Even though the ground hog states we are getting an early spring, it still feels like winter here~cold, rainy, and windy. Below is a stunning picture my neighbor shared of a rainbow after Wednesday’s storm. The mountains are getting lots of snow and with this colder weather, soups and stews are on the menu every day. Happy weekend and welcome to another edition of Saturday Meanderings, where we chat about all good things.

Baby Chicks

After 3 plus weeks in a cage on the breakfast room table, the 15 new chickens are ready to go out to the hen house. Baby chicks are so cute the first week or so, but by week 3 they get a little fragrant.

Since we designed the hen house (see hen house post here) to have a separate section for new chickens, we did some work this week getting it ready for their arrival.

In this section of the hen house, all the hay is removed and the floor, roosting perch and laying boxes are thoroughly cleaned using a steam cleaner. This small portable one is perfect for this task. To learn more about this steam cleaner, click here.

Now clean and with fresh hay, half of the hen house is ready for the new flock. Of course their first night the temperatures dropped to freezing, but with the help of heat lamps, the chicks stay cozy.

Piano Lessons

Yes, it is true I am taking piano lessons. Years ago, I took a few lessons with our children’s piano teacher, Miss Eva. She is so remarkable, as a vibrant 85 year old. Am hoping that learning musical notes, scales and scores will keep my brain healthy.

We have a beautiful piano and it will be nice to use it again.

Unscheduled Project

The sitting room off of the master bedroom and home office has been a makeshift art studio for me (see that blog post here). Located on one end of the room is a rather large day bed, purchased many years ago. Is it ever used? No. But trying to get it out of this relatively small room is a complete pain in the butt.

For some reason this week, I decide I want this day bed out. In doing so, I realize this room is a mess. It’s time to repaint the walls, clear out the clutter and try to make it a real office/art studio for me. Have you ever started a project and wish you hadn’t?

Now the enormous day bed is sitting in our upstairs hall as we debate what to do with it. Since it’s hardly been used it is in excellent condition.

In the meantime I will paint goldenrod colored walls to something more neutral this weekend. Hope to show you some good before and after photos soon.

Trying New Recipes for the All Things Lemon class

I am having such fun experimenting with lemon and citrus recipes, in anticipation of the All Things Lemon class on Saturday, February 24th. There are only a few spots left so if you are interested please sign up now.

You will leave the class with my favorite lemon recipes and your own jars of limoncello and preserved lemons. If you want to get a sense of what a class here at Bella Terra looks like, check out this week’s post on our Valentine cookie decorating class here.

Did You Know?

I am familiar with companies like Stitch Fix and Rent the Runway but I wasn’t aware of Amazon’s Prime Try Before You Buy. Prime Try Before You Buy is a Prime-exclusive program where you can try eligible items from women’s, men’s, kids’, and baby clothing, shoes, and accessories before you buy them. You have seven days to try the items at home and you are only charged for the items you keep.

However, for an extra fee of $4.99 per use, you can have access to Prime Personal Shopper and allows you to work with Amazon’s stylists to find wardrobe pieces that fit your taste and budget.

If you’re looking for a wardrobe overhaul or to refine your personal style, enlisting the help of someone with styling expertise can take a lot of the pressure off when shopping for clothes online. Or if you are like me, I am not fond of clothes shopping.

The Difference between Prime Personal Shopper and Prime Try Before You Buy

Prime Try Before You Buy, unlike Prime Personal Shopper, is free as part of an Amazon Prime subscription and is available to all Prime members. The service allows you to do more or less the same things as Personal Shopper, including curating a selection of clothes, shoes, and accessories based on a survey and your selected preferences. The big difference lies in the absence of a stylist to help guide your selections or curate.

Has any one tried this? I have a question into Amazon on how one signs up for the Prime Personal Shopper as it isn’t intuitive when you go to their website. It seems like you will need to use the Amazon app? Will let you know how they respond.

From the Internet

I love finding beautifully designed spaces. Beth Webb, internationally known interior designer, is known for her serene and elegant style. If you feel stressed, just look through the portfolio of photos on her website.

Mary’s Must Haves

For the Face…

I have mentioned this product before and I did reorder it this week. Colorscience Total Protection Brush-on Sunscreen is something I use EVERY day. In lieu of face powder, I brush this on and enjoy the SPF 50 protection.

