Thursday, March 17, 2011

Green Day with a touch of red

Happy Saint Patrick's Day!
It should be a GREEN DAY here in the Bungalow
I harken from an Irish background but I am not doing a St. Patty's Day post!

Are these crazy booties or what?



Spying these cowgirl booties made me do a little happy dance
(not a square dance tho'I don't know how!)

I thought why not buy them...



I have never worn cowboy or cowgirl boots...
leather or gum boots yes
even over the knee boots back in the 70's
oh and I had a pair of white patent leather platform boots!

lovely daughter has a classic black pair of cowboy boots
hers are a well known quality brand
she let me try them on...
they were a wee bit snug
but they did whet my appetite...

J is a fashionable young woman
and she can wear almost anything and make a style statement.

She wears vintage quite a bit and mixes it up to make it personal.
She inherited my mother's fashion gene...
need I say that
it skipped a generation!

Janet from the Gardener's Cottage has a red pair...
she has a red theme going too...she's so cute...

Where do you stand on red lipstick?

A friend of my DIL who I recently met up with when we attended the same gathering
wore a very striking shade of red lipstick...Venetian by MAC

it looked really good on her
she is blonde and fair of complexion...
some women have many a gift when it comes to making a style statement.

I digress...back to the boots

These boots fit perfectly
are comfy
and considering that they are vintage they are in remarkably great shape
and the price under $20...
win win win!

What am I going to wear them with besides a big smile?



A Hermes scarf ?


and maybe some red lippy!

Wishing you a lovely Green Day!

Wednesday, March 16, 2011

Bonjour Happiness!

Jamie Cat Callan's new book Bonjour Happiness is delicious...
I have not quite finished it yet...
and honestly
I don't want it to end
I am savouring every chapter and taking notes.

Her book has come into my life at the exact moment that I desperately needed it...
her words feel like a life preserver and I am hanging onto every word for dear life.


She interviewed many French women
while living in France
and 
writes about their conversations
shares "secrets" about French women 
and 
all the while she gently guides us on our search to finding our own personal
"joie de vivre"

Honest, clever, entertaining, poignant, and personal
are a few words that spring to mind
when commenting on Jamie's work.

I hope that you'll enjoy reading it.

Pepper doesn't like it when I read too long
she gets into mischief

it's not unlike the early days of motherhood 
when I would have a phone conversation
the days before portable phones 
with only a short 6 foot cord
 my radius of supervising was limited

the children would unravel the T.P.
crayon on the walls
or 
start asking for a snack 
that would necessitate saying goodbye and ending the call

5 minutes just for me
were few and far between
now it's the opposite

those days were such a rich and simple time
 I now look back on them and shed a tear



any guesses as to what this might be?


I can tell you what it used to be...
my bookmark!

Now it's Pepper's plaything
she has bent it and left it lying on the bed
after she got bored with it...


I heard some rustling sounds coming from the dining room and thought that I had better investigate...
I caught her in the act...


Pepper is testing out the First Nations Baskets
one was too small, one was too big and one was just right!


she does have a guilty look about her


she had to jump up on the dining room table
leap through the air to land on the buffet 
and then another jump up to the shelf


Not unlike this kitten
who could be Pepper's sibling



I needed a pick me up today...
(I know it's not on my new eating regime)
some days are of the sad variety
and
a little self indulgence is called for

luckily for me not many
chocolates
or 
sad days.

Thank goodness for Jamie
she is perking me up...
that and the fact that I went for a very long walk in the rain
it was truly a challenge to put down her book and put on my raincoat
I felt better breathing in the salt air and listening to the waves as they crashed upon the shore.

Tuesday, March 15, 2011

Books....with a French flavour

I love books...and have a stack of them at my bedside just waiting to be read...
but something new has come along that will be going right to the top of the pile!



What can be better than receiving an advanced copy sent by the author herself?


Jamie Cat Callan 
had a "name her cat" contest  
I entered with the name Mister Pickles and she chose that very name!



This excerpt is on the back cover...
ooh la la
it makes me want to stay in bed and read all day!


look at her Parisian note card!

French Women Don't Sleep Alone was her previous book
and it was a delicious read 
of all things girly and French...

is a vivacious and fun loving gal with a real zest for life
she has a blog called Bonjour Happiness
stop by and say hi.


Thank you Jamie!


Sunday, March 13, 2011

Blog Love...a heavy heart and gratitude.

Fellow blogger Jeanne of Collage of Life
recently posted on
Blog Love


            
                                           and passed it on to many, myself included



Thank you Jeanne!

The rules are simple:

1.  Post the image and add a link from the first blog post
2.  Share the Love and pass it on...


                                        
                                                        The Humble Bungalow

I would like to pass Blog Love onto 10 bloggers
please do not feel left out if I haven't linked your blog here
I regularly visit all the blogs on my Blog Roll
which incidentally had disappeared and has been reinstated.

