White Wednesday and The Verbena scent goes to....

I've been terribly lazy posting on the Humble Bungalow Blog.

One reason may be that my cleaning lady is on leave as her daughter got married and she has been hosting all the relatives from far and wide on this vast planet.
I cannot believe how much help she is around our dusty little home.
I am seriously missing her expertise.

I really don't do well living in chaos or watching the dust bunnies multiply like rabbits.
So I am "on the job."
It's a great way to get some exercise too.

JOY!

The Iceberg rose is having her second flush of blooms!

speaking of lovely ~ just look at that crisp clear blue sky

Thank you to all of you for stopping by...

your comments mean the world to me

honestly.

You must want to know whose name we drew out of the bowl.

Congratulations to Awakening My Wardrobe

please send me an email with your mailing address 

 I'll pop over to the Post Office later on in the week.

I hope that you'll enjoy this scent.

~ ~ ~

Hostess

Playing with light...

Summer is coming to an end,
slowly fading light comes early into the nights.

Fall is closing in on summer's heels...
which leaves me with a sense of sadness
longing for more sunny days ahead and time to kick back and relax.

It's bittersweet...
pretty soon we'll be deep in winter's embrace and slumbering soundly.
We'll be putting the Humble Bungalow Garden to bed for another season over the next few weeks...

Chester's relaxing in the sunshine.

I took my camera on a walkabout in The Humble Bungalow Garden.

I've had my nose firmly planted in this book and am enjoying it very much.

Too much as my cuisine has taken a back seat to the book!

It's been a few days of a free range organic chicken

cooked and served in different ways...

Chicken Pot Pie

homemade pastry which I whipped up in the food processor.

it was tasty and no complaints were uttered by Mr. HB

so I think I got away with it!

Now I am going to have to come up with something else...

(not chicken!)

I'll close for now and put on my apron and spring into action.

If you haven't entered the giveaway there's still time...

two posts back is where you'll find the particulars.

Good Luck!

Ines de la Fressange's Little Diaries ~ French Chic

Ines de la Fressange is the penultimate French Femme...
she looks fabulous and she makes dressing look effortless, tres chic.

Roger Vivier's site hosts "Ines's Little Diaries" and I would be remiss if I did not share the link with you...
look here!

This link is worth a viewing too...

Have a fabulous day and don't forget the French Scent giveaway.
If you are a follower please leave me a comment about what makes you feel chic.

Bon Chance!
Hostess

French Fragrance from Grasse, a giveaway!

I recently wandered into my favourite shop and was smitten by the fresh crisp scent of Verbena.
There were soaps, scents and lotions in this line from Durance.
I bought one for myself and I thought it might be time to thank all my followers and host a giveaway
so I bought a second bottle for one of you.
Time to give back a little to you because your wonderful comments encourage me to keep blogging.

Eau de Toilette Verbena

The Verbena scented composition is lemony and green. 

It has been made by the perfumers of Durance in the pure tradition of Grasse.

100ml ~ 3.3fl.oz

If you'd like to enter 

you need to be a follower of The Hostess of the Humble Bungalow Blog

and I'd love to know what makes you feel chic.

I'll keep this open until September 4th

I'll draw a name on the 5th and come back and see if it's yours!

I'll need an email with your mailing address at that time so I can pop it in the post.

Good luck and I look forward to hearing about what makes you feel chic!

~ ~ ~

Hostess

Rose Bouquet...

The garden roses are still blooming, nurtured and encouraged by regular dead heading.
I've been toiling outdoors for the past few days, trimming the ragged edges of the lawn, dead heading the spent flowers and pulling weeds. It's a fine way to get some exercise, bending, stretching and reaching.
I have taken to wearing my Lululemon Yoga gear as it seems to afford the most freedom. Lululemon make a great hairband which I recently picked up at the local store. It's a wide band of cloth lined with some slip proof strips which keep my bob out of my eyes...something which used to annoy me no end.

Climbing Royal Sunset in glorious apricot

below the frothy subtle yellow petals of Jude the Obscure

and in fuchsia The McCartney rose. 

They look so pretty atop the Stickley lingerie chest.

One of my favourite vessels for flowers 

is this Finnish icy crystal vase circa 1970's.

Did you know that roses last longer if their stems are cut under water?

Use your sharpest knife or secateurs for a clean cut.

Lee Valley sell a great tool to sharpen secateurs...

it has an angled guide which makes it easy.

I sleep soundly and deeper when I have been out in the garden most of the day.

It was a scorcher on Saturday and I had to pop a shirt on so my shoulders would not burn.

The heat was so intense that we were able to sit outside before dinner with not a hint of a breeze from the ocean.

In our area so close to the sea that is unusual.

We can count on one hand days and nights that are hot and still.

My thoughts wandered to a little island north 

and hoped that the weather would be perfect for mater's family 

on the occasion of their son's wedding.

Hope that your week is off to a great start...

Hostess

XO