A Fanciful Twist

Summer Tea Party...

A girl and her dog woke up in need of an adventure...

They packed a basket and headed out to the east.

(east side of our property these days, but we've got to pretend right?)

They actually had been planning this picnic amongst the beautiful purple blossoms gracing the area for days.

As the blossoms dropped they knew it was time to get out there soon.

And so today was the day.

A teacup and some treats, some plates and napkins...

And off they went.

On a mini adventure, to dream.

Now, we must add that creating beauty isn't always easy, but it's well worth it.

It takes a little work and perseverance, but the reward is wonderful.

And we would not have wanted to miss the blooming Texas ranger for anything.

A perfectly delightful day, hot but nice too -

Under the huge canopy of the Chilean mesquite tree.

A good reason to pack up some pretties...

Enjoy the season...

Hob knob with the hobnail...

Take tea with the Dresdens...

Be with my beau...

And a couple bees for good measure.

Down our twisty little path, outside the secret garden gate.

With bird song to delight us.

A lovely little day.

A tea party for no reason at all.

Which I must admit, we left up to go out and enjoy in the evening as well.

Last night we had a power outage for a few hours, it was fun to light candles and read poems under the flickering light.

I put batteries in my transistor radio and listened to songs whilst laying on the cool floor with my fur boys.

August always zooms by doesn't it?

And it feels like holidays fill the air starting in September.

So, it's time to really hug summer - even though it often lasts here until November.

And so, we live each day in the moment the best that we can, finding fun things to do and enjoy.

I have some garden things to put together this evening and I may collect some tomatoes as well.

Actually, I'll wait until early morning for that, best time to collect edibles and flowers is early.

How are you in your neck of the woods?

It is hot hot hot here.

The rain teases but does not come.

A second year of very little monsoon rain.

I think it has only rained twice all summer.

And yet, the desert greens up with just a tinge of water, like magic.

What a place, to need so little to transform.

I have some parcels I am eager to open.

I extra love parcels these days, don't you?

The boys are eager to go outside so I best be off.

But I'd love to hear how you are.

 

Love, 

Vanessa

 

ps:

 

Today I listened to lots of songs whilst working on this post -

But I'll leave you with one of them...

Edward Scissorhands main theme by The City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra

 

 

 

Of Zinnia Summer & Queen Red Lime

I'm not certain that summer would feel like summer without zinnias.

Resilient in the sun, layers of sturdy petals...

Gifting endless blossoms as long as you prune.

Same for basil and other annuals.

They believe their only purpose is to produce seeds.

So, as long as you keep pruning and not letting them go to seed they will keep gifting.

But if you do not prune they will go to seed and the plant's life purpose will be complete.

So, prune prune prune.

The remarkable thing is that all my zinnias self seeded this year.

In late autumn I leave a few zinnias there to just dry and drop onto the garden floor.

And I was lucky enough that the birds did not gobble the seeds.

And so last year's Queen Red Lime zinnias have returned.

Along with other giant volunteer zinnias here and there, including in the pumpkin patch.

I'm certain that zinnia seeds were in the little tree's planter that I transplanted out back -

Because when I planted pumpkin seeds and watered these giant raspberry zinnias grew with huge curly leaves.

Absolutely remarkable.

When I am tending garden I notice little garden findings that I know I simply must have.

Like twisted roots and stems.

To me summer is zinnias and basil.

The epitome of the season.

The bees and hummingbirds looooove zinnias.

Unfortunately, the yellow belly finches do as well, and so they eat leaves and rip off petals all day.

Ah well, it's okay for the cute little birds.

In the basket below you see oodles of Queen limes and beneath that are the giant cherry zinnia volunteers I just spoke about from my pumpkin patch.

You can see how huge they are comparatively.

I just love Queen Red Limes.

They are peachy and pinky with neon green centers.

Sometimes the lower petals turn lime green too, hence the name.

Since they self seeded they turned up extra early and now are towering, chock full of flowers.

Every gardeners dream I'm sure...

To have gobs of self seeded flowers.

I don't think I have been without zinnias in the garden for over a decade.

They last forever out in the heat, it's just amazing really.

So many colors and shape.

There are California giants, lilliputs, cactus style - just to name a few.

