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Pictures that strike an emotion- An encore!

Hope you are enjoying your Memorial Day weekend! We are headed to a friends for a bbq, but the rumbles of thunder and ominous gray clouds are telling me we might not be having our bbq party al fresco as she planned.....
When I first started blogging in January, I did a post entitled "pictures that strike an emotion" on random pictures that just send me to another place. I am amazed at the ability of how pictures and images can truly transport us to another place even if only for  a few minutes. Sometimes at the end of a very hectic day(lately very often), I need those little visuals to allow me to "decompress" and they are great aids in really helping me unwind. Since I had very few followers at that time, it is likely most followers didn't get to see that post,  but it remains today one of my Mom's all time favorites, so I decided to bring back round two of that post and include some of those images as well as a few new additions, all things that really strike an emotion with me. I just love each and every one! Inspiration comes in so many forms, small things like certain foods  and big things like fabulous buildings and landmarks. Creative things like incredible art or a movie that moves us to tears. Then awe inspring things like nature.  Do pictures have power over you like that too? Are you a very visual person? Please take a look and I would love to know what you think and as always if you have a favorite! Mom....this ones for you!

What's more inspirational than our beautiful American flag?

A table for two with the surf at your feet......sounds awfully nice!

Relaxation overlooking the ocean on a perfect calm humid free day with not a care in the world.

A table for two in this most splendid courtyard brimming with white flowers in full bloom!

Napa Valley....this is my personal ultimate heaven.

Can't imagine waking up to a grander more beautiful room Christmas morning!

Whats more beautiful than seeing a bride and groom........seeing them on a beach!

Tomatoes right off the vine out of your garden, still warm from the sun...yummy!

Watching an elegant horse show

How about the magic of seeing a snow covered tunnel of trees on a unplowed road with the sun just barely filtering through?

A glass of chilled white wine, freshly picked grapes sitting al fresco

Dinner for two on a remote beach...sounds great to me!

Whats prettier than seeing a magnificent horse grazing at pasture at a beautiful horse farm?

How about the majesty of seeing a beautiful yacht race? 

A rustic table set for two in a vineyard! I am so there!

Is there anything as breathtaking as the lavender fields in Provence in full bloom?

Need I say more?

A beautiful farm in the country at sunset

Magnificent Rio De Janeiro.....that is one inspirational city!

Walking through a beautiful spot like this during the peak of fall foliage

Checking into your oceanfront Caribbean hotel suite for a week...BLISS!!

Pumpkins and hay...signaling that fall has arrived!

Arriving to Capri for a week of relaxation via your private motor yacht?

A big old fashioned country wedding!!!!!

Magnificent coast dotted wtih all the fabulous Newport mansions in Newport, Rhode Island

A serene boathouse on a lake, like this one at Blackberry Farm

Loire Valley in France... a place that literally takes your breath away!

Sitting at a chic bistro in Paris people watching...ahhh fun!

The quintessential ski town of Aspen at dusk......like a little jewel

Gorgeous Hawaii...pure paradise!

Visiting a farmers market and choosing from the colorful fresh picks of the day!

An evening "stroll" in Venice

A walk in solitude with mans best friend along a canopy of huge towering trees.....

Visiting a favorite musuem and taking in the splendor

You are never too old to enjoy an old fashioned Popsicle....its quintessential summer!

Spectacular suns rays streaming through the canopy of moss covered trees in the Deep South

Ahhh....Paris in the springtime, I hear the accordions playing my song

This is perfection right here. All that's missing is a book, a stack of magazines, a cool tropical mojito, a few tidbits to snack on and silence!

Well, hope you found some inspiration here of your own. Did one picture really do it for you? Would love to know which! Wishing you a wonderful Memorial day!

Garden Mosaics

Hello everyone,

  I hope you all enjoyed your weekend! It was cold and damp here on Saturday but Sunday turned out to be a lovely day. We took a Sunday drive around a few of our favorite places and it is so nice to see the farmers are finally able to get their crops in and everything is greening up nicely.

