Comments : 35

 

Hello and Happy Sunday to you. First order of business is to announce the lucky winner of the porcelain planter. Congratulations goes to-

#24 DANA

Please contact me at [email protected] so we can get your info and get this wonderful planter on it’s way!

___________

Hope you are having a wonderful weekend…Unfortunately this weekend there was a death my husbands family which is always a sad reminder of how precious life is. Makes me pause and reflect and of course to give thanks even for the smallest gifts. Onto my Seven on Sunday….

1 BIG NEWS!!! I am so excited and honored to have won JDR’S “Best Interior Design blog” award. I feel really humbled as I was in wonderful company and this is a huge honor indeed. Thank you to all who voted and thank you to JDR Industry for nominating me!! Click here to see all the winners!

2 FUN EARRINGS.I love fun earrings in colors like white and turquoise especially in the summer.  I tend to wear gold hoops or pearl studs for everyday dressing  but somehow in the warmer months, it’s fun to let loose and include some fun earrings in your warm weather wardrobe.

I discovered Sid + Sam via Instagram and couldn’t believe how reasonable everything was, makes trying a new style a no brainer. Click here to visit (if you don’t see the color you are looking for just email them). They are great at getting right back to you.

 

3 INSTAGRAMS OF INTEREST Never at a loss of beautiful inspiration to share. Here is this week’s round up!

And my fave this week is this picture because it is so unbelievably beautiful!

4 CALLING ALL DOWNTON ABBEY FANS! So exciting that there is an official Downton Abbey exhibition going on tour! This sounds so promising and exciting….you can sign up for info, not sure if the tour will include the U.S. (fingers crossed) but its worth signing up and staying tuned!  Click here for more info

5. BEST CHICKEN SALAD EVER! I discovered this recipe months ago and have been hooked ever since. Chicken salad like tuna salad is one of those things I will only eat in a few places. Chicken salad even more so. I will say this to me, is the best one I have ever eaten and whoever I have served it to has raved and insisted on the recipe too.

It is phenomenal with so many fantastic flavors.  I tweaked the original ever so slightly to make it super diet friendly,  and serve mine on a whole wheat wrap…yum yum!

Originally found the recipe How to Feed a Loon– check out this hysterical video of Kris and Wesley making it…..they make it so much fun

BEST EVER CHICKEN SALAD

  • 3 – 4 lbs of chicken parts (bone-in, skin-on thighs and breasts work well) (you’ll need about 3 to 4 cups of cooked chicken) I cut mine super small I use chicken boneless chicken breasts
  • 2 tablespoons quality olive oil
  • 1 cup of seedless grapes, sliced in half (red and green varieties are great)
  • 1 cup almonds, thinly sliced (optional) This is a must add, gives great texture
  • 2 celery ribs, chopped thinly
  • 3 scallions, thinly sliced, white and green parts
  • 2 tablespoons fresh dill, chopped ( I about doubled this as I love dill and it adds a lot to this)
  • 1 tablespoon fresh parsley, chopped
  • 1 cup mayonnaise (I USE 1/2 cup and 1/2 greek plain yogurt)
  • Juice of 1 lemon or more
  • 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
  • 1 teaspoon Kosher salt (start with ½ teaspoon, then add more, to taste)
  • Freshly ground pepper
  1. Pre-heat oven to 350 F.
  2. Rub oil all over the chicken pieces and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
  3. Bake for 35 to 45 minutes (internal temp should reach 165 F). .
  4. Remove the chicken, let cool, then pull the meat from the bones and roughly chop.
  5. In a large bowl, mix together the chicken, grapes, almonds, celery, scallions, dill & parsley
  6. In a small bowl, mix together the mayonnaise, lemon, mustard, salt and pepper.
  7. Add the mayonnaise mixture to the chicken mixture, and gently stir until will mixed.
  8. Refrigerate for at least an hour.
  9. Serve on a bed of green leaves with sliced tomatoes and avocado. Or, serve on bread with green leaf lettuce. Add more toppings to your taste!

6. A CHANNEL YOU WILL NEVER WANT TO CHANGE. So hold on all lovers of traditional home furnishings, there is a new You Tube channel, Classic Design Channel exclusively devoted to all things traditional and you are going to LOVE it. This channel has singlehandedly turned me into a You Tube watching devotee!

The channel goes the full gamut and steps inside spectacular traditional residences, shows you how to write a thank you note, shares recipes, covers Herend porcelain, visits England’s Bienheim Castle and recently was granted behind the scenes access for the first time to a Christie’s Auction…so many amazing shows, I think I have watched them all and eagerly await  the next one!

