Dear Friends, We want to thank you for pulling up a chair to our table this year!  It was an exciting and busy year for us as we launched our new site, an online boutique and met so many wonderful people.  Thank you for joining us! We have been in great company. This is our latest, new addition, The LoveFeast Newsletter.  We will send this out once a month to give you a quick picture of what’s to come.  We will also share a tip from our kitchen and a featured item from LoveFeast Shop.  We recently launched The Traveling Cookbook Project.  Ree Drummond’s, The Pioneer Woman Cooks, is currently traveling from one blogger’s table to the next.  At each stop, the blogger is preparing 2-3 recipes from the cookbook and scrapbooking the pages of that recipe.  When The Traveling Cookbook is filled, we will be auctioning it off and all the proceeds will go to our $24,000 goal for Feed My Starving Children.  We made a pledge to raise $24,000 for a FMSC Mobile Pack Unit to prepare 100,000 meals for starving children. In January, we will be donating $3.00 from every LoveFeast Coffee Cake sold to our Feed My Starving Children Project.  We would love your help sharing this project with your friends and family.  To meet our financial goal as well as our desire to feed 100,000 children we will need the help of many!  Will you join us? We are so excited for 2012! We have a lot in store and can’t wait to share it all with you! Have a wonderful 2012!                                    We’re so glad you’ve joined us at the table, Join us at the LoveFeast Blog Stop by the LoveFeast Shop Connect with us on Facebook Join the conversation on Twitter

LoveFeast Shop We are thrilled to introduce you to the new LoveFeast Coffee Cake.  When we first tasted this cake, we just knew we had to share it with you!  Whether you order the Mixed Berry, Signature, Chocolate Chip or Pumpkin we know you will appreciate its high quality. Our coffee cakes are made with all natural ingredients and come packaged with a gold foil seal and finished with a gorgeous, hand tied ribbon.  These cakes are a perfect gift for hostesses, teachers, clients and friends. LoveFeast Shop will donate $3 for every cake sold in January to Feed My Starving Children and the LoveFeast Mobile Pack project.   Brittled Almonds by LoveFeast Chef ~ Devon Potler 1/4 stick of unsalted butter 1 tsp Cumin Seed 1 tsp Coriander Seed 2 Cups Whole Raw Almonds 1 Cup Brown Sugar Melt butter. Add cumin seed and coriander and toast for a few seconds then add brown sugar. Cook until it begins to carmelize.  Add almonds, stir to combine and turn off heat. Quote of the day: “Add butter – everything else is up to taste!”

Fancy Friday Fancy Friday is a weekly meme around things that are fancy to you.  If it is what motivates your day, leads your dream, whispers inspiration, catches your eye and puts a smile on your face ~ then it’s fanciful enough to share! Link up details are HERE and to give you an idea, here are some of our past examples.   Holiday Cookie Exchange We just wrapped up a virtual Holiday Cookie Exchange. Visit HERE to browse for delicious recipes!   The Traveling Cookbook …is well on it’s way! Click here to see where the cookbook has visited and where it’s headed. All proceeds from this project go to support Feed My Starving Children.

We are so glad to have you pull up a chair and join us here at our blog, LoveFeast Table.  To find out more about what we are up to, receive product highlights and discounts from our LoveFeast Shop and extra recipes and tidbits ~ Subscribe to our newsletter!

Lately I’ve been thinking a lot about friendship.  Growing up, I moved often…like, I had been to 8 schools by the 8th grade.  I never had a problem making friends.  I was outgoing and comfortable with myself.  Once I hit high school, I begged my parents to let me start and finish all four years at the same school.  I quickly made friends.  But, I wasn’t really good at keeping friends long term.  I realize now that I sabotaged good friendships at around the two year mark.  I didn’t do it intentionally and didn’t even realize the pattern until adulthood. I think I was just so conditioned to move on.

Friendship to me is a treasure.  Especially the kind of friendships that stand the test of time, that allow me to change, move, stumble, stretch and wander.  Because my life has conditioned me to change and move (we tell our kids our ancestors were nomadic) and I’m not afraid to take risks and leap, I’m not the kind of friend who will always live in the same house, work the same job…be “life pattern” consistent.  (Not to mention, life with 5 kids is one of constant flux.)  Those friends in my life that allow me to be me, are invaluable.

