SERENDIPITY. . . .

Serendipity is defined as unplanned moments bringing valuable or agreeable things not
planned on or sought after. . . . The phone rang on Thursday night and on the other end of the line was Amy Cox, inviting me to her outdoor garden event the next day.  She is so very talented and her mantra is teaching others how to slow down and appreciate what is on our plates, who grew it and who prepared it all under the umbrella of SLOW FOOD CHICAGO.   She is a great fan of farmer's markets, organic foods and home grown anything!! She believes that everyone should have a garden of full of vegetables.  Not having time or space for a vegetable garden is no excuse, she will even create a mini garden for you to attend to right in your own kitchen window or outside your back door. 

I left the house with great anticipation to finally see what Amy was all about.  She is in the same town as I am, but a mile or two away.   When I finally reached my destination, there stood Amy's home on a little bit of a hill with beautiful landscaping, flowers and garden elements of great character.  I had been invited early so I could be a part of the preparation and blog my heart away as all of her helpers were getting ready for her garden sale.

So inviting it was. . . . her front steps just seemed to beckon ~

The beautiful lavender lobelias, tubs of pansies and vines

A well established bed of Creeping Phlox ~

Healthy and sale ready. . . .

Much to my surprise stood a Master Gardener and an old friend, the Queen Bee

of sustainable foods, Trudi Temple and Amy.

Little herb gardens created by Amy.

A miniature garden of Endless Summer, some stones for texture,

and a collection of mosses.

Mixed greens and lettuces ready for the customer who says,

"but, I don't have time to plant vegetables"  GARDEN READY!

with directions to place mini garden in a sunny spot on back porch

and water when soil is dry! 

Zennias and Nasturtiums displayed with irresistability

 

    

Strawberry seedlings ready for sale comfortably sitting on

an old Jenny Lind bed turned bench!

Pots of bright Petunias tucked into the back garden~

As I looked around the yard, I spotted a Robins nest ~

Another miniature garden full of color and delight!

Salad ready and oh so green

Little bits of this and that. . .

Another path, another garden adventure....

More miniature gardens ready made for the condo dweller~

A kiss and a hug in the garden ~

While wondering this amazingly yummy garden, I asked

Trudi what this was. . . she picked a couple and handed a

leaf for me to taste. . . . it was delicious!  I had just eaten

French Sorrel.  Great for salads. . . . and now I am on

the search for French Sorrel.

Hostas, a birdhouse and a place to rest. . .

Amy's green house ~

AND  look what's for sale inside. . .

A true gardener owns a pair of these. . .

WELLIES

Handmade wrens nests. . . every garden should have one of

these placed in a tree.  Wrens eat the insects that could cause

problems in our gardens.  I wished I had bought one, but

plan to return and buy one for my garden.

It was time to go. . . Amy had asked Trudi for some of her books

to sell at the garden event.

As Trudi finished signing her book, I realized it was almost

time for Amy's garden event to begin ~

Amy thanked me for coming over and helping (all I did was clean

up a few things) was reunited with a dear friend, Trudi Temple,  and learned a little more about Amy and importance of creating sustainable gardens, no matter what the size.

 I had been filled with inspiration, friendship and joy. . . and I was able to

enjoy a beautiful Spring morning, enjoy the grounds of a sustainable gardener, photograph to my hearts content

AND

NOW TO SHARE IT WITH YOU!

MANY THANKS FOR THAT PHONE CALL AMY!

THE HONOR OF BEING A MOTHER . . . .

I have always tried to be the best mother

I could be.

You all have been cherished since the day

you were born and my heart melted when

I first looked at you.  I guided you, believed

in you and always stood by you.  It is the

promise I made at your births and it is

the promise I make to you for

the rest of my life.

Because of you, all three of you,

who have left the nest and created

lives of your own,

I will celebrate Mother's Day

and be proud that you will

always be my children

for as long as I live.

TO ALL MOTHERS EVERYWHERE

I WISH YOU A DAY FILLED WITH PRIDE

AND THE CELEBRATION OF MOTHERHOOD.

IT'S ALL IN THE DETAILS. . . . .

More housewalk preparations. . . I had a meeting this morning at my home with Amy Cox, a very spirited, heartfelt, talented gal that has been assigned to each host home to decorate, improve, shed light upon and breath life into an out of doors vignette or urn.  Natually, each home is different, as is each homeowner.  My marble topped French table, which sits under a working fountain, 'spoke' to her the first time she was here a couple of weeks ago.  Today we worked together with a couple of ideas and it was a few true French antiques that resulted in some great satisfaction. . . . .

