14 Friday May 2010
Posted in Gardening
I was hopeful to have my pictures of Austin ready to post by now however it’s friday and I still haven’t uploaded the pictures.
A Spring Weekend
Tomorrow I will make it priority #1. Meanwhile, enjoy the day and have a relaxing weekend, hopefully doing something fun in your home or garden.
10 Monday May 2010
Posted in Misc
My husband and I are in Austin visiting son #1 and his lovely wife—I’ll post about Austin upon my return. Here is a post on the fragrance of home.
To scent or not to scent. That became the question when, quite by accident, I discovered that one of our friends is allergic to scented candles, soaps and perfumes.
Nothing sets the mood at a dinner quite like candles
We have had this couple in our home for dinner many times and there has never been any comment regarding the candles that I traditionally light while entertaining. I respect his allergies so I will light only unscented candles for the upcoming dinner party. I had to purchase them special since I only have scented ones. Probably a good thing to have on hand in case this comes up again with other guests.
Flowers can sometimes trigger allergies
I do love the scented candles by Votivo (Red Currant is a favorite) and Aromatique (Sorbet is very fresh smelling). I tend to select spicy fragrances for the fall/winter months and citrus/fresh for the spring and summer.
Do you enjoy a scented home? What are some of your favorite candle makers/scents?
05 Wednesday May 2010
Posted in Decorating
The floor plan of our ‘cottage’ is as follows: Enter into a smallish foyer; if you make a hard left you are in the master bedroom (the master bath is at the front of the house). If you walk a few feet past the master bedroom door you will see our atrium on your left and the dining room on your right.
Our atrium and our cat Maggie.
New dining room, formerly living room.
It wasn’t always that way. When we bought the house the room that is now the dining room was designated as the living room. The original dining room was adjacent to that (the original living room), are you with me? I will provide a road map below. The problem was that the dining room was much smaller than the living room, which we rarely used, and the room was fairly dark. While the dining room (original) was sun filled thanks to a large bay window we installed a few years after we moved in.
Sofa table, served the dining room as well as the living room.
We had been living in the house for many years when suddenly, one particularly creative day for me, it struck me that the living room was virtually unused while the dining room was used often and could be a little tight for space when we had more than 6 at the dining table. I realized that the antique china cupboard my mother had given us would fit on one of the walls in the “living room” and that if I gave our adult son one of the love-seats, the other would fit perfectly in what I would begin calling the library (the room was too small to be considered a living room).
The sofa table (which had resided in the old living room) could stay and still added to the room. I would later add the antique breakfront you see in this picture.
Library bay window.
The library has become a favorite room of mine. Its sun filled year round and I love to read or look at magazines in this room. Since we entertain mostly in the evenings the darker, new dining room works well as we had our chandelier moved by an electrician. And since we entertain informally (technically speaking) we have our friends and family enjoy pre-dinner conversation and appetizers in the family room.
Single love-seat sofa works well for the size of the room.
A relaxing chair to read in-this used to be the dining room.
My point, and I do have one, is—don’t feel bound by architecture if it doesn’t work for you and your living needs. Rooms can be transformed with the move of a few pieces of furniture. It may surprise you to find out how much better you like your home with new space for all to enjoy.
03 Monday May 2010
Posted in Decorating, Renovating
If you own your own home and you’ve made improvements you will have undoubtedly discovered that ‘homes’ are an ongoing project, never really “finished”. When we moved into our home we knew it had our basic needs covered—3 bedrooms/2 bathrooms, kitchen, dining room, family room, living room and plenty of yard space to raise our 2 grown sons.
Photo courtesy of: Cottage Living Magazine
It also had harvest gold Formica (not that there’s anything wrong with that, right?), very old aluminum windows that barely opened and white shag carpet (yeah, white carpet and 2 boys, age 4 and newborn, you do the math). As most young families, we were operating on a shoe string budget but my husband agreed to let me tile the kitchen and replace the aluminum window with a wood bay window. I remember like it was yesterday, when we finished those 2 pricey (at least to us) projects, my darling husband said, “Now the kitchen is pretty much done, right?” Little did he know that the work had only just begun…we have made renovations large and small to the kitchen several times.
Not my kitchen--photos of my kitchen will come later
After living in our home for 28 years I marvel at 1) how time flies and 2) how once you’ve finished a remodeling job that seems like only yesterday, when its actually been 10 years and some components of the room have started to wear and need repair or replacement.
Is a home really ever finished? I don’t think so. Maybe that is what’s fun about home ownership. You can always find a little project to work on. At least for those of us who thrive on feathering the nest, we enjoy the search for new fabrics, paint, wallpaper and the like.
I love the look of this library.
My current wish list includes refinishing the hardwood floors—which would involve moving out for a couple of days during the final stain/sealing process. We would also have to board our 2 dogs and 1 cat, cha-ching$$$. Overwhelming in scope right now, it will be on the list for a couple more years.
Putting new sod in the back yard—we currently have a mixture of may kinds of grass, some of which are actual weeds.
Madison agrees, we need new grass.