Yes, it is not an inexpensive sunscreen but the last time I ordered this was January 2023~13 months ago. If you amortize the cost over time, the initial price of $69.00 ($65.55 if you subscribe), equals approximately 17 cents per day. A bargain to protect your skin from sunspots or worse, skin cancer. I have never seen it on sale either. It comes in multiple skin tone colors. You can find it here.

Speaking of taking care of your skin, my dermatologist recommend I use La Roche-Posay Vitamin C anti-aging face serum to visibly brighten and smooth uneven skin tone and those dastardly wrinkles. Groan. After using her sample packets I just received my first bottle of serum this week. Hoping for good results.

Does anyone use a Vitamin C serum? I sure miss those days when I only used soap and water on my face.

For the Body

I exercise 5 days a week always live in yoga pants and workout tops. Truly, my inventory is old and so pathetic. Instead of looking like a ragamuffin, I finally purchase 3 new pairs of yoga pants in plum, olive green and blue. A bit of a color is a stretch for me as I tend to wear black and gray.

I am sporting the plum ones as I write this post and I like them~especially the high. thick waist and the pocket for your phone. Great color selection and are on sale (17% off) at a reasonable $24.99. They are very comfortable and hopefully will wash well. Makes me feel a bit dressed up! Ha!

Last Saturday, one of my subscribers, Corrine, commented about using Vital Proteins and how they have helped her. Do you supplement your diet with collagen peptides? I started using Vital Proteins about 4 years ago. Within 3 months, I noticed less popping sounds in my joints. Also my hair appears thicker too. Collagen peptides are great for your skin, nails, joints and hair.

Every morning I put two scoops into my coffee (equally 20 grams of protein) or hot beverage and it’s part of my daily routine.

There are so many different brands and flavors, but I use the regular, unflavored 24 oz.Vital Proteins. A new Vital Proteins Advanced is available too. Here is a link to a page that has several brands/flavors/sizes.

Occasionally, Costco will have the 24 oz. Vital Proteins marked down and limits the number of containers you can buy. That’s when we generally stock up so we always have it on hand.

Wishing you a happy weekend. I will be painting as it is supposed to be raining all day Saturday with chilly temperatures. Would much rather be curled up with a book by the fire, but the art studio calls.

Having classes here at Bella Terra for a small group is a relatively new concept. I can report that the Valentine Cookie decorating class last weekend was a big success. Libby, from Sweet B’s Baked Love is an excellent baker and teacher. It was such a nice group of people~from old friends to new acquaintances and all age ranges.

The Supplies

Libby provides everything necessary to decorating these delicious sugar cookies~6 sugar cookies, detailed decorating instructions, icing in 4 colors, a reusable practice sheet and template, tweezers, a boo-boo stick, wooden stick, small paintbrush, scissors and a finished picture of the decorated cookies. She also brings boxes to take the cookies home and some staging decor for photos.

The Teaching Area

We gather on the back terrace around the large dining table. The weather is perfect, slightly cool but with the outdoor heaters on it is very comfortable.

Libby does a light pattern on the cookies allowing us to put icing in the right place. Name tags and aprons are provided.

The classes are small with 10 participants. Before we start decorating, we take a group photo and introduce ourselves. New friendships are made and we are all excited to learn how to make gorgeous cookies.

The Instruction

Libby is a hands on teacher, demonstrating how to use the icing bag, the proper way to lay the icing on the cookie and tips and techniques for success. To see more of Libby’s incredible cookies, click here.

I believe I can speak for all of us, that cookie decorating is far more difficult than I imagined. There is a new respect for those who create these masterpieces! It takes time, patience and a steady hand.

However, at the end of the class, everyone’s cookies look so professional! Not only are they beautiful, but so tasty too.

Next Class

The next class will be on February 24, 2024 from 10:00 a.m. to noon and it is All Things Lemon. In this class we will be making Preserved Lemons, Limoncello and a third lemon item (TBD). Spaces are limited and I do have a few spots left, so if you are interested please sign up soon here.

Future Events

We will be having our Fall Styling Workshop again later on in the year (possibly the first weekend in November). In the interim I am considering doing a Pie Making class in April. If there is any topic you would like to learn, please let me know. Since this is a relatively new concept for me, I would appreciate any input.

