Wednesday, September 28, 2011

Window...

It’s that time of the year again! As you can imagine, I’ve been a busy bee buzzing around here trying to find the time to fit in all my little projects... Oh there’s so much to do! So much to collect! There are oodles of tomatoes to harvest, and there are all the herbs to be dried and all the grapes from all of our five grapevines would need to be collected before the birds get to them.

Tinkerbell herself showed up in our garden the other day! She promised she’d help collect all the goodies! And she did! She was very polite and quiet, but can I share a little secret? She thinks like a fairy and acts like a fairy, but really… she’s just a gardener in disguise… I still cannot believe ‘she’ actually gardens in her Tinkerbell PJ’s, though... but really, she does!

There is also the realization that the Wheel of the Solar Seasons has turned, cycling through another year once again. And thus, I’m soaking up as much sun as possible, as I can foretell a pretty nasty and cold winter is already lurking around the corner—to bite us when we least expect it.

Oh but we shouldn't be talking of winter here, right? And who would anyway with weather as lovely as this! It is indeed divine out here in the garden, with just the right tingle of mystery and anticipation brought in by nippy autumnal evening air...

So here we are... still dining outside, eating salads from our organic garden under some magical bluish-pink skies....

The garden under the magical glow of twilight...
I’ve been cozying up my nest a bit in preparation for the upcoming season and long nights ahead... so I got new pillows and covers and I have dug out my favorite lamp from the hobbit hole down the hall under the stairs... (Truly... there’s a hobbit hole down there!)

I love this lamp. It looks so lovely here cozying up my evenings again... it looks particularly enchanting against the darkness and chill of the outside.

What is it about a window soothed by the soft light of a lamp that so enchants me? Are you like that too? Think about this: The mellifluous garden swathed in shadows and gentleness, the quietness distilled and that sense of mystery and seclusion brought in by autumn’s chilly breath, and then... the soft light on the window beckoning me; reminiscent of home and warmth and comfort and love and everything that’s good...

There is something about the quietness and beauty of these imageries I think... it’s magical! But the real magic can only happen at the right time, and in my opinion that ‘right time’ starts right with the arrival of fall... the feeling is not the same in the summer when it's hot outside and natural light aplenty. I've seen magic happen, so I know it does... it may come sudden and go by quick, but sometimes it lingers at your very window... See what I mean?

That is why I’d usually take my ‘magic’ lamp back to the hobbit hole down the hall under the stairs every spring and keep it there all through the summer until the arrival of fall; when again I would polish it and bring it back to enchant my evenings.

Remember, if you open your eyes you'd see magic all around you! Is all in you, really! UNLEASH all possibilities

Tuesday, September 27, 2011

Wisteria Wednesday

Taking a break from roses today to bring you Wondrous Wisteria Wednesday. We love wisteria for its beautiful flowers hanging on long clusters. There is something romantic about a pergola, or even a cottage, covered in wisteria, especially in the spring when it is in bloom. The two most popular types of wisteria are Wisteria floribunda and Wisteria sinensis. W. floribunda has clusters up to 18 inches and it usually flowers in May and June. Colors can range from violet-blue to white, with pink and lavender in between. W. sinensis has slightly smaller clusters, up to 12 inches, that flower white or blue in May. For decorating ideas, the violet-blue hues of wisteria look lovely in a feminine bedroom or powder room.

Decorating Ideas

Cepolina (via)
Wisteria flowers range from white to pale violet to deep blue. The delicate groups of blooms are sometimes centered with pale yellow.

Decorating Ideas

Hume Seeds (via)
A romantic garden room is created from three simple elements: large wisteria, a pergola and lattice. How wonderful to spend an afternoon surrounded by wisteria, drinking lemonade or iced tea.

Decorating Ideas

Thread Spider (via)
An English country cottage covered in wisteria to the point where it surrounds the windows. Imagine opening the windows and letting the sweet fragrance fill the rooms.

Decorating Ideas

Downlo (via)
A cottage in Chelsea, England covered in wisteria.

Decorating Ideas

Moosey's Country Garden (via)
A single wisteria vine can climb and cover a pergola with lovely blooms. The leaves provide shade in the summer.

Decorating Ideas

Plant Encyclopedia (via)
Wisteria Alba is a white variety of wisteria. This path framed by white blooms would look magical at night with white fairy lights.

Decorating Ideas

Bumble Bee Blog (via)
Wisteria can also be trained to grow a fence. It looks especially nice against an old fashioned white picket fence.

