Beautiful Blooms ~ The Humble Bungalow ~ Butchart Gardens and a Seafood Chowder

These lovely blooms are Lewisia Cotyledon

we grow them in pots and pop them in the perennial border

where there may be a gap in the plantings.

They are available in a variety of colours and are very sturdy plants.

Alliums are wonderful

 they are tall and narrow and can be planted in between other plants 

they offer an interesting pop of colour.

The bees LOVE these blooms.

Madame Gregoire Staechelin

a climbing rose 

in The Humble Bungalow Garden.

Our roses are behind this year due to the cooler unseasonable weather.

May usually is a riot of roses on the garden.

Alas, we will need to be patient,

and

 wait for warm sunshine to encourage the blooms.

Last week a friend and I walked at Butchart Gardens.

The azaleas are out in a full flush of flower

this apricot shade was so fragrant!

The Himalayan Blue Poppies are exquisite.

I have grown these from seed but they are very difficult to keep year after year.

These are blooming in the Japanese section of the gardens.

Their petals look so delicate and thin

like crepe paper.

This yellow azalea was fragrant and sweet

their bright colours look quite stunning

a much needed pop of colour on a cloudy day.

It's a cloudy day here this morning and it feels cool.

I've made a fish chowder for our lunch today.

Fish Chowder

Saute: 1 diced onion, two chopped carrots and 2 stalks of diced celery

cook until soft.

Add to the pot 1 piece of whitefish chopped into bite sized pieces

I also added some clam juice (1/2 cup)

two chopped up crab cakes that I had in the freezer.

I simmered the ingredients until they were cooked through 

added 1/2 cup of cream

salt and pepper to taste and a tsp of dill 

Serve with cracker, toast, or a soft bun.

Enjoy!

Hope that your week is off to a great start.

Thank you for popping by The Humble Bungalow Blog.

~ Be Well and Be Kind ~

May daze...

Sunshine has made an appearance after many days of precipitation...

The sun streaming in through the windows elevate my spirits.

Tall ships sailing on The Salish Sea

out front of Quarterdeck Cottage.

Seas are calm and it is so soothing to watch the ferry boats as they glide past.

Oh my goodness!

Kate Quinn writes the MOST amazing historical fiction.

Her strong female characters are so interesting.

I just finished reading the book and it was a real page turner.

I highly recommend it.

Toadstool seen on our walk.

Walks in nature provide an interesting array of flora and fauna.

The woodpeckers have been working hard on the tree trunks...

~ rat tat tat ~

Purple Martins have returned and their sweet songs serenade us.

The gulls, eagles and ravens calls add to the symphonic sounds.

I found this book at the used bookshop and it sounds like a gentle story.

I know you should not judge a book by the cover but that is what tempted me...

written in 1931 and it just might be a delightful beach read.

I will start it soon.

Yesterday I made a loaf of bread

we don't eat a lot of bread 

every now and then 

I crave a piece of toast with Bonne Maman apricot jam.

Muguet des Bois are in their full flush with numerous glorious blooms.

Their fragrance is totally intoxicating.

I picked a large handful...

popped them in a vase 

placed them in the Humble Bungalow bathroom

their unique scent is wafting in the air...

which reminds me.

Yardley of London had a lily of the valley soap and cologne.

They also made scented products in lavender, rose and other floral scents.

I haven't been wearing fragrance lately and I am not sure why?

I have a lovely parfum by Hermes and it sits on my dresser gathering dust!

I must spritz some on and remind myself how it smells!

We are enjoying a sunny long weekend here in Victoria.

Mr HB has been out in the garden pulling weeds and planting veggies and plants.

The garden is far behind what it usually is at this time of year...

we usually have many many roses in bloom

they are just budding out now so it might be a few weeks yet.

What is your May looking like?

Have you read any good books lately?

Leave a comment and we'll chat!

I will close for now as I need to get some work done here in The Humble Bungalow.

~ Be Well and Be Kind ~

Continuing with more Vintage vibes...

Did you have a wall phone when you were growing up?

We had a very heavy bakelite phone that actually gave the arm muscles a workout 

if we chatted for too long.

My father was quite strict about the telephone

 we had an egg timer with sand in it to let us know when our chat time was up.

I used to flip the timer over before all the sand ran out to extend my calls...

the main reason for limiting conversations were because we had a "party line."

A party line was a shared connection with someone else in our neighbourhood...

if they picked up their phone they could listen into our conversation and visa versa! 

Can you imagine?

There were no secrets unless we spoke in code!

~ Recently sourced ~

Vintage black patent leather Pourchet Paris handbag.

Quality leather and classic details.

Cross body bag

The company Maison Pourchet, has been in business in Paris since the early 1900's.

It is still in business today and you can find many of their classic vintage bags online.

Black and white skirt picked up at the thrift shop.

I have a small basic wardrobe that has a lot of black and white pieces 

so this will be a very versatile skirt.

White or black tops

casual or dressy.

