Flowers and Friends

 Last week I started going through some of my older blog posts,

 and realized how many photos I have posted of flowers!

 Maybe it's because flowers are so interesting

and everyone loves them so much...

they stay still too and love to have their picture taken

 Most, if not all of the photos,

 are things that I have grown in my garden

 Including the occasional veggie...which are also fun to photograph

 Lemons and lavender...what a great combination of color and scent

 and of course roses

 and lilacs....love them 

 and hydrangeas 

 orchids....love them too

 and sweet peas...the smell is heavenly

 Below is the garden from the movie

"It's Complicated"

I love how they mixed the flowers into the vegetable garden

Flowers are friends really...I don't have a favorite or a BFF

 "best flower friend"

....couldn't even begin to pick one

 they are all wonderful

 wonderful dried or covered with rain

 So here is where the friend part comes in again...

blogging friends...I have made so many!

 A wonderful blogger Jane 

from Artfully Graced, 

stops by often and always leaves wonderful comments.

She even shared a great recipe for Marinara sauce with me 

when I had hundreds of tomatoes.

 But I was so amazed when she took the photo above 

and painted the lovely oil below

Thank you for sharing this with me Jane

and please visit her to see more of her work

Have a great weekend 

&

enjoy

your flowers and friends

xo

kelley

The Vintage Modern Bathroom: number 2

When I first started thinking about this bathroom...the second one, 

and the one that is the most visible and will get the most use... 

I thought about going with a big statement sink.

This sink from Kohler is actually a utility sink from the Harborview collection.

Going through all of my old files,

 I came across this wonderful soft bathroom 

and thought maybe this would work

  simple and subtle

 And then I remembered this bath room done by designer Ginger Barber

I love this bathroom!

I definitely want some vintage

A basin sink of some sort

Some really cool and simple lighting

Maybe some jadeite green 

and an interesting tile layout on the floor

 Then I found this old farm table

Great old paint and wonderful patina...the perfect place to start

So here is how the bath room components will work together

&

here is what is left of the original bathroom

Don't you just love the before pictures?

My back porch looks like a land fill...

Hey where's my dumpster?

Ok now we're talking

Gotta love a turquoise dumpster right?

Hi-de-ho

off to the dump we go

wish me luck

`kelley~

Favorite Gardening Books

 Gardening books are everywhere but occasionally you find one 

that is like a handbook.

This is the case for me, with a book called:

 Southern California Gardening; 

a Month-by-Month Guide 

By Pat Welsh.

Pats book was first published in 1992 

and the revised edition was released in 2000.

Tens of thousands of copies have been sold.  

The book covers everything from weather and climate,

 to soil and pest problems and just about everything else in between.

 The monthly "to do" list is invaluable and the 

 month by month format, makes this book really user friendly.

I think I have read it cover to cover a dozen times!

Pat has been an avid gardener all of her adult life 

and she sees a new type of garden in the twenty-first century:

"I foresee the emergence of an entirely new garden style, a new and innovative formality of design that will provide cheerfulness, excitement , and a greater ease of upkeep"

She calls the new garden type: 

"a more structured space,

 with formality of design 

and informality of planting"

I couldn't believe it when I read those words.

That is my garden!!!

 The garden design is the structured foot print but...

 the foot print is filled with plants that are allowed to grow freely, as they were intended, without much upkeep.

 This is the key to sustainability, I think.

Having many diverse and different plant species makes the garden 

more enjoyable and interesting; 

for everyone...including the critters, birds and valuable insects.

Pat included a great guide on how to grow wildflowers in the garden, 

 so I thought I would give this a try.

I started with California poppies because they seemed like they would be easy 

and

 re-seed year after year.

The seed packets came mixed with rice hulls which make them easier to see when you are scattering them.

 I sowed the seeds back in October and 

much to my surprise, I got tons of flowers.

 I have used them in little bouquets with the sweet peas 

and some other things like grape vine tendrils and celery stalks.

 Something about that bright orange flower is so wonderful...

I guess that's why it's the California state flower!  

If you ever travel up the coast this time of year there are acres of poppies and other beautiful native wildflowers, dotting the foot hills and coastline.

 For me, the best thing about having a garden is enjoying what is gives back

 after all of the hard work.  

But I agree with Pat, 

 less upkeep 

is really the goal.  

Someone should combine the fragrance of 

sweet peas and lavender into a perfume!

Or maybe they already have....

Next year I will be a bit more creative with the wildflower garden, I promise Pat! 

