Stopping by with a rose

To all those who left comments on my last post, thank you! I hadn't really expected to be gone this long and had hoped to respond to all the lovely comments. After everything with my dad happened life just seemed to be very busy, and I felt caught up in it all, rarely even checking my email. 

For the past several days this one image has been sitting in my Photo Shop program just waiting to be edited. Finally I took a few minutes and did just that. Once it was done I added a sweet border on PicMonkey. They just keep adding new editing options and I love them all! 

I hope you've had a lovely Spring. Tomorrow we jump right into Summer with 90+ degree temperatures! Thank goodness for A/C and ice cream! Both of which I plan on enjoying : )

Please know I am very thankful for everyone who visits my little blog. Hopefully I will be back again very soon!

Forsythia

Good Monday to all! 

Did you have a nice week-end? Maybe get a bit of the snow that fell in the South? Here in NH the weather was beautiful with absolutely no snow. I think most New Englanders are enjoying the mild winter but we also know Old Man Winter could throw us a curve ball right up until April Fools Day! Oh how I hate it when that happens.

 Two Sundays ago I cut some Forsythia from our backyard to bring in and force. On Valentine's day, last Tuesday, it finally started to blossom. Here it is almost a week later and their golden-yellow petals are still gracing my windowsill. I thought you might like a peek.

The board behind the flowers and canning jars is a piece of driftwood I found at the beach last summer. I love that it's so weathered and beat up with nails still attached. My husband also found a piece of driftwood which was slightly longer and thinner but I haven't figured out where that one will go yet.  Over by the mason jars you'll also see a clear, almost beehive shaped container. That holds my dish detergent. The container was only a few dollars and I found it at Homegoods. So much more attractive than a plastic bottle, don't you think?

Last month I decided to put away my winter hand soaps and bring out the summer scents, given to me as a gift last year on my birthday. They're made by Just Naturals & Co and I love them both! The foaming soap is Summertime Breeze while the lotion is Ginger Lemongrass.  Oh goodness they smell divine!

Mixed in amongst the Forsythia on my windowsill are a few sprigs from the double-flowering Cherry. Just yesterday I noticed tiny buds beginning to appear so I'm hopeful they too will grace my kitchen in the coming weeks. And if they do you know you'll be seeing them here ; )

Just a little something . . .

Two weeks away. Where has the time gone? 

It always feels good to be back, especially when I have something pretty to post. 

I've continued to hold true to my word of keeping flowers in the house throughout Winter and will continue to do so until I can bring flowers in from the garden. If you don't have any of your own I suggest you go buy some! The roses I've been buying are the small spray roses, and at $3.99 a bunch you just can't go wrong. The florist had some out of code carnations marked down to $.99 so I bought those too and mixed them in.

She also had loads of bright orange and yellow mums that someone over ordered and were also marked down to $.99 a bunch so I bought two bouquets for the girls bathroom and put them into one large container. Its like a greenhouse in here and I love it.

So I think I have found my dream vacation spot. 

Yesterday I started browsing around Google Street Views and thought, 'Hey, why not go to Paris and see the Eiffel tower!' and so I did. Did you know you can go to different countries? I never even thought about it before. So then I drove around Champs Elysees and down a few side streets. Lots of people, shops, restaurants, and plenty of cars, but beautiful scenery.

From there I just had to go to Positano, Italy. Did you ever watch the movie Under the Tuscan Sun? It's one of my absolute favorites and you can view it here. The guy she met in the market and had the one night fling with lived in Positano. 

Positano looks like a gorgeous place.Water sparkles on the bays like a million diamonds, while houses seemingly stacked almost one on top of the other grace rocky hillsides accessed by simple narrow streets. (Positano map) You can see it for yourself by dragging the little orange person down to the blue lines. I would suggest zooming in on the map a bit first though as it will make it easier to find the streets. Just to the right of Chez Black has a gorgeous view!  Maybe you've actually been there yourself, in person? My girls were making fun of me because they thought it was a silly thing to look up online but I think its pretty cool. Technology is amazing! We obviously don't travel much but maybe one day that will change. 

What a marvelous way to check out a vacation destination before you make reservations!

