Hi friends, first order of business is to announce the lucky silver winner. Congratulations goes to-

#109 ALICIA MOSKAL

Please email us at [email protected] to provide your shipping address so your prize can be on it’s way.

So how is your weekend going? Here busy one, celebrated my middle son’s  birthday, had a lovely dinner out last night at a yacht club where the theme was A night in Tuscany. They had wonderful opera singers and boy to be able to sing like that! Today headed to a Yankees game, yes you heard right- me going to a baseball game. I cannot say I am a baseball fan however my husband got the tickets for all of us so off we go………

Anyway here we go with my Seven on Sunday-

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1 ONE AMAZING WEDDING PLANNER Tara Guerard to me, epitomizes what a truly elegant southern wedding should look like. Though her talents take her all over the country, seems most of her work is in the south. She is definitely considered to be a grand dame of southern weddings. It’s all about the details and hers are exactly my style. Take a look and click here to see more of her amazing work.

 

2 TWO RECIPES I FORGOT HOW MUCH I LOVE Had guests over for lunch twice in the last few weeks, so. made this menu both times…….it’s that good! To me, what I served was a perfect luncheon menu. Fennel/radish/celery salad, chicken salad with assorted breads and a delicious lentil soup. Healthy but super flavorful.

I have shared these two recipes before however it warranted sharing again in case you missed it. The chicken salad has been named “best ever dill chicken salad” becaue to me it really is the best I have ever had. The dill is really what kicks up the flavor and it is delish!

You can serve this also on a bed of lettuce, with crisp crackers, any kind of bread or even as a wrap (which is typically how I have eaten it). The salad is so tasty, the Parmesan adds a nice flavor,  it’s light and pairs so well with so many other things.  Both definitely worth trying and these make the perfect “ladies lunch” menu!

Best ever dill 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). OR you can boil chicken in lightly salted water
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!

Shaved Fennel and radish salad with Parmigiano

1 bulb fennel (cored and thinly sliced)

5 radishes (very thinly sliced)

3 tbsp of extra virgin olive oil

3 thinly sliced celery stalks

A few fronds (the green stalky part) of the fennel for garnish

2 tablespoons of lemon juice (I use the juice of a whole lemon)

2 teaspoons whole grain mustard (I  do not use mustard but the original recipe called for it, I perfer without)

Sea salt and fresh ground pepper

1/4 cup fresh Parmesan (shaved into flakes, use a potato peeler on a fresh wedge of Parmesan)

DIRECTIONS-

Using a mandolin shave the fennel, celery and radish. Put aside, use a little sea salt and pepper to season. Add olive oil, Parmesan, mustard (I do not use the mustard but it is an option) and lemon juice to a jar or container and shake well. Dress salad just when ready to eat and then top generously with Parmesan flakes. You can also add grilled shrimp or grilled chicken on top to make it more of a “meal”. You can thank me later….this is soooo good!

Prepping in the kitchen

Dill chicken salad above

The yummy fennel salad

Both being put respectively into their blue and white serving dishes (did you expect anything else)!

3 EXCITING NEW PRODUCTS!  When there are new products to share- you are the very first to know. There is A LOT coming in over the next few months and I am giddy about all of it .

I am madly in love with these new lamps. Two will be used in my bedroom right away and one in my living room. Super stylish, traditional with a modern/current twist!

 

THE HURRICANES ARE COMING! So when I featured these about 3 or 4  weeks ago I got so many inquires about them- well,  I am excited to announce they will be here in about 8 days and I am counting down the minutes until they arrive! There will be two styles to start in two sizes. We are still putting the finishing touches on the Greek key (left) hurricane but the original floral (not shown) and leaf etched (right) will be available in about week or so. Be on the lookout for a special offer on these as well as the etched cake plate/dome.

There was no time for a presale but we will be offering them up for a special 3 day arrivals sale sometime next week. So do stay tuned. We have a total off three new styles, just  so thrilled with each and every one of them. These are not the professional pictures but certainly gives you the idea!

There is much more so stay tuned!

 

4 MY GORGEOUS DELPHINIUMS When I set out to the flower market about a week or so ago, one of the flowers I had gone to buy was delphiniums. A flowers that is not only gorgeous but offers such drama and real impact.

Sadly they were at the end of the season and there was very little left and they didn’t look great enough to buy. So……I sourced them from one of my floral manufacturers and could not have been happier:)

Nice thing about these is that they will always look this good:) I am very discerning when it comes to using faux flowers and admittedly there is nothing like fresh, but this is an awfully close contender! These are now also on the site (click here). All you need is a great vase and you have an instantly fabulous arrangement for spring! Click here to see them.

Then for fun wanted to see how they looked in. my dining room aka my experimental lab and love them there too!

They are offered in three colors (the purple was out when I ordered but now back in stock which I am definitely getting) Click here to see

5 INSTAGRAMS OF INTEREST Sometimes even I am amazed by the beauty I find week to week. There really is so much beauty and inspiration you just need to find it:) Hope you enjoy this weeks roundup, random and beautiful!

 

6. INSPIRING VIDEO OF THE WEEK I love this, next time I tell myself I can’t do something I am going to think about Fauja Singh. Miraculously this 100 year old, yes that’s right, 100 is still running marathons! He runs 4 hours a day. This to me, says your mind is more powerful than many of us give it credit for. The willpower, determination and sheer will to do this is awe inspiring. At 100, still running a marathon is not something you hear about every day!

 

7. SUNDAY’S SURVEY This is all about recyclable  bags for the market. I got on this bandwagon about 6 months ago. I was so bad though at remembering to put the bags back in my car, but finally have gotten used to it and make sure there are some always there.

It honestly makes packing bags up at the market sooo much easier. I would have an anxiety attack trying to load things up into those tissue thin plastic bags, not to mention them most important reason to use them-  that plastic bags really are not good for our environment. So which statement best describes you and reusable shopping bags? I always wonder if people en masse are using them.

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And there you have my Seven on Sunday for this weekend. Hope you enjoyed it and if there is anything that got your attention, I always love to hear about it. Thanks as always for stopping in, wishing you a beautiful day and great end to your weekend. Go Yankees:)

PS Do not forget about our Tablescape Love contest! We just announced it and are now accepting your pictures and already have gotten in some amazing contenders!
Click here for the details…….