Hot, hot, hot...

Phew, it's hot in NJ at the mo'!
And, when I say hot, I mean really hot. I told my mum today during our daily chit chat that it reminded me of when I used to go for my annual fortnight (two weeks) holiday to sunnier climes. I'd leave Blighty dressed in English summer garb (jeans, sweaters, rain coat), land in the Med, descend from the plane, and then, I was hit by the heat. Like stepping into an oven. That's how I feel when I leave the comfort of air conditioning. Can I just say a little thank you prayer for air conditioning!!!

Anyhoo, this is definitely not the weather for a delicate English Rose such as myself (cough, cough). And so, I find myself skulking around my dark house. Dark, because this place has way too many windows... think greenhouse... so, the blinds stay closed and I seek solace in the glory of AC (that would be air conditioning and not Atlantic City).

Nevertheless, every now and then, I feel I should be making the most of the sunshine (a Brit gal never takes a sunny day for granted), and I attempt to leave this little old place only to find myself scuttling towards the nearest cool building... and you know what? Shops have awesome air conditioning (... and I didn't think they could be any more inviting).

So, I find myself mooching around supermarkets for far too long, perusing aisles that I never usually bother dragging myself down... and you know what that equals? Stonking food bill. Oh, and a cupboard full of food that I don't know how to cook. Eek, I hope the kids enjoy curried yak!! Just kidding folks they were all out of Yak today!

So the point of this post? Ah yes, to share these flowers with you. Beautiful, aren't they? I think I might have to shoe horn this variety of Hydrangea into my garden somewhere. I love the cone of flowers. I had to double-take when I saw them, as I thought they were lilacs... In July?? That would be just plain silly!
And, what's more... these lovely flowers are home grown here in NJ. I think I'm starting to get the Jersey Pride now.. Well, for some of it's offerings anyway... I don't think I'll ever warm to  Mike 'The Situation' and ilk!!

Have a great weekend all.
Take care.
Lx

A flower for all you Daddies...

June... What a beautiful month. The garden is a riot of colours and, oh, so green. Everything looks fresh and bright. Nothing yet scorched by the New Jersey heat. The bugs are manageable. The heat, tolerable, and the nights, long. Nothing short of perfect.

Dads are rewarded with the best month of the year. I always thought that my Dad had a better day to celebrate being a parent than my Mum. I mean, back in Blighty, Mother's Day is celebrated when winter hasn't been fully ushered out of the door. At least, here, in the States, I get to celebrate it in May when things are definitely on the up and up. Dads, on the other hand, get cool beers, barbecues, and beautiful sunshine! You lucky Daddies, you!

This past week, I had a mid-week reward of the hubby being home during the day. The sun was shining and it was a perfect garden day. So, while he entertained the girls, I did a spot of dead-heading, in an attempt to prolong the beauty that has been bestowed on my garden at the moment. As I clipped the delphiniums back, I just had to pop the very tops (which were still in bloom) in a jug. This year, they looked stunning. They stood so tall, one plant garnished 8 spires of electric-blue flowers. Truly amazing... I only hope I'll get a second crop of them like I have with my lupines. I'm not banking on it, though, as I just couldn't bare cutting them back. So, I think that they may have gone to seed. We'll see though.

Anyhoo, the hubby chilled in his hammock (an early Father's Day gift brought back from Blighty) and the girls made mud pies in the birdbath... I like to think of it as a spa treatment for my little feathered friends. It was one of those days were I just smiled and thanked my lucky stars...

So, my Friday Flower this week is dedicated to all you Daddies out there... not that many guys read this, I imagine, but you can pass it on if you feel inclined... This year, I have dear friends that have just become Daddies... some that will become Daddies imminently, "been-around-the-block" Daddies, step-Daddies, and, of course, my Daddy and my girls' Daddy. Each and everyone of you are amazing. You have big shoes to fill. You hold the hearts of your children in your hands, and yours will be forever in theirs.

Have a great weekend all.
Lx

If you would like to join in with this weeks Friday Flower, simply use the linky widget below to link to your flower inspired post. The more the merrier!

