Fall is here!

The sweetest of all fairies and her daddy our son Alan had flown back to their Georgia home early this morning. The house in the roses has returned to the familiar quietness; stillness and sweet memories lingering in the air… a hint of melancholy has kept me to myself for most of the day, but as the first cold snap sends me to the cedar trunk to embrace the warm woolen blankets, I am reminded that the happiest time of the year is here…

It is time to gather around the hearth, time for pumpkin pie, time to think about the turning leaves and cooling nights, and time to bring that cozy feeling into the house...

Autumn is a time of rebirth and a time to be happy!

What are your plans to cozy up your home for fall? I would love to hear what you're doing.

The wedding

There once was a beautiful princess and a very handsome prince. The princess wanted the prince to marry her. The princess liked the boy because he was wonderful. The princes liked the princess because she was wonderful and beautiful. Her name was Cindy and his name was Jason…

They liked each other a lot and were very much in love... so she got her lovely dress on and her crown on. He got his pants on and fancy suit on and they kissed and spinned around and decided to get married.

Creatures from near and far came to celebrate, little flower fairies became their dancing troop, moonbeam shined on them as they twirled and whirled all about in their lovely fairy dresses…

It seemed that all of nature was celebrating there. Suddenly silence... the organist began playing the most beautiful music, and the little flowers fairies moved as if to sing along... the handsome groom stood by the altar as his lovely bride was being escorted down the aisle by her oldest brother... daddy preacher waited in the altar by the groom... Sitting on the front pew on the left side (can you see her?) was the queen fairy... tears of joy filled her eyes... pappa preacher looked at his queen fairy and their eyes met... words unspoken, but not unheard… and in the unbroken silence, so many emotions, love floating above and around...

Angelic hosts had gathered close to notice every feature… the groom’s men stood in elegant suit, the bridesmaids stood wide-eyed as awaiting sacred cue...

Overhead the angels watched and turned their blessings there... daddy preacher bowed his head to pray one final closing prayer and after that he introduced the new couple to every one: his daughter and new son!

Up in the penthouse in the building where the celebration that followed took place, magic was felt everywhere... A beautiful centrepiece adorned with symbols of the love between the bride and groom, adorned a pretty table.... The wedding cake!! Nothing short of exquisite. With moonbeams twinkling thru, the bride left behind a field of flowers... pure joy gripped the clearing mad abandon everywhere, the little fairies danced the night away, little Fairy Tesa twirled and whirled all about in her lovely fairy dress… When nobody was looking, she got herself a new beu... the cutest forest sprite who loved to rap (to practically any kind of music!) and cake meringue...

Mesmerized by his influence, Fairy Tesa tried to follow his example... to no avail!

The bride dedicated a love song to her new husband… her beautiful voice filling the air with magical notes… I saw tears of love in their eyes...

Then sundown turned the sky into an array of gorgeous colors and everyone said their good wishes and goodbyes and we all went home...

To Cindy and Jason!

Cheers!

Of fairies and weddings and sunny days

Fairy Tesa and her daddy are finally here...

It was a lovely day today…. The sun was shining beautifully, basking the bluest of skies...

Fishies swam about in circles, singing out in their joy….

Mima and the fishies were the happiest of them all…

The big day is approaching...

Haven't made the bed... the house in the roses is in joyful shambles....

On our way to the wedding -September 27, 2009, 4:30pm.

Happy Days!

A special bridal shower!

I know, I know… I shouldn’t have worried that much...

Really, I shouldn’t have lost any sleep over anything... but I did! For over a month I worried about the weather, over the sun shinning too bright and the wind being too rough, I worried about the menus, and setting up a perfect table, and providing the ideal finishing touches, and finding the perfect roses for the vases (roses set the mood of love and romance for every event, you know)… so yes, I had to have fresh roses too, and the colors had to be compatible with the wedding color scheme...

...but you have to understand... the bridal shower I was giving was in honor to my beautiful daughter Cindy… and it had to perfect, and memorable, and special…

And so I cooked, and baked, and cleaned, and decorated, and cooked some more all while worrying that everything would turn out perfect… and it it! Everything turned out beautifully just the way it was; perfect in every imperfect detail… truly a memorable happy day!

The food was delicious and we had a great time enjoying this joyful day in the company of family and friends. The garden was beaming with light and joyful sounds, and pink and red roses where in full bloom; their petals soft in the grass, as a tribute to the bride….

We played games and even made a gorgeous wedding dress out of paper for the bride to be.... only it didn't fit Cindy, so Karlyn wore it in joyful anticipation of her own special day!

Then came the best part... the opening of the presents!

Every bride has dreamed of the fairy tale wedding since she was able to walk around in mom's high heels, and Cindy’s dreamt day has finally arrived… In a week now our dear daughter will be marrying the man of her dreams, and Mike and I will just hold hands, walk down the isle with her and keep the memory of this day in our hearts for ever...

Welcome to our Enchanted Garden...

The rich have it easy here. When they decide they want a private, even secret area in their yard, they hire someone to build walls, or fancy fences. Or they go out and buy enough tall, mature trees and shrubs to do the trick. An instant secret garden. But the rest of us have to cultivate a bit of patience. We will have our secret garden - but we will have to create it in stages.

That’s exactly what Julie has done in her lovely garden in England… Deciduous shrubs, walls of grasses, vines and trellises and flowers that bloom continuously from May through fall, and much more is what you’ll find in Julie’s garden… so please come in! Our "Enchanted Garden" has opened its door to the public again, and we’re inviting you to take a break from your busy life to stroll Julie's magical fairy dust & butterflies garden trails.

Just click here, or click on the old door on the left side banner, and enjoy!

Collecting prettiness

Some of you probably wonder where I have been and what have I been doing lately. Two words can sum most everything up: Collecting prettiness…

From crisp white tableware from pitchers to teapots….

To crystal glasses and pretty little bases with interesting designs….

...to lovely taffeta decorative table runners and creamy white roses...

I’ve been collecting all sort of loveliness for a while now…

The colors in mind are white... white as clouds on a summer day, white as snow and flowers in the garden, white which is evoked by light and related to purity and cleanness... and wedding dresses and beautiful brides... and green... green as on lucious green apples, green, which is related to energy and to hope and growth and everything to do with life...

Aside from collecting prettiness, I’ve been working on menus and agendas, and dishes to be prepared, and cleaning and ironing old linen…

Can you think of possible things I could be doing with all the prettiness I have collected over the past few weeks?