Seize the day

Hello,

How are you? Thank you for your kind comments on my last blog post. It's been a busy three weeks. Racing from one place to the other. I hope that now we are well into April, I will find the time to enjoy 'the present' more, to do a bit of baking and spend long days pottering in my garden. How I have missed the peace and quiet, the birdsong and off course my flowers. I can't live without them :-).

A few weeks ago Lisse-Lotte Loomer, a blog friend of mine who lives in British Columbia, Canada, kindly sent me a warm, loving booklet she wrote on the incorporation of her mothers greenhouse into her garden. It's called 'Greenhouse Hygge, the house of my growing dreams'. Lisse-Lotte writes how the greenhouse is used as a place to start her seedlings, have tea with her daughters after a day at school or a glass of prosecco with her friends in the evening. I enjoyed reading it a lot. Happiness oozes out of the pages. Lisse-Lotte's lovely images invite you to join in the garden celebration. If you are interested, please have a look here.


The photo's in this post were taken in my home and garden. As you can see the 'flower picking season' has started :-). Hurray to that! The carrot cake is a joined product by my middle daughter and I. She did the baking, I the grating and decorating.

It may take a week longer before my next post appears, as I am off to the UK for a short holiday. 

Wishing you a Sunny and Happy Easter.

Love,

Madelief x

You can find me on Instagram and Pinterest as well.

Decorate with flowers

Hello!

After two weeks in the UK (the Peak District and North York moors) it feels good to be home again. The girls and I had a lovely time, visiting quaint villages, country houses and gardens. We made some beautiful walks across wild moorland, with far reaching views of the countryside. We felt privileged to be able to enjoy the beauty that Britain has to offer. Hope you had a good time too?! If you are still enjoying your summer holiday, have fun! In the coming months I will take you with me on our adventures.

In my last post I told you about the book Decorating with flowers or Wohnen mit Blumen by Holly Becker and Leslie Shewring, which Callwey publishers kindly permitted me to giveaway. 

It's an absolutely beautiful book! It's colourful, pleasing to the eye and filled to the brim with creative ideas of how to display your flowers best, either home grown or shop bought. The book is a combination of modern and vintage style. It has for instance a chapter on flea market finds, whites and pastel and neon colours. If you would like to see some photo's, please have a look at the website of Callwey publishers.

The book inspired me to go into my garden and make this post for you. If you would like to participate in the draw, please say so in your comment. I have to tell you though that the book is in German. So please bear that in mind. Anyone can participate. The giveaway will end on Saturday the 15th of August. I will announce the winner in my next blogpost. 

Wishing you good luck and a lovely week ahead!

Love,

Madelief x

* Thank you for your sweet comments on my last blog post and suggestions on places to visit.
  

Country diary

Do you know remember the book 'The country diary of an Edwardian lady'? I read it as a teenager. It's a posthumous publication (1977) of the seasonal notes and drawings by teacher and Artist Edith Holden  (1871 - 1920).

She made the drawings and notes in 1906, on her walks through the British countryside. I recently found it on a flea market, hidden in a stack of old garden and cookery books. Such a lovely find. It brought back lots of happy childhood memories.

While I am sitting behind my laptop, with the book lying open on the table, a musty smell wafts by. Despite the smell, the book is still in a good condition. Now and then I pick it up, have a look at the beautiful illustrations and read Edith's observations on flora and fauna.

In this post some photo's of observations I captured on camera during the preparation of a garden lunch ;-). They are not as pretty as the drawings Edith made, but I hope they will do :-). The lady and gentlemen wearing a straw hat are my parents, helping me out in the garden.

Wishing you a fabulous weekend!

Love,

Madelief x