Comments : 13

Hello friends and happy Sunday! First, I want to announce the winner of the ornament giveaway. Congratulations goes to-

It’s so hard to decide, but I really adore the staffordshire dog ornaments!

Please email us at [email protected] to provide your shipping info!

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Hoping by the time you are reading this I will have been able to escape to my happy place, Palmetto Bluff:) It’s been a while and there is no where on earth I would rather recharge my batteries in than there. Hope you are enjoying a wonderful weekend too:)

I am looking forward to getting away for a few days and unplugging for a bit, it’s been a lot of work lately and very little play as we prep and prepare for the bustling holiday season, many exciting new things coming this way! I am loving a touch of the beautiful fall weather we have had so far, though I am not looking forward one bit to winter. I guess I shouldn’t complain however considering what happened in Montana in the lat few days, crazy amounts of snow….in Sept to boot! No thank you, though I do love that first crips snowfall. OK, I am digressing, time to focus.

Onwards to this weeks Seven on Sunday…..

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1 TWO FABULOUS BOOKS YOUR BOOKSHELF NEEDS!!  What are the chances of getting in not one, but two truly remarkable entertaining books within a few days of each other. Hands down the two best entertaining/recipe books i have gotten in many years. Cannot sing the praises of these two books loud enough, just fabulous and the kind you will go back to over and over….

This first one was one I was anticipating, and before I could order, it was gifted to me by uber style setter Bettie Pardee, who hosted a book party for Ronda Carman. I was so upset to not be able to make it but getting this incredible book was the next best thing. I literally could not put this down, it’s one of those books. I read it cover to cover in one seating and loved seeing all of the amazing entertaining photos as well as the recipes. A MUST HAVE for any hostess, book collector and what a great gift! Click here to order yours.

 

And this one by Alex Hitz is one I kept hearing a lot of buzz about and now I understood why! Anything that includes monogrammed napkins, coconut cake, stylish tablescapes and an abundance of serving food on silver platters and dishes, won me over from the moment I turned to that first page!  Not to mention TONS of great recipes, many I will be trying over the upcoming holiday season. Seriouly this is one fabulous must have book, great gift idea too for the upcoming holiday season! The pictures certainly speak fo themselves…..Click here to orders yours.

 

2 AN AMAZINGLY GOOD CARROT CAKE RECIPE! Though I tend to eat healthy, like most I do have certain weaknesses. OK, well maybe more than a few. Give me a really good, dense, moist carrot cake and I am a happy girl. One reason I do not bake or make desserts is because it would be very hard to resist them. However about a week ago I had such a craving for a carrot cake and we were having an someone from out of town over for dinner,  so that was my excuse for making dessert, which doesn’t happen often:)

I had enjoyed a very very good one years ago baked by a friend, who shockingly revealed it was a Weight Watchers recipe, it was one of the best I had ever had. So I searched for that recipe and thankfully found it or at least one of the versions. I made a few modifications and one “secret ingredient”. I like a nutty, textured moist dense cake and this is exactly what this was…..good enough for breakfast! (and yes, I did that too). So happy there’ s no more left! Here is the recipe and my “secret ingredient” which gave it such a delicious, nutty texture to every bit..wish I didn’t love it so much:)

WEIGHT WATCHERS CARROT CAKE

Ingredients
  • 2 cups whole wheat all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 cup sugar (I used less than 1/4)
  • 1/2 cup brown sugar (did not add the brown sugar)
  • 2 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 1 tsp ground nutmeg
  • 2 tsp baking soda
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1/2 cup raisins
  • 1 egg
  • 2 egg whites
  • 2 1/2 cups shredded carrots
  • 1/2 cup applesauce
  • 1/3 cup light butter (melted)
  • 12 oz fat free cream cheese
  • 3 tbsp hot water
  • 5 oz Jet Puffed marshmallow creme 
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • MY SECRET INGREDIENT- Trader Joe’s mixed nut bag (poured about 1 and 1/2 cup into  my little cuisinart to grind up)

Instructions
  1. Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Spray 2 (9-inch) round cake pans with non-fat cooking spray (I used butter flavored Pam), line the bottoms with parchment or wax paper, and spray the paper with the nonstick spray.
  2. Combine the flour, both kinds of sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl.
  3. Whisk the egg substitute and egg whites in a large bowl. Add the carrots, applesauce, butter, and raisins, and hot water stirring until blended. With a rubber spatula, add the flour mixture to the carrot mixture, and stir until blended. Spread the batter evenly in the cake pans. Bake until the cakes are nicely browned and the center of each one bounces back when lightly pressed with a fingertip, approx 30-32 minutes. Let cool for 15 minutes. Remove the cakes from the pans, peel off the paper, and cool completely on racks.
  4. To make the frosting, with an electric mixer on medium-high speed, beat the remaining ingredients until smooth.
  5. Place on layer of cake on a cake plate, and using 1/2 cup of frosting, frost evenly out to edges. Place other layer of cake on top, and spread remaining frosting on top and on sides. Slice into 16 servings.

 

3 INSTAGRAMS OF INTEREST Never a shortage of Instagram inspiration, this weeks is starting to reveal more and more of the beautiful season of fall and I am loving every minute of it! Enjoy…..

 

 

4 FALL AROUND HERE I spent the last week adding touches of fall to my home, loving the new season and  you know how much I enjoy creating seasonally appropriate vignettes (even if I am late to the starting gate from time to time). Thanks to the beautiful magnolia of Weston Farms, I was able to create so many pretty new vignettes. Magnolia is a perfect fall accessory and so easy to use.

