Relaunching: Intrinsic Beauty

I am thrilled to announce that after a year long hiatus, I am relaunching Intrinsic Beauty. Over the next coming weeks, you will see some aesthetic changes on the blog, as well as a lot more new and different content.

The brand combines my love for healthy living, eating, cooking and entertaining. The name stems from the philosophy that our health and well being are integrally connected to what we eat and how we live. It's about creating balance, feeling beautiful from the inside out and celebrating life with delicious food that makes you feel good.

Hope you will consider the Intrinsic Beauty blog a "go to" resource for easy entertaining ideas, fresh whole-based seasonal recipes, and inspiration for living an enriched and balanced life.

Thank you to all of the readers who kept checking in and welcome if you are visiting for the first time!

Hope you enjoy!

xoxo,

Ashley

Fields of Flowers

The beauty surrounding us in CT is staggering. There is so much visual eye candy and the different areas to explore seems endless. We usually begin our summer mornings with a leisurely walk on the beach and then a swim in the Long Island Sound. After that we don't know where the day will take us. We relish in being unscheduled and unplanned, which is how we ended up at Scott's Flower Farm recently. We took a detour home after having lunch in Essex and stumbled upon fields of flowers right off the side of the country road.

In the Garden: Dahlias

Over the last couple of weeks, I have been planting a cutting garden. I love having fresh flowers in the house and wanted to have more variety to choose from. The flower bed is small so I have to be discerning about what to plant. However, there was no question that dahlias would be included. Similar to annuals, dahlias bloom continually, but like perennials, you can replant them yearly. Their greatest attribute is the more you cut them, the more the flowers grow. Once cut and in water, dahlias are one of the longest-lasting cut flowers. Follow the jump for more on these summer beauties.

Home Sweet Home: Cocktail Pool

Today marks the first day of summer! It's officially the season for lazy days, beach outings, exploring local watering holes, and clocking endless hours of pool time. While most days you will find me at the beach, this time of year always makes me feel like one thing is missing at our house - a pool. We have been wrestling with the idea of putting one in for some time. Our hesitation has been disrupting the expansiveness of the green lawn, and the never-ending maintenance that comes with a large pool. We recently realized that a splash pool or what is also know as a "cocktail pool" - don't you love the terminology?! - would alleviate both our concerns, and afford us the luxury of a cooling dip on a hot summer day. Oh, and yes, give us another excuse to invite friends over for cocktails! Here is some inspiration that I have been gathering before we break ground. 

Home Sweet Home: A Creative Corner

One of my New Year's resolutions was to convert our guest house into an office/studio space. We plan to finally begin the project in July, but in the the meantime, I have been yearning for a creative space where I will hopefully spend more time blogging. I decided to designate an area of our downstairs guest room as my "creative corner." I took an old desk that had been collecting dust in the attic and gave it a "face lift." A few coats of white paint and some gold leaf knobs made it look brand new! Go to the jump for the before pic..

In the Garden: A Peony Arranging Party

Hello, peonies! It's been a long year without you and I'm so happy to enjoy you for the next few weeks!

Yes, peony season is amongst us and ours blossomed last weekend! Once again, I am indulging in their beauty and having such fun arranging them and soaking up their inspiration. This season, it dawned on me that I should have a peony arranging party. It's a wonderful way to invite friends into your home to celebrate spring, and to be able share in the joy of a home grown garden.....

In The Garden: Rhododendrons

Evergreen rhododendrons surround our property in CT. They are hearty and scale easily so they tend to be a northeast favorite. Frankly, I have never been too thrilled about them as they seemed outdated and remiinscent of 80's landscaping. In fact, we had been planning to rip most of them out. However, I took a new view towards them this year when I saw several NYC restaurants with stunning large-scale pink rhododendron arrangements. I loved how they created an indoor/outdoor look and instantly brought the feeling of spring into the room (the evergreen varieties only bloom for about three weeks towards the end of spring). The waxy texture of the leaves and the large round blooms lend to an organic, sophisticated look. I now have rhododendrons arranged all over the house and have a completely new appreciation for them. Thus far each arrangement has lasted about 10 days.

Here are a few tips on how to prepare them for an arrangement: 

• The best time to cut the rhododendrons is in the early morning. 
• Before heading outside, fill a bucket with just enough warm water to be able to cover the stems. 
• Take the bucket with you and as soon as you cut the rhododendrons, place them immediately into the water. 
• When it comes time to arranging, cut the stem of the flower on an angle at a desired length, and place into a vase with warm water. 
• Keep the flowers in a cool place, away from direct sunlight.

