Tuesday, November 30, 2010

Kitchen love!

Hello friends! Can you believe December starts tomorrow? I can hardly believe how fast the year has gone by... another month, another year forever vanished! I like to visualize us human as sweetly folding those gone-by chapters of our lives and laying them down in a special treasure chest—a magical cofre of cherished memories if you will. But I don’t want to get sentimental here, do you? So I want to look around, and concentrate in the sweetness of home and family and dear friends. And of course, concentrate my thoughts in my kitchen! After all, it is our kitchen the place where we spend most of our time when at home; especially during this time of year.

My kitchen is not big, it does not have any special feature, like a window outlooking the garden over the sink (my dream) and for certain it is not close to flamboyant, like any of those kitchens you see in magazines and some of you are so fortunate to have. But it is my kitchen, and it is the place where warmth, thanksgivings and overflowing blessings mingle with the sweet aroma of food. So I am extra thankful for that!

(My husband making his 'special' salad dressing -- humm!)

Our kitchen is also the place where everyone gravitates during parties and get-togethers. We head to the kitchen when we’re hungry, not just for food, but for friends and family.

Our kitchen is also the place where we unwind at night with a cup of tea.

...or indulge in something out of the oven yummy, late at night while watching a movie!

When I'm old and gray, I want to have a house surrounded by a beautiful garden in the outskirt of the woods. And write. With a lot of wonderful friends, good books, music and bird songs around, and of course, a gorgeous cottage kitchen to cook and live in!

If you don’t know it yet or haven’t heard about it, we’re celebrating our KITCHENS and DINING ROOM AREA on our next SHOW OFF YOUR COTTAGE MONDAY, and your welcome to participate! All you have to do is send me a favorite photograph of your kitchen or dinning room, and I will feature it here! Of course, you would need to link back to the house in the roses!

Click here to read more about our celebration!

PS: I'm already getting lovely pictures of kitchen/dinning area, favorite spots around the kitchen, etc, but we don't have a lot of time left, so if you're planning on participating, please start sending your photos my way as soon as possible! Thanks!

Friday, November 26, 2010

Thankfulness

Hi friends! Did you all have a nice Thanksgivings Day? Did you get to cozy up in your nest surrounded by dear family and friends? Oh I hope you did!
 
The leaves have all fallen to the ground around here, with the exception, of course, of the ornamental pear tree, which insists in keeping all of its beautiful burgundy leaves (another garden miracle perhaps?) An awesome sight, indeed! The air has turned windy and cold (very cold in fact), and Thanksgivings was spent with family and friends over a wonderful table filled with food, adorned in white and gold…
I close my eyes and still feel the thankfulness in my heart. There’s so much to be thankful for, that one day is not enough to pause and express my gratitude for the goodness and generosity of our Creator. My heart is overflowing with thanksgivings... for life, for health, for happiness and comfort, for loved ones and friends, for family and more family to come! Yes!! And of course, thankfulness for a single tree with full limps and roses in the snow…


I know that if I tell you that the special bird I was waiting for came to visit my garden for yet another year on Thanksgivings Day, some of you might not believe me. But he did! He was here; awesome, and majestic in his own right! I was deeply moved in my heart by this... Oh God, source and giver of all things, You manifest your infinite majesty, power and goodness in the earth about us, and I give you honor and glory... Thou whose bounty fills my cup.

I am also thankful for you, for this wonderful space we all have created here in this amazing world called 'Blogland'; a warm and real place to come to and be together; a place where we can meet whenever we want, or need, and nurture other's heart and be nurtured as we share so much of ourselves…
Truly grateful. May you and yours be blessed!

Tuesday, November 23, 2010

Our first snow of the season...

And so we had the first snow of the season... there's something special about the first snow of the season. The air is infused with magic, and you can't help but be captivated by the sparkling, crystalline white flakes as they flutter and fall from the sky...
 

As you would imagine, I had to go out to the garden! No matter how cold it may be outside, Nature’s call is always stronger than cold, or rain, or whatever capricious fluctuation the barometer might indicate.

So here I am in the midst of this strange world formed by tiny pieces of frozen water bonded together, thinking how marvelous, and unexplainable, snow is.
 
As I walk in this familiar, yet strange dwelling where white pervades the vision, I thinking how much I have changed through the years, and how delightful winter is when you’re surrounded by people you love. Friends and love ones is what make all the difference.
 
My little world rests under the spell of snow... and silence. I want to hear the hallowed sound of silence; and this white vastness filling every corner inside! Nothing moves, nothing disturbs the sacredness that has descended upon the land, no human voice defying harmony, no barking dog, not the sound of a distant vehicle. I love it! This is the time when I’m sure I can see angels dancing down the path...
 
