End of summer

31 Wednesday Aug 2016

Posted by Karen B. in Family, Gardening, House and Home, Outdoor living, Personal Information, Summer

I’m back and ready to pick up where we left off—where was that, exactly? Happy Wednesday! Summer is not quite finished yet. The summer weather here in SoCal has been manageable overall. We typically get really hot in September, just when I start to think about cool weather, fires in the fireplace and turtleneck sweaters!

Labor Day marks the ceremonial end of summer, but there are still a good few weeks to enjoy the season, even after the three-day weekend ends and schools begin their calendar year. This year, the last day of summer is officially on Sept. 22.

As I mentioned on National Ice Cream Day (third Sunday in July), I’ve worked hard on relaxing during my off hours. I know it’s weird to say I have to work hard to relax, but it’s the truth. As my mother used to say, “Karen, sit still!”

This is what I’ve been up to…

I did a lot of gardening, made plenty of time for entertaining friends and family and actually relaxed a little more than usual.

I shared the patio garden reveal back in March. I wanted to update you with it’s progress.

March 30, 2016: Newly planted patio garden

June 22, 2016: My, how you’ve grown!

The heliotrope and Polygala ‘petite butterfly’ have filled in nicely. Yes, I share the garden with a variety of caterpillars who have been munching on the leaves of the heliotrope as you can see on the leaves in this picture. The delphinium are getting ready to bloom for the second time and the iceberg roses are photo bombing this image (in the background). They’re such show offs. 😉

About the time I feel as if maybe I’m pretty good at gardening I try my hand at planting a few tomato plants and this happens. Gardening can keep you humble with the ~~frequent~~ occasional failure.

I don’t usually plant edibles, except for a few herbs. I have only one spot in the yard that gets “full sun”. So this year I planted 3 small tomato plants in the large clay pot (above-right), in the sunniest location we have. Did I over water? Possibly. The leaves started turning yellow and then shriveling up. Experts on growing tomatoes [in blogland] weigh in, please. I’d love to be able to grow a tomato in this planter.

Here are the other tomato plants, they seem to be surviving. They are in the ground. Wish me luck. We’ve already seen evidence of a critter taking the green tomatoes off the vine and sampling them! {Note to self: This is why I buy my produce at the market} 🙂

One of our close friend’s had a milestone birthday and we hosted a small dinner party for him. It was very fun and since he’s the first to hit this “milestone” birthday, we teased him unmercifully about age!

I used the Portmerion Botanic Garden dishes, my wooden handled flatware, and my green and white plaid napkins for the summer party.

The handsome guy with the apron is our guest of honor. We found the apron HERE. It’s a fun gift for a guy that enjoys grilling!

Recipe and table settings for summer entertaining.

We logged in some wonderful family time, complete with our Austin son and family. Seeing the cousins enjoy themselves while the “adult kids” caught up warmed my heart beyond measure. Icing on the cake! Olivia, our 5 years old granddaughter marching and singing, which tickled Fae our 1 1/2 year old! {bottom picture: Fae at our local park—playing at the “cafe”}

We celebrated with long time friends (almost family) at the wedding of their oldest daughter in a spot that is so swoon worthy—add a romantic wedding and I’m a puddle of warmth and emotions.

Congratulations to the wonderful couple and best wishes to our dear friends, Gretchen and Stu!

I read a few books and by far, my favorite was Eligible: A Modern retelling of Pride and Prejudice by Curtis Sittenfeld. It was a fun read that stayed mostly true to Austen’s Pride and Prejudice.

This pretty much sums up summer. My day job is great and I enjoy the challenges and the camaraderie it provides. What have you been up to?

Karen♥

Purses, the final frontier for organization

27 Wednesday Apr 2016

Posted by Karen B. in Misc, Personal Information

≈ 22 Comments

I don’t typically write posts about personal products or fashion, although I love reading sites that do! Inspiration to break out came by way of Polished Pebble, a blog site written by the very talented Kelley.