I’m so grateful for all the different types of friends in my life.  There are a few who are consistent and will probably live in the same neighborhood when they are grandparents.  I love knowing they are there.  There is a stability I envy.  I may not talk to them often, but when I do, the conversations pick up right where they left off.  These friends are reliable and true.  There are the friendships that are my day to day nourishment.  These are the friends who help with my kids, are a part of my daily routine and who can tell you what’s on my calendar tomorrow.  Without these girls, I wouldn’t make it through the week, let alone a day.  Then there are my besties.  There are just a couple of them.  These girls tend to be just like me.  Risk takers, passion pursuers, dreamers and…first borns.  These ladies understand the core of what makes me tick.  Their approach to life, their values and perspectives are very close to mine.  These are the friends I never have to explain myself to.  There is grace for my off days and unspoken understanding when I’m not myself.

Friendship.  No matter what form it takes, it’s precious and worth far more than gold.

Just wanted those girls in my life to know I’m grateful for them.

How about you?  What friendships ground you and help make you who you are?

We had a gathering of friends for dinner.  Devon made delicious tomato soup.  But, when everyone left, there were about 6 of these water stains left behind.

One of my friends recommended baking soda and vinegar, but that didn’t work.  So, I googled and saw that some people recommended removing the stains with a hot iron.  I was a little freaked, but I couldn’t leave these on my table.

It took a few tries to get the “iron out the water stain” method to work, but here’s what worked for me.

*Take a thin (I used an old t-shirt) cloth, fold it over (so there are two layers) and place it over the stain.

*Put the iron on high and gently rub the cloth starting at the outside of the stain and working your way to the inside.

For the stubborn stains, it took a bit more patience and ironing, but it worked.

What helpful “entertaining tips” have worked for you?  We’d love to hear.

We just got off a busy week here at LoveFeast Table.  We launched our LoveFeast shop with a beautiful Mother’s Tree Of Life Necklace by jewelry designer and artist Liz Oie of Oie Jewelry.  We were so pleased to be featured in The Pioneer Woman’s  Mother’s Day gift ideas week.  It was fun to connect with customers by email and phone, learning the details and excitement that go into such a personal gift.  It was fun to hear how much they like the necklace!  We will be working with Liz closely and adding beautiful bits and baubles to our shop as we go!  So keep checking back!

Besides minding our shop we are also busy at work designing our new website.  We arrived at a logo which for us was a milestone!

Kristin and I both celebrated our day ~ Mother’s Day ~ in our gardens.  We will be sharing our finished summer porches in the following weeks.  I have big perennial gardens, but I like to fill in here and there with annuals for a punch of color.

Inspiration for my spring gardening are coming from two places this year.  The snapdragons layered behind geraniums at the Arizona Biltmore were bright, bold and stunning.  The other source of inspiration for me this year was a garden plaza we visited when we traveled to Italy a few years ago.

I’m potting a tropical fruit tree, evergreens, climbing jasmine, herbs and geraniums to take me back to our LoveFeast travels.

Towards the end of this week, Kristin and I will be meeting up IRL again!  We will be traveling with the winner of our giveaway,  Wendi ~ Bon Appetit Hon ~ to participate in the GE Momsperience.

This week we are also “Tickled Pink” to be serving up fancy summer cocktail ideas on this coming “Fancy Friday“.   We love to prepare a summer signature drink and have our  “happy glasses” ready to be filled when summer rolls around!  Have a summer cocktail ideas, spill it!  Leave a comment or share your link this Friday on Fancy Friday!

That’s what’s on our table this week ~ what’s on yours?

There is a favorite meal around our house, fish tacos served with home made Pineapple Mango Salsa.  Our family, from youngest to oldest and any friend who has joined us at the table to share in this meal, has fallen instantly in love.  I think the best part about this meal is the leftovers.  Devon usually makes a large batch so the love keeps giving all week long.  The thing is, this recipe has never been written down.  It’s all in Devon’s head.  (Like most of his recipes.)  So, last week when he made this meal again, I stood next to him, pen and paper in hand and nailed it down for you.  This is a perfect meal to share with a large group this spring or summer.

Usually we use talapia, but any soft fish will do.

Fish Taco Filling:

10 fish fillets

kosher salt or sea salt and cracked pepper to taste

1/2 white onion finely chopped

2 cloves of minced garlic

3 Tbls. olive oil

1 Cup chopped cilantro

Heat oven to 350 degrees F.  Lightly coat sheet tray with olive oil and place fillets on it.  Sprinkle each fillet with salt and pepper.  Bake approximately 10 minutes until cooked.

