Christmas Traditions Kick off at Barbara Cheatley's

"I like to compare the holiday season with the way a child listens to a favorite story. The pleasure is in the familiar way the story begins, the anticipation of familiar turns it takes, the familiar moments of suspense, and the familiar climax and ending."

~Fred Rogers

Barbara Cheatley with daughter Kim

Barbara Cheatley's offers a touch of England to Southern California.   Its annual Christmas Open House is my kick-off to serious festivity planning. 

Whether the year's coffers overflowed or not, there is simply no place better to sugar and spice up an abundant holiday spirit. 

Barbara's specialty is inspiring customers to smile. Her decorating style- how can one go dour when there are mice and reindeer watching from on high?

Ms Modern Country would thoroughly appreciate Barbara's selection of Emma Bridgewater mugs.  I love their solid heft balanced with a bit of visual whimsy. 

Some people think romantic style is glamour and glitz. For me- it is a cup of hot creamy cocoa in front of a roaring fire. 

The shop is chock-full of collectibles full of meaning- like this simple bag of birdseed based on Scandinavian tradition of feeding birds on Christmas Day. How perfect is this for the bird-lovers on your Christmas list? 

Every inch of the store is filled with possibilities of future memories. 
  
Our personal Christmas tree, the primary theme is of our family history and hobbies. One of our sons once remarked- we are the only family he knows of with a hunting and fishing themed tree. Many of the ornaments, a special one for each family member each year, originated from this annual pilgrimage.

However, don't think of ornaments as only being for the tree or limited to our love of nature. Your holiday should be authentic to you.

Perhaps you love  The Wizard of Oz.  Warner Brothers is celebrating the 75th Anniversary of the film. Why not plan a party. Watch the film. Maybe do a little sing-a-long, then give ornaments of the characters as mementos. 

Have family who live by the sea- or dreams of waves lapping at their feet- a seashell ornament would be a lovely dangling with curled ribbon from their gift. 

For the gardener- imagine a rosemary tree loaded with accouterments of their passion-  watering cans, spades...maybe critters??? 

Context is everything. Certainly a glass grasshopper will bring a bigger smile to the face than any hopping by the rest of the year. 

This stitched owl reminds me of my granddaughter's nursery. Made of stitched fabric- a child can launch into flight- this ornament won't break. 

Having raised boys in a home their cousin Manny described as having " testosterone bouncing off the walls" I suggest the hosts of a celebration including budding ball-throwers plan accordingly. If your the nervous type, maybe take a Valium. 

A confectioner's tree would be lovely in place of flowers on a dessert buffet. Ringing in at zero calories- imagine satisfying the sweet tooth of some disciplined soul who manages to keep to a proper diet while the rest of us indulge like on our next visit all the scales in the doctor's office will pretend the holidays never happened.

If it takes a village... make mine gingerbread. 

If you have a holiday kick-off- whatever your faith- or no faith- please share!  Let the joy of the season join back together what politics puts asunder.

God bless you all!

Linking to Show and Tell Friday at My Romantic Home.

Barbara Cheatley Antiques is located at 215 Yale Ave., Claremont, CA 
Phone 909 621- 4161

Quote from Brainy Quote

Dog Days ~ Stained Glass ~ Putting Discomfort to Good Use

Tahoe and Reno. In this house, they are living proof that it is not IF dogs ruled the world- ours DO.  

Southern California almost made it through summer without a major heat wave. Then last week- the heat and humidity- it was like waking up in Houston. So I could finish the main field of the stained glass project in air conditioned comfort, I broke off the shackles of civilized housekeeping.    

The  Dutch door window has rounded third base towards completion

We tiptoed the board set with carefully arranged glass shapes into the kitchen. One trip and weeks of labor would be scattered like leaves after a whirlwind.  A procession of stained glass paraphernalia  followed- extension cords, soldering iron and grinder are not all that covered every open space.

I am not one who tolerates clutter well- but I know that there is incentive to finish when one is not too comfortable.   Or as in this case- finding benchmarks to work around.

The garden view from my study

Until the Dutch door is actually installed, the window isn't really finished. However, the progress is at a point  where it  can rest. 

In the morning, the office phone will be turned back on.  For my work as a writer, the garden view from my study reminds me to not get too comfortable inside. Heat wave or not- this is a glorious place to work from.  

Until we meet again- Thank you for all YOU do to make the world more beautiful.

Rose Society of Saddleback Valley Elegant and Enchanting- Part IV

Forever Young: The gardens of Patricia and Steve Buice enchant with stories abounding with what a life well-lived looks like. 

If you spent 4th grade in the California classroom you studied missions. Remember building a model of sugar cube "adobe". This rustic representation of our heritage in a rusted wheelbarrow rates an A++. 

Why should the inside dining room have all the decorative fun? The blessing of the Southern California region is how much time we can spend out-doors. Objects of art do not have to be expensive to be full of memories.  See them and dream. 

When my soul departs,  I would not mind if my remains were set in a ginger jar and positioned to watch over the garden. 

What makes Steve and Patricia's recessed entry so delightfully restful? Soft layers of design elements executed with the care of a traditional inside room. Colorful tile outlines the point of entry to the home. 

  

The expanse of a bare wall is tamed with a trio of art. A soft pad on the seat offers a place to put your feet up or a package beneath. Ferns. Fountain. A tracery of vines. 

Not just the portal for entry to their home- this is a place for private contemplation.  

Guests to the garden on the day of the tour were side yard guests, passing plump plantings of  sunshine  yellow iris then under the metal arch covered with roses set to shower their petals. 

Just past the gate, pet chickens welcome visitors. In a serious world it is important to find  triggers to childlike joy. To keep little farm animals makes one feel like living in a storybook farm. 

