Bring a little drama into your house the easy way—trim your plants. My leggy overgrown purple smoke bushes were as tall as my house and needed a quick trim. As they hit the ground I realized I had a dramatic arrangement just begging to go in the house.

The hydrangea are ready to pop—greenhouse is just at the end of the porch.

Good bones are what everyone wants in a house or garden. You can always fix the ugly with a little lipstick, or stone in this instance. I am shocked at the difference this small change has made in my back garden.

Summer Afternoon … the two most beautiful words in the English language according to Henry James. Well, I agree with Henry—alfresco meals, lounge chairs, running water, freshly mowed grass and hammocks are all the best things about Summer.

Who needs a little table setting inspiration—ME. Sometimes I run out of ideas, or maybe I just run out of steam. I am trying to do a better job of the whole table setting thing … even if it is just for two. I could have one to seven at my table at any given time.

Oh, I LOVE a good project! The laundry room is getting a fresh new look for the New Year. Pink says elegant, strength and friendship—what a perfect choice for my laundry room makeover. I have been looking for the perfect pink…not too Pepto and not too peach. I found it in Benjamin Moore’s ‘Tissue Pink.’

The escape awaits and this time it is Venice! We all need a little get-a-way from ‘real’ life to relax, enjoy and have a much needed rest. Travel can turn the ordinary into the extraordinary!