It's a Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood

You may remember I snapped photos of my neighborhood last Winter. It was January to be exact. At that time, we had quite a bit of snow and it was cold on the day of my walk. Well, what a difference four months make!

My favorite house in the neighborhood looks even prettier in Spring.



I am always looking to see what plants and decorative items the homeowner has placed on her steps.



Yes, we do have houses with the picket fences in front in my neighborhood.



And then I happened upon Linda's garden. Linda and her husband have a garden business and he was out front as usual working in the yard. I asked to take a few shots of the front yard garden.



He told me Linda was in the garden out back and I should go see her and the gardens back there. I am so glad I did. Linda was preparing for a visit from the Iris Society. Is that like the Iris police? Anyway, these beauties were just one of many varieties of Iris.



Linda proudly stated that she has the largest variety of bearded Irises in New England right in her yard.



So many colors and so many varieties. They all had to be labelled and they had cool names like Celebration Song and Moonlit Water.



There were several gardens throughout the yard. This garden had shells and pearls on display.



More snippets from Linda's garden.



I like a wild garden, don't you?



The porch on the back of the house was so gorgeous! Linda designed it. If you look close through the gingerbread work you can see Linda's husband Rocco on the right of the photo.



More pretties from the front of the house. Yes, it has purple accents.




And more from the front garden.



I love bleeding heart.



More of the purple. Beautifully eccentric.



Gosh, I almost forgot I was supposed to be walking around the neighborhood and not just hanging out with Linda and Rocco. Here's another house with cool colors.




And old glory always makes a house look prettier.



As you can see the houses are quite old in my neighborhood. That's one of the things that attracted me to this part of town.



The last porch of the day. The homeowner was painting the railing so I asked to snap a photo and he said sure!



And look who was anxious for my return home. My sweet boy Oscar!

Second Time Around Antiques, Melrose

We are sad today. We just found out that Second Time Around Antiques is closing it's doors.



This is one of the coolest shops in Melrose with one of the coolest owners and next week the store will close for good. Jami is tired of running a shop. She's not sure what she will do but she will let me know.

It seems wrong to benefit from another's misfortune, doesn't it? Actually I shouldn't use the word misfortune. Jami is just moving on. Anyway, she can rest assured her treasures have found a good home. Especially this dress form. I've been on the lookout for a while and finally found one I liked at the right price.

So meet Vivienne. She already looks at home in my bedroom, doesn't she? She's a curvy girl and I can't wait to accessorize her in something stylish.



I wanted a dress form with a cage and wheels. Vivienne has both.



She is almost rubenesque.




Jami pointed out that the emblem was in pristine condition.



I picked up a few more things too. A vintage suitcase. One in houndstooth to add to my collection.



Another view.



The interior of the suitcase and silver spoons. At our next tea, we are having a spoon swap. Hopefully, I can part with one of these.



A pretty violet plate. This will go with some of my violet patterned teacups.



I just had to have this one.



A very delicate pin from France. Perhaps it will become a scarf clip on Vivienne.



Another look inside the suitcase seconds before Molly jumped in and claimed it as her new cat bed.

I will miss driving by Jami's shop every morning. On my way to work, while stopped at the traffic light, I would look to see if she had changed her window display. I think she changed it weekly. And it was always fun and interesting.

So good luck Jami, we will miss you!

Me and my blog

So this photo says it all. This is me and my blog. This is what my blog is about. Me, my cats, my photography, and my condo.

It's the second anniversary of my blog. Actually my blogaversary was May 17th. After two years, I feel comfortable enough with all of you to post a picture of myself in my bathrobe with bedhead. Enjoy the photo, as you know I rarely post photos of myself. I like to keep an air of mystery about myself. I do, however, feel comfortable expressing my opinions and well, saying anything that pops into my head. My blog is my online diary.

I've decided that in my second anniversary post I would like to share my feelings and opinions about my blogging experience.

Shortly after I started blogging, I signed up for a blogher conference. I went to the geek lab and learned a lot about the technical side of blogging. It was a big help. Some of the speakers were interesting too. I have to say I found it appalling that some of the women in attendance had brought their babies. To me, a conference is a business event not daycare and I did not appreciate the distraction. At the beginning of the conference, we did sort of a 30 second networking thing. We formed two lines, one woman across from the other and every 30 seconds you moved to the right so you met a new person. Lucky me started with the woman with a baby on her hip, so first I met her, 30 seconds later, I spoke with her baby, as I moved down the line I met her baby carriage handle, and 30 seconds later the front of the carriage. I was not amused. That was a total waste of time!