A rose for a rose...

Hello poppets,
I'll start today by saying a BIG thank you for all the lovely comments on my last post. I really was feeling a little apprehensive about sharing my little old kitchen with you. There are so many awe-inspiring kitchen pictures out there in blogland... Popping a piccie up of mine was a little daunting, but all I heard was positive comments. So, I feel all those evenings painting weren't wasted! If you didn't catch it you can always read the post here.

Anyhoo, the sun has been shining here in NJ and it has been hot, hot, hot!!! So much so, that I was padding across the garden with a bowl of ice to drop in the bird bath, so my little avian friends could take a nice, cool dip. I think they were very appreciative, as it was a hive of activity all afternoon. I even locked the cat indoors, so that they could be refreshed without the fear of being jumped at any given moment. She's a stealth hunter and positions herself behind a peony, ready to pounce on any poor bird taking a bath... like a scene from Psycho, but reenacted with cats and birds!

The garden has all but transitioned from spring to summer. The spring blooms have gone to seed and the summer blooms are starting to put on their razzle-dazzle. The perennial flowers are opening up and are as bright and bold as ever. It always amazes me how big they get with each successive year and leaves me wondering whether I can squeeze any more in! This season, my perennial of choice has been yarrow (Achillea millefolium). I feel a border punctuated with this just screams English cottage garden. So I popped in a lovely yellow specimen this past week and am now figuring where to shoehorn in a couple more.

So, with the garden well and truly on my mind these days, I picked up another little rose for the Friday Flower this week. I posted a similar one back in March. After it had finished blooming, I popped it in the garden... now, it is in full bloom again and looks a treat! Not bad for a $3.49 supermarket special!
I figured, this weekend, I'll plant this one in the raised bed and see how it fairs.

Oh, and why the rose this week? Well, that would be in honor of my Mum. Her birthday was this past Thursday. She is a true English rose and, with a June birthday, it's only fitting that I dedicate a rose to her this week. This lady means the world to me and, even though there are 3000 miles between us, I carry her with me every day, in everything I do. I love you, Mum, and only wish I had been there in person to share your special day with you!

So, my dears, the week is drawing to a close and the weekend is upon us. We have a trip to the NYC Children's Botanical Garden (my daughter being a prize winner for a local competition she entered) and, other than that, I plan on lazing around this old place... although a week off from the painting and I'm already thinking about what my next project should be...

Wishing you all the weekend you want it to be!
Take care and catch you next week.
Lx

If you would like to link up with this weeks (belated) Friday Flower, simply use the linky widget below to  link to your flower inspired post!

Friday Flower and a sneak peek...

I told you I'd be back and, as it's Friday, I just had to post a Friday Flower. While on blogging hiatus, I had stopped my weekly tradition of bringing blooms into our home and, I have to say, there was definitely some sparkle missing around this old place.

The garden is in a transition phase at the moment, as the spring flowers give way to the showy blooms of summer. Even though their petals are tightly-wrapped, I know it's only a matter of a week or so before my hydrangeas display all their beauty... and, let me tell you, I have quite a number of hydrangeas packed into my little garden, so I'm itching to see them in all their glory! Most were picked up and planted at the end of last summer... taking full advantage of the end of season sales. It's always touch-and-go when I do this each year, as I hope that they have established themselves before the onslaught of winter... but, hey, enough of this talk of winter... It's June, the sun is shining, the sandals are on, and the freezer is stacked with juice pops!

Anyhoo, while I patiently await the hydrangea arrival, I popped to the supermarket for this week's Friday Flower and picked up these... not from my garden, but beautiful all the same... I just love the delicate shade of pink (yep, the girls picked the flowers this week)...
... and, this week, my flower is dedicated to all you lovelies... Thank you so much for sticking with me while I've been away and a B-I-G thank you to all my new followers. You guys jumped on board during the lean times, and that just warms my heart. I hope to keep you with me... I so enjoy this little tete-a-tete we have....

Oh, and next week, I'll be showing you the old kitchen cabinets... that's them, there in the background... want a closer look? Check back next week!
Take care all and have a great weekend!
Lx

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Gardening makes me happy...

