Colorado Highlights and Good Friends

Good morning! I hope that your week is off to a great start! I have just returned from a trip to Colorado. The first couple of days we spent in Denver where we took in a few of the downtown sights and shops, ate delicious food and visited friends. 

Then we went up the mountains to spend a few days at a private club near Winter Park with 5 couples that my husband went to high school with, sort of like a mini-reunion. We had a chef so we did not have to cook and it beautiful little chalets to stay in. 

We hiked, looked for wildlife, attended the bike championship and just relaxed. It was perfect, as I rarely go on holidays where we have no agenda, it was a welcome change.

This week my parents are visiting  so my posting and comments may be a little sporadic. 

I hope that you have a great week!

Silent Sunday 7-27-2014

Europe: Simply Irresistible Link Party

Good morning! Today I am participating in a fabulous link party, called Europe: Simply Irresistible hosted by Anita of the blog Castles Crowns and Cottages.

I love to travel and although I have been to visit many beautiful places in the world I have a long love affair with Paris.

ALL Image taken by me!

 I simply cannot get enough of her beauty and return time after, time after time. 

I never tire of seeing the Eiffel tower up close

From afar

or at night. 

The cute little pups awaiting their masters outside the store 

or walking in the park always make me smile.

I take breakfast at the cafe

or while away the day sipping one of the many cups of chocolat that I enjoy throughout my stay

I love to ponder the history of this beautiful city

while walking the same roads others have walked for hundreds and hundreds of years. 

A visit or two, at my favorite place, in my favorite garden, 

to sit and talk with friends or to observe the beauty of life and nature is a must for every trip. 

The food is known the world over but when in Paris 

my favorite thing to do is visit the patisserie

to sample an eclair or two.

The museums, 

the sights,

the shopping

 and the sounds all combine to make me fall more deeply in love each time I visit.

Perhaps on my next visit I should leave a lock on the bridge with the inscription{ Elizabeth & Paris 4-Ever}?

ALL PHOTOS TAKE BY ELIZABETH@ PINECONESANDACORNS BLOG

For me there is not just one thing that is "simply irresistible" about Pairs, it is the whole magical place! I cannot wait for my next trip to discover something new and to enjoy my old favorites as well.

If you love to travel I hope that you visit Castles Crowns and Cottages to check out the over 40 other blogs participating in this great party.

Have a great weekend!

NOTE: Anita would like our posts up for a week and that is perfect because I am taking a little break while we have guests in town. I will be back on the 25th. In the meantime enjoy all of the links to the party! They are fabulous!

Happy Birthday to My Dear Sister

Good morning! Today is my sister and best friend Jeans birthday. So I wanted to take a minute to wish her a very Happy Birthday!

 I am so blessed to have such a wonderful, kind, intelligent, woman as my big sister. She has been my confidant, my shoulder to cry on, my traveling and shopping partner, my rock, my partner in crime, my friend and so much more. She has also taught me many things over the years, here are a few of my favorite things.

Happy Birthday my dear Jean! I love you and I miss you!

Roasted Vanilla Bean Cherries Over No-Bake Cheesecake

Good morning! I hope that your week is starting out well. Mine is going great so far, but the heat and humidity are killing me. I do not want to be a whiner but 94 degrees and 97% humidity just saps my energy. What about you? Are you a fan of sultry weather? 

Although the heat takes a lot out of me it never keeps me from eating or baking. My FAVORITE thing to eat in the summer is cherries, seriously I can eat pounds of them in a day. Lately I have been a bit overzealous buying them because the season is short and I am afraid I am not going to have eaten my weight in them before they are gone until next year. 

Consequently I found myself with a few to share and so I roasted them and poured them over my favorite no-bake cheesecake to take to a party this past weekend for a friend.

This recipe is so easy that you will laugh out loud and then you will thank me for sharing it because you will want to eat these cherries on your oatmeal, over ice cream, or rice pudding, as an accompaniment to pork, plain or any other way that you can think to eat them 

Roasted Vanilla Bean Cherries

1 lb pitted cherries

11/2 tablespoons of Vanilla Bean Paste

1/4 cup of sugar

Preheat oven to 425. Place vanilla bean past, sugar and cherries in a bowl and mix well to coat. Pour mixture onto Silphat or parchment lined baking pan. Bake cherries for 15 minutes, stir mixture half-way through. 

Pour cherries into a heat-proof bowl to cool. 

As I mentioned I used the cherries for a no-bake cheesecake recipe that I frequently use, I think it is a great summer dessert, tangy, sweet and delicious. You can find the link for the cheesecake HERE if you are interested. 

In the meantime, tell me what are you doing to beat the summer heat? Do you have any "go-to" recipes for drinks, salads, or treats? If so, please share them with us!

Enjoy your day!