Lisa

Tish

Blighty

Tabitha

Fiona

Annie

Janet

Adrienne

Rosemary

Belinda

I invite you to join in and pass it along if you are so inclined, and if you are not interested
or find yourself particularly busy...so be it.



The news from Japan is shocking...
I am finding words are hard to come by after seeing the horrific devastation following the 8.9 magnitude earthquake and tsunami...it is so unbelievably overwhelming...my heart feels very heavy.

I am having difficulty grasping the scope and magnitude of this event
the loss of lives increases with every news update...and the destruction is so widespread...

thank goodness so many countries are rushing equipment, supplies and aid
it is going to take a united and committed community to clean up and rebuild the infrastructure...




Gratitude has been uppermost in my mind these past few days.

The roof over my head, the food in my belly, running water and the warm bed that I lay in...
and the knowledge that my family here is near and safe.

In view of the fact that we live in a zone known for earthquakes we have always taken out a policy for earthquake insurance for our home.
Whenever we have a quake I always wonder if this is going to be the "Big One" that the seismologists have been predicting.
The thought fills me with sheer terror...

I am at a loss as to why I have not put together an emergency kit and stored it out in the garden shed.
I will be assembling one in the next few weeks...


Candles and matches


firewood


 heat 
via fire
outside in a makeshift firepit 
or 
inside in the fireplace


a wind up flashlight
and radio
the radio is downstairs somewhere...
it should be all together in one place

we'll also need 
canned food
bottled water = 2 litres a day per person
cat food !
first aid kit
hand sanitizer
water purifying tablets
 medications
toiletries
warm blankets
TP
cooking pot
and 
dishes, utensils
a manual can opener
whistle
duct tape
garbage bags
tools
work gloves
warm clothing
boots
and it has been suggested 
that cash will come in handy as bank machines and credit cards won't be working

 This information is from the website from 

Be Well
and 
Keep Safe



Thursday, March 10, 2011

Beastly weather...and snippets of Spring

Spring is on the horizon and there are hints if you just take the time to notice.
I ventured out into the garden camera in hand
raindrops sprinkled and wind tossed my hair...

I managed to capture a few images before I was chased back inside by the inclement weather.


Primula
in 
Orange

Did you know that Yellow Primulas have a scent?
sweet and intoxicating
if you don't believe me sniff one after a rainfall!


Crocus almost ready to open


Yellow daffodils 
for me
are the consummate harbinger of Spring.
Yellow against the backdrop of brown or black or perhaps grey
POPS!



Sandstone rock
from a BC Gulf Island
placed in the garden
for 
texture and interest...

It was too stormy to stay outside 
so 
I am showing some details from the lower level of the Humble Bungalow.


Vintage keys
we have a few doors with locks
and the keys at the bottom and left
work in these locks



 crystal "snowflake"
and round suncatcher prism
with 
 clock keys
I find that the old and antique keys have an appeal 
that todays keys seem to be missing...
am I the only one with this thought?


Vintage clock winder keys 
sit atop
 an antique country cupboard

would you wear a key?


Crystals on a tarnished silver tray
tarnished?
just because.


 matte white collection
I have heard it said that elephant ornaments are good luck 
only if their trunks are up in the air...


Fishing float
these are found on beaches on the rugged westcoast
and all the way up into Alaska


blown glass with a pontil on the bottom


Bowl of floats
I planned to have a pond in the garden awhile back 
and 
I thought it would be fun to float these on the surface...
we gave up the idea of a pond
and have put in raised veggie beds.

The price of fresh vegetables has risen so much in the last couple of weeks.
I think it must be the price of gas and that bad weather in Mexico and California.
Have you noticed?

I gasped when I saw zuchini at $3.99 a kilogram
we grew 3 plants last season and had a wonderful crop
I picked them when they were small and tender
and we enjoyed them so much
now 
I wish I had frozen some.


It's positively beastly outside
I have made a hearty chili and that will warm us up
and there will be leftovers for tomorrow night too.


I am still very much in love with Le Creuset
this dutch oven cooker
is so versatile 
cooks on top the range 
or stews away inside the oven
It's heavy 
 the way I look at it is
I get in a wee bit of weight/strength training 
toting them about
and they last forever!


Doesn't it look pretty next to Pepper's kitty grass?

She has discovered the grass and nibbled a bit of it
but much prefers tulip bouquets.

I can only wonder what she will do 
in the Summer
when I invite copious amounts of David Austin Roses inside
they are my passion
and 
I adore arranging large billowy bouquets 
and 
placing roses in every room of the Bungalow.


I think Mr. HB and I will be viewing 
a few more episodes tonight
we loved it ages ago
and
guess what
we still love it today!

Dear friends have gone off to the Jolly UK
for 6 weeks
so they have loaned us some of their classic videos.

Wherever you are
I am sending thanks to you
for stopping by 
and spending a few minutes 
visiting the Humble Bungalow.
Hugs from the Hostess
XO