Wondering who the winner of the LoveFeast HeartGram™ is?  Wanna know who is going to get to send some Valentine love?

The winner from the giveaway  is ~ Carrie Phillips !!

Comment: I would definitely send this to my mother and make it from my two preschool sons. She would love to get a valentine like this from them! Thanks, Carrie (permalink)

*****

Now ~ don’t fret…you can send your own, to your Valentine, your friend or yourself.  It’s OK to love you some heart pumpkins.  We’ve never seen one before this ourselves ~ and that’s why we think their neat!

You can find the HeartGram™  at our LoveFeast Shop, along with plush velvet pumpkins, beautiful jewelry, art, and our delicious LoveFeast Coffee Cake.  We constantly keeping our eye open for an inspired find!

You never know who, or what you’ll find on the journey ~

One season of for our plush bountiful beauties wasn’t’ enough!!  Just when we thought the end in was in sight – our eye caught a sweet little find in the pumpkin warehouse… a delicate sweet little curved up heart-shaped beauty there all alone.  Hearts be still.  We knew our pumpkin lovin’ friends would appreciate something to add to their nest of pumpkins! And, also the ability to share some pumpkin love!

We’re spreading the Valentine’s Day love early with a giveaway of our HeartGram™ which includes a pair of heart-shaped pumpkins with real natural stems.  The perfect gift to send to you Valentine.  It includes a vintage inspired postcard with which to send your message.  Perfect gift for family, friends, co-workers, teachers, or sweetheart!

We’ve packaged up a single or sets of these heart-shaped pumpkins in crinkled paper, gift boxed them and tied them with a beautiful red ribbon.  Each velvet heart-shaped pumpkin filled box includes a vintage inspired HeartGram™ postcard.

We’re so happy you have landed here today from The Nesting Place or perhaps somewhere else on the web.  At any rate this is your lucky day.  We’re doing a giveaway here at LoveFeast Table of our brand new, HeartGram™.

Giveaway open to US residents only.  This  giveaway will close on Thursday, January 26 at midnight. Stop by on Saturday the 28th around 9am, to find out our HeartGram™ winner!

Hear is how to win a LoveFeast HeartGram™ ~

Leave a comment – we’d love to know who you’d send a HeartGram™ to!

*Extra chance for twitter – but you must leave the information in a separate comment.

*Extra chance for Facebook update w/link of this post – but you must leave the information in a separate comment.

There are more giveaways going on over at The Nesting Place you can visit and sign up for as many as you like!

Oh happy day!

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We’d love to get to know you more!  Please visit The Traveling Cookbook page on our site here to learn about our project to raise $24000 for a Mobile Pack from Feed My Starving Children that will create 100,000 meals for starving children.  Many bloggers, readers and friends are joining us at the table for this exciting goal and important cause.

Get to know our story here.  Meet us here.  Join us on Facebook here.  Join us on Twitter here.

THIS CONTEST IS NOW CLOSED.

Just like a good glass of wine shared with friends ~ we believe in sharing a good secret with our friends here at LoveFeast Table!!  What’s the latest tidbits?

Some of our blog friends are giving away  amazing finds from our LoveFeast Shop!

Visit  House of Turquoise to find our amazing Roman Glass Necklace with a real antique Byzantine Coin.  That’s old – y’all!  Really old!  But, better than that ~ each coin is one of a kind and beautiful.  Kristin and I especially like the touch of the 24k gold vermeil discs at the top of each coin ~ so cool.

Visit House of Turquoise to win this amazing one-of-a-kind giveaway going on through December 16th.

Don’t miss your chance to win one of the 4 LoveFeast Coffee Cakes being given way on the blog, Pizazzarie!  Our coffee cakes are packaged beautifully.  They have been taste tested by us and we wouldn’t put our stamp of approval on a cake we thought wouldn’t be worthy of the name, LoveFeast.  Our LoveFeast Coffee Cakes will make a great and easy gift for co-workers, relatives, teachers and friends.  You won’t even have to wrap it ~ because it comes beautifully boxed. 

