Sunday, May 30, 2010

HOME AND GARDEN

With a passion for the garden and a love for her

home Julie of  BOTANICALS

has merged them into a new venture.

I spent the day with Julie on Saturday, she gave me

a wonderful lunch



and shared her fabulous garden and home









everywhere you look there is something

wonderful to look at in a gorgeous setting







Julie's design style is very warm and welcoming



She had a store in La Canada for 14 years

and than added a web store

SHOP BOTANICALS

which carries most of the things she sold

in her store.  She now turns these beautiful

grounds into a Garden Boutique several times a year.













These flowers sacks she makes herself

 using both vintage and new fabrics.

There is also a blog GARDEN GIRL

where she shares her gardening talents


and for me she shared some sweet peas

             Here are sweet-peas, on tip-toe for a flight:
              With wings of gentle flush o'er delicate white,
     And taper fingers catching at all things,
To bind them all about with tiny rings.
                              John Keats

Friday, May 21, 2010

A JEWEL IN STUDIO CITY


Everyone needs a great gift store they can depend on.


a upscale gift boutique in Studio City

helps meet that need.  They specialize in

personalized service to find their customes the

perfect gift.  Michelle has a great eye and finds

unique, elegant and trendsetting gifts for all occaions.

Jewelry has a large presence in the store

from the casual






to the more elegant



This is a place ladies like to suggest to their

husbands and boy friends, EMERALD FOREST





knows their customers and can make the gift

buying a fun experience.







Baby gift




And so many choices for home decor








SCENTS AND FEEL    shows well

in so many different displays







The store is small in space but everywhere you look

there are so many treasures.

A nice picnic basket for a night at the







I was looking for gift for a very special bridal shower

and found exactly what I was looking for



A really cute apron



cookbook and the best heart shaped measureing

spoons.  I think this is it.  Wrap it up!



and I was off to the shower



My friend Jan, the Mother of the groom doing

her magic on the center pieces



and the beautiful bride to be modeling her gift. 



Thank you EMERALD FOREST

for making my gift giving a happy one.

Come live with me, and be my love,
And we will all the pleasures prove,
That valleys, groves, or hills, or fields,
Or woods and steepy mountains, yield.
                                       Marlowe, The Passionate Shepherd
to his love.




Monday, May 10, 2010

AIDAN GRAY HOME


EMPTY VASE   called and said I had to come over

and look at the AIDAN GRAY HOME  that

had just arrived.  She had wanted a piece of furniture

that had a large surface for display.  We both felt this


kitchen island would fit the bill



Made from reclaimed woud it measures 

 35.00" T x 79.00" W x 39.00" D

so plenty of display space.  One thing we forgot

to do was make sure it would fit through the door.

She had to remove two stationary doors and it just fit.

I was thinking how wonderful to have a kitchen big

enough to fit this island, it sure isn't mine.



My floor space is just 37 " wide.  We remodeled last

year and I love my kitchen even as small as it is.

We did a lot with a little.

Back to the new arrivals at  EMPTY VASE



This 3 drawer chest has a rustic look with a metal

top, but the drawers slide with ease.





Little side chair that fits almost anywhere.

The wooden cube has a removable burlap top

which makes it multi fuctional, it also is chair

height so would be great seating around a

farm table.



You need some great accessories to go with

the furniture



It was nice to see that everything she picked out

looked so great in the store and hopefully

in someones house.

Home maybe near,
Home may be far-
But it is anywhere love
And a few household treasures are.
                                       Grace Noll Crowell





Saturday, May 8, 2010

MORE THAN ROSES


When you say Pasadena most people think of roses

and the Rose Parade


The headquarters for the Rose Parade is a

beautiful grand estate with a rose gazebo at

the back of the property







This is a nice place to stop by for some peaceful time.

Another place to go in Pasadena is

the Norton Simon Museum






the entrance alone is a sight to behold with

this fabulous sculpture and this beautiful

Natal Coral tree that is a sculpture  by Mother Nature.

When I think of Pasadena I think of


the place to go for flowers since 1966, known as

a Southern California tradition.

The garage greets you with a large display of

plants and trees





Nice display of a FERMOBUSA

Luxembourg bench as you make your way

into the store



past arrangements waiting to be delivered

to some happy customer





Once your inside you are taken with the immenseness

of the space that once was a Cadillac dealership.

The greenhouse is home to a large collection of

orchid plants





you can choose from something small and simple

to something large and dramatic



They have created a little cafe to showcase

the  FERMOBUSA  bistro collection



so inviting I wanted to sit down and order a latte



Once you buy some flowers you need something

to put them in and there are no lack of choices



classic



elegant



and something for the garden





I would say Pasadena is a good place to explore.

        They that have roses
             never need bread.
                                    Dorthy Parker