A day at Caramoor...

First, we had a house tour of the amazing home that is Caramoor. The size and the antique treasures within are awesome. Do visit their website to see more on the inside of the house and the special current exhibits and concerts. During part of our house tour, a pianist and a violinist were practicing outside for this evening's concert. Photography is not allowed inside the house at Caramoor, or you know I would have been snapping away! After our house tour, we enjoyed our tea and then the tour of the gardens. Here are just a few things that caught my eye. Clicking on any photo will enlarge it.

This is Cliff, our garden tour guide. We were so lucky to have him give us our tour as he is a master gardener and horticultural designer at Caramoor. He was so nice and enjoyed sharing his knowledge with us all. He is standing next to an amazing guitar made entirely of flowering plants! And guess what? He has a Corgi! How cool is that? If you ever have the chance, I highly recommend a visit to Caramoor. It is a very special place. CS ^..^

Hello hello!

Just popping in from a busy week to say hello. I've been spending the past week trying to re-organize a few things around here. You know those things that you can spend hours doing that no one but you will notice? Those things. Inside drawers, kitchen cupboards, *starting* to clean out the garage (yikes is all I have to say about that!) cleaning out the fridge, organizing some photos in my computer, doing a little inventory of art supplies, yada yada yada. I will have a little respite from it all though. I'll be having tea this week with friends at Caramoor which is right in the next town over. I'm really looking forward to that. Do check out the 'virtual tours' on their website, very dreamy...especially the gardens! So, while going through some pics, I found this little froggie. I'd forgotten about this guy that was rescued by our friend Teddy from a high hanging plant at April's 4th of July bash. Isn't he cute? CS ^..^

Is it a sign? Should I sell it on eBay?

When John walks in the door from work, he usually kisses a Corgi, then me (in that order) and ravenously heads straight to the fridge. I've seen him eat anything from half of a jar of peanut butter to whatever is left over from the night before's dinner to a sleeve of frozen thin mint Girl Scout cookies. If it is too early for dinner I *try* and have a little something *healthy* to nosh on to head him off at the pass. Sometimes it is simply some veggies and a dip of ranch dressing. Imagine my surprise when opening a bag of baby carrots to find one that was Corgi shaped! Yes, its true I tell you! See for yourself:

I know, based on my computer mouse line drawing, my art career is over. Either that or I need some serious sleep! Back to watching the All-Stars game. Have a good night everyone! xo -CS ^..^

Oh deer....

Why most of my potted plants have lost their flowers.

This quartet of mama and 3 fawns think we have provided a buffet.

Big sigh. -CS ^..^

It's a good day for a Mojito....

Our dear friends Roseann and Pat took us out to brunch at the Greenwich, CT Hyatt to celebrate our 25th wedding anniversary. Sunday brunch at the Hyatt is really, really, really good. We had reservations for the 11:30 seating. Well, sitting, eating, drinking many Mimosas, chatting and laughing quickly turned 11:30 into the next seating time and we decided rather than leave we would sashay over to the bar area in the atrium and have *a* drink. After getting comfy in the big cushie armchairs, we asked the bartender what he recommended. "It's a good day for a Mojito" he said. After a few minutes he came back with the most delicious drinks, apologizing for the 'delay' (as if we would have noticed!) because he needed to get fresher mint! Well, they were y-u-m-m-y! Here's a pic of our drinks, and a shot of part of the atrium where we had brunch. It really is so light and airy and pretty in there. Oh...yeah...bonus? They have a chocolate fountain. Whooo hooo! Roseann makes fantastic Mojitos with this recipe from Bacardi:

For 1 serving:
1.5 oz Bacardi Rum (light)
12 fresh spearmint leaves
1/2 lime - squeeze
7 oz club soda
2 tbsp simple syrup (Ro uses 2 T water and 2 T sugar and boil until dissolved
(or 4 tsp sugar)


2 qt pitcher
9 oz rum
72 mint leaves
12 T or 3/4 cup of fresh lime juice
49 oz of club soda - (Ro uses cold seltzer)
12 T or 3/4 cup of simple syrup

Gently crush mint leaves in a glass or pitcher. Ro uses a wooden spoon to crush but you can use one of those mortar and pestle type thingies. Add lime juice. Pour in sweet syrup and fill glass or pitcher with ice. Add rum and seltzer.

Garnish with line wedges and sprigs of mint.

Enjoy!!!!!

Thanks for the recipe and the fantastic brunch, Ro! xo xo -CS ^..^

Let's make an easy potato salad...