Visit Pizzazzerie to win your favorite flavor through December 14th.

We’re so happy to share our fun with you!  I just got back a couple of weeks ago from visiting Kristin in Baltimore.  Now, Kristin along with her husband Devon are going to be flying into Minnesota this coming weekend to celebrate my husband Todd’s birthday and prepare for our 2012 year.  We are going to be working even harder this coming year (because we love it!) to find more unique finds for you and your table in 2012!  We can’t believe we’ve come this far ~ and we are thrilled to find more inspiration in 2012.

Don’t forget our Velvet Plush Pumpkin Holiday Sets are on sale through December!

Stay tuned for this weekend in Minnesota ~ I think we are going to try some vlogging!

We hope you follow our adventures as we follow our dreams here at our virtual table ~ LoveFeast Table

Check out our Holiday Cookie Exchange.

See what table The Traveling Cookbook has journeyed to.

Be part of the story ~  donate to our LoveFeast Mobile Pack for Feed My Starving Children

And visit our shop ~ LoveFeast Shop ~ to see what we find along our journey!

We are a bit giddy around here! You see, we’re coming into a season of gratefulness.  And we are counting our many blessings over this past year.  We are grateful for husbands who support us, kids who adore us (most days), a new look for our table, our friendship and for you!  We are so thankful for your support and friendships.  We are amazed at all the wonderful people we are meeting around the “virtual” table and the outpouring of thankfulness that came out of our last LoveFeast Plush Pumpkin giveaway, that well…we decided to host another one!

But, before we give you the details, we want to congratulate Debb Bennett on winning the large LoveFeast Plush Pumpkin set. Congratulations Debb!!!

Tomorrow Chris Ann will be representing LoveFeast Shop at Wild Ruffle’s first (of many, we hope!) Pop Up Shop.  We want to invite you to come as well.  The event is being held in downtown Prior Lake, Minnesota on Saturday November 5, from 9 am to 1 pm.  There will be over 21 vendors there.  You will be able to find unique items including everything from shoes to handbags, home goods and more – all represented by handmade and or small business owners.  Rumor has it, even Maggie, from Gussy Sews will be there! RSVP HERE.

LoveFeast Shop will have unique items on hand for you to purchase and if you come, you will be the first to sample a new item we will be rolling out in the next few weeks.   You will also be able to  try on our new line of LoveFeast jewelry specifically designed for LoveFeast Shop by Liz Oie.  We will also have Leather Cufflettes and mounds of Plush Pumpkins.  Speaking of Plush Pumpkins…we are hosting another large LoveFeast Plush Pumpkin set, GIVEAWAY.

For 2 chances to win:

1. Stop by our LoveFeast Shop.  Look around and come back and tell us what your favorite item is.

2. Tweet or facebook this:  “@LoveFeast is hosting another #Giveaway because they have much to be grateful for! http://lovefeasttable.com/blog/?p=12171″

Don’t forget to come back and leave a comment for each entry!  The giveaway ends on Monday November 7 at 2pm CST.

This giveaway is now closed.

Penelope, you are the winner of this giveaway. We have tried contacting you but have not hear from you. Please email us at lovefeasttable @ gmail.com before Friday, November 18 or we will chose another winner.

This week at our table we are introducing our BlogLove™ events.  So far we have held these networking events for bloggers in Minneapolis and Baltimore.   BlogLove™ events have been a great way to meet the bloggers in the areas that we both live, Minneapolis and Baltimore.  We hope to expand these events to other cities as well.  Part of the success of these events are the businesses that have either hosted or sponsored these events.  A brand or business that participates with an event like BlogLove™ is one that understands the influence of relationships.  The main sponsor of our latest BlogLove™ event, Spark & Style was Therapon.  Christine from Therapon was there to greet and chat with guests, get to know them and introduce them to what she is passionate about.  We were happy to provide that kind of atmosphere to make that possible.  Connecting people kind of gives us a little thrill.  (We admit!)  We love hosting the kind of atmosphere that make relationships and ideas ~ spark!!

