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To see the complete list of all of our recipes, CLICK HERE!

Recipes for Beach and Backyard Labor Day Celebrations

September 2, 2020, posted by Gina – Labor Day marks the end of summer and back to school. While many of our days are still warm, our thoughts are transitioning to crisp evenings and bright, sunny autumn days.  Over the years, autumn has become my favorite season.  I love to peruse comfort food recipes, smell the scents of fall and turn my thoughts to holiday entertaining.  Entertaining this year may present some interesting challenges, but I am more than ready to take them on!

I made this pasta salad for my family every time we were at the beach.  It became a mainstay and one that could not be omitted or else I’d find myself in trouble with the family.  It is very simple but somehow seems a like nice treat after a few hours on the beach.  The shell pasta seems right at home while at the beach. 

The following three recipes are perfect for a backyard cookout. Pork chops are sometimes overlooked as a meat for grilling, but they grill fast and taste wonderful cooked on the grill.


Video Workshop: Designing a Fresh Floral Arrangement in a Stunning Glass Vase

April 15, 2020 – In this video, Gina takes you through a step-by-step tutorial on designing a fresh flower arrangement in a tall vase. She shares a lot of great tips: how to use floral tape, why it’s important to use more than one type of greenery, working with tricky tulips, “breaking” the line of the container and more. Click on the image below…


Shop Update

March 25, 2020, Posted by Gina – Everyone is pulling together and doing their best to make it through this trying time. We have decided to stop allowing customers to come in the shop. We take your safety and the safety of our staff seriously. 
We are still offering free delivery and curbside pickup. We will continue providing this service for as long as it is possible and safe. 
We can deliver flowers, plants and merchandise to your friends and loved ones during this difficult time. Some of you may not be able to visit a friend or loved one at the moment and we would be honored to design an arrangement that, now more than ever, communicates your love, thoughts, prayers and support. And a little reminder that beauty is all around us. 
Thank you.


We’re Open! Delivery Fees Waived & Other Important Info…

March 17, 2020, posted by Gina

Delivery Fee Waived: We are offering free delivery in Madison and Ridgeland during this time. We can deliver flowers, plants and merchandise. Credit Card only on deliveries, please.

Curbside Pickup:  If you’d like to pick up at the store, we will also offer curbside pickup. Credit Card only, please.

Workshop Cancellations: We regret to announce that our upcoming Floral Design Workshops on March 24th and 25th have been cancelled. Based on CDC’s guidelines it is not advisable to host a group who would be in close contact with each other in the shop at this time. We apologize for the inconvenience and will be in touch with all those who have already registered.

Safety Precautions: We are doing everything we can to keep our customers and our team members safe and healthy. We are diligently wiping down all surfaces throughout the day in the shop. We clean and disinfect the counter along with the credit card processor after every use. 

Fresh Farm Style Bouquets: These beauties are available every Thursday, Friday & Saturday and can also be delivered or picked up curbside.

Easter & Mother’s Day: Order Easter centerpieces now and get a jump on Mother’s Day. Mom’s love our shop! Complimentary Gift Wrapping & Gift Certificates are always available. 

Website Fun: Stuck at home and looking something fun to do?  Check our website at www.ginadiamondsflowerco.com. As you know, we have lots of interesting and fun information on our Blog page and Recipe page. Browse through our Flower Gallery and our Workshops/Tutorials page. There are several tutorials in the “Online Tutorials” section on how to design flower arrangements and we plan to post some new ones there soon.

Giveaways: Check our Instagram feed and Facebook page for upcoming giveaways! You may be our next lucky winner!


We Need Your Vote!

Hello Everyone! GDFC has some exciting news to share. We’ve been nominated in Mississippi Magazine’s Best of Mississippi 2020 in the Floral Shop/Floral Designer Category! Please consider voting for us. Voting is open now through February 15th and you can vote once a week. Thanks very much for your participation! Click VOTE to go to the voting page.


Shop Small, Save Big!

The holidays are a great time to take advantage of our Wish List! We’ll take your name and contact information, make a list of items you’d like to receive as gifts and we’ll take the name and contact information of the people with whom you’d like to share your Wish List. No more guesswork for your family and friends. They’ll know exactly what you’d like and we’ll even gift wrap it free of charge for them. Easy!


Creative Ideas for Updating Your Place Settings

July 31, 2019, posted by Gina – My team members and I have been experimenting recently with different ways to create place settings with our china. Many of us registered for our china when we got married, others may have inherited a set from grandparents or you may not have china at all. Regardless, everyone has dinnerware and there will come a time when you would like to change up the look of your place settings.

In the shop, we’ve been having a China Challenge and it’s been a lot of fun. I asked team members to bring in their china or dinnerware and we came up with different looks using linens and accessories that we sell in the shop. It’s amazing just how different the same dishes can look simply by adding colorful linens, graphic napkins or a pretty charger. These transformations don’t have to cost a fortune and often just a small change can make a big difference. So, let’s have a look at what we’ve come up with and we hope these give you a few ideas for your place settings!