Click here to order magnolia from Weston Farms, to get the freshest cuts delivered right to your door!!

 

Cannot wait to hang this gorgeous wreath from Weston Farms!

Love this giant arrangement in my foyer of real magnolia from Weston Farms mixed in with faux and of course my blue and white porcelain pumpkins:)

My white mums are just starting to show color…..

 

5 INSPIRING STORY OF THE WEEK I just love this story, a friend brought it to my attention and I immediately wanted to share it. In the end I think it shows that most of us are really good people who will happily step up when needed to help those in need. I love this, definitely a feel good vibe” to start your day!

6 OUR NEW SPECTACULAR SWIZZLE STICKS! So as part of the fun collaboration with art talent Giddy Paperie and Acrylic Sticks, we are planning on rolling out a number of fabulous products. So, firsr it was the calendar and now the swizzle sticks. Seriously can you get over how cute these are!!

Makes me want to have a cocktail way before 5pm and to start planning a party just to use them!  And they are not only for cold beverages, yes they can be used with coffee and tea (anything up to 175 degrees)! Meant to wash and use over and over again, these are BPA free, made in the USA, the design is two sided and they come in packs of four.

The flash sale on these is going on now, click here (they will be in within 2 weeks just in time for holiday entertaining)!

They are two sided

 

7 SUNDAY’S SURVEY I always love to get your opinion on so many different subjects and always value your opinion. I have an app on my phone which tracks how much time I am on it and breaks it down to how much time is spent on various social channels, texting, etc….I am happy to say my time has gone down not up, and my kids spent way more time than I, which of course is not a surprise. The only real social media I go on is instagram, I am not a facebooker and Pinterest I do not visit as often but when  I do, it’s on my computer.

Did you know that as of 2019 according to Nielsen that the average person spends approx 4 hours on their phone daily? They say the average person spends approx 55 minutes texting in total a day.

I have to admit,  I do lot of texting as lets face it, it’s so easy and such a quick and efficient way to communicate. So here are some charts of popular social media platforms and the average time spent’

On the iPhone, under settings, there is something called Screen Time where they will break down how much time you spent, and specifically how much tie for each platform, social media, creativity, texting, etc…its a wealth of information!

 

Ok so now your turn, how much time do you think you spend between any social media and texting? I was happy to say I overestimated the time I spent and was pleasantly surprised it wasn’t “as bad” as I expected. But there were a few days when I was shocked that I had been on my phone over 4 hours total in a single day, it certainly makes you cognizant!  Nevertheless, having this app is interesting and certainly makes you aware!


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And that is a wrap! Hope you enjoyed my post, let me know if something here got your attention as I always love hearing from you! Wishing everyone a great day, and a relaxing end to your weekend. Has fall weather arrived where you are? We had a few cool, crisp days and I loved every minute of it! Hoping to get upstate next weekend to view the fall foliage, nothing quiet like it. Thanks for stopping in, until next time………

Also if you missed my post on my fun recap from my Hampton Magazine photo shoot yesterday, click here

PS Today and tomorrow in anticipation of fall arriving and the holiday entertaining season on our doorstep, ALL SILVER is 20% off! Many new items just came in including some of our best selling previously sold out chargers. Not a moment too soon to start planning those holiday tables! Click here to see our beautiful silver collection

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Entertaining At Home has my name on it. I look forward each Sunday to your post. It’s a time of curling up in my comfy chair and taking in all you have for those of us that follow you. I know whatever you chose to write about, or show us, it will be something positive or something beautiful. Enjoy your time in palmetto Bluff .

Thank you for the shout out on Ronda Carmens new book. I am thrilled to be included in this gorgeous publication. Each and every Sunday while I enjoy much needed rest with Breakfast in Bed, I look so forward to your Seven on Sunday… And, today what a surprise! You made my day!

your recipe in this article sounds delicious but reads a bit confusing. When do you add “the secret ingredient”? Is there a good chance you will be adding a print button to future recipes? They all sound excellent choices to try.

I so enjoy seeing Seven on Sunday SO very much! Thank you for this wonderful gift – along with all your other messages along the week.
Those Swizzle Sticks are just so cute! What a great idea – and lots of designs to choose from. I am so glad you added these to the “line up”.
BRING ON FALL!

Love those creative and different Swizzle Sticks! I’ve never seen anything quite like that before. And those book recommendations! Gotta get them! Happy Fall.

Justin Bieber is getting married in Palmetto Bluff on Monday. It may not be as quiet as you are hoping for. Any sightings?

Well, if you didn’t go and make me like white mums! After all these years of orange and yellow, I see why you love white. So clean. So pretty.

Tina,
I think the ginger jar swizzles are beautiful. Is it possible you could do them just in blue and white? No bow, gold bow, white bow…I’d love to use these in my bar. Love them!!!

So weird that you didn’t credit Acrylic Sticks as the actual maker of the swizzle sticks…. twice now.

That’s super disappointing— especially to the people who worked so hard on them

Thank you so much for the book suggestions…… I purchased both last week…. inspired!

Great post! Love your fall decor and so trying that carrot came, looks so good.

Thanks for the book recommendations, they both look so good.

Ordered my swizzle sticks, they are so cute!

You can use monk fruit sweetner in the cake which is equal in amount it is not going to cause blood sugar spike like sugar

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