Black and White....

Black and White seems to be the colour theme here right now...

OOTD

Hermes scarf

Saint James striped top

Barbour vest

NYDJ boyfriend jeans

Red shoes !

Josef Siebel ballet flats!

New lipstick in a brighter shade...

inpsired by Kathy KSL on Instagram.

(she is the talented artist from whom we purchased our most recent piece of art)

I love it!

Not always easy taking a selfie...

but you get the idea of the new shade of lip colour.

Hope that your week is ticking along nicely and its nearly the weekend.

Do you have something fun planned?

Thank you for popping by my Humble Bungalow Blog...

~ Be Well and Be Kind ~

This Hostess has been shopping ...and a few festive touches in The Humble Bungalow

I've been naughty!

Guilty YES!

I bought something for myself...

I went into the store "just to browse" 

I tried on a few cozy sweaters and perused the racks of the Saint James section, Royal Robbins and then the Eileen Fisher group of garments.

 A tunic top for tall gals but a dress for short me.

The hem sits slightly above the knee and it drapes so well 

the fabric is super soft and it flatters without clinging.

The WIN thrift shop did not disappoint either...

French Dressing shirt in black and white...

great for white pants or black skinny ponte knit pants.

Also the black and white Hermes scarf, probably my favourite will look great tied at the neck.

There are a few festive touches here in The Humble Bungalow.

We don't do a lot of decorating but we have a tree lit with white lights

 a peachy pink poinsettia

candles

wee trees on the mantle with the Ojibwa duck decoys.

Sadly we are unable to put our vintage glass baubles on the tree because the cats undress the tree and bat the ornaments around and they break...

Please excuse our messy fireplace 

Some silver baubles from my childhood home with two vintage silver pieces.

White fairy lights and the silver balls on the front rose arbour.

Our wee tree with white fairy lights on the front porch.

Reindeer votive holders

glitter cones

sit atop

our silver tray

which was a wedding gift.

The seniors turkey luncheon at the club was a lot of work but such fun.

Those of us who volunteered were treated to lunch and a glass of wine 

which we ate while the choir performed 

then we served the desserts and tea and coffee 

before washing up all the dishes.

This year there were 80 seniors in attendance...it is one of the many fundraisers that we have at the club.

We were thrilled to go to our darling granddaughter Isla's school 

where we watched the annual winter concert. 

How are your holiday plans shaping up?

Thank you for stopping by The Humble Bungalow

Merry Christmas!

~ Be Well and Be Kind ~

Wardrobe edit: Scarves...those that made the cut

I've recently been editing and culling my wardrobe.

I like to do this regularly as it helps me refine my style, allows me to see what regularly gets worn, who are the key players and what features make them the workhorses in my closet.

My wardrobe is kept small...the closet is also small and I share it with my husband! One day we will redo it and install some features that will improve its storage capacity...in 1913 a "pedestrian bungalow owner" would not have had many clothes...daytime wear (house dresses) and Sunday best.

First on the chopping block are the scarves...

Too many scarves and they were spilling off the shelf in my bedside cabinet
not enough space so some had to go...
7 scarves were donated to the charity shop and two were consigned.

Silk Hermes collection
 (which I wear mostly in the Spring and Summer)

Three orange boxes

Small square purchased in Paris

Black and White silk from Vancouver Hermes store

The original from the San Francisco Hermes shop.

Long scarves

some worn in summer and some in the Fall and Winter

Large white scarf (shawl size) from the Monoprix 

 St Germain, Paris

Burberry print infinity scarf

(gift)

Two Linen scarves:

black and grey 

blue and white 

(purchased at the Pharmasave in Oak Bay)

Burberry cashmere

(gift from my husband)

I tend to wear the Burberry cashmere all through the Fall and Winter as it offers warmth and is so cozy and goes with my wine coloured puffer coat.

That's all the scarves and they neatly fit inside the cabinet now with some "breathing room!"

The new Bosch dishwasher arrived and was installed today...

looking forward to clean dishes and no more leaks!

I am taking a wreath making workshop this week with our lovely DIL

Hopefully my efforts will be worthy of a photo and if the wreath looks OK

 I will share it here in a future post.

Have you started decorating for Christmas?

