Monet's Garden in Giverny, France

 Today I have some eye candy for you. I wish I could say I was lucky enough to have photographed these myself, but alas no. All of these gorgeous photos were taken in Monet's Garden in Giverny, France by my very talented Uncle while he and his family were on a dream vacation to Europe.

 He kindly allowed me to share these gorgeous photographs with you all, so sit back, soak up the beauty and dream....

 

Where Bloggers Create 2016 will be in July!!

We are gonna do it!!! 

I have been debating with myself for quite some time as to whether or not I would host another Where Bloggers Create party. The number of participants has been steadily dwindling over the last few years and I thought maybe every one was "over it"

But I have had several emails from some lovely women asking about this years party and it made me realize, it's not about the number participating, but the number of women who enjoy the party and find inspiration by having a place to look at the wonderful spaces that ordinary woman create in.

And so.... the party is on!!!! It does help so much when you guys take the button, put it on your blog and even do a quick post letting your own followers know about the party. After all the more people who participate, the more inspiration we will have. :)

We will be doing a link party again this year, since it seemed to work so well last year.

With a link party, everyone does their post first and then comes over here to link up. You do not need to contact me to let me know you are going to be participating. (although I would love to know that you will be) Just come on over on the 15th and add your blog post to the list.

If you are unsure of how to participate in a link party, click here for full instructions. (It's really easy)

So the rules are as follows... (It's a short list, I promise)

 

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1. On or around July 15th do a new blog post that shows off your creative playground. Please do not fear that it is not good enough. There is always a wide variety of creative spaces to be found during the party and yours will be loved and appreciated by all of us.

 

2. On July 15th, come over here and link up your post. (again if you need help, the instructions can be found here)

 

3. Please do not link up if you are just trying to advertise something or if you are not sharing a place where you create beauty of some kind. I will remove any blog or website that does not comply with this. :) 

 

4. If you plan to participate PLEASE grab the code under the button for the event and put it on your blog. (It's in the top right sidebar.)  If you would do a short blog post to let your readers know you will be participating that would be wonderful. The more bloggers that know about the event, the more participants we will have and the more inspiration you will have!

 If you want to visit last years attendees, click here for last years party post and links to last years party goers.

Don't forget, it doesn’t matter if your space is big or small, it’s yours and that makes it special!!!

I hope to see lots and lots of you on the July 15th!!!

PS... (If anyone wants to get a pretty new look from Valentine Design for their blog before the event....there's still time! I am offering a 15% discount for anyone who is joining the party. Shoot me an email and I'll get you on the list!)

My Spring/Summer Garden

The summer heat is in full swing here in Phoenix. However, until last week the mornings were still a delight to be outside and that is where I have spent every morning for the past 4 months having my breakfast and coffee.

Because we have such terrible soil here at my house, I solved the issue by using containers instead of planting in the ground.

I try to find unusual containers to use, as well as glazed pottery and even some painted terra cotta.

Sometimes it's hard to find what I want because I'm very specific about the colors I use out there. No red or orange for me. They are just too darn hot! I try to use cooling purples, pinks and blues and of course lots of white!!

I love the sound of water and so I have water fountains tucked here and there. The sound makes me happy and in the heat somehow manages to make me feel a little cooler.

This is spot under one of the trees that gets morning sun and dabbled shade for most of the rest of the day. Most plants here in Phoenix like that the best. It's also a perfect spot to hang one of my watering cans. You will see them spread about the garden. Another one of those things that make me happy out here. :)

This is a good example of the variety of containers I like to use. You will see and old wheel barrow, a galvanized wash tub, glazed posts and a painted terra cotta one I did a few years ago that is getting wonderful chippy and crusty. (If you want to read that post, it's here.)

 Because my hubby and I are both junkers and love old crusty stuff, we started collecting vintage license plates to hang in the garden as well. I like the older ones (pre-1960) the best, but if it has a great color nice graphics it usually comes home with us.

 This is a cool old advertising sign I bought a few years ago. More rusty and crusty!!

And here's my little helper Cooper. He is 6 months old now and he LOVES to play in the water. I cannot be outside watering my plants without him sticking his head in the water sprayer or standing under the hanging plants while the water drains from them! He and his sister Jasmine make me laugh every single day. :)