Salted Caramel Peach Pie & A Spoonable Caramel {Giveaway}

Spoonable Caramel first had me at Salty Caramel, then there was Brooklyn Butterscotch followed by Flowery Lavender Caramel. I was first introduced by this brand by strolling through my local Whole Foods - I needed a sauce to drizzle atop a dessert I was making and I was short on time.  I choose the Salted Caramel and it was a fantastic combination of buttery goodness with a salty-sweet finish.  The fresh market right now is brimming with local ripe peaches and besides eating them by the fistful I wanted to make them into some sort of dessert.  I was inspired by a slice of pie (Salted Caramel Apple) that I had eaten at my favorite pie shop in Brooklyn, Four & Twenty Blackbirds.  It combined sweet apples and caramel, it was just perfection.  I decided to make Salted Caramel Mini Peach pies using Spoonable Caramels Salty Caramel Sauce and it was a slice of heaven. The sweet peaches practically become molten when mixed with the salted caramel sauce, a slice of heaven!

I am also excited to announce that I have partnered with Spoonable to give away a jar of Salty Caramel and Brooklyn Butterscotch to three lucky winners! You have until next week to enter, so please feel free to do some more than once and then next week I will have another delicious recipe using the Brooklyn Butterscotch, so get your spoons ready!  

Goodbye Sweet Summer

I hope that everyone has a fabulous Labor Day! 

Image from here

Summer Flowers

(A Phalaenopsis orchid that has added a much needed touch of color in our living room)

Flowers have always sparked some sense of magic inside of me, from a very young age I remember wandering my grandma's rose garden with such a sense of wonder. The aroma of her roses and the multitude of colors were similar to a watercolor painting. To this day, smelling a peachy white floral rose brings me back to the care-free days of my childhood. I am lucky that I have been able to take that precious memory and cultivate a rose bush of my very own. I have developed quite a liking of photographing flowers and over the past few months I have managed to capture quite a few. I hope that you enjoy them as much as I have. I hope that everyone is enjoying the first day of the long weekend!

(Red geraniums from our terrace)

(A fragrance gardenia captured in Greece)

(A lush white rose)

(A crimson hibiscus in Paros, Greece)

(A yellow wild flower that stands out thanks to the aqua blue Aegean Sea)

(A peach rose near the Acropolis)

(A bush dotted with pink flowers)

(A poppy discovered in Hadrian's Library in Athens)

 *All photographs by Alison

How Our Garden Grows

(A fragrant yellow rose)

I feel very fortunate that we have a little place carved out for us in this thriving metropolis to grow a garden of our very own. This is our second summer in our apartment so things have settled in quite nicely, which is why I wanted to show you what we have been flourishing over the past few months.  I love our garden for many reasons, first being the fragrant side of things - I have roses of my very own (they are fragrant and just beautiful) and jasmine that seems to blossom every night lending a heavenly aroma to the air.  Secondly, I finally have an herb garden! I have wanted to grow a hefty dose of herbs for as long as I can remember. We are currently growing basil, thyme, rosemary, sage, chives, mint and oregano which have been used without abandon for many summer dishes. Finally, I love our garden because we actually are fruiting! We currently have concord grapes (this has been my boyfriend's pride and joy over the past year) and lemons, two to be exact that should be ripening to the shade of yellow in the next month or so.  

 (Lavender buds)

(Fragrant and heady jasmine)

(Our very own bunch of concord grapes ripening)

(One of two Italian dwarf lemons that are quickly growing in size)

(Thyme)

(Mint - one of my favorites that is always added to my ice water)

(Basil - just perfect when paired with tomatoes and mozzarella)

*All photographs by Alison

I Love This Look: Floral and Lace

I love this floral and lace combination - it is so simple, yet feminine.  Lately, I have been a big fan of layering different textures and prints. 

I hope that everyone had a fantastic weekend! More to come on my weekend later this week, can't wait to share it with you.  Happy Monday!

Blouse  / Skirt / Belt / Bag / Shoes / Sunglasses

Image from here

An Elegant Garden Gathering

How gorgeous is this setting - a tad tropical with a side of elegance.  I love the combination of the black and white striped parlor fabric and the gold wrought iron chairs.  I just love the idea of hosting a garden party, don't you?

All images from here

Iced Green Tea Infused with Fresh Mint and Ginger

I am quite the coffee addict - iced or hot, this is my caffeine of choice. However, sometimes on a hot summer day, I crave something besides an iced coffee like a refreshing glass of iced tea.  Growing up we made quite a bit of sun tea during the and throughout college in the South, sweet tea was always on the menu.  When I do drink iced tea I prefer it to be barely sweetened and bursting with freshness, courtesy of either fresh herbs or fruit.  Here I made iced green tea infused with ginger and mint - the perfect drink for a hot summer day. Which do you prefer, coffee or tea?

A Few Things: Instead of mint tea bags, I used green tea for an extra antioxidant punch and a dose of caffeine. 

*All photographs by Alison

I Love This Look: Leather Shorts

It might be too hot to wear full-on leather pants, which is why the thought of leather shorts works perfectly.  In this look, I love how she combined black leather shorts with a white top and blazer and added amazing detailed boots. I hope that everyone had a nice weekend, the weather here in New York was absolutely perfect - sunny with a refreshing breeze.  Happy Monday!

Shorts /  Blazer /  Top / Bag /  Boots

Image from here

The Garden Party

 I can't think of any better way to usher in the weekend then with ethereal fashion spread unfolding inside of a lush garden, can you?  Happy Friday everyone!

All images from here

Vanilla Pound Cake with Berries

I love pound cake, if only for it's buttery and fluffy goodness, but when piled high with fresh whipped cream and sweet summer berries, it changes everything.  I recently made this vanilla pound cake recipe for a 4th of July barbecue, it was absolutely delicious.  What makes this recipe so fluffy is largely due to the fact that you beat it with a mixer for eight minutes, sure it is a lot of time, but the pay-off is huge.  I definitely recommend making it for your next summer picnic!

*All photographs by Alison