Flowers

I have always loved flowers.  My mom is constantly planting and keeping the yard friendly, happy.  Flowers are on the top of my list of indulgences, and I feel no dollar is wasted when spent on flowers.  Every girl deserves to have flowers, even if she buys them for herself:)

I just finished reading "The Language of Flowers."  It was wonderful, though painful at times.  I would recommend it.  A simple part of nature helped a young girl survive in a hard world. 

Here are some of my favorites;

Although I love color, and I love flowers, white flowers are my favorite.  The clean, crisp color really lets their true beauty shine. 

White chrystanemums. LOVE. So full and happy and clean and bright and...wonderful

Although the Cala Lilly is often used in sad times, being laid on graves, their tubular beauty makes them seem shy to me.  You have to peek inside to really see their greatness in its entirety. 

Chryanthemums are a burst of color.  Even white, I feel as though they fill the room.

Close up of my favorite Lilacs

Lilacs. Leland <3

Anything from the mum family pulls at me...

White Roses. My first favorite flower.

Lilacs only bloom between April and June.  They cover the town of Leland during this time.  I love absolutely love their color and smell.  I like to pull off a cone and plop them in water and bring it everywhere with me.

White Roses have a clean, gentle romantic quality about them. 

I have been extremely lucky in my dining choices this past week.  Of all the wonderful treats, two stood out as top notch and definitely recommends. 

First, in Chicago, my girlfriends and I went to Quartino to celebrate a dear friends birthday.  Birthdays are always fun, birthdays with friends whom you have known most of your life are always better, but birthdays around a small round table with good wine, good food, and good conversation is the best. I would highly recommend Quartino to all Italian lovers.  You can go decadent with the pesto gnocchi, or light with the arugala salad, but I would recommend you order both, plus a couple of flat bread pizzas (campano is my fav!) and share family style.

He was at the restaurant! 

The second must-eat, located in Scottsdale, Arizona, was SearSucker.  Top Chef winner Brian Malarkey started a restaurant group, naming the wine and dine spots after different fabrics.  While I have only been to Scottsdale's Searsucker, I can imagine every spot to be phenomenal.  From the comfortable yet chic seating, to the unbeatable eggplant, this menu was fun and fresh.  We had a small incident where a friend of mine did not know what carpaccio meant and when his lab arrived raw in very thin slices, he had a hard time containing his confusion.  Needless to say, a pork belly saved the day. 

Greece

My latest obsession is Greek Yogurt.  I love it for sweet and for savory.  Using it in the place of sour cream for veggie chili (which I make from scratch..yummm) and adding honey for a delicious dessert... I feel like it's a healthy option for snacking. 

So with that, Greece is officially on my list of places I NEED to visit

Seriously, the best combination.  

Please..put me here right now.

I have been dying for a beach day

Wine and Mediterranean cuisine? Yes! Please!

Greek yogurt, while my delicious new dessert, it only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to Mediterranean food that I love.  Olives, hummus, tomatoes, cucumber, and roasted red peppers accompanied by some fresh pita is a staple meal in my life...