Summer glimpse

Reminiscing on one of the purest, most peaceful, clear water destinations I got to visit this summer- more to come babes!

Zara home inspo collection

Such a beautiful collection once more from Zara home and their approach for Fall 2017. Always a fan:)
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The little things

/christmas balloons on the ceiling/

/bar b que days/

/morning burning candles/

/tree decorating/

/mismatched china/

/the scent of the pages of a new magazine/

/this crayon/

butternut squash soup with apples

This soup is an absolutely wonderful one, prefect for this autumn weather and it's been cooked on a regular rotation here. The kids will love it, the combo of the butternut squash and apples is brilliant and the ingredients are those one can find in their kitchen pantry rather easily.

I have been adjusting the recipe according to what I may or may not have in my pantry, so I have even used butternut squash from a can (yes!) and it has turned out equally perfect. Just don't be reluctant on trying out this one if you don't have all the ingredients (use ground ginger if you don't have the fresh one)!

I also like to add a dollop of greek yogurt on the top of the served soup along with some freshly grounded pepper..Try it if you feel fancy, it adds a nice spin to it :)


Butternut Squash Soup with Apples (adapted from Sweet fine day)
(serves 4-6)

3 tablespoons butter
1 medium onion, peeled and chopped
3 slices of fresh ginger
1 medium butternut squash, peeled, seeded and chopped
2-3 tart apples, peeled, seeded and chopped
2 carrots, peeled and chopped
2 sprigs of fresh thyme
1 sprig of fresh rosemary
4 cups chicken stock
Salt and Pepper to taste

Melt the butter over medium heat in a large soup pot. Add the onion and ginger, cook and stir for several minutes until the onion has softened. Add the remaining ingredients and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to low and simmer, covered, until the squash is fully cooked. Remove from the heat and allow to cool for about 10 minutes. Remove the herb sprigs and ginger slices. Puree the soup until completely smooth in the pot with a hand-held immersion blender (or in batches in a regular blender or food processor). Reheat the soup when ready to serve.

The little things

/flower arrangements/

/favorite shells from mexico/

/fresh berries for topping pancakes/

/awesome breakfast at the Flying biscuit/

/old and new/

/birthday cakes/

My new year's eve cake.

Hey you guys! How are you all? Happy, happy 2015 everybody!!!!!!!!
I hope you had a brilliant time during the holidays..I know I had some much needed relax times and some more family getting together moments, you know..honestly who doesn't love sitting around the fireplace and play board games for example among other holiday-ish things..Lots of tasteful food was also included of course ;)

This is what I made for the first day of the year.
It is a cake called "vassilopita" and as a tradition we have in Greece, my homecountry, whoever finds the coin that is hidden somewhere inside the cake, then that's the person who gets lucky for the coming year..or so they say..this year it was Achilleas' turn! yayyyyyyyy...Good for you my love!

I used the following recipe for the first time and it came to be syrprisingly easy (you don't even need a mixer, how cool is that? I love recipes that do not require "machines") and tasty at the same time. It has an intense orange flavor overall, so if you are an orange person, you will absolutely love it! It also doesn't use butter at all, so this is also a good thing, huh?

Here is the recipe:

New year eve's cake (with spices)

ingredients:

for the cake
250gr flour
170gr confectioners sugar
160gr olive oil
160gr orange juice
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
pinch of ground cloves
zest of 1/2 orange
zest of 1/2 lemon
60gr ground almonds

Preheat oven at 170C.
In a large bowl mix with a spoon the olive oil, orange juice, confectioner's sugar and spices until combined. Add the ground almonds, flour and baking powder (which you have previously sifted) and mix gently. Put the batter in a 20cm pan and bake for 45-50 minutes. When it's still hot from the oven, put the glaze on.

for the glaze
150gr confectioners sugar
25gr orange juice

Simply mix the sugar and orange juice until desired consistency.

Good luck!

Hot chocolate and christmas plants.

 

these days call for a cup of hot, luscious thick chocolate, don't you think?
what I usually make lately is the following:

1 cup of milk
5 to 6oz of dark chocolate
some ground cinammon (depending on your tastes)
and a pinch of cayenne, to add a bit of spice

I mix them all in a small saucepan on a low heat till the chocolate melts and stirring continuously and in a few minutes you're good to go, sit and enjoy!

Morning.

coffee is always better when it's served in attractive china..have a nice day!

rose: frontyard, vase, eclair treat: grocery store, china

Tbt.

..on those times spent steps from the beach, having the freshest seafood around at the most spectacular spots one can imagine #tbt #androsisland #greeklife

Scenes.

my crate, my coffee, my wines/ cheers!

Untitled.

After the rain.

our camelias in full bloom.

Linen.

got these at a ridiculous price / 100% pure french-belgian linen

Plant co.

new pets in da house.

Sunday lunch.

New rug.

 
exactly what we needed, handwoven from 100% recycled cotton, sooo soft to walk on..
plus: it has every possible color in it which means: goes with everything!
so happy with this purchase.. 

Rainy day.