On that note ~ introducing BlogLove™ events this week would not be right without introducing you to Therapon again and well….cause we are celebrating our launch…ANOTHER GIVEAWAY!! Whoohoo!  This giveaway is going to end on Saturday at 12 noon, Central and only open to US.  To win a Therapon Skin Renewal System kit….leave a comment here at this post and share with us at the table, what your beauty secret is!!  (And, if you say Frownies…tired it ~ you’re among friends!

*Disclosure:  We are affiliates of Therapon.  However, we only get behind brands, people and products that we love and believe in.

Thank you to all who celebrated our first week with us!  What a fun time!  Keep checking back.  There is still more to come.  In the following weeks we are going to be sharing more bells and whistles (fingers crossed!) and rolling out projects that we hope you will be a part of.  You see, we believe the more guests at the table, the more fun we’ll have!

We were so thankful to the guest bloggers that shared time at our table with us last week.  Erin, Jaime, Sandy and Maggie have been friends at our table for a while and we can always depend on their friendship and support.  We hope you check out their blogs.  They will show you things you will LOVE, FEASTS you will crave, time at the TABLE you’ll savor and LIFE that will leave you inspired!  Visit House of Turquoise, Life’s A Feast, The Reluctant Entertainer, and Gussy Sews for more of their stories!

We were also so thankful for all the new friends and old that joined us at the table to cheer us on, send their congrats! and join in the celebrations…These are the winners of the giveaways in each of our LoveFeast categories.

LOVE ~ Vanessa won the Turquoise Necklace from Oie Jewelry celebrating our LOVE category.  She says she’s “a crazy fan of House of Turquoise and I love the beautiful necklace in honor of your collaboration with Erin!”  So, it seems she is just the right person to win!!  Yay, Vanessa!

FEAST ~  Mary won our inspiring art canvas from Red Letter Words.  We sure hope it keeps inspiring you to entertain and savor a beautiful life!

TABLE~ Mary from Barefeet In The Kitchen is the winner of Sandy’s book, The Reluctant Entertainer.  Her blog is serving up some yummy looking ice cream so check it out!

LIFE ~ The winner of the adorable Gussy Sews wristlet is Lisa.  She has an adorable and inspiring blog and when I was there tonight Florance and the Machine was jamming on her play list.  And, well, that just made me happy.  Go visit her blog Finding Louisa.  Say hi, from our Table!

We had a full week this past week and this week is already rollin’ too.  We’ve got more to share, with Fancy Friday coming up and maybe (hint!hint!) another GIVEAWAY.  It’s our party…it can go on as long as we want it to!!  Stop back again soon ~ we’ll save a chair for you!

The first time I met Maggie, AKA Gussy, was last year at one of our BlogLove Events.  I didn’t get a chance to talk to her very long, but later in the year, at a conference, we had one of those heart to hearts that left us knowing we had become friends.  Maggie is full of LIFE and creativity and witnessing how she has taken that and turned it into a successful business, is nothing short of inspiring.  LIFE here at our table is about the real LIFE experience…the tangible…the things that happen away from the computer.

To continue the celebration here at LoveFeast, Maggie has offered to GiveAway* one of her wristlets to a guest.  Today, in order to enter the GiveAway, we ask that you leave a comment and tell us what in your world gives you LIFE.  We’d love for you to join us on our journey by being a part of our community, talking to us on Twitter or just visiting us here on a regular basis.  We really do want to get to know you.

Hi there — my name is Maggie Whitley and I’m the owner/designer of Gussy Sews. I spend equal time working on my blog and my shop. On my blog you’ll find updates on my handmade shop, tips on how I left my day job 1 year ago to focus on my business, and different prompts/projects that help build a handmade community of inspiration & adventuring. Interested in what fills the “shelves” of my shop? All sorts of sassy, girlie, colorful accessories: tote bags (3 different sizes), zipped pouches, eReader cases, headbands + more! — all sporting my signature ruffle.

