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“I’m a person who wants to pack as much as I can into this third chapter of my life! I say ‘no regrets’ as I launch myself into the next 30 years! My encore career is now as an inspirational culinary personality. My kitchen’s always got a stool you can pull up and hang out” ~Alice D’Antoni Phillips My beautiful friend, Alice, (who was a Master Chef contestant -season 2 with Christian Anthony) had an overabundance of rosemary and oregano in her prolific South Carolina herb garden. We’ve been chatting and getting to know each other on facebook over the last few months. She knows I live in crazy cold Minnesota and that my deck herb garden is only a distant memory. She generously sent me a BIG box...

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~ sweet potato casserole ~ The perfect side dish with turkey, ham or  THIS pork tenderloin. The yummy spices will make your whole house smell heavenly as you prepare for your guests. I love this kind of aromatherapy! 5 large sweet potatoes 1/3 cup honey or maple syrup 1 large egg 1 and 1/4 teaspoons cinnamon 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg 1/2 teaspoon ginger 1/8 teaspoon cloves 2 Tablespoons melted butter 1 cup pecans or walnuts 2 Tablespoons brown or turbinado sugar Poke holes in sweet potatoes with a fork and bake at 350 degrees F. until soft. (20-25 minutes.) Peel and place in a standing, tabletop mixture. Whip until smooth. Allow to rest for 10 minutes. Add honey, egg, spices and butter. Spread in a deep dish pie plate with...

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Happy Teatime Tuesday! Here’s a fun, easy and fairly inexpensive way to add romance to your bedroom! A beautiful place to enjoy breakfasts, candlelight dinners and afternoon tea with your significant other or friends. Here’s a happy teatime song to listen to while you sip your Earl Grey, Assam or Darjeeling! Enjoy! ~Melissa

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~ how to make sun tea~ “She had the brand of pragmatism that would find her the first brewing tea after Armageddon.” ~Clive Barker, Weave World Sun tea. I wonder what summer would be without it? Every day, without fail, I make a jar and set it on the deck to steep. Usually I do this as soon as I get up. Lately I’ve been setting out two so I have enough when Andie comes over after work to share teatime with me. This is one of my very favorite simple pleasures. Making sun tea is really easy, but there are a few basics you should know if you want to try it. 1.) Only make caffeinated tea into sun tea. Caffeine has special properties that kill off any...

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“Some people come into our lives and quickly go.  Some stay for a while, leave footprints on our hearts, and we are never, ever the same.”  ~Flavia Weedn Yesterday was the best kind of day. The kind of day when time sort if stops…and you get to spend a few stolen hours with one of your favorite people on the whole planet. Jana is one of these people for me. We had such a great time! We went to Trout Scream Cafe in Welch… photographs by Melissa Placzek I ordered the AMAZING blueberry pancakes with bacon…and a cup of tea… yummy! We visited the Hobgoblin & Stony End Harps Jana was looking for a glass flute. She told me a tidbit about this place that I had never heard...

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Here are a couple great articles on copyright and copyright law. Here and Here. If you are dealing with an internet “copycat” you should know your rights. ~Melissa

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photograph by Melissa Placzek Our thoughts and prayers are with you.

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I would like to thank my sweet friend and fellow blogger, Kristina Hunt, for featuring me and my little books on her blog Domesticated Gypsy. Kristina is one of the most authentic, and down to earth women I have ever met. I am awed and amazed by the wonderful, creative people that my book journey has brought across my path. The journey continues to humble and inspire me as I write the novel, and negotiate terms for my tea book (with a little west coast publishing house that must remain unnamed for the time being… but, we’re getting closer.)  Much Love, Melissa

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