Fall is in the air....

The season is changing...from summer to Fall.
We can feel it in the air...and in the garden.
The limelight hydrangeas are turning from lime to pink which they do every year at this time.

The colchiums are blooming

Mr. HB and I have been busy in The Humble Bungalow Garden.
The grass in our backyard had never been very good and after trying for over 30 years to make it look decent we decided that we would splurge and have it professionally redone. The company we hired came in and dug out all the old grass and weeds and levelled out the area, top dressed it with soil and laid down some lush green sod.
Our job now is to keep it watered until the roots are established and then maintain it.

The area marked off with string is where our greenhouse is going to be located.

We are eager to grow tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers and a variety of vegetables.

Two raised beds were moved from this location

nearer to the asparagus bed.

I made an easy dinner ~ a hearty beef and vegetable stew.

This recipe is based on one of Mr. HB's Mother's recipes.

She called it "Little Stew."

Saute onions, diced carrots, green peppers in oil until soft.

Use any vegetables that you have on hand.

Add in ground beef and beef stock.

Season with salt, pepper, and a few dashes of worchestershire sauce.

Add in some chopped potatoes...I used yams and russets.

Simmer for at least an hour.

About 15 minutes before serving add in frozen green peas.

This is especially nice served with a soft loaf of bread.

Comfort food.

Sunday morning we had a lazy start to our day.

I savoured a bowl of coffee with foamed milk and leisurely browsed the pages of Country Living UK.

Chester kept me company...

he found a sunny spot

and promptly fell asleep.

He has taken to sleeping on "my" Morris chair so I sit in Mr. HB's chair while Mr. HB opts for the linen sofa in the family room.

We cut back some of the roses...

Jude the Obscure is quite vast and is very shapely so we left it alone.

Some of the roses were far too large and some needed deadheading.

It's almost time to put the garden to bed for the winter.

We planted broccoli, brussell sprouts, garlic chives and parsley in our raised bed.

Lots of time spent in the garden this weekend.

We didn't get much else done.

I couldn't resist bringing in a few rose hips inside as they are really quite pretty in their own right.

"Every season hath its pleasures:

Spring may boast her flowery prime,

Yet the vineyard's ruby treasures

Brighten Autumn's soberer time.

So life's year begins and closes;

Days, though shortening, still can shine;

What, though youth gave loves and roses,

Age still leaves us friends and wine."

~ Thomas Moore ~

(1779–1852)

"Spring and Autumn"

Playing with lipstick...a copy cat post.

Jennifer author of the blog "A Well Styled Life" wrote a post on lipstick.
"The Classic Red Lip: Not For Every Woman"
Her post made me think about lipstick shades...those that flatter and those that don't.

Luscious and Juicy Red Rose Hips 

The Humble Bungalow Bathroom has the best lighting so that's where this experiment takes place.

My nose got a wee bit burnt on the last few days of our holiday.

I wear an SPF of 30 but there is a double dose of rays when one is out on the ocean.

(rays from above and then reflected up again from the sea)

OOTD

Grey linen Tee from Monoprix

White Club Monaco jeans

bare feet

custom made gold and diamond necklace

On my lips I am wearing 

Fresh Sugar ~ Tulip

(my everyday shade that I wear in the bungalow while doing domestics or gardening)

It works better if I wear my glasses.

I can see what I am doing!

Chanel Rouge Coco Orchidee Lipstick

(a rosy red)

Jennifer mentions that a bold lip takes centre stage and the eyes almost disappear.

One must choose to focus on either the eyes or the lips when choosing make up.

Which one do you prefer to highlight?

Maybelline  #055 Pink~a~licious

Maybelline  #547  Pleasure Me Red

(purchased in Paris)

I wear this shade for evening or when I want to capture and remember a bit of Paris. 

I think red lips are quintessentially French!

Janet over at The Gardener's Cottage wears Poppy by Aveda.

She's written a post on beauty and I think you might like to pop over and read what she has to say.

I enjoy her blog so much.

(and I am in love with her gorgeous house)

Country Living magazine did a shoot at her cottage and are going to be featuring it soon.

I can hardly wait!

Do you have a favourite shade of lipstick?

Hope that you have some fun scheduled this weekend.

I'll be focusing on watering our newly sodded back lawn.

I'll share it with you sometime soon.

Cheerio

XO

Home Sweet Home and a quick recap of our Sea Ray Cruise.

We are back on dry land at home in The Humble Bungalow.
Our boating trip was mostly fun and we relaxed, read our books and ate simple meals...

The first port that we visited was Telegraph Harbour Marina on Thetis Island...probably our favourite spot.
The weather was lovely, sunny and warm during our 5 day stay and we got together with friends who live on the island.

