Brimfield Antique Show

Brimfield Antique Show http://brimfield.com/ is my most guiltiest of pleasure ranking up there with chocolate. Yup that good. There and hundreds of vendors selling from good old fashion antiques that are either in "as is" quality to totally re-furbished. Items that have been hand crafted to thing recently salvaged. What ever your little hearts desire I'm sure you can find it here. I've been to this show 4 times now, and I never able to see all the vendors.  Here are a few photos of the show

This year I was on the look out for corbels. And I found some!! Three different types of designs all with an aged feel I was hoping for. One set even has the mounting brackets all done for me.

I will be using them to hold up some shelves in the kitchen.  I'll be redoing the kitchen soon and I'm going for a Tuscan farmhouse look in there. I think the corbels will add a nice rustic touch.

I love the Brimfield Antique Show for several reasons. The variety of items you can find, ideas you get, the fun of the hunt and the bargains. I got my lot of corbels for a mere $90.00. I had spied several on eBay for $35.00 or more per corbel. So you know I was doing my chicken strut and singing "I got myself a bargain...I got myself a bargain"

The show is held 3 times a year and I plan on going again next year. So check out their website and let me know if you want to go bargain hunting with me.

It's awesome you stopped by....Thanks!!

XOXO

Esther

Harvest on the Hudson

Harvest on the Hudson http://harvest2000.com/hoh/ is right on the Hudson river located close to the Hastings on the Hudson train station. The building is beautiful with high ceilings and great views of the river. The landscaping is equally as beautiful. I hear there is a path you can walk around in. I haven't actually seen it for myself. I have been twice and the service has been good.

We had delicious zucchini flowers for appetizer. They were battered and served with a very good sauce. I wish there was more of the sauce to go with the flowers.

One of my Aunt's had this veal dish it was served with a salad the dressing was really good.

She said it was amazing. My other Aunt had a salmon dish.

The sauce served with the Salmon was amazing and the fish was do to perfection. I ordered Prime Rib. With Prime Rib depending on the temperature you want will determine the cut you get. The rarer you want the more in middle of you get more well done closer to the end you get. I usually order an end cut. I find the end cuts to be tastier and more flavorful. But this night I was in the mood for a medium rare.

And that is exactly what I got. OMG was this amazing. I am so glad I ordered it. Those of you who know me know my most favorite cut of beef is the NY Strip and Prime Rib is close to my last. But is dish was really really good.

Of course we can't forget dessert. We had a apple crepe and a chocolate lava cake. They both were simple delicious.

I high recommend this restaurant. You will enjoy the atmosphere, views, service and of course the food.

It's awesome you stopped by....Thanks
XOXO
Esther

A BBQ Party

About a month ago I hosted what I hope to be an annual BBQ party. I had so much fun planning the meal and setting up the atmosphere for my guest. I had decided on making the look of the BBQ a French Country setting with a touch of tropical. Yes I know not a usual combination. As for the menu we had Flat breads on the grill, grilled veggies, steak, chicken and rainbow trout. Dessert was cupcakes and chocolate cake which were so kindly brought by my Aunt and my dear friend.

I used a ton of sunflower placed all over the backyard. I used Kale, Collar Greens and Basil from my garden as filler. You can see the Kale in the picture above

I also placed little chalk boards around to welcome my guests and to let them know with ease where they could find the food and drink.

You can just about make out the drink sign here. 

This is one of the 3 kinds of flat breads I made. We had brie with prosciutto, goat cheese fig and arugula and the in the picture was caramelized onions, sausage and Manchego cheese. So easy to make. The one trick I learned after the first batch was to cook the pizza dough on both sides before adding the topping this made for a much more crispy flat bread. We also had this yummy bean dip and salsa my sister brought over. Sorry I forgot to take pictures.

Here is the canopy again. And you'll see a nice palm in the corner to add that touch of tropics to the room. I also think the green and canopy gave a slight tropical feel.

