HOME AND GARDEN

With a passion for the garden and a love for her

home Julie of  BOTANICALS

has merged them into a new venture.

I spent the day with Julie on Saturday, she gave me

a wonderful lunch

and shared her fabulous garden and home

everywhere you look there is something

wonderful to look at in a gorgeous setting

Julie's design style is very warm and welcoming

She had a store in La Canada for 14 years

and than added a web store

SHOP BOTANICALS

which carries most of the things she sold

in her store.  She now turns these beautiful

grounds into a Garden Boutique several times a year.

These flowers sacks she makes herself

 using both vintage and new fabrics.

There is also a blog GARDEN GIRL

where she shares her gardening talents

and for me she shared some sweet peas

             Here are sweet-peas, on tip-toe for a flight:

              With wings of gentle flush o'er delicate white,

     And taper fingers catching at all things,

To bind them all about with tiny rings.

                              John Keats

A JEWEL IN STUDIO CITY

Everyone needs a great gift store they can depend on.

EMERALD FOREST

a upscale gift boutique in Studio City

helps meet that need.  They specialize in

personalized service to find their customes the

perfect gift.  Michelle has a great eye and finds

unique, elegant and trendsetting gifts for all occaions.

Jewelry has a large presence in the store

from the casual

to the more elegant

This is a place ladies like to suggest to their

husbands and boy friends, EMERALD FOREST

knows their customers and can make the gift

buying a fun experience.

Baby gift

And so many choices for home decor

SCENTS AND FEEL    shows well

in so many different displays

The store is small in space but everywhere you look

there are so many treasures.

A nice picnic basket for a night at the

HOLLYWOOD BOWL

I was looking for gift for a very special bridal shower

and found exactly what I was looking for

A really cute apron

cookbook and the best heart shaped measureing

spoons.  I think this is it.  Wrap it up!

and I was off to the shower

My friend Jan, the Mother of the groom doing

her magic on the center pieces

and the beautiful bride to be modeling her gift. 

Thank you EMERALD FOREST

for making my gift giving a happy one.

Come live with me, and be my love,

And we will all the pleasures prove,

That valleys, groves, or hills, or fields,

Or woods and steepy mountains, yield.

                                       Marlowe, The Passionate Shepherd

to his love.

AIDAN GRAY HOME

EMPTY VASE   called and said I had to come over

and look at the AIDAN GRAY HOME  that

had just arrived.  She had wanted a piece of furniture

that had a large surface for display.  We both felt this

kitchen island would fit the bill

Made from reclaimed woud it measures 

 35.00" T x 79.00" W x 39.00" D

so plenty of display space.  One thing we forgot

to do was make sure it would fit through the door.

She had to remove two stationary doors and it just fit.

I was thinking how wonderful to have a kitchen big

enough to fit this island, it sure isn't mine.

My floor space is just 37 " wide.  We remodeled last

year and I love my kitchen even as small as it is.

We did a lot with a little.

Back to the new arrivals at  EMPTY VASE

This 3 drawer chest has a rustic look with a metal

top, but the drawers slide with ease.

Little side chair that fits almost anywhere.

The wooden cube has a removable burlap top

which makes it multi fuctional, it also is chair

height so would be great seating around a

farm table.

You need some great accessories to go with

the furniture

It was nice to see that everything she picked out

looked so great in the store and hopefully

in someones house.

Home maybe near,

Home may be far-

But it is anywhere love

And a few household treasures are.

                                       Grace Noll Crowell

MORE THAN ROSES

When you say Pasadena most people think of roses

and the Rose Parade

The headquarters for the Rose Parade is a

beautiful grand estate with a rose gazebo at

the back of the property

This is a nice place to stop by for some peaceful time.

Another place to go in Pasadena is

the Norton Simon Museum

the entrance alone is a sight to behold with

this fabulous sculpture and this beautiful

Natal Coral tree that is a sculpture  by Mother Nature.

When I think of Pasadena I think of

JACOB MAARSE

the place to go for flowers since 1966, known as

a Southern California tradition.

The garage greets you with a large display of

plants and trees

Nice display of a FERMOBUSA

Luxembourg bench as you make your way

into the store

past arrangements waiting to be delivered

to some happy customer

Once your inside you are taken with the immenseness

of the space that once was a Cadillac dealership.

The greenhouse is home to a large collection of

orchid plants

you can choose from something small and simple

to something large and dramatic

They have created a little cafe to showcase

the  FERMOBUSA  bistro collection

so inviting I wanted to sit down and order a latte

Once you buy some flowers you need something

to put them in and there are no lack of choices

classic

elegant

and something for the garden

I would say Pasadena is a good place to explore.

        They that have roses

             never need bread.

                                    Dorthy Parker