Happy May

Happy May !

May is so beautiful as everything begins to bloom - and this month always reminds me of lilacs in bloom.   As a young girl in a Catholic Elementary school May was the "month of Mary" and each classroom had a "May Altar".   It was the custom to bring flowers to decorate the altar as mentioned in the lyrics to this hymn "Bring Flowers of the Rarest"

I can still close my eyes and smell the lilacs on the May Altar, the long window shades flapping in the breeze, and the anticipation of May Crowning - when the statue of Mary would be crowned with flowers.  They are happy memories...so when creating a wreath for the month of May it had to be a lilac theme.

Of course...May is also the time for Cinco de Mayo - and since we were having guests close to the date I decided to do a Mexican themed table and make Chicken Santa Fe for dinner.

For my centerpiece I used a rattan tray I had from Target, a colorful plate from my collection, flowers placed in a pot that a friend made back in 1975 when we were in college, my repurposed/spray painted candlesticks ( one on a custard cup as a riser), a maraca that I had since high school - LOL - and the little figurine that was a gift from the guests we were having for dinner.

 I used natural color place mats topped with colorful flower and butterfly mats.  Plain white dishes, red salad plates, and mixed up the colors of the napkins.   The small glasses were for margaritas and the blue stemmed glasses held water.  All glasses were in my collection and purchase at Dollar Tree.

I thought it looked good for a fun dinner with friends.  I did not remember to take a photo of the Chicken Santa Fe....but it looked great in a blue and tan baking dish.  I am still new to this blogging world and have to remember to take more photos of the preparation...and the recipes!   We topped the chicken/corn/black beans/salsa and rice with avocado chunks, sour cream, and crushed tortilla chips.   A simple salad of mixed greens with strawberries and mandarin oranges and crusty bread filled out the menu.  For dessert...banana layer cake with cream cheese frosting, walnuts, and banana chips - yum!  But the best part was sharing a great visit with old friends!

So - do you celebrate Cinco de Mayo ?   What do you do to make the occasion special?  Any memories of Parochial School and May ?  

Please leave a comment - I would love to hear from you!

Enjoy the "merry month of MAY"!!! 

April Showers!

April Showers!

Well, Spring has finally arrived here is Pennsylvania!  Yesterday and today have been lovely - though a little TOO warm with temps going into the 80's.   That is how it happens sometimes...we go right from winter into summer.   Tomorrow the very warm weather goes away and the forecast is for a very rainy couple of days ahead.   The perfect time to take away the Easter wreath from the door and get ready for April Showers.   This was a simply decoration to put together - I found the spring green umbrella at Dollar Tree and picked up some spring flowers there, too.   A piece of ribbon from my leftover crafts and it was ready to go.   I love the way it hangs perfectly in the center of our door...but don't like that it covers the peephole.  But, since we are in an apartment now it really does not matter as we usually know who is at our door.  We have been loving apartment living and all the new friends we have made!

Once the warmer weather showed up it was time to "lighten up" the pillows and decor in our living area.   I found this end of a bolt at JoAnn Fabrics and it contained all the colors to pull together our furniture and look lighter for Spring and Summer.  I had to work around this end of the bolt, but I got it at a good price and I knew I could make it work.  

I was able to pair it up with this navy blue fabric - still have some of this left over from when we bought the chair and ottoman in 1993!   This fabric covers the dining chairs, too.   

By using the navy scraps as the back of the pillows I was able to make a few pillows and a nice sized table scarf out of the fabric.

 I like the way the table looks light and airy - and I love having a table with a cloth there to hide the floor outlet and be a hiding place for anything else I don't know where to put!

 Here is the long loved navy chair and ottoman...I switched out the dark brown pillows for Spring green to pull everything together.

Still not sure of the pillows on the sofa...and in moving things around and getting the screen patio ready for the season I moved some plants outside...which made some space inside.   Moved one of the dining arm chairs to a corner near the window and am living with it until I see how we like it there.   So far, so good - and I am thinking I have just enough fabric left to make a pillow for that, too.   A project for next week - as we have been sick with a cold/flu? and are just starting to feel better and back to normal.

Do you change your decor for the seasons or keep it the same all year ?  Let me know and post a comment below - I would love to hear from you !  Until then, enjoy the April showers wherever you are...even if they are SNOW SHOWERS!

Thanks for stopping by Our New Vista!

Easter and Spring !

After what was the last (hopefully!) snow of this winter it was time to get Our New Vista decorated for Easter and Spring.   The wreath above has been an Easter favorite on our front door for many years.   The eggs that were on the wreath were a beautiful pastel crackled style...and after our move some of the eggs fell off and I noticed that since the wreath had been on our front door in full sun for a few years some of the eggs looked faded.  I could not find the same kind to replace them, but found these glitter eggs at Target ( a GORGEOUS new Target just opened up near here) and I think they really pop!  Now that we are enjoying apartment living I think all of my holiday wreaths will have a longer life as our door is inside.  And, we are near the building elevator so that means that everyone who gets off at this floor can see the wreaths - and I get lots of comments about them.  I love this wreath because it does not have a bow...the bunny and daffodils are perfect by themselves.

Step inside our foyer and be greeted by Spring!   The lovely art was downloaded from the wonderful blog On Sutton Place  Ann from On Sutton Place allows downloads of all kinds of beautiful prints and chalk art.  I just printed it out and put it in a Dollar Tree frame.