Hello my dears...
Here's a question for those who write a blog... do you ever have an idea for a post, mull it over and then find that the very thing you were thinking about, was blogged about that very same day?? Happens to me often. A friend of mine read a book, which says that as soon as we have an idea, it goes up into the ether and is then out there ready for someone to act upon... I guess that's where my problem lies... I'm not acting on my ideas sharp enough, so, they are floating around in the atmosphere ready for someone to catch... like a butterfly, in a net....

... or, on the other hand, I could just be very unoriginal....

Anyhoo,  I just wanted to share a little of my life... I was pottering around the garden, watering in my new additions and babying my new rose, when I had one of those moments... the one where if you were able to see my aura, it would be all yellow and glowing (I'm not sure if that's the right colour, but I'm assuming yellow is happy).

Yes, I was happy! Happy with my little plot of land, happy watching my little girls playing at the water table... watching the birds zipping through through the trees... the colourful flowers slowly unfurling their delicate petals, ready to display their summer glory...

... and even though, we have a long way to go, before this little old place has the garden I envisage, it sure has come a long way from the chain link fence and crab grass days (although there is still some of both remaining)...

... and so, while I have been away from this blogging malarkey, I have been a busy bee, planting moving and digging...

... and there's still plenty to do out here, but that's the joy of gardening... come July I'll be able to sit back and enjoy the fruits of my labour.

Take care all.
Lx

Here's one of the cat... she was desperate to get in on the action!

A Sunday flower for mums

Hello lovelies,
I know my posts have been very sporadic lately, but I really have been cracking on with projects around this house, so poor old me has had no time for anything (other than resting my weary head at the end of the day)...

So, this past Friday, I was off at a neighbour's on a play-date when she offered me some of her Lily of the Valley to plant in my garden. Who could refuse that offer? If these flowers are good enough for a princess's wedding bouquet, then they are certainly good enough for my little garden. So, they were promptly transplanted two doors down and are now residing in the raised bed. The neighbour said they do really well here, so I'm hoping I'll be overrun with them come next Spring.

Anyhoo, while I was busy digging up said flowers, my eldest was merrily picking them and making the perfect Mother's Day posy. The smell is divine... I so wish you could take a big whiff through the computer, but, as it is, you'll just have to make do with the beautiful image...

... the perfect Mother's Day flowers. Collected by the little hands of my 4-year old, on a beautiful Spring day... dedicated to all the Mummies out there. Whether here in the States celebrating, or in the UK (or any other country), where it's just another Sunday... but, hey, it's Mother's Day here! So, go tell your loved ones to pop the kettle on and treat you like the queen that you are. Because all Mums are queens, deserving flowers fit for royalty!
Take care all!
Lx

Friday Flower & a right royal knees-up...

Okay, I was supposed to post this last night, but preparations for our Royal Wedding Tea Party ran over...

As I just missed out on the action back in Blighty, I figured I would bring a little of the Blighty hullabaloo to New Jersey. Granted, it's not the same as the street party I experienced as a child for Charles and Diana's wedding day, but I didn't want the day to pass by unnoticed by my little ones. To this day, I still remember the build-up to our street party... making the decorations, hanging the bunting, and then, the wonderful party which followed.

On the day of the wedding, our telly blew up, so we all sat around a neighbour's and watched the ceremony before spilling out onto the cul-de-sac and partying...

Oh, the memories... I dressed as a fairy for a fancy dress party and we still laugh at the pictures of me, with my skinny legs encased in white tights... ahhh, good times...

Anyhoo, now that we have watched and celebrated, and (between you and I) shed a little tear, I can now share my belated Friday Flower with you...

... beautiful and simple snapdragons... it won't be long before I'll be planting these in our garden to enjoy all summer long, but for now, I'll take them in the kitchen...
Today's Friday Flower is dedicated to Deborah over at A Fisherman's Cottage. The title immediately had me hooked. I couldn't think of anything more romantic than living in a little fisherman's cottage in one of my favourite places... Norfolk... and then, added to this is the fact that she takes beautiful pictures of her wonderful cottage, flowers, and anything else that takes her fancy... each picture, so beautifully put together and inspiring...  Her blog is a must-read, and I guarantee if you pop over, you'll be just as enamoured with The Fisherman's Cottage, as I am.

