Stop, Look and Listen....

A few weeks ago I entered a blog giveaway...
Adrienne of  The Rich Life on a Budget  generously offered gifts from Luxuria.
I find it hard to believe, but my name was chosen randomly!

The ring that Adrienne gave away is from Vanessa at Luxuria
please do pop on over and look at all her sparkly Bling!

Good things come in small packages!

I love the grossgrain ribbon bow 

and look it's in my favourite colours

black and white!

Adrienne has her own blogger cards

a nice touch...

As is her habit

Pepper had to supervise

She is licking the tissue paper

the tip of her tongue is just visible if you look ever so close.

Playtime continues...

The ring fits perfectly 

and in case you are interested the colour is Fume

it is multi faceted and really sparkles 

I am also planning to use it as a scarf ring

because of it's size 

it makes a statement and will not be lost in a scarf.

I am thrilled!

Thank you Adrienne 

and 

Vanessa

Pepper loves the bow

she's got her paw firmly planted

and she doesn't want me taking it from her

I'll let her play with it to her hearts content.

Yesterday I meandered in the garden 

in the sunshine with my camera...

Janet at the Gardener's Cottage 

enjoyed a morning walkabout with her camera

she has roses blooming

it will be several months before ours will even hint at flowering.

King Alfred daffodils

succulents have taken over the bird bath

this is what I call a happy accident

Hellebore

Hellebore

I love these but have forgotten the names!

Hellebore

another variety unknown

English primroses 

English Country Living 

with 

a springtime theme

I'll be sipping tea while perusing this luxe magazine.

Spring-ing into

Fashion 

In Style UK

can't wait to see what they are forecasting...

I will be offline

 and

 incommunicado

for the next few days...

I plan to

 read some books

 watch some DVD's

live simply

listen to the sounds of the birds

look at details - absorb beauty

breathe in the fresh air

 eat simple wholesome food

walk

ponder and reflect

Take care,

Hostess

Monday random-ness...or what I do when the washer and dryer are going full tilt.

Spring is making her entrance very slowly in these parts...
the sun has been shy
I think she's hiding behind the clouds.

The gardening has been spotty as the grass is still boggy
the beds are waking up after the winter slumber
the weeds are poking their heads up with an alarming speed.

When I cannot be pottering about in the garden I go shopping
foraging to the garden shops for seeds...

Behold 

the loveliness 

of

Sweet Peas

Bungalow Sweet Peas 2010

Our raised beds will be getting a full work out this summer
as the cost of food continues to rise.
I am envisioning a Victory Garden....in my dreams...

"Though I do not believe that a plant will spring up where no seed has been, I have great faith in a seed. Convince me that you have a seed there, and I am prepared to expect wonders." 

 Henry David Thoreau

the seeds

arranged neatly in rows

which are disheveled now that Pepper arrives

she's so nosy

I found this silk scarf on the recent road trip for pennies

it was laundered by hand in Aveda Shampure

and now needs a quick ironing before it is ready to wear.

I am currently reading this book

I cannot get enough Paris...

Paris in the Springtime 

sounds wonderful to me...

is there a place that you dream of visiting?

Without leaps of imagination, or dreaming, we lose the excitement of possibilities. 

Dreaming, after all, is a form of planning.

- Gloria Steinem

I bought this top to wear with my black leggings

I know...

more black and white to feed my habit.

I have so much that will go with this

it's very light and will be cool

when the heat goes up

which could be any day now

in the meantime...

I can add a long cardigan or a pashmina

Remember to have fun with scarves

 tying them in a variety of ways

just adds to the fun...

My go to tie for long scarves...

do you have a favourite way of tying your scarf?

I am always looking for more.

meanwhile...

exploring more Parisian pursuits...

au revoir 

Two words...

The two words are...
road trip!

What did we do before google maps?

I know there were those cumbersome strip maps that as the navigator one needed 

to follow

and 

give advice on

 well ahead of the needed route changes...

can you say oops more than once!

I prefer these print outs

as we do not have a GPS in the car

although one day

 I might purchase one...

Hmmm

I wonder if they come with voice options of Sir Paul or Colin Firth

I have no sense of direction whatsoever!

lovely daughter (a non driver) needs to advise me on the route to the big box store area of town

I so seldom frequent it 

we have fun exploring the variety of wares when we get there...

I can lose my car in a large parking lot

it's true!

(and it's happened on more than one occasion)

I dug this big tote out and have stuffed it with all and sundry

cellphone, book, camera, a bottle of water...

sensible serious walkers

I'll be putting some mileage on these babies...

Have a fabulous weekend whatever you get up to

wishing you peace, joy, and contentment.

In Gratitude

Hostess

XO

Pepper's great Nana is on the scene 

armed with food and treats

a feather toy

and 

is expecting lots of pats and purrs...

Pepper

I hope that you behave!

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!

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.