Meanwhile, heat a skillet over medium high heat and add olive oil.  When oil is hot, put in onions and saute until translucent and slightly caramalized.  Add in minced garlic and saute just a couple more minutes. Turn off heat.

When fish is done, put it in the pan with the onions and break apart until crumbly.  Toss in cilantro.

Pineapple Mango Salsa:

1/2 red onion, small dice

2 small green bell peppers, small dice

6 champagne mangoes, small cube

3 Tbls. ginger, finely chopped

3/4 of a fresh pineapple, small cube

1 habenero, seeds and veins taken out and finely chopped

1 oz. of honey

pinch of kosher salt

1/2 bunch of chopped cilantro

2 small limes, juice of

Toss all the above together in a bowl and enjoy!

For our large family, we usually put out lots of choices so each person can build their own fish taco.  We offer hard shells, flour tortillas and my personal favorite, corn tortillas.  We also add shredded cheese, tomato salsa, finely chopped lettuce (sometimes mixed with cabbage), sour cream (I prefer Greek non-fat yogurt) and homemade guacamole.  Ok, I’ll share one more recipe.

Fresh Guacamole:

3 ripe avocados, flesh scooped out

1 small green bell pepper, diced

4 tomato ends (Devon likes to use up every part of the vegetable)

1/2 red onion, diced

3 cloves, minced garlic

lots of crack pepper

kosher salt or sea salt to taste

pinch of cayenne pepper

juice of 1/2 a lime

Toss all the above together, mashing the avocado with a fork.

Do you have a favorite fish taco topping? Please share! We love adding to our fish taco building options.

This week while Kristin is visiting family in England, Chris Ann is attending the Blissdom blogging conference in Nashville. We thought it might be fun to make a new video so you could meet us both together! Thanks for checking out what we call a LoveFeast Table lifestyle.

We then moved onto our bedroom!  In our last house, I think we painted every room in the house but our bedroom.  It was looking like this was going to be the case this time too.  But, when we decided to get the carpet put in our room to help insulate (our bedroom is over our garage), we mustered up the strength to throw one more room in the mix of our whole house remodel!

I’ve had the paint for some time.  I knew I wanted to do a candlelight faux finish.  This painting technique calls for a coat of paint first.  Then a top coat of a metallic pearl, applied with a very thick, nap roller.  The effect is rich and romantic.  Funny thing is…Chris Ann and I both did the same treatment in our bedrooms almost in the exact same shade, not even knowing!

Our bedding was pieced together, just like in our daughter’s room.  If you haven’t figured it out yet, I’m not a matchy-match kinda girl!  The euro shams are from Anthropologie with a bed skirt to match.  The duvet is from IKEA. The quilted blanket is from T.J.Maxx.  The neck roll pillow from Ten Thousand Villages.  The rest of them were found at one of my favorite bargin jaunts, Gabriel Brothers.

Don’t be afraid of mixing and matching patterns and colors from all over the place!  Buy the pieces that make you smile and include the same color palette.  You’ll end up with a one of a kind redesign!

The bedside tables were passed down to me from my grandfather who passed away this year.  I have vivid memories of these being in my grandparent’s living room.  My family is very Irish and the harp at the base of the tables well, they just feel like they belong in my world!

The tall reading lamp came from Brimfield Antique Market and the robin’s egg blue one, came from my local thrift store for $3.50.  The painting above my bed, that was my first anniversary gift from my husband.

There is more to show…but, I’m still working on the final touches!  I promise to come back with more!

A couple of months ago, we were wrapping up the remodeling projects on our house….or so we thought!  We were in the middle of laying new hard wood floors in our living room and dining room.

We were also repainting and making our daughter’s room “more grown up”.  Of course, you start a remodeling project and it’s inevitable you open up Pandora’s Box!  Our flood happened!  All of a sudden we were faced with (almost) an entire house remodel!  We ended up having to redo our entire basement, the entire kitchen and wrap up the living room, dining room and our daughter’s room.  Then of course, since we were having carpet laid, why not just throw in two bedrooms and an office to boot!

I’ve been a bit overwhelmed since the brunt of the work happened between November and December.  I feel like I’m crawling out of an episode of Extreme Home Makeover, minus the crews of people it takes to make magic happen in a few days!  We are breathing now!  I finally have time to sit down and go through the pictures and process what we’ve done!  I want to share!

