Art, Entertaining and my recent successful thrifting adventures...

 

We attended the art exhibit "Building Bridges" at Cedar Hill Recreation Centre.

Victoria Artist Tanya Bub

Paper Mache Rooster

~ Grace ~

Tanya Bub created this "chair" using a variety of reclaimed and recycled pieces.

Walmart carry bags, cardboard, and papers among them.

Can you see the boots hanging underneath the chair?

A documentary "Sitting With Grace" has been screened locally.

Tanya has such a great eye for detail...

the face is exquisite.

Tanya is well known locally for her amazing driftwood sculptures.

~ OOTD ~

Thrifted Black Kirkland Tee

Artisan necklace

Thrifted ankle length pants black with small white dots.

(label missing but I think they are by INC)

Coach Loafers that I bought new last Spring.

We shared dinner with friends...

on the menu:

Appies ~ Olives, Dried Apricots, Dates, Smoked cheese and Blue Cheese

Salad ~ Arugula, sweet red pepper mini pearls, chopped pecans, thinly sliced white radishes and a French Vinaigrette.

Main course ~ Chicken Breasts stuffed with feta and topped with red pepper pesto

Spinach Gnocchi with cheese sauce, garnished with snipped fresh basil

Dessert ~ Olive Oil Citrus Cake with fresh blackberries and whipped cream

Our guests brought a lovely Maidenhair Fern.

(Thank you!)

I popped it into our Vintage Arts and Crafts Weller Jardiniere.

Chester, our smaller cat, was quite taken with the fern!

It is a pet friendly plant so if he nibbles a wee bit no harm done.

I absolutely LOVE Vintage Sherman Rhinestones.

I have a small collection of brooches.

If you have been reading my Blog awhile you know I wear these pieces often...

If you are REALLY lucky you might find some in a thrift shop.

Most of the ones that I see are now sold in The Antique Malls.

Denim shirtdress...was purchased on sale, not thrifted.

(Lands' End)

The Baroque strand of Pearls add some interest.

Dress by H&M

Second Hand Hope Thrift Store.

I went thrift shopping with Annie, a woman I have connected with on Instagram.

She is starting up a business where she plans to take people to the thrift shops and consignment stores here in Victoria.

Her instagram page is Victoria Thrifting Tours.

If you pop over to check out her site, please say I sent you :-))

Ralph Lauren reversible leather belt from WIN Thrift Shop.

Small Patterns work better for me as I am a curvy gal...

I like the small metal button details at the neck and on the cuffs.

The fabric is a jersey knit so this will be a great Spring and Summer Dress.

Found one of my favourite author's books in a wee Book Nook.

It just so happens that the Book Nook is in the front yard of my childhood home.

I keep finding the BEST books there...

if I ever see the owners I am going to introduce myself.

Tell them that I grew up in the house.

Well that about wraps up my news...

until next time.

~ Be Well and Be Kind ~ 

Weekend~ A getaway...and now a state of emergency.

 

Last weekend we hopped across the pond...

 it is a rather BIG POND 

so not being frogs we actually took the ferry!

The first time we have travelled off island other than the short trip to our cottage in over 2 years.

We wanted to see the Yoko exhibit at The Vancouver Art Gallery.

It was a very nostalgic foray into the past...

The Bed In for Peace took place in 1969 in Canada.

Yoko's art includes some interactive areas 

where people are encouraged 

to mend china, hammer a nail, leave a comment and build with stones.

We shopped South Granville Street and found quite a few Christmas gifts.

I ventured into Eileen Fisher (Gosh I have missed this store!) 

I found a few pieces...

will share them in a future post!

We were hungry by the time we were finished shopping

so we headed to The Cactus Club for a cold drink and some sushi.

Dinner was at our favourite Indian Fusion restaurant Vij's.

Vikram walked over to chat with us and we were happy to renew his acquaintance.

We have been going to his restaurant for decades.

He mentioned my pearls and said how elegant they were!!

My OOTD

Wool beret by Canadian Hat Company.

The food was amazing.

For starters we had the beef and lamb meatballs with tamarind chutney.

Our main course:

Coconut curried chicken with rice, naan bread and lamb popsicles.

We were too full to have any dessert but what a wonderful evening it was.

We were hoping to meet up with long time friends but they were stuck at their cottage on the lake just outside Merritt 

where devastating floods and mudslides damaged the local highways.

Abbotsford and areas nearby have completely flooded!

A state of emergency has been declared.

Livestock have been lost and many had to be evacuated to higher ground...

homes have been lost and people have perished.

Travel and the transport of goods and gas have been impacted.

The major highway, The Coquihalla, will not be repaired for months.

A few smaller routes have reopened and one of our friends was able to drive through the US in Washington State to get back home and the other flew out to Vancouver.

Food is being rationed at the local grocery stores and gas is limited to 30 litres per visit.

