Good-bye July

Today is a smooth white seashell, hold it close and listen to the beauty of the hours.

Anonymous

Wishing you a few beautiful hours. . . .

Ciao! for now!

Jacqueline

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The House In The Roses

Cottage Monday

Pink & Tranquility

We're lucky to have a good garden nursery nearby. Gardening in a desert climate can be an olympic event, and I'm not even in the competition. But today I'm just observing. 

More than once I've slipped out and escaped into the nursery foliage. This time Emma is with me under the bouganvillea. 

I don't know what this is, but it's gorgeous and drapes beautifully.

This is quite a bit easier to cultivate here.

Cooling off with hot pink Begonias.

The hot house is cooler than the outside temperature. I wonder if anybody would notice if I took a nap under the palms.

The perfect spot for reading after that nap! But I think we're ready to get back to business as usual.

All I needed was a little Pink and Tranquility.

I hope you get some too!

Have a wonderful end of July weekend.

 We won't be here again for a whole year. Sniff, sniff.

Ciao! for now!

Jacqueline

Join me for Pink Saturday at Beverly's!

How Sweet the Sound

Rusty Charm and Ivy

English and Swedish Ivys are such easy going plants that having them in pots almost feels like cheating. Swedish ivy in particular is a well loved homey plant. So loved that I had to bring it home from the shop where practically every passerby plucked off a stem to root. My lovely plant started out lush and large and got smaller and smaller! At first I didn't mind at all, and then I finally wanted to behave like the apple tree in the Wizard of Oz and slap somebody! Oh my!

Now it's getting a well deserved R&R among the rusty garden antiques. I can't explain why there is such romance in rusty old things, but like a persecuted plant they seem to need retirement in a garden. And since I don't devote time to cultivating flowers at the moment, my rusty artifacts are a charming stand in.

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Ciao! for now!

Jacqueline

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No Minimalist Here

Open House Party

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Between Naps on the Porch

Metamorphosis Monday

Oceanside Inspiration Table

Summer just lends itself to dreaming of the ocean. I never get tired of the influence of the sea. Maybe if I lived near the beach that might not be true. But for now it's a recurring theme at my table.

I love vintage too, so there is always going to be a suggestion of the past served up with any menu. My inspiration comes from an octopus print in an antique encyclopedia from 1905. Sometimes all you need is a jumping off point, and an old book can get the table conversation going.

Haviland Limoges softens the edges of this buffet, and loads of candlelight does too. A silver cake stand and a garden sieve vary the heights to keep things interesting. Plain linen and cotton for the tablecloth and napkins lets the centerpiece do all the work. Flatware, glassware, and accents are vintage.

I like the texture of an old wicker demijohn.

Cut glass bistro glasses are displayed in an old tool chest drawer.

A cast iron garden cloche minus the glass holds a shell studded candle (Potterybarn).

Vintage monogram flatware.

I hope everything is just beachy for you this week!

Thanks for stopping by!

Ciao! for now!

Jacqueline

Join me at

Between Naps on the Porch

The Brambleberry Cottage

The Charm of Home