Memorable Birthday Gift. My Publication Arrived on July 19th

A few months back I saw a call for artistic submissions to Creating Vintage Charm Magazine. In keeping with my NewYears list of things I would like to accomplish: Create a blog, try to get published, get accepted to a juried craft show…, I took the opportunity to make a submission.
I was overjoyed when I was notified of my acceptance. Then came what seemed like an interminable wait for the magazine to be published. I checked in May and again in June. As the summer solstice approached, I thought well now it is officially summer the issue must be out.. Not yet. Well, about a week ago when I checked, voila! I immediately ordered my copy.
July19th is my birthday. My husband Joe brought in the mail and said, "you have another present". It was my copy of the magazine!!!! This is my first publication and I was so overjoyed to see my artistic creation in print!

See my "Vitorian Bathing Girls Summer Banner" here in the summer 2012 issue of Creating Vintage Charm Magazine.

VICTORIAN BATHING GIRSLS SUMMMER BANNER, By Valerie Burgess

Please visit my Shop for my currently available creations at: www.valburgesscollgae.etsy.com
http://www.etsy.com/shop/valburgesscollage

IN CELEBRATION OF HERBS

This year we decided to expand the herb garden rather than to plant vegetables.
I decided to do a little entertaining in the month of June.  I put aside other interests, gave the house a good cleaning and invited a few friends over for two consecutive weekends. With the herb garden putting on some nice growth, I perused through some of my favorite herb books to plan the menu. Being summer I opted for a cold plate presentation.

I decided on a favorite chicken salad  recipe from Martha Stewart. She is great for entertaining, as her recipes are ample.

The chicken salad was layered upon a bed of cucumber slices uniformly sliced with the mandoline on croissants.

Two and a half pounds of chicken breasts were laid on a bed of parsley, thyme and bay leaves.
They were then roasted, cooled and shredded.

I then made a homemade mayonnaise

In keeping with the herbal celebration theme, I added fresh spinach, watercress, chives and freshly squeezed lemon juice to the mayonnaise

The mayonnaise was added to the chicken salad and chilled overnight to let the flavors marry.

Next in the preparation was a homemade lemon cake. This recipe comes form one of my very favorite herb books by
Emellie Tolley
Lemon verbena was steeped in milk and added to both the cake and the icing recipe.
Citrus geranium leaves were layered on the bottom of the cake pan which are visible above.

A simple decoration of fresh lavender buds and bee-balm decorated the cake.

Raspberries freshly picked form the garden in the morning were mixed with fresh mango and dressed with a light dusting of turbinado sugar and peach brandy.

Looking through one of my southern table decorating books , I got the inspiration to use  a set of Villeroy & Bock dishes that I purchased from the factory in Germany. The pattern is colorfully decorated with a lively jungle managerie of monkeys, leopards and toucans

A drink station was set up for lemon water and iced teas   spiked with fresh mint.

A bouquet of fresh lilies just coming into bloom  added color and a heavenly scent.

My lovely lady guests Karen and Mitzi of whom I made their acquaintance through St.Anne's , our church.

Karen and I
Where there is food there will be our dog Monique.

Mitzi and myself

Plated and ready to eat.

Spring at the Burgess's Home

I have fallen so far behind on the posts that I have wanted to make. We invested in a new camera and I have been taking pictures with every intention to feature them here. Well I am going to endeavor to make posts more often. Here goes some photos that go back to Spring!!!

 Here is my husband, Joseph at the kitchen table. He is deservedly proud of his baking accomplishment.

Here are Joe's delicious Easter hot cross buns. He made these for  St Anne's coffee hour. Those daffodils were in bloom at Easter, This is the first time that I have seen flowers in my yard in bloom in MN at Easter.


When we moved here, we gave up our 2.5 acres that we had in Virginia. After years of being in the garden club, I was determined to take this small yard and transition it into a potential cutting garden. I just love bringing in fresh flowers from the garden to make bouquets.
This year the garden reached it's apogee of bloom on May27th when I shot all of the these photos.

This lovely clamatis is on the side of the house

I was so delighted to find a southern stalwart .
A wisteria that can survive in zone 4.

We live on the corner. For privacy I asked joe to make this low stone wall and pergola.
The wisteria provides the privacy we sought.

At the front door there are two climbing roses. Knowing that the yard was small I thought why not go vertical.

This year we decided not to grow vegetables in our  wee garden.
We filled the beds with herbs.
I love to preserve my herbs. Each year I make pesto, herbal olive oil, herbal vinegar, herbal butters and dry the herbs.

In Virginia we delighted in growing scented geraniums . Never could find them here in MN until this year.
I made a lemon flavored cake with the lemon verbena and citrus geraniums leaves.

Here is our dog, Monique. She is a Petite Basset Griffon Vendee (PBGV)
She is in the scent hound group. Originally a rabbit hunting dog. However, because of the rabbits (which she shows no inclination to hunt) we now are growing herbs rather than vegetables.

This is under our kitchen window which faces north.
the ladies mantle likes it here. In the early spring I have a few lilies  of the valley. My mom, Dolores liked those and it always reminds me of her.

This is a bed in the front right hand corner of the yard . I just love when the poppies are in bloom. The color scheme here is where I have my hot colors.