Lime Time...

Love love love the colour green!
I adore the taste of limes...
have a "green thumb" and am often "green with envy."

I gravitate toward greens of all shades...

I love to use limes in a gin and tonic cocktail...
(My WW friendly G and T's are made using mostly Perrier with just a splash of tonic)
the wedge of lime is squeezed into the cocktail and then popped into the glass.

Avocado's are a WW high point but healthy splurge...avocado on toast or eaten straight from the skin with a splash of worchestershire sauce and a sprinkling of Sea salt...yum.

Green salads, green beans, green apples, green peas, green smoothie drinks...
so many healthy foods are green.

Our Humble Bungalow front porch is where we often sit after a hard day of working.

I found most of our vintage wicker porch furniture free on the boulevards...

after dragging the chairs and tables home I painted them black.

It's a cozy place to sit and chat.

It's located close to the street so it gives us an opportunity to greet the neighbours 

as they stroll by on the sidewalk.

We have a few dull planters that are going to be transformed by a coat of black paint...

I am not sure why I like black pots in the garden, but I do.

I'm not sure why I love green either but I do...

Does anyone know why we have colour favourites?

Ah but I digress...

 I need to get myself off to the paint store...

and I'm sitting here writing a blog post when I could be painting!

(my excuse is that it's really hot outside ~ I am keeping cool inside)

Do you "feel the heat?"

I do.

 I hydrate with sparkling water all day long so it is rather frustrating...

I garden in the mornings or later in the afternoon when the sun is not so intense.

I cannot remember if I mentioned that Mr. HB has been busy redoing our front porch and stairs.

They were in dire need of restoration.

When I went off to France my darling husband ripped them out and began a long and tedious project.

He improved the look as well as the stability and function of the stairs.

He rebuilt the area in front of the door by ripping out and replacing all the wood. 

Then he extended the treads of the stairs so they were deeper and reconfigured the detail of the sides by using the beveled siding as seen on the original house.

The beveled wood wraps around as you can see and it all needed to be level...

it was a big job but he is finished all the hard work and is ready to prime and paint.

I like the improved functionality and think it looks much better.

We need to decide on the style of the wood railings before the job is complete.

Railings would not have been part of the original design.

 With Mother popping by, 

(and we are aging ourselves!) 

we need to have something sturdy to hang onto.

Hermes scarf

Which I wear with this lime cardigan that I bought last summer from Target.

Cheap and cheerful.

  (I am still lamenting the loss of Target stores in Canada.)

I'm excited to report the wee lizard that we saw awhile ago in our Humble Bungalow Garden has been sighted several more times!

The Limelight hydrangeas are getting ready to flower so there will be lime bouquets in abundance.

That's all to report for now...

what's new with you?

Anything exciting happening in your neck of the woods?

From the Spa to the Sea...and The Glove is Back!

I am slowly getting back into my routine here in The Humble Bungalow.
I'm resisting rushing into anything with too much gusto.
Perhaps it is "Post holiday transition."

Sporadic thoughts of Paris and France linger...
and bubble up when I least expect them, but I encourage and savour the thoughts.

I've been spending time in the house doing the domestics and in the garden weeding and dead heading the roses.
Last week I rewarded myself with a "day off."

I popped into one of my favourite thrift shops and bought a funky necklace.

It looks hand made and I wore it with my black bamboo dress.

It has a definite BoHo vibe.

I decided to vary my walking route and went along the waterfront where I grew up in South Oak Bay.

This little stretch of water is known as McNeil Bay.

A lighthouse on Trial Island is situated quite close...

the whale watching boats go by several times a day as there are pods of resident Orcas living in our waters and those near the US San Juan Islands.

My reward was a delicious lunch! 

A tasty veggie cabbage roll in the Olive Olio's cafe in the Cadboro Bay Village...

I sat outside in the sunshine before going to the spa around the corner.

I love Bliss Spa...

it's clean and quiet and off the beaten track.

One relaxes in their waiting room sipping peppermint tea while leafing through magazines.

OPI 

"This colour is making waves"

Perfect for the boating season which has started up...

Oh but it's not all glamour here...

I dug out "THE GLOVE!"

Do you remember that it makes an appearance every so often?

It's been quite a long time since I featured this accessory and would have probably not thought to focus on it but I received a cheery email from a reader saying that she enjoyed seeing "the glove" and it makes her laugh so without further ado...

The glove came out to the boat with me this weekend.

Big dirty jobs require the assistance of a reliable and handy helper.

Mr. HB and I cleaned the boat from top to bottom and it shines.

Why do I have Twinkle on board you may ask?

Well we have WMF silverware on board...

it might sound a wee bit strange but when we were outfitting our SeaRay Sundancer I was looking for dishes, cutlery, pots and pans as well as towels and pillows and bedding...

the costs were getting out of control and so when I spied this set of silver at the thrift shop for less than the stainless steel at Target I pounced on it.