And finally, the one home improvement project on the ‘wish list’ that I should begin (since it’s more of a DIY kind of project) is to remove wallpaper from the library walls, replace the door casings (which haven never been replaced and are very unattractive), recover the sofa and paint the room.
What projects are on your list of things to do around the house and which one will you do first?
30 Friday Apr 2010
I knew you would enjoy seeing the rest of the pictures I took of my friends garden sans grass. It truly is inspirational and may give you ideas for your own yard. Enjoy!
Japanese Maple trees are a challenge to grow in Southern California but my friends have done an amazing job.
Who would have guessed that from the destruction one darling puppy managed to wreak on this yard such beauty would emerge.
Clematis vine and vibrant petunias.
The fountain provides a background for cooing doves.
The sun exposure here is East facing. Ideal morning sun and then shade from the hot afternoon sunset.
The final picture below. Have fun creating your own garden sanctuary.
An Angel to watch over the garden is essential.
27 Tuesday Apr 2010
It’s easy to think of gardening strictly in the context of amending the soil, dealing with grass (if there is any) and determining the ‘hardscape’ (stack stone, brick, or even hedges that form distinct spaces for planting) areas. But there are other options.
Grass, who needs it when you have a setting so beautiful.
One of my dearest friends decided years ago to get rid of her grass. Lots of eco-friendly gardeners say that grass uses too much water and there are other issues. Personally I love the coolness of grass and would probably go to the new, synthetic stuff if grass was outlawed in Southern California. My friend’s decision was helped by an addition to the family, a yellow Labrador retriever puppy. Tilly, the darling puppy, destroyed my friend’s backyard within a few months of his arrival. Wanting a pretty backyard became a challenge.
Tilly, she looks innocent doesn't she?
So my friend combed magazines and tore out countless pictures of more formal gardens that featured containers filled with beautiful trees, shrubs, ferns and flowers. Her yard, to this day, is one of the most spectacular gardens I’ve ever seen. She and her husband had brick runners added to the patio and concrete poured, gravel pathways formed and plenty of space for large concrete planters.
My Friend's Secret Garden
Her garden has evolved over the years and she has added layer upon layer of detail that makes a visitor want to sit on one of the many garden benches and spend time listening to nature’s song.
25 Sunday Apr 2010
Posted in Misc
As part of my ‘divide and conquer’ advice in my previous post I thought I’d tell you how I began to convert a really plain and homely back yard into something we could enjoy. When we first moved into our ‘cottage’ (28 years ago) the back yard was filled with grass/weeds and the bedding areas were bare except for several trees along the back fence. I have always enjoyed working in the dirt but I confess this yard was a little overwhelming. I don’t have ‘before’ pictures so you’ll just have to take my word for it, it was pretty ugly.
Not my 'before' picture but very similar
Using my divide and conquer philosophy I decided to focus on the side yard (part of the back yard) which was the first thing you saw when you went out the kitchen door. Mind you, we had no extra money for someone to come in and revamp the space so I started slow. I sat down with my pen and pad and analyzed the space to try to figure out how I could add some charm without breaking the bank.
Similar to the first arbor we installed
The first thing I did was to put a wooden arbor on my Mother’s Day wish list (which happened to be about 1 month after we moved in). My husband bought the arbor from the local nursery and it was very affordable—all I had to do was paint it white (it was stained with a redwood stain). I placed it so that when we looked out of the dining room window you saw this cottage arbor. I planted 2 1-gallon snail vines on either side and was amazed that by summer’s end they had covered the arbor. Note, the arbor is no longer the focal point in that location, a Smith & Hawkins teak bench was the replacement some years later.
Cottage garden look - Salvia
When I found plants on sale I would pick up plants that met my cottage garden criteria, i.e. penstemon, roses, lavender, loubelia, maiden hair fern, azalea, camellia, English daisies, pincushion ‘scabiosa’ and foxglove, to name a few. I amended the soil with a compost blend (you can find this at the home improvement stores and nurseries) every time I planted something new. This will greatly improve your chances for success.
A bird house from the K-Mart Martha Stewart collection was mounted on a post and still provides home to wren families that visit our yard.
Birdhouse
My point is that in about 6 months the area I had decided to start on was l0oking 100% better than it did upon our moving in.
Don’t be discouraged, if you don’t know for sure what kind of garden you would like to plant, visit the library or stop in at the bookstore (the ones where they invite you to sit and look at magazines) and start getting an idea of what kinds of plants you love and can maintain. You can do this! If you have questions feel free to contact me or your local nursery. Enjoy the season and happy planting.
You can create your own Private Garden with time and patience
23 Friday Apr 2010
I’m beginning to sound like my eyes are bad with my overuse of the word focus —well actually, I do need readers, but that’s another story.
Library - the heart of the home
Being new to this blogging business I’ve been shopping other blog sites, not to copy but to figure out a direction for my scattered thoughts. When you have 3 distinct “favorite areas of interest” it can cause overload. Yet they (areas of interest) are so well intertwined—HOME for most of us applies to indoor as well as outdoor space and it seems natural to want to entertain family and friends in these spaces.
