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"Where better to care for the soul than in the details of our daily lives?....The soul has an absolute, unforgiving need for regular excursions into enchantment. It requires them like the body needs food and the mind needs thought... An enchanted world is one that speaks to the soul, to the mysterious depths of the heart and imagination where we find value, love and union with the world around us. As mystics of many religions have taught, that sense of rapturous union can give a sense of fulfillment that makes life purposeful and vibrant." ~ Thomas Moore.

Thursday, April 3, 2014

Moss, Rose and Candle Chandelier and Flowers


 Hello Beautiful Ladies of Bloglandia

Did anyone else experience the Madness of March? There is alot going on around the net about how absolutely insane it was, and I can vouch for that personally.

But today is about my lovely little project the Moss, Rose and Candle Chandelier which I finally did today.   I am going to try to blog on John's laptop .....since my PC crashed.....lets see if it works out.
About this project what took me so long was to decide.....deciding whether to make it real, living..... or not real........obviously I wanted it as real as it gets, but if it is real it will only last a few days, and I KNEW I could not settle for this beauty being around only for a few days, as I've been in love with it for a year now and finally decided to make it manifest. The difficult decision was made.....I wanted it to last, so alas, it had to be fake. I don't like fake.....really dont.....however, some things will simply have to be accepted. I went to Michaels for the fakes......ugh. :D

{ As an aside, I just took another bite of my Provencal Salad.....I never knew what that word "Provencal" meant until just days ago when I came across it and finally decided to see what it meant, in cuisine terms, and turns out it is quite a French/Mediterranean style of food and.....lo and behold......it is the very descriptive of the style of foods both myself and my housemate happen to cook and enjoy best! Go figure  :D  :D  that French thing again.....I was fascinated by this as I had no idea our style of cuisine had a name, but it does and we ''fit the profile'' about 95% so I say, its a good fit.  The first website I hit on had a good description of the ingredients of this Provencal style of cuisine and a wonderful picture of a salad which I then had to do the next day and I'm glad I did....and this wonderful salad is what I just took a bite of and will make a post on that soon.....ish.  Oh god sooo goooood. }

But here is my project finished....but wait, I should show the befores first right?....ok here are lots of pics.....

ok, one of the last areas needing some love and beauty was under the Gazebo. The Gazebo itself is adorable and I love it but it is not inviting, merely a place for the housemate John, to sit and smoke his cigars after work. I can never sit outside anymore actually because of the planes flying overhead. On gorgeous days the planes are like every 30 seconds, literally, and it is impossible. I wondered why I never fixed that up earlier, but there you go.
I did it now because I do want to spend time out there but it will probably be at night when the planes stop, and I did just a few things.

This is before.....we keep straw as the ground cover to prevent weeds and always have something soft for bare feet.....works wonderfully. I did not like these chairs and I found 2 new ones......it is much nicer here now. :D




The table I picked up from  just a few doors down, it looked like the one from Pottery Barn            http://rk.pbimgs.com/pbimgs/rk/images/dp/wcm/201405/0318/img51c.jpg     and maybe it was, but it was outside too long and got mold, but I thought no problem, I can get rid of that. I used sand  paper, bleach etc, scrubbing, leaving in the sun and nothing would take it out.  After a year I decided then to paint it and I had a can of French Linen Chalk Paint and that got 2 coats, and now it looks quite lovely! Underneath it is as clean as is possible, and now painted. However I need to keep it covered with fabric and I decided upon the drop cloths which are very sturdy and a natural fiber, so I got one and that went on top. On top of that I layered an old tablecloth I picked up many years ago at a French Flea Market of all things, which I had been to only once, and this little table cloth is a French one.
 I really had an entirely different vision for the finished table, but I had to do what I had to do.
I had a whole bunch of orchids which needed a place since I had finally repotted all of them and the perfect place was under the gazebo.....so instead of urn planters filled with hydrangeas like I wanted, it had to have the orchids.






But here is my version of the Moss Rose and Candle Chandelier which I fell in love with....this one in no way has the same Old World feel the inspiration does,  but I had to try it.







I  hung an old Batik Javanese tablecloth on the screen because the sunset hits John's face too rudely, so now its blocked off.














This is the inspiration:

http://media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/5a/fd/b4/5afdb4610db294b64d83f2c255a3173f.jpg








I wish I had more ivy, but fake flowers are not cheap either, so I settled. I can always add later.


Some more pics and then I have some flowers for this week.....




