March ~ Birthday and some other tidbits....

 

Tulip Mania has begun with a bold red and yellow bunch!

Such great mood lifters on a grey winter's day.

I love to buy these cheerful blooms...

deciding which colours to choose is always a challenge!

I had my birthday yesterday March 3rd.

I turned 69 and don't feel OLD.

My new glasses are Face a Face from Paris.

I had my former pair for 6 years and when my prescription changed I decided it was time for a new pair of glasses and sunglasses.

Vintage rhinestone brooch pinned on my wool beret.

My beret is made by The Canadian Hat Company.

Decades old Burberry scarf

Eileen Fisher Coat

Still having FUN and playing around with clothes and my personal take on style.

Been very lucky at the Thrift Shops lately...

Gold bracelet

I don't have anything like this in my jewel box and thought it might be fun.

Heavy crystal etched vase, possibly Swedish.

Perfect for wee flowers.

Snowdrops are what come to mind.

I love to hunt for sea glass on my beach walks.

On my birthday beach walk 

I found a lovely piece of aqua glass just as I stepped on the beach!

Aquamarine is the March birthstone 

so I thought it an appropriate find.

The sunset was quite remarkable the other evening...

looks like The Danish Flag hanging over Salt Spring Island.

Perhaps my ancestors waving hello?

Our family tree goes way back...

to a former Queen and King of Denmark.

So many interesting names along with that incredible detailed history.

Sabine Be sunglasses...

Mom had macular degeneration so my eye doctor advised me to wear sunglasses.

I need to remember to wear them regularly.

Treated myself to a new candle and some dark chocolate bars.

I recently read that dark chocolate is full of good polyphenols

which help with inflammation, digestion, cognitive function, and protect cardiovascular health.

Adding a couple of squares with my afternoon tea seems pretty easy!

Been eating more avocados on sourdough toast...

they are nutrient rich and high in fibre.

After my colonoscopy the doctor told me that he removed 3 polyps.

(I watched the entire procedure on the screen) 

He also mentioned to keep my diet rich in fibre as it has many benefits.

Staying on top of one's health is a priority.

Healthy habits and being mindful of stress and toxins in the environment are so important.

What is new with you?

How are you managing the aging process?

Thank you for stopping by The Humble Bungalow Blog!

~ Be Well and Be Kind ~

Thanks to the bees...

We would be in serious trouble if it were not for the many hard working bees.

They work tirelessly pollinating flowers and crops.

I applaud their work and am grateful that they visit our garden every day.

Agapanthus

I grow these in the garden beds out front and in pots on the patio in the back of the Humble Bungalow Garden.

We grow white as well as the blue variety.

A multi coloured hydrangea

pink blue and mauve.

Busy bees

Purple hydrangea

Artichoke flower close up...

Bee on the Wild Chicory

Alliums

French Bee glasses

These are our everyday glasses

we also have a pitcher and two flutes for bubbly.

Bee close up on our Allium 

Deep inside the digitalis aka Foxglove

Bee on an allium

The bees in our garden buzz in large groups on the lavenders and the sea holly.

We have the local mason bees as well as the honey and bumble bees

in The Humble Bungalow Garden.

Hope you have enjoyed this post...

thank you for stopping by The Humble Bungalow Blog.

~ Bee Well and Bee Kind ~

Fluffing the nest...and a Spring de-cluttering project

Looking like a barbarian/warrior slightly disheveled...

Can you tell that I am growing out my hair?

It is a slow process but now that my frozen shoulder is in the thaw stage 

I can get back to using the blow dryer.

Casual Beach combing OOTD

(last month)

Gowland Point on Pender Island 

Saint James raincoat

Calvin Klein puffy down vest 

(under coat, not visible but needed to fend off the cold)

long sleeved Esprit Tee

Tribal jeans

colourful scarf ~ no name brand from the local pharmacy

Merrell walking shoes

Coach handbag

Hunting for Beach glass is a favourite pass time of mine.

Speaking of glass...

I emptied out the cupboard in the Humble Bungalow dining room and wiped down all the shelves and packed up many of the pieces of crystal 

(which were purchased at $1.49 day at Woodward's back in the early 1970's)

popped them in the dishwasher for a quick clean up 

before wrapping them up and whisking them off to the WIN thrift shop.

What possessed me you may wonder?

My husband knew that I wanted to pare down and have a simple set of stylish

 classic glassware that will never "date"

Here is the Tapio Wirrkkala Ultima Thule style of glasses I am now collecting.