After a day of work we sat down to a lovely lunch at Sea Glass restaurant at the top of the dock at Van Isle Marina.

The Marina has erected a new sign... our boat is tied up on this dock.

After lunch my BFF and I decided to have our photos taken in front of the Van Isle sign...

we are all celebrating 60 years!

The original Glove debut...

Pepper got into the act...

then she decided to puncture the thumb with her very sharp teeth!

The original glove is long gone.

Thankfully there are many more available...

I've got my heart set on some new pairs of "Playtex Living Gloves" in bright colours.

They are only available in the US so I am thinking a trip to Seattle is in our future...

Can you imagine what the border security will say when I mention the purpose of our trip is to buy Playtex rubber gloves?

Hope you've enjoyed this silly post.

There are quite a few joyous June birthday celebrations in our midst

and yet

many people in our lives are struggling with personal issues.

We have friends and family that are seriously ill and there have been a few recent deaths.

Our hearts go out to them in sympathy.

"Laughter is an instant vacation."

~ Milton Berle ~

"There is a thin line that separates laughter and pain, comedy and tragedy, humour and hurt."

~ Erma Bombeck ~

Snapshots and tidbits...from Paris to Victoria.

Snapshots are such a great way to capture everyday life...
with an Iphone in my pocket I am at liberty to snap away to my hearts content, which I do.

The Seine River at dusk...

This image of Paris looks reminds me of an impressionist painting from The Musee D'Orsay.

At Versailles we wandered along the path under a canopy of trees.

In Marie Antoinette's "small home" on the grounds of Versailles.

I loved her quaint "farmhouse" and the working farm.

The Place des Vosges in The Marais area of Paris.

It is the oldest planned square and features a fountain, park and lots of shops.

A wee plant growing in a crack of pavement...

Mr. Peacock in Beacon Hill Park ~ Victoria, B.C.

Chester relaxing in the dappled sunshine of our Humble Bungalow.

My latest book...Kate Atkinson weaves a great tale.

Jacob's Coat Rose floating in our birdbath...

I love how the leaves are reflected in the water, they almost look surreal.

Foxgloves thrive in our clay soil.

Bees love to fly up inside these flowers and buzzing is heard loud and clear.

The wee Vintage French jug I purchased at the Market in Vallence D'Agen.

A reader requested that I share the jug as well as the flowers.

White Iceberg roses and Lady's Mantle.

Which make a striking combination...would you agree?

So delicate...

I wore my Jones of NY wrap summer dress to The Bengal Room at The Empress Hotel 

for Mother's 88th birthday celebration.

I dragged out the sapphire and diamond ring because of the blue in the dress...

I'm hoping that I will not get a citation from the Fashion Police for being too "matchy matchy!"

A decorative door knocker ~ Moissac France.

Our red geraniums are putting on a spectacular show.

I love geraniums for planters and pots as they are relatively inexpensive and bloom all summer long.

Cheap and cheerful.

The weather is perfect for gardening and walking.

This weekend I plan to do both...

and I'll be taking more photos.

Hope that you all have a great weekend!

XO

I've got the blues...OOTD

Today I'm wearing a BOHO OOTD...
an asymmetrical tunic top in indigo and cobalt blues.

The top is a bit of a departure from my usual conservative classics but it's such a bright and energetic piece that when I put it on I feel instantly happy!
I love the power of colour.

There is black mesh at the neck and the bottom with a section of the hem gathered up on one side...

made by Papillon.

Yes my hair is wet but it is too hot to blow dry it this morning.

I snapped this photo to show a new CC cream that the gals at the Pharmasave told me about...

It's specifically made for those of us with rosacea.

I am so in love with my new Mulberry back pack bag. 

Shopping and walking is so much easier and it's fashionable too...

it's smaller than my usual bags which makes my shoulders happy!

The Paris inspired red lipstick is getting lots of wear.

It's inexpensive, made by Maybelline, and the shade is called Pleasure Me Red!

I pulled out my sapphire ring when we took Mother out last Sunday for her birthday and I have been wearing it ever since...

Mother celebrated her birthday in style at The Empress Hotel's Bengal Lounge.

My sister and our spouses surprised her with a dinner in her honour...

it's not everyday that one turns 88.

I wore my Jones of NY wrap dress to dinner.

The jingle jangle of the bangles...

It's been a fairly quiet week so far.

The weather has been hot and I have been keeping the blinds closed to maintain the cool here in our Humble Bungalow.

 I've been outdoors dead heading the roses like mad...they LOVE this hot weather!

I picked a bouquet of white Iceberg roses and placed them in the Vintage French pottery jug that I bought on my recent trip. They look lovely in our wee bathroom on the main floor.

So that about wraps it up for now...

our darling grand daughter turns 5 this weekend and I am wondering where the time has gone...

how can she be 5 already?

Hope your week is ticking along nicely...