The gift and a great day remembered

Like I mentioned in the last post I wanted to show you what I made my friend Paula.

I really wasn't sure where I was going with this.

I always have to have a back up plan so I don't
 get too nervous about

creating anything for someone.

I had a back up plan so I could keep my insecurities in check.

It's one thing to make something for yourself it's something all together different

to make something for a friend

....and a friend with great taste and a definitive style.

Not sure why I photographed it on this wire grid but at the time it looked a little stark....

on this white wall......

but I like white walls???

I used a book cover for the base and then just added this and that.

This sweet winged girl looks sad....

but this one's ready to party

I adore the delicateness of this lace.

I wanted to make a pocket and kept wanting to use lace but still wanted to not cover all the paper underneath. 

 I remembered I had some odd copper wire ribbon that

I had used on a Christmas wreath.  When left outside too long it

changed it a perfect old metal shade.

It always looked too bright and garish and now it was just right.

The garden trowel charms from M and J trims in

NYC that I picked up

on a trip with Paula and other gal pals.

That was a fun day trip we took a couple of years ago.

It was rainy and we spent most

of the day in the garment district.

 Me and my friend Delores are button, trim and ribbon nuts so we ruthlessly dragged Paula and Ginny to every shop in that district.

Lets just say they were very patient with us:))

I think they still had fun...... despite the rain.

Poor Paula had no umbrella so she stopped

and bought one from a street vendor.

She hadn't even gotten to the end of the street and the umbrella

blew inside out and broke.

Crazy windy that day.

Poor Paula!

 we ended the day having a great dinner at Becco's Restaurant.

Good food makes everything all better doesn't it?

a little wine and alcohol doesn't hurt either:)

George and I have been there a few times

 and it's always incredible.

Crowded but worth it.

Aren't all good restaurants crowded?

The olives and bread sticks at the bar I could make a meal of:))

but I still find room to eat a meal.

I guess that's what I remember the most of that trip....us all sitting around a table enjoying a great meal together at a

 New York City restaurant.

We were 4 girls in the city,

no men,

 no husbands,

no kids,

Kind of like the girls of Sex in the City

but not really!

we could pretend!

it was our day!

I'm joining Kathleen at Faded Charm

for White Wednesday!!!

Go say hi to her and the other participants!

The Garden at Paula's

Last Monday we finally got together with Paula and Bill

. We went out for Paula's birthday but first I had to visit the garden.

One of my favorite features is her chicken coop.

When they have guests the two of them come out here and sleep.

I think I'd have sweet dreams sleeping in a bed like this.

Having coffee and oj on this hand painted table would be heaven.

At every corner is something special and nature inspired.

This is the mini version of the main house and is just as charming.

It was a lot darker outside then it looks here so it's a little blurry.

I hardly ever use my flash though I should rethink that.

I was intrigued by this bug.

It was huge!!!!

Paula knew the name of it but I can't remember:)

Fluffing the coleus

A relaxing place to have lunch or dinner. It's a little tucked away under the trees so

the breezes come across the expansive lawn and give some relief in the heat of the day.

which we seem to all be experiencing a lot lately.

When are we getting cooler temps?

You might remember this purchase Paula made when we went to the Madison Bouckeville

Antique Show last year.

We all thought it was cool but we were scratching our heads as to what she'd do with it.

....we had no doubt she'd think of something.

Bill rigged it up with a metal pipe up the center and now it's

 great for hanging votives candles.

We share the love of hydrangeas and Paula must have over 50 of them. This year with all the rain we had in March they are really spectacular.

After our walk thru the garden we waited for George to arrive.

The four of us 

walked over to Gabrielles for dinner.

                          

I'd been wanting to go there forever.

It's been there for over 30yrs...having changed hands and names a few times.

It was one of the BEST meals I'd had in a long time.

I can't  believe I waited this long to go.

I wanted to take pictures inside but I knew I'd get the look from George.

Do you get that look?

The food was not only delicious but presented so pretty.

Just like I make dinner every night:))

yeah right!

The only thing I took a pic of was the sign on the way out.

If you're ever in the Centerbrook area outside of Essex stop in.

Check out their menu HERE

Next time I'll  share what I made Paula.

Hope your having a great weekend!

Carole

WEEDS

Where I was born marigolds are like weeds.

Hence the name french marigolds.

They would grow in the shallow cracks of  river beds near

where my Aunt and Uncle lived.

We would walk by them on our way into town.

When I was young I never much paid attention to them.

 It wasn't until I was older that I realized people planted these

and was awoken to the image in my mind and the memory of that pungent smell.

The colors of Provence are vibrant but often with a hint of antiquity.

A warm worn look that says I've been here awhile....

and I'm here to stay.

Here in the US we have equally beautiful weeds.

among them....

Queen Anne's Lace

I admire them everytime I drive down our sideroad when I come to work.

Usually by now this area is weed whipped but since a fence had been put up it seemed

George had forgotten about it.

They had a chance to grow.

I had hoped to photograph the Chicory (Cichorium intybus) that was flowering....

but I was there too late.

.

( this image is from the web)

read more about flowering weeds

 HERE

Can you tell what this is???

while playing around I really liked the colors and though I rarely show the

crazy stuff I come up with I thought I would this one time.

It reminds me of a tapestry.

Anyways this is what it really is.... a train.

Yes we are near the tracks.

On the wrong side.