Righty-o, I best get off as I have a weekend jam-packed with beach clean-ups and painting (naturally), but, before I leave, I just have to say how my heart swelled with pride as I watched my beloved country come together and celebrate such a beautiful occasion. It really was a treat to watch every last minute of it... and, as the BBC news anchor ended the show, my youngest daughter turned to me and said 'It's the happy-ever-after part, Mummy'... cue small tear rolling down my cheek...
Toodle-pip!
Lx

Sorry there's no opportunity to link up this week folks, but for some reason I was unable to get the linky widget to work... apologies!

A day in the garden...

Hello there,
I was planning on posting on Sunday night, but I've been knuckling down with the painting of the kitchen cabinets... I think I've mentioned this project before... cough, cough... So, the bases are all ready and awaiting the completion of the doors.... I've got to say, though, that when I started out this job, I really didn't take into account just how tedious a task it would be. Needless to say, come Sunday morning, I was in the 'it will just have to do' frame of mind, desperate to get in the garden, enjoy the sun, and hunt for Easter eggs...

My wise owl, nestled behind some creeping phlox...

Our garden is ever-evolving... when we moved in, it was bereft of any plants... not even a stick... nothing, nada. In those days, it was the 'yard.' But, over the years, we have attempted to create a 'garden'... it sounds so much better to have a cup of tea in the garden than to sit in the yard... the latter conjures up images of sitting outside a terrace-house up north, surrounded by concrete, and a coal bunker at the back... not that I'm knocking this, as I spent many an hour in a yard just like that growing up in Nottingham!

Apple blossom... here's hoping for apples!

 Anyhoo, while away in Blighty, the hubby procured a ginormous swing set for the back of the garden... now, I did have romantic notions of a summerhouse there, complete with bunting and sling deckchairs, but the kiddies come first... so, that idea will have to go on the back burner until they are  older, we move, or we acquire more land... whichever comes first... for now, though, it serves it's purpose... the girls are occupied for hours while I potter around the garden, and that is something you can't put a price on!

The plastic chairs are a stop gap, until we get our Adirondack beauties!

Oh, and while pottering this past Easter weekend, I popped in some Forget-Me-Nots.... these grow like weeds all over my brother's garden in Blighty, sprouting up in any crack, giving off a lovely display of delicate blue flowers. While in the UK, my eldest daughter became quite enamoured by the beauty of the little Forget-Me-Not, so much so that, while at our local garden centre, she actually spotted them and correctly named them.... I guess they are a flower that you just can't forget... (get it? too lame?) Anyways, in attempting to foster a love of plants in her, we picked some up and planted them in the raised bed between the two gardens. A permanent reminder of our trip back home.

I popped a few pictures of our garden on here today, but we are currently in the process of digging up a lawn at the moment and replacing it with gravel (I'm not a lawn lass, as I just haven't the time or the know-how to maintain one). When that task has been completed, I'll share some more pictures of our little English garden... but before that, I best crack on with those cabinets...

Tulips standing to attention and a honeysuckle to attract the hummingbirds in the summer...

Ta ta for now...
Lx

Shared with Sarah at A Beach Cottage - Good Life Wednesday

Friday Flower returns...

Hello there, lovelies...
I'd like to say I achieved a lot this week, but the old jet-lag really took it's toll on me... so, I've done nothing more than mooch around, take the kiddies on a bike ride, a spot of gardening and a little bit of baking... it's good to be back at the helm and serving up dinner again. I actually missed dishing out food to my very appreciative husband... I think he missed it, too ;-)

The old house is looking a little dishevelled at the moment... partly due to my landing and unpacking all my goodies from England... even though this little old place is pretty much tapped out on space, I still managed to haul even more stuff across the Atlantic on the premise that I would simply find space for it on my return... that's where I'm becoming a little unstuck, as there just isn't any. So, for now, my kitchen counter tops have that cluttered look, but what the heck, I think that's the look I'm going for anyway...