Happy mid-week wishes!

You are invited to attend a Valentine’s Day cookie decorating class here at Bella Terra on Saturday, February 3rd from 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. This class is a bit spontaneous and I’m happy to announce that Libby, from Sweet B’s Baked Love with be available to teach us how to do this.

Recently, my sister had a big birthday and her daughter, after taking a cookie decorating class, made these gorgeous cookies. Inspired by these beauties, I reached out to Libby to see if she could teach a group of us how to do this. Decorating cookies in a beautiful manner is on my bucket list so why not learn this year?

I am hoping you are available on Saturday, February 3rd. Libby wants to allow for 3 hours for decorating hearts and gnomes, but we may finish sooner. The cost of the class is $75.00 and you will leave with 6 beautifully decorated cookies. All supplies are included.

Depending on the weather, we hope to do this outside on the covered back terrace. Seating is very limited so if you are interested, please either sign up via PayPal or reach out to me directly at [email protected]. Once you have confirmed attendance, I will send you further details.

Hope to see you on Saturday, February 3rd!

Link to sign up via PayPal is here. Looking forward to learning things together!

Welcome to the first Saturday Meanderings of 2024. I am really excited about this even numbered year. This week is turning out to be a very productive one, and I am thoroughly enjoying the last of the 12 days of Christmas, which is today, January 6th, the Epiphany. Thank you so much for joining me today for Saturday Meanderings, where we chat about all good things this week.

My Daughter’s Birthday

Today is my youngest child, Elisabeth’s 23rd birthday. She and her friends are celebrating at our cabin in the snowy mountains of Arizona. When I asked her about a birthday cake, she replies, “oh, I will just pick one up at the grocery store.” Wait? What? After years of a homemade birthday cake, well that is just unacceptable to me. After determining her favorite cake flavor is chocolate, I start planning to make a cake that would be transportable in a long car drive.

My favorite go-to cake cookbook is Layered by Tessa Huff. This dog-eared, food stained book has been well used over the years. I try a new recipe for her birthday celebration~a Black Forest cake. Four layers of sour cream chocolate cake with heritage frosting and cherry chocolate ganache between the layers, milk chocolate buttercream frosting on the outside with chocolate shavings and fresh cherries on top.

Because of the height of the cake, most cake carriers will not work. However, a last minute trip to Walmart, I am able to find this carrier with the proper clearance. The base of the carrier flips so you can use it for cakes or cupcakes. Now, I just hope the cake makes the car trip and is as delicious as all the spoons and bowls I licked.

New Product to Keep on Hand

We often have guests dropping by unexpectedly and we like to be able to offer up an appetizer. I discover this during the holidays and they are perfect with a glass or wine or champagne. Imagine freshly baked French cheese puffs that are ready in 25 minutes! Shipped to you frozen, an order includes 36 of these delicious cheese puffs.

I just received my second order of Bougie Gougies and love having them available in the freezer when I need them. Each box has 36 cheese puffs. They are a bit pricey, but you are paying for the convenience. Now my goal is to learn to make these. Has anyone made gougères from scratch?

New Year’s Eve Brunch

Instead of an evening New Year’s gathering, we decide to do a brunch this year. As I age, I find myself wanting to go to bed earlier and late nights are suffered the next day. I serve the tried and true brunch recipes of my egg casserole, blueberry coffee cake, and a fruit salad (without the unripened cantaloupe). In addition, I try a new recipe of Spiced Dark Chocolate Cherry Saltine Toffee (recipe below) and a Coconut Mojito cake (from the Layered book mentioned above).

The saltine toffee recipe (from Virginia Willis, author, Secrets of the Southern Table) is excellent and listed below. Now you know why I need to diet and exercise in January!

Daily Planner Week 1

In my post earlier this week, I share my new daily planner and annual calendar. It is so nice to get back on track and I can report that everything that I tasked myself with this week I accomplished! So far it is working!

In addition to using a planner, each day I am trying to keep ahead of my email in-box. At the end of December, I had nearly 10,000 emails in my inbox….mostly junk. Daily I am taking 30 minutes and cleaning and purging. Does anyone else have this problem?

