July 4th is always a wonderful time of getting together with friends and entertaining and that’s always a great excuse for making things beautiful. Here are links to help make your holiday festive & fun:

Red, White & Blue Desserts
All American Party

July Fourth Recipes

A Declaration of Desserts

Decorations for July 4th

Decorating Independence Style

Memorial Day weekend is the unofficial start to summer on my calendar and summer means F-U-N!

We have relatively so few days of good weather here on the North Coast that I like to make the most of them while they are around. This weekend, for example, was one of those rare instances when we had great weather for a holiday weekend. That basically never happens! So over the weekend Mr. DH and I planned an “outdoor movie night”.

We took the flatscreen TV with a build-in DVD player that I bought at Wal-Mart a couple of years ago and hooked it up so we could watch a movie outside under the stars. I  brought out a long outdoor extension cord and sat the TV on a milk crate. Then I inflated a queen-size air matress and we were ready for some hot fun in the summertime!!

Now, I can’t say that Mr. DH was all that keen on the idea at first – he thought it was going to be “so much work. Can’t we just watch a movie inside?” I stuck to my “we are going to have fun” guns and set things up outside and in the end, he was happy I did. Afterwards, we laid on our back and studied the stars. We were surprised to discover the Big Dipper ended at our chimney. Who knew?

I’d love for you to share some of your “hot-fun-in-the-summertime” ideas so we can all make 2010 the best summer ever! (Here’s a link to the song HFITS. Enjoy!)

Night sky photo from Flickr.

Spring continues to tease us here on the North Coast. Some days are sunny and warm while other days it feels like winter’s back again. I know that as we creep closer to May and June, we will soon be enjoying days that will entice us to live alfresco style. 

Al·fres·co: \al-ˈfres-(ˌ)kō\ adjective or adverb. Italian 1753 - taking place or located in the open air : outdoor, outdoors <an alfresco lunch> <an alfresco café> <dining alfresco>

Living outdoors, enjoying the fresh air and warm days, is such a wonderful treat. Here in NE Ohio, we only have a few precious months to even consider alfresco living. The question is how can we best take advantage of  “Alfresco Season?” I think for me the key is to create designated spaces/rooms.

We have a large deck that runs the length of the back of the house. Mr. DH and I have talked about creating zones on the deck – the grill zone – that’s his space ;o). Then there is the sun soaking zone – that’s where we can lay out and catch the sun. Lastly there is the entertainment zone – that’s where we want to set up some outdoor chairs/sofa. These spaces will help up make the most of the long deck that has pretty much gone unused since we moved to our Cottage In the Woods 2.5 years ago.

This photo from Better Homes & Gardens inspires me. It’s simple but beautiful. I love the muted tones of the setting and the striped table cloth.

We don’t have space for a large 9 or 11-foot umbrella on our deck but I found these great little 5-foot ones at Cost Plus World Market.  I have been buying these for the last couple of summers. The umbrellas are $59.99 each and the stand is $29.99. I typically buy a new umbrella each year because they do fade and can get mold spots {even though they are made of mold-resistant fabric.} For under $100 this umbrella an pull together your alfresco dining area. Love it!

I will admit that the one things I don’t like about alfresco living is the dust and dirt! I swear, my alfresco spaces, take way more effort to keep clean than the ones inside! However, since it’s just for a little while, I think it is worth the effort.

So I’m wondering, any of you out there in cyberspace looking forward to Alfresco Season? What are your plans for taking advantage of living outdoors?

We all know and love Pottery Barn {PB} for their amazingly wonderful and seemingly ubiquitious items for dressing our nests, but did you know PB can also help you plan an awesome party and makes some of their cool props available?

Yes, the “Pottery Barn Prop Shop” is located under the Accessories & Pillows menu. You can get cool things like their jute rope and burlap basket inserts and a whole lot more.

Another neat resouce on the PB website is party planning. Now that the snow and cold have left most of us,  we’ll be hosting gatherings of family and friends over the next many months. You can find some great party planning ideas located under PB’s  Tabletop Menu. Look along the left side under Ideas & Inspiration – you’ll see Party Planner – click that.

There are 10 party themes that PB has created and provided in-depth resources and how to’s. In addition to the wonderful eye candy we always get from PB, each party theme/idea comes with how-to videos, free downloadable invitations, and even an itunes playlist to help ensure the perfect ambiance! PB also has created articles on each of the themes for a simple “how-to guide”. Here’s there step-by-step on how to create a summer BBQ. This link opens a PDF.