Decorating Ideas

Home (via)
Both white and blue wisteria are available in tree and vine varieties. Whichever you chose to plant in your garden, remember that wisteria does not like to be moved. Once it is established it can take over, which isn't necessarily a bad thing. Interior design ideas might include placing a silk wisteria plant in a corner for a pop of beautiful color.

This post comes courtesy of Design Shuffle, where you can find top tier interior designs from around the world – from New York interior designers, Los Angeles interior designers, and more, check out the latest at Design Shuffle.

Sunday, September 25, 2011

Show Off Your Cottage Monday

Hello to you! And welcome to another Show Off Your Cottage Monday; a blog party I host at the beginning of each week to celebrate the things we love about our homes and how we live. If you're new here, thanks for stopping by and if you've visited before, thanks for returning!
The House in the Roses
My garden is still gifting flowers... the last of its roses are always the sweetest... they're gifts of joy. And that's what I'm celebrating today! From my cottage... to yours!

"The world is a rose; smell it and pass it to your friends." - Persian Proverb

What are you celebrating today? Please do share, but don't forget to link back to The house in the roses, this way other can come here and enjoy our party too! Thank You.

Tuesday, September 20, 2011

Fleeting moments

Because this year summer was so late in arriving here, Nature is trying to make it up to us. And thus... summer has decided to stick around a little longer. Days are deliciously warm and sunny and clouds are rolling all over me like Paradise on a map.

It is so lovely here in the garden with weather that is neither in the scorching heat of summer nor in the prickly chills of autumn... it is just balmy days and it is the unruffled calm and imperturbable peace of the garden under perfectly balanced conditions... I am standing on a threshold between what was, and what will be. I dearly love this period of time. I want to hold these perfect moments in the palm of my hands, if I could, and retain them there for as long as ever...

I have this sort of a ritual that I faithfully follow every day without failing (I know that some of you like to do this too), it goes like this: Every day, at dusk, I go to the garden to bid the day farewell—that simple. I never forget to do this. Dusk is fleeting and beautiful and different each day. If I don't pay attention I will miss it... this day will never come back to me again; it was a gift given to me by my Creator, and I will never see it again the way it was presented to me today, so I must say my goodbyes as it slowly descents behind the horizon into yet another night.

Each moment, each hour, each day is different. They’re never the same. Things are never the same. If you think about it, we cannot occupy the same place in space at the same time; therefore, we coincide with people around us only once under the same time and place. Perhaps, if you live in a small town you might be able to coincide with that stranger twice on the same day at a different place, but even if you have a routine this is not the norm… The experience that touched us today won’t be the same tomorrow... each day must be appreciate it; each day lived to the fullest with open eyes and heart.

May you find peace within today. May you trust that you are exactly where you are meant to be. May you not forget the infinite possibilities. May you share those gifts that you have received. May you be confident knowing you are a child of the Creator of this marvelous Universe. Let His presence settle into you.

Sunday, September 18, 2011

Show Off Your Cottage Monday

Welcome to "SHOW OFF YOUR COTTAGE MONDAY", a blog party I host at the beginning of each week to celebrate the things we love about our homes and how we live.
The House in the Roses
I love old jars… the older looking the better in my opinion ;) Are you like that too? Decorating and filling old mason jars with flowers from my garden have being one of my favorite pastimes this summer! Yeap, I love the simple things… life can’t be any sweeter!
Flower vases, as simple as quart mason jars full of summer flowers imbue my heart with hope and beauty…
Here are some snapdragons from my garden sitting on the round table by the window, in our bedroom... simple jars filled with simple flowers... it just make me so happy! This past week I got inspired and decided to create my own treasure jar! So I made these... ;)
I hung an antique necklace around one of the jars to give it a sophisticated touch, filled them with some old lace ends I had around, and put them here, along with some other jars where I keep all sort of practical things; such as soaps (only white), cotton balls, swabs, etc…
I’m thinking I’ll use glass jars as candle holders for my next project! Glass jars work great with candles. If you're outside on a windy night, placing a candle in a glass jar will protect it from being blown out as you enjoy its glow. You can use your glass jar as storage, keep it in a craft room and use it to collect cloth scraps, buttons, marbles or beads, and of course, use it to keep your wild and witchy Halloween potions! I love how mine turned out!
And what are you celebrating, my friend? Take us there... but remember: You must link back to the House in the Roses! That's what the fun requires... ;) Thank YOU!

Friday, September 16, 2011

Happy Weekend!

Hi everybody! It's Friday and I really am IN LOVE with sunflowers… enough that I just had to share some more lovely pics!
Their happy smiling faces, the sunshine treasured in their petals, the ruffling loveliness imbue my heart with hope and beauty… and I hope it would do the same for you!