But I have to say that these Queen Red Limes really remind me of why I thought that the bottoms of pine cones looked exactly like zinnias.

Do you recall that tutorial here?

I've never have hundreds of thousands of people love something I did as much as the pine cone zinnias.

I can't believe how popular that was.

Every time I go onto Pinterest I see my pinecone zinnias over and over.

Once I was in an antique shop and a whole booth was dedicated to pinecone zinnias, and they had a little print out on the wall that showed my blog post.

I was floored!

I guess we all love a zinnia that will never perish.

But for now we have the zinnias of summer bobbing in the hot breeze.

I adore collecting all manner of specimens.

I love the rose hip.

Just the texture and colors of things you can find is magical.

Pruning zinnias all day long, to allow for the fresh ones to have space and keep blooming,

I'm not quite certain how it is August 1st already.

Really truly the time is just flying by.

Pumpkins, zinnias, basil.

The Queen Limes are extra vintagey, aren't they?

I sit under the citrus trees and marvel at all the growing things.

The moon is big and bright tonight.

I eat basil and tomatoes right in the garden.

I pick my zinnias in my little basket and run inside when it gets too hot.

I will collect my seeds for next year from the older zinnias that have developed some seeds.

The life of a gardener, always plotting and planning with hope for the next season.

I prune my roses a little in late August for the spring like wave of flowers that turn up in all their glory in October and November.

I have a bunch of fall vegetable seeds planted.

I got stung by a fire ant the other day, which I never had been.

I get little ant bites every day, but never a fire ant.

It was worse than my 3 or 4 scorpion stings by far.

It hurt for about 9 - 10 hours relentlessly, then let up.

I was screaming and jumping around - the pain was absolutely shocking.

And I have a pretty good tolerance for pain and discomfort.

Luckily I had no allergic reaction and it was just another gardening experience for the books.

It got me twice on a toe :-)

But all is well now, and I'm still wearing open toe shoes in the garden.

I know, bravery for sure.

The moon has a golden haze all around it through my window, so beautiful.

I look forward to the monsoon rains that turn up in August.

It is so very green out in the gardens, all manner of little tree volunteers I've been nurturing are now taller than me.

Amazing what summer brings.

For some reason several roses nearly died in the little corridor going to my studio, so I dug them up, added rooting hormone and put them in pots for now and they all had new leaves and shoots this morning after about a month and a half.

I think there must have been bugs or something there, or perhaps not enough sunlight due to the expanded canopy of the Chilean mesquite tree.

They were doing great and from one day to the next started to shrivel, which really makes me think it was a bug.

I had never seen rose bushes do that but I am delighted that they are coming back.

The chattering of a mad gardener, I tell ya.

I hope you are doing well in your neck of the woods.

We are just fine here, staying busy.

There are baby doves in the garden and I love watching mom and dad take such good care of them.

It has been outrageously hot, the dogs just run out and come right back in.

I fear they've had such a lux summer sleeping on cold floors that they've become a bit heat snobby.

But, that's okay.

Dogs are to be spoiled, that's my motto anyways.

Well, I best be off.

Early gardening ahead of me <3

 

Are you a zinnia lover?

I wonder if anyone has ever been named Zinnia, wouldn't that be just wonderful?

 

Love, Vanessa

 

 

ps:  I used to share music with you that I listen to whilst writing each blog post, so I shall attempt to remember to do that in the ps section.

I tried to get here days ago, but blog writing can take a while with the photo editing and then my programs kept crashing, so happy to have finally made it here <3

 

I listened to ones of my favorite songs by Janapriyan Levine (Suspended) while writing this post.

I love taking baths, meditating, stretching, writing and relaxing to this song all the time.

 

 

pps:

Up in the left hand sidebar (third item down) is a new section called "Spotlight Posts."

Every so often the posts will change, but it's a section with other posts that you might enjoy in between my regular postings <3

Just a fun little addition.

 

 

Autumn in July {Plus Book Details}

Some kind of magic has been swirling in my garden...

I know I know, we don't want to rush seasons, but this one is out of my control.

(by the way, book winners announced at the end of this post)

This all began with a curious little package of large white pumpkin seeds that rolled around my kitchen for a few weeks.

I decided to plant them in late March and they sprouted the very next day.

(please insert Hedwig's theme from Harry Potter at this stage of the story)

It's unbelievable but true.

