The Beautiful Dominican Republic

The resort we were staying at in early February has beautifully maintained grounds, full of many different types of flowers and palm trees.  Here are some of the flowers and trees that were on the pathways to the pools or beach.  I'm not sure if these are natural to the environment.

 These salmon flowers were all over the place.  They grew on spikes about 12-24 inches high, and looked like they spread pretty easily in the flower beds.

 Do you see the large pods hanging from the right side of this palm tree?

Okay, I usually hate, hate, hate photos of me, but here's a photo of FHFB (always handsome) on our last day at one of the private pools with hammocks and all kinds of creature comforts (I'm the one on the right).  We were ready to catch the transport to the airport.  Two of our beautiful friends were on either side of us but I don't have their permission to put them in my blog so I cropped them out. 

(Hmmmm, afterthought, did I crop them out because they are so gorgeous??)

To tell you the truth, I'm usually pretty ready to go home by this point, and that's after most every vacation. We love getting away and visiting different countries - but the place we love best is our home. That may sound a little corny, but I can't imagine what it's like not to have a place to come home to.  

It's always a great feeling walking into our house after a long flight.

 I feel that I'm living a pretty charmed life.

Ciao, bella!

 

Vacation in the Dominican Republic

Early this February FHFB and I flew to the Dominican Republic with a group of friends that we always travel with in the winter - well, at least for the last 3 years!  This group owns a time share with Palace Resorts and FHFB and I have been tagging along.  This particular resort is in Punta Cana and was just purchased by the Hard Rock Cafe. 

Here are some photos to warm you all up!

 Thirteen pools, all beautifully pristine and stocked with comfortable lounge chairs and many swim up bars!

 FHFB got up early and shot a few photos of the sunrise.  Didn't he do a great job?

 Palm trees are all over the place, providing much needed shade when sitting on the beach, along with the many palapas.  Drinks and food were served all day on the beach.  Woohoo!

 I took this picture because the cocktail matched my friend's purse so well. 

Sorry, I don't know what kind of drink it is, but it looks like it would be pretty sweet.

We didn't get too many photos of the beautiful Bavaro Beach at Punta Cana. 

It's wide and flat and goes on forever.

Tomorrow I'll post some photos of the beautiful flowers growing on the grounds of the resort.

Ciao, bella!

Peek-A-Boo

I guess that I'm also saying peek-a-boo! 

 I can't believe it's been a month since I've posted - wait, I knew I was slacking off but I just couldn't for the life of me get myself to begin a new post.  It was like I was a little frozen, just like this little pussy willow!

But here I am - and feeling more like myself each second.

There's lots to catch up on - I am looking forward to getting back into the swing of things.

Come visit me at Metamorphosis Monday!!

Ciao, bella!

Valentine's Day at Frog Hollow Farm

Frog Hollow Farm Boy and I will be traveling in a few days, and I wanted to be sure to think ahead and have a delicious Valentine's Day dinner planned for him when we get home.
I'm not usually this organized, and I'm not sure that this will work for us.  We usually like to eat what we feel like eating on any given day, so planning too far ahead may put us in a position of not wanting fish for dinner. 
Does that make sense ? 
I know he'll love the pasta and the chocolate profiterole, but I also know he loves halibut and I wanted to try this very delicious recipe from one of the last few Williams-Sonoma catalogs. 

Don't their recipe photos always look so delicious?  

So, I'm doing some of the grocery shopping this week and freezing the halibut since we can't always find it in the grocery stores around here and I don't want to be running far and wide the day we get home. 

Valentine’s Dinner at Frog Hollow Farm

Appetizers

Goat Cheese and Roasted Tomato Crostini

Dinner

Alaskan Halibut Cioppino

Rigatoni Peperonata

Green Salad

Crusty Italian Bread

Dessert

Double Chocolate Profiteroles

We're continuing to enjoy the beautiful snowfall here in New Jersey and have plans for snowshoeing with our friends Steve and Liz this weekend (hopefully!)

XXXOOO

I'm participating in the The Tablescaper's Seasonal Sundays!  Come check out the wonderful blogger who participate in this fun meme!

A Lovely Birthday Brunch at the Russian Tea Room

 Last Saturday FHFB and I drove into the city to meet our daughter Katie to begin celebrating her 28th birthday.  She had always wanted to go to the Russian Tea Room, so we reserved a table for brunch at 11:30am.  Parking is very easy, there's a lot right next door - and Carnegie Hall is right around the corner! 

 The inside of the Russian Tea Room is just spectacular - with my favorite colors of red and green accented with gold.  They state on their website that they have Christmas decorations up year-round - I think that they must be referring to the red Christmas decorations adorning the retro light fixtures.

 Katie and FHFB ordered coffee, and it was served in a beautiful silver coffee pitcher along with this pretty set of creamer and sugar bowls. 

 Of course I ordered their bellini, which was fresh tasting and so delicious. 

 Here are some pics of the meals - the menu is pretty diverse for brunch and everything was delicous.

Truffle Quiche 

Bacon, leeks, black truffle, potato and Gruyère.