And here is an example of one of the shows-

Was so excited to have learned about it through Holly Holden, the creative genius behind it. Lots of exciting installments ahead that you will not want to miss! Click here to find out more and subscribe.

PS Her recipe for Southern Cheese Crispies is one I will be trying!

7 SUNDAY’S SURVEY Today’s post is about anxiety, something I think a lot of us know about. I admit that I suffer from it and find myself overanxious when it comes mostly to my kids.  I think a part of it is just being a parent, and I think some of it is conditional. I worry more than I have a right to (but do think it’s under control)  and it is incredible how much it can affect your mind, body and soul. It can really take over if you let it.

I am not one to want to take meds so am trying a more holistic approach to getting hold of my anxiety. When I feel anxiety rising in me, I remind myself that at this very moment as far as I know everything is fine and well and I make a conscious effort to focus on something positive and uplifting instead of the “what it’s” which is a pointless waste of energy.

I am determined to win my battle over anxiety meds free. I have friends who do yoga, acupuncture, some who go to therapy and plenty who take traditional anxiety meds when needed. Recently at my blogging lunch heard about an app called Mindspace and the suggestion of trying Holy basil. Admittedly never heard of Holy Basil but am totally willing to give it a shot! Click here to read about Holy Basil and here to find out more about Headspace. Both interesting alternatives which I am exploring.

What say you on the matter of anxiety?

So there you have my Seven on Sunday for today. Wishing everyone a wonderful day and great end to your weekend. Thank you as always for stopping in and making me a part of your Sunday!

Save

Save

Save

Save

Save

Save

Leave a Reply to Dianne Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

You have mastered blogging and interior design, why not try your hand at a cook book? Your recipes are always amazing and very do-able. Please consider putting all that deliciousness into one place. We would be so grateful!

The chicken salad looks yummy, especially good as I have half a cold chicken left over from last night in the fridge, so this timing was perfect! I love browsing through all the new Instagrams you suggest, there is so much incredible talent out there and it’s rather fun to be able to spend a few minutes here and there scrolling through just looking at the fantastic photos and getting so many ideas on everything from food to interior design, fashion, well absolutely anything! Have a great Sunday x

Congratulations on your award. Very, very well deserved.
I love Holly Holden. Look forward to her every post.
Thank you for the chicken salad recipe. Looking forward to trying it.
Enjoy your day.

Congratulations on your award! Your blog is very interesting & varied. The chicken salad sounds fabulous. Have a lovely Sunday.

Congratulations on your award, Tina. You deserve it. I look forward to reading your blog because I know I’m going to see classy decor and new ideas. I’m looking forward to trying your chicken salad recipe.

Another fun post. Congratulations on your well deserved award, your blog is about the only one I follow religiously. I also really like how you vary your subjects, always something interesting. So excited about The Downton Abbey exhibition, my all time favorite show. Thanks for recipe, look so delicious and I love adding dill to just about anything and grow it in my garden. Now going to go check out that You Tube channel, looks very interesting. Sorry about the death in your husbands family. Hope you have a relaxing Sunday ahead.

My deepest sympathy on the death of a family member.
Congratulations on winning the award. Well deserved!
The chicken salad looks amazing. I love chicken salad and I am always on the look-out for new recipes. Thanks!

What a full post! First, I copied the chicken salad recipe and can’t wait to try it. Secondly, I just came back from a trip to the Classic Design Channel and a visit to Scully and Scully. What fun. Thanks for that. Congratulations on your win. You deserve it.

Please know a prayer has been said for your family member; I am sure your family’s hearts are heavy this weekend. I am sure you are all holding on to one another in thought and prayer. Many many congratulations on your well deserved win!! You have many people clapping away from you around the globe! Your chicken salad does look délicieux! Will try very soon. Take care and have a wonderful week!

So funny.. There was so much fun stuff to read on this morning’s Seven on Sunday that it actually gave me a twinge of anxiety…Then I scrolled further and there was the poll..Ahhh. Maybe its more butterflies! I always look forward to receiving your Sunday posts, Tina!

Deepest sympathy for your family’s loss.
Congratulations on your well deserved win.
Life’s bitter with the sweet…

Have a good week.

Thank you for sharing Holly’s YouTube channel-I’m hooked!!! Also, once you decide which Holy Basil supplement to try, would you let us know? I have a family member who suffers from anxiety & I’ve never heard of this so I’m going to research it. I know you have to be careful to get just the right supplement. Thanks again & good luck!!

Ohmygoodness, Classic Design Channel has me hooked! I have found so many great design resources from your blog over the past few years and thank you for always sharing the best of the best!