In two years, some things about my blog have not changed. I still don't sell anything on my blog and I don't have any business ads. Unfortunately, I have almost the same number of comments as I did on my very first post. I fear my writing has not improved either. But I guess all that matters is that I get my point across. I like to use a casual writing style.

The number of blogs I read has changed. I spend a lot of time reading other blogs and commenting when something moves me. I can't tell you the number of times I've said the words, "I got the idea from a blog I read". Whether it's a home decor idea or a new place to shop, most of the time it came from another blog.

I am amazed at the talent in blogland. The writing and photography on some blogs, well, it's magical. Sometimes, you just have to keep reading a blog. I can get so wrapped up in stranger's lives. Some bloggers post about the drama in their lives. I guess it goes back to that comfort level I mentioned earlier in this post. When you post, don't you feel like you are having a conversation with friends? I know I do.

How do you feel about swaps? I learned a new word from swapping. It's flaked. I no longer participate in swaps. I had one great experience through a swap, the swap partner was great. She posted about her excitement at receiving my swap (which was my first swap) and someone commented that I "overdid" the swap. That kind of took the wind out of my sails but I signed up for another swap. This time I got paired with a woman from Holland. It was quite expensive to ship my package but I thought oh well, I will receive some really cool stuff from Holland. I waited and waited yet no package. First she said she had the flu, then she said her cat ran away, then she said she sent it but it must have got lost. She said she would send a second package, then I never heard from her again. And the worst part is she never mentioned my swap until I emailed her to see if she received it. She never even thanked me. So no more swaps for me.

Sorry about some of the negative statements in this post but I am doing a retrospect on my entire blogging experience.

Overall, I have learned a lot about blogging in the last two years and I've made some very nice blogging friends. I am friends with bloggers in Australia, the Phillipines, Turkey, Canada, and all over the US. You all lead such interesting lives. You keep me coming back for more. I want to know more. And I hope you want to know more about me too...

Afternoon Tea in New Hampshire

On Sunday, my tea group met at the Inn By The Bandstand in Exeter, New Hampshire for afternoon tea. There were eight of us in attendance.



As the tea hostess, I had to come up with the idea and make the arrangements. I gave everyone a favor as a thank you for attending. Orange tea cakes made by my friend Mary were wrapped in a cellophane bag and tagged with a vintage Victorian calling card. I just have to say that Mary's tea cakes are delicious and I am so excited that her recipe made extra cakes! There are six in my freezer as we speak.




We shopped before the tea. Although this shop, Portobello Road was permanently closed, the name remained attached to the building. If I could have pryed this sign off I would have. I want it!!



I guess you can tell where the Inn got it's name!



Most of the food items were set up on the buffet We had scones, tea sandwiches, and desserts.




Look a cloche!



Look two cloches. Those little lemon cakes were yummy! I do love a silver tea service.



Mmmm! Red velvet cupcakes. I think I trampled a few people to make sure I got one.



Another view of the buffet.



I think this photo could have been taken in another time. Deborah and Lori Lee look like they are from another era.



Lisa is deep in conversation. And why not? We usually see each other but once a month at the tea event.



Karen and Erica knew their photos would be posted on the blog.



I asked if we could also have a tour of the Inn and our hosts graciously obliged. So the following photos are from our tour. First stop, the dining room.



This is the Cambridge Room. I loved this room because of the black toile. Tres jolie!



But then I saw the softer shades in this room and I thought this was the room for me.



What a sweet desk. Yup! This room is the best.



This room was grand.



And just look at the handiwork on that canopy.



That's what's missing from my bedroom at home. A breakfast nook and a chandelier. I'm getting great ideas from this tour.



A four poster bed completes the scene. Beautiful!



A touch of whimsy. Cute!



This is a clever idea.



The dining room light was perfect and so was the weather.



An impressive staircase.



One last shot before departing. We had a wonderful, relaxing afternoon at the Inn. If you're in the neighborhood, check out the Inn By the Bandstand, 6 Front St, Exeter, New Hampshire.