In the first photo above you see just the plate on its own. In the second photo we added one of our gold brushed chargers, a chartreuse green napkin and a set of golden figs. In the third photo we kept the gold brushed charger, added a burnt orange geometric napkin and a faux pear as an accent. In the fourth photo we went for a more casual look with the brown and white gingham charger, a two toned burlap placemat, a cream linen napkin, and a gold floral place card holder on top. 

In the first photo above is the Castle Garden pattern by Lenox brought in by a team member. In the second photo, we added an ornate gold charger, a heathered pink linen napkin and a wonderful French Majolica plate that coordinated perfectly. In the third photo we kept the same gold charger and pink linen napkin and simply added a green velvet pumpkin. 

The place settings above are a little different as they feature French blue & white plates that are for sale in the shop and not china belonging to a team member. We created two very different looks using linens and accessories that we have in the shop. Which is your favorite – the vibrant green and blue look or the more subtle look with fresh flowers? 

In the first photo above we have a wonderful Wedgewood blue pattern.  In the second photo we added a cream colored burlap table runner, a rattan charger a beautiful ceramic pumpkin with gold leaves and a striped napkin.  In the third photo we layered with a light purple placemat, a ruffle white napkin and a boxed LUX candle with a ribbon and flower to be used as a gift.

The cream colored plates pictured above are a blank canvas that can be changed up a million different ways. Here we used colorful placemats, napkins and chargers to create just a couple of different looks.

Check us out on Instagram or Facebook to see the rest of our China Challenge place settings and more of our table linens and tableware.


Salmon-Cucumber Tea Sandwiches

A perfect recipe for a brunch or cocktail party: Salmon-Cucumber Tea Sandwiches

June 6, 2019, posted by Gina – We served these wonderful Salmon-Cucumber tea sandwiches, along with a few other small bites, at our last floral design workshop. The recipe for these came from the My Recipes site. They are elegant and light and the fresh dill really makes them super delicious. Add these easy-to-make tea sandwiches to your next brunch or cocktail party menu. We also served the best chocolate chip cookies at the workshop and posted that recipe last week. You can check it out HERE.

My love for decorating and entertaining includes making delicious dishes. I pour over cookbooks (and have for years!) searching and testing out all kinds of recipes. Whether it’s a new recipe for a small luncheon or a full Thanksgiving Day menu for a large family, I put a lot of time and effort into creating the perfect menu. For me, attention to detail is so important and my creative juices start flowing from that focus. I’m passionate about all aspects of entertaining, from creating a beautiful tablescape complete with floral arrangements to whipping up a delicious meal!

If you like discovering new recipes and learning about floral design and home décor, hit the subscribe button in the sidebar to the right. Every time we post a new recipe or an article about general décor, it will be sent directly to your email inbox. Also, check out the list (further down in the sidebar) of all the recipes we’ve posted on the website. It’s divided into categories so you can quickly search for a specific type of recipe. Be sure also to head over to our Flower page which showcases our floral arrangements. You will also find our Floral Design Workshop schedule on the Workshops/Tutorials page.

Thank you so much for visiting our website and we hope to see you in our shop soon!

A bite-size flavor bomb: Salmon-Cucumber Tea Sandwiches
Light and flavorful!
Printable recipe card


Cream of the Crop Chocolate Chip Cookies 2 comments

Finally, a chocolate chip cookie so good it’s the cream of the crop!

May 28, 2019, posted by Gina – Working in the shop keeps me very busy and for that, I am truly grateful! I love it but I was also happy to have a bit of spare time on my hands this Memorial Day. So, I took the opportunity to share this great chocolate chip cookie recipe with you. 

Cream of the crop chocolate chip cookies

Over the years I have tried a million chocolate chip cookie recipes that claim to be the BEST.  I must say I have liked them all and, believe me, not a crumb was wasted. However, I did not find one I felt was “the best”.  Then a few years ago I found a recipe somewhere online and if you are like me, you approach these with caution.  Most of them are good but occasionally you come across one that is not written correctly or the result just isn’t so grea.  For some reason, I decided to try this chocolate chip cookie recipe and I was so happy; I felt I had finally found a true winner.  I think the reason why this recipe is different than others is because of the pudding mix. These are crunchy on the outside and chewy on the inside and for me, this is a perfect combination.  These fall into the “best” category or the “Cream of the Crop”, as I have coined them.

This recipe makes 72 cookies!  That’s a lot of cookies.  I love this because you can enjoy a few as soon as you bake them and you can freeze some too.  

I wish I could remember where I found this recipe.  I hand wrote the recipe which is odd as I usually just print it out.  While I can’t take credit for it, I am happy to share it with you.  It is a straightforward recipe and I made them as directed.  I added the part about the #40 food scoop.  If you don’t have one of these, I encourage you to get one.  It is great for so many things and for this recipe it allows you to uniformly bake the cookies.  

Please give me a shout if you try these and let me know where you rate them.  Or at least enjoy every bite!  Until next time.

Cream of the crop chocolate chip cookies in the making!