Frost Warnings

This next week it will be quite cold in Phoenix. I believe the City’s temperature reading comes from Sky Harbor Airport and our property is approximately 6 to 9 degrees cooler. When you see those astronomical summer temperatures, it is mainly due to all the concrete and tarmacs surrounding the airport. Since we have so much vegetation here and in our surrounding neighborhood, it’s important to pay attention to the weather forecast.

My garden is covered with Christmas lights and a layer of protection. Since my garden greens and tomato plants are so abundant right now and I’m taking extra precautions.

Mary’s Must Haves

I don’t know if it the cold weather or I’m exerting muscles in a different way, but I am using Arnicare Gel frequently. This homeopathic topical gel, is quickly absorbed, non-greasy, fragrance-free and helps reduce muscle pain and stiffness.

Every night I put it on my left knee and left wrist (injured in my fall last year), and it really seems to help. I like the fact that it is a natural pain reliever from the Arnica montana plant.

This time of year I am content being in a pair of comfy leggings and a warm sweater. I bought these for my daughter for Christmas and she loves them. You can get all black or a combination of colors. Super soft, and non-see through, they are also high waisted. Can’t beat the price at $36.99. See it here.

During this time of year when so many people are getting sick, these lozenges are a good item to have handy. At first I balked at having to buy 12 bags, but they are small and we go through them quickly. Each drop contains elderberry and a throat-soothing herbal blend. The 5 mg of zinc per lozenge may help your immune support. I always take a bag when traveling and like the fact they are non-GMO, gluten-free, no cane sugar, artificial sweeteners or colors. See it here.

I bought these cute cotton socks last year and received them after Valentines Day. These socks are so adorable and would also be a great Valentine’s Day gift. The price is so low at $13.99. It also looks like the delivery date will be a while so order them soon to get them before February 14th!

This weekend we will be dismantling Christmas decorations, which is always bittersweet. Do you have any fun plans? Stay warm out there and have a happy weekend!

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Happy Saturday and I hope you are all in a festive, joyful and holiday mood. I realize the holidays may be hard for some. Often I find myself singing happily along with a Christmas carol and sobbing with another. It is certainly a time of year where I think about those who I love, those I have lost and those less fortunate than us. Finding gems of holiday magic may require some work, but once you do, joy can overcome sadness. Welcome to another Saturday Meanderings where we chat about all good things this week. Hopefully this post will be informative, lift your spirits or help you spread the excitement of the holidays.

A Successful Event

Last Saturday we hosted an event with nearly 70 people attending. Held on the back terrace, it was a beautiful late afternoon. So nice to see old friends and make new ones. Remember last Saturday when I shared the “Christmas Tree Spinach Dip Breadstick” recipe? I make this for our event and it is an incredible success.

Here is the recipe again, however, some things to note. First, I think the manufacturer is making the pizza dough smaller. I use two rolls of pizza dough, but keep the same spinach/cream cheese filling (for one tree). There is plenty of filling for 2 trees.

At first, no one wanted to tear into it, but once they did, both trees went very quickly! I think you could make this recipe with various fillings. Looks complicated but is relatively easy. Just follow the instructions. I will definitely make this again. Yummy.

I also make this pretty dessert tray with store bought items~gingerbread cookies, European milk chocolate biscuit cookies (found in the cookie aisle at Safeway), Christmas tree and snowflake yogurt pretzels (just addicting), mini Belgian cream puffs (in the freezer section most grocery stores/big box at Costco) and the cute red/white mini licorice candy canes by High Valley Orchard (in plastic containers at Safeway). Add a sprig of greenery! So easy to throw together and bite-size pieces for all.

The Annual Christmas Tree Hunt

It is family tradition to get our fresh Christmas tree on or around my husband’s birthday, which is December 13th. Each and every year, we head to Whitfill Nursery and always find the freshest, most fragrant trees. We get a nice big one for the living room and a smaller one for the dining room.

The trees go into the pool for a day or two, primarily to clean and hydrate them. If you’ve ever had a spider’s web (and spider babies) in your Christmas tree, you know what I’m talking about. Eeew.

Another Great Hostess Gift

Once you inhale the fragrance of paper whites (narcissus) you can see why they are a favorite holiday flower. This plant has an average plastic container, but I pop it into a cute small basket, add some moss and a pretty blue velvet ribbon, and voilà, you have a hostess gift!

