Perfect Little Primroses

Fresh flowers are always an awesome addition to your home decor. They instantly brighten a room and definitely brighten your day! 

But having fresh flowers on hand at all times isn't always possible. They can be expensive! I usually like to shop the "expired" flowers at Kroger (they usually look just as good and cost half the price!) But, even buying half off flowers can get expensive. I've actually taken to making my own faux floral arrangements, but there's just something about fresh flowers that even the nicest fake ones can't beat!

The other day, I stopped at Aldi's and in the checkout lane they had several different colors of primroses in colorful pots for only 99 cents! Now I can afford that! I got a bright, sunny, happy, little yellow one!

I have a gorgeous blue and white asian-inspired flower pot that last Spring held some "tete-a-tete" daffodils and I've been looking for something to fill it with here lately. I totally spaced when planting bulbs this year and forgot to save a few back for it. Apparently, it was meant to be, because the primroses look perfect in it!

Take a look!

The primroses looked cute in their little yellow pot, but they look amazing in the blue and white one! Switching out a generic store flower pot for a nicer one really helps take your home decor to another level.

I think I have a new favorite flower!

Instantly elevated!

I love the pops of orange in the middle! And the pop of Spring they bring to my house!

Decorating with Jadeite

With Christmas come and gone and no end in sight to our snowy weather, I have decided to perk up my home decor with all my new Jadeite! It brings a touch of Spring to our cold and dreary days here in northern Indiana and it makes me happy!

I only started collecting Jadeite about a month ago, when I was lucky enough to find a Jane Ray cup and saucer in an antique store in Florida (you can read all about it here!) Since then, my collection has grown to a whopping five pieces! Pretty fantastic, if I do say so myself. Prior to my first find, I couldn't find any Jadeite to save my life, so I am very happy that I keep stumbling upon it recently! My goal is to one day have loads of Jadeite to fill my hutch with, like so many lucky ducks I see on Pinterest and Instagram!

For now, I will just enjoy seeing a few pops of that minty green throughout my home! Currently, most of my Jadeite is confined to the dining room, but my McKee canister is acting like a flower pot in my living room. Jadeite is not just for the kitchen! Although, I do hope to be making use of my cakestand very soon!

My beloved hutch! Hopefully, it will one day be filled with Jadeite! Until then, up top is my reproduction cakestand that I got at World Market and I've got my official Fire King berry bowl just chilling down below.

I've got a little more pastel going on than usual with my two cakestands, but it just looks so good! 

My citrus recipe box from Rifle Paper Co. fits in perfectly with my Jadeite! I absolutely love anything vintage/vintage inspired!

This is a McKee canister that once held flour, sugar, or the like. It had a lid at one time too, but they are hard to come by! I saw this in an antique store and it looked immediately to me like a flower pot. So that's what I decided to use it for! I've got some big plans for it in the future too!

My very first piece of Jadeite! My Jane Ray teacup and saucer! I love it!

I just love that color!

Tomato Basil Soup

Whenever it starts to get cold, I start craving soup! So with this deep freeze going on (for what seems like forever now!) I am definitely in the mood for some warm and hearty soup!

The other day, I went to the grocery store and picked up a rather delicious looking "can" of tomato basil soup to throw in my cart. Since I am on Weight Watchers, I checked the points on my handy little WW app. HOLY CRAP! It was 28 points for two cups of this soup! That's like all I get for a whole day! I quickly put it back, perplexed as to why tomato soup would have so many points. I know it had cream in it, but still! Tomatoes are zero points!

I decided right then and there to make my own tomato basil soup, with as few points as possible! I am so thankful for my smart phone (don't laugh, I only got one recently!) because I quickly looked up a few recipes on Pinterest. Most had the same basic ingredients and I switched out or left out some of the higher point items and came up with my own recipe!

This soup is really so easy and delicious, there is no need to buy canned soup ever again! And if you're on Weight Watchers, it's only one smart point! One! And that's just for the olive oil to saute the onions in!


Ingredients:

1 28oz can crushed tomatoes 

half a large onion, chopped

1tbs olive oil

1 tsp minced garlic (I use the pre minced stuff in the jar)

1 14oz can of chicken broth

fresh basil

Here's what I did:

I started by sauteing the onions in the olive oil until golden brown over medium heat. Then I added the garlic and cooked just until fragrant (about one minute.)

Next I added in the chicken broth, tomatoes and a pinch of salt. I brought it to a boil and then turned the heat down to low and let it simmer for about 15-20 minutes.

At this point, try the soup. If it's too sour for you, you can add some sugar to sweeten it up. I recommend adding a teaspoon at a time. I liked mine without it, but some people may not.

Lastly, I added the basil. I only cut up three leaves of it because I wasn't sure if I liked basil. And the soup tasted pretty darn good without it, so I didn't want to ruin it! But, if you know that you like basil, by all means, use as much as you like!

I also used my immersion blender and blended the soup so that it would be smoother. You could use a food processor to do it, but just make sure that the soup is mostly cooled down before you do it that way. No one wants to get burned by scalding hot soup exploding out of a food processor (because it will!) Or if you're rich and have Vitamix, you can use that as well. Or, if you like chunky soup, don't blend it at all!

Yum!!!

A little basil garnish to make it pretty!

And a little shaved Parmesan cheese to make it extra yummy!

This recipe made about 3 cups of soup. 

Just remember if you are on WW, everything you add to the soup (sugar or Parmesan cheese) adds points, so adjust accordingly!


Enjoy!