St Patrick's Day and a little taste of Irish Coconut Ice....

 Ok - I am fooling with ya all a little....
this is an ordinary coconut ice,
sweet...
delicious...
uncooked...
 and simple to make.
The Irish bit is just the fact it has green colouring added 
to a layer instead of the standard pink!
This delish Coconut Ice is courtesy of BBC Good Food.
It is very easy to make so pop over to get the recipe:
http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/2799/coconut-ice-squares


Nothing more perfect 
than a sweet treat to share on 
St Patrick's Day!







A Beautiful St Patrick's Day Proverb....



Choc-caramel Easter Slice

I found this Easter slice recipe on The Bite,
http://www.bite.co.nz/recipe/7137/ChocCaramel-Easter-Slice/
And it promised to be the biggest sweet overload in history with an almond chocolatey cake base,
gooey caramel filling and chocolate covered malt balls on top of that!
But here's the surprise....
it was sweet... but nicely so...
Not at all over the top as one might have expected,
and sooooo delicious!
The caramel was a little gooey,
  but adding longer cooking time will firm it up without a problem. 
Printable recipe is over at the Bite - http://www.bite.co.nz/recipe/7137/ChocCaramel-Easter-Slice/
For your Easter dessert display, 
add candles...
 And serve the Choc-caramel Easter Slices on brown paper, 
on a worn wooden chopping board.
Feathers always add to the fun!
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Porch Love...

Nothing beats a covered porch for summer dining,
an outdoor room to relax in, listen to music, or spend time with family & friends.
So today I'm sharing 'Mia Bella Passions back porch'...
 It's quite a large area,
sited between a bedroom and the red sitting room.
Bonus is it has a roof!
There's an old oak table centred on the deck that has a mosaic top.
The picture is of a butterfly.
The words read: Fly like a butterfly - free.
 Of course there is the mandatory fresh flowers...
a bowl of creamy white lilies.
The chairs are worn wood, 
I thought maybe one day I'll chalk paint them,
 but right now they're just plain shabby,
but I like that!
The old fish tank sits atop a huge cabinet...
it contains air plants, a bromeliad, rocks, and driftwood and various treasures. 
 There are quite a few plants...
I'm quite fond of orchids...
 Rhododendrons and bromeliads...
The stencilled valentines mat sit's outside the bedroom door.
Here's the link on how to make one:
http://miabellapassion.blogspot.co.nz/2015/01/stenciled-valentines-heart-door-mat.html
French doors open onto the deck from this room...
as well as French doors on the opposite side from the red sitting room.
 An old patio aviary sits in the corner,
  that's used to store baskets and bits...
 The upcycled chandelier/candelabra hangs from the ceiling beam...
 There are practical shelves for those shoes...
 And room for some pretties too...
 A black wrought iron birdcage and globe
 A hand-painted gourd birdhouse.
 Mosaic...
 There's quite a few birdhouses actually!
The back porch is a fabulous place to relax,
to enjoy the flowers,
and simply chill out in the tranquillity!
 Tucker agrees...
Shanti-Rose thinks it is a fabulous place to nap too.
Isn't she the cutest?
               Cat love moment…)
There was just one thing missing from the back porch decor,
and that was a porch rules sign...
so what does one do...
get creating of course!
Using the free vintage Chrysanthemum flower printable from here:
http://miabellapassion.blogspot.co.nz/2015/01/vintage-chrysanthemum-printables.html
I added some wording in various fonts, printed it on matt photo paper, and popped it in a brassy gold frame.
That is complimentary to the lone brass upcycled chandelier which is now a candelabra!
Read about that DIY session here:
http://miabellapassion.blogspot.co.nz/2015/03/upcycle-chandelier-into-outdoor.html 
I'm loving the new Porch Rules sign,
and it's the perfect finishing touch!
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Upcycle a chandelier into an outdoor candelabra...

I picked up this  vintage chandelier style light fitting at the thrift store...
I knew straight away that I wanted to up-cycle it,
 into a candelabra for the back porch.
And it is gorgeous...
 In aged brass
It's so heavy!
 
And the patina is stunning. 
I know brass and copper is quite popular in home décor right now...
And I'm probably am going to cop a bit of abuse when I tell ya all
I actually bought matt black spray paint to paint it black!
When nitty came to gritty....
I just could not do it!
I even posted a 'Shall I - shan't I' pic for debate on Hometalk...
With the consensus of the votes 
to 'leave it be'.
Paint free...
in it's original fabulousness...
And so I did!
 The faulty wiring was cut out...
 The light-bulb fitting removed so a candle would fit in its place...
The ceiling rose nailed up...
and the chandelier hung.

Long slim candles...

Were fitted...
And lit.

After a while

the wax began to melt
Creating beautiful waxy drips...
wax drips are an art form in itself!
I'm in love with candles.... 
And upcycled chandeliers
made into an outdoor candelabras.

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