A Walk in the Courtyard

It's that time of year when the garden is in full bloom so let's take a stroll.

I hope my mailbox brings joy to the mailman! That's mandevilla growing up the post and pink periwinkles all around.

Here is another little "find" from a thrift store...a broken column. My husband placed a palm in it and then I planted lysimachia all around. My husband also collects small iron animals and places them throughout the garden.

My creeping fig has finally taken off and it has a daunting wall to cover, but...

...but it WILL cover this whole wall. We willl eventually have to trim it from overtaking the fountain and wood stash.

These vines are Moonflower and Morning Glory and live very nicely together as one blooms in the morning and the other at night! Seedlings were provided last year by my hairdresser and friend, Kelly, and this is the second year I've had them...they reseeded themselves all over that bed and I moved them to the corners and added the contents of one seed packet each this year.

Here's the beautiful moonflower, it only lives one evening...but what a night!

Suzy Homemaker Kind of Afternoon

Bought these flowers at Wal-Mart and used Ina Garten's (The Barefoot Contessa) method to arrange them. She learned this on one her numerous trips to Paris.
1. Arrange the flowers by holding them in your hand as opposed to putting them into a vase.
2. When you have an arrangement that is pleasing to the eye, tie the bundled stems with kitchen twine to hold them in place.
3. Then cut the stems to fit the size of the flower vase and place into water in your vase.

This is so much easier than cutting stems and placing them in vase individually...it takes all the guesswork out! I must also confess that I didn't use all the flowers I bought (they come in "pre-packaged" bunches)which were yellow daisies...I'm just not a yellow person where flowers are concerned. I'm very drawn to reds/pinks/whites and, of course, green! Those are the colors I have used in my landscaping...seems like I am giving you a preview of my next blog subject...

Then I decided to make some Strawberry Water by slicing some strawberries and then muddling them and put them in a carafe and added filtered water.

It's a refreshing drink on a sweltering summer day! Try it, you'll like it and it's a marvelous way to get your Vitamin C, dahling!

And lastly, I found another little Susan Branch book at Goodwill last week. If you don't know Susan Branch, you MUST visit her web site www.susanbranch.com where you can also find a link to her new blog! I will give it a place of love and respect and let it live with my other Susan Branch books!

One of my favorite quotes from this book, "Dreams of strawberries are a good omen." I raise a glass of Strawberry Water to you!

Hanky Panky

I love monogrammed handkerchiefs even if they are not my initial. I use them as napkins at my tea parties. The crocheted-edge hankies are not monogrammed, but they add a bit of whimsy. These will set a pretty table.

These were folded to coctail napkin size...they will be beautiful on a fall table.

Homer Laughlin China, Liberty, Calirose

Produced from 1942 into the 1950s, there were 15 pieces of this for sale as a lot but most were badly chipped. I picked out one place setting (there were no cups and saucers) and left the rest as a donation. I collect luncheon place settings with the theme of "pink" or "pink roses on cream" dinnerware. These individual pieces are available on Robbinsnest.com. The luncheon plate is $12. The bread plate is $8, the soup bowl with flat rim is $12. No salad plates available. I paid $7.50 for all four pieces!

I Hear Voices

Ever buy something because it speaks to you? I did today!

The first is a hardback children's book entitled The King Bear, by Michael Turner, Illustrated by Robert Frankenberg, copyright 1968. It's a Weekly Reader book. It was the colors that first caught my eye.

The dedication reads, "To Jessie, my wife, who shared with me the vast, lonely beauty of Alaska." Such a bargain for 25 cents!

The next was this pair of ceramic candlesticks. I fully expected them to be Fitz and Floyd, but alas, there are no markings. They really cleaned up nicely!

Again, it was the color that got my attention first and they are a heavy yet comfortable weight.

So what did I pay for these little lovelies? $3 for both!

Crocheted doilies

What beautiful handwork...love these roses!

Can you believe these beautiful grapes? So much work!

All four candle lanterns hanging from arbor

Here are all four lanterns..total $8, some hooks, chains, and a little of my husband's elbow grease!

We'll leave the light on!

My husband gets in on the fun, too! He found five of these metal lanterns with leaded glass on all four sides...perfect size for holding pillar candles. This picture was taken before he hung them from the arbor. Wish I had taken a picture of them "before"...they were nasty which made the price even sweeter....$2 each!!!! We were actually delivery a painting on a large canvas for an artist friend of ours for a showing, and the lanterns were laying in the back alley...the owner was going to throw them away!