The Beautiful Camellia

January in Southern California brings with it one of our easiest, most reliable, and beautiful, blooming shrubs ~ the Camellia. Here at Rose Arbors I have a variety of Camellias. They were all planted many, many years ago by the original owners of the property and  most of them have reached tree size. They flourish and bloom without any assistant or help but an occasional light pruning, and then surprise me every year with their glorious flowers. At a time when very little else is going on in the garden they are especially appreciated.

A bounty of blooms freshly picked from the garden...

A casual bouquet to bring beauty to

 the kitchen...aren't I lucky. I hope you have a little floral beauty in your day today.

This post has been linked to: http://www.anoregoncottage.com/, http://asoutherndaydreamer.blogspot.com/ , http://fishtailcottage.blogspot.com/, http://alittleofthisandthat2.blogspot.com/, http://romantichome.blogspot.com/

Library/media room project ~ The Fabric!

I have one thing in common with one of my favorite interior designers Sarah Richardson, I like to use fabric as my inspiration piece, but  in this room I started with the paint color. I picked out two colors that would blend in with the adjoining rooms: Sensible Hue And Cornerstone by Bahr. I also knew that although I wanted a neutral palette I want to use burgundy-red as my accent color, along with some metallic gold . When I saw the fabric below I was looking for something to back the walls of the bookcases and originally was going to order it for that...but it is so gorgeous that I really didn't want to cover it all up with books and accessories and immediately decided to use it for the draperies instead. I love the way that it has been 'antiqued' to give the feeling of age.

This little check, a companion fabric to the one above will be used to upholster a pair of bergere chairs in the alcove of the room. I think this will play off well with the natural brick floors in this area; in the main part of the room the floor is a dark hardwood 

Instead of fabric I decided to use this damask wallpaper to line the walls of the bookcases, the lighter color matches the wall paint and the darker color ties in with the background color in the drapery fabric. I wanted something that provided richness but didn't standout too much. I think I will paint the interior sides of the bookcases in the darker color to add more dimension and interest.

And here it all is altogether, along with the cream and gold stripped fabric that I already had...it was originally going to be used in a bathroom remodel; I am going to use it now to slip-cover an existing wing chair. The only piece of furniture I will be purchasing is a new slip-covered couch in a cream color similar to the walls.

and interestingly...

...just this morning while going through a special issue of Victoria magazine that I received a few weeks ago I saw this picture and was fascinated  to see many similarities to what I am trying to achieve in my room. This room is more Victorian in feeling and quite elaborate, but  the patterned drapes, the dark wood furniture and especially the color palette is very much the same. Fun!

So...what do you think...should I quit my day job?

This post has been linked to: http://itssoverycheri.com/, http://betweennapsontheporch.blogspot.com/,
http://houseinroses.blogspot.com/, http://savvysouthernstyle.blogspot.com/, http://brambleberrycottage.blogspot.com/

Soupe du Jour

Minestrone ~ When the weather turns cold, the first thing that I think of is soup and my first choice for soup is minestrone. I have been making  minestrone soup from a recipe out of the old Time-Life cookbook series for many decades and it is still the best recipe ever...maybe it is the pistou made of garlic, parsley and basil that you add just before serving that makes it so special; whatever, it is delicious! Of course lots of freshly grated Parmesan cheese and the accompaniment of a good glass of red wine doesn't hurt.

Yum! Are we ready to eat? Could you please pass the bread...

What is your favorite soup?

Up A Tree

I realize that I have been talking a lot about pruning lately so I thought I would share with you a photo taken  while I was pruning one of my apple trees. I keep these trees relatively small so I can prune them myself...still as you see here it does require a bit of climbing. And, yes...I am careful. After this, pruning the roses and the other shrubs is a piece of cake although it usually takes me several weeks to get the whole garden done; just another day in the life of a gardener. This is also where my work at the gym and yoga pays off ~ to keep me in relatively good physical condition so I can continue to indulge in my passion for gardening. And when this is all done I can start planting the dahlias and lilies I bought today...Spring is coming!

How about you...climbed any trees lately?




