Bohemian Cottage | Sharing the Artistic Lifestyle...Take a Peek Inside

White Porcelain Floral Hand Jewelry Holder

Collectables. What do our collections reveal about us?

This iron hand was the first piece I got when I started to collect hands.

Most people have collected something at some point in their lives. I think it is human nature to collect, based on some of our most primal basic needs for food perhaps. Carl Jung had his theories on it as did Freud. I got to thinking about what some of the collections I have might be saying about me and my personality. Most of the things I collect are for the aesthetic aspects of it, also symbolic and my constant thirst for the hunt of a particular object. Some of the collections I have did not start intentionally to be collections, they just happened. Kind of like my collection of hand sculptures. The very first one, a cast iron open hand, was purchased as a crystal ball stand. It is one of my favorite things that I own. Then I became fascinated with hands of different sorts when I would come across them. I found a set of tiny clay hands that fit perfectly a small smoky quartz crystal ball I had. Then I had 2. I picked up jewelry holder hands made from resin, ceramic and wood. They symbolize to me help, work, balance, giving and receiving. (read more)

Pesto Naan Bread Pizza with Pancetta and Tomato

Naan Bread Pizza with Pancetta and Tomato. Bohemiancottage

This is a great weeknight meal that is fast and tasty.

I don’t know about you, but during the week it can be tiring to cook dinner. On those days when my energy is low and all I hear is ‘what’s for dinner”, I like easy, tasty and quick. Naan bread makes a great pizza crust! I can find it in the bakery section of the grocery store, and with whatever toppings are on hand in the fridge, suddenly it is pizza night, bohemian style!

I used fresh herbs out of the garden to make this pizza, oregano and basil pesto.

One of the nice things about doing a small individual sized pizza is that everyone can pick and choose what toppings to put on theirs. We had fresh pineapple and leftover ham and made hawaiian style Indian naan pizza. Doesn’t get much more bohemian than that! What is it about the flavor combination of pineapple and ham…it is so much better with fresh pineapple verses canned too. (read more)

Plant Exchange Potluck

This year at the Rocky Mountain Gardening Forum Plant Exchange we met this hen.

The Rocky Mountain Gardening Forum annual Spring plant exchange this year was in Arvada. There was a potluck and hundreds of plants being exchanged by gardeners of all levels, from the beginner to the master gardener. The hosts had a chicken coop where this little hen lived with about 5 others. The gardening forum holds the plant exchange a couple times of year, in the spring and again in the fall. everyone starts plants from seed or divides them from established plants in their gardens to bring to share with one another. It is a wonderful way to expand the plants in the garden without having to spend any money at the garden center. This year I shared lemon balm, golden zucchini, chives, coreopsis and strawberries. It is nice to see the plants that are reproducing and spreading in the garden enjoy a good home. (read more)

Healthy and Quick White Bean Dip with Chives. Bohemian Cottage

White Bean Dip with Chive Blossoms

White Bean and Chive Blossom Dip. Bohemian Cottage

This is a simple, tasty and healthy recipe that worked well for a potluck dish.

I recently made this quick and healthy white bean dip with chive blossoms for the Rocky Mountain Gardening Forum’s spring plant exchange and potluck. You just never know at a potluck what kind of diet people have to adhere to, could be vegan, gluten free or vegetarian, you just never know! Not that I try to please everyone, but I do want as many people as possible to enjoy the food I make. So this dip with gluten free chips and veggies seemed like just the thing. Plus I found this cute basket and bowl set that was begging to go to a potluck. (read more)

Bohemian Tea Party Decor. Bohemian Cottage

Party Decor~Bohemian Tea Party

The bohemian tea party turned out to be timed just right for Makayla’s birthday. We had a few friends over, all bringing something to contribute to the spread and enjoyed a fun, bohemian themed gathering. The food was an eclectic mix of world flavors, the color scheme was a bright saturated jewel toned rainbow. We took inspiration from Morocco, India, England and Turkey.

We went with a mix of bright colors and world flavors for our tea party.

Rosie brought her tea set passed down from her grandmother.

We had traditional English tea cups and saucers as well as Moroccan tea cups. We ended up using the Moroccan tea cups for our bubbly cocktails instead! I did attempt to make the traditional Moroccan tea, but it came out way to strong. I will work on perfecting that recipe and technique to share with you here on the blog. (read more)

Purple Allium in the Bohemian Cottage Garden

The “Trouble Spot” in the Garden

Allium are fun to watch as they make the slow progress of blooming

The Bohemian Cottage garden is ever changing come midsummer. Some of the blooms from early spring have made their stunning show, while others are just now making an appearance, like these purple alliums. These Allium are growing in a corner of the garden that has been particularly troublesome. I would say that in the 5 years here at Bohemian Cottage, this is the best for that spot. I have also planted a circus tent petunia, delphinium, blue asters and salvia. There are also several gladiolas coming up from bulbs I planted last year. I thought that gladiolas were annuals unless taken out of the ground and stored, but these have proven to be tough Colorado hearty gladiolas! (read more)