Ring It In

Looking forward to a brand New Year. 

Wishing you happiness, fun and good health in 2015.

Celebrate the possibilities of the days to come.

SNOW

** I had this post in a draft from a few weeks ago. Although the snow is now gone and the lawn is showing her green again, I thought it really is too pretty not to show you. So for those who think Christmas isn't complete without a snowfall ... here it is.

For someone who is a real summer girl, I can't resist the first pretty snowfall of the season. We received a blanket of snow today that left the trees painted in white flakes. I love how quiet the snow is. I stopped several times while shoveling the driveway just to hear the whisper of the snow falling. It really is a picture of beauty.

Our church - Saint Andrews, is pretty at any time, but especially with a winter wonderland framing it.

I may need to look back at this post in February when I'm fed up with the snow. But today it is a pretty picture.


How about you - are you a lover of summer or snow?

A Day to Reflect

Quietly we stand together to pray and give thanks for those who gave everything for our freedom. 

We pray for Peace.

'Wait for me Daddy' - Claude de Dettloff

Red poppies for Remembrance. White poppies for Peace.

Start the Weekend

It's been a busy week, but it's time to get the weekend started. 

On the menu :
A girls day with my sister. Tap and ballet classes with my Granddaughter. A little grey root cover-up appointment with my stylist. Snuggled up in the media room for a movie or two with Richard. A bit of leaf raking. And a few rounds of the Frozen board game with our Granddaughter.

How about YOU? What's on your weekend menu?

Good Neighbours

 

We have been blessed with good great neighbours. Even before we moved in, our neighbours came out to meet us as we scoped the house out just after we bought it. They've put up with the construction noise and dust, many Bobcat back hoes on the front lawn and our constant chatter about the renovation plans. 

On our first night in the house back in May, our neighbours came over with a bottle of champagne to celebrate our new home. What a nice welcome. They are good people who's company we really enjoy. 

AND a bonus - they have two cats who would wreck havoc on fresh flowers brought in from the garden. What a bonus for me! My neighbour offered some of their hydrangea blooms that are changing colour with the fall weather. It turns out that the sweet little felines would bat the blooms around and make a big mess. Of course I was happy to oblige and bring a few pom poms in. 

I have other hydrangea blooms that I've savoured and protected for about 7 or 8 years. Not kidding.  So it's nice to have some new blooms to dry that are just tipping in to the rich fall colours. The pom poms are big ..... honestly I didn't cut that many. I keep moving the dish around taking pictures in several spots because the colours are like jewels.

We are grateful for wonderful neighbours and thankful that the cats have no appreciation of flowers. Thanks Hilde for sharing the blooms with me. Hugs, K.

The Elegance of Oscar

Oscar de la Renta                                          via Vogue

Sadly it was announced today that fashion designer Oscar de la Renta died at the age of 82 from a re-occurring cancer. With over 50 years of designs crediting his name, Mr. de la Renta's style was legendary.

1956 coming out party in Madrid. Oscar de la Renta designs for Beatrice Lodge, daughter of U.S. Ambassador.

Oscar taking Beatrice, and his first dress for a spin.

“Real beauty is not what you project with your physique, but what you project with your mind.”    

Oscar de la Renta

 
Audrey Hepburn, Elizabeth Taylor, Jackie Kennedy, Michelle Obama, Penelope Cruz, Sarah Jessica Parker, Oprah, Hillary Clinton, Laura Bush, Amal Alamuddin, the list just goes on, and on, and on. The long list of women who created a stir when they walked into a room wearing the Oscar de la Renta label.

At the young age of 18, Oscar Aristides Renta Fiallo left his home in the Dominican Republic to study painting in Spain. He abandoned painting to pursue an interest in fashion and apprenticed with Cristobal Balenciaga, assisting at Lanvin. Fifty years later, his designs make women swoon at the glance of a de la Renta gown.

The elegance that Oscar de la Renta injected into his creations is the same elegance that he wore in his own persona. 

"Elegance is a discipline of life".

                                                                                              Oscar de la Renta

The bridal creations from Oscar de la Renta filled the romantic dreams of so many brides over the years. He understood how a woman wanted to feel in a dress - feminine, confident, elegant, soft, and oh so special.

Oscar de la Renta - the Sultan of Suave

There are hundreds of images on the net of early creations {some of my all time favourites}, bridal collections, day wear, resort wear, and exquisite gowns. It would be so easy to fill this post with all of the de la Renta designs that I love. But I will share one of my favourite gowns that Oscar designed and his comment that evokes the level of confidence he wanted a woman to feel.

"Walk like you have three men walking behind you".  Oscar de la Renta

The elegance of Oscar de la Renta

A New Glass Slipper.

When you are one of the most famous ladies in the world, 38 million dollars for a face lift is a drop in the bucket. Yes, the biggest celebrity of all time - Eiffel Tower, has just unveiled her new face. I am happy to say that she really hasn't changed from the sexy silhouette and sleek curved lines that she first debut in 1889.

