopping by, and be assured, another giveaway will be coming up soon.

 

1. Everything Lavender

Slim Paley’s blog is one I thoroughly enjoy due to her honest voice and fantastic eye for beauty, and with lavender being my color of choice lately, I immediately was drawn to this post.  A collection of images that display lavender in their own way, as well as lovely photos of Spanish & French lavender from her very own garden. 

 

2. Delicious Spring Salad   

Mixing it up a bit when it comes to salad is something I am always trying to do, and when I came across Lauren of  Healthy Delicious’ beautiful Herb Salad with Lemon Poppy Vinaigrette and Warm Goat Cheese Croutons I knew I had to save the recipe.  Warm goat cheese croutons?  I’m sold!  Click on the heading above or the image below to get your hands on the recipe.

 

3. A Bit of Wisdom   

How do you approach the concept of aging?  Are you comfortable with leaving your twenties behind, or do you ache to relive them?  Marjorie of My Inner French Girl shares a thought provoking, beautifully written post, that shares the beauty of each added year to your life.  Please have a look.

 

4.  Sinfully Delicious

As soon as I came across Janelle’s recipe for her Tuscan Chocolate Cake on Talk of Tomatoes, I was craving chocolate.  Her recipe involves only a few ingredients, but is most certain to delight.  Click on the image below or the header above to pick up the recipe for yourself.  

 

5. Have A Voice 

Paloma of La Dolce Vita began the week by sharing a very frank quote by the timeless Miss Coco Chanel herself.  The photo she chose to accompany it speaks volumes by itself.  With that said, how are we ever to be heard if we never use the voice we are given?

Cups of Tea (2/8-2/13)

How true it is that we too often aren’t appreciative of something until we no longer have it in our lives.  Such was the case a few days ago when my computer decided to “catch a cold”.  Being the not-so-techie person that I am, I immediately looked to someone else for help (well, not immediately, first I had a little moment, shall we say, but I rebounded quickly).  I owe a HUGE thank you to my colleague Sam for diagnosing the problem and getting my fingers back on the keyboard.  You are a saint!!  Homemade cookies whenever you want them, I promise!

Needless to say, it wasn’t until yesterday that I was able to catch up on reading all of my favorite blogs.  What I found was heart-warming, literally and figuratively.  Cut-out hearts and cupcake-shaped hearts, and lovely thoughts shared in so many different styles that I couldn’t help but have a perpetual smile on my face as I was reading through all of them. 

With that said, I couldn’t pick my favorite Valentine themed posts, but I hope that today you are able to enjoy your Love day with someone special, whether it be a significant other, friend, family member or loyal pet.  We all need love in our lives, and I hope today finds you opening the door to all of the possibilities it offers.  After all, I’ve always said, “Valentine’s Day is just a date on the calendar with a post-it note on it, reminding us to tell the one’s we love that we do.”So don’t forget about the rest of the calendar.

Speaking of love, below are a few posts that I fell in love with this week, each for it’s own reason.  Simply click on the heading of each one to be taken to the original page to read the post in its entirety. Happy Sunday!

 

1. Flea Market Find

For any of my readers who find pleasure in the hunt when it comes to garage sales,tag sales, estate sales and flea markets, you will appreciate the following story.  French Essence recently shared her experience with flea markets in Paris.  About fifteen years ago, she found a beautiful bed, and much to the delight of all of us who “antique”, the bed is still in beautiful condition.  Read exactly how it all worked out by clicking here.

 

 

2. Windy City Inspiration

Chandelier above your bathtub anyone?  I’m in! (pun intended) Erin of  Elements of Style recently profiled the home of one of her readers, Colette May, and it truly is a breathtaking abode.  So beautiful that two posts were needed to share all of the interior pictures.  However, before you become consumed by the amazing decor (Colette, herself, was the designer), don’t forget to read a bit about her, she is an inspiration in her own right. Click here and here to take a peek.

 

3. How Do You Do?

Paloma of La Dolce Vita frequently asks fellow bloggers and readers to share ten things they couldn’t live without.  As I was reading about Franki Durbin, I was intrigued by her interests (magazines, laughter, water – just to name a few) because they were simple, yet necessary things that I find myself needing in my life to stay balanced, yet inspired.  Having piqued my interest, I decided to meander over to her blog Life In A Venti Cup, and I was not disappointed.

 

 

4. Time to De-Stress

Hopefully this weekend finds everybody able to enjoy three days off from the daily grind, but if it doesn’t, here is a great post to help try and eliminate as much stress as possible from our lives.  I am a HUGE fan of lists. I appreciate anything that is easy to read through, being able to quickly access the information that is being sought after, and Leo Babauta of Zen Habits is a master at sharing information in this format.  Take a quick glance at the list to see if there is something you too could incorporate into your life to make it even more enjoyable.

This photo alone makes me de-stress a little. No?

5. What to do on a Rainy and Windy Day

A blog I find myself frequently visiting, and continually be inspired after I’m done browsing through the beautiful photographs, is Brabourne Farm. This particular post especially grabbed my attention because while I love rainy days, I despise windy ones,   So what is one to do? Leigh shared a  list of beautiful ideas of what to do on a day that may not be, shall we say, picturesque or suitable for lounging on the porch.  Have a look, because I think it would tie in perfectly on a day beckoning romantic gestures.