Italian Villas and their Gardens

I just found this reprint of the 1904 original edition and am extremely excited about it. It is the result of a collaborative effort between Rizzoli International Publications and The Mount, an organization founded to preserve and restore Edith Wharton's Massachusetts estate.
Wharton had a diverse writing portfolio and sadly very few of her works are readily available. I can't wait to spend the quiet moments of my long-weekend reading her thoughts on Italian Villas and their Gardens!

Fabric Samples

Finally got some of my fabrics back from the printer!
I'm really excited, they turned out better then I imagined.

(Sorry, pictures are crappy - will get better ones up on my website)

Garden path

I think it was when I moved to England that I began to appreciate a well-considered bit of greenery. Since then my genteel delight has taken on a rather greedy desire for more, bigger, better. It's lucky then that my in-laws happen to be expert gardeners and happen to own some rather fertile land in a lush part of the world. Here are a few pictures that frankly do the real thing absolutely no justice.

Farm Life

The family farm located in the northern regions of the Philippines. It's the most fertile land I have ever seen. They grow absolutely everything there. My next post will feature some of the plant life.

Room with a view

Carlo and I just got back from the Philippines. We had to make a stop over in Manila, and we were happy to find the newly built Manila Marriott Hotel. It was a gorgeous resting spot, one which I'm sure we will stay at again, but it did not feel like an accurate reflection of the city itself. The city at large presents a very different experience, one we sadly did not have time for on this trip.

Frosty Morning

Was taking an early morning walk near the duck pond in West Vancouver, and heard a peculiar cracking noise. On closer inspection it turns out the noise was coming from the swans on the pond using their beaks to blow a path through the ice that had formed on the surface of the water over night. Quite wonderful to watch. Wish I'd taken a film, but only got these photos.

Eley Kishimoto

My faves. Thought I'd share.