Prayers going up for your husband’s family. Life is so fragile, cherish every memory.
Congratulations on your award! I follow very few blogs, but I never miss yours! You’ve helped me create a more beautiful space for myself and my family. Thanks for reminding us it’s not just about “things.”
Great minds think alike, because that’s my Chicken Salad Recipe too!!! The recipe, handed down by my mother. My husband begs me to make it! Sometimes I switch out the dill for tarragon.
Make it a wonderful week <3

Deepest sympathy to you and your husband’s family on your loss. ……….Congratulations on winning the design blog award, you deserve it. I’m definitely going to try the chix salad recipe but I’m not into dill at all so may substitute a tiny, tiny pinch of curry. Thank you so much for the youtube traditional channel recommendation. I so miss the original design shows like Joe Ruggiero, Chris Madden, etc. I will check it out. ….Whenever I am truly so anxious it starts to affect my well-being at the moment, my friends and I adopted this approach, “Stop, Think, Thank”. We start thanking God, we don’t necessarily say a specific thing, but just start thanking him for being in this with us, for always being there, for seeing us, for loving us and helping us. It seems to level us and get us back to taking on whatever is confronting us. Wishing you well.

Congratulations on your award, not surprised one bit you won, you deserve it! What a great channel, The Classic Design channel is, thank you so much for the introduction.

Don’t even get me started on anxiety, grew up with two very anxious parents and I have turned into them. Thank God for pilates and Xanax! Only take it when I need it but it is a wonder pill. Having 2 kids in college in California (we are in Boston) heightens my anxiety and now my youngest daughter is heading to Texas for school. Just part of being a parent though some handle it better than others. Pilates has helped center and calm me, you may want to try it.
Excited to try your chicken recipe, the video is a hoot.

Thanks for always giving us so many great leads to many wonderful things. I am sorry for the loss in your family, sending a cyber hug across the miles.

My warmest congratulations on your Best Interior Design Blog Award. Those of us who follow you agree that you are most deserving! We have been made aware of bargains and beauty, health, humor and hospitality through the pages of your blog. Do not think for a minute that your investment of time, energy and self goes unnoticed. You are appreciated!
My life has often been a wreck gone unseen even by those who know me best. And don’t we become quite the masters of internalizing and camouflaging our anxieties and fears! And now, as I get older, I have found a level of contentment I never thought was possible. Anxious thoughts occasionally come and go, but they never stay and take up residence. Many now turn to me as a calming influence! If only they knew. 3 things: 1. We are born with these nervous systems – it is what it is and not an inherent weakness. 2. We can indeed turn all our concerns (and control issues) over to God. He is always there, and we have but to reach out and ask him into our hearts and lives. 3. When the anxiety spriral has you in its grip, take the meds just long enough to break the cycle. Relief is available, and you don’t have to live like that. Then resume or launch into the methods that best center and bring contentment to your life.
I’m going to try your chicken salad version: Dijon instead of yellow, scallions and more dill, but I will have to stay with 100% Dukes’s mayo! Have a wonderful week.

That’s my kind of chicken salad!! Quite Southern, in fact, whereas “out here” the trend is large strips of chicken laid over large hunks of lettuce, with “bird seed” (or so I assumed for years; they actually were sunflower seeds!). No mayo at all.

In today’s blog, I enjoyed seeing the juxtaposition of Old South with what I call New South in home architecture. I can’t say which I prefer because they’re both beautiful in its own way.

That’s my kind of chicken salad!! Quite Southern, in fact, whereas “out here” the trend is large strips of chicken laid over large hunks of lettuce, with “bird seed” (or so I assumed for years; they actually were sunflower seeds!). No mayo at all.

In today’s blog, I enjoyed seeing the juxtaposition of Old South with what I call New South in home architecture. I can’t say which I prefer because they’re both beautiful in its own way.

Hearty congrats on winning the design blog award. What an amazing accomplishment that is well deserved. You must have been over-the-moon thrilled when you heard! Thanks for the heads up on the Downton Abbey exhibit, as I’m a huge fan going through withdrawls since it ended. Your chicken salad looks amazing. I’ll be making it soon for sure. Have a lovely day.

Congratulations on your blog award!

A tip for dealing with anxiety w/o meds: I know Katie from Preppy Empty Nester was a guest at your recent luncheon. Recently she posted a note about Dr. Andrew Weil’s breating technique, 4 – 7 – 8 breaths. You can go on his post to see this illustrated. I had heard about this months before seeing it again on Kaite’s post & it really works! My husband & I have been doing this for a few months & found it very helpful to fall asleep & help de-stress. We do this twice a day & if I am feeling especially stressed with work, etc., I do this or Mindfulness Meditation which also helps. You can do this even if you are out running arrands: in the car, in a quiet restroom, etc. I also do yoga & find gardening to be very stress reducing, but doing deep breathing, Mindfulness Meditation (lots of websites on this) or the 4 – 7 -8 breaths is so easy! Good luck!!

