Pastels In The Kitchen~

The last bouquets are being picked..nothing cohesive really..just what I see still blooming that strikes my fancy..and isn't yellow or orange..The odd roses..pansies.. phlox..hydrangeas~
I will be disappointed to not have little bouquets scattered here and there..
And  it's the time to pick the Pink Diamonds from our largest shrub that always threatens to gobble up the back porch~
I keep this old wicker basket filled with these yr round..but replace every yr..It sits on the TV armoire..and I love looking at it year after year..I am a creature of habit and get used to something..and just want to keep it that way~
I just cut them.. strip the bottom leaves and arrange..no water..nothing..and they stay like this forever.

I brought some to my daughter and she said..:"they're so big mom:)" I don't know if she meant:" they're too big for me mom"..or..they're big..:)They are..they are HUGE..I have lots of others and not one grows cones or branches like this one..Can't wait to see what Pinkie Winkie does in the years to come.

She's very sleek in her home..not fussy..I think Pottery Barn looking..Must say we finally have one here.. quite a drive..  but the things in there are quite nice indeed.:)
I had a chance to visit recently..there is a coffee table she is coveting.
Lovely~
It's like a city that shopping place.. Quite something..Williams Sonoma too..Marshalls..etc..

Also ,recently..Mari..posted this ice cream that really made me want to get up and make some..I'm not the sweet eater remember..but it was so pretty..and I had not used my ice cream maker once this year..I gathered the ingredients..
And set out to make it..
Jacques loves it~ He said :"  c'est un délice~"
That always works for me..
The recipe can be found by first going to Mari's post on the ice cream..HERE..I mean c'mon..now don't you just want to get up and make it?:)


One word of advice..don't be like me and be in such a rush that you stick your bowl in the freezer overnight and think :"voilà!"~
Cause chances are it won't be voilà..it will be oh no..did I put too much sugar etc..?
Upon reflection and quick Googling.. the bowl may need up to 22 hrs and the temp should be below 0 ideally..
so we adjuted our small fridge freezer upstairs..made room..set it to -2..and left it from morning till the next morning..
Vive la différence.
I had kept the mixture in the fridge after I removed it from my first failure..
And it worked perfectly..
I used to keep my bowl in the freezer when I made ice cream more frequently and had never had a problem..so counted on past experience..
But it had not been in the freezer a sufficient amount of time..
You need a CCCCCOLD bowl.
And le tour est joué~
I may have lacked enough purée to get the brightest beautiful color like M..I think I had barely 3/4 cup..barely..
Thank you Mari..I know you inspired others to make your ice cream too:)I saw Madonna's but I am sure there are more:)
So much fun to share and learn.♥I know Jacques likes that.
And I am grateful for that~