Early this year she published a piece about New Year’s organizing. You know what that’s like, second only to spring cleaning, it’s such a great way to start the new year. She covered the essentials where her winter wardrobe (enviable) is concerned and mentioned in closing,

Will someone please write a post about purses and analyze why we put so much stuff in them…it’s truly amazing. It’s as if we women were taught at an early age that the ability to cram your entire life into a smallish bag (which you will then carry around your neck until you need surgery, is part of growing up

I have loved purses since I was a child. I’m sure that there are a lot of you who share similar feelings for the essential handbag most women, and a few men, carry. But

I do wonder sometimes why I feel the need to carry so many “what if” items. Yes, I was a Girl Scout, and their motto [Be prepared] must have stuck. Or maybe it’s because I’m a mother, albeit of adult children with their own children, but maybe that’s when it began.

I carry this Coach bag when I trade off on purses (a favorite) but it weighs as much as the other one when loaded with my stuff…heavy.

So I just couldn’t resist the temptation to pare down my handbag contents. I’ve successfully pared down most of the closets, drawers and cupboards in our home, why can’t I do this? It should be easy, right?

First of all, here is an inventory of what I carry in the current ~~suitcase~~ purse I lug it around (the items I’ve lined through I’m going to try to eliminate). {By the way, I’ve never managed to be organized enough to change purses for different outfits. I tend to carry a purse until it dies, or I tire of it, and then buy or switch to another to start a new cycle}

Mobile phone
7” x 4 ½” makeup bag that includes lipstick, magnifying pocket mirror (don’t ask), ~~sewing kit~~, nail clippers, small blush, ~~highlighter, eyeliner~~ maybe I’ll switch to a smaller cosmetic bag
Tissue and a couple of band aids – you never know when you might get a blister from a new pair of shoes.
Pen & Field Notes book
A few coupons keep the coupons in the car?
Hand lotion smaller size?
Gum maybe I don’t need this
Small tape measure
Travel sized pill box, filled with antacid, allergy and headache pills – I rarely use these items, but when you have a headache, you know how important they are.
Comb
Smallish wallet
Travel sized sunscreen maybe make sure the sunscreen is on before I leave the house?
Reading glasses / Sunglasses
Keys
Superfluous items ie. the dozen or so frequent buyer cards, promising deep discounts and the like. keep these in the car?

I weighed my purse and it’s 5 1/2 lbs. Seriously? Why am I carrying so much stuff.

So I received a bag like this a couple of years ago from my sweet daughter in law—in black. I don’t think I can manage it for daily use, but I love carrying it to evening affairs.

I’m going to make it a goal, pare down the handbag, try really hard not to need some of the items I’m used to having on hand, and start shopping for something that will be more manageable—any excuse for a new purse!

What’s in your purse? ♥ Karen

43 years and counting

24 Wednesday Feb 2016

Posted by Karen B. in Family, House and Home, Personal Information

≈ 52 Comments

Tags

wedding anniversary

Hi Friends! Happy Wednesday! Is anyone besides me feeling like time is flying by? How can February have only 5 days left…thanks to Leap Year we get an extra day this month. Hooray!

Mr. B. with Winnie, our rescue that thinks she’s a lap dog.

This will be a short post but I wanted to take the time to wish Mr. B. a Happy Anniversary. This past 43 {gulp} years have been fun. Hope we can enjoy another twenty or more.

One of the truths of a successful marriage is a little compromise, even when home decor is the topic. Today I want to share rooms that convey (to me) a certain masculine feel. No surprise, a few are Ralph Lauren. This is for you Mr. B. ♥

The heart of the house. I love art and unexpected furniture in a kitchen. This is a favorite room with the side table, lamps, ironstone tureens and equestrian paintings. {sigh}

Navy wall with white trim?! A timeless look. I’ll have to take the leap and paint a room in a dark color such as navy or black one day.

A touch of black, you know how I’m drawn to that!

Grasscloth wallpaper, black bookcase dotted with blue and white porcelain and a spectacular side chair adorned in zebra, who could ask for anything more?

