Repousse

REPOUSSE

Shaped or decorated with patterns in relief formed by hammering and pressing on the reverse side.  Used especially of metal. 

My favorite find of the week.

7 sterling silver repousse knives.

The Roots of Comfort

But ...  to plant an orchard, to enlarge a dwelling, to be always making life more comfortable and convenient, to avoid trouble, and to satisfy the smallest want without effort and almost without cost.  These are small objects, but the soul clings to them.

___ALEXIS DE TOCQUEVILLE

When I came across this quote recently it totally resonated with me.

 

I had just recently re-organized this storage closet in our garage where I store extra sets of china and decorative accessories.

It has been quite a while since I have even opened it.

I always get the urge to spring clean this time of year and tackled it with relish!

It really didn't take me long and the result makes me very happy, hence the quote.

It really is all about the simplest of things,

wouldn't you agree?

Mother's Day Arrived Early!

My baby came home for the weekend!

I'm so happy!

This will be his last visit home before heading off to the Big Apple for the summer.

HAPPY MOTHERS DAY

Wishing you all a pampered weekend!


 

In case you've been wondering...

where I've been.

You can find me in the garden!

This single minded Virgo girl can only do one thing at once and lately my focus has been solely on our yard.
 

It's definitely a work in progress but one that I'm enjoying immensely.

For the first time I have pride in our yard and how it is evolving.

I've never been good at landscaping or gardening but I think that is all beginning to change!

I am blessed to have a friend, a fellow Virgo no less, who is a very talented florist and landscaper, who has been helping me design the yard I've envisioned in my head.

I'm learning a lot from her and have a feeling that "gardening" is fast becoming a new passion of mine!

Let's see, we painted our vegetable bed Paris Gray to blend in with the pea gravel.
 

On the advice of the ladies who sold us our tomato plants we made our own tomato cages out of old wire mesh we found at the salvage yard for $10.

I think they are going to work out great!

We are harvesting herbs daily and enjoying the incredible flavors that they bring to our meals! 
 

We kept the mint confined to an urn as we heard it can be quite invasive.

 

I'm pinching myself as I scored 4 white peony plants at Costco last week and they seem to be thriving in their new pots complete with drip systems.

 

I always thought peonies couldn't grow in California because they needed the winter frost.

 

So far, so good but I'll keep my finger crossed just the same.

I painted the 4 concrete basketweave planters with Annie Sloan's Paris Gray chalk paint. Next up is the rattan chaise.

  

I found these wooden planter boxes at a garage sale last summer never imagining how perfect they would be surrounding the two trees next to our bedroom and dining room french doors! My hubby knocked out the bottoms and was able to open them just enough to slip around the trunks.

Here we are rounding the bend into the backyard proper.

On the advice of my good friend Kevin (Hollywood Forever, Kevin) we deepened the existing flower bed transplanting the roses we removed from the sideyard, staggering them in front of the others.

More updating with Annie's Paris Gray!

It is so soft and looks great on the gray pea gravel. 

 I re-stained the fence and moved the concrete lion head to a more prominent position placing this antique iron candelabra beneath it.

I'm so excited to plant 38 of these English boxwood balls along the length of the flower bed highlighting the roses behind them!

My talented friend, Molly, told me that this English variety is much softer and more elegant than the typical Japanese boxwood that we have in our front yard.

We have yet to plant these white hydrangea plants behind and around the tree that I had in my front entry last year.

I'm also working on completing this large oyster shell mirror.

 

Molly says you must have mirrors in the garden!

 

I love how it enhances the view  and reflects the candlelight!

We still need to deal with three thresholds off the dining room, living room and master bedroom.

In the meantime these vintage Asian character stepping stones are working out fine.

We decided to eliminate the skirted Sunbrella console table and have put it on craigslist.

I think we are going to plant a spiral/topiary tree of some sort in the other corner.  

 

I saw some photos of boxwood planted in baskets on Pinterest and love the look!

 

Molly gave me some Bacopa to add to the planter boxes.

My killer score!

A 24" solid copper Bevolo New Orleans carriage lantern found at a salvage yard for $50!  (It sells for $595 on their website!)

Now I'm saving up for the smaller matching pair to update the outdoor fixtures. 

I love how the bed curves at both ends and gently leads you around to the sideyard.

The dwarf lemon trees love their new location and are already showing signs of a promising yield!

We are pleasantly surprised that our wrought iron chairs do not sink down into the gravel as we suspected they might.

Although the couch does and we have an idea to rectify that. We'll let you know if it works.

 

I've been shopping the prop shop and brought over this wonderful vintage garden chair that I picked up a while back.

  

I'm trying to keep things crisp and edited as I promised my hubby I would not "junk it up."

 

We'll see how long I last :)

 

 The Craftsman fixture will soon be replaced with a copper carriage lantern which is more in keeping with the look of our home.

 Now you know where I've been and what I've been up to.

Any exciting new plans for your garden?