It was time to take these first 3 sisters off the vine today, but just as these curious happenings occur in my life - 

I looked around the pumpkin patch this morning and found that 3 fresh baby pumpkins had set on the opposite side of the patch.

Almost to replace these 3.

And there are about 12 others in different stages of ripeness incubating under the umbrellas of leaves.

These pumpkins have enviable stems.

Just the perfect thing for my good garden witch heart.

Oh how it pained me to make the snip snip snips...

But I did want to cackle with glee simultaneously.

Because now I have three happy punkin babes.

I knew last week that the time was really nearing, which was only confirmed by yesterday's epic golden hour.

Come little pumpkins...

I'll take thee awayyyy <3

I am a tried and true pumpkin lover to the very core of my soul.

Are you?

I can not explain the why of such a thing.

It just is.

 

I am drawn to them and they to me.

They always grow in my garden, knock on wood 10 times.

I feel ever so lucky that they do, and only pray that they continue to for many years indeed.

And so, my first three pumpkins are coming inside.

Beginning the butterfly magic in my belly that autumn always brings.

The garden is slightly beginning to change, and I noticed today that the morning wasn't bright as early.

But do not fret!

There is still a world of summer to enjoy - it's just that as a garden girl you do have a certain awareness of the slightest change in garden happenings.

Little shifts start to unfold.

Planting of the late summer seeds is happening in the next month.

I have mine ready to go for autumn vegetables.

But right now it is summer, and there is a pretend café happening under the citrus trees.

I always feel extra excited when my grocer has things for delivery that were not available before.

Things such as chocolate croissants and maple yogurt.

Perfect for my make shift café bistro.

There are wisteria blossoms at the country house and quince are bobbing on the quince tree.

Thank you to the hatter for keeping the gardens alive there during this time of staying at home more.

I love my short drive between houses and long to sleep in the loft of my tiny house hidden in my country garden soon.

I have it all planned.

But since I can not be there every single day, he is an invaluable character in the tale of two houses.

I also wanted to mention and thank you for the notes expressing joy for more blog posts.

Blogging can be a very lonely cricket sound of a place, but still a fun and fulfilling destination.

I know I had not been blogging nearly as regularly the last couple years, but I truly needed some refuel time.

We all do, and I had the loveliest of whirlwinds during my refuel time.

It's really a job of passion and love to create blog posts.

And now I feel a bit more blog loving again.

I am glad to know there are some of you still out there, what fun would it be without you?

Down the bend and though the secret keyhole...

This is where we shall continue to meet!

 

And now, I best stop my sappiness to share the winners of the book set.

Since I do believe many of you are wondering madly.

I decided to draw two names since so many of you are die hard book lovers.

It is my greatest pleasure to send off two of these beautiful book sets to fellow bookphiles.

I was dying to engage and respond to your favorite book comments, but I didn't want to mess up the giveaway numbers.

Per random number generator we have lucky numbers 25 & 39.

Is that your number?

I know who it is, but I will let you go and check for yourself to add and extra level of mystery (tee hee).

I love love loved your sharing of your favorite books by the way.

I will be picking some of them up per your suggestions.

If you won please e-mail me or DM me on Instagram with your address so that I can send these lovely books your way.

(I will notify the winners if I do not hear back in a couple of days)

 

 

Thank you all truly, for joining in the fun <3

Let's do it more often, shall we?

 

Now...

In more pressing news.

What ever shall I name my 3 pumpkins fresh off the vine??

 

Do you know?

I feel you truly might.

Will you share the names with me??

:-)

 

Well, I suppose it is toodles for now.

And I promise - I will see you soon.

 

Love, Vanessa

 

 

ps: here is a phone camera photo of the winning numbers.

 

A Little Christmas Magic (Part 1)

Hello there.

I decided to pop in with some photos from my home before I lose myself in the season and life happenings.

This is one side of my décor (part 1) and I'll share the other side in a few days.

I love seeing other's holiday magic, don't you?

Especially when I'm on a walk and folks have their trees twinkling in the window.

Just love that.

It's like everyone creates their own little slice of wonderland.

Below are some snippets of my christmas this year.

I had a hard time choosing photos so there might be too many :-)

I decided to create my own winter wonderland.