A room that has a masculine quality yet seems inviting.

A room with the perfect touches of feminine (chandelier) and masculine (antlers) and old (fireplace surround, detailed ceiling trim) and new (modern art over the fireplace), a winning combination in my book.

…and at the end of the day, who wouldn’t sleep well in this dark, well appointed, bedroom?

This is me, waiting for Mr. B to get home from a busy day at the office! (yeah, right) doesn’t everyone stand around in their strapless gown? 🙂

I imagine this room as a getaway second residence in the mountains. Daydreaming here.

Thanks to my readers for indulging me in these little daydreams; and to Mr. B. for making 43 fun and happy.

Birthdays

27 Wednesday Jan 2016

Posted by Karen B. in House and Home, Personal Information

≈ 54 Comments

Tags

birthdays

Today is my birthday…I can’t speak of my age because the truth is, I still feel like I’m a young adult. I’m not. I even forget my age sometimes. Wait, is that the first sign of something, should I be worried? 🙂

In any event. I was challenged to provide a meaningful post, not just to me, but possibly something fun for you. I came up with a touch of each of the topics mentioned in the title of my blog, Garden, Home and Party and maybe for the first time, I’m sharing all of my own images taken in my own home. I know, how unusual. The thing is, my photography has always paled by comparison to so many other’s.

Garden. For those of you that have read my posts throughout the years you may (or may not) remember that I partnered in a business called Blooming Borders for 13 years (how many sites do you visit and am I the only one that gets mixed up as to who the talent behind the site is?). We planned, and planted cottage gardens for clients. I loved working in the garden, and still do. That’s the reason for this part of my blog name. [Note: The California drought has left me struggling with ideas for drought tolerant plants that can live beside some of the bones of our garden…it’s been a slow but steady process to be sure.]

Here is our garden in it a better, more irrigated time…

Home is such a touchstone for most of us. I’ve been an ardent fan of home decor for as long as I can remember, and have never lost my enthusiasm.

Party. The third and final name in my title pertains to the joy that cooking and setting the table for family and friends brings me. When I read Alexandra Stoddard, “Living a Beautiful Life” I began to focus on making every day at home special, with some of the same touches you’d provide if you are hosting a party. Is there a lapse from time to time, absolutely, but I do try to use special serving pieces or dishes for everyday meals…I used to save them for parties.

Bottom line, fill a home with family and friends and great memories are made, don’t you agree?

Thanks to you all for making this blog biz so much fun. I’m so happy to have virtually met so many of you and hope to realize a face-to-face meeting some day. ♥ Karen

2015 in review via WordPress

06 Wednesday Jan 2016

Posted by Karen B. in Personal Information

≈ 25 Comments

Tags

2015 Report card

My blog site was set up by our oldest son in 2007. Where does the time go? It’s been a fun ride and a learning curve I’m happy for. GHP is published on WordPress and they send a report card for the site each December. It’s fun reading their summary, and always a little surprising on which posts drew the most interest.

My all time top 5 posts continue to be posts from 2014 and earlier. I believe the reason could be I’ve lately felt as though I’ve posted all that I can on topics related to gardening, home decor and entertaining/throwing a party.

I’m fighting this lethargy, and hope to pick up my once-a-week schedule again in 2016. I need to think outside the box. 🙂

The stories that continue to lead on my blog site are:

Cozy and other adjectives that describe home – {I’m drawn to smaller spaces, especially those that feel cozy and comfortable}

{via}

Were you born in a barn? – {There are some amazing barns that have been converted into beautiful living spaces}

{via}

Rooms that enjoy a neutral palate {inspired by my friend’s beautiful home ~ thank you, Glenys for always inspiring us}

Adieu Pierre Deux – {I still think of the time spent with a Pierre Deux catalog on my lap, a cup of tea on the table next to my chair and the dreaming that went with that}

Front Yards – {I will definitely revisit this topic in the coming months. Our drought will require continued ways to conserve water and our lawn will possibly need to go away}

WordPress suggests that I try revisiting these topics. Maybe I will. If you have topics that you’d like me to cover, drop me a line. My dear friend Linda suggested the Adieu Pierre Deux post…thank you, Linda. Thank you for reading…here’s the report if you’re interested and I’ve provided links to the top 5 posts.

