I am so thankful for my husband Jeff, my daughters Andrea and Gracie and my grandgirls Maddie and Chloe. I enjoyed a perfect weekend with the people I love. I hope you all had a beautiful weekend with your family. Love, Melissa
I am so thankful for my husband Jeff, my daughters Andrea and Gracie and my grandgirls Maddie and Chloe. I enjoyed a perfect weekend with the people I love. I hope you all had a beautiful weekend with your family. Love, Melissa
nature walks… pink bluffs at sunset… hand embroidered pillowcases… a walk downtown to dinner on the patio of a favorite pub… mushroom ravs… wedge salads… painted murals… a stroll on the cannon valley trail… vintage flour sacks turned table squares… vino… newly crocheted cabin blankets… and napping kitties. I hope you all had a wonderful weekend. Love, Melissa
sipping THIS TEA roasting THESE POTATOES pouring THIS NA MULLED CIDER for Gracie & Olivia nibbling THIS CHEESE and THIS CHEESE with baguette, vino, olives, pickles & crudite continuing to write my book… toasting country-style bread and frying up mushrooms for THIS CROSTINI wearing THIS PERFUME smelling THIS AWESOME CANDLE SCENT enjoying B&N chai tea lattes and a Mediterranean Orange Buca Cocktail noshing the Brickhouse KLIEWER PIZZA A tangy favorite with ham, artichokes, Greek olives, sauerkraut and red onions covered with mozzarella. I hope you all had a beautiful week. XO, ~Melissa
I’m back! Wow! what a fun weekend we had with the girls. Now I’m cleaning the house after the flurry of activity. On Saturday morning my brother Phillip dropped my darling daughter Andie off at our place for the weekend. He was spending the weekend with my other brother, Terry, who only lives a couple blocks away from me. I got up early so I could pack up a big “care package” for my brothers to enjoy over the weekend. I love to cook, and they love to eat, so it’s a great trade off. I made my split pea soup with ham (recipe coming soon!), spiced maple-oatmeal muffins, and another little Italian quiche. So much fun! They are happy to taste test my creations, which is actually...
tasting ~ a wonderful turkey sandwich loaded with veggies and creamery cheeses, cheesy tortilla soup, great wine, blueberry lavender chocolate, big breakfasts an easy cordon bleu with honey dijon sauce (find recipe below…) and…THIS AMAZING bread! Ya gotta make it. Ya just GOTTA! smelling ~ woodsmoke, fresh baked bread just out of the oven (I invented a new flavor…recipe coming soon) lavender-lily of the valley linen spray on everything that comes out of the dryer… (it’s tricking me into thinking it’s spring!) and a fragrant oolong tea! seeing ~ my girls and hubby at the breakfast and dinner table, the snow slowly melting feeling ~ the warm glow of the fireplace, yarn in my hands, and cuddly kitties by my side hearing ~ Sallie Ford “The Sound Inside” on...
valentine roses & champagne godiva chocolates butterfly line drawings by my dad silly kitten cherry berry treats (I had red velvet! of course!) walnut honey cream cheese bagel with orange marmalade for teatime! dried valentine roses I hope you’ve all been having a beautiful winter…. Much love, Melissa
Hello Friends! Happy Sunday. We made yet another fun-filled trip to Menards to get some stuff for working on the house and painting. I do not love this part of the process. I will be happy to have everything done. It really has been a wonderful weekend so far though. My daughter Andrea came into town on Thursday, and we got to spend all day Friday drinking tea and having a Vampire Diaries marathon. Yesterday Jeff and I hosted a birthday party for my bro…I made Chop Suey Sandwiches and my Carrot Cake Paradiso for the occasion. We enjoyed seeing my brothers and sister, kids, grand kids and nephew. I love a houseful of people! Today, after shopping and a bit of work, we’re headed outside to grill steaks!...
This past weekend we visited a new Red Wing establishment, the Red Wing Brewery. I love the feel of the place, very cozy, yet open and airy with lots of natural light. They offer a great lunch menu that’s always evolving. When we visited, Jeff and I shared a turkey sandwich with provolone served on Hanisch Bakery bread that’s made with the brewers hops used to create the beer! I thought this was a nice touch. Jeff enjoyed a mug of their German Chili, and I had a mug of the Minnesota Wild Rice Soup. Both were made in house, and very good. Gracie tried the pulled pork sandwich, and said it was the best she’d ever had. High praise since she’s tried a lot of different pulled pork...
A week of Valentine’s Treats ~ Day THREE! ~ A LOVE NOTES JAR! Today I made a jar of love notes for the hubby. I included coupons for hugs, kisses, back rubs, batches of cupcakes, movie dates, tea dates, lunch dates, candlelight dinners, morning walks, theater tickets, sunset viewings on the porch (with vino) and one romantic B&B weekend. I also included funny memories from the time we’ve been together, love quotes, and things that I love and appreciate about my guy. I sprinkled Raspberry Hershey’s “Hugs” in with the love notes, and I told Jeff that I’d replenish the chocolates a few times. He can pick a note from the jar once a week. This is a fun, romantic way to stay connected, and it’s and easy little...
I have three bags of chicken and turkey bones in the freezer so I’m making another pot of soup. This time, chicken noodle with the wide, yummy egg noodles. Jeff and Gracie demolished the last batch. I forgot to get carrots when we were at the grocery store yesterday, so I’m bundling up and walking up to our corner market for that and some good bread for sammys. I think I’ll take my camera and wide angle lens and see if I can finally capture some winter wonderland shots to share with you. Jeff made these delicious roasted cornish game hens for a fancy candlelight dinner at home last week, and I just love how they turned out. When he told me how he made them I was surprised...
