Easy Seashell Craft, A Better Caesar Salad, Cucumber Basil Margaritas

Last Christmas, we bought decorated oyster shells in St. Augustine and it got me thinking how it would be a fun craft to do with my granddaughter, Louisa.

And there is a lot more today! I also want to tell you about why our current home size is working for our family, Howard’s delicious new twist on our favorite salad, Luca’s tasty Cucumber Basil Margaritas, great disposable/stay cold cups and a surprising source for excellent caviar.

It’s Sunday Faves time with Annie and Cindy!

“Upsizing Our Coastal Home In Retirement” Instead Of Downsizing

You may remember that we used to live in a two bedroom high rise apartment in San Francisco. We loved it and could “pack it to the gills” with family staying on couches and air mattresses.

But when Howard decided to retire, I wanted a beach and Howard wanted a bigger kitchen. And we both wanted space for visiting adult children who live several hours away.

This is not to say we won’t move to a smaller place down the line, but at this stage of our lives our home is a “not too big – not too small” haven for family and friends.

Why Our Home Works

• Howard got the larger kitchen he wanted and we have an outdoor kitchen with a sink, drinks refrigerator and grill.
• We have three bedrooms, three and half bathrooms and an office that everyone takes turns in working remotely (in fact, since two are working in the Eastern time zone and two in the West coast time zone…office time can be staggered).
• But we may make the office into a bunk room when/if we have more grandchildren
• Places to spread out…We have two upstairs screened in porches that are good for working and or napping too. In addition, we also have a small front porch with rockers and a larger back porch and small pool.

You can get the latest Tour Of Our Home here.

Easy Oyster Shell Craft for Gifts

After being here for a month, our granddaughter Louisa heads back to California next week. She often collects shells at the beach and wanted to bring some home to her nanny and friends.

We wanted to decoupage seashells like we have seen in coastal shops (also on Etsy). I was a little worried about drilling holes in the shells. But when I went online to order supplies, I found that you can order kits with the paste and oyster shells pre-drilled. Sold!

You get 16 pre-drilled shells, 16 ocean themed napkins in 8 designs, metallic paints, 4 detail brushes, and craft glue. We got the ocean theme but there are other themes like Christmas and Chinoiserie Blue.

• You simply paint a layer of glue (this was the best part for almost four year old Louisa to do as the rest was a little too hard),
• then just the top layer of paper is patted into place,
• followed by another layer of glue.
• Then, paint the rim with the gold paint that is included.

I used some of our guest paper towels, too (in fact, those were the best ones). Now Louisa has a big stash to take home to her “California Friends” as well as some for family here (and Mercedes you are getting a special one for your birthday today).

Luca’s Basil Cucumber Margarita

Luca derived this cocktail from the Soho House Hong Kong Eastern Standard. But he uses tequila instead or gin or vodka. It’s delicious.

INGREDIENTS
2oz. tequila
1oz. fresh lime juice
0.75 oz simple syrup
3 cucumber slices, muddled 
3 basil leaves, torn

GARNISH
Slice of cucumber rubbed on the rim of the glass and dipped in flakey salt and Tajin.

METHOD
Muddle the cucumber slices in a shaker tin and add the torn basil. Add the rest of the ingredients in the shaker with ice, then shake and fine-strain into a glass with crushed ice. Serve with a cucumber slice and a basil or mint leaf on top.

New Stay Colder Aluminum Disposable Party Cups

Have you heard about these stackable cups? We used the USA cups for our July 3rd party and are still using them.

They are made from recycled aluminum. They’re sturdy, lightweight, and naturally stay cold. You can use them again and again and they are recyclable. Try them!

Caesar Salad With Shredded Cabbage

We love Howard’s Caesar Salad and recently he was inspired by a NY Times recipe to use shaved cabbage in it…delicious and crunchy. We should all eat more cabbage as it’s packed with nutrients!

“Cabbage is a nutrient-dense vegetable that supports digestion, boosts immunity, reduces inflammation, and may help prevent chronic diseases including heart disease and certain cancers.”

Excellent Caviar From A Surprising Source

The ladies at Mahjongg were talking about how good the Royal Osetra caviar from Quince is. So I ordered some and we had a small weeknight celebration with our daughter and son-in-law (who recently had their fifth wedding anniversary).

From Quince: “Osetra is renowned for its stunning large pearls and decadent buttery flavor. Each bead is grown responsibly, matured to perfection, and hand-picked for the finest quality. Sourced from the leading sustainable farm that supplies the world’s finest restaurants.”

It’s about half the price and comes with free overnight shipping.

We served the caviar with:

• Creme fraiche
• minced red onion
• chopped hardboiled egg
• blinis from Whole Foods (toasted slightly) and potato chips

My comfortable organic cotton gauze dress (size small) is by Pact. Nice for hanging out at home or going out in the heat.

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Let’s see what my friends have discovered this week:

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Cindy Hattersley Design