I hope to write on some new topics in the coming weeks.

Here’s an excerpt:

The Louvre Museum has 8.5 million visitors per year. This blog was viewed about 190,000 times in 2015. If it were an exhibit at the Louvre Museum, it would take about 8 days for that many people to see it.

Click here to see the complete report.

Winner announced and news break

20 Wednesday May 2015

Posted by Karen B. in Family, Personal Information

≈ 57 Comments

Hi there! Happy Wednesday.

As a testament to the wonderful reviews on the web of Dear Carolina, I had lots of comments this past week. I promise we were fair and impartial with the drawing. {Not to sound overly cheap, but I just couldn’t bring myself to pay Rafflecopter $13 for one drawing; if I hosted giveaways with regularity I’m sure I’d feel differently} The winner is:

Sheila, of My Kentucky Living Congratulations! Send me your mailing address (you can find my email at the top of the header on my blog page ‘CONTACT US’) and I’ll send you the book.

Now on to a bit of personal business. I’m taking a little break. There’s been a health setback for Mr. B. Nothing we can’t handle, it will just involve surgery and some recovery time and I want to be sure I’m focused on getting him back in the saddle, so to speak.

Earl of Eglinton and Winton

I’m going to my happy place with positive thoughts, battling stress and worry. I hope you won’t forget me, and that you’ll revisit in a month or so once we’re back to the new normal.

Meanwhile, I read a useful article on “40 Little Things in Daily Life that Bring Us True Happiness”.

See you in a bit. Keep my place in line, okay? 🙂

♥Karen

Stress and my emotional duct tape

25 Wednesday Feb 2015

Posted by Karen B. in Personal Information

≈ 41 Comments

Can we talk? (remember how Joan Rivers {RIP – I miss her sarcastic humor} always started a part of her comedy routine with that line?) I confess, I rarely share personal stuff here, especially personal stuff that isn’t happy news….this has been because I believe Garden, Home and Party, and blog friendships I’ve developed, is more about the fun stuff in life. I am an optimist junkie.

But we all know life is a roller coaster of good and not so good events. About the time you’re riding high, something happens and you’re knocked down, at least for a little while, then you head back up. I believe this makes us grateful for the really good times.

A little over a year ago my husband was diagnosed with cancer. I confess it was a blow since he hadn’t seemed ill. We dealt with it and took the treatments the doctor recommended and after one step forward, two steps back, we finally got some really great news on Monday, (President’s Day, my new favorite holiday! ) 🙂 Mr. B. is cancer free. We will still have follow up with the doctor, but it was great news to us and our family.

Through it all, when things would get very stressful and I’d be overwhelmed with worry, I found that losing myself in beauty, garden or home, was my emotional duct tape. It helped me put some perspective on the situation at hand, and feel revived. I realize we all have our way(s) of dealing with stress, but it was interesting to me to discover this diversion truly helped me deal with it all.

Here are a few of the images that made me see that the sun, would indeed, come out tomorrow!

{via}

{Dan Marty – RIP}

{Jane Moore}

{via}

{Lisa Luby Ryan}

{Ralph Lauren}

Thanks for stopping by, you are all a constant source of joy.

♥ Karen

{Garden, Home and Party} Celebrating my 500th post.

12 Wednesday Nov 2014

Posted by Karen B. in Personal Information

≈ 33 Comments

Tags

500th Post

What? How can this be? I was encouraged by my eldest son to start a blog in 2007. I should have reached a larger number of readers by now but I wasn’t exactly posting with any kind of regularity or purpose. If you’re interested in my story of my start visit HERE, HERE and HERE.

