A Beautiful Home ~ Someone Special

Hi Everyone, 

I have wanted to share my friend's home with you for awhile.  I'm only showing some of her beautiful property. Her home is on the Bluffs overlooking the city and she has decorated the interior with a 1930's  flair.

This fountain is overlooking  the city and at night the fountain is lite with the water flowing over the top.  It's amazing.     

In 1885, J. A. Bauer (John Andrew "Andy" Bauer) bought out Frank Parham's Paducah Pottery in Paducah, Kentucky, a pottery whose main products were brown-glazed, had-thrown wares including crocks and jugs.  J.A. Bauer moved his family to Los Angeles in early 1909, and selected a new site for a pottery. J.A.

Bauer Pottery Company was built at 415-421 West Avenue 33 in Lincoln Heights. an area between Los Angeles and Pasadena, California. Bauer found a demand from the nursery trade and added new products to the pottery's wares including flower pots, garden ware, and planters.

Around 1930, Bauer Pottery introduced California Colored Pottery.  By 1933, the company added ruffled or "ring" dishes. 

The collection is just amazing.  I would love to open the doors and photograph the beautiful dishes and show you more of the collection.  

A beautiful home inside and outside.

And a beautiful women inside and outside lives here.

Beautiful rose gardens and different areas of interest. 

It's a treat when this wonderful lady invites a group of friends to share the view on the Bluffs to watch the city's 4th of July fireworks display.  It's a half hour show around ten in the evening when the sun goes down the temperature can sometimes still be in the 90's.  

What a great time we have.

Thank you, dear friend for entertaining us all those years.

I love you.

xo

Betty 

I'm joining:

A Stroll Thru Life for Table Top Tuesday

Delightsome Life for A Return to Loveliness

Coloradolady for Vintage Thingie Thursday

French Country Cottage for Feathered Nest Friday

and 

At The Picket Fence for Inspiration Friday

Please link back to the wonderful parties and enjoy the moment!

My Back Yard Before and After~2011

Hi Everyone, 

I hope you had a great weekend.  I did. I had a spa day on Thursday.  You know the Hair, Nails, Feet and some new makeup thing. I've been planning this post  for a long time but I had to go back into the old photos and find some photos of our house when we first bought it in 1969.  I didn't take as many photos then.  And, Yes! in was 43 years ago.

Our house was a Cal Vet Repo... and yes they even did repo's in the 60's. Our house was 800 sq feet.  No water or Sewer and black linoleum on the kitchen counters.  I know it's the stuff that is suppose to be on the floors. We got a deal.  I loved the property and it was in the country then but now we are right in the middle of the city.  Go Figure.

There was a water well and thank GOD for that.  Because we are still using the well to water our entire yard.  We did hook up to the city water and sewer before we moved into the house. The rest of the story about our house remodel is HERE

Before 

How it was then

Cute kids and our dog Lady

Our son Tom is 12 and our son Pat is 9. They were wonderful  young children.  Helping with the yard work and building a fort in the back yard for their entertainment.  We also had a chicken coop with 23 hens and the smaller white building is the FORT. We had a very old oak tree right outside our house.  Someone thought it might have been a 100 years old.  It sure had a lot of leaves. In 1990 the tree came down with some disease and we had to remove it from the center of our planter box.  It was so beautiful.

The digger pines are dangerous and our property wasn't usable with so many trees.  My sweetheart removed all of them.  He sold the lumber to the lumber mill for railroad ties.  The tin building is where the garage is now and the pressure tank is inside the garage behind the outside kitchen in the following photos.

My children read my posts and I thought they would love to see their young dad playing on the mini-bike.

I think he is around 28 years old. 

After

and how it is now

I'm standing on our patio to photograph the back yard.  Our yard is 120' wide by 260' long.

When the pergola area is landscaped this spring our entire yard will be finished.  We have an automatic water system for all the flower beds.  The vegetable garden is still watered by hand, but that's not my JOB!

We have an outdoor kitchen and the Wolf range is covered for protection against the winter weather.  The well pressure tank is just behind the stove.  Remember the tin building?

