Inspiré Jardin Clandestine

Have you ever passed by a house or garden and just lingered? Peeped through the glass as you sighed deeply in wonderment that something can move you so much? I have those moments when I am taken aback at the beauty that abounds in the littlest of details. I live for those treasured minutes when you are caught off guard with that sense of bewilderment that the earth is our constant gift, always giving, always surprising...

So pull up a chair and join me as we peep into a secret garden....



I stumbled upon this Buckhead (Atlanta) home during an estate sale.
Don't you love these colors together? I want to create this look for our entry way...




Can you imagine beautiful glass decanters filled with delicious wines on this table?

 


We can drink our wine as we listen to the running water in the background.



The secret garden waits for us. What are you in the mood for?





Or we can stay in this quaint garden... who doesn't love the smell and sight of blooming wisteria?






Wouldn't you want to add this comfy daybed to that garden?
Place all your fun magazine and books in the wood baskets?
I found this while visiting the Vagabound Vintage Furnishing store at the Atlanta Mart.



Oh, and lets also add some hanging candles and place our exquisite bottles of french wine
and fresh baguettes in these tin baskets, no?



Perhaps we should take a trip to the local boulangerie....



Yummy.... so many choices.

We should keep all the goodies found in the local Boulangerie in these beautiful glass covers found at Barreveld!





       What a fun day we have had eating, cat napping, talking to the local pâtissier and just taking in life!

                                                             Lets do it again soon....



Hope, in a Royal Way

If perhaps you were living under a cold, damp, isolated rock you may have missed the historical events of April 29, 2011. If you don't know why this day is special, allow me to enlighten you. On this great day a modern, well educated, astute and "normal" girl made a Prince (and future King) one of the happiest men alive!

The royal wedding of Catherine Elizabeth Middleton to Prince William did not disappoint. As was expected, and still inspired, Catherine, or Kate as most call her, was subtly beautiful and at the same time radiant. Poised and composed, yet uncannily gentle. There was an ease and softness about her that made strangers from around the world smile with delight as we all celebrated the bond of love. From the moment they exchanged treasured rings we felt the world shift a little, the monarchy's austere gloom start to break. Dare I say, hope crept into each of our souls.

Now after celebrating with over TWO BILLION guests worldwide the newlyweds must be in desperate search for some alone time! Do you think they will watch their own wedding on television? Maybe catch one of the BBC replays today? I wonder what images of their special day most sticks out in their minds! Was it the fragrant smell of lilly of the valley tucked away under the beautiful maples in the Abbey or their abundance in her bouquet? Kate even had lilly of the valley embedded in their wedding cake!

    

Or was it when William whispered to Kate and her father that this event was just a "small family affair" as he chuckled! So witty. :)  Well lets be honest, to me the most important thing is where they will head off to for their honeymoon! Some place remote for sure, hot perhaps so they can maybe dive and soak in the sun (ps...thankfully the London sun did come out for the important moments) or maybe the young couple will head back to where serendipity took shape and revisit where both were lured to volunteer in Chile? Great time to ski in Patagonia right now..... hum....so as they set off to stay closer to home for now (in her super cute wedges!) lets dream up all the fun places they could possibly honeymoon in the upcoming months...




                        HONEYMOON POTENTIALS:

Mabul Water Bungalow is a floating dive-resort in Mabul Island.

Qualia, Hamilton Island, Australia. August marks Australia’s largest yachting regatta. They can also dive the GBR!  

William can share his "heart" with Kate over the Great Barrier Reef.

They can be very exclusive and have their own private retreat in the Maldives.

Or they may stay closer to home and hit the famed Corsica beaches!

Then again, they have been talking about visiting Canada in the near future and may be lured to  Canada's famed locations....

Explore the tranquility of Twillingate, Newfoundland.

Take a summer dip in Moraine Lake in Banff National Park.



St. John's may remind them of home.

