Elopement flowers...

By the time you read this post
our darling daughter and her fiancee will be married...

Married!

Such a joyous occasion to stand before each other
in a beautiful setting by the sea
to pledge their love and future years together
as husband and wife.

The Humble Bungalow Kitchen 

looks like a flower shop.

Hey Jude!

Thank you for your timely blooms...

I was worried that this stellar David Austin rose "Jude the Obscure" would have finished flowering 

as it has been going steady since early May.

We also ordered flowers from our favourite shop Thorn and Thistle Flowers 

so there are going to be two bouquets.

One for the actual ceremony and one for the photos.

~ a simple garden bouquet for the bride ~

~ a boutonniere for the groom ~

The Humble Bungalow Kitchen 

was in need of tidying by the time I had finished arranging all the flowers.

Putting together floral arrangements and bouquets over the years

for special events and parties has been fun.

Flowers play such a big part in my life.

 Growing them in the garden and arranging them in vases and posies

has been a rewarding and creative endeavour.

Flowers add such beauty and ambiance to a home.

I cannot imagine life without flowers...

The wee library on our street is a great source of books 

 the neighbours read quite a lot and they drop off and exchange novels 

with great regularity.

"Sisters" by Claire Douglas sounds like a good read...

It will need to wait until after 

I finish Elin Hilderbrand's novel "The Island" 

which I am enjoying immensely...

This morning I whipped around the house and got all my chores done then I took myself out for a long walk to get some fresh air and exercise.

The sights and sounds were just what I needed.

While I was walking I got several texts and photos from darling daughter taken at the service.

The weather co-operated with oodles of blue sky and loads of sunshine 

Such a beautiful day for their ceremony.

Next time I see our darling daughter she will be married!

~ Be Well and Be Kind ~

The view from here...

The view from here..

The Humble Bungalow Garden

Hydrangeas in front of the freshly painted exterior of our heritage home.

Since taking this picture Mr. HB has hung up our heritage plaque, 

house numbers, mailbox and the porch furniture is back in place.

The view from here...

the back deck door and steps.

Our first sweet pea bouquet cut from the garden.

I love sweet peas...

their form, colours and scent are all exquisite.

I wonder if anyone makes a sweet pea perfume?

The view from here...

walking snippets

Hollyhock up close and personal

growing on a street just off Dallas Road.

The water was calm, 

not a breath of wind 

the clouds hung like a puffy white curtain overhead.

Two handsome bucks were leisurely munching on the seaward side of Ross Bay Cemetery oblivious to the passing cars...

I stopped and watched them from just across the street.

They were more interested in lunch than taking any notice of me!

More signage along my regular walking route...

The view from here...

We enjoyed dinner out last evening with our friends at the Flying Otter on the Inner Harbour in Victoria.

This is where the local seaplanes take off...

There are the traditional Victoria hanging baskets on the dock.

On Fridays The Flying Otter offer a 2 for one appetizer special 

which I plan to order next time I go...

my BFF had the Tuna Tataki and the crab cakes and they looked amazing!

The view from here...

I started reading a new book by author Elin Hilderbrand.

Her writing style is very engaging and I have a feeling that I am going to want to read her other novels after I finish this one...

they are all set in or near Nantucket.

Our darling daughter and her fiancee are set to elope this weekend and I am feeling very emotional as my " first born ~ baby girl" is getting married.

She and her fiancee will be taking a ferry to a beautiful Gulf Island 

where they have an intimate ceremony arranged to take place in a natural setting.

~ Wedding flowers need to be assembled ~ 

after I pick them from the garden...

I hope my tears do not fog up my glasses too much.

I feel Happiness and Joy for them both...

I am certain that it is

the heart tugging mother's love

that is responsible for my mood.

I will show the bouquet and boutonniere on my next blog post.

~ Be Well and Be Kind ~

Busy Bees...flowers and food from The Humble Bungalow garden.

Hip Hip Hooray!
Sunflower season is upon us and bunches and bunches of these gorgeous flowers are waiting to be scooped up from the Farm Stands and Flower shops.

Such a cheery yellow flower...

so simple and when massed together they make a bold bouquet.

The bees are attracted to these beautiful big blooms.

Look at all the pollen that this worker bee has on its wings and body!

Another bee gathering pollen...looks like the pollen is dropping off the wings

I managed to capture another worker bee in flight...

with so many bees on the sunflowers you could hear them buzzing.

Bees seem to be plentiful here in The Humble Bungalow Garden and for that I am grateful as we have been enjoying the first taste of our tomato crop.

The greenhouse is proving to be quite valuable...

we had our first cucumber last weekend and the flavour was so sweet.

Heirloom tomato "Salad" variety served on top of butter lettuce leaves.

Sprinkled with a bit of salt and pepper with a light drizzle of dressing...

yummy!

I was busy running errands and it was noon before I knew it

so I took myself out for a quick bite 

a curried vegetable wrap and a side of salad

sitting at an outdoor table in the sunshine 

with the sounds of the birds and the scent of the sea...

 a lovely summer holiday moment

and I did not need to travel far...