When our children were small the entire yard was in vegetable garden.  As the children grew up and left home and I went to work we didn't need a large vegetable garden and sweetheart and I started to develop the flower borders and planted the rest in lawn.  My sweetheart mows the lawn every Thursday all summer long on his riding lawn mower.  Flowers have always been my passion.  Being 1/2 English it feels very natural to play in a garden.  I love Roses and Perennials and after visiting England and Scotland where the lush flowers
grow I'm so inspired to have my own English garden at My Cozy Corner.

This is May and the Roses are blooming.

This is in July and the Black-Eyed Susan or Rudbeckia  are  in bloom.  They give a great show for months.  And during the hot summer when every other plant is gasping for life the Black-Eyed Susans just bloom and bloom.    

This is part of the inside area near the patio and kitchen.  I have to protect the tender plants in the patio each winter.

So as I sit here on this cold January evening remembering the wonderful years I've had developing this great space.  I know one thing for sure.  There is peace and joy as I study the flower beds and plan what I will change in the summer of 2012.
Thanks for visiting My Cozy Corner.
I will be joining:
Between Naps on the Porch for Met Monday
The House in the Roses for Show off Your Cottage Monday
Savvy Southern Style for Wow Us Wednesday
A Delightsome Life for Home and Garden Thursday
and 
My Romantic Home for Show and Tell Friday
xo
Betty
P.S. Thanks for your wonderful comments

Dreaming of Spring Planting

Landscaping the Pergola! I have a new room outside to play in.

I bought some seeds and some bulbs.Now I'm reading gardening books and sitting in My Cozy Corner drinking tea and dreaming up different designs for the flower beds that surround my new pergola See Here

I  have some yellow day lilies in my big garden area. But I would love to have a pink and white garden near the pergola.  The poppies are red to remind me of the beautiful fields of England. The Moon Flowers will bloom in the evening and in the morning until noon.  Lupines are a filler for the back of the Pergola and some dahlia's maybe will be used in pots around the corners.  Sweetheart is planning to put electric and water on the pergola. 

WOW! I'm so excited.

I have found some wonderful gardening books at Tuesday Morning.  The Perennial bed will  have some new roses.  Maybe PINK...  

A Pink tea pot and cup for tea. It's so peaceful looking out my dining room window dreaming of the Spring days ahead.

There's always an angel close by.  I pray for good health this year.  Someone wanted to know if I have a gardener.

No! I am the gardener.  Do I exercise at a gym?  No I garden! LOL~

More Pink.  I'm so happy I brought this Pink Geranium into the house this winter.  I have another geranium planted outside in the garden, but it was hit with the frost.  Hopefully it will recover.

I brought the angels in from the harsh weather. They are enjoying the warmth of the sunny window just like me.

This is an example of the look I would love to capture.  

Great Resources.I love gardening books.  With a home to manage there are so many different kinds of books in my library.

Garden Books

Cook Books

Decorating Books

and

 I always have a book in my purse to read while I'm wait for anything...

Thanks for visiting My Cozy Corner.  I'm off to work today and now you know what I've been up to this week. Dreaming of Spring...
Have a great weekend and I will be back next week to share more of  My Cozy Corner's adventures.
I'm joining:
A Delightsome Life for Home and Garden Thursday
French Country Cottage for Feathered Nest Friday
How Sweet the Sound for PINK SATURDAY
The Tablescaper for Seasonal Sunday
and
Little Red House for Mosaic Monday
Link back to these parties for more inspiration and eye candy.

p.s. Monday morning Sweetheart will be having a small hernia repaired.  Please keep him in your prayers. 

xo
Betty

Tablescape # 40 Chinese New Year

2012 Chinese New Year

The Chinese New Year annually falls on different dates.  In 2012 it is January 23, which marks the beginning of the Year of the Dragon. 

I love the Chinese New Year's Parade and all the traditions that go into making the 15 day celebration memorable...

Young children receive Red Envelopes with money during the celebration.

I was raised in the San Francisco bay area and the Chinese New Year Parade in San Francisco was a big deal even back then.  The Parade was started in the 1860's by the Chinese in San Francisco as a means to educate the community about their culture, the Parade and Festival have grown to be the largest celebration of Asian culture outside of Asia. 

I love Chinese food and I'm fairly good with chop sticks.  When I do go out to dinner I always want to eat Chinese food and I bring extra pairs of chop sticks home for my granddaughters.

