Quaint Travel: St. Augustine, FL

Although this blog is primarily focused on homemaking hobbies - floral design, entertaining, cooking, etc. I also wanted to add a series on Quaint Vacations. My husband and I love going to places where we can just walk around, browse cute shops, stay in old Bed and Breakfasts, and eat good food - so much that we even planned our honeymoon in same fashion. It all started 2 years ago when we visited St. Augustine, FL for a wedding. We haven't gone back yet, but we can't wait.

The Cedar House Inn is the best Bed and Breakfast I have ever stayed in. I know St. Augustine is full of other Bed and Breakfasts, but I don't think I could ever bring myself to try another one in town since we loved the Cedar House Inn so much!

The breakfast was incredible, and they accommodated my dietary needs.

Beyond the breakfast, they also have wine, port, and cookies out every night. The cookies are to die for and oftentimes they were still warm!!!

There are so many things to do in town, we only scratched the surface during our short weekend there (with a wedding to attend too!) but we mostly enjoyed just walking around. We visited the winery in town, but Florida wine is very sweet for our tastes. We did like the port and enjoy a bottle at home here and there when we come across a bottle.The fort is a must see too, I thought it would be boring but we actually had a great time there!

Spring/Summer Brunch

I am late in posting this, but I hosted a mother's day brunch. I still think it's a fun inspiration for a spring or summer brunch. I like hosting brunches for large groups since it is a bit most cost effective than lunch or dinner, also my guests tend to not miss the meat (I'm pescaterian) as much, so I can get away with only preparing a vegetarian meal. We kept things simple, we made a veggie egg bake and a french toast bake which are easy to throw together and feed a crowd. I also set up a yogurt bar, a bloody mar bar, and a mimosa bar. I have to say the bloody mary bar was a huge hit, my husband is hooked on them and begs me to make them every weekend (we love to bring a pitcher down to the pool and share with our neighbors).

Here are some pics of the party. I can't believe everyone fit in our small apartment, but we did the best we could with the space and it worked out well. Since it was a crowd we opted for paper plates (Target has the cutest stuff!) and found reusable plastic forks in a funky and fun green at Publix.

Left out some extra hot sauce and tons of "toppings"

Served this mango-organge juice for the mimosas as well as regular orange juice, we ran out of the mango fast!

The flowers doubled as a centerpiece and a gift, each of the moms took home one of the vases

How great are these green mason jars? I'm jealous I didn't get to keep any for myself. I had an extra but my sister took it her boyfriend's mom.

Simple Arrangements

I love to make elaborate and creative flower arrangements, but sometimes simple is best. Here are some of my arrangements that are simple but still make a elegant statement. These are easy enough for anyone to put together, plus they are quick.

This vase just calls for roses, I love to fill it up with at least 2 dozen

This photo is from before we had any decor up in our apartment, but I love the simplicity of a vase full of hydrangea

I know a lot of people hate carnations, but I love them. They come in so many different colors, they are super cheap, and I can usually get 2 weeks at least of them. I think all bunched up together they look quite nice.

Peonies are my favorite. My wedding bouquet was full of them. These small round vases are great to hold a few big blooms, next I want to try it out with some football mums!

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

I thought that I would start off by sharing one of my favorite dessert recipes for this time of the year. This recipe is always a hit with anyone who tries these cookies. I recently baked up a large batch and brought them to a halloween party we had a work. Not to toot my own horn, but several of my coworkers told me they were the best thing at the party. I can't say I disagree. These cookies are just amazing!

I did change the recipe a bit this time around. Usually I follow this recipe from Popsugar, but since my fiance and I are trying to cut back on sugar as much as possible, we used agave in place of the white sugar. Next time I think we will experiment with whole wheat flower. We don't like when things are too sweet either, so with the agave substitution, we only used about 2/3 of the sweetener it calls for.

Introduction

Homemaking is simply my hobby. I love all things involved in keeping a beautiful home. I am very much a modern professional young woman, but that doesn't mean I can't enjoy the art of homemaking.

On this blog I plan to share recipes, floral design, decorating ideas, and entertaining tips. Anything related to the homemaking hobby.