Living Necklace: Accessorizing with Air Plants

Have you ever seen a living necklace? I was a fan from the moment I saw it. Of course, it will require a gentle life and a little TLC, but it is a really great conversation piece. This beautiful air plant (Tillandsia) is glued into this simple vessel which hangs on a chic leather cord. Once a week you should soak the plant in lukewarm water (read more about caring for Tillandsia here).

This necklace by LiveTrends was a gift to invite garden writers to attend the Tropical Plant International Expo (TPIE), a trade show for foliage and tropical plants, which is a  held in Ft. Lauderdale, FL on January 16-18, 2019. Wouldn't I love that!

Garden writers and communicators from around the country (GardenComm) were at their national conference this summer when we received the living jewelry. The enthusiasm for this necklace (and buzz about the TPIE show) spread quickly and I saw happy attendees wearing their new accessory with pride throughout the day. 

Once I  returned home, I found the perfect spot with bright light for my air plant. She now hangs on my cookbook holder in my kitchen. Visually, this dangling air plant seamlessly blends my kitchen into Joanna Gaines' kitchen - doesn't it look like it is part of the cookbook cover? 

The idea that a necklace can be living aligns perfectly with my goal to highlight things that are beautiful and interesting. This is delight.

#TPIE #livingdesign #airplants #airplant #unusualjewelry #living #tropicalplants #fortlauderdale #beautifulandinteresting #livingnecklace #gardencomm #gwa #2019 #gardencommunicators

Family Reunion in Orlando Florida

We just had a great week at my husband's family reunion in Florida and I wanted to share this rental location with you because it was perfect. The rental property certainly doesn't know that I'm posting this, but I feel that something this great should be shared. Maybe you can have a delightful family reunion too. 

The goal of this reunion is to rent a house for a week that can accommodate 28-30 people. I know, that's a tall order. This rental property had a nice room with private bath for each of the family units. The kitchen is huge and the large clean space made it fun to cook as teams each night. The location is close to all of the amusement parks and every generation seemed to find something they loved to do nearby.

The price varies by season, of course, and we were there when Florida is at its hottest (96 degrees is no joke). If you are looking for an Orlando getaway for a large group, this could be a great home base. Drink some orange juice for me, okay?

#orlando #rentalpropertyorlando #familyreunion #familyreunionorlando #castofthousands #disneyescape #familyreuniondisney #rentalpropertydisney

Watercolor Painting: Worth Avenue in Palm Beach

Want an original way to remember your vacation? Make a Waterlogue "watercolor painting" of your best vacation picture, save it, print it and then hang it on the wall. 

Waterlogue is an iPhone and iPad app that quickly (and I mean in one minute or less) converts your photo into a watercolor painting that you can save and print.

And when I say an original way to remember your vacation, I really mean original.  No other painting will look quite like yours because the artwork is a computer rendering based on your original photograph. Plus there are stylized settings like "Mechanical" or "Vibrant" to make your watercolor images fit your aesthetic. I am in love with this app and could auto-magically turn my photographs into artwork all-day-long.  I know that this must have real watercolor artists reeling, but I can't help it. I love how my photos look as paintings and I will never have the skills to convert them myself with paint and a brush.

The location? Beautiful Worth Avenue with its palm trees and gorgeous shops in Palm Beach, Florida. We came here for lunch and an afternoon of window shopping and bougainvillea admiring. What a day.

Strawberry Fields...or possibly the less romantic Lettuce Fields

I like to be as specific and informative as I can when I write.  I am sharing what I see with the world and I want to help you to locate everyday beauty too.  However sometimes I just don't know what I'm talking about but share it anyway.

Look at these gorgeous fields growing in South Florida.  I know! I usually picture a big citrus grove so these beautiful green fields took me by surprise. Are they strawberries? Could be.  Lettuce or green beans? It's possible.  I took this photo flying north out of Palm Beach International airport.  If you know what is growing in that area please let me know.

No matter what crop is growing, the effect is the same.  Natural beauty!

Palm Beach, FL: Il Bellagio Restaurant at City Place

What a day! It was hot and sunny in Palm Beach the day we decided to shop at City Place and have lunch at Il Bellagio.  

This photo shows my mom's mixed green salad topped with shrimp and a house-made tomato vinaigrette.  I had an absolutely delicious spring pea risotto with goat cheese, but in terms of being photogenic, the salad won.

We had the perfect table - it was technically inside, so we could benefit from the air conditioner, but was situated close to the open patio so we could feel get some fresh air and hear the music during the water fountain show on the half hour.

We both agreed that Il Bellagio was the perfect place to enjoy a leisurely meal. When you are finished with lunch and ready to explore, all of City Place is at your fingertips.

