Everyone probably already does this, but I am just recently discovering the flexibility one has with combining both real and artificial flowers in floral arrangements.

When I think of all those years of being a purist on fresh flower arrangements, combining fresh and artificial really makes sense. Faux flower quality is significantly better than ever. Artificial flowers last forever and over time, can be the more affordable choice. Access to a wide variety of faux flowers is now available on the internet. When real flowers are pricey, filing in with artificial ones gives you an abundant arrangement at less cost.

For our Easter table centerpiece this year, can you tell which flowers are real and which aren’t? The blue hyacinths and the white peonies are the artificial flowers. The pops of blue and white help complement the blue Indian block tablecloth and china. Faux blue hyacinths here and beautiful faux peonies in many colors can be found here.

These faux peonies are found in many of my photos as I always have a good looking arrangement available to enhance my shots.

Here is another arrangement in a pedestal bowl. Can you tell which flowers are real? Actually in this one, only the creamy white roses are fresh.

Even the sprigs of greens and the alstroemeria are faux.

Once the white roses are past their prime, it was easy to fill in with new fresh pink ones.

Using the same base of faux flowers, it is fun to branch out using more vibrant and vivid colors. Isn’t it interesting how different this brightly colored one looks compared to the previous two?

The red geraniums and tulips are not real. If you don’t have an attractive pedestal bowl, there is a wide assortment here.

Even for my recent Valentine dinner party where I tend to go all out with fresh flowers, in the areas that need beefing up, you can spot a faux peony or two. To see more about this Valentine dinner party, click here.

Recently I did spend a bit much on box of 26″ long faux lilacs from The Enchanted Home. I LOVE real lilacs but they do not grow here.

The quality of these branches is very good and I actually did spray the faux flowers with a French Lilac micro-batch perfume by Pacifica.

My friend, Karen says this is the closest fragrance to the real lilac scent so I bought some here. Since these lilacs are a close replica, it is fun to watch our guests walk over and sniff them.

My first choice is to create beautiful arrangements with real flowers, if for nothing else, the scent. But if you are like me, my home looks better with multiple flower arrangements. Like the pedestal bowl ideas above, faux flowers can be the framework and each week you can add a variety of fresh ones.

Have you tried combining and artificial flowers? If so, share your experience.

Flowers always make people better, happier and more helpful; they are sunshine, food and medicine to the soul.” – Luther Burbank

Happy arranging!

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This post shared with Between Naps on the Porch Tablescape Thursday #622

It feels so good to get back to writing a Saturday Meanderings. The last two weeks have been a bit of a whirlwind and I appreciate you understanding my lack of posting. Happy Saturday and let’s chat about what is going on.

The day after our houseguests left I excitedly left Phoenix to Orlando, Florida to meet up with 3 of my favorite blogging friends (Design Morsels and Chas Crazy Creations). For me, this trip would be full of creative ideas, new sites and new memories. I landed in Orlando late on a Wednesday night and got to see Celebration, Florida for the first time.

Celebration is a master planned community designed by The Walt Disney Company. The town, which has approximately 12,000 residents, is architecturally beautiful, fabulously landscaped, and impeccably maintained. Think Main Street USA but far better. My friend, Chloe, from Celebrate and Decorate lives in a gorgeous home with a large Southern front porch. Hosting our blogging get-together at her lovely home is such a treat.

The length of my trip was supposed to be Wednesday through Sunday. However, the very next day, I received notification that the Norwich, Connecticut police found my aunt dead in her home. My aunt, Gail, is the last of my father’s siblings and lived alone. Her death was unexpected as she was in good health, extremely active and independent (still driving) for her age of 100. She would have been 101 in August.

I ended my trip to Florida after one day and got the first flight up to Connecticut. With no children or living spouse, I am the person responsible to handle Aunt Gail’s finality and estate. Fortunately, I locate some documentation with her burial wishes and we had a lovely farewell ceremony the following week. Now probate begins and who knows when I will need to return to manage the rest.

The good news is that spring flowers are in bloom in Connecticut and my aunt has 3 very large lilac bushes. I cut armfuls and fill her home with their lovely scent. Azaleas and rhododendrons are also at their best.

Now I am back home in Phoenix and quickly had a day to do all the laundry from our last house guests. We are entertaining our new delightful house guests this week. So it’s been a bit busy and as a result, I’ve hardly spent time on my blog or social media.

