The Pink Veranda

    I felt very lucky today. I went with a friend to an annual rummage sale in town. It was a gigantic sale with tons and tons of  fabulous "things" for sale.  Hidden among a huge table filled with crystal, china and silverware was a single teaspoon tea infuser.  This lovely little silver plated spoon has found a new home with me and  it will be a welcome addition to my tea time. The end of the teaspoon is oval shaped, with ridges and a shape that sort of remind me of a walnut:) The tip of the spoon snaps open and this is where you place loose tea leaves.  It holds a perfect portion of tea for making a single cup. Perfection!  For when the little things in life can smooth the rough edges of a prickly day. Stir and steep, stir and steep.

I am organizing a birthday luncheon for a dear friend.  I am polishing the silver, bringing out the crystal and using my finest white linen.  I also thought it would be nice to have favors for all of my guests. Years ago someone gave me the book, A Guide to Elegance by Genevieve Antoine Dariaux.  I thought this book would be a nice gift for this occasion. I am tying the books with white bows and adding a vintage rhinestone brooch to each one for a little panache! Madame Dariaux wrote this little Tiffany blue book back in 1964, but the advice is timeless. This lovely pocket guide provides advice on fashion in a charming but straight forward manner. Advice that your mother may have taught you, but it doesn't hurt to be reminded. Elegance should always have a place in our lives and like birthdays should never be forgotten.

I love s'mores, but can you create the same chocolate, toasted gooey marshmallow flavor without a campfire? This easy recipe has 4 steps and 5 ingredients and the results have the same toasted marshmallow s'more taste that we love. The fudge center is rich and chocolatey and the graham cracker crust and marshmallow cream bring it all together to make a great s'more that you can make in your kitchen. No campfire needed :) 12- mini graham cracker pie crusts 2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips 1- 14 ounce can sweeten condensed milk 12- tablespoons marshmallow fluff 1/4 cup mini marshmallows Makes 12 Mini S'more Pies 1 . Place the chocolate chips and sweeten condensed milk in a pan and over low heat stir until chocolate chips have melted.  2. In each pie crust spread 1 small tablespoon of  marshmallow fluff on the bottom of each shell (add more if you like the marshmallow fluff). It will be sticky, you may have to use two spoons to g...

I need to make wine glass tags for a fall theme party where there will be lots of people and lots of wine glasses. My criteria for the tags are: they can't be too big, too expensive or too much in the way when you are trying to drink your wine.  I found a cute idea for the tags that fill all of my criteria. The leaf design is perfect. Small enough so it is not annoying when you are holding the glass, but not too small so there is enough space to write out a friend's name, and it fits the fall theme.  You only need four items to make the tags:   1. Leaf Paper Punch 2. Paper 3. Hole Punch 4. Charm Rings So simple! Leaf Punch The leaf punch that I bought is actually a grape leaf (fitting for a wine glass). I chose this type of leaf because it is wider compared to other paper punch leaf designs.  There's enough room to punch a hole on the side of the leaf and still room left to write a name. If you are interested I found the leaf...