Garden Rooms
That said, one of the things that has hit home is being true to your own self no matter what your area of passion. I realize that some of you might be saying, “Look, if I knew what my own taste was I wouldn’t be wasting my time reading what you have to say!” I recognize we are all looking for ideas and inspiration to help us make our home life more beautiful, enjoyable and comfortable.
Outdoor Living Space
My experience when pondering any task (such as determining how to manage the decorating, gardening or entertaining problem of the moment) is to divide and conquer. Think about what your first priority might be, at least for now. (Priorities are always changing, right?). Are you hoping to create a beautiful garden where you can relax and enjoy the upcoming season? Wanting to revamp a room in your home that is in need of a face lift or a total redo? Have a fabulous wedding/baby shower or party for family/friends on the calendar and need some wonderful recipes for the party?
Start with a notepad, pen and maybe a stack of nesting magazines. OR, maybe you don’t need the magazines—you can visit some of the wonderful blog sites for this sort of thing—and prioritize. Include your ideas for for what ever you are desiring. Congratulations, you’ve taken the first step. I’ll talk about each of the above mentioned topics over the next several days, weeks, months and I hope I can be of some help.
All images courtesy of my favorite magazine (which is no longer publishing) Southern Accents.
19 Monday Apr 2010
I am always amazed at how fresh and new the garden looks in spring. I shouldn’t be surprised since it happens every year…still, there is something so encouraging about seeing roses as they add beautiful green leaves and buds, with promise of lovely blossom. Vines and shrubs that looked sleepy in the winter now have a freshness about them, washed clean from the rains we’ve experienced here in Southern California.
Some of the perennials are putting on new growth and will bloom shortly. The grass is an emerald green that is incomparable (again thanks to the rain). I think this is nature’s way of enticing us into the outdoors and it certainly inspires me to get busy working on some of the flower beds that could use some new plant material.
Foxglove
Since I work full time (am I starting to sound like a broken record?) I’ve started planting things that require less attention and manicuring such as:
Iceberg roses – a shrub rose (I love white but it comes in other colors) that really is remarkable in its ability to bloom time after time for about 8-9 months of the year.
Iceberg Rose
Penstemon – a perennial plant with beautiful spikes of bell shaped flowers. I particularly like ‘blue midnight’ for its growth pattern (more upright than rambling).
Foxglove – I buy ‘foxy’ a more compact version of the traditional foxglove. I’ve had some success with this plant regenerating new blooms if cut back after the initial bloom.
Impatiens – I know this is considered by some to be nearly a weed and not worthy of the serious gardeners cast of ‘garden stars’. I find it to be beautiful and it provides me with big splashes of color in semi-shady areas with little or no work, what could be better?!
Impatiens
Herbs – If you love to cook and entertain its worth planting a few of your favorite herbs. Basil, Italian flat leaf parsley, curly parsley (I personally don’t find much of a difference but enjoy both varieties for different reasons), dill, thyme and mint are my ‘go-to’ herbs. WARNING: Mint must be planted in pots unless you want mint growing everywhere, including the grass! I know this may sound lovely but trust me, you’ll be pulling mint out of your yard 10 years form now if you put it in the ground.
Japanese Boxwood – since we have never gotten around to “hardscaping” the back yard so I use the Japanese boxwood to provide architectural structure in my yard. These little plants are wonderful and when hedged regularly set off the flower beds with architectural flair.
Our Secret Garden
These are just a few of the proven winners I’m growing in my garden. I’ll keep you posted as I discover new plants that will keep your garden looking pretty with very little work. What are you planting this spring?
17 Saturday Apr 2010
Posted in Uncategorized
Cottage Living Magazine
Since I hope to begin blogging with more regularity, up until now I’ve been blogging very sporadically, I spent some time visiting other blog sites to see what kinds of things my peers write about.
Cottage Style Kitchen
I confess I first visited the sites I already know and love such as Pioneer Woman (now a celebrity in her own right and deservedly so) and The Inspired Room (one of the design team-members working with PW’s friend Hyacinth on her family room redo). During a recent visit to 4-5 sites I realized that part of what I enjoy about my visits to the world of blogging is hearing some of the personal details about these amazing women’s lives.
I think it is in our nature to want to know there are people out there that share our ideas, dreams, tastes, etc. Call it validation. So, when we read that someone we admire and share ideas with has a day when they don’t get around to cleaning a bathroom, or laundry has piled up in spite of their usual penchant for organization, we smile and feel better about our own lapses, but we also connect with them on a personal level. They (the blogger) start to feel like a friend…without the lunch dates and gossip!
My Secret Garden
I believe I have some good ideas to share with you regarding gardens (planting tips, maintenance ideas, plants to buy, suggestions for getting rid of unwelcome critters in an Eco friendly way), cooking/entertaining (table settings, recipes that are ‘entertaining’ friendly, in many cases do-ahead and easy) and home design (creating a comfortable and attractive home that reflects what you love, who you are, where you’ve been and the seasons). I will include some pictures of my own ‘cottage’ (as my husband and I refer to our cozy 1,700 square foot home).
Angel in the Garden
I hope you will take time to comment and share some of your thoughts as I embark on my journey of talking about my favorite topics: Garden, Home and Party.
Garden, Home & Party 