 







The old white papasan chair is in front of the table, almost ready for me to lounge in and get lost for hours in the magic of the summer pond.........









On the way back into the house, a couple of beautiful orchids....

Vanda





and Fragrant Cattalaya






begonia flowers, white plumbago, hydrangeas, and spray rose.....












  









































Thanks for visiting.....I should be doing a post next on my Provencal Salad. yum!


Sharing this post with Rose Vignettes Fresh Cut Friday
and with Rooted In Thyme
and with The Charm of Home
and with A Delightsome Life
and with Shabbilicious Friday
and with Fishtail Cottage



                              

16 comments:

  1. I can't believe it; I was just on the phone with our dear Irina, and we asked about YOU and here you are....I am so thrilled to hear you have been working on your passion! And in regards to Provençale cuisine....oh là là....it is my favorite. I was in Nice, France for three months and I gorged myself on it!

    Your chandy is magnificent. Absolutely fantastic. I have been looking outside onto my patio, thinking about THIS VERY idea and I came across such a chandy the other day. I have to save my pennies for it but if I do end up with it, I am doing this! Yours looks wonderful, and I see what you mean, however. More ivy I think is the trick, but you'll fill it in. Well my friend, it's snowing here. YEP, the huge mounds we had melted away, but now we have at least two inches but it's of the wet kind, and it won't last. Now you really have me thinking about white chandies in my garden.

    PEACE AND LOVE MY DEAR!

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    1. Hi there,
      yes I felt a little remiss in blogging and today forced myself to make this and test it to see if it would be something I could live with...I do have to put in some more ivy which is simple enough, but it is prettier than the pictures, the effect in the Gazebo is really nice. Thank you for your comments and I hope to see your rendition soon. Wishing you warm and sunny days soon.
      warmest hugs
      lady

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  2. Oh My! Your chandelier is stunning! You did such a great job. I love it! :)
    Thank you for sharing your post at Fresh-Cut Friday.
    ~Liz

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  3. Thank you SO MUCH for coming and understanding. It's time to take a break, reevaluate, and come back only once a month. One thing is for sure, I never want to stop visiting others. I can't wait to get my hand on one of these chandies! HAVE FUN MY FRIEND! Anita

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  4. I love your beautiful chandelier! You did an amazing job making it. This is my first time to visit your blog, and it's lovely!


    Linking from Fresh Cut Friday,
    Ricki Jill

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  5. The chandelier came out beautiful!! Love all the flowers...ou can never go wrong when Moss is involved...we just now have the crocuses poking u through the ground...LOL Love the little white ones in the last couple of photos...are those impatiens?? Hope your doing well Lady :D

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  6. Your moss rose chandelier looks so beautiful! I am delighted to share that your post will be featured in this week's Home and Garden Thursday,
    Kathy

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  7. That's very pretty. Thanks for sharing.
    Sherry

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  8. Love love love it. I want one now. Must have a go.

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  9. Your chandelier is much lovelier than the inspiration one. Very well done :)

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  10. Oh dearest Lady,

    I LOVE that you called me a "bard" - what a lovely sentiment, oh how I adore that title! May you enjoy the greatest gift of all to us fragile humans, to us, who are vessels of a most precious gift: THE SOUL.

    Thank you for your visit. Enjoy whatever you do this weekend! Anita

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  11. OOOH! Well, be it real or faux, you have the magic touch, dear friend, and you are an inspiration.
    It turned out so beautiful....
    Ok, I have got to figure out a way to visit you! :)))) (I'll bring lots of rose jam!)
    Blessings....enjoy, enjoy!!
    xoxoxoxo

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    Replies
    1. tee hee, thanks again bubbles :D
      yes you can visit anytime, and no need to bring Rose Jam, unless of course you insist lol
      hugs
      lady

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  12. What a beautiful dining space that you have! love that Chandelier!!!! thank you so much for linking up to Fishtail Cottage's Garden party today! so exciting to see your post! xoox, tracie

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  13. Your space and chandelier are stunning....and the flowers are beautiful! I'd have to stay out there all day but if the planes were as bad as you say I'd be wearing headphones jamming my music....lol

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    Replies
    1. oooh ''stunning'' I like that :D, but yes the planes even as I type are flying and even with ear plugs and a gun range headphone set is not enough, music is a distraction I use it inside for a time, outside it would have to be extremely loud but the thing is I ADORE SILENCE .... the sounds of birds and trickling waters, the breeze through the palms and distant chimes.....noise even music is disturbing to me now.

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