But in the meantime I will enjoy my little poppies.

And if you love to garden, please pick up Pats book!

Happy Gardening

~kelley~

If you need to smile read this post!

Children Writing About the Ocean...                                                                               1)  -  This is a picture of an octopus.  It has eight testicles.   (Kelly,  age  6)                                                                                                                                                 2) - Oysters' balls are called pearls. (Jerry, age  6)                                                                                                        3) - If you are surrounded by ocean, you are an island.   If you don't have ocean all round you,  you are incontinent.   (Mike, age  7)                                                                                                 4) - Sharks are ugly and mean, and have big teeth, just like Emily        Richardson .  She's not my friend any more.   (Kylie, age   6)                                                                                                                                                                  5) - A  dolphin breaths through an asshole  on the top of its head.  (Billy, age  8)                                                                                                                                                 6) - My  uncle goes out in his boat  with 2 other men and a woman and pots  and comes back with crabs.  (Millie, age  6)                                                                                                                  7) - When ships had sails, they used to use the trade winds  to cross the ocean.   Sometimes when the wind didn't blow the sailors would whistle  to make the wind come.   My brother said they would have been better off eating beans.  (William, age 7)                                                                                                                              8) -   Mermaids live in the ocean.  I like mermaids.   They are beautiful and I like their shiny tails,  but how on earth do mermaids get pregnant?  Like, really?  (Helen, age 6)                                                                                                                               9) - I'm not going to write about the ocean.  My baby  brother is always crying,  my Dad keeps yelling at my Mom, and my big sister has just got pregnant,  so I can't think what to write. (Amy, age  6)                                                                                                      10) - Some fish are dangerous. Jellyfish can sting.    Electric eels can give you a shock.  They have to live in caves under the sea  where I think they have to plug themselves in to chargers.                                (Christopher, age 7)                                                                                                                                          11) - When you go swimming in the ocean,  it is very cold,  and it makes my willy small.  (Kevin, age 6)                                                                                                                                12)  -  Divers have to be safe when they go  under the water.    Divers can't go down alone,  so they have to go down on each other. (Becky, age 8)                                                                                    13) - On vacation my Mom went water skiing.  She fell off when she was going very fast.  She says she won't do it again because  water fired right up her big fat ass. (Julie, age 7)                                                                                                                   14)  -  The ocean is made up of water and fish.  Why the fish don't drown  I  don't know. (Bobby, age 6)                                                                                                                                 15) - My dad  was a sailor on the ocean.  He knows all about the ocean.  What he doesn't know is why he quit being a sailor  and married my mom. (James, age 7)                                                                                                                                                If you didn't  smile at one of these,  you need to find a better sense of humor.

Thank you to my wonderful new friend 

and follower Chris Hooker!

She sent this,

 I just had to share it....


smile

Blogging Brain Freeze

 Every now and then it happens:

"blogger brain freeze"

I just can't seem to write anything....

and I feel a bit crazy with other commitments

 all of which are good,

 but take time.

Honestly, I thought I would run out of things to talk about,

  a year and a half ago.

But this month I have,

  hit the wall....

So I will resort to giving you a great little recipe

 for my favorite

 "go to" 

easy vinaigrette!

I am not a great cook by any means,

 but I enjoy cooking....

Use this at your own risk!

 A simple salad, paired with a rustic asparagus tart,

 which you can get the recipe for here

makes for a wonderful dinner or lunch

 I simplified the tart recipe,

 but there are tons of simple tarts like this,

 in just about every good cook book

 I spin my garden greens 

at least a couple of times in a salad spinner

and usually wash them again, right before I make a salad.

I am totally organic in the garden 

so we have lots of visitors...

little bugs and dirt!

 Ojai 

Meyer Lemon 

Vinaigrette

In a bowl or a jar combine:

zest from 1 lemon, meyer preferably (they are sweet)

juice from 1 lemon

3 tbl olive oil

1 tsp of your favorite vinegar ( I like balsamic)

pinch of salt and some pepper to taste

1 garlic clove passed through a garlic press 

or 1 shallot finely minced ( I prefer the shallot)

1 tsp mayo

1 tsp Dijon mustard

whisk 

 use for your salad 

or any other veggie

it's good on warm things too!

I want to take a minute  too

to thank you 

for all of the great comments that you leave

All of which I read and love!

I have not been able to devote as much time to the blog this last few weeks

 So I apologize  for missing some things.

back soon...I promise

with more good juicy stuff to talk about

kelley