A thing of beauty....

I remember reading something once about Jacqueline Kennedy, that one of her goals of motherhood was to bring culture and beauty into her children's lives...this stuck with me for some reason. I have two sons, grown young men, who no doubt have views of their own about culture, oblivious to the beauty that I see....

 

Recently, I sent this photo to my youngest son...from Pinterest..he has been thinking about getting a dog...he is so busy, working with his brother running a business, playing hockey, and finding time to play the dating game...I hoped that subtley , I could show him the beauty of a relationship between a pet and his master...even though we had several pets while they were growing up, inevitably the brunt of pet care fell upon my husband or myself....the beauty of this photo touched me...happily it did the same for him....

 

Simple, extraordinary beauty is all around us. I am fortunate to be surrounded by the beauty of Nature every day, it has inspired me in my every day life, and made me receptive to the possibilities it has afforded me...professionally and personally. I endeavour to bring beauty to our everyday life, meals, the way I set my table for supper, or just baking a rhubarb pie, my oldest son's favourite...

I have managed to grow rhubarb here in my shade garden, beautiful in it's simplicity, just freshly cut, in the late afternoon sun...the original plant was a gift to the garden from my friend Brenda......one of the first signs of Spring.....

 

My role as a mother has changed over the years, my nurturing instinct I have applied to other things now...

.....nurturing new rose bushes, not your usual shade, woodland garden participants....but I am determined to make them happy here...

 

Cinderella Fairy among some budding oak leaf hydrangeas, just one year after her addition to the garden....

.....Nature's hand at orchestrating beauty in the garden.....

Here she is in full bloom, all the characteristics of the old antique varieties, floriferous....very fragrant and blowsy and delicate....I secretly smile to myself when both my sons visit, and choose to sit outdoors.... in the garden.....

I think that ultimately, behind everything I do, I strive to make it beautiful....everyone 's idea of beauty is very different...my sister Micki brings beauty with her food presentation....

....recently she catered a bridal tea...every delicate detail from garnishing the finger sandwiches to

the cucumber and mint infused water contributed to the beauty of the food and message behind the event...

.....coming together to share a beautiful event in the life of a new bride to be.....her daughter, Allison, my niece, hosted the shower, just two weeks after being diagnosed with Stage 2 breast cancer...beautifully resilient...the inner beauty of a person....a force to be reckoned with!

 

 

The beauty that develops with age has always resonated with me.......a vintage pedigree is so much more interesting.......

 

Pinterest

 

I think about incorporating vintage, aged details, when I plan and design my wedding florals.....time's imprint on beauty....

I live in a testosterone driven world....a husband, two sons, and every dog I have ever owned, male!

My inclination to bring beauty and culture to my world can, at times, be challenging! The above photo, from Pinterest, is likely more realistic of my adult, married life, interjected with opera playing in the background, interiors sprinkled with vintage finds and romantic touches, a garden showing glimpses of grand dreams and schemes of my own idea of beauty....I would not have it any other way!

There is a delicate balance in our world today.....very delicate....what is beautiful, however far outshines, the ugly....we must always focus on that!

Surrounding ourselves with beauty, whatever that beauty might be..... is a joy forever....

Wishing all my dear readers a beautiful Spring!

N.xo

 

Posted with Blogsy

Detail oriented....

My eye is always drawn to small details, touches that capture the special quality of an object, insignificant perhaps in the grand scheme of things, but none the less apparent to me...this is especially true in the garden....

The tiny green flower heads from a deciduous shrub have blown into a small bird bath and added a little touch of detail to an outdoor vignette...In direct competition with full blown white peonies in a vintage silver jug.....

Weathered and aged garden ornaments softened by late afternoon light add detail to an entrance way...

 

 

Adding a corona trellis to a planter with fledgling annuals in early Spring adds detail to a garden urn.....

Although the stone steps are holding there own in this corner of the garden, this rather formal garden accent adds detail to the soft ivy border.....

I love the small wisps of tiny fern fronds which add detail to the base of this rusted and weathered planter...

Adding accent planters to each side of the back path to our garden adds detail and structure......

More small ferns growing adjacent to this late summer planter add detail, not really needed here, but very welcome....

I love the added detail here of the rusted and weathered planter box, tiny ivy and bird bath against the moss covered terrace stones....

......more green detail!

 

 

 

 

.....so happy ivy grows here in the garden, climbing trees.....still waiting for it to cover portions of our red brick house.....

....absolutely gorgeous detail....provided by Mother Nature.....

....I have been waiting to add a table like this to my garden for some time.....

The detail is perfect.....moss covered beauty....

My husband would wonder about where to put his plate, the whole impracticality of it all...

Waiting patiently for the sun to shine and Spring to arrive, plotting and planning details

in the garden....

...all photos of our garden, the last two are from This Ivy House...

N.xo

 

 

 

Posted with Blogsy

The Bliss of Blogging....

A few weeks ago, while reading my blog list....which I always indulge myself with late at night after the day is done, I was delighted and inspired by Keri's post from Ivy Clad.
She shared her recipe for a lemon, butter cake, deliciously drizzled with lemon icing sugar...it sounded divine, so I marked it!  I thought my family would be lucky recipients of Keri's simple but delicious cake...I took it one step further and decided I would use the recipe in cupcakes instead, and fill them with my lemon curd....

As chance would have it, my friend, Jermaine from the blog French Kissed, was sharing her recipe for embellishing lemon cookies with candied violets from her California garden...I knew that would not likely happen here !! However, I did find some tiny purple violets at the florists last week....and my plan came to fruition!!
Keri's lemon cake recipe, paired with Jermaine's sugared violets...blogging at it's best!
 

I was quite happy with the results, and they got rave reviews from my Easter guests...
My sister Micki, also brought for the dessert table, her beautiful and delicious shortbread robin cookies and eggs, iced and embellished with pastel dragees...
unfortunately Picasa did not co operate and I cannot share them with you!!!
 

Moving back home for our first family dinner, Easter Sunday was so comforting, soothing and totally right for both my husband and I.....
The newly renovated home is perfectly suited for family gatherings.....
 

A view of the new kitchen, still sparse and waiting for homey finishing touches....

Looking towards the newly added dining room/garden room/mini conservatory....

We have so much light coming into the new space from all angles....
The two bar stools are on approval, but they will be returned this week...not at all comfortable! Still looking.....
 

...the finished vanity for the powder room, with Avonite counter......

I was very happy with the results, a touch of vintage and a bit of English charm....
...the scalloped mirrors are from Ballard Designs,  I thought them perfect to echo the cut out shape of the Avonite backsplash...I was hoping to emulate the look of a vintage washstand....

A small vintage sconce also helps to illuminate this tiny room, sans window or natural light....

...the small gold leaf pictures were purchased at a market in Italy during a visit there with my Mom...I still treasure them....

In this photo you can see how the vintage Vaseline sanctuary light hanging above creates soft shadows to give a warm glow to this room...it previously hung in the hallway...
 

The small pots of violets, which generously yielded enough flowers for my cupcakes are waiting for more temperate weather to be planted outdoors....
The "holding tank" currently, is an Italian drinking fountain, waiting to be installed by the front walk....
I loved reading all of my blogging friend's posts over the last several months....they are always inspirational, educational, touching and sometimes profound....
Even if time does not permit for me to post about my small corner of the globe, it brings me into close proximity with all of my dear friends out there, just like me....the bliss of blogging...
Wishing all of you a most joyous Spring season!

N.xo