Of course, all these ideas showcases PB’s great stuff as they want us to buy it all, but I think they are great spring boards for ideas. Sometimes you need a little inspiration and that’s what I love about these resources. We can use what we have to make our own version of the PB party themes.  Enjoy!

** UPDATE: February 6, 2010: This recipe won first place at our church “souper bowl” soup cook off today! And,  I got 100% of the under age six vote!

Here on the North Coast we are buried in the white stuff {with MORE to come!} It’s January so it’s to be expected. We are just hunkering in. I’m getting lots of snuggle time with hubby!

I thought I’d share one of my favorite soup recipes that’s just perfect for keeping warm on these cold, snowy days – Creamy Tomato Tortellini Soup. I served this at our Open House party and it was a huge hit – especially with the little kids!

Creamy Tomato Tortellini Soup
Serves 4

INGREDIENTS
1 package (9 ounces) BUITONI Refrigerated Three Cheese Tortellini, {if there is such a thing as mini cheese tortellini, I would use those. Makes it easier for kids to eat.}
1 can (10 3/4 fluid ounces) condensed Cambell’s tomato bisque soup
1 15 oz. can tomato sauce
2 soup cans, half and half
Chopped fresh  basil to taste  (I use one, 2/3 oz. package I buy in the produce department)

COMBINE soup, sauce and half and half in medium saucepan. {If you don’t have half and half, I have used milk and it comes out just fine.} Bring to a boil over medium heat; reduce heat.

Bring a pot of water to boil – add tortellini. Cook until just tender. Drain. Stir tortellini and basil into soup mixture and cook 15 minutes more before serving.  Serve with grilled cheese & sliced apples. Enjoy!

For our open house last Sunday, I wanted to line the driveway with luminaries but buying them can get expensive! So, I made my own – very simple and easy – using canning jars!

I just poured epsom salt into the jars {it’s so cheap and easy to find – plus, you can use it later in the bath when you are soaking your tired bod!} Just a couple of inches of salt into the bottoms is enough to nestle a tea candle.

Using a pair of tongs, I placed the white tea candle into the jar and once it was centered, I gently pressed it into the salt. We used a butane lighter to reach into the jar to light the candles and then placed the jars down the drive.

When I was working on these in the kitchen just a couple hours before the party, hubby saw me and said, “NOW what are you doing?” {Ummm, I don’t think he always immediately appreciates the little touches I do to try and make a get together special.} However, when it was all pulled together, he thanked me for all the special touches I added to make it such a nice evening}.

This isn’t a great picture but here are our flickering canning jar luminaries that lined the driveway. {We placed them on the ground just off the drive for less chance of anyone running over them with a car.} I am happy to report that all 12 survived and will live to see another party!

{BTW, the luminaries are the glowing lights near the ground. The glowing things higher are our snow reflectors – they are standing guard for the 100+ feet of snow we typically get each winter!}

I’m sorry I have been MIA for a week or so. We were at Disney World celebrating our anniversary {and getting a huge dose of Christmas inspiration!}

We are back and tonight is our  Christmas Open House – I am SO not ready! Still trying to clean and deck the halls plus I have soup to make!

As I try to pull it all together, I snapped a few photos of my party favors. I’m giving each family three vials of hot cocoa.

I found this wonderful idea at The Inspired Bride – Maddie is so creative! While she created these hot cocoa vials as favors for a winter wedding, I think they will be perfect as favors for guests at our Christmas Open House!

I have coordinated my ribbon and tags with the invitation - yes, I’m a little OCD  when it comes to that kind of stuff. I like to take the theme from start to finish.

Maddie gives full instructions on how to make these and where to buy the vials. I made up my own cocoa mix so that you use one vial to 6 oz. of milk.

Here’s a closeup of the wraps I made. The bottom layer is wrapping paper.  I ran doublestick tape down the middle of the paper wrap to secure it to the vials. That really secures the entire pyrimad.

The next layer is a 2″ plaid wired ribbon. The top ribbon is a 5/8″ brown snowflake grosgrain.

I used twine to attach the tags I made. I’ll put each bundle into a simple red paper bag. I tied a bronze jingle bell to the handle and affixed a lable to it that says, “Merry Christmas from The Kresnyes.”

There is something about fall that makes me nestle into the kitchen.

I’ve made several batches of various chili recipes this past month since we’ve had such a cold, rainy fall. When my November issue of Southern Living magazine arrived today, I marked several dishes that look interesting to try.

Today I found this wonderful looking lemon poppy seed cookie recipe from Food Blogga.

With the holidays just around the corner, I think these would be a nice contribution to a cookie exchange. Do you do cookie exchanges??

Please post links to your favorite cookie recipe so we can get a head start on the holidays.