I have taken a keen interest in how to make the shrubs look better when they are not in bloom so I can enjoy them throughout the year. I have also learned that you can "force"them to bloom in the winter. To learn more about caring for rhododendrons, read here. 

Next up, my favorite...peonies!! 

Images: pinterest & IB

The Holiday Front Door

As the clock struck midnight last night, we officially went into Christmas mode. The holiday tunes were blaring and we began caroling away. We usually get our Christmas tree the weekend after Thanksgiving, but since we are away - it will have to be next weekend. In the meantime, I am thinking about how to decorate our country house this year, and first priority is the front door. After all, it is where you intitially receive holiday guests and welcome them in for some Christmas cheer!

Thankful

 

I have so much to be thankful for this year, including all of you who support my creative endeavors and read Intrinsic Beauty.  And to my darling husband, who makes every day better than the last and encourages me to keep moving forward with all my hopes and dreams. Happy Thanksgiving! May you all have a wonderful time celebrating with family and friends.

A Fall Beach Day & Picnic

On Saturday, temperatures in CT soared to the high 70's. This CA girl did not waste any time -  I packed up a picnic and headed to the beach with Victor. It was the perfect Indian summer beach day......

Happy 4th of July!

Happy 4th of July from Ireland!! We arrived to the emerald isle yesterday and will be here for two whole weeks! We are spending time with the hubby's family and celebrating a milestone birthday with my mother-in-law. The sun is shining here and it feels wonderful to be on holiday.  

Father's Day: Gift Ideas For The Culinary-Inclined Dad

Whether you want to splurge or stay budget-friendly, here are 10 gift ideas for the culinary-inclined dad...

In The Garden: "Cut & Come Again" Container Lettuce

The older I get, the more appreciative I am of small simple pleasures. Take lettuce for instance - while I am a nutritionist and have always had a love for all things green and good for you, I never thought that I would be getting so giddy over a "cut-and-come again" salad! It may be because my container salad garden produced the best lettuce, I have seriously ever tasted. Or maybe it's the process of growing my own food and seeing the results? Regardless of the why, I am relishing in it....

In The Garden: More Peonies

My weekend was full of peonies! As I mentioned last week, it's peony season and we are lucky to have quite a few bushes. I went out on Saturday morning and collected them by the bunches! I can't quite describe what makes these beauties so special, but I was sure happy arranging them. We ended up with 20 plus arrangements all throughout the house AND there will be more by next weekend too! Inspired by the peonies, we decided to throw a couple of low-key soirées. How could we not show them off? I will be sharing the peony tablescapes throughout the week..be sure to check back-in!

My Favorite Kitchen Essentials

I could probably extend this list to my 10 favorite kitchen essentials, but right now these 5 are getting some serious play in the kitchen.

Green Living: Peonies

To my surprise and absolute delight  - the first spring we were in CT, we discovered that the front of our property is full of peony bushes (I was actually jumping up and down, I was so excited). My favorite flower, I could not believe that I was now going to be able pick them by the dozens! It's finally peony season again and they are just starting to pop...

Green Living: Herb Garden

When I first began my holistic journey about 13 years ago (yikes, where does the time go?!), I found myself much more connected to nature. I started noticing plants and flowers more and truly appreciating the lush Southern California surroundings. After reading about the wonderful therapeutic benefits of gardening and growing your own food, I became inspired to completely transform my parents backyard. A few weeks later our yard was overflowing with potted herbs, plants and flowers. I then decided to up the ante and grow a vegetable garden. Well, after hours of tilling, digging and planting, and feeling very proud of my efforts - I woke up one morning to find that it had almost all disappeared. I called out immediately for my Dad and yelled in a panic, "we have been vandalized!" My father looked quite concerned and then all of the sudden.....we saw a jack rabbit and then another one and another and another!! I can still see my father roaring with laughter now and saying, "we were vandalized by a jack rabbit family!" It was the first and last time we ever saw a jack rabbit in the vicinity. Dad has never let me live the moment down, and when I talk about gardening  in his presence - I see the smirk on his face that takes him back to that day....which was admittedly pretty funny!

Green Living: Composting

It's time to compost!

Home Sweet Home: Let's Get Organized

I don't know about you, but when the new year arrives, I get motivated to go on a household cleaning/organization spree. After putting away the Christmas decorations, I start looking around and everything seems a bit disheveled. Suddenly, I am craving uncluttered spaces and the smell of fresh lemon in the air.