This post has been linked to:  http://asoutherndaydreamer.blogspot.com/ and http://fishtailcottage.blogspot.com/

Winter Wreath

In order to dress up the front porch a little after all the glamour of Christmas was stored away I wanted to make a new winter wreath, one that would reflect the season... that meant no lavish floral display as my garden is in the midst of pruning and there are few flowers in sight. So this how this wreath...

became this one!

 

Michael's was having a great sale on all of their succulents... so I used them to add color in lieu of flowers

I already  had the greenery; the tassel, well I thought it added a touch of whimsy.

Once again the finished product. Incidentally I love this door it is original to the house and has this charming little window in it that opens to peek out.

How about you... have you added any new outdoor touches to see you through the winter months?




This post has been linked to: http://asoutherndaydreamer.blogspot.com/  http://thebrambleberrycottage.blogspot.com/ and  http://romantichome.blogspot.com/ 

Simplicity

With the holidays over it is nice to return to the simplicity of everyday life. Gone is the Confectionery Shoppe...all that's left is one little ant left searching for some crumbs. Now this shelf has been vastly simplified with some African Violets, beautiful, crunchy, green apples and a few cups awaiting  tea...

...little pots of herbs to be used for cooking throughout the winter months, now line up on the window shelf above the kitchen sink...

..all of the Santas have gone back to the North Pole and the glass and crystal containers have returned to the cupboard...

...and this great cookbook containing lots delicious recipes using simple ingredients has been brought out for the cold winter days. The months of winter seem to call for a return to simplicity...gone is all the glitz and glitter for another year... but soon it will be spring and that means ~ flowers!




This post has been linked to: Weekword, http://frenchcountrycottage.blogspot.com/, http://itssoverycheri.blogspot.com/, http://thetablescaper.blogspot.com/, http://betweennapsontheporch.blogspot.com/,  http://houseinroses.blogspot.com/ and http://astrollthrulife.blogspot.com/

Now Where Did I Put That!

When I put out the holiday decorations I store away most of the other decor items, some of them are too large to loose but at the spur of the moment I always seem to put some of the smaller items away for safekeeping in some strange, weird, place and then after Christmas I am forced to play the game...Now Where Did I Put That! One year it took me a couple of months to find my pair of Staffordshire poodles and they certainly aren't little! This year it was some birds that I usually keep in the entry hall. Are you ready to play along with me? Now where did I put that...

Well, they are certainly not in here...

and definitely no more room in here, although here are all the plate stands and the plates; I will have to remember this.

No, nothing here but art and sewing supplies...

Wow...totally empty

..nothing up here but some cobwebs, and  boxes of old documents

craft supplies, but no little bird figures...now where did I put those! This is really getting frustrating...one more place to look.

Aha...here they are! Now doesn't it make perfect sense that I would have put them in with some of my lingerie, but of course, silly me.


I hope that I am not the only one that does this...do you ever play this game after the holidays?


This post has been linked to: http://thebrambleberrycottage.blogspot.com/

January Blues

I am experiencing January blues...not the kind you might be thinking of, but as the theme for my January header. For some reason to me January equates to the color blue. So for this collage I put together photos of blue items from around the house. (above) Going from left to right, some of the Blue Willow china that I inherited from my aunt; I love blue and white dishes. The picture of the chair was taken in the guest bedroom; this little armchair was rescued from a curbside before the trashman could carry it away. I had it upholstered in this Laura Ashley stripe and I love it. And the last image...some of my reference books, those with blue or bluish covers, pertaining to french decorating; among other authors, I am fond of the books written by Charles Faudree and Betty Lou Phillips. When I finished taking pictures to use for the header I found that I had  far too many to incorporate so here are the ones that I was forced to leave out...maybe next year.

This lovely chinese-insprired blue and white jar sits in a cabinet in one of my interior hallways, I love it's large size and the simplicity of it's shape.

... another picture I took of my books, I decided to use the other one

And finally, these pansies in an antique basket in the entry hall window, more lavender than blue...but isn't lavender just blue mixed with a little red?  I hope, that like me you are in a blue mood today.



This post has been linked to: http://betweennapsontheporch.blogspot.com/ and http://houseinroses.blogspot.com/