To make things super easy for everyone I wrapped the utensils in a napkin and tied everything with a ribbon.

 The plates and utensil packets were placed into a basket. Everything in one place. I could have done this with out the help of my Aunt she volunteered to wrap the utensils

As for the main meal we had an assortment of grilled veggies

And this super fresh rainbow trout I bought from Whole foods. The fish monger there was so extremely helpful from picking out which fish to buy to how to prepare it. I followed his instructions to the tee and the fish came out perfect.

Of course we can't forget the bread. I just love the basket full of bread. Not only are they good to eat but they also add a decorative touch to the table . This basket was filled with baguettes, Asiago cheese baguette and a round loaf.

We partied and BBQ'd till dark. When the bugs started to come out we lit some citronella candles I found at Home Goods in the clearance aisle. They were simply amazing and quite strong. Not a bug dared to bother us. I'll have to look for them again next year.

It's awesome you stopped by.....Thanks!!

XOXO

Esther

Coffee Can Transformation

I love the Illy brand coffee and they come in these great cans

I been feeling bad about throwing them out all the time. I decided to find a way to use a couple of them in a re-purposed way. I have this wonder paper from KC and Company.

Don't you just love the colors and design. I'm sure you can guess what I did next...yup your right I covered the cans with the paper.

I did each can a little different to see which way worked the best. The first can I just adhered the paper using mod podge edge to edge. There is a slight indentation at the top of the can for the screw top. Which posed a problem with a tight fit but the rest of the can work beautifully. The second can I brought the paper over the top. This looked great, giving a more finished feel to the edge of the  can and also it covered the sharp edge along the top edge. The draw back it looked messy inside of the can. I added some fiber and other flowers.. here is what the finished product looks like.

When I do these again. I'll try something else for the top edge. I think I will put ribbon along the inside edge to cover the inside edge to cover the sharp edge and giving it a finished look.

Now they are sitting pretty on my work table full of paint brushes and scissors. 

It's awesome you stopped by....Thanks

XOXO

Esther

The Canopy

Remember these pails that I picked up for $1.50

And I turned them into umbrella stands

I finally got around to finishing the canopy. I bought a painters cloth from Home Depot. They come in several sizes. So you can choose the size that is right for your space. Just put some grommets in each of the four corners. A bit of a warning when picking out a grommet maker. They can be hard to place depending on the size of grommet and brand you us..  I had attached eye hooks into the top of these poles and used S hooks to attach the canopy to the poles. Here is the finished product.

I admit the poles where a little to tall for the weight of the canopy...notice the snagging... but it did the trick. We had just the right amount of shade. Next year I might switch out the PVC poles for the galvanized pipe or even copper pipe. Hmmm imagine the patina on that over time. And you don't even have to use the pipe. You can tie the canopy to  trees if you're lucky to have some in the back yard.

So for under $50.00 I got a canopy that gives some shade and adds a little character to the yard.

A special thanks goes out to Daniel who helped with his man power and did the grommet work for me. He was even kind enough to hang the canopy up as well. We wouldn't have had the shade without you.  Thanks

It's awesome you stopped by....
XOXO
Esther

Photo submission

This is the photo I sent in to Somerset Life. Let's see if it gets published. I can use all the finger crossing I can get. LOL

 

On another note I Downloaded this program called Picasa and was playing with some of the effects. Isn't this cool??? I just love the effect. I see another project developing out of this.

It's a free program that you can download from the internet. It really does some really cool things. What I love about it is that you can add a watermark to your photos before posting them to the web. This way no one can take credit for your photos.

It's awesome you stopped by!! .....Thanks
XOXO
Esther

Views From My Garden

 Hi everyone, It can't believe it's been a month since my last post. It's been a busy and fun summer. Here are a few pictures of my garden. Enjoy

Which are your favorites? I'm planning to submit some of these to get published. Let you if I do.

It's awesome you stopped by!!... Thanks
XOXO
Esther