Paired it with my distressed denim jacket 

or 

black vintage Susan Bristol dressy knit sweater...

I have numerous options.

Sparkly Vintage Canadian designed Sherman rhinestone brooch.

I have several of these brooches and add them when I feel I need a dash of bling.

Mom received several Sherman sets for Christmas from Dad.

They would usually be earrings, a bracelet and necklace...

set in a velvet box from Birks.

The sparkle was perfect with her bright and festive velvet dresses.

Vintage pieces add an extra zing to my classic neutral wardrobe.

When I am in a thrift shop I gravitate to the vintage section...

I keep an open mind

you never know what you'll find!

Good Luck and Happy Shopping.

Thank you for popping by The Humble Bungalow Blog.

~ Be Well and Be Kind ~ 

OOTD ~ vintage classics

~ OOTD ~

Burberry quilted jacket

Dex lace top

Eileen Fisher rayon pants

Ferragamo flats

Vintage eel skin bag

a mix of textures...

shiny, quilted, lacy, smooth

neutral shades

I shopped my closet...

for a celebratory birthday dinner out with our daughter and her husband.

I haven't forgotten "how" to dress up 

I am just "out of the habit!"

Gosh it felt wonderful going out for a delicious meal prepared by someone else 

and 

I didn't have to do the washing up!

Our garden is looking quite lovely.

Flowers are blooming, the grass is green and the roses are in bud.

There is so much to be grateful for in my daily round...

Chester our cat had surgery last week to remove a stone from his bladder.

He was very wobbly the first day and has continued to improve.

His appetite has come back and he has already gained weight.

I had been so very stressed with his failing health and am so relieved that we finally got a diagnosis and that surgery would fix the problem.

His early renal failure is going to be monitored closely,

we will continue to feed him the special food.

Hopefully he will be with us for a few more years.

He's such an affectionate little guy and has a very "big" personality.

In other news, 

I had my third IPL treatment for rosacea,

 my skin is looking much better.

The treatments are not too painful but they are expensive.

I purchased a skin repair cream by Skin Medica.

It is a rich thick cream that I apply before bedtime.

It soaks in and I have noticed my skin is much softer and hydrated.

Herbs are planted in pots by the basement door for easy picking.

I ordered a new Pasta cookbook and plan to try some new recipes.

My husband loves pasta and I make it once a week.

The book is an older publication, I found it at Thrift Books.

Healthy Pasta: The Sexy, Skinny, and Smart Way To Eat Your Favourite Food

It is written by Joseph Bastianich and Tanya Bastianich Manuali

Going to try a bunch of new recipes when it arrives.

How are things going with you?

Thank you for stopping by The Humble Bungalow Blog.

~ Be Well and Be Kind ~

Colour My World...

Double daffodils blooming at the side of the road.

New Hanni variety of Auricula Primulas

added to my collection on the porch of The Humble Bungalow.

I love the sweet flowers.

Spring Flowers elevate my mood and provide a welcome pop of colour.

Money Plant 

blooming in The Humble Bungalow Garden.

Once the flowers fade...

 the plant sets seed pods which turn to thin opaque silver discs.

These can be dried and used as a floral accent inside the home.

They also look pretty as a filler in a bouquet.

My new linen apron from Rough Linen...

I chose a bright shade of mustard yellow 

as I wear them most of the time when I am cooking or cleaning.

They offer protection from a variety of sources...

splattering tomato sauces simmering being the most dangerous to my clothes!

Love this print

it reminds me of a William Morris pattern.

The tee top is pure linen and made by the Rachel Ashwell company.

Have you read her books on home decor called Shabby Chic?

I used to watch her TV series and really enjoyed her relaxed approach to home decor.

Many of her ideas were reminiscent of wabi sabi.

I heartily embrace wabi sabi 

as our heritage home has many signs of wear and in some areas is quite distressed.

It is freeing to let go of perfection too!

Emerging from the winter are these intricate flowers which soon will be leaves.

I am not sure what type of tree this is, do you know its name?

Glorious Magnolia

Some thrift shop finds...

crazed ironstone oval dish

painted wee vessel

woven small basket which will be perfect for fresh grown cherry tomatoes

~ DIY ~

Scraped the loose paint off of the outdoor furniture 

that I bought from Kay's Korner in the Cook Street Village.

I then spray painted the vintage iron chairs and table set black.

I love black accents in the garden...

lattice, obelisks, pots, plants, furniture.

Two coats of spray paint were needed to cover the set.

It was sunny, so the paint dried quite fast and I was done in one afternoon.

There is a sense of satisfaction when one completes a project.

Wow

This book by Elizabeth Jane Howard is delightful.

The first in a series of 5 books called The Cazalet Chronicles. 

It is set in the UK and follows a family of privilege throughout several decades.

I've ordered the set as these are re-readable and my husband might enjoy them.

I suppose I should draw this to a close and get some stuff done around the house!

Writing posts can be like falling down a rabbit hole...

~ Be Well and Be Kind ~