A wish for you through a wisp of verse

A tiny secret. Despite everything I love to do, I am & will remain a writer at heart, lounging ever so slightly to the poet's side of a slipper chair I curl up in. For fear of laughter I rarely unleash my wisps of words on those unsuspecting & whom I've never eaten ice cream with (one bowl, 2 two spoons is a true test of friendship...not for germs but for sharing the creamy, dreamy treat) but this photo of a bathroom that I've swooned over & did so again today on My Sweet Savannah had me so entranced I tripped up & slipped a piece out onto the blogosphere.


pure grace salts releasing scentsations in ribbons
tangling 'round my sonatas
baroque & buoyant
only to be touched on the shoulder
by the cool prosecco as it crisply wisps across my tongue
a treasure, this tranquil escape

May your weekend be as wonderful a cocoon as my bath would, will be.
Much love to all....

An amuse bouche of delovely Rouge....

As dedicated as I am to blues & greens with smatterings of pinks, this morning my brain is seriously seeing red. Perhaps its the patriotic moments of the past weekend but one could say my mind is saturated with a tray of amuse bouche dans rouge.



Blossoming, I love the way it can delicately relate to light & whites...

but honestly isn't there something so right about the way a crimson room can just zoom through your soul & set it afire!!!

From royal & regal .....




in a blink you can rethink it as vintage & kitsch...

Nothing can send a rush like that deepest blush. The thrills of it all is the chill that I get from delicious red, red, red!!!

Images courtesy Country Living, House Beautiful & Southern Accent

Sweet & Tart.....

As the season of picnics, water sprinkler runs, & oodles of silly funs begin, I wish for everyone a long lovely lemonade of a weekend.

Have a bunch of loved ones over to share the tartness of your wit & week....


but don't forget yourself. Indulge in sweet alone time to reflect...

perhaps even retreat...

A delightful discovery...

So wandering through the market today, mom & I passed the very popular floral round. You know the one that has the black buckets filled with roses, baby's breath (ick) & pedestrian choices. I was a fool to hope for peonies, not wanting to traipse to Whole Foods, but then around the back, potted & plopped on the floor was this wonderful spiky white flowers plant that I have never seen & when mom rejoined, she had no clue either & that is saying something.

Evil me I stole the tag. By the way it had no care instructions only a very generic type in black with Ornithigalum Damascus, so I felt not too evil.

Fast forward home, to the computer & voila...Star of Bethlehem joins my interior garden plot. Damascus is part of the thrysoides genus, native to southern Europe & Africa, the latter throwing my mom into query since she gardened for 4 years in South Africa during our 1970s stint.

I love knowledge. For me that's what along with love is my definition of knowing that you're more than merely alive, that you're living & today I received a gentle reminder that in life, just when for a brief moment you believe you're well versed, on to your path the Star of Bethlehem lands.

Thank you to Touch of Nature, odla & newplant.co.za

Primavera vegetables

Ask anyone who knows me & they'll tell you how much of a foodie I am. I do find it amusing how suddenly seasonal eating is in fashion, especially as I meander back to my childhood & the way ate from my mother's vegetable garden.

Naturally we ate whatever was in season, as did everyone else. Only in the last 10-15 years have we seen our market shelves filled with melons in December, etc, etc & yet still anyone whom ever has planted a vegetable knows it tastes superior when freshly picked.

Springtime is one of peas, lettuces, leeks, asparagus, artichokes , radishes...I could go on & on, so many varieties. By the by...those baby veggies that cost an arm & a leg in premium markets....harvest early. The first time I pulled & ate the baby beets...like candy!!!

So gingerly I say to you forget about trend & live seasonally always. Everything has a brightness, a freshness you will adore.

Images courtesy of DK Images, Flickr , John Glover UK & taste.au

Beautiful Little Girl Words

After reading Michelle at Vintage Grace wondrous quote of the week from her lovely Lily, I'm reminded of my favorite Hailey quote. Hailey is my beloved goddaughter, now almost 8. Our bond is beyond what some would define...I love her fiercely.

I have always been amazed at how lightweight & airy little ones think & yet their words are so grounding.

Just before her 5th birthday we were hanging out on my squishy bed & she looked to the ceiling threw herself back , smiled & said...

" I love God because he gave me you!!!!"

Perfection.

The Most Precious of Gifts...

With Mother's Day tomorrow instead of focusing on what to give my mother, I'm pondering the gifts my mother has given to me: the little quirks & traits beyond her love. These are dearest to me, the gentle reminders that daily whisper in my soul...I'm Elizabeth's daughter and for this I'm beyond grateful.

Style is always the first gift I recognize & acknowledge. While she may say different , I know better. I remember playing in my moms heels with her alligator handbag gently caressing the lines, somehow feeling they were special. Only in the early 80s, I discovered the handbag in ELLE on their top 10 classics list, did I have an epiphany to mom's style. The handbag in question?? Hermes' Kelly bag in chocolate brown alligator which I continued to covet until my 40th birthday when she gave it to me. Her closet still has ribbon jackets made in Hong Kong, Mark Cross bags & Lilly Pulitzer beside sweaty workout clothes. Fabulous!!!

I've been dancing to anything for as long as I can remember. Ballet lessons, night clubs, even late night in my teenage bedroom, I can attribute it all to my mom. She loves to move & proved it by receiving her Masters in Dance from Columbia. We still groove around the kitchen together.

My thumb morphed green later in life but hers was always a gorgeous shade of flora. The two acre vegetable garden, her flowers galore, all of it courses through when my hands run deep into dirt bringing the bounty of the earth in tandem with her creativity running through me. I remember the first summer tomato I plucked from the vine & yes, she was right that it did taste sweeter from my own sweat .

Every cup of tea, I take revives memories: the Beatrix Potter tea set she gave me, the countless moments she insisted the server heat her cup (hot tea, cold cup blasphemy!!!), the milky warmth that revives her daily to this day & the high teas we've shared over 3 continents. It all soothes me as much as my Earl Grey with lemon & one lump.

Above all I am most grateful for my sense of adventure. I am proud to know that that whenever I think," Sure. I'll give it a go." mom's racing through my veins the same way she tooled around in her Austin Healey, black MG or '63 Jag XKE in Cafe au Lait. I'm still envious & a bit stunned that the woman who punished me for teenage adventures owned 3 classic convertibles but knowing that she traded it in when she discovered herself pregnant makes me repect her even more.

Everyday I remind my mother how much I love her. We disagree, even argue but it never lasts long. I've reached a time in my life where in the end that doesn't matter. Our journey has been rocky at times but still we always return to each other & that's what I'm most grateful for. My mother's gift of understanding has made me realize who she was & became. This is what I cherish of & from her most of all.

A Happy Mother's Day to all...

Image courtesy of Hermes.

Verde, verde, verde......

Ahh the glorious hue green. It's always been my favorite color but now more than ever, my desire to swaddle myself in this life affirming color is bubbling from out beneath my surface.

Do I go delicate or shall I pack a punch that wallops my soul???? I'll let it simmer for awhile ....
afterall decorating is a journey not a shopping excursion.

Images courtesy of Thibault & Southern Accents