~Our Garden in May~

I wanted to share with you photos of our garden this month.

We always have birds visiting our garden everyday.

The artichokes have been producing more than usual.

I think because of all the rain we've had this year in San Diego.

Stan picked some for dinner.

They were delicious!

Roses & flowers in bloom everywhere.

Lots of apples on our Anna Apple tree. 

Pretty soon the pink trumpet vine will be in bloom over the arch.

I made some quiches for our family this last week.

A fruit crostata for dessert!

Hope you all have a wonderful week!

~Our Wisteria and New Romantic Dining Area~

I wanted to share photos of our Wisteria in bloom this year.

We have several of them.

This one is on our hill.

This Wisteria is next to the house.

We love how it shades our dining area!

Same photo, but at night!

I shared with you photos of some wreaths,

 I added to our potting shed.

I just finished a new sitting area next to the shed.

I added topiaries and small pots with pansies.

A table and chairs add the romantic mood I wanted to create!

I love how it turned out!

~Roses, Roses, Roses~

I wanted to share with you a birthday cake,

 I made for our daughter, Carly.

I made a naked cake using roses from our garden.

 A simple vanilla cake with frosting.

The recipe is Martha Stewart's:

Simple Layer Cake with Vanilla Frosting

Here are some recent photos of our roses in the garden.

Enjoy!

The roses are so pretty this year.

I wanted to let you know,

 I've been planning for awhile now to have knee replacement 

surgery. Today is the day. I'm listening now to my body and this is what I need. Better quality of life! I'm so happy Stan is retired and will be home. I'm still going to blog and instagram, it's what I love to do. Gardening is our passion and will definitely be my inspiration to get back into shape. I'll keep you updated on my progress. I've done some posts to share in the weeks ahead. 

Thank you for always being there for me.

Have fun in your gardens today, I'll be thinking of you  

♥

  

Happy Easter!

Wishing you all a Happy Easter from Squaw Valley! 

Enjoy time with your family and friends!

~ Creative Ways to Decorate Easter Eggs~

I love decorating eggs for Easter.

There are so many different ways you can decorate them.

I found some material that matched my Calico china from Staffordshire, England.

I cut the roses out and used Mod Podge to glue the pieces on

the wooden eggs.

I also found some pretty floral material.

I added some embellishments.

I love my French eggs!

I also decoupaged sheet music!

I bought the prettiest teacups and baking casserole dish at

 Home Goods.

The pattern reminded me of Cath Kidston.

Last April, I was inspired from her to make cookies.

You can view it here:

Painted "Cath Kidston" Fondant Cookies 

I decided to draw her design on Easter eggs. 

I used markers to draw the roses on the wooden eggs.

Of course, you can always display your eggs on different materials.

A wall display with speckled eggs in vintage teacups.

It's always fun every year to try different techniques.

There's always treats to eat while you're creating!

Hope you have a fun week getting ready for Easter!