But, you knew that one already:)))

It's loud at time but you get used to it.

Last yr Amtrak worked on them extensively and everytime a train would pass they would

blow their whistle..choo choo!

 but  very longggggg choo choo's

It resounded all thru the town....the towns people were not too happy

but they had to do it. I had one lady say to me in a  huff.

"We just moved here and it's going to lower our property value"

OMG

I just laughed.

What could I say?

Yes maybe you should move!

but I didn't.

The train doesn't bother me at all.

In fact, the kids love to see it go by.

Fathers put their kids on their shoulders so they can get a better look.

The black eyed susans amongst the weeds to me just are the best!

The very best part is I can enjoy them just doing there thing without tending to them.

No watering,

No feeding,

No weeding,

Heaven!

If you want to be mesmerized by more Queen Anne's Lace

go and visit Erin's

Gorgeous blog

HERE

You'll be happy you did!!!!!!!

Strawberries

Fresh strawberries....or should I say local strawberries are one of my favorite treats of the season.

I can't seem to bring myself to buy the California Driscoll kind.....

the ones bred for shipping long distances on refrigerated trailer trucks.

Native strawberries should never be refrigerated.

They should be eaten immediately
...after washing of course.

We used to pick tons and tons when George's father had fields of them. Getting up in the early

morning to go picking was a seasonal ritual.

On weekend George's sister Maggie would round up her 4 kids and we'd all help pick for the busy weekend.

Their reward for their hard work was breakfast out with grandpa.

When you're a farm family breakfast is never the meal you miss.

Unfortunately now we have no more fields of strawberries only a small patch for ourselves.

Time passes and things change.

Seeing these strawberries which by the way we had growing in some pots we were selling.

What's so wonderful is that these are just putting out fruit now

....it's the middle of JULY and HOT!

Anyways it got me thinking about the other kind of Strawberries that my friend Evi

makes with her own 2 hands.

These cute make-dos!

I can't imagine the amount of time and patience you have to have to make these.

Sewing every little seed bead precisely in a grid pattern.

This one above even has a little strawberry pouch that

holds a pair of antique scissors

Is that the cutest thing or what?

I look at all the work that goes into Evi's pieces and it astounds me.

If you want to see more of her great work and her beautiful home and gardens

visit her HERE

Now I'm going to eat some juicy strawberries!

xxx

Finally the 4th

I'm a little late in showing you July4th fireworks....but that's par for me to be a little late

.....ask all my friends:
This year we received parking tickets to get into Waters Edge Inn and Resort.

I thought WOW that's great until we had to get out:))

OY!

I think we'll park on the main road next time

but it was still worth it.

This is the view from the back off the patio.

The planting are really spectacular and the website really shows off it's

great views. It was hard to get a good impression of it from my pictures...

just too many people.

See what I mean.

Crazy!!!!

It's open to anyone who wants to walk from any beach or along rt 1.

Usually we can get a nice view from the top of our greenhouses.

Good thing I'm not toooooo scared of heights....

Not sure why but I made George walk down with me into that crowd.

Then after a few minutes I had enough and we came back up and found a spot out

of the way on the terrace.

Much nicer.

A band was playing some 50's tunes and I ran into some friends.

This is Barb....

I think she's having a good time.

don't ya think?

This guy was a top notch dancer and he had her spinning like a top.

George isn't a dancer so I have to just enjoy watching. boo hoo!

though I still dance....don't get me wrong.

It was very warm and humid that night so viewing the dancing was fine by me.

We were all glowing as Debra likes to call it.

The first fireworks I ever saw was when I was maybe 14 in France.
I think those were the best I ever saw ......not that I remember that much about them
but, hey it was in Paris on Bastille Day which now that I think of it is on Wednesday.
So if you know any French blogs....and I know you do.
Then go wish them a happy Bastille Day.

My favorite is the waterfall one......where you always here the crowd

go AHHHHH!

so pretty

Not my best photography work.

I've come to the conclusion that I'm not good at taken pictures of crowds

or fireworks.

I'm not fishing really.

So now we'll change geers and I'll share with you a picture I saw on my friend Lori's blog

My Faerie Window

You can see her cute haircut HERE

She brought this picture in for her hairdresser to replicate.

I feel in love with it. It was the last post I read that night.

I wanted to make a photocopy to bring home but George was rushing me to get done

so we could go home.

That night I kept thinking about that picture.

I couldn't get it out of my head.

I'm not an impulsive person normally

except

when it comes to my hair.

Yep at 11:30pm at night I cut my own hair.

What ya think?

aren't I beautiful?

NO NO NO

I can't lie.

This is me!

what a disappointment:)) haha

I could at least have been smiling. But the model wasn't smiling

so I think that was my thought process.

Look sultry!

Didn't work.

Ok now I sound like I'm really fishing for compliments

I'm really not.

So now I've gone from mediocre photos to THIS!!!

You have to know that I always cut my own hair.

I have hairdresser phobia.

That's another post!

My saving grace is that I wear a baseball cap all day long while working.

I have gotten better at styling it since I took this picture.

A girl need PRODUCT!

Are you impulsive???

Don't hate me because I'm beautiful:))

sorry I had to say that.

You think I could have worn something more stylish then a pink T.

Ok this post is just getting silly.

I have tons of boxes that just showed up that needs unwrapping.

Yup, Christmas in JULY!!!!

Have a Good Night

xxx