I absolutely love the different tasks that fill my day, but getting to this point in my life was definitely an unexpected adventure. I’d love to share it with you…

My husband and I live in Minneapolis, MN with our puppy Bauer. But we haven’t always lived here — in fact, we’re originally from the great state Michigan. Zack and I met in college and dated throughout ~ absolutely love at first sight ♥. We were married in June 2008, and just a few months later we moved to Detroit so Zack could pursue a new job opportunity. Just a few months after the move we BOTH lost our jobs. Insane, right?! It was. At first it wasn’t too big of a deal, thankfully we don’t have a lot of debt so we were able to pay all of our bills and keep afloat. But once 3 months passed, then 4, 5, 6 months, quickly nearing our 7th month, we really started to feel sick over this unemployment “status”. We had just graduated from college ~ how is it that we were [still] unemployed?!

Unfortunately we weren’t seeing hope for our little family in Michigan, so after a crazy quick trip to Minneapolis, MN for an interview, I was offered a job… and so we moved in August (2010). In one weekend. It was insane. Seriously insane. Everything happened so quickly but since it fell so perfectly into place we knew it “had to be” :]

The more I live life the quicker I realize everything really, truly, seriously happens for a reason. Life is all about seasons and enjoying them for the sweetness that they really are. With each passing month I’m getting better at recognizing this.

Backing up a little bit —
Right after we moved to Detroit (back in August 2008) I taught myself how to sew. I had recently found www.etsy.com and the idea that gals my age knew how to sew was so fascinating. Off to the library I went… only to return with 30 library books. Throughout the 7 months we were unemployed I put a lot of time into learning this trade. However once we moved to Minneapolis, even though I had a full-time salaried job, I felt like I needed to do more with my sewing business and my Etsy shop. Around January 2010, Zack and I started talking about me quitting my day job to spend more time on Gussy Sews. Actually, we talked about this a lot. It was a really exciting time for us, but this was all so new to us, too. Life was starting to get a little bit scary again…

We started saving for this new adventure and were able to put aside 3 months of my salary as “back up”, and on May 14th, 2010 I was walking away from my full-time job for good ~ Yeow! The following Monday was my first day on my own ~ May 17th. I welcomed the career and life change by skipping all the way to the shower that morning, hah! {True story.}

I use my blog, twitter and facebook to connect with others, and these sites have been so instrumental in building my brand, which has almost turned into a lifestyle.

How would I describe my brand? It is an adventurous & courageous, it’s sassy, fun, girlie and full of love. Someone once told me that my blog and shop can’t exist without each other, and I have to agree. Part of what’s so exciting is that I share the journey of becoming an indie biz owner on my blog, so it’s like my ruffled products are a badge of, “I did it! I did it!”.

Life is enchanting — when you’re able to focus on the daily gifts it brings, instead of the mountains it can place in front of you, it becomes lovely instead of stressful. There are still moments of stress, don’t get me wrong, but I feel like they pass so much quicker now that my focus is more on the journey of life.
Snapshots of my life:

xoxo,
Gussy

This GiveAway is open until midnight Friday, July 29 and to US residents only.  This Contest is Now Closed.

There is nothing like the buzz around the table when the food gets set, the guests sit down and the conversation begins. Today’s guest is Sandy from Reluctant Entertainer.  She believes hospitality is not something that is hard or mysterious, but an act, even with the simplest of gestures, that can make someone feel at home.  She is introducing you to our TABLE a place for conversation to happen and stories to be exchanged. We hope you’re getting comfortable here.  We want you to feel at home. Kick off your shoes and join in the conversation.

Sandy brought a gift with her today to give to one of our guests.  It is a copy of her signed book, The Reluctant Entertainer.  To enter to win*, answer Sandy’s question and either join our COMMUNITY at BlogFrog or follow us on Facebook. (Please let us know which you did.)

I’m so honored to be a part of the LoveFeast Table Journey here today, and the brand new launch of Chris Ann and Kristin’s site.  I’ve always admired these ladies; their passions and inspiration to so many. Cheers to a new chapter, and thank you, Ladies, for letting me be a part of this journey today!