While I was away, the sunflowers opened up and the birds are enjoying the fresh peaches on the tree.

Daydreaming

But life happens and we manage. Maybe as a result of experiencing a loss, you think ahead. Lately I am dreaming about designing my own home someday. Or at least thinking about being able to renovate a home exactly the way I want with an unlimited budget! Wouldn’t that be nice. But I seem to like several different styles. Which of these appeal to you?

Stark and serene?

Classic and clean?

Warm and elegant?

Or lots of character and charm?

Oops!

Do you remember last year when I changed the color of the front door from red to blue? Look what I just found! Ha! Funny how I did not notice the unpainted edge until now..ah, another project.

Just recently, I started reading a wonderful book series from Karen White. The House on Tradd Street is the first book of many and it is a brilliant, chilling story featuring a Charleston real estate agent who loves old houses~and the secret histories inside them.

I am looking forward to a quiet and relaxing weekend here at home. Thanks again for joining me today!

At our house, May equals fresh peaches. Generally, and depending on the weather, the first two weeks of May is when our peach tree is abundant with warm, juicy fruit. The only downside is that the fruit tends to ripen all at once. If you don’t glean it from the tree, then it becomes bird food.  

Peaches may be firm one day and ripe the next.  And unlike store-bought peaches, we pick these fuzzy fellows when they are soft and juicy.  We call them the “bend over and eat” peaches because if eaten upright, you will need a face wash and a shirt change from the abundant juices.

I cringe when I try to squeeze a peach at the grocery store and find it hard and an odd color.  But, with fresh peaches, they need to be used quickly~~or canned for storage.

We use the peaches in many things~fresh pies, peach crumble and cobbler, and peach jam. But one of my favorite recipes is for Peach Salsa.

This recipe uses the freshest ingredients. I’m not one who likes really hot things-that are so spicy that you can’t feel your lips. Instead, this one is just plain flavorful.

Simple ingredients and the rest is just chopping. I like to leave the peaches in slightly bigger pieces for texture and flavor, while finely chopping the onions and serrano chiles. Also, I don’t peel the peaches, however, you can if you’d like.

For those of you who have rubbed your eyes or elsewhere after chopping chiles, you know how important it is to wear gloves.  The seeds are the hottest and it’s easy to get the chiles’ juices in the wrong places. You can adjust the heat to your personal preference by adding more chiles or red pepper flakes.

Toss all ingredients into a bowl and mix. Serve with your favorite tortilla chip.

Doesn’t this look delicious? It is another winning recipe. I didn’t need to can any of it as it disappears quickly.

In addition to tortilla chips and tacos, this salsa is great with grilled pork loin, fish or chicken.

The inspiration for this recipe was found in Canning for a New Generation by Liana Krissoff.  A few years ago, I spent the summer learning how to can the abundance of fruits and vegetables from our garden.  This is an excellent addition to your pantry and the recipe can be easily doubled.

Have a happy Tuesday. I am finally back in town and will share my story on my Saturday Meanderings. In the meantime, it feels good to be home. Enjoy!

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Since we are a border state to Mexico, Cinco de Mayo is often celebrated here on May 5th. Cinco de Mayo is NOT Mexican Independence Day and it isn’t a federal holiday in Mexico either. So why do we acknowledge this holiday?  Cinco de Mayo was first celebrated in the United States in Southern California in 1863 as a show of solidarity with Mexico against French rule. This holiday is more of a general celebration of Mexican heritage and culture. A unusual fact: Denver, Colorado has the largest Cinco de Mayo celebration.

I love to cook but I can honestly say I really don’t make many Mexican recipes. The reason is because we have SO many great restaurants who serve authentic south of the border food. We take the accessibility of this cultural food for granted. But if you are interested in participating in this fiesta, here are some quick tips.

What You Need

Here is a relatively easy way to celebrate Cinco de Mayo and enjoy some of the tasty foods available. Some important items to have on hand are:

• Carne Asada~ is a dish of grilled and sliced beef, usually skirt steak, sirloin steak, tenderloin steak, or rib steak. It is usually cooked with a marinade and some searing to impart a charred flavor. 
• Tortillas
• Guacamole
• Cilantro
• Cojita Cheese
• Chopped white onion
• Lime slices
• Salsa
• Corn on the Cob
• Watermelon

Fortunately, we have some grocery stores who offer a full variety of ethnic and Hispanic food choices. We are able to purchase carne asada, already marinated and ready to go. Food City provides everything we need for this meal. And their produce department is off the charts!