I spent a delightful afternoon playing bridge at the Community Centre.

I wore the white scarf that I purchased in Paris at The Monoprix.

I feel particularly feminine wearing this scarf...it's got lots of volume but is light.

I wore it over top an Eileen Fisher linen tank top and some black capri length pants.

I popped on some simple pearl drop earrings and my diamond necklace.

After Thetis Island we cruised to Pender Island and our first port of call was Otter Bay.

It's a rather quaint Marina but is well protected from the straits.

Quite charming and very picturesque.

There are two pools and this one is exclusively for the adults.

(I don't know who those people are, I tried to shoot around those using the pool.)

 I didn't quite manage!

We moved to Poets Cove Resort on South Pender Island and spent 4 days tied up at the dock.

Then weather was positively beastly!
We had torrential rains, thunder, lightning and hail...more rain.

Then short patches of sunshine that teased us for the next few days.

I was very grateful to be tied up to a dock and not bobbing around on anchor or a buoy.

It was an interesting/challenging/experience as we had some leaks for the first time.
The carpet in our salon got wet and stayed wet.
I am not proud when I admit that I got exasperated and at times felt downright cranky!
(at least our bed was dry!)

Our next stop was Port Browning where we joined friends and family.
Some were on boats and other were camping in the orchard.
PIDGE  ~  Pender Island Disc Golf Extravaganza...
this year we played our 10th tournament...34 people played.
The littlest ones walked the course with their parents and grand parents.

Our trophy!

We had a crab feed!

The sun came out...

Overnight the fog rolled in...

and after it lifted we left for home port in Tsehum Harbour in Sidney.

The cats and house were well taken care of while we were away.

They do seem happy to see us...

I've got a mountain of laundry to attend to so I must close for now.

I hope to catch up on my blog reading too while the machines work their magic on grime.

Cheerio.

Awakening in September.

The month of September arriving used to be a time for me to get ready and geared up to return to work.

I would buy several of the Fall Fashion issues of Elle, Bazaar and Vogue magazines and make notes of what was new and work appropriate. The lists were always longer than the funds that were available! 

These past two Septembers have come in quite quietly with very little new purchases...retirement dressing is not that demanding. I dress much more casually but am aware that if I do not make the effort to add a dash of colour or a scarf or some jewelry I am bored with myself.

I plan to edit my wardrobe and write a list of a few new things that I would like to purchase this season. 

A grey cashmere sweater is high on my list and perhaps some new ballet flats in a bright colour. 

Maybe some bright boots too for our rainy days. 

What have you got on your list so far? 

Taking note of colours that make me feel happy and cheery during the grey and gloomy weather that we have in the Pacific Northwest is very important. 

Apple season is upon us and a crisp juicy apple adds fibre and vitamins to the Ancient Grains cereal that I eat for breakfast. I add a dash of honey and skip the milk. When I do have milk it's skim. 

I am still trying hard to count my points...less walking means that I need to be more aware.

I might have to go to the pool for Aqua Fit classes if this knee is going to be an ongoing problem.

We walked to The Driftwood Centre on Pender last week and almost halfway we stopped at this rural farm stand. 

French radishes are delicious served with sea salt and soft butter....

Loved the tins and vintage touches on the rustic stand. 

Burlap, old boxes, flowers...it oozed country charm. 

I love patty pan squash and will plant some in the garden next year. 

Aren't they pretty little things? 

Green beans were served regularly when I was in France. I love steaming them until they are tender but crisp then tossing them with butter salt and pepper. What could be simpler? 

Vintage rusty old tractor and a scarecrow. 

I wonder what life on a working farm would be like?

Periwinkle blue flowers were popping out of the ditches. 

Amazing to me that they have survived a hot dry summer and still are blooming. 

These put a smile on my face. 

Mr. HB and I had natchos for dinner one night this week. 

The day's blend together and often I cannot say if it is a Sunday or a Tuesday!

Taco chips topped with melted cheese and served with "boat made" Salsa.

We had a small amount of a commercial salsa left in the jar so I cut up and seeded two small red jalapeño peppers, a small onion, half a green pepper and added about half a cup of tomato Ketchup and a few teaspoons of Franks Red Hot Sauce. I covered this and set it in the fridge for a few hours to allow the flavours to bloom. 

Boy! they did their job and WowZa that sauce was spectacular! 

What's new with you these days? 

I am blogging from my IPAD mini and have the Blogger App which works for most things but I cannot add hash tags or Facebook or Pinterest so you will just have to suffer along with these posts until I get back home from the boat. 

Take Care and be Kind.