THE WORKING FOUNTAIN WITH A VISITOR

                                                                               
                                                                                

THIS IS THE VIGNETTE AMY AND I CREATED THIS MORNING

The green dough bowl is from France.  It is over 100 years old

and I use it indoors to toss large buffet salads or a seafood pasta.

The mustard colored confit pots are usually inside as well and I

use them for fresh floral all year long.  These containers will

be filled with herbs, lavender and rosemary.

After Amy had gone, I walked my garden and found

my Texas Bluebells enjoying the warmth of the sun.

This is the best they have looked since planting them

4 years ago.........and  this year they have shown up in other

places in my garden as well.

This is a close up of my Helabores.  This was one of the first Spring flowers

to show its face to the world.  I clipped it all the way down in March

and it is lush this year as a result.  This plant grows with its blossoms

facing downward............I lifted one up so you could see the beautiful

color that lies inside.

Purple Spring Violets. . . . . can't get enough of these!

Unfurling hostas reaching for the sun today

                                                                                 

These would be know as the BIG DADDY Hosta.  They will have leaves

reaching 10-12" in diameter and will be at least 3 ft. high.

                                                                                        

My tablescape is progressing.  I have decided to add a green

plate to the pink and white mix.  My sideboard will have an

arrangement of white roses/champagne roses, succulants of bright

greens, white hydrangeas and bright green berries.  The pot it will be

done in was purchased a week ago at http://savvycityfarmer.blogspot.com/

You will recognize it when it is posted.

More to come as the house gets dressed for the house walk. . .

                                                                                         



                                                             
                                                                                       

                                                                            



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TABLESCAPING FOR THE HOUSEWALK. . . .

Getting ready to open your home to the world can be very intimidating especially if you are a designer..................and one that owned a store for 24 years!  A lot of hard work and a wonderful following and many are returning to see where I live!  Now if that isn't the ultimate "freak out"  please tell me what is??

I have been working on my dining room Tablescape (not to mention that I was Tablescape Chairman)  Whew, what have I done????

I have decided that my new chairs, while neutral, look so fabulous with pink.  Here is where I am so far. . .

No tablecloth........a little more relaxed, yet elegant

The rattan chargers are 24" in diameter. . . not sure

yet about candle color or goblet color.

I would love to know your thoughts. . .

Three weeks and counting until the housewalk. . .

SHOP THE SHED................

                                                                                   

It was a dreary, cold and rainy morning, but all too well, I knew the show must go on!
 Brooke was  here visiting Chicago from sunny California, my daughter Holly had set this day aside for 6 weeks and Joy, from the blogspot, The Savvy City Farmer,  had created the SHOP THE SHED event and was expecting Brooke (and me.)  Brooke has the well known blogspot called Velvet and Linen.  It is truly inspiring and "double good" because her architect husband Steve, also sends inspiration to us all  like you wouldn't believe! That being said, it was going to be an exciting day of meeting friends who only knew each other through
blogging.
Into the city for a pick up at 7:00 a.m. to get Brooke.  She and her darling family had been visiting our wonderful city (and enjoying it in spite of the inclement weather).  We arrived at 7:00 at her hotel and off we went to Dundee chating away like we had no cares about bad weather.  All was right with the world.

And when there is shopping to be done,

no one else seemed to care either!

Brooke and I were allowed to pre-shop because we were

taking photos for our blogs.........of course, we were supposed

to be concentrating on our photos.....I was multi-tasking!!!

There was truly something for everyone and the

prices so fair!

Just the right amount of moss!

Garden hats already broken in and waiting for the sun

needed to use them....

It is only 8:50 a.m. and we had 10 more

minutes to do our photos. . . it was alsmost 9.

Fabulous old garden chairs

This seemed to call my name......perfect for my

herb garden!

Brooke, Mary Anne and Joy

Trellis', chippy furniture, fountains, birdbaths and even

a pair of turquoise garden elements from Paris.

.....And much to my surprise, my neighbors who had driven

up to Shop the Shed (center, Sheryl and Lisa) left of Sheryl is

Angela Waltmire (Joy's daughter and baker of the French

macaroons that were for sale) and Brooke

As I grabbed for a box of the macaroons, Angela noted,

"I made these from the fresh eggs of my chickens that I raise"  They were unbelievable. 

