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What Pippa Wants ~PippaGoetz

Entertaining Essentials . Fine Art . WPW blog

|SPRING HAS SPRUNG|

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Ok….  For REALZZZZZZ y’all,  I am pretty sure we had (save for the scant token few days of actual warmth) 107 days of January… I mean, lemme tell ya, I would give Mother Nature the what-for but, I’m going to need her help going forward so I am pretty sure that would just be bad Juju, and it is NOT smart to mess with Juju. Plus, these last few days have been AWESOME(!!!) so, she is starting to redeem herself…

However, In light of the fact that spring was SOOOOOO far behind schedule I had to take matters in my own hands and throw down some serious Spring vibes. As in ‘cutting as many daffodils as I could fit on this table’ kind of vibes. And the kind of vibes where one, with great and frustrated fanfare, fills every single planter, pot, and vase in the house with something flowering as if to spite what is happening on the other side of the windows.
 
We’ve been CRAZZZZZZY busy here, as you may have noticed (due to my slack-ass blogger mentality) but here’s the rub… I’ve been tiling, I’ve been painting, weeding, digging, planting, more painting, edging, raking, hauling, more painting…. shoooooot my friends, we even re-roofed our pool house (finally! And, OK, I was shingle and nail lackey while my husband did the climbing stuff but, it counts!). Oh and I’ve been painting some more… actually I’m STILL painting, and probably am never NOT going to be painting. But, for now, I am procrastinating so I can toot our own horn. We have been DOING, and we somehow have managed to keep DOING what we have been doing despite my husband starting a new job AND our 6 days a week spring sports schedule (for which I would be happy to blame on the Witzend Wee Ones instead of myself who thought I wouldn’t take issue with such madness).
Do I pass out by 10pm? Yup. Hand up, raised high, this mama is whooped. BUT… When I found these cutie patootie little pots at my local garden center the other day I nearly “you know what” in my old “getting stuff done” mom-jeans…. stop the bus, hold the phone, they are tooooooo cute AND they were less than $4 each (!!!) OMG!!!!
 
So I bought every one they had, and my mojo kicked into gear on the 7 minute ride home and I had some serious REM that night about making these little floral topiaries. So, the next day I woke up and Booyah… helllloooooooo Sister Mary Sunshine! Because, there is little that compares to a Spring table. Old Mother Nature may need a few therapy sessions for the kind of havoc she’s been wrecking out there this year but, for a brief time it was full tilt boogie Spring in my kitchen. And these little “Faux-piaries” are SOOOOOOO easy to make… I mean seriously y’all… click here for the fast and furious tutorial… you’ll wonder why we haven’t been making them with every bloom that stands still and how many machinations of this little DIY we can come up with.
So, until we are fully freed of freeze warnings and I can rationalize dragging my rear to the nursery for patio plants and ‘Maters I may just keep coming back to ogle all things Spring in little squares and hope you do. Happy Spring!
Xoxo
Pippa

| LAST CALL |

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Dear Mother Nature… You don’t have to go home… but you can’t stay here. We are done with you… seriously. Beat it. Make tracks. See ya later alligator… After a while crocodile. But since you decided to appear (hopefully for the last time) in the form of another Nor’Easter yesterday I thought it prudent to do what I do best on Snow Days. MAKE SOUP. But not just any soup, I whipped up a special batch of a resounding Witzend favorite- Roasted Tomato Bisque. Seriously, the Wee Ones lap this up and mop up every last bit of goodness with their grilled cheeses then ask for more. We love it THAT much. So let’s just call it THE BEST TOMATO SOUP YOU WILL EVER HAVE.

Sure, you can find a myriad of posts for “the BEST” Tomato Soup out there but, is it this one? No, but it should be. Therefore, you can just stop your scrolling and get cracking on pulling together the ingredients before spring arrives in full force and you regret one last soup and sandwich dinner – I promise, you won’t regret it.

Click Here to head straight to the recipe OR… go ahead and keep on reading to find out WHAT secrets this soup holds to make it stand out above the crowd.