Preparation

It takes minimal prep work to dice the onions, slice the limes, crumble the cheese and chop the cilantro.

The best basic guacamole recipe is from Serious Eats and takes 15 minutes to make. See the recipe here.

Another FABULOUS recipe is Elote which is grilled Mexican Street Corn, again from Serious Eats. You will LOVE this! Recipe here. I have made this multiple times and it is a winner.

Easy Cooking

A quick grilling of the carne asada and cutting into bite sized pieces, is all it takes to prepare the meat.

Put all the fixings into bowl so your guests can help themselves to the cheese, onions, cilantro and limes.

Warm the tortillas in an oven or microwave and wrap in a towel until ready to serve.

This is such an easy, simple and delicious meal to serve anytime, but definitely for Cinco de Mayo!

For dessert, slices of cold watermelon and cookies are a great option.

For more Cinco de Mayo ideas, a group of blogging friends create a Cinco de Mayo Virtual Supper Club. See my friend, Rachel’s Cilantro Lime Black Beans side dish. Rachel also has wonderful ideas for Cinco de Mayo table setting too! Click here to see more.

My friend, Chloe from Celebrate and Decorate makes a fabulous tissue paper garland which is perfect for this holiday. To see her post, click here.

I hope you are inspired by all the festive table decorations and delicious food. May is just around the corner and remember, Cinco de Mayo is May 5th.

Happy Wednesday, my sweet friends! I am traveling this week and hope to get a Saturday Meanderings out to you. Enjoy the rest of April and we will chat again soon.

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Each year we support the Scottsdale Artist School. Over time, the School has evolved into one of America’s foremost independent art institutions, offering a robust slate of art programs for adults; and a youth academy for teens and children. Last November, during their annual event (which was virtual), we offered to host a wine tasting and historical tour for 20 at our home.

Of course, at the time we were all in the midst of COVID. An event where one can be outside, social distance and taste wine, sounds like a good contribution. We have never done a wine tasting here before, so I did need to think through the details of hosting this event.

Determining Location and Time

Our property looks its best in April. Nearly everything is in bloom and the weather is perfect. Months earlier the auction recipient and I determine a date. Two hours of wine tasting seems the right amount of time and 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. is selected.

Welcoming the attendees at the front of the house makes the front porch the ideal location to start. From there my husband and I walk the yard and designate 3 other parts of the property. Areas of interest, a shady spot under a tree, and other factors point us to the right locations for a total of 4 tasting stations.

Food and Beverage

I feel very fortunate to have someone who caters for us frequently, knows my kitchen and is a talented and creative chef. Julie Greder designs an innovative menu with multiple options. After some discussion, we decide on an Italian theme with heavy hors d’oeuvres and food that will complement the wine.

This is the first time we engage a sommelier, who is highly recommended to us by our local Safeway liquor manager. We contact Mardi Keckeis and we are instantly good friends. Mardi walks the property and hears our ideas on how we want to the evening to progress, while making wine recommendations.

I put Mardi in touch with Julie and they work on the perfect food/wine pairings.

Renting Glasses

Since I refuse to have a wine tasting with plastic glasses, I rent flutes and both white and red wine glasses from Party People Rentals. This truly is the easiest option. The cost is minimal and the good news is, that you don’t have to wash the glasses before returning them. Who wants to clean 100 glasses?

Fortunately I have 100 glass plates in my garage, so we use those instead of paper ones.

The Day of the Event

With the help of our healthy, young houseguests, tables are placed around the yard. We decide to add some chairs at the 3rd tasting location as an option for sitting.

With a start time of 5:30 p.m., at 4:00 p.m. I place tablecloths and flowers on the tables. By 4:30 p.m. I am in the shower and getting ready for our guests. The caterer and sommelier are here so I can now focus on just getting cleaned up.

And So It Begins..

Our guests arrive and we are delighted that it is an entire family. They haven’t gotten together since before COVID and you can see they are happy to gather and share time together.

The first tasting is Belstar Prosecco D.O.C. with Lemon Basil Ricotta Brushetta and Shrimp Scampi.

While on the front terrace, my husband explains the history of the property.