Fill a large stock pot with cold water, add a good pinch of sea salt, cover, and bring to a boil. Covering the pot will make the water boil faster. Grab about 5 lbs. of your favorite potatoes. Wash, peel, then rinse them thoroughly.

Try and cut your potatoes approximately the same size so they will all cook uniformly. When your water is boiling, add the potatoes and set your timer for 10 minutes. Test them at about 10 minutes and every minute after to see if they are done. Your fork should go through, but not too easily. You do not want overcooked or undercooked potatoes. Just like Goldilocks, you want them just right :) When they are done, drain them in a colander and rinse with cold water until they are cool. Drain well.

Ignore the begging Corgi who amazingly appears whenever the cutting board comes out.

Meanwhile, chop about 4 ribs of celery, (get them from the inside of the stalk, include some of the light tender leaves!) 1 medium sized sweet onion (or 1/2 a Vidalia onion)

No, seriously, ignore the obnoxious barking Corgi...

Take your cool, well-drained cooked-just-right-potatoes and put them into a large bowl with your chopped celery, onion and a little parsley (fresh, finely chopped flat parsley is best, but dried will do in a pinch.) Add about 2 tablespoons white balsamic vinegar. Any vinegar will do, but I really like the white balsamic for this salad. Add about a cup and a half of your favorite mayo. You can add more later if you need to. I've been using Hellman's Canola oil mayo lately. I also bought their new olive oil mayo but haven't tried it yet. (Is Hellman's still called Best Foods west of the Rockies?) Toss in a couple of good pinches of sea salt and a few cranks of cracked black pepper. Toss the salad gently so the potatoes don't fall apart. You can add a chopped hard boiled egg or two if you like. Store in a tightly covered container and refrigerate for a few hours. So simple, but a yummy classic Summer salad.

There's plenty for leftovers and for hubby to take some to work if he likes. You can always cut the recipe in half or double for a large party. -CS ^..^

British Memorial Garden Welsh Corgi Convention

Gwen over at the British Memorial Garden contacted me today to let me know that they have posted a few photos from the Corgi Convention on their website.

Pembroke and Cardigan Welsh Corgis walk along the Hudson.

Celebrity pet trainer Bash Dibra and "Winston" who won 1st place in the competition.

Here is Winston in his cool shades and bling. Isn't he just too cute?

Check the BMG website for more photos and information from this special Corgi day out in NYC. Have a happy day! -CS ^..^

Happy Independence Day!

A spectacular 4th of July from all of us to all of you! God bless America! Have a happy day! -CS ^..^

Extreme makeover of the birdie kind...

So...what do ya think? I tied the seam binding to the handle rather than glueing it in case I ever want to freshen it up a bit. I tied the train case's key to this little avian tag which was a gift from Donna.




Have a lovely week, everyone! -CS ^..^

My New Old Train Case

This old cosmetic or 'train' case has traveled with me to many an overnight trip and many a dog show. She is quite old and her lid has a little creak in it when you open it. She has some worn out spots here and there, and a small thin crack in her tray which I am always careful to remember when the urge to overstuff it presents itself. I like to keep her stocked with duplicates of favorite toiletries and cosmetics and hair brushes so when I am ready to go, she is too. Her aqua blue satin ruffles that hold the mirror to her lid are a little crooked, but still charming to me. For the last Monday of Suzanne's Make Your House A Home Challenge, I decided to do a little something special just for me and give this old case a new look. (Hey, if mama ain't happy then nobody's happy, right? :) ! ) The case is always out in my bedroom and I do find myself going into in quite frequently. I purchased these German Victorian avian and floral scrap from Donna at Blue Bird Lane on Etsy and a few from Tinsel Trading Co. in NYC. Donna also had some lovely vintage seam binding in some lovely aqua and turquoise colors that were calling my name so I bought those too. I decoupaged the little birds and flora all around the case and then wrapped the handle with the lovely seam binding. I really liked the way it turned out! I will post a photo of it in the morning. -CS ^..^

p.s. I'm hoping that some of the photos we took with Mary Elizabeth's camera at the Corgi Convention turned out. If they did, I'll post them for you in a couple of days. It was such a fun day, but such a hot scorcher of a day that we really didn't take too many photos. When the Corgis were not on the walk along the Hudson, they were hiding in the shade. Except for Bridget, who for some reason felt the need to climb onto my lap and be fed ice chips while her hot breath slobbered my neck! Cat ^..^

Welsh Corgi Convention

Mary Elizabeth and I along with some Corgis are planning to attend the Welsh Corgi Convention sponsored by the British Memorial Garden in New York City this Saturday. We hope to see many of you there! -CS ^..^