The days just keep growing longer. Hard to believe we will be springing forward on March 11th. Sounds good to me! A few of my daffodils have just started to poke up out of they ground. I gave them a cease and desist order until at least March. Hopefully they listened ; )


Today I cut Forsythia and brought it in to force.

I was struggling to photograph the flowers before the sun sunk to low. The shots below are just before sunset. Often times I think it's the pretties sun of all with long shadows and golden colors.

Lots of hooting and hollering going on in the family room tonight during the Superbowl. Seeing as how we live in the heart of Patriot country I guess it's to be expected. I don't watch sports but I loved the half-time show, even though I'm not a big Madonna fan. It was SO much better than last year with the Black Eyed Peas. Oy!

Oh, did you have a favorite commercial? Tomorrow I'll try to watch some of them online.

Hope your week is a good one!

Roses and such

Happy Sunday to all!

Phineas would like me to thank everyone who left a comment regarding my most recent post. Being that he's a cat he can never get to much adoration.  Currently Phin's dealing with a bit of Feline Herpes, causing his right eye to have a runny, yellow discharge. Usually it only lasts a few days and then he's fine. The girls and I wipe it all the time while he leans in for the rub. If things get worse we shall be off for a visit to the vets *sigh* 

Roses

So far I've bought only one bunch of roses this winter but I photographed them every which way I could think of! Oh what fun, and oh-so glorious. Now they lie on the counter, drying up, but it was a good friendship we had. Who knows, maybe it shall continue.

Currently my Amaryllis and (lousy) Paper Whites are in full bloom but I'm thinking more roses are in order today or tomorrow.

*  *  *

All of the following are iPhone-ography and Instagram

Speaking of roses ... above is the 2012 Monets Garden calendar I purchased from Georgianna Lane's Etsy shop. If you're looking for beauty look no further. G has got it!

Again, more Phin. This time relaxing in front of the fire on a chilly January day

And finally, a trip to the local greenhouse, Churchills, last Wednesday morning with my husband. It was a true touch of spring I tell you, especially when a butterfly came flying by! One of the people there said it had shown up a day or two before and must have hatched from a plant brought in for the winter. And yes, I did take the photo with my iphone.

Still no snow here in NH. Not good. Well I like it but it's not good for local businesses. After all, New England is supposed to have snow in January. Instead we have balmy temps in the 40's. A friend of mine from Instagram who lives just outside of Washington DC even has Daffodils in bloom! Hows the weather where you live?

Linking up with Marys Little Red House for Mosaic Monday

Just Phineas

 . . . because he really is so handsome

I hope you have a Phin in your life this morning. Animals provide such comfort during our daily routines. Of course like all children they can make us a little nutty too! 

But oh, when I see this face . . . I melt. 


And he loves me, he really does.


Even if he has a weird way of showing it.

There's that crooked chin again. I like to squeeze it because it's kind of rubbery.


It feels like a Monday, doesn't it? Happy Tuesday to all!

~ The End ~

Joy

What brings me joy today:

* This image. I just love Peonies and I'm pleased with the way this particular photo came out  *  The small, pink tea roses I bought at the grocery store tonight. Wish we had snow to photograph them in!  *  No snow! It's a love/hate relationship, obviously  *  Christmas is O-V-E-R  *  The Midnight in Paris dvd. I bought the movie the day it came out and have watched it twice. Would love to get in another viewing before the week is done. *  A good nights sleep  *  A knowledgable Physical Therapist (finally) for my back!  *  My new blog header and sidebar. I worked on it for a while trying to get it just right. Not sure if it is 'just right' yet but it's good enough ; )  *  That I've finally figured out how to use this #@*% iMac. Hee hee . . .  *  The MomentDiary app on my iphone. It's totally free and a great place to record my thoughts, or save some of my favorite Instagram photos.  * The latest issue of Victoria magazine arrived today!

Let's face it, there's a lot of things that are bringing me joy. (We won't go into the bad stuff)

So what about you? Is there something specific in your life that's bringing you joy? Something you just want to shout about? I'd like to know!

A party and some pretties

Last night we had the good fortune of being invited to a wonderful, private Christmas party.

It's been far to long since my husband and I dressed up to go anywhere, and though I know he wasn't particularly thrilled, he went with me and we had a good time. There was plenty of good, catered food, open bar with bartenders, and about 150 people. All in one beautiful, old house! 