Near the closet and Powder Room is another "old" decoration - this basket of snowdrops and crocus has been a staple in my Spring decorating for years.  Each year when I stuff it back into the SPRING BOX for storage I think "this is going to get crushed", but it always revives itself.  Just like our gardens after a long winter!

The Dining Room table has some simple tulips, a Ukrainian Easter Egg ( called a Pysanka) and some candles.   I found these silk tulips in clay pots years ago and put them out for Easter...and keep them up until it is time to "summer-ize" my decorations.

Here is a better view of some of my treasured eggs.  These are wooden and painted to look like the traditional eggs.   I treasure these as they belonged to my mother-in-law.  She passed away at much too young an age shortly after we were married.  I love bringing out anything that belonged to her...and I like to think she knows that she is remembered with love...and the things she enjoyed are still bringing joy.

Here is another view of the eggs...as well as my little bunny keeping watch.  This table has had many uses in the MANY years we have had it.  Purchase with our dining room set as a server in 1979. it has been a room divider, a sideboard, and now a sofa table.  I would live to have a large buffet lamp on this table, but there is no floor outlet near.  I have one floor outlet on the other side of the room and don't want to run a regular extension cord under the area rug.  If you know of any flat, under the rug, extension cords please leave a comment below !!!

Since we downsized I have a lot of eggs that I used to use all over our bigger home...so I have been sticking them in plants and some other spots all over the house.

Coffee table gets a simple tray ( used to be brass, spray painted it with crackle silver to "go" with new decor) with tulips and nest.

I walked around with this tulip plate for several minutes before finding a spot for it.  I always placed it in my kitchen window over my sink and enjoyed the way the sun illuminated the colors.  Well, no more kitchen window....but blessed with TONS of windows in this new apartment home ( it is called The Vistas!) so I placed it on this table where it can catch the light.

The snow is slowly melting....so I put some things out on our screened patio, too.  I cannot wait for the warm weather so we can enjoy this lovely space!

Just a little Easter fun over the stove....

and this little chick cookie cutter that was my grandmothers.  I never met her, but I am so glad I have some of her kitchen items and say a prayer for her when I use them.

Palm from Palm Sunday is put out every year behind our crucifix...I also made little palm baskets to pin on our coats for next Palm Sunday.  My dad always made them and now my sister and I carry on the tradition.

And...as I was decorating I looked out and saw these visitors.  So beautiful.  This is a soybean field behind our building and my guess is they were looking for any food they could find.

That's it from Our New Vista - thank you so much for stopping by!  

Do you do a lot of decorating for Easter?

How long do you keep your "EASTER" things on display?

Please leave a comment....and have a wonderful Easter and a beautiful Spring! 

Wonderful Treat

What a nice treat to get in yesterday's mail!  A few weeks ago one of my favorite authors posted a recipe from this cookbook and asked you to tag who you would invite to dinner.  If selected, you would win a copy of the cookbook.   I was so pleased to learn that my response was chosen.  I sent my address to the email listed and then...as life got busy...forgot about it.  Yesterday this wonderful treat arrived in the mail.   Close enough to my birthday to consider it a birthday gift!  Wrapped in pretty tissue and string...with a cute note...

and autographed, too!  I am thrilled for several reasons:

• I adore all of Adriana Trigiani's books and love the way she writes
• Was thrilled to get to meet her when she was the featured author at the Library Author Luncheon last year.  She could not have been nicer!
• I love to cook, and when we moved and downsized last year I gave away many of my cookbooks because I just did not have room for them.   I am now on my building library committee ( if you know me, big surprise, huh?) and I can see I should have saved them for this library instead of donating them to other places.
• I love how Adriana relates to her readers on her FaceBook page...and how she shares ideas, thoughts, and family recipes with others.
• I am always looking for new recipes and this will give me lots of inspiration.

So, thank you VERY much, Adriana Trigiani...for your gift, for your novels, for the way you share your world with all of your readers.  And now...a cup of tea and a cozy chair to sit and read my new cookbook!I love the title...love my sisters!

Lovely Day at Longwood

"Safe in my garden, snowdrops grow still"

Lovely Day at Longwood Gardens

It has been a wild weather week here in our neck of the woods...a storm and terrible winds over the weekend and the promise of more storms and SNOW this week.  But today....BEAUTIFUL!   Not too cold, sunshine, blue skies....perfect day for a trip to Longwood Gardens in Kennett Square, PA   Dear friends gifted us with a membership to the gardens last year and we have enjoyed it several times...sorry to miss the wonderful holiday displays due to illness.  So, we decided to take a drive through the farmland of Pennsylvania and visit the Orchid Extravaganza that is now on display.  The snowdrops above were scattered throughout the gardens and a wonderful promise of Spring.   Before heading into the conservatory we stopped for a delicious lunch of the famous Kennett Square mushroom soup in the restaurant.  Though under renovation, there was a wonderful heated tent to sit in and enjoy our soup.  We never expected the beauty that was waiting for us. Words cannot describe...so just scroll down and enjoy the beautiful flowers that will make you even more anxious than you already are for SPRING!

What a wonderful day and a great taste of the joy that will come to us in the Spring!   Have you ever visited Longwood Gardens ?  What is your favorite flower?   Please leave a comment...and thank you for stopping by Our New Vista !