 Boeuf à la Stroganoff

Red wine braised beef short ribs with house-made buckwheat noodles, wild mushrooms and porcini cream

 RTR Sliders - Tasting of three mini “pojarski” burgers with herb fries

Salmon, avocado, tomato and cucumber with rémoulade and pickled onions.

Veal with Comté cheese, wild mushrooms and melted onions.

Kobe beef with black truffle, Gruyère cheese, caramelized onions and foie gras.

Here's a picture of the main dining room when you first walk into the restaurant.

Other rooms that we didn't get to see on Saturday are the Bear Lounge, the Bear Ballroom and the Hearth Room.  I think I'd like to sit in the Hearth Room the next time we go.

And here's the Birthday Girl~~

I hope that if it's snowing by you, like it is here, that you are able to stay indoors and enjoy it or maybe head outside for some winter fun as well!  FHFB and I need to do some snowshoeing soon!

I'm watching the cardinals, woodpeckers, blue jays and other tiny birds enjoying our suet cakes and feeders set outside my office windows.

I'm taking part in Seasonal Sundays at The Tablescaper!  Please stop by - she's just posted about that wonderful store in Manhattan - Eataly!!

Ciao, bella!

XXXOOO

I've been meaning to blog about my little purchase from Lara Harris through her Etsy store at http://www.studiolara316.etsy.com/. 

Lara is donating the money she makes from her paintings to a family member for medical treatment. 

Lara was really so easy and wonderful to work with - she tweaked the colors of this little nest painting to include some of the green that is in the rest of the room. 

I placed it in our upstairs bathroom, on top of an old medicine cabinet.  For some reason I've established a bird motif in this room so this adorable nest fit perfectly, and it was so nice to know that the purchase was helping someone in need. 

You can see the painting on top of the medicine cabinet on the left.

 

Some good news, my dad is back at home and doing well.  He's on 11 meds each morning and will be seeing his cardiologist more often now.  We're so lucky to have my brother and his wife living with dad. 

 

Here's another picture of Miss Olive making herself comfortable in our daughter's bed.

Christmas at Frog Hollow Farm

My goodness, it has been a busy few weeks here at Frog Hollow Farm - but definitely in a good way!

FHFB and I have hosted several Christmas parties over the last few weeks; FHFB's office staff  for a holiday cocktail party - 26 people in all, our annual Christmas House Dinner and Christmas Eve. 

Let me tell you, a room full of meteorologists is definitely very interesting and also a ton of fun!  Most of these guys are young - under 30 - and they are adorable to watch with their wives and girlfriends.  Every so often a different couple was snuggled up in our cuddle chair with a glass of wine or one of our delicious specialty cocktails of the night, the Blizzard (if you like bourbon)! 

I decided to cater this party from a local little restaurant called Stella G's.  This was definitely the way to go!  FHFB wanted something a little more elegant - and the appetizer selection from Stella G's was just perfect. 

Lobster salad in puff pastry cups...

I did some research and found that if a cocktail party is replacing a meal (like ours did), each guest would need 2-3 appetizer pieces, from 8-10 selections.  We also had to consider our vegetarian guest and a guest who is allergic to shellfish.  

Sesame Ahi Tuna on Wonton Crisps
 Parma Prosciutto with Asparagus...

In all, the menu included 5 cold appetizers and 7 hot appetizers.  

Cold

Sesame Ahi Tuna on Wonton Crisps

Parma Prosciutto with Asparagus

Hummus Selection with Herbed Pita

Lobster Salad Tartlets

Vegetable Crudites

Hot

Crab Cakes with Jicama 

Baby Rack of Lamb Lollipops

Individual Mushroom Quiche

Sesame Chicken Skewers with Teriyaki

Mini Beef Wellington

Coconut Shrimp

Filet Mignon with Horseradish Chutney

The cold selections were available when the guests first arrived, placed on silver serving pieces on our breadboard dining room table, the pine server and small round drop leaf table covered with a soft moss green jacquard tablecloth.  The hot appetizers were served to the guests on small antique silver platters throughout the evening.

Our invitation listed the hours from 6pm-9pm, just so people could drop by at any time and not worry about any formal time frame.  As it was, everyone arrived around 6pm and the last guests didn't leave until 11:30pm!!!  LOL - I was exhausted but so happy to see that everyone was having a great time.  

FHFB is so lucky to have such a wonderful staff - he's worked hard at putting together a great group of people.

Here are a few more pics of the food and tables...

We also hosted our annual Christmas House party for a small group of friends that we often travel with.

Our menu included:

Christmas Blessing cocktail
Clementine Cosmos
(Double the amount of clementines, reduce the sugar by half, and use citron vodka instead of vanilla vodka.)

Roasted Shrimp Cocktail
Parmesan-Thyme Crackers
Tellegio Cheese with Frog Hollow Farm Marmalade on Flatbread
Buttered Nuts

Lasagna Bolognese
Frog Hollow Farm Stuffed Artichokes
Arugula, Cranberry and Roasted Pecan Salad

Desserts were provided by our guests - there was a delicious cheesecake, a wonderful pecan layer cake, a yummy pumpkin pie and fantastic platter of Italian pastries!!