You are still here? Then you must be curious as to what kind of magic I throw into my simmering pot to make my kids lap up homemade soup with such gusto. Here you go… my secret ‘Soup Weapons’, my pieces de résistance that go in almost every soup I make. Wine? Yes, that’s always in there, but these secrets are my little added touch of love that takes the flavor of a soup from standard to spectacular (yes, soup CAN be spectacular!). Roasted Onion Crèam and Parmesan Cheese.

WHAAAAAAT is the big idea here… onions? Sure… but not just any old sweat-in-the pan onions. SLOW ROASTED ONIONS that are then pureed and act like CREAM! Parm? No… Not the cheap grated kind. No, not fresh grated mixed in. We are talking a big old Butt-End of a fresh wedge. HUH? Yep. Trust me… game changer. Here is this beauty (let’s name her Stella) getting ready to head into the pot to take one for the team. Good luck Stella… may the force be with you.

The result? A depth changing yumminess your soup has never seen the likes of. Does it add calories? Sure. Not sure how many though and honestly I don’t give a rip. Actually don’t even worry about it because this baby also has butter, and if you want at the end you can add an extra touch of heavy cream to make it even more bisque-like. And don’t ask me for nutritional info, ‘cause I have no idea.

So without further adieu, and for those of you who have read this far, here is my recipe for Roasted Tomato Soup – P.S… YES you should serve it with a big old fat grilled cheese but, even better in my book (and my preferred way of devouring the goodness), is topping it with crispy crumbled bacon, slivered fresh basil and crumbled goat cheese. Ohhhhhhhhh Yeahhhhhhh. That’s all for now, CLICK HERE for the RECIPE and let’s hope that next time you see me there will be NO MORE SNOW DAY mumbo jumbo and I will be stressing about wearing shorts and shaving my legs.

 

XO,

 

Pippa

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

| MARCHING TOWARD SPRING |

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Can we talk about something? Can we talk about those poopy head ninny muggins that are circulating the vicious rumor that “Blue & White” is on it’s way OUT?!?!? Yep.. its true, apparently the fad-watching design gurus are convinced that the Blue & White Chinoiserie “trend” is kaput.
 Well lemme tell ya something… just my POV here friends. They can suck it. Unicorns? Yep… trend. When was the last time you saw a 300 year old Unicorn statue at Christies? I’m gonna bet never. Shag carpet? Yep, trend… thank GOD… I think that the last time you saw someone elect to install this in their home David Cassidy was probably the dreamboat of the decade, not Justin Beiber. So there.
 
Blue and White? Chinoiserie? A TREND? Um, no. Has it experienced a sudden burst of popularity? Absolutely.  Maybe a what old is new, and if Blue & White Chinoiserie means “KLASS” then it must be “cool” kind of situation. But let’s be honest, this shit has been around for centuries for a reason. ‘Cause its AWESOME. Plain and simple. It is classic. It goes with friggin’ just about EVERYTHING, and it is easy to design any space around. Does this outgoing trend mean that we will see less of it at Home Goods? Probably. But whatever, there is no shortage of ways to source something that has been a staple for generations.
While the trend report will no doubt leave some new adapters by the roadside in exchange for the next hottest “must have” I will still be over here at Witzend doing what I have always done.. admiring my collection… moving it around, using it whenever I can and showcasing it any chance I get. OH, and I am going to pair it with Pink. And Green. And Black. And Orange and any color that makes my heart sing.
So buckle up my dears… you will never see a shortage of ginger jars, Blue Willow, dragons, Koi, funky little trees and WHATEVER… I mean what’s next… no more Fiddle leaf Fig trees!? I mean REALLY…. who are THEY kidding!?
Go ahead kiddos… parade your Blue and White. Wear your style on your sleeve. Feel all sorts of sparkly inside knowing that you were ahead of the trend and will be a dying breed of good taste and impeccable design style. Oh, and then pass that stuff down to the next generation because in a cycle or two when it is “back” like leg warmers or scrunchies your progeny will their lucky stars that you didn’t listen to those silly nay sayers.
XO,
Pippa