I’m still not writing with the energy of those that post daily…how do they do it? My excuse, and I’m sticking to it, is that I work full time as an Executive Assistant (Read: Secretary). Blogging was always to be a creative outlet for me. That, and the fact that blogging is somewhat addicting. Do you fellow-bloggers find that to be the case? I take breaks from it and find I begin to miss the process, not to mention the dear blog friends I’ve made along the way. How can people you have never met become important? I can’t answer that, other than to say it’s like a pen pal. A foreign concept to this age of instant communicating through email, IM and social media, but when I was in grade school we teamed with a classroom in another English speaking country. We were each offered the name and address of a fellow student in that classroom so far away. We would write letters and my pen pal and I kept that going until sometime in middle school.

In any event, this is my 500th post and 7th year of blogging and I’ve actually just hit 400+ followers! Hooray and thank you! So I thought I would share some images covering Garden(ing), Home {decor} and Party {cooking, table setting and general fun with friends and family in my home}.

Oh, and I’ve never really gotten as good as I’d like with my photography, but that’s a work in progress, which is why I lean heavily on the professionals (and always try to give appropriate credit).

I’m sharing a few of my favorite images that for me convey the best of Garden(s), Home and Party(ies).

~ home ~

In my imagination, “this is my home”…

or this…

…but in reality this is our sweet, little abode and I wouldn’t exchange the love and memories that we’ve enjoyed while living in it (30+ years) for all of the beautiful homes in the world! well, maybe a cottage in the Cottswolds would tempt me. 🙂

The home in Garden, Home and Party is a top priority. It means a lot of things to me, but for as long as I can remember (even as a teen) feathering my nest (my bedroom back then) has always been a passion that brings me joy. Creating a happy place for myself and my family and friends is very satisfying. I can remember rushing through the fashion pages of Seventeen Magazine each month to see what home decor they were featuring, usually a bedroom.

From accessories…

…or rooms meant for family, friends and pets…

…to striking pieces of furniture…

...whether simple or elegant…

I love it all!

~ garden ~

Before I started my blog, before I went to work full time as a secretary, I used to be a partner in Blooming Borders, a Garden design business, with my good friend Wendy. It was/is our passion, creating gardens that make people happy. I needed to return to the corporate world for health insurance reasons (Mr. B and I were both in our own businesses and as we “matured” the costs became impossible) but I think gardening will always be my favorite hobby/pastime/therapy.

I’ve shared lots of images showing my small formal garden. It’s still one of my favorite rooms in the yard. That said, it’s a challenge growing all that I’d like because of an extensive root issue (due to the Alder tree that belongs to my next door neighbor), so the canvas is always changing except for the established plants you see here.

It’s easy and informative to find garden inspiration online.

A boxwood hedge has always appealed to my sense of order, it corrals the wild beauty of penstemon, lavender, roses and the like.

{Design Chic}

The above jasmine grid is in the courtyard of my dear friend, Cayley’s house. More images of Cayley’s beautiful courtyard in a later post.

~ party ~

Who doesn’t enjoy a Party? For me, it comes down to quality visits with friends and family in the comfort of our home. I enjoy cooking, so it’s always been fun for me to host guests and prepare some kind of meal, it doesn’t have to be fancy. I’ve never become a gourmet, but I enjoy trying new recipes as well as those I’ve found to be tried and true. Fortunately, our friends and family are happy to accept an invitation and share the food and conversation that happens around this table.

For me, setting the table is icing on the cake. Today, we entertain in a fairly casual way…many of our friends who like to entertain allow guests to bring some small part of the meal. An appetizer or dessert makes cooking doable for me and we all do this for one another when invited to dinner.

There’s an endless amount of online table setting inspiration and believe me, I take advantage of it. It’s fun to see what creative people are doing and then ~~copy~~ borrow the ideas for my own parties.

Whether you love a casual table setting or a more formal one, ideas abound on the internet. I discover wonderful party ideas at many of my ‘must read’ blog sites, so thank you!

The ideas are often so simple yet so unique…I find myself saying, why didn’t I think of that?

See what I mean?

