Meet me for a Chocolate Cake Tea-Time…

Hello lovely friends.

So much to catch up on with you, as a magical spring has fully unfolded.

I cannot think of any better way to do it than with tea and cake.

Can you?

A dreamy chocolate cake with a hot orange tea under the apple trees is just the thing.

Spring has come to life ever so beautifully, with fruit trees in full bloom and endless buckets of roses.

Golden hour light is now shining through my garden like a fairy tale.

I learned that the sun does not shine so magically in winter through my arbors as it does in the warmer months.

It inches over just enough to burst through the arbor just as the roses are in full bloom.

I gasped when I realized this for the first time, I could hardly believe it.

This spring has brought more flowers than ever at both houses.

The days were going by so quietly and calmly…

Teddy and I had fallen into a sort of lazy routine of cuddling after our chores.

Watching our favorite shows together as he smothered me with love.

Painting at night, reading in the loggia above the pool.

Watching the bees quietly.

Tending garden in the country.

But then a series of curious events unfolded.

In fact, these events have been the biggest reason that I was so silent for 2 months.

One afternoon I was paging through the Humane Society website when a new pup popped onto the screen.

Her photo had just been loaded and I gasped.

I felt such a deep connection.

Here I was, just enjoying my calm little life with Teddy by my side, when I became unfathomably obsessed with rescuing this little darling.

And so, I did.

Can you believe it?

It was totally unexpected and unplanned.

The thought of her took over my mind, I couldn’t even sleep.

I somehow knew she was ours.

And so, she is.

Cheers with cake and tea 🙂

I will be sure to share much more about our little Poppy soon, but for today I could not imagine coming here to say hello without giving you a snippet of that news.

Now, if you follow us on Instagram then you know every single little thing going on.

I try to post daily videos of our life in the garden and such.

But if you do not, then ta-daaaaa, I have a new little girl.

She is about 5.5 months old and has brought a crazy wild avalanche of busyness and goodness into our lives.

She’s been with us nearly 2 months I think.

Mister Lovee adores her, and so does my sister and Irishman.

She has a curious little family that smothers her with love.

But most importantly, she has a big brother who plays with her all day and will give her anything she wants right out of his mouth.

A toy, a treat, anything.

So precious.

We’ve had daily early puppy mornings, chasing everything in sight, a real hunter of a little dog.

She’s about 22 lbs. right now, so we will have to wait and see how big she gets.

She has a very petite face and legs, so I don’t think she’ll get too big.

But then again, I could be wrong.

It’ll be fun to watch her grow up.

She’s cuddly and loveable like Teddy.

I never thought in a million years that I would ever have love like Matty and Miles in my life again.

And yet, here I am with two very loveable dogs, and my heart just expands and expands enough to fit everyone in fully <3

Love is MAGICAL!

Teddy and Poppy <3

I did a doggy DNA test on Poppy and I received the very interesting results.

(mostly to find out about her health, since no one at the Humane Society really knew her breed)

She first has a lot of Brittany in her DNA (spaniel), then a bit of pug, Boston terrier, cattle herding dog (like Matty), and a few others.

She has an adorable ginger spot right on her side and freckles in her white fur.

I couldn’t love her more, it was divine intervention, I am certain.

She has a pink collar now, but she borrowed Matty’s at first, as seen below.

In the midst of all the good news, a loved one has fallen quite ill.

Not ML or Irishman or my sister, we are all fine (knock on wood).

With that have come many days in hospitals and a bit of topsy turviness.

That’s predominantly why I have not been around, you see.

I have been inspired to love each day ever the more.

Watching a hummingbird mama have a baby hummingbird.

Then watching her baby fly off.

Only for her to return and build a new nest on top of her old nest and lay another egg.

I am truly speechless and will share photos with you next time for sure.

I just noticed her new nest about 10 minutes ago, so I must go and take photos today.

I love coming here to chat with you, it is so calming for my heart and soul.

Spring has been utterly beautiful beyond words.

It’s funny how that happens, when life has hard moments, nature gives you more than you could ever hope for.

I haven’t even been picking many flowers, I’ve just been enjoying them in the garden.

Although I do have a small few elderflower in my flower press right now.

I hope to come here to say hello again very soon.

One thing I have been doing all spring is taking my big camera out with me and taking tons of photos.

It’s so much fun to put on good music and just sit and scroll through the photos.

Taking the time to take photos is such a wonderful act of mindfulness, I love it so much.

 

I hope you are well in your neck of the woods, and I hope to see you soon.

Please let me know how you are and what you have been up to if you feel so inclined.

In the world of scrolling, I know leaving a comment is not that fun to do, but I’d love to hear how you are.

 

All my best!

See you soon <3

Love, Vanessa

 

 

PS:

Here is a lovely collection of songs to listen to.

I enjoy them so much <3