HOME...be inspired everyday

As we say Goodbye to an incredibly talented individual..

Mr. Incredible turns......

Do you care to make a gander with all those candles on that cake?.......  

 

Go on take a guess....I'll give you a hint the whole top is covered in wax.....

 

So here is the Lemon Cake {from a box} with cream cheese frosting with fresh from the farmers market berries that the girls and I made for our Daddy-O , it's a four layer one....it almost toppled over....to much cake for this family of four but we shared it with half the neighborhood.      The girls decided this birthday to change the traditional Happy Birthday Song to sing, "for he is a jolly good fellow"......which we all know Mr. Incredible is....we love you Daddy-0.....

The Color of Summer......

To you, what color says summer?.....I have one particular color that shouts out Summertime....it is one that evokes lazy days floating in the ocean on the North Shore of Kaua'i, it is the cloudless sky on a summer day, it is the old vintage beach glass that has been rolled over by the waves over and over again.....

 

 

 

 

The color of Penny's beautiful basket.....so soft and calming.

 

 

 

 

the petite aqua fan to cool hot bodies on a summer day...............

 

 

 

Gossip.....

Making big news these days are the Joel's on their announcement of a marital split.   Regardless of that....it's none of my business what the Joel's do with their marriage BUT....what is mybusiness is the beautiful home they have in the Hamptons.   You all know how much I love Beach Cottage style.  Here is a few teasers for you andif you have almost 20 million it is yours!! So go out and start renting your Uhaul......

 

I love the hardwood floors with the white slipcovered sofas and that sofa table looks very familiar......Hmmmm, where have I seen that before?  I love a brick fireplace and nooks and crannies for all the books and tshkotskes, and the high white painted beams.  Let's step into the dinning room...

 

I adore the plank walls, the wrought iron Chandeliers, that farmhouse table with the ladder back chairs and that big oak China hutch.  I wish I could get in closer with the kitchen.....want to head out to the lanai?

I love this kind of EAST Coast deck with the weathered wood, those teak steward chairs and a plain white umbrella.  Simple but very serene and beautiful.  If you would like to see more go here.

Summer Fun.....Here we come!!

We are ready to do this......

        {crayola has come out with some more VIBRANT chalk colors}

and this...

 

Oh...and for sure this...

 

definitely weekly trips here....

 

I'll be checking in here for the daily craft of the day to help the summer pass along..

 

signing up for the Neighborhood Library program...it's the best one out there and doing a lot of this...

 

so the girls are getting this Summer Fun Survival Beach Bucket

 

you may ask...what is inside these after it's only been 20 minutes into summer vacation and you hear, "MOM....I'm bored"....

1.) goggles for visiting the neighbor's swimming pool

2.) Vibrant colored chalk by Crayola

3.) a big long roll of paper

4.) water color paint

5.) a notebook

6.)  water GUNS!!!!!  yes, in my household I let my kids play with WATER GUNS!!

7.) Slippers{that's what we call them in Hawai'i not thongs or flip flops.}

8.) a light up ball

9.) a fancy glitter summer cup....because I'm tired of a million cups on my counter

10.) sand castle beach bucket.....

...summer here we come, ready or not!!

Aloha! It's the Fifth Grade Picnic

They have been friends since Second Grade.  Even though they have been in and out of different classrooms they seek each other out on the playground.  Half of them will go to the same middle school and the other half to another middle school.  So it's bittersweet for me because I remember when I went to middle school my friends changed....

 

 Of course it was a Luau themed picnic...they had a hula hoop contest and a Limbo contest and swam in the park pool. 

  Madison got voted most Athletic by her 5th grade class....

 

As we close another chapter we begin to think about opening another book.....

Better Porches and Gardens......

I've been busy lately....like so many of you.   My eldest daughter made the Softball All Star team and that has kept me running her to practice every night with games the whole weekend long which hasn't left me much time to go antiquing/yard saling or driving around the neighborhoods..stalking cute houses as I would like to do.  But a few weeks back my husband and I went to an Estate Sale and we found the neighborhood where the estate sale very nice and with well taken care of gardens, speaking of gardens it's behind one of my favorite nurseries....so before I hit the nursery to get more plants for my garden I snapped a few photos of my favorite houses and gardens in this new "hood".   I hope you enjoy. 

 

This is probably the oldest home in the neighborhood, it was very different from the rest of the homes we saw there.  It's looks to me like a Spanish Style with it's terracotta tile roof and the balcony above the porch.

 

this cute ranch was for sale, most likely between 600,000 and 750,000.....What can I say California price for real estate, what I would not give for Alabama prices over here.

 

I like the criss cross windows, don't you?  I think that is a classic for a ranch style house. 

 what caught my eye while driving around was that little wrought iron wheel wagon with the galvanized bucket on it. 

 

I liked this little yard with it's picket fence and brick pillars.  Look how healthy those day Lillie's are?  I love day Lillie's..they seem so happy don' t they?  Come little a closer I know you are nosy like me.......lets go through the arbor of blue Manda-villa Vine...they look like bluebells to me....ringing a happy tune.

 

 I loved the colors of this house the cranberry red door with sunflower yellow and isn't the lantern so very cute hanging there?  Here is a house that had one of my favorite porches in this neighborhood..

 

Ahhh...you are so very nosy....come a little closer and you will see why I find this porch so charming...are you ready?

 

Nice welcoming rockers say, "sit here" or the sweet little bird bath nestled in the day Lillie's.  Again the small white picket fence that say Cottage Cozy.....got to love the bricks...love, love bricks on porches.   Look at the french doors leading out to another sitting area while you watch your neighbors stroll around the block with their dogs.  I can see some stones peeking out from under the inpatients...can you see why this one was a favorite?   I wish I had a big porch like this to welcome guest to my Home but I think I do a pretty good job with what I have.....