My sweet husband brought home 4 of these goblets as a surprise which really kick started the whole de-cluttering exercise...

Thank you Honey!

Here's how the shelves are looking so far...

the vintage ones to the right of the new goblets are from thrift shops.

I have kept a few other wine glasses 

(on the shelves below, not in the photo)

until we purchase more Ultima Thule.

They are quite pricey...

I hope to find more at consignment or thrift shops 

or watch out for sales...

Spring cleaning...

The laundry room got a quick lick and a polish this week too.

The vintage enamel ware seems to go well in the black and white themed area downstairs.

Upstairs beside the farmhouse sink 

is my "work area."

I found an Antique transfer ware platter at a local shop to hold all my supplies.

Peach Blow circa 1886

Marseilles Soap Cube

Spring Parrot tulips 

full blown 

almost at the end of their prime

but still beautiful.

I have a bunch of cookbooks by Julia Child 

waiting for me at the local library

I am going to try and make her fish buerre blanc.

Until next time...

Enjoy your weekend.

~ Be Well and Be Kind ~

I can see clearly now....

After procrastinating for months...
I finally got around to purchasing new glasses.
Several readers asked to see what they looked like when I got them...
so I took a couple of selfies in the bathroom!

The glasses are from Paris made by a company called Face a Face.

They have a few fun details that make them a bit more interesting than my previous pair which were also by Face a Face.

Check out the shoes!!!

I'm seeing much clearer now.

On the same visit I ordered Maui Jim sunglasses 

made up with my new prescription.

It was a wee bit of a splurge but the coating was wearing off my previous sunglasses 

the lenses were so scratched that when I wore them 

the world around me looked fuzzy!

And with such lovely things to admire in our neck of the woods 

why not be able to see them better?

My sister gave me a bar of pink Zote soap...

I just realized that you can see my reflection in the LG dial!

Clever perhaps?

not really

'twas an accident.

Have you ever heard of this soap?

It's new to me

she said it is an excellent laundry stain remover.

She spends time in Palm Springs in the winter and this is where she discovered its remarkable stain removing powers...

Speaking of new products...

have you tried David's Teas?

I was surprised that they carry so many different blends of teas.

This one caught my eye...perhaps it was the name

"Forever Flawless"

I like the taste 

brew a big mug full every day 

to sip it while I work around the house...

it helps to keep me hydrated and hopefully it is also helping my skin.

My skin tends to be dry, especially during the winter months 

I put that down to the the cold air outside and our forced air furnace.

I am diligent with my weekly exfoliation habit and I use moisturizer morning and night.

Avene mineral water spray helps add extra moisture throughout the day.

Drinking extra fluids...

(non caffeinated fluid)

 is important.

I read somewhere that for every cup of coffee one drinks 

that you need to drink 3-4 glasses of water to balance out 

the diuretic effect of that cup of coffee!

Made a roast beef dinner this past week...

one of the perks of making a roast is that there are leftovers to reheat the next evening.

Cook once dine twice is my kind of time saver!

Hope your week is off to a great start.

~ Be Well and Be Kind ~

Tuesday Morning Tidbits....some better than others!

Just checking in to say good morning....

How's your week going so far?
My week is really busy...
filled with appointments.

We are thrilled with the recent acquisition of this lovely painting 

 by the artist Kathy Leeds.

I have followed Kathy on Facebook and Instagram for many years.

When I learned that she had launched her website I zipped over and purchased this gorgeous painting of roses.

Many of you know how smitten I am with roses 

so it was an easy and natural choice for me...

we have hung this in our Humble Bungalow living room adjacent to the chair where I sit every morning while I sip my cafe creme and read emails, IG and blog posts...

it will be much admired.

My eye glass prescription changed when I had my eyes examined last fall

 I have been meaning to go and buy new glasses...

it has taken me a few months 

but I finally went and ordered new glasses.

They should be ready in a couple of weeks...I chose a rather "edgy" stylish pair.

The progress on my latest scarf...

A reader on my IG post mentioned that this looked like a pizza slice.

I'd have to agree and I pointed out that it was caloire free!!!

A couple of years ago I suffered a frozen shoulder and I was miserable for several months as I endured limited movement and intense pain...

unfortunately the opposite shoulder has now started to freeze.

UGH!

Thankfully I know all the exercises that I need to do each day

and am off to massage therapy to see if we can keep it from completely freezing.

My massage therapist is amazing and I have every confidence that we will work on this together.

Wish me luck...I am going to need it!

What is on your agenda this week?

~ Be Well and Be Kind ~