When I entertain, I rely on the abilities of my friends and family.

Like when my family comes to dinner … life just happens.

I’m blessed with a musical family, so someone is always tickling the ivories. Or we may resort to one of our kids’ favorite play lists, or turn on Pandora. Our daughter will occasionally play the violin for our guests, if we get lucky, and sometimes our sons will play background piano music.

Twenty years ago, when my husband and I started to entertain in our home, I wanted to do it all. Not just live, family entertainment, but I’d also run myself ragged trying to cook a full course meal, clean the house, set the perfect table … honestly, I really wanted to “look the part.” I so wanted my kids to behave and for people to look to “me” as a great hostess.
And then life happened and I grew up. As my husband and I started having kids, I started maturing (let’s face it, we’re not as mature as we think when we’re 28!), and I finally realized that entertaining was not about me at all.

Entertaining was about “them.” The people around my table … getting to know more about their lives, their struggles and their victories.

And then I saw how blessed I was, with creative family and friends who could cook and contribute to a meal, bring drinks, or even stop by the store if needed, and I started taking advantage of this. Why should I have to do it all?

Now that I’m a seasoned hostess, I’ve learned that hosting a dinner party means creating community.

It’s when my guests come with a dish, or my family comes with a song, or our gardening friends bring fresh flowers from their yard. It’s when a hostess gift is left on the counter for me, a little sign of “thanks” or a treat, which is often a sign of love. It’s when each person comes with their story. And it all begins the moment our front door is opened …

A dinner party happens when we bring all of these elements to the table and we create what we call “community.” It’s when we share the common life together, our pains and joys.

Through food and connection we become better and stronger and more courageous people.

Entertaining is not about me. It is definitely about them.

And my life is much richer now that I’ve learned this entertaining secret.

What entertaining secrets have you learned over the years?

Sandy Coughlin is a wife and mom of three teenagers, and is the voice behind Reluctant Entertainer, a hospitality blog   dedicated to helping people in search of a lifestyle that says, “I can do this!”. Her book, The Reluctant Entertainer, was recently published and is in bookstores now.

*This GiveAway is open until midnight Friday, August 29 and to US residents only.  This Contest is Now Closed.

FEAST is all about food…meals, menus, recipe, reviews and memories around the table.  Pull up a chair, we want to introduce you to today’s guest, Jamie of Life’s a Feast.  Jamie is one of our long time blogger friends.  We discovered each other quickly on twitter.  She was our FEAST sister across the pond.  We knew when we were planning this week that she was the perfect person to introduce you to FEAST here at LoveFeast.  She is an amazing storyteller and the way she weaves the recipe with the memory, captures all who read.

Today, we are giving away this LoveFeast Canvas made by Red Letter Words. Follow us on Twitter and leave a comment for a chance to receive this gift.*  This canvas is also featured in our SHOP.

LIFE’S A FEAST

An abundance of sweet summer fruit spilling out of crisp brown paper bags across my kitchen table; the heady fragrance weaving through the air reminding me of the summers of my childhood. I stand in wonder at the reds fading from garnet to ruby to rose, the purples royal, the oranges tinged with the evening sun and I understand the magic of the summer bounty of
stone fruits.

Life’s a feast. I often wonder how I fell upon this name for my blog and how it foreshadowed events, how my life and my writing converged, melting into one. Since the first day I sat down and began writing, I have experienced the sweet and the bitter, I have laughed out loud, savoring cinnamon and honey-scented
sensations, candy-coated and sugar-dipped thrills, and I have tasted the salt of my tears heavy on my cheeks. My life has been a series of adventures, a wild ride, a world of discovery that, young girl, I never would have dreamed of living. I wake up each day not knowing what will arrive on my doorstep, unprepared for both the sweet and the bitter, facing each with a mixture of wide-eyed innocence and staunch determination to understand and conquer. I
have indeed learned that Life is a Feast, offering up both the good and the bad, astonishing us with the unexpected, delighting us with accolades, bringing tears of both joy and sorrow.
A chain of strange and unintentional events brought me to Europe and I fell into the arms of an astonishing man with a taste for adventure and the unusual. Together, with our sons, we traveled, tasting what we could, learning as much as possible, experiencing as much as time and our wallet could afford. We taught our sons that life is an adventure and the world is their oyster, excuse the mixed metaphors, and this, I hope, is all reflected in how I cook, how I write and how I live. Life is like the food that we place on the table before them: we
encourage them to taste each dish, grab at each opportunity, for how else will they understand what it is or know if they like it or not?