WOOOHOOOOO! Congrats, Tina. I knew you would win! You deserve it. I love chicken salad and forwarded the recipe on to the Mister. I am going to tune into that youtube channel. I got addicted to one channel where the lady puts on makeup and tells everyone that they can look like her. I couldn’t stop watching it. BTW my daughter sent me a text that Cameron is pregnant with a baby girl. Remember, you heard it here first. As far as anxiety goes, I’m a basket case. I just read the comment above from Kathy. I am so glad that Dr. Weil has helped her, but more importantly, I’m glad she reads my blog! More than I can say for my family!!

Congrats on the award. You definitely deserved it. Always look forward to your posts. And thanks for introducing me to the vid o. Can’t wait to see more..life is a roller coaster….yours is from one extreme to another…breathe deep,walk,and meditation help me…so sorry about your family loss..yes life is precious and so short…going to try chicken salad recipe..as a southerner,we are picky about our chicken salad..I use a bit of durkees spread,not too much..adds a great flavor. BTW love my new blue and white pieces that arrived this week❤️❤️❤️

I have much to say about anxiety. Thank goodness mine is under control at the moment, but I have compassion for those who battle. Daily meditation helps me and for periods of time I have taken meds. My own journey has taught me that pushing through it–even dropping through it when it feels as though I’m in a dark pit of despair–and even traveling in the direction of my fear can help. How? Maybe a mix of brain science and mystery. The more we can bring our fears into the open and not keep them hidden from the light, the better. I say this as a sufferer and a master’s level counselor. If you have not tried it yet, take reflexology for a spin. I give treatments to other people now after years of being on the receiving end, and it is remarkably effective for a variety of ills including anxiety. If you lived in the heartland, I’d be right over to help, sister! xox

A well deserved honor!! You “bloggers” put so much effort into your presentations…we DO appreciate and learn so much from all your talent. franki

Tina, my condolences on the loss of your fa.ily member. A big congratulations on the design award! I have a question about Classic Design channel. Is this Dish network channel? I wayched some of tje YouTube videos. Now I want Holly Holden’s book also. Thanks for sharing.

Hi Tina, I hope you had a relaxing weekend! I am sorry to hear that you had a death in the family – keep all of you in my thoughts and prayers. Congratulations on your big award – it is definitely deserved!! Thanks for sharing all the goodies today. Hugs!!

Congratulations on winning such a prestigious award, what a honor it must be for you to be selected the BEST. I truly loved your Sunday at Seven this week, the video for the Children Salad Recipe was hilarious. The recipe is almost identical to my mom’s recipe for it. It’s really yummy!! I’m truly sorry for your family’s loss this past week, my mother-in-law passed away this week as well. Life is so precious, we need to savor every moment with our family and friends. Never miss a moment to tell someone how much you care for them and love them, life is too short, we need to cherish every moment. Have a great week!

My husband and I have returned again and again to Hotel Caron de Beaumarchais in Paris. The owner, M. Alain Bigeard, delights in showing guests the beautiful antiques and paintings in each of the guest rooms. I highly recommend this charming boutique hotel and the staff.

Tina, I take Holy Basil occasionally now but I first started using it at a very stressful time in my life. Someone very dear to me passed away and it altered my life significantly. I don’t take medications, and use only natural products. The Holy Basil along with other natural products kept me calm and I never experienced anxiety through that trial. The brand I buy is from New Chapter and my Chiropractor buys it for me, although you can now find NewChapter in some Health Food stores. Having said that, for me there is no more reassuring and calming effect than praying and staying close to God. He is our comfort, healer and friend – always.

I hope you find peace and thank you for a beautiful post.

Congratulations on your award! Your site features a wonderful variety of ideas for the home – design, tablescapes, party ideas, recipes, and on and on. You truly do show us the path to an “enchanted home”!

I love fun big earrings {as long as they don’t weight too much}, such a quick easy way to spice up an outfit. Lovvve your chicken salad recipe, I think I’ll use tarragon in place of dill, but can’t wait to try. I treat my anxiety with vino!! xo, ebh

The luncheon you hosted was reviewed by the preppy empty nestor in her blog. I would like to know the manufacturer of your beautiful soup toureens that were used. Your table was absolutely gorgeous….thanks much.

Join the World of the Enchanted Home!

Subscribe

Instagram

Designed and Developed by BNV Digital Marketing