Hope you are having a fabulous week.

~ Be Well and Be Kind ~

Home keeping...and then some pampering.

Some days it feels like I spend most of my time home keeping.
Cooking, tidying, cleaning, doing laundry, ironing, grocery shopping...

I like the results of a little elbow grease and everything looks so much better.
The Humble Bungalow is actually a nicer place to relax when the mess is less!

I have entire days where I get out and about to walk, play bridge and go out to meet friends for tea! Playing catch up can take its toll but if I put on some music and wear my fitness clothes (with a few pearls) and my trusty French Linen apron I find that I have way more energy to tackle the jobs that need attention.

Today I tended to my orchids...
I watered them, removed the wilted flowers and cut away some of the brown stems then tied up the new shoots to the stakes in the pots.

I wiped down the counter tops and cleaned out the fridge.

Polished the silver and cleaned out a few cupboards and drawers.

Did some laundry and ironing...

love the look of my linen tea towels all pressed and ready for service.

My hands got a little special treatment...

before putting on my cleaning gloves 

I applied a layer of this wonderful hand cream,

  moving about doing chores added extra warmth inside the gloves.

The cream worked its magic and it felt like a Spa Treatment!

With the fridge cleaned out the few bits of leftovers were turned into soup.

~ Leftover Soup ~

Cook and soften in a few tablespoons of oil

 a couple of onions

a diced carrot

2 -3 stalks of celery 

1 cubed pepper (I used a yellow one)

5 sliced mushrooms

cooked about 15 minutes then added

a piece of cooked steak (about 5 ounces) cut into small pieces

tetra pack of stock (beef or vegetable)

leftover broccoli

salt, pepper, thyme (to taste)

Simmer for a few hours so the flavour really blooms

add

a handful of dried noodles

cook until soft and serve or cool and freeze for a later date.

While the soup was simmering I took a wee break and gave myself a facial.

The aesthetician at the Spa mentioned that this was her favourite formula for her clients that have rosacea so I figured it was worth a try...

you mix the mask with a wee bit of water and leave it on 5-10 minutes

(while lying down with eyes closed relaxing and breathing deeply)

 then gently wipe it off with a warm face cloth.

I loved how soft and clean my skin felt after this mask.

I used the Eminence Coconut Age Defying cream after and did not put any make up on for the rest of the day.

except for

~ Mascara and lip gloss ~ 

My home day spent productively actioning domestics and focusing on my skin...

~ life feels better with a wee bit of pampering ~

~ Be Well and Be Kind ~

Weekend wrapped up... back in the Humble Bungalow.

After a particularly hectic week Mr. HB and I stole away on our boat and tied up at the dock at Otter Bay Marina on Pender Island.
We were in dire need of some "down time" and find that boating is the perfect remedy for what ails us...
Otter Bay is well maintained and features two pools, cottage rentals, a small store and a cafe. You can rent, kayaks, paddle boards, and scooters...if you want to do more than just relax!

~ OOTD ~

DKNY boyfriend jeans

Sperry Topsiders Espadrilles

Striped Tee

Straw Hat

Sunglasses

Canada Day was spent relaxing, reading, swimming and knitting.

Later in the day the Pender Island Pipe and Drum Band marched down the dock, bagpipers in kilts and full regalia.

Despite the heat they put on quite the show.

You can watch a video of a portion of the performance on my Instagram page.

The rocky shoreline had some interesting details...

Pretty flowers in planters along the docks brightened up the Marina.

Drought tolerant plants were chosen as the Gulf Islands have a limited water supply...we all need to be mindful of our water usage as there are drought conditions all over the province of BC and in many of the US states.

Both Mr. HB and I sleep better on our boat.

It could be the fresh air

or that our bunk is super cozy

and

  there is that gentle rocking motion of the boat as it bobs upon the ocean

which swiftly lulls us into dreamland...

The laundry is on...thankfully the LG machines are doing all the dirty work which frees me up to type a blog post while dinner is simmering on the stove.

Tomato Sauce for Spaghetti

Fresh basil from the greenhouse...garlic clove chopped.

Simmering and it smells so wonderful.

 ~ Tomato Sauce ~

Heat 2 tbsp. olive oil

add

2 1/2 pounds chopped tomatoes

1 diced onion

cook until softened.

Add in rest of ingredients:

small can of tomato paste

(fill the can with water and pour in)

1/2 tsp. dried red pepper flakes

1/2 tsp. sugar

2 tbsp. minced fresh basil

1/2 small carrot grated

1/2 tsp. dried thyme

1/2 tsp. dried oregano

1 clove garlic chopped fine

salt and pepper to taste

Simmer for 45 minutes.

Boil pasta and cook until al dente and serve with a salad.

Time for me to fold some laundry so I must sign off...

Hope you had a great weekend.

Thank you for stopping by The Humble Bungalow Blog!

~ Be Well and Be Kind ~