Nearby, a tea set is at ready for a party for two.  This is just one of many ideas I am saving up for when my granddaughter toddles under her own power):-  

Patricia shared that the late Bea Grow was a mentor to the couple. The doyenne of Orange County gardeners taught that when making a choice- "Go for the wow." In this case, with splashes of deepest blue. 

Little mice scampering between chunks of slag glass add just the right sense of humor. 

Ripe strawberries hanging off a a classic cement potted up  offer delicious contrast. 

Design note: the ancient appearance of the pot bridges the modernity of  the furniture to the many vintage elements of the garden. This is much more inviting than if an end table matching the set defined the furniture arrangement's outer edge.

If this garden had just this fountain, it would be enough. Lucky for us- there is still more. 

The lawn was as it should be, lush and large enough to play in. To lay on staring up at the stars then rollover to pick between all the shades of green; hunting for snails and other crawly and flying things. 

Fairies live in this garden. This one proudly showing off his fresh lilliputian harvest. 

Just to the side of the fairy's post is this lounge chair Patricia rescued from a garage sale. Steve reinforced it with rebar, stretching landscape fabric over the horizontal frame- forming the cushion on which his wife quilted a coverlet of moss and ivy. 

Shade is from above. At night- can you imagine the romance these vintage hanging lamps sourced from e-Bay have seen? Hubba. Hubba):- 

Steve explains to my friend, Marilyn Bowery, how he built the platform to the tree house from used lumber he was given in 1986. He is pointing up to where the little ice-cream soda style chair his daughter sat in when she was a sapling and the tree was not much taller than the railed platform. As the tree grew, they let the branches carry the chair to where it marks how far upwards the journey in life has carried them. 

Nature and art. This magic little scene is just below the bridge leading to the tree house. It seems a good spot to rest. Something a garden should have lots of are places to rest the eye. To contemplate that the real world is not just work and trouble. The real world is ripe with love and goodness. If we only care enough to look. To create. To enjoy. To give thanks for. 

Until we meet again, thank you for all YOU do to make the world more beautiful.

Rose Society of Saddleback Valley Elegant and Enchanting- Part III

"Begin with the end in mind." 

~Stephen R Covey

One of the differences between humans and God's other creatures is we can have an emotional reaction to a photograph. This gift is a sign of our significance to Him.  I look at this picture and feel the ocean cooled breeze as it was that day; smile at the thought of seagulls floating across invisible currents. I feel the warmth of the open hospitality of the homeowners. 

 This view is certainly where Rick and Julie Borgens began as they planned their home and garden. Every wall. Every stone. Every decorative object. 

Sea shells and succulents  inset into a recessed hallway are just the right note.  Usual items displayed unusually catapults the sum of artistic value above any individual component. 

 Blue walls. White wainscoting. Whale motifs.  The art sparks conversation that for whale-watching, 2013 was a stellar year. 

Two rooms. Two fireplaces. Both in sync stylistically with the one we passed on the way in (see the previous post). Rough- hewn surfaces hearken back to a day when hand craftsmanship was valued. 

A solid vintage cabinet holds down the bold shiny newness of the stainless steel barbecue  to a visual level comfortable with the classic New England influenced architecture.  

Note the stone backsplash.  Not only does it protect the flame from ocean breezes complicating the cooking process- it completely cocoons this living space from neighbors. The arch prevents its visual weight from being too heavy handed a design feature. 

 The back garden is casual- with little houses set about for feathered friends.  

A classic lantern serves as a terrarium on the sideboard.  For textile interest- a bit of fisherman's net  drops in just the right amount of rugged.  

This is a very hard home to leave. Don't you love the humor of a mermaid doorstop holding the door open for visitors to come- and when we must, leave? 

Design note- there is nothing wrong with changing up the hardscape. The trick is to have the materials relate in some fashion. The higher the traffic, the sturdier the footing should be. Hence the mortared-solid main walkway; with larger stones set casually within  a miniature creeping ground cover- a softer look of a  less traversed side path.  

And so we close this chapter, leaving as we came, happy to have been invited. 

Until we meet again- thank you for all YOU do to make the world more beautiful. 

2013 Fullerton Beautiful's Open Garden Tour ~ Part 2

There is a special state where worries are flushed away by the shear beauty of lush tropical plantings fill the air with color. 

In the corner of the state is a waterfall that fills a pone where a family of growing koi  lap in lazy loops around the dozens of aquatic plants the Knigge's have collected. 

This is not just a state of beauty; a reminder of the homeowner's vacation on a peaceful Central Java Island, the beauty begets practical benefits.

The nutrient rich water feeds the plants with all the trace nutrients that are needed to maintain their health and vigor.  

On the patio table is the picture of the swimming pool  that was walked around far more than it was swum in when its age was going to require major modifications.  A detailed list of visiting birds.

With a love a nature and a desire for a retreat from city life, Larry and his wife decided on a design which is an homage to her Indonesian heritage.

 They named the garden Balifornia- for the Bali Hai state of mind crafted in the heart of Southern California suburbia.

From a lounge built for two the couple counts the birds- and their own happiness.

Bending indoor and outdoor living in our moderate climate allows Southern Californians to bring furniture and decorative touches most of the world can only dream of.

Design Notes: Tropical plants are compatible compadres. Lushness does not require fence to wall greenery. It requires healthy specimens and the recognition that unless you are going for the look of a sand dune- nature abhors a vacuum. Mulch  not only conserves water- it conserves energy by keeping down weeds.

We have a few more gardens to gander.  I thank you for your patience in all this- in every way, this is the busiest time of the year in the life of gardener and garden communicators- of which I am both. 

Until next time- thank you for all YOU do to make the world more beautiful.

Linking to My Romantic Home