My lovely friends Chris Ann and Kristin asked me to participate in the re-design and launch of LoveFeast Table and their online LoveFeast shop, I began to consider what I could offer, what I should bring to the table. These are two extraordinary, unpretentious women brimming over with passion and talent, special friends with whom I share, as they say, “a common viewpoint of taking a bite out of life and savoring it”. They suggested I write something about “Feast” and when I took a peek at their gorgeous new space I understood that a celebration was in order. Yet, as I sat and thought long and hard about Feast, what came to mind was how my blog and the blogs that I love reflect each one of our own special, unique lives, the stories told food for thought. When I began Life’s a Feast, I had no idea that the writing, the storytelling would become my passion, the focal point of the blog. I didn’t realize how much my stories would reveal of my own life and reflect my thoughts.

My home is a melting pot and my kitchen reflects the cultural diversity of the life I now live. Sweet and sour, tangy or spicy, each dish I prepare tells a tale of revelation, mirrors one narrow slice of our family life. With each dish a story surfaces and spills out onto the page, spontaneously, almost haphazardly. I am often surprised at how each story unravels as I let it tell its own tale, as I follow it across the page, trusting that it will make sense and eventually find its own natural end. Never one to trust anyone that paints a completely, consistently
happy world, my own blog mirrors my life as it is and illustrates the ups and downs, the sweet, the sour, the bitter and the salty; the bite, the hurt, the whimsical, the joyous. The celebrations and the mourning, the special and the everyday. How can what I write be anything else? A feast spread out before us, piles of food to be eaten with the fingers, offering a hodgepodge of flavors, scents and textures; some crunch and crackle, others so light and ethereal a mouthful melts on the tongue, disappearing into a memory. Certain dishes astonish with the heady, exotic scent of rum or vanilla, some tempt with chocolate, others excite the palate and tickle the taste buds with the spicy, smoky or garlicky. Unattractive blobs of beige stuff may hide an amazing flavor while the most gorgeous, intriguing, intricately decorated treat may be no treat at all, crumbling to bitter ashes in the mouth. But try it all we must or we find ourselves just standing against the wall, alone, empty plate in hand and stomach growling.

And as the food we prepare and the adventures we live, a great blog is a smorgasbord of emotions and experiences, and this is how Chris Ann and Kristin approach their wonderful home, LoveFeast Table. And I am proud to share the inauguration of their new space with them, honored and thrilled to be called to the table. And I am bringing these wonderful little sweet treats, Apricot Tartlets on Puff Pastry. Seemingly such simple little things, they are astonishing in every luscious bite and all dressed up for a party.

Growing up a stone’s throw from the Indian and Banana Rivers, my childhood winters were filled with citrus, sweet, tangy and bitter, such an array of grapefruits and pomelos, tangerines and mandarins, oranges and navels eaten like popcorn. Summers meant huge, heavy watermelons, peaches and nectarines purchased from roadside stands, those wooden, ramshackle set-ups blossoming willy-nilly up and down South Patrick Drive in every available gas station parking lot and stretch of dirt. My dad purchased fresh stone fruits by
the bagful, large, colorful, sweet fruit, hard and crispy, eaten like apples, or soft and ripe, juice dripping down chins and arms. I lived on them, the perfect accompaniment to a good book, tucked in a lunch bag and so refreshing in our battle against the Florida heat. Family trips up north, 24-hours in the car until we reached our grandparents’ house, and I packed a bag of peaches and nectarines along with cookies and lollipops. But my fondest memories of
apricots come from a much later time in my life: after my second son was born, my mother-in-law would bring me paper bags full of the largest, sweetest most delicious apricots I had ever tasted or have tasted since. Was it the event that flavored the fruit or was it the fruit that sweetened the long week alone in a stifling hot hospital room with a tiny baby demanding that I remain calm, head squarely on my shoulders and wide awake all day and night? Either way,
each time I bite into an apricot, the memories flood back and I can’t but love them just a little bit more each time.

