Remember me?

Steve commented the other day that I haven't posted in weeks and I told him that I haven't done anything worth writing about.

That isn't exactly true because I took photos (248 to be exact) of a friend's beach house in Malibu, but I am still in the editing process.

While taking a break from editing all the Malibu photos, I decided to spruce up the guest room for summer.

The inspiration came from this driftwood heart I made a few years ago - it was hidden in the garden and I decided to reuse the driftwood for a project.

The heart was taken apart and the driftwood was painted in shades of blue

 to create a summery garland for the old door in the guest room.

This is one of my favorite spots for seasonal changes.

The vintage Underwood got a new quote,

shells were gathered for the little cubby

and I always love an excuse to use a few of my clock faces.

The softer palette for the room comes from this triptych, "In Another Life I Was a Surfer".

The dresser is a new addition - it was in the living room with the drawers painted red,

 but I'm loving the soft blue.

The guest room definitely has a more feminine feel

 than the rest of the house.

Steve rarely enters the guest room, but Lulu can be found there at any time of day.

Now it's back to editing photos and I'll leave you with one of the photos that's ready for my post

and I hope it won't be two weeks before I get the post written!

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Join me at Have A Daily Cup of Mrs. Olson for SYC.

Playing With My Camera

 I started writing this post with the title, "At a Snail's Pace", but once I began editing my photos,

my thoughts went in a completely different direction.

While I was writing the post, this gorgeous bouquet of flowers was delivered.

I walked around the house

looking for the right spot to capture the beautiful colors in the arrangement.

This little swing in the garden was my favorite, but the the greenery actually took away from the flowers.

So I headed out to the beach

and continued to play with my camera.

My Canon and Picmonkey seem to be my tools of creativity these days.

I'm having fun taking pics

at different angles

and then zooming in on one object when I edit.

I have no idea what I'm doing

either in the taking of photos or the editing,

but I'm having fun.

After years of drought

and a good rainy winter,

the garden is coming alive

and providing lots of inspiration.

If anyone is looking for me,

I'm in the garden,

playing with my camera.

Less Stuff . . . More Adventures

My daughter was celebrated at a baby shower last Saturday and has another coming up in 2 weeks 

In the midst of talking about what she should give the hostesses as thank you gifts, I came across this photo on Instagram posted by a local friend about Rose Story Farm.

 After reading Lori's response back to me on IG, I checked out the website and immediately emailed KC to tell her that a tour of Rose Story Farm would be the perfect thank you for my friend Wendy who hosted the first baby shower.

Of course that meant that I would be enjoying the tour also.

Yesterday Wendy and I headed up the coast to Carpinteria with the ocean obscured by the marine layer,

but in the hills just 24 miles north, the sun was shining and the sky was blue.

The bench sat against an extensive hedge of Sally Holmes roses.

The tour group was extra large that day, but we lucked out and had the owner of the farm, Danielle Hahn, as our guide.

The farm began in 1998 yet I had no knowledge of its existence until a few weeks ago.

 The beautiful farmland was enhanced by a riot of color.

everywhere we looked.

Cute little cottages from another era

dotted the landscape.

Look at the gorgeous bouquet of roses on that table.

This little rose covered cottage is a private residence on the property 

I love the attention to detail on the farm - even the cushions on the wicker chairs are covered in a rose pattern.

We were encouraged to stop and smell the roses - Danielle snipped off flowers for us to really breathe in the scent and I was touched by how much she loves her flowers. 

I am now following Rose Story Farm on Instagram - each post shows gives you a sense of how much Danielle savors her life on the farm.

Arches and arbors can be spotted all over the grounds.

Walking beneath this arbor, the path became a soft aisle of pink petals.

This curly willow arch was created for a wedding and no one remembered to remove it - by they time they got around to taking it down, it had filled in so beautifully that they decided to keep it.

This arch is very special - it was the site of the memorial for Julia Child and that bench sat in her garden.

Julia Child was a close friend of the family and this beautiful rose bears the name "Julia Child".

A difference fragrance greeted us with each new rose we encountered.

After nearly 25 years of not having a sense of smell, it has miraculously returned and I was in heaven enjoying so many different aromas.

The bees love Rose Story Farm too.

We ended the day on the lawn, eating a tasty lunch and chatting with people from near and far.

Two ladies were from Connecticut, another was from Miami and we all shared a love of gardens.

When KC gave Wendy the card with the invitation to Rose Story Farm, I loved her response, "This is so much better than another bowl."

And I must agree with Wendy,

I need less stuff and more adventures in my life.

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I am sharing with Jann of Have a Daily Cup for SYC