If you missed last week’s Saturday Meanderings, I share some hostess gift suggestions. The beeswax candles I order from Amazon arrive and they are perfect. These are all natural and organic, and you need to stand up the wick to light them. I gifted them to my friend, Janie with the electric candle lighter (charges with a USB port) and she loves it! See that post here.

It’s Panettone Week!

During the holidays I always take a homemade baked good to the man who has been cutting and styling my hair for over 30 years (Roscoe at Pucci Salon). My hair is in sorry shape as I haven’t gotten it done for months. Nothing like warm panettone out of the oven to motivate a good cut and style.

Never had panettone? Check out this Saturday Meanderings from last year goes into detail on this delicious Italian holiday bread.

December Sunsets

With the crisp, chilly mornings and evenings, our December sunsets are fabulous. Here is an unedited photo of the sky behind the hen house and garden.

Mother Nature puts on quite the show. Within minutes, the view changes. So stunning!

Note the Christmas lights in the garden. The temperature is in the mid-30s to low 40s in the morning. I generally put lights over the beds so when I cover them with frost cloth, some heat is retained to protect the plants. Our temperatures on our property are anywhere from 6-9 degrees cooler than the posted weather forecast. Freezing temperatures are on the horizon.

Fun with Food

I seem to be drawn to festive holiday food! This different approach to charcuterie looks fun to make, right? Not only can food arrangement be festive, but so can holiday cocktails. If you missed my Christmas cocktail post this week, there are several suggestions for both alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks.

This board is certainly seasonal. By just removing part of the rind on a round brie, you can make it look like Santa~so clever!

Mary’s Must Haves

Having fresh trees and greens in the houses fills each room with the most amazing forest scent. But if you have an artificial tree or greens, this is the next best thing:

Thymes Frasier Fir pine needle candles never disappoint. There are on the expensive side ($34.00 for 6.5 oz) but such a nice splurge for the holidays.

Though I haven’t tried this one personally, Yankee Candle has a 22 ounce Balsam and Cedar candle for $29.94.

My husband tucks the Scentsicles in our artificial garlands or wreaths to give them a White Winter Fir scent. These scented sticks are made of sustainable, biodegradable, recycled paper and make trees and greenery smell like fresh-cut for 30 days. See it here.

With lots of house guests, I am doing much more laundry, mostly sheets and towels. During the dry winter months, we have additional static cling and I am not a fan of dryer static. Even though dryer sheets help with static and add fragrance, I do not like the cost, waste and chemicals.

Instead, we use reusable wool dryer balls, 100% Premium New Zealand Wool – eco-friendly and all-natural. Ideal for those with sensitive skin, babies, toddlers, & pets. No fillers, chemicals, or synthetics. Dryer balls cut the drying time by up to 50% (savings in electrical costs). These sustainable (last up to 1,000 loads), biodegradable dryer balls are completely static-free.

Great stocking stuffer too!

I love these cordless table lights, Shanghai LED Desk Lamp Cordless Table Lights. At this past weekend event, I use them on the appetizer table. The light is so pleasant~not too bright but beautifully cast downward with pretty illumination. With two settings, you can adjust the ambience to your conditions.

Here is a photo where I use 3 of these lights on my Valentine dinner table. Since we are dining outside, I don’t have to worry about candles blowing out or dripping on the centerpiece.

The LED night lamp is battery-powered and charge with a USB port. It is equipped with a 5000 mAh rechargeable battery allowing up to 8 hours usage. Elegant and transportable, you can truly use them anywhere. Well worth the investment of $49.00 each. Plus they come in multiple colors (mine are gold). See it here.

This time of year my hands are SO dry. Often I will get little cracks, like paper cuts, due to the dryness. A few years ago, I did use a combination of Thayer toner with witch hazel, aloe vera and rose petal and then a good hand cream. With both products by my kitchen sink, it was easy to use them after hand washing. I just re-ordered the Thayer toner and did read great reviews about CeraVe therapeutic hand cream.

Note: the Thayer toner comes in a spray bottle too, which might make application easier. Will be getting both today in the mail and I’ll let you know how the hand cream works.

Wishing you a wonderful weekend! We are off with the family celebrating my husband’s birthday so I am hoping time permits me to share a holiday home tour with you next week. I’m still a bit behind in the holiday shopping but it will all come together. Are you ready for the holidays?