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Some things just go together. Salt and pepper, Fred and Ginger, movies and popcorn, ninjas and pirates. Ok, maybe that last one is more of a feud than a pairing. But recently we discovered a food pairing so delicious, I don’t know why these two aren’t as inseparable as salt and pepper—- Steak and grilled onion. Meet Tim: resident grilling expert and husband Ohhhhhh, its SO good. I mean, at restaurants steak sauce is generally offered, but I really think there should always be grilled onion. Try it the next time you grill, and I think you’ll be hooked. Choose … Read more

The interesting thing about blogging is that as a blogger, people only know you as much as you reveal. The temptation, then, is to only reveal all the things about yourself that are flattering.  You know, posting pictures of the house right before guests came over and everything is looking pristine … not pictures of the house on a regular weekday.  Not that there is anything wrong with sharing those high, shining and lovely moments (and yes, a clean house would be a shining moment around here!), in fact, it can help and inspire others.  But none of us have … Read more

I love to cook and experiment with new flavors in the kitchen- particularly when I get to try my hand at new flavors from another country. However, the flair of their local fare often comes from ingredients that are easier to obtain there than here. I’m hesitant to shell out a lot of money for some unusual foreign ingredient if I don’t know how to use it very well or even if I will like it! Such was the case, as some of you may know, when I tried to make Hot and Sour Soup. If not, let’s just say … Read more

Have you ever gone geocaching? It is the perfect activity for week 8 of our adventure-a-week challenge! Once you have a GPS, it is something you can do for free, and is a great way to explore a new area – or even to see a familiar area is a whole new light. As it is described on their website, Geocaching.com, it is a real-world outdoor treasure hunting game. Players try to locate hidden containers, called geocaches, using GPS-enabled devices and then share their experiences online. The fun is in the hunt – to find these hidden caches, more than … Read more

Hi all! Today I’m excited to share a guest post from my good friend, Debbie Sutherland. My husband and I have known her and her family for quite some time, and always enjoy getting to see their lovely family when we visit New England. Debbie runs a blog on fun and frugal living, and today’s post that she is sharing with us is all about frugal nature-themed date ideas. Love it. I’m married to my guy, but I still want to date him! Thanks for the ideas, Debbie! -April Going out on a date with a loved one does not … Read more

I just love to experiment in the kitchen, try new foods, and explore different flavors! I’m planning once a week to share a food tip here on my blog from my culinary adventures. 🙂 Today’s ideas are simple to prepare, elegant and delicious! The key is excellent quality ingredients. And in particular, Westphalian Ham. This photo is from a special tapas meal I made for my family. It is so simple to prepare and yet SO delicious! I was going to use Serrano ham until I found out how expensive it was (To give you an idea, a whole ham … Read more

I never would have thought of today’s hack-a-week project without my husband, Tim. He currently works in the auto glass industry, and brought home this lovely piece of dark glass. It was his idea to turn it into a tray! Handles were posing somewhat of a problem, though, and so I suggested feet instead. And voilà, here is today’s project! Now, you might be thinking, “Great, I don’t work at an auto glass place. How on earth am I supposed to get my hands on something like that?” Well, here’s the deal. Apparently on certain kinds of trucks with divided … Read more

So, last week I tried to post some clues to see if anyone could guess what the next weekly challenge would be … buuuuut apparently I’m pretty bad at clues, haha! But the hack-challenge ends this week and next week is the start of the new challenge … so instead we’ll just skip to the announcement. 🙂 It’s one that was suggested by one of you when I asked for challenge ideas a while back – and I’m very excited about it! It’s a DIY blog redesign series! Basically, as a graphic designer I will be demonstrating how to do … Read more

I just love chocolate and bananas – it is such a great combination! This is something I came up with this summer – a quick and easy treat using (what else?) chocolate and bananas.  Just make sure you use the shell hardening chocolate syrup … that kind that hardens when you pour it over ice cream.  It wouldn’t work with just regular chocolate syrup. Hope you enjoy! My little girl loved these – its a great kitchen project to do with little ones because it is so easy. 🙂 What are some of your favorite quick and easy snacks? Let … Read more

Or in this case, pumpkin roll? It’s the end of FlourishCafe’s birthday week, but, of course, the proper way to celebrate the completion of year is always with a delicious dessert!  Ah, traditions. 🙂 I had never made a pumpkin roll until my husband requested one for his birthday – and I was surprised as how easy it actually was! Its a great autumn or winter dessert, and looks pretty to boot.  I’m including the recipe I used at the end of this post. Thanks for celebrating FlourishCafe’s birthday with me this week – and don’t forget to enter my … Read more