Can you believe that only 300 workers constructed the 18,038 pieces of wrought iron with 2.5 million rivets for this 10,000 ton, 984.25 foot lady.
So when you turn 125 years old what is a lady to do? For this well sculpted beauty she catches her breath from years of wear, a staggering number of pictures she posed for, war{s}, weather, and the ever changing environment. Then you get fitted for a new glass slipper.
Miss Eiffel started her 38 million dollar transition in 2012 and just this week revealed her 'face lift' that includes a glass floor at the first observation level.

Eiffel Tower green floor is charged up with wind and solar power.

during the face lift

When your facelift is 38 million dollars it can't be all just smoke and mirrors. The two year project includes a green floor that this charged up with wind and solar power, a new reception area, a 200 seat multipurpose theatre, a new conference room, the new visitor center, and an open air Museographic path that leads around the new setting.

And when you have your peak-a-view look on - well, the world of selfie photographers just can't contain themselves.

So beautiful is the lady that we cannot resist standing next to her for proof that we were there..........

My 50th birthday in Paris.

The view from the first observation deck prior to the new glass enclosure. via Glamour Begins At Home

Miss Eiffel is the one to wake up next too.....

Shangri la Hotel, Paris.

Fashion photo shoots, engagements, and tango dancing - this lovely lady has inspired us for 125 years.

via theonlinephotographer.typepad.com

Hauntingly beautiful .....................

via Glamour Begins At Home

Paris is always calling my name and this new glass slipper is a reason to celebrate.

October

Reluctantly I welcome October. I'm not a lover of fall. I listen to people get excited about the cooler weather, the change of the sun setting, the leaves falling from the trees. But me - I like the heat, the long days of summer, the rainbow of colourful flowers sprayed across the gardens. I love the waters edge and the sound of the shore, and prefer to wander there when the sun is warm on my back. I'm really not a cold weather girl.

I have decided that I need to think of all the positive things about fall and October. Warmer clothes are needed, but who doesn't like cozy sweaters and soft fabrics like corduroy. And things just taste different with the cooler weather - in a good way. Soup, apples, dark grapes, squash, it all makes the cooler season more comforting.

The fun of Halloween swirls around everything all month long. Cheerful pumpkins on doorsteps, spooky decorations everywhere, and waiting out all of October to catch a glimpse of cute little trick or treaters.

The thought of putting the garden to bed for the winter makes me sad. This year it is a bit more difficult to take the idea of the leaves turning colour and needing to be raked up..... we just put the new sod down at Cardinal House this past week. Pout!  I wish I could turn back the clock to June and have the stretch of summer in front of me to play in the new garden.

Audrey Hepburn may have said it best....

While October nudges in and leaves the door open for winter to follow, I put the garden to bed and prepare for the promise of spring.
I have purchased a few spring bulbs for Kya and I to plant. She is excited at the colours we have bought so far {purple allium, pink tulips}, and that one of the tulips is called Ice Cream Tulip.

So Welcome October. 

Bring on your hues of gold, rust and deep red, excite us with your Halloween fun. 

I can see beyond the mounds of fallen leaves to the garden design for spring. 

Pinterest Favourites this week

Are you a pinterest pinner who just pins? Do you review your pinterest boards on a regular basis for inspiration and direction?
I am always interested in what other people are pinning from my boards - what is popular during specific times. Ugh, Halloween and Christmas decor idea's already. I look over my boards occasionally to remember the direction of projects.

This week my mind was on gardens, specifically the gardens you find winding around properties with a history. Moss and vine and stone = aged beauty.

Have a truly Glamourous weekend.


... all via pinterest - http://www.pinterest.com/glamourathome/

 

Home for a Real Boy

Villa Garzoni, the five story Italian 'Villa delle Cento Finestre' {Villa of One Hundred Windows} is for sale. $28 million is the listed price for the 33,000 square foot, 40 bedroom estate which is located in Collodi - 65 kms outside of Florence, Italy.

The villa dates back to 1633, and is the birthplace of Pinnochio. It is this Italian villa that inspired the story of Pinnochio which was authored by Carlo Lorenzini. The fable - Le Avventure di Pinnochio was created by Lorenzini who spent his childhood in Collodi where his great grandfather was a gardener on the estate.

The Diodati grounds were a 170 year process of building and creating. Waterfalls and fountains create 'a theatre of water that rules the scene'. Lionard Luxury Real Estate holds the listing and feels there is opportunity for a foreign buyer who “understands the potential and invests in improving and increasing the tourism opportunities linked to the classic tale of Pinocchio.”

Richard Lasner Photography

Let's be honest - its Italy {sigh} ...... scenic, historical, iconic, beautiful. 

A home fit for a Real Boy.

via Sandra Davis

Richard Hart Jackson art.com

Pond in the Park