My daughter’s room was pale pink and shabby chic to the max!  But, as she is hitting those preteen…Taylor Swift playing…Twilight swooning years, she wanted to make her room her own.  I let her pick out the color!

The pictures don’t do the color justice.  She chose a deep, peacock, turquoise color!  I’ll have to ask House of Turquoise how best to photograph this delicious hue!  It always looks navy to me in the photographs.

It’s deep like the ocean and made her room the perfect backdrop for her panda collection.  The paper lanterns came from World Market.  Her bedspread from Target.  The lime green toile pillow (from Pottery Barn) and the pink floral pillow, were from her shabby chic days.  I love to mix and match patterns and colors!

So does my daughter!! It doesn’t matter how much I try to simplify her room, she loves to vignette!!

This dresser was bought at Brimfield Antique Market on a weekend trip with my mom.  It use to be white.  A few summers ago, I decided to give it a face lift.   I primed it.  Then I painted it with a deep, turquoise, oil base paint.  I then topped it with coat of  raspberry.  A few days later, after it dried, I sanded the edges to let some of that turquoise come through.  I then took vintage fabric and made the top two pulls.  It’s finished off with pink, glass knobs.

T-Pot is a gymnast.  We took a long shelf and added hooks underneath to display her medals.  Above her shelf is her inspiration board!

We had so much fun doing this room together!  She loves it and I loved watching the creativity come alive in my girl!  I’d love to hear the creative ways you’ve tackled your kid’s rooms!

During the holidays, when we are asked to bring a dish, our go to appetizer recipe is Baked Brie en Croute with Cranberry Chutney.  It is a recipe that sounds impressive but is super easy to make!  It only requires 4 ingredients and 15 minutes of prep time!  We usually make the chutney from scratch.  But, you can buy any jarred chutney.

This is what you need:

1 wheel of Brie (the recipe I’m showing here, used a small wheel)

1 stick of butter

1 package of phyllo dough (you will only need half the box for a small wheel)

1 Cup of cranberry (or other) chutney

Now you need to prep your area.  You need one clean, damp dish towel to keep over unused phyllo dough.  Phyllo dough dries out quickly, so you want to always leave it covered when not working with it.

Melt the butter and get out a sharp, un-serrated knife.

Brush a sheet tray with butter and set the oven on 350 degrees F.

You will be working with two layers of phyllo dough at a time.   You will use 10 sheets of phyllo dough.  Lay the first two on top of each other horizontally on a clean surface.  Brush them generously with melted butter.  Then place two more pieces on top of them, but this time, vertically.  Brush them generously with butter.

Take two more pieces and lay them on top diagonally.  Brush them with butter.  Then take two more pieces and lay them on top the other way, diagonally.  Brush them with butter.  Every surface of the phyllo should be brushed with butter.  (Note…In my photos the dough is cracked on the edges because I left it out to defrost too long and the edges dried out.  I recommend letting the phyllo defrost in the fridge overnight, instead of on the counter.)

Place the brie in the center.

Spoon on the chutney.

Take one side of the phyllo dough and wrap it over the chutney.  Brush corner with butter.  Then go around the brie, gently folding dough over until the chutney is covered.

With the other two pieces of phyllo dough, brush them with butter.  Then cut 3, 2 in. strips.  Gently wrap a strip, folding and twisting to make a rosette.  Do this with the other two strips and place on top of the brie.

Place the brie on the prepared pan.

Bake for approximately 15-20 minutes until the phyllo turns golden brown.  Serve on a platter with crackers or crostini.

We just can’t get enough of these velvet Plush Pumpkins from our newly launched LoveFeast Shop.  They are perfect for holiday tablescaping.  They would also be lovely mixed in a bowl or platter with ornaments or tucked in on a tabletop.

We have chosen 4 trios for this season.  The largest velvet pumpkin of the trio is 6″, following with a 5″ and 4″.  The grouping of three sells for $78 with a shipping charge of $12.  We will be selling our trio through Monday, December 20th at 5pm to make sure that they arrive in time for Christmas.

Ice Trio~In colors~Platinum, Snow, Raspberry

Funky Holiday Trio~In Colors~Merlot, Hot Pink, Chartreuse

Berry Trio~in colors~Merlot, Dew, Pomegranate

Traditional Trio~In colors~Forest, Bordeaux, Merlot

We think they are the perfect gift for you or someone else!

Making the season special…