For some strange reason this year I feel like putting up our decorations and tree already and it is not even December!

I recently read this book the subject matter was quite disturbing...

extremely well written but rather graphic

 a NY Times bestseller.

I'm reading a much lighter book right now...

(Chick Lit)

Set in London and the South of France...

love the style in which it is written

just the thing to put a smile on my face as I sit with my mug of tea on these rainy afternoons.

What is new with you and 

what are you reading?

~ Be Well and Be Kind ~

Energy ~ Sleep and OOTD

A decent night of restful and restorative slumber is bliss.
It gives one an energetic start to the day...
often times we wake after a fitful night of tossing and turning...
this is more common for me.
When these nights occur I try to be gentle with myself and start the day slowly...
I have not tried sleeping pills and asked the nurse at Hospice if I should try some after Mom passed away and she suggested that I try Gravol.
I purchased a small package and have tried them on several occasions...
they do work, but I wake feeling groggy so I am not planning to use them often.

Coffee helps wake me up 

 a good book

 transports us away 

it helps to gain perspective

put our troubles aside for awhile.

Once I hit the shower I am wide awake...

ready to seize the day.

Dressing for more energy means wearing some of my favourites...

OOTD

Moto leather jacket ~ Danier

Hermes scarf

NYDJ boyfriend jeans

simple white Tee ~ Joe Fresh

my birthday shoes...

Ferragamo from darling daughter.

These shoes make me feel happy!

I wore this outfit to run errands and I had so much energy that I very nearly forgot to stop and eat lunch.

Parrot tulips from the grocery store...

spreading a beautiful energy 

into The Humble Bungalow Kitchen.

Home style meat loaf, mashed potatoes and carrots...

the ultimate comfort food.

Refuelling with tasty food provides me with more energy.

I made a double batch of this meat loaf so that tomorrow evening all I need to do is reheat the spuds and the meat loaf and boil some peas.

The recipe is from Best of Bridge...

here.

I broke the chipped Emma Bridgewater bowl I used for soap

when I was washing it the other week...

it just slipped out of my hands and smashed into a bazillion fragments.

Fortunately it did not damage our farmhouse sink.

Hooray the Hellebores are blooming!

Hope that your week is ticking along nicely.

What have you been doing?

Anything exciting to share?

Please don't be shy!

Hostess

XO

Getting My Happy On...

Have you heard the news?
The Royals are coming to visit Victoria.

Yes indeed, they will be staying at Government House just a quick 15 minute walk from our Humble Bungalow...
It is exciting and I hope that we might catch a glimpse of the young family...
Justin Trudeau will be in town too...the city is all a flutter.

OOTD...
Hermes scarf
Betty Barclay striped top
White NYDJ
Black Sam Edelman ballet flats

Leather moto jacket

vintage Italian leather bag

red lipstick Maybelline #547

(purchased at Monoprix Paris in the 6th eme)

I met up with a long time friend for lunch and we sat outside on the patio at the Inn overlooking beautiful Brentwood Bay.

Being a bit of a rebel I broke the rule about wearing white after Labour Day...
Coincidentally my friend B, who recently returned from Paris, was wearing white pants and a striped top as well!
We had lots of catching up and our Paris trip highlights were shared.

This week I treated myself to a relaxing facial at The Silk Road Spa

its been quite awhile since my last Spa visit and I really enjoyed the pampering.

 I wandered around China Town exploring the wee shops

the sunshine and hot tea were just what I craved...

Hooray It is apple harvest time!

 we have been enjoying a few of our crisp and crunchy apples...

Liberty and Chehalis are both relatively young dwarf trees in The Humble Bungalow Garden.

I unwrapped a Diptyque candle,

our Fall and Winter favourite fragrance

ready to light and enjoy on these cooler evenings.

A good book, a candle...

life's little luxuries.

I wonder if we are in for a cold winter as the rose hips are huge and plentiful...

does anyone make rose hip jelly anymore?

Black and white make up the bulk of my wardrobe...

I never seem to tire of the combination.

Grey also plays a role in my small closet.

I must be off and get some things done around here...

Thank you for stopping by The Humble Bungalow.

If I get close enough to see the Royals I will snap a few pictures and share them with you.

~ Be Well and Be Kind ~