…and then there’s the food. Ideas for simple touches that make any event festive…

…presentation is key for me and I’m always appreciative for the chance to view the talents of the masters.

Finally, thanks to all of you that read my blog and to those who comment. It’s is a very satisfying hobby and I know it’s the readers and fellow bloggers that make it fun!

{Party} Wedding bouquets

11 Wednesday Jun 2014

Posted by Karen B. in Family, Flowers, Personal Information

≈ 33 Comments

Tags

wedding bouquets

As June is traditionally considered the wedding month, I thought I would share some images from our son and daughter-in-laws December 2012 wedding. I have published posts on the build up HERE and HERE. Unfortunately, the photographer had to be coerced into finally delivering on the photographs. We received the full set of pictures in August of 2013.

Rather than share with you a host of pictures, like the overzealous traveler who shows you slides (did I just age myself? I meant digital images) of their latest vacation, I will show you a few of the pictures and zero in on the topic of wedding bouquets. Like most brides, my DIL is a talented designer and had a specific vision of how she wanted her wedding to be. For the reception, the 100 guests were all at one long table, candlelight was used over traditional lighting. [This is why getting the pictures from the photographer was essential, most photographs taken by friends were taken with a phone and were too dark]

DIL’s vision was extraordinary by it’s unique blend of ‘winter wedding meets English castle’ feel to the setting, and thereby all components of the evening. The wedding was staged at the Los Angeles Museum of History, Science and Art. Dinosaurs were abundant. The wedding ceremony took place in the African Mammal room and the reception took place across the hall in the American Mammal room. Her attention to detail transported guests and the feel of the rooms was magical.

Sarah’s bouquet complimented the theme, as did her maid of honor and bridesmaid’s bouquets.

{Sarah’s bouquet, held by her mom, during the ceremony. Note: The bouquet probably weighed in at 10 lbs or so}

{Bridesmaid bouquet}

After seeing the first picture of the wedding (top of post) my bff blog friend, Victoria, suggested I do a post about wedding bouquets {thank you, Victoria}. I’m always eager to have a suggestion for a post since I’ve been known to have dry spells, creatively speaking. So here are some beautiful examples of wedding bouquets I found online.

{source}

In my day the trend in wedding bouquets was all white flowers. I love the variety of unique plant material that is added to bouquets today,and the color variations of the flowers.

{source}

Ranunculas and Roses, with petite daisies and the sage green leaves of a eucalyptus branch makes for a beautiful bouquet.

{source}

The beauty of planning a wedding in today’s world is that there are literally thousands, if not millions of ideas floating out there. Between Pinterest and dozens of blogs dedicated to weddings, you can be inspired and possibly confused by the abundance of ideas.

{source}

I can imagine using Sunflowers for a late summer / early fall wedding. I love this bouquet.

{source}

This bouquet is right up my alley, peonies, roses and ranunculas, all in soft ballet slipper pinks and whites…sigh. Aren’t they beautiful?!

{source}

The lavish use of gardenias, such a delightful choice. I once heard of a wedding where on all of the windows at the reception hall, there were fresh gardenia wreathes hung. The fragrance would be fabulous. Hopefully, none of your guests would have allergies.

{enchanted forest wedding photo by Emily Steffen // flowers by Johnny and Dottie via Pinterest}

The tree ferns in the bouquet above give it a magical fairy-like feel.

{source}

I really like the bright orange flowers with dusty miller and the purple thistle in this bouquet. I also like the diminutive size of the bouquet.

If you were planning your wedding today, what would your wedding bouquet look like?

{GHP} They say its your birthday

15 Wednesday Jan 2014

Posted by Karen B. in Personal Information

≈ 23 Comments

Tags

birthdays

Today we celebrate birthdays. Martin Luther King Jr., Saint’s quarterback, Drew Brees and Mr. B. (Husband, and love of my life, my raison de vivre) Some of you may even have the day off from work. 🙂

Since my official weekly blog post day is today, I thought I’d share some images that I believe he would approve of. A modern collage dedicated to you, Mr. B.