First Flowers in My Garden

Finally, my garden pleased me with the first spring flowers.



In the farthest shadiest corner of the garden, white cyclamens are blooming.



The small patch of candytuft also has tiny white blossoms.



And my calla lily plant produced a beautiful flower as well. It’s the second one for this year; more flowers should come shortly.



Of course, I couldn’t resist the temptation of making a small white bouquet. I placed it on my desk in the office room, next to the computer. As I type this post, I look at the first spring bouquet from my own garden and it makes me smile.

Today, I am joining all these wonderful Friday link parties:
Fertilizer Friday @ Tootsie Time,
Show and Tell Friday @ My Romantic Home,
Home Sweet Home Friday @The Charm of Home,
Friday Favorites @ Simply Sweet Home,
Hodgepodge Friday @ It’s a Hodgepodge Life

Valentine's Evening at Home

Yes, this year my Valentine and I are staying at home again. But that doesn’t mean we won’t celebrate the most romantic day of the year. As soon as our precious son falls asleep, we will party!

And what do you need for a perfect Valentine’s Day celebration?



Red roses! I don’t know about you, but to me red roses scream “LOVE”, and that’s what Valentine’s Day is all about. A single red rose with a little bit of baby breath can send that affection message just as well as a dozen. Don’t you think?



Since it’s going to be a Valentine’s evening, candles would be nice. Even simple and inexpensive votives will work.



And what is a celebration without sweet treats? How about cream filled strawberries (yes, I made them again, this time with mascarpone cheese)...



... and a bit of chocolate assortment?



So far so good! But what about entertainment? My husband and I hardly ever have time for watching movies, so why not watch one tonight? Of course, it must be a romantic movie.



And for a bubbly drink, we’ll open a bottle of sparkling cider.

That’s all you need for a beautiful and romantic Valentine’s evening at home.

Happy Valentine’s Day, my dear blog-world friends! I wish you all lots of LOVE on this special day and always!

Today, I'm linking to Tabletop Tuesday.

Cream Filled Strawberries

Every year I buy Tuxedo Cake for Valentine’s Day. But this year I don’t feel like following this tradition at all. Instead, I am in the mood for a lighter dessert. I searched the web and found one that completely got my attention. These strawberries filled with cream are very easy to make and look very festive. A perfect light dessert for Valentine’s Day!



The original recipe (from Joy of Baking) calls for mascarpone cheese. When I went to my local grocery store to buy it, I found that they only have mascarpone for Tiramisu (made with coffee), and it was not what I wanted. So I decided to try substituting mascarpone with cream cheese. And it worked! The strawberries were so delicious and I can hardly imagine how more luscious they could have been with mascarpone. One day I’ll try that too.



So here is the recipe:

16-18 large strawberries (ideally, you would want strawberries that stay upright. But if they don’t, just cut off the green stems, so the strawberries stay straight on a plate)
1/3 cup cream cheese or mascarpone cheese
1/3 cup heavy whipping cream
2 tablespoons white sugar
½ teaspoon vanilla extract

In a bowl, whip the cheese and whipping cream until soft peaks form. Add the sugar and vanilla and whip more until stiff peaks form. Spoon the cream into a pastry bag.

Make an X cut in each strawberry, almost down to its base. Carefully spread apart the “strawberry petals” and fill each strawberry with cream.



How easy was that! Enjoy a beautiful and delicious Valentine’s Day dessert!

As always, I am joining several link parties. And one of them is new. Sherry is hosting her first Home Sweet Home Friday. Please, visit her blog and see her beautiful antique Valentines.

I'm also joining Laurie for Valentine Party.

And the other parties I’m linking to are:

Foodie Friday @ Designs by Gollum,
Friday Favorites @ Simply Sweet Home,
Hodgepodge Friday @ It’s a Hodgepodge Life.

Handmade Monday: Valentine’s Day Trinkets

Tomorrow is the first Monday of the month, which means it’s time for Handmade Monday.

Valentine’s Day is only a week away! How wonderful!

The handmade project that I am sharing today is a little Valentine’s present for a friend of mine. It’s nothing grand or special, but I think it will make her smile. And won’t you agree that it’s a great feeling when you make someone smile and feel delighted?

The idea of a cross-stitched pincushion and a matching card wasn’t mine. I found it on this beautiful blog about needlework. These two items looked simple to make yet so charming and pretty. I looked through my craft supplies for aida fabric and red thread. I was thrilled to see that I have aida fabric in light pink color and count 14. Perfect for Valentine’s Day! I also found lots of leftover red thread from my previous cross-stitching project (Christmas stocking for my son). I eagerly started my new project and in a few evenings both the pincushion and the card were ready!



If you would like to share a handmade item (either made by you or someone else) or DIY project, please link below. See the guidelines here. Next Handmade Monday will take place on March 7.

I am also linking this post to Made by You Monday link party.

My Home-Baked Bread

I like baking bread at home! It’s so nice when my kitchen is filled with the smell of fresh bread. I also like playing with the dough. Sometimes I make loafs, other times I shape my bread into rounds, baguettes, or some other shapes. And every time, my bread comes out with a different twist as I always add some flavorful ingredients such as olives, sun-dried tomatoes, rosemary, dried oregano, raisins, or different varieties of seeds.









I got this basic bread recipe from my mother. Most likely, this is not the simplest and quickest bread recipe, but it works very well for me.

Here is the recipe. It produces two bread rounds about 1.75 pounds each.

3 cups warm water
1 ½ teaspoon dry yeast
2 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons salt
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
6 ½ cups bread flour plus more for kneading and dusting

In a big mixing bowl, dissolve yeast, sugar, and salt in a small amount of water (about ½ cup). Add the remaining water and vegetable oil. Add flour and make the dough using a wooden spoon. Mix until the dough comes off the sides of the mixing bowl easily.

Dust the dough with a little bit of flour, cover with a damp kitchen towel, and leave in a warm place for one and a half hour.

Punch the air out of the dough and knead it until it is smooth and elastic but not sticky (for about 7-10 minutes). Return it to the bowl, dust with flour, cover, and leave for another one and a half hour in a warm place.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.

Again working on a floured surface, punch the air out of the dough and knead lightly (at this point, you can work in the additional ingredients such as olives or sun-dried tomatoes).

Shape the dough into two rounds, place on lightly greased baking sheets or round forms and set aside to rise for 15-20 minutes.

Bake in the preheated oven for 40-45 minutes or until the top is golden brown and the bottom sounds hollow when tapped.

Let cool on a wire rack. Enjoy!

Today, I am joining Tempt My Tummy Tuesday @ Blessed With Grace.

Also later this week, I will link to Foodie Friday @ Designs by Gollum.