White sea-foam clumps in wind-tossed tree branches, and then, behind my back a soft fluttering of wings! Something takes flight behind me; perhaps an intruder myself in this wonderful wonderland of silence and nature, I have disturbed the peace of a winged friend? Oh I think so.
 
Most people who feed backyard birds find that winter is the busiest time of the year. And I do believe that... The falcons that make our garden their dwelling place each year have already arrived... I have seemed them; seem their vigilante gaze upon the land and surrounding areas, but they haven’t been to the garden yet. I am waiting for that precious moment with the enthusiasm of a little child.
 
It’s wonderful—the leaping free spirits of birds, the dream of a snowy land, and to sense the miracle of life in everything which is natural, and then, behind me... a safe and warm nest to call my own. My home!
 
 
And thus, “winter is the time for comfort, for good food and warmth, for the touch of a friendly hand and for a talk beside the fire: It is the time for home”—Edith Sitwell, British poet.
 

Sunday, November 21, 2010

Show Off Your Cottage Monday

Welcome to "SHOW OFF YOUR COTTAGE MONDAY", a blog party I host at the beginning of each week to celebrate the things we love about our homes and how we live.
The House in the Roses
Do you like the romantic style? I do! Ah yes, I love rooms filled with every shade of pink and white furniture, accessories, accents, and fabrics. The romantic style is a very soft and feminine style, but what I love best is that it is a simple down-to-earth style too. In my opinion, a romantic room requires a certain happy abandon. Nothing speaks of perfection here, yet everything is bejeweled by magic! The magic (I'm sure) comes from the mix... like a table festooned with mismatched china.
A romantic room should not be a ‘perfect’ room in the sense of style. Romantic style is essentially a personal fantasy, and as such it lies in the eye of the beholder... which means “be yourself”, add bits of your unique personality to your decorating style, and why not go with your mood swings too? ;) One day you may want to decorate in a cottage style, then again you may be in for French Country, or English Country, or Mediterranean... Matching a set of orphaned tea saucers found at a thrift store recently with my white teacups (also a thrift store buy) was pure fun! I don’t really care for perfection, so this works for me. My style focuses more on harmony and what feels right.
And we can't deny the charm of a table set with mismatched plates! Take a look here, and perhaps here
Almost all my teacups and saucers share different styles, they’re dissimilar is every aspect. Yet, I love the combination and romantic simplicity they portray!
I have oodles of orphaned china, saucers and plates and cups that I keep collecting, and always display with much gusto through the seasons... As you can see here, matching the mismatched never fails to amaze the romantic in me!

It’s been raining like crazy around here lately, and snow is predicted in the forecast... Indian Summer days are certainly drifting away. It is hard to say goodbye to the garden and the wonderful bouquets that all through the spring and summer seasons permeated our rooms with all sorts of fanciful delights...
It is time now to focus on the interior, and center our hearts in the coziness of home!
What are you celebrating today? Share your love of home by linking!

Wednesday, November 10, 2010

Flying away!

Hi friends! Would any of you happen to live in the Daytona/Orlando area? Ah yes, hair is done and luggage’s ready! So if you care to look around, you might see me sipping coffee at any of your local coffee houses around that area... ‘cause yeap, that’s where I’m headed tomorrow!
So you won’t get bored in my absence, I have arrange some pretty chairs around the garden for you to sit and wait for me. You can walk around as much as you want or even dwell in the gardens if that’s what you wish, but please make sure you’ll stay warm! It’s been cold and raining like crazy here, and as soon as the first cold front moves in the wind will shift to the north, dark clouds will lower in the sky, and the temperature will drop suddenly... then you won’t want to be out there!
 


I'll leave a comfy pillow just in case you wish to linger a littler longer!
 
Autumn brings an abundance of color, from reds to golds to oranges. so please delight yourselves in it! And don't worry about the weather! But in case you get cold, I have left some hot tea for you!

Don't you be shy... go ahead and serve yourself as much as you want! But please make sure you leave some for whoever might be strolling the gardens with you! ;)
 
Our garden is acting very strange lately. You can see autumn leaves and bright asters mingling with gorgeous roses (and tomatoes too! – yes, we still have oodles of tomatoes), as if they've confused the seasons... Isn’t this crazy?
 


The little cherub is trembling with cold, but he is protected from the frigid rain by the roses... it truly feels like a Wonderland around here; it’s like a magical place for sure! Will I have roses all winter? I don’t know!
 
Bunnies are digging holes and burrows to use as their winter home, but they think they can stretch their luck and stay out here for a little longer... I won’t want to discourage them, would you?
 
I think angels must be smiling down at the garden... ah yes, I think they have something to do with this craziness! I know, because I can see them!
 
If you pay close attention you would see them too... you'd see their little mouths puffing magic down at the garden. Ah yes, I'm sure of that!