Singer Island, Florida: John D. MacArthur Beach State Park

For ages I've had "visit MacArthur Park" on my vacation to-do list (which also prompts the Donna Summer's song of the same name to play on repeat in my head).  

I drive past the park daily as I leave Singer Island, and at one particular place on the low bridge I always see unusual birds posing in the sunlight. I've tried twice to pull over with my camera during the afternoon sun to get a photo of some birds, but so far no luck.  I've only gotten shots like this from the condo balcony.

John D. MacArthur Park is "situated between the Atlantic Ocean and the Lake Worth Lagoon, the park is 438 acres of natural environments, including seven species of plants and twenty-two species of animals designated as endangered or threatened."

During the last week of my visit, the park hosted a "Moonlight" folk concert in the open air.  Dan and I stopped in for a while, we chose to walk on the boardwalk (above) and listen to the music wafting out of the trees, rather than sitting in the designated area.  It was lovely - relaxing yet a bit too windy for birds.  I took this photo of their information board to show you what I had hoped to see.

In the end, my only sighting was the resident Loggerhead Turtle, whose blurred left flipper suggests that he was waving to me.

I still have "visit MacArthur Park" on my seasonal to-do list.  I must photograph those birds in the setting sun!

Palm Beach Pizza: Where Fancy Meets Familiar

Oh how I love to eat lunch outside! It was a dreamy day at Pizza al Fresco in Palm Beach.  In the midst of some very upscale shopping, this beautiful courtyard restaurant offers a delicious and accessible lunch - pizza! 

I come every year and there is rarely an empty table. We shared a margherita pizza (tomato sauce, mozzarella cheese and fresh basil) and had individual green salads. It was perfect.  

Beautiful Palm Beach Courtyards can Spark Your Imagination

This is one of the charming walkways between the shops on Worth Avenue in Palm Beach. It has a water element and leads to a courtyard rimmed with small shops.  Once you walk down this path and admire the plantings and trailing bougainvillea (raspberry pink blooms on strong craggy vines), you see that the courtyard has walkways that attach to other courtyards. 

Some courtyards connect one-after-another, while some walkways lead to a single hidden gem. It is really fun and relaxing to explore each and every path.

Can't you see a romantic movie set in the shops and courtyards of this beautiful and exclusive area? Use your imagination and consider what kind of characters you'd like to see here.

Inspired by the Sea

Ahhh...this is "Southern Living!"  I am lucky to have escaped the cold and I can concentrate on my photography and writing in this glorious place.  I bought a new camera last summer and I'm determined to become a Power User" - this is my first chance to try out some of the different settings and I love how this particular picture came out.  

I also bought a glass drill bit and before I flew down here, Dan and I drilled a whole bunch of sea glass (a combination of glass found on the beaches of Hawaii by my friend and a bunch found here in Florida by my dad - so neat!)

My grand plan is to make a collection of beach glass jewelry and offer a few special pieces in my Etsy store. (By the way, my Etsy store is in "vacation mode" (not available for shopping) until I  return from my trip and have a chance to upload my new designs.) Until then, I will design and create some signature pieces made up of sea glass and creativity. 

How can I not be inspired by a view like this?

Kiteboarding in Florida

And then there are days on the ocean that are very exciting!  A kiteboarder spent most of one afternoon living it up right in front of our condo complex. 

I could see people watching him from their balconies and from the beach.  Kiteboarding is becoming more and more popular in Florida and as a spectator, I can confirm that it is really fun to watch.  "Look at him go!" was the feeling we all had as we watched.

Can you feel the ocean breeze?

Wavy

Aren't these wave and sand patterns beautiful?  Somehow the waves and the pull of the current made equal scallops all the way down the beach.  This is the type of natural phenomenon that inspires designers to add a scallop to their collection, I'm sure of it.

This is a larger view from the same morning that I wanted to share with you.  As the last building before the MacArthur Beach State Park, the view goes on for miles.  There is a pelican rookery straight ahead and it is wonderful to see groups of pelicans flying out in the morning and home again around 5pm after a big day of fishing.

Turtle Tracks

Okay, it's a little hard to see, but I'll tell you what to look for.  Coming up from the water to the beach (in the white sand) are tire-like tracks in the shape of a "U." 

Farther up toward the dune, directly up from the tracks in a large mound in the shadows.  It is a mound of sand in the lower left corner of the picture.  That, my friend, is a turtle nest.  And if I identified it correctly by the tracks, it is a Loggerhead Turtle nest.  So neat!

Turtles in this area make their way up out of the water to the edge of the dunes (tracks one way), dig a hole in the sand and lay their eggs.  Then they mound up the sand and make their way back to the sea (the return arc of tracks).  When the baby turtles hatch (after 55 to 70 days) they climb out of the hole under the mound and work their way to the ocean to swim and live their lives. 

