My kitchen smells lovely... and it isn’t exactly the smell of food!
This is by far the loveliest of flower arrangement I have had sitting on my table this year... well, maybe... but I do love this one!
...The pretties of pink and the loveliest of scent... from my roses, Chicago Peace.
Oh but let me tell you, the scent of roses is also mingling with the yummy aroma of food around here! Ah yes! Have you ever tried the “Cuppa Cuppa Cuppa” recipe from Steel Magnolias? I'm curious to see if anyone has actually tried that recipe from Steel Magnolias. You remember Dolly Parton's character said: “A cup of flour, a cup of sugar, a cup of fruit cocktail with the juice. And you mix and bake at 350 'til gold and bubbly.”
Is this an actual dish or is it something the director just threw together for the movie? I dunno, but I actually tried it this weekend! ;)
And Ms. Parton also said “you serve it over ice cream to cut the sweetness”. I didn’t want ice cream on mine, so I whipped up some holly and pure home made whip cream to go with it, with half the sugar required, of course...
My Peter Pan and Ms. Wendy tried it and loved it! Truth be told, I didn’t find it quite as appealing... too much on the dried side me thinks, but I must have overcooked it, that’s it… plus I waited far too long to taste it... this dessert must be eaten right off the oven for ultimate goodness.
We’re drowning in a bumper crop of tomatoes again this year. If you have never cultivated tomatoes it’s something I recommend doing. Organic grown tomatoes, picked fresh from the garden to your plate would surprise your taste buds! They taste so much different from dull store bought tomatoes... The ultimate experience for all your hard work in the garden, I tell you!
Although I must say I had nothing to do with this goodness... all the hard work and goodness thereof after, I owe to my dear husband!
Do you love photographing food? I do! ;) And I love photographing all my ‘tomato’ salads ;) Don’t know why... food just looks so pretty in photos... ;)
Now can you come with me to the garden? I have something to show you!
My gigantic sunflowers! What a height they’ve stretched to! First time ever planting them from seeds—planting them from anything as a matter of fact! I had never had sunflowers in my garden before, and was totally surprised to see them grow this high—way above my neighbor’s roof...
These beautiful bright, cheery flowers have the most amazing power in them... they always but always put a smile on my face whenever I pass by them! Hope they’d do the same for you! ;) But really, there must be a dwarf or intermediate cultivars available that would better suit my garden... any body know?
May you find peace and joy while you're here.
The ruffles, the lace, all the white to off-white to the lovely creaminess... everything speaks romance here...
Details... everything is in the details...
Roses are the quintessence of romantic decorating... they just make everything looks so dreamy...
Pretty for guest room or bathroom or mini porch table settings.
Lace and romance are inseparable if you ask me... I would dream my life away in these rooms.
Nothing like vintage dishes and ruffled tables for a romantic inspired setting
Such a lovely feminine setting... delicate yet so elegant
So pretty, and colorful... love the vintage variety.
Our decorating style reveals only a small part of our personality... our personal style reflects our taste and speaks volumes about our preferred style, as well, don't you think so? Love this soft pink lacey blouse and necklesses... so very romantic and feminine.
And of course... I had to add some garden love here! Isn’t this a most romantic little corner?
Enchanted under the spell of the woods... in peaceful reverie through the worshiping trees..
Drinking in the beauty of the surroundings... trees, grass and sky, as if Nature is singing to me what others cannot hear...
Secret paths bathed in heavenly sunbeams... feet 'a dancing; heart aglow.
Morning dew, leaves of golden... and the forest seems immensely large. It’s as if I’m walking in another world in another dimension.
Oh and look! Do you see what I see?
A cottage! Over there... winding throughout the sunlit path! Can you see it now?
I must go see...
I saw a flipping light and followed it through the bushes... is this your cottage? I’ve already been to your house in the wood time ago... don't you remember?
The sunlight slanting through the trees kindles the undergrowth of the forest to a glowing green and wildflowers abound throughout the trail with the fragrance of fresh pure heavenly perfume in the air... There is life and music in every corner. To me the forest is as food to one who wakes hungry after a long dark dream.
Rivers that run through the forests are like magical roads—roads that move and carry our spirits to places untold and dreamy lands...
Long long ago, my ancestors believed that rivers were the truest secret keepers of mankind. Rivers carry our most inner secrets within themselves. Untold secrets... secrets that must remain buried under many waters... rivers would carry their secrets to faraway places, and protect them from them.
So they would rush to the rivers and throw their most intimate secrets at the dark mysterious waters, like offerings of magical jewels...
Every time I walk along a river's bank I am reminded of my ancestors and imagine them bringing their offerings to the rivers as they walked in their leafy tabernacle, shrouded in silence...
Morning dew on the leaves, memories that don't belong to me; yet they're still there... "Come away, oh human child... to the waters and the wild with a fairy hand in hand"--I can almost hear Loreena McKennitt singing "Stolen Child".
In some sunlit trails and meadows within this enchanted forest, many plants are grown in profusion. I’m sure fairies love tending them and I can see sprites gathering nectar from them by moonlight and pixies hiding within their protective greenery... now, if you'd excuse me, I'm going to go see who lives in that cottage...
But don't worry, I have a feeling I've been there before, and know what to expect. I can already foresee it: the soft inviting light, the mood of magic and peaceful sensation to the room. And wafting from the small and cozy kitchen the smell of cinnamon and the comfort of caramelized sugar. And then there is that smell—the smell of home and hope, the kind of smell that cures fear.
Off I go... would you like to come along? Let's go then. Down the happy path we go. You can almost feel the spells and magic fluttering in the wind, while gentle whispers of sprites and fairies secrets dance around your ears! Oh oh, but can I tell you another sort of secret? This place is real... very real and if you want you can visit it too!