THE BEST LAID PLANS. . . . . . .

Joy arrived a few minutes early and was greeted by my precious grand daughter, Gracie.  I was upstairs blow drying my hair as the morning had not gone as planned.  When you are entertaining a blogger friend for the first time, don't you just want perfection?  I never heard the doorbell ring and I was trying to do my RIPLEY'S BELIEVE IT OR NOT ACT to be ready for Joy.  My little Gracie appeared at the bathroom door and said, "Nana, your guest is here"  I told her to tell Joy to just go into the Great Room and I would be right down.  Well, as real
as children will be, she said, "My Nana is not ready would you come back in a few minutes???"  Holy Mama, I told her to go out to the car and get my friend and bring her in!!

Downstairs I came with all I could muster knowing after the night I had had nothing would be the way I wanted it to be. . . . . . . We exchanged hugs and happy to see each other and she handed me a beautifully wrapped gift. . . . A burlap bag tied with a  Tiffany blue satin ribbon from her daughters wedding, with an angel hair nest at the top!

I explained we had kept our grandson over night so our son and daughter-in-law could take a break together and be free for the night.  As a busy chef, this rarely happens!  They went to Lalapalooza at Grant Park, Chicago.   As luck would have it he spiked a fever about 3 hours after they dropped him off!  (Gracie had also spent the night because she wanted to be with her cousin).  I was in good shape and I knew I could pull this off...................................WRONG.  Didn't expect my little guy would be sick.  I was up with him during the night and the story goes on and on and on and on and on.  I held him all night before putting him down as he just wanted to be held and didn't feel good.
Joy could not have been sweeter nor more understanding.  Lunch in the garden bombed!!!
It was too hot!  So, we ate inside.

The menu stayed the same and all went well. . . . . . . disappointed as I was for everything to be as I wanted it to be, Joy said, "I am so glad you didn't cancel, this is just life and it is all real.  I would have been so disappointed had you told me not to come!"

We brought our lunch inside and our menu consisted of fresh gazpacho, followed by chicken salad on lettuce cups, watermelon slices and homemade banana bread that was to die for!

I had an abundance of peaches and blueberries and peach blueberry crumble was the dessert plan.

ESPECIALLY FOR YOU JOY. . . . . . . the way it was supposed to be. . . .

Mason jars filled with ice water/tea, served with orange wedges and fresh mint

from the garden.

A centerpiece created from hosta leaves, moss and flower frogs.

This great idea came from Eddie Ross, www.eddieross.com. When there is a center poll for

the umbrella , centerpieces become challenging.  Eddie showed us at a

Scentamental Garden event how to do this and it really is so clever.  Miniatures

of these can be used on serving trays.  If you don't know of Eddie Ross' blog, you

must visit his site.  A very clever man, kind of a male Martha Stewart!  His

partner Jaithan completes a fabulous twosome.  Kind and talented gentlemen

in every sense of the word.

Here you can see the flower frog after I pulled the moss back.

Summer at its best!

I also added some Springerei Fern that I borrowed from my hurricane

planting. . . .   

The white Astromeria are in water tubes. . . . don't try to use anything

but the hosta leaves. . . . they are sustainable without water . . . found that out

the memorable day that all went wrong (yesterday).  I had the most beautiful flower frog

arrangement, center table that look fab for about 10 minutes.  I thought, EDDIE,

WAIT UNTIL YOU SEE THIS!  Wrong again!

Joy's company is perfect company and she is the Savvy City Farmer that once

only represented a blog site.  She is now my friend and I will cherish her

friendship always!  We had a ball in spite of it all and I welcomed her company

as long as she could stay.  She left at 4:00, it had begun to storm.  I sent

home banana bread and freshly made blueberry jam for Don.  It all turned out

better than I could have ever imagined.  So much to talk about and so much

to share!

GUESS WHO IS COMING TO LUNCH????

This wonderful world of blogging, connects, inspires and creates so many wonderful opportunities that you would never think possible.  Through the blogging community
you begin to learn who lives where, some are local and some are not.  Tomorrow Joy
Waltmire will be here for lunch.  Joy and I met through her blog site called Savvy City Farmer.  I attended her Shop the Shed event with Brooke Giannetti when she was in town.
Joy's blog site can be found if you go to: http://savvycityfarmer.blogspot.com/ You will love it.  Always full of inspiration to be sure and she is so much fun!