Everywhere you looked the displays were so well put together....

truly a feast for the eyes.

After shopping (and I did shop), we were almost sad to leave.  A little damper

than when we came, but our hearts were warmed with the friendships that

have come to make a difference because of a blogging community of kindred

spirits.  I would have never believed what a difference it has made in my life!

Many thanks to you Joy for bringing us altogether!  You and Angela did

a wonderful job!

AND SO DID I!!!

WHAT IS OLD IS NEW AGAIN.......

They're back!  In time for a little Easter breakfast!  In fact, I already had the table set.  The painting was well worth the wait.  Caryn, of Caryn  Aiken's Decorative Painting was the responsible artist who worked out all of the details of how I wanted them to look.  Wood vs. paint was a hard decision.  Once I had made the decision, I knew there was no going back.  I had owned these chairs for 39 years.  The striped silk moire had been on the chairs for 19 years and it was just time for a well deserved change. 

Soft grays, we used three shades and a glaze.

At the head of the chair is the silver leaf and gold leaf

which created a champagne finish on the carved detail.

With an extensive collection of blue and white acquired from European

travels, I decided to bring those collections together.  All plates are a different

pattern.  It all works together because there is a "constant" of rattan chargers

and yellow chargers which brings the collection altogether and makes

the different patterns work.

Love it, love it, love it!!!

I have decided for the house walk, that I must use pink.  Tried that out

and it is amazing.......

 

The back of the chair and the subtle rubbing off of the gray paint to

make them look older than they are.  They truly look like a French antique!

The Sunbrella indoor/outdoor soft white linen.............if anything should spill, soap

and water and a scrub brush and spots will be gone. . . . . .( I have started using outdoor

fabrics indoors) for my clients as well.  Great satisfaction has been achieved, especially

for young families which spills are just a part of everyday life!

BEFORE

AFTER

HAPPY EASTER TO ALL OF YOU

WHO CELEBRATE THIS HOLY SEASON!

 

HOUSEWALK PREPARATIONS..................

Spring is definately in the air and I am back.  The last three weeks has nearly been impossible.   We have had company for two of those weeks with trips back and forth to the airport, grocery shopping, laundry, creative breakfasts, lunches and dinners............then we were delighted to have our precious grand daughter for 10 days while our daughter and son-in-law helped to execute the Masters in Augusta. I was back into carpools, making lunches, doing homework, music lessons, and on and on and on.   We were "there" for dear friends who tragically lost a son at 27 to a heart attack a day after we began caring for our grand daughter.   Two days later we drove to De Pere, Wisconsin to participate in a memorial for a wonderful professor that our daughter had when she was in school, who passed away a year ago.  She chaired an idea to keep his spirit alive with the planting of a tree on the St. Norbert campus and a bench in his memory.

 Her speech of this wonderous man could not have been more beautiful.    He was one of the most loving, caring, human beings I had ever met.  His name was Dr. Tom Faase and he loved pink roses.......they were everywhere.

When we checked into our room, a note from our daughter

and a pink rose.

When everyone had gone, one last rose was left.

I gave it to our daughter.

A congratulatory hug and kiss from the husband of a dear friend.

St. Norbert College President and his assistant.

Dr. Tom's son, Noah

Dr. Tom's family

Reflecting on a full days activities and a job well done.

Then with life and its ups and downs,  was about to return to normal, our daughter in law, ended up in an ambulance, after having a trunk hatch automatically come down on her forehead as they were heading out to a formal event in the city.  So, along comes a precious new little grandson for us to care for..................life is precious and life is so unpredictable. . . . .and thank God after nine stitches our daughter-in-law is fine......and no, they never did make that Easter Seals event in Chicago.

Sorry for that chapter of details, but I have missed all of you and I am sorry to disappoint with no posting! But, I honestly didn't know if I was coming or going!!!!!

 I am tablescaping and preparing for a housewalk in our town.  Our home is one of the homes to be selected for the walk.   A knock at my door this morning (and I did know she was coming) brought a gal who writes for the village historical society.  She wanted a picture of a potential tablescape.  Here is what I did for the photo:

Pink, yellow and green, birds and bird nests

NO!  That bird did not lay those eggs!!!

It is time for the lamb to go back outside.................

hmmmm, I don't think he will be allowed, I really love him inside.

My chairs are almost complete.  I saw them today and they are magnifique!!    What a housewalk

won't do to get one to create for oneself!