 Today, I am sharing some photos that I took in the garden this past week.The garden above is coming in our driveway and where I don't normally like orange in our garden I do enjoy this blast of color in the spring.

The early daffodils now need to be deadheaded but there are some late ones just coming into bloom.

I love blue in the garden in all seasons.

And of course I enjoy pinks as well.

The pictures in the last mosaic were taken in Charlottetown, the city closest to us about a 15 minute drive away from our home.

I am enjoying all the colors of the spring season and in a few more days my lilacs will be in bloom. I always look forward to them weeks in advance.The lilacs are a couple of weeks late this year but better late then never!

I have been snapping hundreds of photos the last couple of days so I will have lots to share with you in the coming days.

Thank you for visiting me,

Carolyn

Sunday showhouse.......and you're invited

Happy Memorial Day weekend! After a wedding that lasted until the wee hours of the morning I am so very happy to have a relaxing day ahead of me, I need more time to "recooperate" from such nights as the years creep up!  I must vent and have a feeling I will have some sympathizers out there.......Blogger I am VERY upset with you, my nearly 500 followers all of whom I cherish and am soooo grateful to have somehow had disappeared into thin air for three days..... where oh where had they gone?  You finally brought them back to me this morning. All week long I have been getting emails from one blogger after another telling me their woes with you. This is not right. Lost posts that we all worked darn hard on. Followers who are no more. Inability to post comments all week long. Now I found out my very original post is gone, totally vanished...poof! I mean my very first post, my induction into blogworld is a VERY BIG DEAL and to not have that is incredibly upsetting. I implore any bloggers reading this to check and see if your original post is there. I hope it did not meet the same fate as mine did. I sure hope Blogger knows what they are doing and working around the clock to get it right...I am fearful that this could be a sign of things to come and it makes me want to run for cover! OK, I feel better now...deep breath. Ahhhhhh, moving on, moving on........
In honor of it being the official weekend to launch the official start to summer, we pay tribute to the perfect almighty beach house! Today we visit three very different beach houses, each beautiful, each quite unique and each the perfect getaway. I would be oh so happy to take my family away to any of these fabulous homes for the holiday weekend. Come and take a peek...do you have a fave? Hope whatever you are dong this weekend is enjoyable and mostly relaxing!! Enjoy.....
QUOGUE, NEW YORK Classic "Hamptons" style cottage, though this is a brand new home, it was styled after the famous turn of the century summer cottages of the rich and famous that summered in the summer colonies of Newport and the Hamptons. Love the neutral interiors, rooms with high ceilings, and of course the outdoor spaces and gardens are a dream. This home is elegantly appointed in sophisticated but casual furnishings, that welcome summer entertaining on a grand scale. Come on in and see for yourself!

VERO BEACH, FLORIDA This modern home,  is sun filled and elegantly appointed. This masterpiece was done by renowned architect Hugh Newell Jacobsen. It is modern, light filled, airy and open. The architecutre which is considered to be Carribean Colonial allows for huge walls of soaring glass to take advantage of unrestricted views. What a wonderful home to get away to. I can see entertaining in this fabulous space. Even on a rainy day, it must still be bright! Love how the poolhouse is attached as a U shape structure to the main house around the pool. Come on in and take a peek......

SOUTHAMPTON, NEW YORK This understated weathered shingle classic Hamptons home in the tony neighborhood of Southampton was completely redone by master Robert Stern. The interiors are played down but elegantly refined. I could have a heck of time whipping up some fun meals for friends and family in that kitchen, and the library is quite special as well. I think this house epitomizes country/beachside elegance at its best. Not formal or stuffy but certainly sophisticated. Step inside and see if this is up to your standards for what a  weekend retreat is all about!

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So do you have a favorite? What are your plans for this Memorial day weekend? Hope your weather is holding up wherever you may be! So far so good over here.....some overcast skies but no rain, so I am not complaining. Enjoy your holiday weekend!