I've never seen a turtle nest before and was happy that I could take a picture to show you.  We even called the Marine Center up the beach to notify them of the nest.  Apparently they log the location of nests and use it to monitor turtle statistics etc.  Just days later all signs of this nest were gone to the naked eye.  The tide washes away the tracks and makes the mound less visible.  But that's okay, the turtle eggs are buried far below in a hole.  Science! 

Do you remember when I visited the Loggerhead Marine Center last year and meet Ryker? 

The Ocean as Art

Sometimes I have to pinch myself.  This is the guestroom I get to stay in while visiting family in Florida.  The ocean is literally outside of this high rise condo!

And I am in complete agreement with the decorator.  When you have a floor to ceiling view of the Atlantic, it is the only art the room needs.  A bed with pretty shabby chic linens, a lamp and a view. 

Occasionally I keep the "room darkening" shade open so that I'll wake up when light comes in.  That way I can push aside the curtains and watch the sun rise in my pajamas.  That is a moment of delight.  

City Place

Ohhh...I had such a nice evening at City Place in West Palm Beach.  An open air shopping plaza with restaurants, shops and a movie theater. 

I wandered through Anthropologie, admired a cake in the window of Sugar Chef (the cake looked like a cat perched on a ball of yarn!) and sat on a bench admiring the music-timed fountains.

We had a lovely dinner outdoors on the upstairs patio of City Celler (grilled orange glazed shrimp with risotto - yum!).  The restaurant is under the awning behind the fronds of the palm tree on the right.  We would have sat there indefinitely, if we hadn't realized that we had time to catch a movie.  What a night!

Shuffleboard

When I was a child, shuffleboard was my favorite Florida sport.  For a few days each year, it was my go-to activity and had a wonderful time challenging my Dad or brothers to a game. 

When I saw this empty shuffleboard court, with the "biscuits" left just so, I had a take a picture.  It was morning and I was alone on the court, or I know I could have talked someone into playing with me. 

This blog post is just for fun - a reminder of all the games I used to play here.

Water Garden

I am being wooed by a waterlily.

Up until now, I had never given much thought to having a water garden.  I have a fairly straightforward backyard, not at all sloping and mysterious, which is what I associate with water elements.  But what if?

When I saw this single bloom in a beautiful pond (part of an open-air shopping center in Florida), I started to wonder.  I have dappled light.  I have humid Summers.  What if I could tuck a water element in somewhere?  I know that my location rules out the possibility of keeping Koi fish, but I could swing just about everything else.  Hmmmm.

My mind keeps coming back to the Monet-like reflections of this simple pond.  I am being wooed.

Bird Watching

Even the wildlife in Florida love the view!  This egret (who we think is a teenager vesion of the Great Egret) decided to visit us 6-floors up!  Most egrets nest in wetland areas (there is a pelican rookery nearby) and stay together in groups, but this guy wanted to see the view from our condo for himself, hence my deduction that he is a rebellious teenager.

He has a long s-shaped neck, but is scrunching it up due to the wind.  He first landed on the balcony, then moved to the chair to get more comfortable.  A bird visiting this high up is very unusual and I'm glad that he was willing to pose for a few pictures.

Did you know that the Great Egret is the symbol of the National Audubon Society?  Our new friend, Eddie stayed at least an hour soaking up the view.  I don't blame him a bit - it's gorgeous! 

Virtual Beachwalk

When I am composing a photograph, I look for elements that add value to the image.






What did I see in this picture?

• the horizon is true, but the shoreline is on a slant, which makes the "lines" interesting
• the white of the clouds echo the color of the white cap waves
• there is not a soul around

Now take a minute and go for a virtual beach walk.

Worth Avenue

There is nothing like spending the afternoon shopping Worth Avenue in Palm Beach, Florida. The shops here are the best of the best (Dior, Pucci, Hermes), but what I really like is simply strolling the avenue soaking up the atmosphere. There are endless courtyards and outdoor "living rooms" designed to charm its guests with fountains, mirrored walls and lush plantings. Bougainvillea vines have climbed these walls for decades and accent the old buildings like raspberry curtains. Take a moment and imagine walking through this archway with me on a lovely afternoon...

Orchid Heaven

  The American Orchid Society has a Visitors Center and Botanical Garden in Delray Beach, Florida that is truly worth a visit. The Greenhouse has 5,000 orchids and tropical plants set off by a 14-foot-tall waterfall, footbridge and cork tree that add dimension to the ever-changing floral display. 

The grounds include a Jungle and Florida native plants garden as well as a gift shop loaded with orchid swag. I particularly like that you receive a "Plants in Bloom" guide sheet dated that morning - you know exactly what is blooming.

Have you ever bought a simple Phalaenopsis orchid? They are easy to care for and bloom for months - perfect for a formal living room.