My husband asked me to reproduce this recipe, one he heard on a radio program, France Info’s “A toutes saveurs“. I still had puff pastry in the
refrigerator just begging for fresh summer fruit. I twiddled with the recipe a tad
and together husband and I made these wonderful tartlets. The baking brings out an incredible sweetness in the apricots, which, though rather bland when eaten raw, are bursting with flavor after a turn in the oven. I added ground and slivered almonds to half and ground and chopped pistachios to the rest. The puff pastry adds a buttery, delicate backdrop to a wonderful, fruity tart, a crisp outside to complement the tender fruit.

INDIVIDUAL APRICOT
TARLETS ON PUFF PASTRY

I give no precise quantities here; look at the photos and assemble the tartlets “au pif” (as the French say), by instinct. Store-bought puff pastry is fine, but homemade is better, especially for a confection such as this with only 2
main ingredients. Go ahead, be daring, make your own!

Puff Pastry for 6 x 4-inch (10 cm) diameter circles rolled 1/8 to ¼-inch thin. You can find my recipe here.

9 apricots (about 1 ½ apricots per tartlet)
Ground nuts – almond or pistachio

Slivered almonds or chopped unsalted pistachio nuts

Granulated brown sugar (cassonade)

1 lightly beaten egg for egg wash

Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Line a baking sheet large enough to hold 6 x 4-inch tartlets with space around each to allow for spreading.

Rinse and pat dry the apricots. Slice each in half, remove and discard the pit and slice each fruit half in 3 or 4 wedges. Set aside.

Roll out the puff pastry to a thickness of 1/8 to 1/4 –inches. Using 4-inch (10 cm) rings or bowls, cut out 6 circles – or as many as you like! Place on the parchment paper. Using your rolling pin, gently press each circle out slightly to flatten and make slightly larger. Gently brush the edges of each puff pastry shell lightly with egg wash to a width of about1/2-inch.

Generously dust the center of each tartlet shell (all over except for the eggy edge) with ground almonds or pistachios. Place in the oven and bake for 10 minutes.

Have a second baking sheet and large piece of clean parchment paper ready.

Remove the baking tray from the oven onto a wooden cutting board. Place the large piece of parchment paper on top of the partially-baked shells then place the second baking tray and press hard to flatten.

Arrange the wedges of about one and a half apricots on each partially baked tartlet shell, pushing together. Sprinkle generously with granulated brown sugar then slivered almonds or chopped pistachios.

Return to the oven and bake for an additional 20 minutes or until the fruit is very tender and the puff pastry is puffed and a deep golden. Serve warm or room temperature as is or topped with ice cream.

*Today’s GiveAway is only for our USA guests. Sorry it cannot be shipped internationally. The GiveAway also ends at midnight on Friday July 29th.  The Contest is Now Closed.

*But, we have another GiveAway going on that is open to our international guests.  Visit HERE to enter. The Contest is Now Closed.

We are so excited to introduce to you our first guest blogger this week, Erin from House of Turquoise.  Erin inspires us daily on her many decorating blogs. We LOVE to go there for inspiration and daily eye candy.  She is introducing to you our first category, LOVE.  If you notice, we have created four categories that all of our posts will live under.  LOVE is the category that is total inspiration…art, design, decor, bits & baubles, fashion…you get the idea.  As we prepared for Erin to come, we got inspired to create something new.  The Turquoise Tree of Life Necklace is a new addition to our SHOP.  And guess what?! We are giving one away.  Today, if you join our RSS feed (see the tag at the top right corner) and leave a comment, you will be entered.  There are more fun gifts we will give away this week so come back!