This tea house tea pot  was a gift from a dear friend.  She volunteers at the Cancer Society Thrift store and bought it for me.  She knows I love tea pots.

~Very Cute~

When I was a girl around 10 years old. (circa 1950)  My mother would take my younger sister and I to a little  Chinese  restaurant in San Jose.  We would sit in a little cubicle at a table and the entrance to the cubicle had black curtains covering the doorway.  Something like this photo.  And the best part was a little Chinese man dressed in a black changshan and wearing a rounded black hat would come in through the curtains and take our order then quickly and quietly leave us to our visiting. As we pretended we were in a China tea house.
That was the day I fell in love with China.
and of course reading the book
 'The Good Earth' by Pearl S. Buck made China even more appealing for my bucket list of places to travel.

This is my sign in Chinese Astrology.

I am a snake! A metal snake 

Attributes

Firmness, rigidity, persistence, strength and determination. The metal person is controlling, ambitious, forceful and set in their ways as metal is very strong; and they are self-reliant and prefer to handled their problems alone.  The metal person is also materialistic, business oriented and good at organization and stability. 

Black tea eggs

Yield: 18 eggs

Preparation: 5 minutes

Cook: 9 minutes 

Refrigerate:overnight

12 cups water

18 large eggs

1 cup Chinese black loose-leaf tea leaves

1/2 cup low-sodium soy sauce

4 cinnamon sticks

* In a large stockpot, bring water to a hard boil over medium-high heat.

Carefully place eggs in pot.  Cook for 9 minutes.  Remove eggs from water, 

and immediately place in an ice bath.

*Add tea leaves, soy sauce, and cinnamon sticks to stockpot.  Bring to a hard boil.  Remove from heat.

*Using the back of a spoon, crack egg shells.  Place eggs in prepared water.

Cover and refrigerate overnight.

Carefully peel eggs before serving.

Noodle dishes, which represent a long life, are appropriate to serve during 

the Chinese New Year celebration.

The fish candle holders are a part of my childhood.  I remember my mother placing the beautiful green fish in the center of our dinner table.  I love these fish. 

For More traditions, go to Chinese New Year Post 2011 Here

Resources:

Dinnerware Ralph Lauren Claridge Gold  - gift for 50th Wedding Anniversary

Tea cup and saucer -Arita Hand Painted Made in Japan

Red Envelope and Snake charm - World Market

Tea Pot - no markings

Vintage Fish Candle Holders - no markings

Thank you for visiting My Cozy Corner and I hope you enjoyed my Chinese New Year Tablescape.
I'm joining
Between Naps on the Porch for Tablescape Thursday
Tales from Bloggeritaville for Thrifty Thursday
No Minimialist Here for Open House Here Thursday
My Romantic Home for Show and Tell Friday
Designs by Gollum for Foodie Friday
and 
At the Picket Fence for  Inspiration Friday

Please link back to the wonderful blogs for more inspiring visions.
Have a great weekend
xo
Betty 

Drum Roll~The Pergola is Finished

Hello Everyone 

Wow! I'm so happy to share with you the fabulous pergola in our outdoor garden area.
 My sweetheart finished the pergola and it's fabulous. 

Last week I showed  how the posts were set into the ground for this beautiful structure. HERE

The week before I had the plan. I love this photo HERE 

I love the details

The arch supports and beams are very sturdy

Some of the beams are in place. It was a beautiful fall day to be working on a project with a labor of love.

The end trim is great and it gives the ends of the beams character and design. 

The trees have changed from fall to early winter and the new pergola has a fresh coat of paint.

The paint is to protect the wood from the hot summers and cold winters.

The canvas is bare and I'm willing to work and design a beautiful space for afternoon tea and a restful place to  read and relax in the Spring and Summer and Winter and Fall.

MY SECRET GARDEN 

Now it's time to share with all my blogging friends and followers The first project for 2012.

I'm joining

My Romantic Home for Show and Tell Friday

At The Picket Fence for Inspiration Friday

French Country Cottage for Feathered Nest Friday

The Tablescaper for Seasonal Sunday 

Between Naps on the Porch for Met Monday

and

Savvy Southern Style for Wow Us Wednesday

What a wonderful Metamorphosis.  From a dream to an actual piece of heaven.

Thank you dear sweet husband.

and

Thanks to all of my followers new and old.

xo

Betty