 I want so much to be outside among the flowers as we dine, but the morning temperatures will make that decision for me, so I must wait.  Also joining us will be Steve  from Princeton, Illinois.  He and Joy have a lot in common so I felt as long as Steve was making a furniture delivery in Clarendon Hills, he should join us.  He invented re purposing, I swear.  Steve used to work with me at my shop. . . . . a very talented man.  They will have a lot to share.  Joy is even bringing one of her latest. . . . a painted piece she just finished.  Wanted an opinion. . . Now she will have two of us critiquing her talents!

The garden that lies beyond. . . . .

The cool path that leads one into the secret garden. . .

The grand daddy hosta of them all. . . birdbaths and more hosta.

Hostas are still growing. . . bigger and bigger. . .

Birds are still bathing. . . .

Roses are still blooming. . . .

In spite of all of the heat, everything is still lush, so it will still

be a nice place to have lunch.

Left to right, Brooke Giannetti of Velvet and Linen, myself, and

Joy Wiltmire of Savvy City Farmer

How lucky we are to share a common thread,  a thread that has

created a fabric stronger that I would have ever imagined.

Table setting and menu to be shared tomorrow.  Wish you could

share in this anticipated afternoon.

A MICHIGAN ROADTRIP . . . .

A roadtrip to the Red Arrow Highway had been planned since the beginning of summer.  I would share this trip with my daughter, my closest friend and her daughter.  Our families have know each other for 40 years.    The Red Arrow Highway is in Michigan and not too far from the Indiana border.

Our plan was to seek out the shops in Three Oaks, Michigan.  We especially wanted to visit Marco Polo and Trilogy.  Since my daughter arrived first (she was vacationing in Holland, Michigan with her family) she called me on my cell to tell me that all of the stores we wanted to visit were closed on Wednesday.  It was auction day for those running shops of the vintage kind. . . . . . . We all still met in Three Oaks and started to explore what was open. . . . .

                                                                              

We arrived in Three Oaks to meet Holly, my daughter.  Kelly, who lived

in Matawan, only 45 minutes away and explored the area often

 suggested we go into DRIERS MEAT MARKET.

It had been in town for 97 years and I doubt anything had ever

been changed.  The daughter of the gentleman that started this

business was now the proprieter.  The samples given were to die for!

The cheeses, were so unique and complemented the meats they smoked and

made themselves.  All Beef Hot Dogs, Brats, Smoked Bacon, mustards

and the list goes on and on.  We sampled and purchased. 

The interior was a hoot!  It could have passed for an antique store.

Interesting, fun, a little bit (a lot) of history and the food

absolutely delicious!  We purchased a home made ham salad

that was out of this world. . . . . it was made with NO mayo. The

ham had been smoked by DRIERS.

Old marble tops all over with various sundries for sale.

Behind the butchers counter. . . .

A paper mache pig with his basket of crackers . . .

AND. . . . . this newspaper article from 40 years ago!

A touch of this and a touch of that. . . .

A sketch of her father at the front door. . . . . . the man

who had started DRIERS who had passed away at 98.

Many years ago, this sign held truth!!!

We all left with something to share when we got back home.

THEN

the phone rang, it was Kelly's friend who said we had to go to a little

shop called blais.   She said we would find it along the railroad tracks

in an old railroad station.

We walked up to the tracks and looked down about a block and there

was the train station AND blais.

The shop was welcoming, filled with repurposed items,vintage,

art, one-of-a-kind pieces of jewelry and some well done reproductions.

A lot of wire items for storage, stools, baskets and painted old chairs.

This 100 year old rocking horse was handsome.  Note: the original

TICKET OFFICE sign on the window.

An old chicken coop.

The owner of blais.  Her name is Keek.  After a few minutes of talking

she had visited my store, Robins Egg Blue!  She was also following my

blog!  To top it off, she knew of my daughter, who has an etsy presence

called Livingston and Porter.  Keek was also aware of the 5th and state blogsite

and wanted to go on the trip to Dorset! (the one I am going on)  The world is

small and we are reminded of that so often. . . . and very often we call them

kindred spirits.