Thanks for joining us today!  Now, here’s Erin…

I’m so excited to be guest posting here today at LoveFeast Table! It’s an honor and a delight to be a part of the launch week! My name is Erin and I run the blog House of Turquoise. Every day I share photos of beautiful rooms featuring shades of my favorite color. Since I started my blog back in 2007, I’ve had some wonderful opportunities come my way and I’ve meet so many really amazing people…including Chris Ann & Kristin! I’d love to share a little bit about my journey in the blog-world with you!

I initially started blogging back in 2003, mostly as a way to journal my day-t0-day life, but also to keep my friends and family up to date. I loved how easy it was to share inspirational things I’d found online. My blog had no theme at all, just a mishmash of things I loved and my life. Eventually the “I love this!” section grew out of control! I was sharing great handbags, colorful bedding sets, shoes I’d love to have, and pointing my readers (well, lack of readers!) where to buy them. That’s when I decided I was going to create a shopping blog devoted to colorful clothes and things for the home, all the stuff I found and loved. It was so fun!

It only took me a month to realize that the turquoise items being shared on the blog were outrageously disproportionate….my obsession was pretty clear. That’s when I started my shopping blog, Everything Turquoise. I didn’t think people would necessarily buy anything I found (although I hoped they would!), I just thought a collection of turquoise things would be visually appealing and fun to look at. Little did I know, people did end up buying stuff. So I eventually expanded my shopping blogs, one at a time, rolling out new colors and combos every few months. Today I have 11 shopping blogs which I collectively call Decor by Color and working on them is my full-time job. Not surprisingly Everything Turquoise is still my favorite, and I update it more than the others with 5 new turquoise-hued items every weekday.

Around the same time I was starting Everything Turquoise, I was decorating a new apartment. I’d scour the web for inspiring images, then spend countless hours going back trying to find the photos. It seemed when I put them in my computer, they were as good as gone. I was having so much fun working on the turquoise shopping blog, I thought it would be just as fun finding, organizing and sharing beautiful turquoise-infused rooms. So that’s when I started House of Turquoise. I had no idea how many other turquoise fanatics would discover the blog and become loyal readers, and in some cases, even my good friends. Moreover, the opportunities that have come my way because of the blog…to travel around the country, meet people in real life that I’ve long-admired, in addition to meeting new inspiring, creative people! It’s beyond anything I’d ever imagined!

Aveda BlogLove Event via LoveFeast Table (that’s me, back row with the scarf!)

My favorite thing about House of Turquoise is knowing that the images I find influence people all over the world. Every day I receive emails from people who say my blog gave them the courage to paint a room or try something new. How awesome is that?! And I’m always hearing from readers who say visiting House of Turquoise is like taking a mini-vacation, it relieves them from their worries and takes them away…if only for a few minutes. I also love bringing opportunities to new designers or photographers. Hearing back that being featured on my blog opened incredible doors for them makes me feel so good!

A lot of people assume I’m an interior designer, as a lot of design bloggers are. Decorating has always just been one of my many hobbies. That’s really what I love the most about my job, it encompasses every single one of my hobbies. Photography, decor, web and graphic design, shopping and bargain hunting, statistics, writing, really everything that I love! Of course working from home and owning my own business definitely has its challenges, but the benefits greatly outweigh them! People often ask me if I want to pursue interior design. Of course you never know, but right now what I love is simply igniting the passion in people and giving them the tools to follow what is in their hearts.

And yes, I honest-to-goodness absolutely love turquoise, I have for as long as I can remember. There’s just something about the color…just looking at it makes you feel instantly calm and gently invigorated! Like a trip to the beach! Not only that, but it goes well with pretty much any other color, the possibilities are endless when it comes to decorating or fashion. What is not to love?!

A million thank you’s to Chris Ann & Kristin for allowing me the opportunity to share my love!! I do hope you come say hello over at House of Turquoise, or visit my shopping blogs at Decor by Color!

Contest closes at midnight July 29th. The Contest is now Closed.