Anyhoo, I added more jobs to my ever growing list of things I need to achieve / complete... of course, the kitchen cabinets are still midway through... the garden now needs tending to and I picked up some dotty fabric in the UK to make a Roman blind for the back door... the hubby has laid down the law, though, and said that no new projects can be started until the kitchen is completed... the "open shelf" look is beginning to grate, I think...

Well, I'm starting to waffle, so I'll wrap up this post by telling you that these lovely blooms were my welcome home bunch from the hubby... he's such a sweetie... and the jug is one of my trans-Atlantic finds, although no money was transferred for this (the best type of purchase), as this was my grandma's. Apparently, it used to sit underneath her kitchen sink. It was on it's way to the charity shop until I salvaged it out of the box... along with some other treasures... seriously, an afternoon in my Mum's attic is the best day spent thrifting!
Okay, chicks, wishing you all a beautiful, relaxing weekend. If in Blighty, enjoy the Easter break and sunshine... a rare gift!
Catch you next week.
Lx

A Friday Flower & a trip to Blighty...

Well, well, well... it's Friday again... but not any old Friday, not for this gal anyway... it's going to be a Friday filled with frantic packing, planning, and tying up loose ends before I jet off to Blighty on Sunday... Yep, you heard right. Me and the gals are heading off to see mama and grandad back home.

All this talk of Spring, daffodils, and the green, green grass of England has led me to book a flight and go see it for myself! Seriously, there was a flight deal that just could not be passed up... so now I'm left wondering how I'm going to get me and the girls all sorted for Sunday evening... oh, and did I mention we have a date with Mary Poppins on Broadway this Saturday, too?? Talk about flying by the seat of your pants!

Anyhoo, I am giddy with the thought of being home for a few weeks, and so, I'm going to leave you lovelies while I go make lists, do laundry, and everything else in between...

Oh, and the kitchen cabinets... they'll be waiting for me on my return... half-finished, but, sometimes in life, you just have to act on opportunities when they land in your lap!
Hopefully, I'll be sharing my trip with you over the next few weeks... Mmmm, I can taste the chips and mushy peas already...
Ta ta for now.
Lx

If you would like to join in with this week's Friday Flower, simply use the linky widget below to link to your flower inspired post.

Friday Flower

Hello there...
I really am missing our little natters... but, what with the girls painting and other day-to-day chores, I'm really being pulled every which way. I have several blog posts floating in the ether, awaiting me to sit down and tap them out and take the accompanying pictures... speaking of which, I'm in a bit of a picture slump at the moment... I just don't have the vision these days... perhaps it's from painting... like snow-blindness, all my eyes can see is the whiteness of primer... I'll get my creative hat back on this weekend... I think it's buried under a tarp somewhere in the kitchen...

Anyhoo, en route back from a play date today, I realised it was Thursday and no Friday flower had been procured. I had hoped to get some Ranunculus (one of my favourite Spring flowers), but they had sold out... I'm guessing these rank high with others, too.

So, after playing in the Spring sunshine today, I opted for the trusty Hyacinth (I bet you can almost smell it from where you are)... It was on special and I figured I can pop it in the garden in Autumn. I'm all about buying flowers that I can plant after their blooms have faded. When we brought this shabby old place it was bereft of any plants... totally... except for a gnarly old tree, which we had removed, as it acted as a spring board into our roof for the neighbourhood squirrels... Each year, I add to our garden (yeah, it's a garden not a yard), and slowly, it is transforming into the cottage garden I aspire to... plodding around it this morning, I spied Delphiniums, Lupines, and Foxgloves all pushing through the ground.

Hopefully, over the summer months, I will be able to show you what we have achieved... For now, though, you'll have to settle with my Friday Flower... a taste of good things to come.
Thank you for popping by today. I'll catch you next week. Wishing you all a healthy and happy weekend.
Lx

If you would like to join in with this weeks Friday Flower (sorry it's late, but you can link up all the same), simply use the linky widget below and link to your flower inspired post!