  Or perhaps they will opt for visiting Chile, Argentina, Uruguay and doing a royal visit to the Falkland Islands.

The Falklands are a UK archipelago of over 700 islands only 300 miles from South America.

Rent a private oasis in Punta del Este, Uruguay? This is the Spanish Riviera!

Take a boat to explore the icebergs in Lake Grey and Mountains of the Macizo Paine Massif, Patagonia, Chile.

Or they can totally let their guard down in the remote area of San Martin de los Andes in Argentina.

Wow, all these places would be so much fun. I can't wait to hear where the royal couple ends up! I hope they have a wonderful, peaceful honeymoon and may it be everything THEY want it to be!

As for me, I realised that EVERYTHING I have posted today has some body of water. Can we say "READY for the BEACH?" I think I can! Just a couple more days before Chris and I head out to our private little get-a-way island hopping the British Virgin Islands.... hhmmm, maybe we'll bump into the royal couple there. Ha!

Cheerio!

All royal photos on this post are courtesy of Getty Images and found at CNN's website.

The Planet Earth School

Fifteen “Rules of Life: The Planet Earth School.” by: Dr. Robert M. Nerem

Unmistakable beauty in Cafe Salotto 42 in Rome, Italy

1.  There are no such things as mistakes, only lessons; growth is through a series of such experiences, a process that involves both successful and unsuccessful experiments.

2.  An unsuccessful experiment does not represent failure, just a learning experience,
and one often learns more from these than from successes. 

3.  Always be open in the widest possible way to encountering a new person or a new opportunity, as these represent new teachers, new learning experiences.  “Leave the screen door unlatched,” because you never know who or what will walk in.

Another view of Saint Mark's Basilica from Palazzo Ducale in Venice, Italy

4.  Let the “rock” in your path be a “stepping stone.” If you encounter a closed door, simply look for another door that might be open.  Life is filled with a lot of paths and doors to walk through,

so don’t waste time on a door that is closed. 





5.  Your life is up to you.  At birth you were provided a “canvas” onto which you have the opportunity to “paint your life.”  Take charge of your life and the “painting of this picture.” 

 If you don’t, someone or something else will.

6.  People will remember not what you said, but only how you made them feel, so strive to make a difference in the lives of others.

7.  Be willing to let go of the life you had planned so as to have the life that awaits you.

Heading towards Siguenza, Spain

8.  Remember that the cup is always half full, never half empty, but also remember that the only cards you can play are the ones you are dealt.

In a recent interview Michael J. Fox, the actor and Parkinson’s activist, was asked “how do you keep your optimism in the face of difficult circumstances?”  Do you ever ask “why me?” He answered that “I have no choice about whether or not I have Parkinson’s”, I have nothing but choices about how I react to it.  In those choices there’s freedom to do a lot of things.”

Again, you can only play the cards that you are dealt, so be willing to let go of the

life you have planned so as to have the life that awaits you.

9.  Look for the good in people, and try to imagine the world as it seems to the other person.



A community kayak on the beach in Provinciales, Turks & Caicos



 10. Never, never worry about something over which you have no control.

11. Whatever happens, place the least dramatic interpretation on the event, the incident,

and/or whatever is said.

12. Welcome each and every new day, for “each dawn is a new beginning.” 

 Each day presents new opportunities.

  



Blossoming magnolia flower in Atlanta, GA



13. Listen to your heart.  If you can’t hear what it is saying in this noisy world, make time for yourself, make peace with who you are and where you are at this moment in time.

14.  Don’t let your preoccupation with reality stifle your imagination.  If someday, why not now, even though the impossible may take a while.

15. Life’s journey isn’t to arrive at the grave safely in a well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, worn out, shouting—holy cow, what a ride!

"The Ride" in Key Biscayne, Miami, Florida

All pictures taken by Gisymar. Speech given at the Georgia Institute of Technology graduate commencement ceremony August 2009.