Home At Last! with Patty Gironda

Inspiration for fifteen years of Home At Last! episodes has come from many areas of my life! This bowl of vintage beads was the inspiration behind an episode with artist, Ginger Fulton who repurposed a pretty plastic necklace set that I found at a roadside junk store. A stretch double strand bracelet with a large cabochon and striking label pins were the results of Ginger's incredible imagination and now serve as a wonderful reminder of a visit to an incredibly gifted artist. Garage and yard sales are such a great resource for vintage bits and pieces as well as the occasional rare piece!  My pretty repurposed bracelet sits on top of vintage costume pearls belonging to my Aunt Ruby! Aunt Ruby was always impeccibly dressed and never without her beautiful jewelry!

With a few days off to relax and play I've lined up a few projects that I have wanted to work on for awhile. My first project is a batch of milk and honey bar soap with lavender. A smooth, silky experience for my favorite winter activity! Luxurious hot baths in my favorite tall pedestal soaking tub! The lavender flowers are a healing natural scrub for face and hands and the honey provides a delicate, soft scent to the creamy texture of the soap!  Preferring lavender flowers over scented carrier oils I appreciate the more delicate scent of lavender than the addition of lavender-scented oil.   The pretty white bar on the bottom is a Milk & Honey  Bar with super emolient properties and a delicate scent.  Sitting on top is a Peppermint Vanilla Face Bar.  Hyper-sensitive to overly scented bath goodies I'm really pleased how these bars came out.  More about the luxurious feel than the heavy scent I made all of this w...

Emily G's Jam of Love   Two Doves Farm Sprouts  An undeniable truth. . .Georgia has remarkable Fall weather! And! We celebrate our gorgeous weather outdoors-as evidenced by the crowds milling about the Fresh South Market in Peachtree City this morning. Beautiful, crisp air with plenty of sunshine, the smokey smell of BBQ and sultry tunes greeted shoppers at the new Fresh Market site on Hwy 54.  Vendors offered "fresh from the garden" greens. sprouts, veggies and a good mix of fresh baked breads and sweets! A bi-weekly market held on Wednesdays and Saturdays, Fresh South Market will celebrate the end of the 2010 Season with a Dog Walk-complete with prizes on Saturday, October 30th.   To learn more about the Fresh South Market and the 2011 Season please visit http://www.freshsouthmarket.org/  Susie Berta  "Rick & Susie's Little Gourmet Cookies" 

  I am still giggling about these cute plastic forks and picks I found at my Asian market in Atlanta. Not quite sure what the original intent might have been but are I am considering all the possibilities. .  . Fruit Picks? Fruit Forks? or, maybe, they were coining a new word, "porks" . . .  intended to describe both utensils with one word?! Either way, aren't these the cutest Fruit Porks?

Our newest sweet plate at Casa Bella Bed and Breakfast ! It might be a stretch calling it a French Pancake but what would you called a puffy, grilled pocketless pita with Praline Creme served with Fresh Blueberry Coulis? Our guests called it "delicious" and thought they might actually be able to eat two! That came as a bit of a surprise-as we served it with scrambled eggs and applewood smoked bacon. I grilled the pita with Olivio until golden crispy, spread the warmed pita with Praline Creme and a scant tablespoon of homemade blueberry preserves. Once cooled to the touch, I gently rolled the pita, secured it with a pick and place it on top of some of my fresh coulis. Praline Creme 4 oz each Neuchatel and Cream Cheese 1 container Jello brand Caramel Mousse 1 tbsp toasted pecans 1 tbsp powdered sugar Cream ingredients until smooth. Refrigerate.

Creamy Greek yogurt, smokey seared-lamb seasoned with traditional Mediterranean flavors and a secret ingredient in the hummus make these authentic-tasting gyros perfect Fall fare! I take great care in readying my infrared grill for the Fall grilling season . . .scraping down the grates, cleaning and polishing the stainless steel and finally, checking for back-up cannisters of gas to fuel my wonderful grill! This is my first meal of the season! Grilled pocketless pita, savory lamb seared in my favorite black skillet on the grill and one of my favorite things in the world. . . Tzatzike sauce with seeded cucumbers and tomatoes. Our grilled pocketless pitas are smeared with a wonderful Greek hummus that is light and airy with so much flavor and fiber! I remember the first time I sampled the fluffy hummus at Atlanta diner. I was struck by the creamy, garlic-y goodness of the garbanzos! I was determined to learn the chef's secret! If you take a look at the middle photo note that the ...

The 2010 Southern Living Idea House in Senoia, Georgia will celebrate the holidays, Southern-Style! Laid-back style, open spaces and easy textures create a livable, old world brownstone that sits comfortably in this quaint historic Georgia town. Senoia, located an hour outside Atlanta, is a pleasant small town filled with friendly design, antique and home goods shops. Carriage House Antiques and Custom Framing , minutes from the Southern Living Idea House is filled with shabby chic finds, like my pretty depression-era glassware and teapot that I have eyed for several months. Located on Hwy 16, minutes from the Southern Living Idea House, Carriage House Antiques and Custom Framing is a true country carriage house filled with antiques, collectibles, depression glass, specialty foods and unique on of a kind gift finds!

Now that I am regularly making Limoncello I thought why not take the leap and try my hand at other cordials. So far! I have successfully created a coffee liqueur and am halfway through a batch of strawberry vanilla cordial that will ultimately flavor my Strawberries Romanoff at the breakfast table for Casa Bella B & B. Truthfully, the Honeybell Orange Brandy that flavors the whipped cream is perfect all by itself but this seemed like a great use of leftover strawberries. This batch requires another 30 days with a simple syrup that I will create over the weekend. I experimented by placing three whole, peeled prickly pears to naturally sweeten the liqueur and am really happy with the results. It happened on the day that I was checking the status of the flavors that we had a visit from the producers of CBS's 48 Hours.  Somehow we ended up in the kitchen sampling strawberry liqueur and discussing stoves! Lesson learned here . . .always have a liqueur in the making!

Bakeshop Betty Cupcakes It was a perfectly beautiful Market Days in Newnan with glorious weather, interesting vendors and our newly reopened Court House with its' pretty lawns and new landscaping.  For a full list of upcoming events visit http://www.mainstreetnewnan.com/ U & Me Bath Products Smiling Dog Gourmet Doggie Treats A Handful of Candies  Espresso Lane Sidewalk Tables