More intense rain has been predicted and they are calling these events 

"atmospheric rivers."

Finger crossed our basement stays dry...

but the back yard is saturated 

so we are on high alert.

I found a new book and read it in 2 days...

we had lots of time to read 

as we were in the ferry line up, 

then we stayed in our car on the open air deck

for the journey home.

I can recommend this book.

 It is set in Paris during war time and is based on a true story.

We are decorating the house this afternoon as the rains here are torrential 

so we cannot work in the garden and we got pretty wet on our walk.

Stay safe...

Thank you for popping by The Humble Bungalow Blog.

~ Be Well and Be Kind ~

Quarterdeck Cottage ~ an oasis of peace.

We are at Quarterdeck Cottage this week...

we arrived with a bucket of fresh cut flowers from The Humble Bungalow Garden.

I couldn't resist bringing some of our roses.

Jude the Obscure, Julia Child and The McCartney rose fill the vase. 

Sunshine and the expansive views of the Salish Sea are such a tonic.

We went for a drive and walked along two different beaches 

beachcombing...collecting feathers and pieces of sea glass.

An artist has been busy creating some interesting carvings...

Building 

Driftwood structures are popular with many at the beach.

Our cottage time is so peaceful.

We sat out on the deck last night and gazed up at the stars... 

watched the brightly lit ferries as they passed by the cottage.

Feeling immense contentment here at the cottage.

Nature continues to amaze...

it renews our energies

inspires us

refreshes and invigorates.

The sound of the waves as they hit the rocky shore

the various bird songs

my favourite of which is the song of the purple martins

the breeze as it swishes the branches of the trees

all things that I have come to love and appreciate.

I've got a post to share with you soon...

we were fortunate to be able to host a dinner on the deck here with a fashion blogger and her husband and her lovely daughter.

We didn't take pictures of us all but I can share the menu.

If you want to get a sneak peak check out my Instagram post.

In closing, here's a picture of the other flowers that we brought to the cottage.

Sweet Peas

this summer we have enjoyed a bumper crop of these fragrant beauties.

The more we picked the blooms the faster they grew.

I cannot remember a summer when we had so many sweet peas.

They are cheap and cheerful and so worth the effort of growing them.

Hope that you are doing well and staying safe.

~ Be Well and Be Kind ~

Linen Lust...

 

Luscious Linen

Wrapped in gross grain ribbon.

Linen is from the Orkneys

Original design apron made by Rough Linen in California.

I ordered the Bella apron in graphite grey at the beginning of Covid and I love it.

New linen towels from a charming shop in Sidney-by-the-Sea.

Hansell and Halkett

 sells 

vintage wares, locally made candles, jewelry,

soaps, linens, flowers and plants.

I decided that I needed a black iron hook to hang the aprons on...

why hide these lovely pieces in a cupboard?

They get worn every day for cleaning and cooking.

So beautiful and useful.

 

Ready for me when I enter the kitchen.

They protect my clothing from spills and splatters.

The aprons wash up really well and they get softer with each wash.

OOTD

White shirt and pearls with the Bella Apron.

Do you wear aprons?

Do you love linen?

I use a linen bath sheet and hand towel in our bathroom.

I love linen clothing too!

Think I have an obsession...maybe I need to attend a Linen's Anonymous meeting :-)

Thank you for stopping by The Humble Bungalow Blog.

Seen at Oak Bay Marina on my walk...

a whimsical mermaid made with wire and plastic bags.

Nice to see public art in our daily round.

Artists create so many beautiful things that enrich our days.

Take Care and Stay Safe.

XO

~ Be Well and Be Kind ~

Les Baux, Lourmarin and Gordes

Carrieres de Luminaries

an art installation inside the quarry caves.

Van Gogh

Lourmarin is one of my favourite Villages so far...

its just so charming!

Lots of gift shops and wonderful cafes line the streets.

We decided to stop at a busy cafe...

I opted for the plats du jour.

Salad with hummus

Ravioli with beef and cheese

Yummy!

'

Lilac coloured doors were not that common in the Villages we visited.

A bright yellow was unusual too...

Gordes was a very old stone hilltop Village.

Beautiful stacked stone walls lined the streets.

It was foggy when we arrived.

We stopped here for lunch on our way to Roussillon.

I had a ham and butter sandwich which was delicious!

Ham and Butter?

If you must know...

the butter has salt crystals that pop in your mouth when you bite into them

The ham is sliced super thin and melts in your mouth.

Due to recent excessive spam 

I have been forced to disallow anonymous

comments on the blog.

I apologize if this affects those without google accounts.

 I have heard that the search engine Safari does not permit third party cookies and it is preventing readers to leave comments 

if you have the option of using another search engine

such as Google Chrome you should in theory be able to leave a comment.

Thank you.

~ Be Well and Be Kind ~