The next wine station is near the well tower, guest cottage and gardens. Here we feature a white wine and a classic Brushetta, Caprese Skewers and Tomato and Olive topped Polenta bites. We talk about the well and how we water our property. The hen house is a big hit!

Since it is nearing golden hour, it is the perfect time to take a family photo for our guests.

Next we head to the orchard. A delicious red wine, Massolino Barbera d’Alba, is the perfect accompaniment to Stuffed Mushrooms and Risotto. Nasturtiums from the garden add color to the plate.

The final stop is dessert bites on the back terrace with a sparkling sweeter wine, Rosa Regale. Chocolate Cannoli Tarts and Lemon Raspberry Zabaglione round out the event.

All in all, I believe the evening and tasting went well. And to raise money for such a wonderful organization is an added bonus. I’m still on my Fast Metabolism diet so I didn’t get to taste any wines, but they certainly did smell good!

Happy Tuesday! It’s the last week in April. Our houseguests all leave today so the house will feel empty and quiet.

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Welcome to Saturday Meanderings where we just chat about anything and everything! Grab a cup of Joe or tea and I am so happy you are joining me today!

Today is my birthday. I am 65 years old. How the heck did that happen? Quite honestly, I feel 25 on the inside, yet the outside is definitely showing some wear and tear. So here is what 65 years old looks like. Granted, this is after a hair cut and some make-up, but I still feel quite young and vibrant.

Needless to say, we are off celebrating this weekend and I’m very excited! Our destination is Castle Hot Springs, a 1,100 acre ranch secluded in an Arizona canyon with natural hot springs.

We may not celebrate my birthday in style every year, but my husband gets kudos for planning this. Click here to see the surprise trip to Blackberry Farm for my 60th birthday.

An Unexpected Trip

Earlier this week, we drove to see my cousins in Victorville, CA. Unfortunately, my sweet cousin, John recently received a challenging diagnosis and we hope our visit provided some fun and laughter. Since we grew up in opposite ends of the country, it is wonderful to hear family stories from their perspective.

I have never been to Victorville or Apple Valley and it is a delightful place in the high desert of the state. Listed as one of the top 100 places to live, I can certainly see why. Warm during the day, the temperature drops at night for the perfect sleeping weather. They live in a wonderful, patriotic community with a view out to the snow covered San Bernadino mountains.

Books on Tape

I guess the books really aren’t on “tape” but during the roundtrip 11 hour car drive to California, we listen to Audible books. In my opinion, the success of an audible book is the narrator. Murder at the Dolphin Hotel by Helena Dixon and beautifully narrated by Alex Tregear, is 8 hours and 7 minutes long and is considered a cozy historical mystery. We did enjoy it and it seems to make the drive go by faster.

What’s Blooming

April is the month where I believe our property is at its all-time best. Here is a snapshot of what’s blooming now.

The iris are in the middle of showing their delicate petals.

After whacking back the rose bushes in January, they always make a gorgeous comeback.

The photo at the top of the post is a bouquet of the heirloom roses (Quatre Saisons) that have been on the property for decades. I tried propagating them last spring (to no avail), but if you want to try rose propagation, I have a great tutorial on it here.

Every time I see a snapdragon I remember showing the children how to make them open and close like a mouth. Even the petals look like they have teeth, right? For some reason, the snapdragons are huge and abundant this spring.

And those hollyhocks are taking over the property. They are EVERYWHERE! I still have many seeds that I am happy to share (just email me at marycrz@cox.net).

San Miguel de Allende

This destination is on my bucket list. Has anyone ever been there? San Miguel de Allende, a colonial-era city in Mexico’s central highlands, is known for its baroque Spanish architecture, thriving arts scene and cultural festivals.

Getting there isn’t fast or inexpensive. However, I do dream about going there someday. In my saved files, I am keeping this Belmont hotel, Casa de Sierra Nevada, as a possible future accommodation.

Doesn’t this look just amazing?

Belmond also does the Venice Simplon-Orient Express train~another bucket list destination. Maybe when I become a famous blogger, they will treat me to a trip!

Well, that’s it for Saturday Meanderings. Wishing you all a wonderful weekend. I cannot wait to share our adventures at Castle Hot Springs!

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Photographs of me done by Cozy Clicks

Hair done by Roscoe Nichols at Pucci Salon

Makeup done by Kayla Spencer