The lighter I kept things, the more magical it felt to me - 

Pinks, golds, creams and whites did just the trick.

(I accidentally took these pics before I put the big pink ribbon topper on my little tree in the background)

There are also pops of red plaid and colorful ornaments here and there.

I used all my favorite figurines and winter pieces I've collected over the years.

I slip covered each dining chair and added little grapevine and green wreaths.

I tied them with an antique ribbon I had been saving for years.

I left some pretty simplicity in some areas, which really spoke to my romantic heart.

Especially since some areas are overstuffed with things, such as this menagerie of antique mirrors.

Oh and, lots and lots of candles.

I like mixing up all colors and styles of candlesticks and candelabras.

Silver, gold, porcelain, all.

Swan figurines have always been a part of my collections and work beautifully with Christmas décor.

The mirror in the backdrop use to be copper and is actually built into the wall.

I decided to paint it distressed white and add wooden filigree around it.

I also added some antique brass candle sconces which illuminate it perfectly.

I'm a fan of pink and red plaid, so I decided to create a really cozy seating area at the head of the table using those colors.

I took away one of the captain chairs and replaced it with this lil' settee.

Whoever gets to sit there will be extra cozy.

Warm super soft blankets and pillows to squish into really hit the spot.

As I was decorating my buffet I decided to fill it with the things that I love.

Extra ornaments on tiered trays, bottle brush trees and all the tinsel and ribbon spools I had left over.

I think they are such pretty little props and fillers.

For some reason my pics don't look as sharp when I load them onto my blog, but if you click on them you can see a sharper version of the image.

I really love the pink, white and gold with pops of fresh green peeking out.

The magic of Christmas is just so beautiful.

I love how everyone jumps in and gets into the spirit of things.

Just enjoying the twinkly lights as the sun goes down fills my heart.

I stacked all my favorite gold mirrors in here and lined my buffet with sheet music.

This music is actually really special because it is composer sheet music, hand done, just amazing!

Each note written in by hand.

On the right side of my dining area I decided to put up my tall skinny tinsel tree.

It just has fluffy feather poofs on it in pinks and whites, with a black and white striped ribbon to top it off.

Next to this little tree is another little credenza filled a few of my very most favorite things.

Tea cups and pretty frilly plates.

I hung baubles from all of the candelbaras.

I wish I could leave them up all year.

I mean of course I could, but that would take the fun out of putting them up next year.

Christmas baubles just elevate everything and make it all better.

My little thrift store Santa I've had a few years is my favorite.

I feel like my mom had him in the 80's, he's so familiar to me.

I picked him up for a song, thrift stores always have great Christmas finds outside of the season.

I just pick things up and store them, then I'm always excited to refind them when the holidays roll around.

I had never purchased white ornaments, but I brought home a few and I love them to pieces.

Perfect for a winter wonderland feel.

Swan is wearing my bauble wreath proudly I think :-)

I bet all of us love the twinkle magic that emerges in the evening?

When things get extra golden and fairy lights twinkle like no other.

I just love to sit still, music playing, fireplace on, sinking into the beauty of the season completely.

Little porcelain ladies dancing in the light with feathers and baubles.

The beauty of still moments, sun going down...

Your own kind of golden hour...

With Santa, in the warmth of the holiday season.

What a beautiful time of year.

Fills my heart with joy.

(I'll share a bunch more in a few days)

I've learned over the years to find my own kind of magic within.

To take part in the things that personally bring me joy, like my very own traditions.

Cutting snowflakes, tossing baubles about, lighting my candles.

Drawing in front of the fire, peppermint, tea, gingerbread, cinnamon.

Things that are yours no matter what is going on in the world around you.

I'm learning that holidays can bring all sorts of feelings and memories.

But I'm on a mission to celebrate the lives of those I love, including my own.

That means taking a moment to embrace the good in everything, even hard things.

Celebrate the good, I guess that is one element of what Christmas means to me.

Gratitude and goodness.

 

Thank you for peeking in, I'll be back in a few days with part 2.

 

Love, Vanessa

 

See ya soon <3 <3 <3

 

 

ps: I have a lot of little clay pieces and paintings I wanted to have ready by now, alas life has kept me busy in unexpected ways. I hope I can still bring them in time. If not they might be New Year creatures <3