..
.The Roses
.
.
.
have arrived….
.
.
.
.
.
.I only wish I could share the scent with you as well as these photos
.
.
.
.
.
I think you can probably imagine though, right?
.
.
.
The first blooms are always so gigantic
.
.
The colours heartbreakingly beautiful
.
.
Feel free to pick one!
.
.
~
.
.
Slim Paley photo
.
.
It is, without a shadow of a doubt, Spuhrrinng in Santa Barbara!
After the rains, we’re blessed with longer days, buds bursting forth into delicate tissue paper blossoms, birdsong and the frog’s chorus float through the open windows all day long.
Yay!!
.
.Slim Paley photo
Our resident songstress
.
Slim Paley photo
I even found these orchids, long discarded from an indoor pot, earnestly re-blooming way back in the cheap seats of the garden.
.
.
Meanwhile…I wonder if I’ll ever get everything I need to do, done.
.
.
Slim Paley photo
Probably not.
Dior ring
..
.
Slim Paley photo
.
.
china plates from Bodo Sperlein. Bespoke hand painted canvas by Annie Millar. via British House & Garden.
.
.
.
Detail from a cherry blossom sconce light at Anthropology
.
.
.
Slim Paley photo
.Paley photo
.
.
.
Slim Paley photo
But I’m not going to sacrifice ‘Stop, Look & Listen’ (OK, I know that’s for crossing the road, but it works for the garden too) when there’s so much to take in.
.
.
Jo Malone Cherry Blossom cologne
.
.
Slim Paley photo
It’s like Grand Central around here
.
.
and look what I found outside a bedroom window on Easter Sunday
Let’s face it, everyone’s really busy right now…
.
.
…Here’s to new beginnings!
.
.
.
~
.
Slim Paley photo
..
Wishing everyone a beautiful Easter Weekend.
It was indeed an exquisite day here in Santa Barbara, though I’m fending off a touch of melancholy as has been my custom the past few Easters; reminiscing about egg hunts with our little boys and how those days are long gone for us now. Peculiar that this holiday more than any other affects me in this way. I’ve one photo in particular of my little men with their Easter baskets that almost makes me weep every time I look at it. My older son’s hair is as gold as if the sun itself has bent to kiss him, and younger son is trailing along, sporting overalls at half-mast and a look that suggests he’s not at all satisfied with the day’s gatherings just yet.
But…
As nature (and Khalil Gibran) remind us
“Life goes not backward, nor tarries with yesterday…”
.
Slim Paley photos
Columbines photographed today in the garden. I only have this colour at the moment, but I’m on the hunt for the coral and pale yellow combination as well.
.
.
I love the little tails that shoot out behind these flowers. They are a sweet addition to a bouquet.
.
.
.
Looks as if we’re going to have another bumper crop of roses this Spring and Summer!
I can barely stand how beautiful the colour of this rose is.
I could almost cry (again. Oh dear…)
.
Merci to a dear friend for my delicious bonbons
I hope you receive many treasures from your bunny(s) this Easter Morning!
.
.
.
.
Looking back to Easters past (a post from 2010); Peeps & Paas
.
.
.
.
And for newer readers;
if you care to take a peek at the post I hold dearest in my heart (I warned you I was emotional)
Here; Bringing up Boys (please do play the music)
.
and once again,
Happy Easter and Passover to you all!
xoxo
.
.
~
.
.
.
Slim Paley photo
.
.
As we near the end of this first week of 2012, I’m sharing just a few photos I snapped in Santa Barbara where we’ve been blessed with some of the most incredible January weather I can recall in many years.
Almost guilt-ifying (but not quite )
I popped over the mountains to beautiful Ojai on Wednesday afternoon and on the drive home felt compelled to pull over to the side of the road and capture the moment.
I’m afraid I missed the best of the light, due to the driver behind me who was obviously neither a proponent of the “Slow Movement” or a person who appreciates spectacular natural lighting but I guess that’s life in the fast lane (see what I did there?)
.
.
Slim Paley photo
In addition to the spectacular vistas encountered on the pass between Santa Barbara and Ojai, the copious amount of avocados rolling around on the road at this time of year is almost comical.
I was mashing guacamole the entire way 
.
.
Slim Paley Photo
and lo & behold the ”Golden Arches” (Montecito Style) are out
..
Meanwhile, the last batch of Trader Joe’s frozen chocolate croissants were devoured…
.
Slim Paley photo
(Sorry, but these just never get old for me. I mean look-they’re jockeying for position off the baking tray for goodness sake!)
This is the closest I will ever come to baking like Martha Stewart.
.
.
source unknown
I grabbed nice long hugs before I sent my cubs back to school
.
.
Slim Paley Photo
…I did not win the first Scrabble game of the year, despite a last minute “Qi” on a triple point letter square, but did manage to keep several New Year’s “Intentions” in tact, including pulling out my art supplies and reading a non-fiction book ( resolution #4; learn something new everyday and write it down).
.
Although I didn’t get a yoga practice in, I intend to this weekend.
..
from the book “Bitter with Baggage”
.
.
Lastly, the second season of “Downton Abbey” starts on Sunday night- I can hardly wait!
.
.
.
Slim Paley photo
and this was the view from my desk most nights this first week in January.
.
The world is indeed a wondrous place to live.
Slow down, look around and pick up the free avocados
.
.
Thanks again for all your lovely comments on my New Year’s Post, I truly appreciate each and every one.
.
Happy Weekend All!
~
.
.
The Bamboo Forest, Kyoto
I just returned from two weeks in Japan. Of all the beautiful places we visited, the most exquisite was this bamboo forest located in the Sagano district of Kyoto. If you go to Japan you must go there- unfortunately no one tells you this! Not the hotel concierges, not the general public, nor did I see it mentioned in any of the books or articles I read before going. I knew of it only from having seen a photo recently while researching a garden project. If I’d had Ryuichi Sakamoto playing in my headset, I would have had to be scraped off the ground- just a little weeping puddle of Perfect Moment. A sinuous drive winds it’s way through the forest like a dream sequence in which Ken Watanabe awaits you with a cloak fashioned entirely of baby bamboo leaves, lighter than butterfly breath (OK, maybe that’s just for me). In reality, the drive leads to the most stunning example of Japanese architecture; a villa nestled on the south side of Mount Ogura, rather incredibly, open to the public. The home, surrounded by gnarled pines, cherry trees and heart-stopping moss gardens, was built over a 30 year period by the famous Japanese silent film actor Okochi Denjiro (1898-1962). Denjiro was a deep admirer of Zen philosophy and it is evident in every facet of the villa and garden. I haven’t been this moved by landscape since my very first visit to Oak Alley. Another post. Please go. And leave me to Ken.