Here are a few photos of the table:

The tablecloth was purchased recently at a little store called La Petite Provence in Bethlehem, PA.

The chargers are from Home Goods.

The white dinner plate is rimmed with gold and was purchased in Macy's years ago, along with the gold flatware.

The salad plate is from a pattern called 'Winter Greetings' from Lenox and was purchased at Macy's this year. 

The napkins are from April Cornell.

The napkin rings were made from a soft white gold rimmed wire ribbon, with gold leaves tucked into the tied ribbon.

The water glasses were purchased at Williams-Sonoma years ago.

The two-tiered cake stand in the middle of the table was a recent purchase from Pottery Barn.

Our two spectacular helpers for the night:

Sara... 





and our daughter Katie below.

Thank you so very much for taking the time to stop by Frog Hollow Farm to see what's been happening lately. 

I'm taking part in Tablescape Thursday at Between Naps on the Porch - please stop by to see all of the wonderful ideas for your seasonal table!

Ciao, bella!
Happy New Year!!

Google Image

Home of the Month

Hello everyone!  Today's post is short but so much fun for us to share with you!  As you all know, FHFB and I have been working with two wonderful designers, Susan and Pam, through their business, Design Works, for the past couple of years.  

They've helped us in so many ways - 

• reorganizing our conservatory with all of our own things to make it look cozy and comfy
• guiding us with the bedroom and bathroom choices of wall and floor colors (we painted the wood floors upstairs), curtains and bedding
• helping our dining and living rooms 'grow up' with elegant functionality, yet keeping many of our own antique and furniture pieces!  

I've posted the changes for all of the rooms in various blog posts since March, but now you can see even more of our farmhouse by linking over to the Design Works website.

Here's the link to their website 

(still under construction in many parts).  

Our home comes up immediately as their first Home of the Month!    

Happy New Year to everyone!

Ciao, bella!

Frog Hollow Farm Has a Winner!

After a full day of decorating the outside of our little farmhouse FHFB finally came inside to sit in front of our fire with a glass of wine.  He never used to drink wine (can you imagine, an Italian who doesn't drink wine) but has started enjoying a glass with me every once is a while - I'm sure I drink enough wine for both of us anyway - LOL!  

Everything outside 

 looks so nice - FHFB does such a great job and loves to use fresh cut greens from our property to decorate the flower boxes and porch railings!  We were so tired yesterday that I didn't get a photo (I was inside decorating our tree and designing the tablescape for next weekend's cocktail party for all of the weathermen and their wives/girlfriends.  Yes, FHFB is a meteorologist!

After pouring two glasses of a delicious Sicilian white wine (Grillo) that we discovered in Burlington Vermont, we both relaxed in front of our Christmas tree and as promised,  FHFB chose the winning name of the Christmas dish give-away....Lynn over at Happier Than a Pig in Mud!  So, Lynn, I hope this little win does make you happier than a pig in mud today!  Lynn has the cutest little blog and is always posting something interesting and fun - and she has a great sense of humor!

Thanks to all of you who participated in my very first give-away!  I loved reading your recipes and ideas for filling up that cute little dish!

PS - Lynn, please email me your address so that I can get this cute little dish out in the mail for you!

Ciao, bella!

100 Followers, a Give-Away and a Recipe!

This morning I woke up to find my 100th follower listed on my dashboard!  

I can't believe that so many people have found this little blog out there in blogland, and in honor of all of you I'd like to have my very first give-away!

This lovely little dish is perfect to use on your own holiday table for cookies or candy - or you could fill it with some of your own home-baked cookies for a holiday hostess gift.

It measures 6 1/2" square.

To win this sweet little plate please leave a comment on this post telling me what kind of homemade treat you would fill it with.

If you leave a link to a favorite cookie or candy recipe, or include your recipe in a second comment, you double your chances to win!

The winner will be chosen by FHFB on Sunday evening, December 5th and posted on Monday. 

Here's a recipe for a favorite cookie of ours here at Frog Hollow Farm.  My mother-in-law Maria made these often, not only during the holidays.  Maria was a phenomenal cook and introduced me to so many traditional Italian foods!  

These cookies are FHFB's favorite cookie, he calls them "Rolled Cookies"and once you take your first bite you will understand why he loves them.

Maria's Rolled Cookies

2 cups sifted flour

1 cup butter

3/4 cup sour cream

1 egg yolk - slightly beaten

Mix flour and butter until crumbly, then add sour cream and egg yolk, mix well with your hands.  Divide the dough into 3 balls and refrigerate over night.

Roll out each ball of dough like a pizza. Use a little flour on the counter to keep the dough from sticking and cut each circle into 16 pieces.  Brush the top of each circle with the remaining beaten egg white then sprinkle the filling (below) over the entire circle.  Roll each triangle into a crescent shape, starting with the widest end, and bake at 375 degrees for 20 minutes. 

Use parchment paper for an easy clean-up.

Filling

1 cup of ground walnuts (or pecans, hazelnuts)

3/4 cup sugar

1 teaspoon of cinnamon

If you get to try this recipe I'd love to know about it!

Ciao, bella!

 I'm participating in Seasonal Sundays at The Tablescaper!