-
Fourth of July Celebration Ideas
July 4th is one of the most enjoyable holidays because it comes with so few expectations and so many opportunities for creativity. Let this list be your guide for a stylish and tasty celebration. Make a Seasonal Barbecue Sauce: Inspired by summers on the Maine coast, this recipe relies on fresh blueberries to create a slightly sweet and smoky sauce in the style of Carolina barbecue. The vinegar-rich sauce celebrates flavors from along the East Coast. Wherever you are, it’s a tasty way to celebrate summer’s finest while adding delicious flavor to chicken and meat. Mix Plaid, Gingham, Stars and Stripes: Traditional red, white, and blue can be found on…
-
Labor Day Celebration Ideas
We have weeks of summer left, yet Labor Day signals a return of sorts. Little ones get tucked into their fluffy beds a bit earlier. Colleagues come back from their last beach vacation and quicken the pace of work. Even sunlight itself, which seemed endless some days, is meeting the streetlights while we watch. If summer is about ripening berries, September is about the few left to find, making Labor Day celebrations a time to savor what we cherish most about the season. As you entertain family and friends, or take a moment to relax, here are my tips on how to make the most of the holiday. Serve and…
-
Roasted Cherry Tomato and Corn Salad
Over the weekend I found some ripe cherry tomatoes, and my first thought was to pop them in the oven to intensify all that flavor. Even in the heart of summer, I don’t shy away from the oven. Some people prefer the slow tending of meat over a grill, but I prefer keeping a watchful eye over a sheet full of slowly collapsing tomatoes. As I popped each one off the vine, I thought of how my father would stop by just to search my overgrown plants for the tomatoes that were ready to be picked, and which I might have missed. Most of the time I didn’t even know…
-
Wake Up to Beach Style: A Coastal-Inspired Bedroom
After a restorative vacation, many of us wonder how to hold onto a relaxed feeling as we settle back into our daily routine. If you’ve vacationed near the coastline yet live farther inland, the contrast can be more than a little jarring. Salty ocean air and wave after wave of every blue imaginable promote calm in a way that many other settings just can’t match. Infusing the bedroom with coastal style goes a long way toward recapturing that vacation feeling, and it doesn’t have to involve a single nautical pattern. Instead of relying on themed accents, focus on updates that play to the senses to bring serenity and beachy vibes…
-
Strawberry Muffins
Cherished as a herald of summer, ripe local strawberries have long been a sign of the changing season. Their stains often match the deep pink color of evening sky outside the window while I bake. If you head outside on the right June evening, that sky will also feature the year’s Strawberry Moon, so-named by the Algonquin tribes who used the month’s full moon as a sign to gather plump wild strawberries. Enjoy the spectacle with one of these treats in hand, and eat one again the next morning. Every strawberry season needs a standout recipe that justifies another haul of fresh berries. Ingredients 1 cup chopped fresh strawberries 1…
food + love + creativity