Cocktail chic was the attire of the night. I tried my best. The image is rather poor as it was taken with my iphone in low light.

On to my new iMac

Yes, I'm still struggling with it, but every day I seem to learn a little bit more. 

Today I learned that when I reformatted my hard drive I lost all the elements, backgrounds, etc, I'd used for making headers, along with some other downloads I had. Yeah, that was not my finest moment. Since the closest Apple store is an hour away I may have to go to the local computer store and have someone help me sort all my files and put things in order. Half the time I can't find what I'm looking for and it's making me crazy.

The flowers were from my trip to Rhode Island in late May. Ranunculus aren't that common in my area so it was so nice to photograph them. Their soft and delicate petals along with variegated shades make them wonderful to work with.  On the iMac I feel like I'm finally seeing the color of my images for the first time. And sometimes it's not pretty. But at least I can fix it.

I hope you had a wonderful week-end! Did you do anything special? Decorate? Shop? Lunch with a friend? Take some time for yourself?

We put our tree up today. Although we searched everywhere for a white tree like this, it was not to be, so for the first time in the 20 years my husband and I have been married we bought a real tree! A Concolor fir. My husband even cut it down. Oh, it's so pretty, with long light colored needles and the smell of citrus, it's not like any Christmas tree I had while growing up. Both the girls were very happy to finally have a REAL tree!

Thank you for visiting my little blog. Hopefully my header will be back in order soon! Have a good Monday!

Autumn bliss ~ Texture Tuesday

This week I thought I'd do something a little different. For the first time I'm joining Kim Klassen Cafe for Texture Tuesday

This weeks texture is called Phoebe, and I used it on the top photo only. 

I don't know about you but I save older magazines that I cannot bare to part with, especially Victoria magazines. Holiday editions are especially nice to revisit as the seasons come around once again.

During the photo shoot I was so fortunate to have a little help . . .

Awe Phin, you steal my heart

and my prop! Ha!

Then along comes Lily who just has to see what all the fuss is about. Where would I be without my animals *sigh*

I just wanted to leave you with a simple joy I love about this time of year. If you live in a place where the seasons change I know you'll appreciate it too. Don't you just love driving down the road and seeing all the leaves blow around in circles behind you? Or watching them fall from the trees in mass quantity as gusty winds give them wings?  

Although there are bursts of color here and there, November is taking its toll. Before we know it there will be nothing but green pine trees and empty branches. This winter I am determined not to go without fresh flowers of some sort every week!

Hydrangeas and Horse Chestnuts

I'm having fun in the house displaying all the old Hydrangea's coming out of the garden.
There are still more that need to be brought in before it's to late!

Spring fever

There's something about spring that brings romance to life. I know it did for my husband and I.

We began dating March 1st. As the world seemed to come to life, so did our relationship. We moved in together just a few short months later on June 1st, and were engaged that September in 1990. We married one year later in early September of '91.

A little spring fever can go a long way

Winter white

A dead Hydrangea is as intricate and lovely as one in bloom

~ Toni Morrison

Delicate

Although you cannot tell by the photo, the flower is only about 1/4" in width

~ Robert Louis Stevenson

New Beginnings

 

 

 

April prepares her green traffic light and the world thinks Go 

 

~Christopher Morley

 

 

Steel and Magnolia

Photographed at Goodwin Park, Portsmouth, NH 

 

~ Steel Magnolias Quote ~

 

Clairee Belcher (Olympia Dukakis): Well, you know what they say: if you don't have anything nice to say about anybody, come sit by me!

Easter Rose

Love is much like a wild rose, beautiful and calm, but willing to

draw blood in it’s defense

 

~ Mark Overby

Spring Magnolia

 

While picking up my daughters friend, I came across this Magnolia tree on the campus of Phillips Exeter Academy. It’s quite old and was a rather unexpected find. Had I not been picking up the friend in a different location than normal I doubt I would have ever noticed it.

We’ve had a few warm days but it’s definitely still March. Yesterday we had temps in the low 30’s. Today, low 40’s. I wouldn’t expect the Magnolia’s to be blooming already. Sometimes plants and trees like to surprise us. Even they get excited about Spring.

 

 

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Vintage Magnolia blossoms