A little vignette with goldtones. . .

Whimsical art work . . . . .

Old bottle baskets when home deliveries were the norm

A wonderful mix of old and new.

A great old chair done with brown and white checks. . . .

and who doesn't like checks, so French and they go

everywhere and with anything!

Old chippy tin boxes. . . . wonderful storage

A vintage, slatted out door chair from the 40's

What great detail on the wheel of the chair.

More of  blais. .

Chippy old green tables, wicker and rattan covered wine bottles

and an artists painting on wood of a bulldog . . .

Up close and personal. . . .

Keek, the owner of blais is an interior designer and her colors were well distributed

into an atmosphere that was so welcoming, so much fun and so full of diversity.

If you are ever in Three Oaks, you must visit her. . . . well priced merchandise and a well

thought out mix.  As for Keek, you will love her.

If you wish to contact her, her shop number is 269-783-5335

AND P.S.

I bought a tray!

Have another wonderful summer weekend.

                                                                   

Concert Under the Stars. . . .

Arriving early is the secret when there is a free concert on the lawn

of the Pritzker Pavillion.  We arrived with our dinner in baskets, aperitifs,

and all of the trimmings for a concert dinner under the stars in time

for a great spot with still lots of green grass showing. ( When there is no

longer grass showing, you will not be able to sit down as this venue fills

up so fast.)

Part of the Chicago skyline as nightfall begins to darken Millineum Park.

The stage at Pritzker. . .

The stage and its colors couldn't be more beautiful. . . .this is the left

side facing us as we enjoy fresh, cold cucumber soup, a tomato

mozzarella salad and spit roasted chicken.

Center stage and Rachmaninoff's First Concerto with orchestra

and chorus.

Relaxation at its finest, the music wonderful and the stars shining

over this unbelievable summer evening.

As the concert ended, conductor, orchestra and chorus took their

bows, PIMMS CUP shared and gone, wine bottle emptied and a bag of\garbage to throw,

we were all in awe of a city that offers so much to so many.  If you live in

the Chicago area and haven't taken the opportunity to experience this

kind of an evening, I encourage you to do so.  It really should be

part of a summer memory with dear family or friends.

IT IS HERE . . . . . .

Patina Style has arrived!  This wonderful book is all about the talents of Brooke and Steve Giannetti, the creators of a blog called Velvet and Linen,  published by GIBBS SMITH.  From the inside flap:

   "Brooke and Steve Giannetti embrace the life in things: a newal post worn smooth by
     touch, a leather trunk bearing scratches of global travel, velvet that is faded over time,    
     silver that is subtly tarnished or a flowerpot wearing a covering of moss.  This is
     the essence of Patina Style."

Brooke, Steve and their three children,  live in the Los Angeles area.  I traveled to meet her
last year to do an interview.  She couldn't have been more welcoming and hospitable.  We met initially at their shop in Santa Monica, called Giannetti Home.  It is a wonderful shop
that will leave you wanting more of their design philosophy. . . . . Meeting Steve, her husband and architect extraordinaire and then their children, was a treat and a memory I will cherish
always.   An interview conducted in their home was more than I would have even asked for, but graciously she said, "lets go to the house"  It was there that their design acumen was thoroughly understood. 

Their trip to Chicago in the Spring allowed me the opportunity to treat Brooke and hopefully make her stay a little nicer.    It was then that I learned of their book, PATINA STYLE.  It had not yet become available, but was do out soon.

AND

now it is available!

This page is from a chapter called, Outside In

". . . . the linking of stone, teak, and iron pieces

inside the house"

. . . . this page from a chapter called, Trim and Molding,

"We found these porch columns with fading house numbers

at a flea market when we were building our house. . . . . "

This book will serve as a wonderful reference for one of the most

sought after styles today.  Well written, well photographed and just

plain beautifully done.

If you haven't already discovered Brooke's blog, you can find it by

going to this link:http://brookegiannetti.typepad.com/  You will

be able to order PATINA HOME from her wonderfully informative

website.