Love is everywhere

Love lives on.............

Artwork by: Leo Brown

Your inner child

Remember that feeling.............and revisit it over and over again. x

Photo: Cookie Kinkead

Sweet Dreams are made of this...........A letter to me from The Universe.

My Dearest, 

I was about to wish that your every dream come true. That you find yourself surrounded by friends, laughter, and good times. I almost wished that your every cup runneth over financially, romantically, spiritually, and creatively. That good health be your faithful companion, peace your guarded ally, and love your perpetual guide. When suddenly, it dawned on me that as an infinite, powerful, fun-loving gladiator of the Universe, with eternity before you and the power of your thoughts to help shape it... it's you Dear One, who will be granting wishes this year. 

I'd like peace on earth, please - 

    The Universe

You can sign up for your letters from the Universe here: The Universe

Photo: Cookie Kinkead

Swimming Au Natural

Does it get more heavenly than this?? Nature's swimming pool, just steps from the centre of town. ~ The end of Bay St, Harbour Island, Bahamas.

Love Infinitus

Washed up

             

'Tis the season! Mercifully we took no direct hits from any hurricanes this year ( although there is still time as hurricane season doesn't officially end until November! ) The island closes down and empties out come mid August and that's when most property owners and employees take their annual vacation ranging from 4-16 weeks. People often ask, "where do you take vacation?" Lets see, New York, Burma, Africa, Canada, Australia, Bali, Ireland, Costa Rica......to name just a few. And then there are the years that we decide to stay and enjoy the island that we watch others enjoy all year long. We get it!! But with LOTS of time on our hands, we see things that you might not see..........like the absolute treasure trove of plastic that washes up onto the beach, especially with passing storms. It would seem that chefs with closed restaurants get extra creative in other areas during the off season! Baby Buoy is the creation of chef/owner Julie Lightbourne from Sip Sip and "Helga" and The Bahamian flag were created by chef Jennifer Learmonth from The Rock House.

Island Dream

        Dream the dream you want to dream and if you believe you'll live that dream..................

Heavenly Bites

This post was entirely inspired by the wonderful capture by my most adored friend and photographer, Cookie Kinkead, who seems to be chronicling our lives at the moment in photographs and sees everything..........including my contribution to last night's dinner, Polenta griddle cake with caramelized onions, goats cheese and a drizzle of honey. I had actually started making these for my lunch that day and after eating one, I thought "no, these are too good to eat alone. I must share them." That's how I ended up encroaching on my husband's Wednesday night dinner gig with my offering. Time to share the love again............ I got this recipe from the good folks at Food52


Serves 8

For the Polenta:

2 cups whole milk

2 cups water

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1 cup polenta

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil



For the Topping:

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

1 tablespoon butter

1 yellow onion, halved and sliced in 1/4" slices

2 ounces goat cheese, crumbled

honey, to drizzle

Bring the water, milk, and salt to a boil. Slowly whisk in the polenta. Turn heat to low, and continue whisking for 5 minutes, or until polenta is smooth and creamy. Spread the polenta in a 9x9 baking dish, and set aside to cool.
While the polenta is setting up, add the butter and olive oil to a heavy-bottomed skillet set to medium-low heat. Add the sliced onions and a sprinkle of kosher salt, and cook, stirring occasionally until soft, golden, and caramelized- about 20-25 minutes.
Pour 1 tablespoon olive oil into another skillet, set over medium heat. Using a 3" round cookie cutter, cut out circles of the firm polenta, and place in the heated skillet. Cook until slightly browned and crusty on one side, about 2 minutes, then flip and cook the other sides another two minutes.
To assemble the polenta cakes, place on a plate, add one tablespoon of caramelized onions to each cake, top each with about a teaspoon of crumbled goat cheese, and drizzle with honey. Enjoy!

Island Life

A Library of Design's blog writer, design writer, former magazine editor, photographer and author of 18 books, including 15 architecture, interior design, travel and gardening books, and a bestselling memoir, Janelle McCulloch has a fabulous idea that has been brewing for a while..........Stories, flavours and family, yep, that's our Island Life       .......coming to a bookshelf near you......soon!

Truth

There is One truth, beyond all faiths, beyond everything. Every religion is a river. The truth is the Sea.

Photo by Elena Kalis

From whence we came

We are all tied to the ocean and the sea. 

And when we go back to the sea, 

whether it is to sail or to watch-

we are going back from whence we came. 

John F. Kennedy

It's a dog's life.

Royal Island, Eleuthera.............gone to the dogs.

Paradise

Follow your path, unburdened and free, and know paradise.

Rooster in magenta and gold

Choosing to focus on their beauty to balance out the murderous thoughts I have been having at their unholy crowing at 2 a.m that is akin to them pecking my eyes out!! Pretty hey?!

Rooster in magenta and gold by Amber Alexander

Simply beautiful

Now and then it's good to pause in our pursuit of happiness and just be happy. 

photograph by Elena Kalis

Pimp My Ride

My manifestation/vision board is getting awfully empty these days - one vision and dream after the next coming true and being realized! So an aqua blue 57 Chevy it is - parked outside our dream house overlooking the harbour with it's white picket fence and the interior chock a block with love, authenticity and a fabulous collection of vintage chenille. I've got to get my landscaping pictures up on my board now! What I love most about my new car(t), which was a birthday present from my pretty amazing husband, is the reaction other people have when we drive by - huge smiles and delight......that's just how I like to ride!

With my 3 year old in her panties and my 14 year old in an oversized t-shirt, we set out on a golf cart adventure to collect one of every different kind of flower we could find on the island. So wonderful to have the opportunity to see familiar things with new eyes. We counted petals, looked at the different stamen, were almost blinded by the brilliant colors, saw flowers that we had never seen before and squealed in delight at finding tiny little flowers that would have gone by unnoticed had we not been paying attention. I had Louis Armstrong playing in my head. We ended our adventure at the house of a wonderful woman from The Ukraine eating freshly made brioche and playing bingo.........but that's a whole other story :-) Happy May Day!

  You can't make this stuff up! Island life as captured by Anthropologie.

The Kiss

Drown in the ocean of ecstasy ......................

The Sweetest of Dreams.

Talk about a surprise! My beautiful husband planned this for months after seeing my post about this being my fantasy~ yep, award winning husband! It was a perfectly magical evening, filled with love, laughter, music, dance, rose champagne and pink sand...........dreams do come true. Extraordinary island life.