To celebrate the beginning of February, I decided to purchase some roses before the prices increase 3x for Valentine’s Day.  It’s the Connecticut Yankee in me.  I also bought some red carnations.  I think carnations are considered inferior to other flower types, which is unfortunate.    A few years ago I used roses and carnations in a centerpiece I created for a charitable event.  After making 110 centerpieces, I thought I would never want to even look at another rose or carnation, but truly, I like the combination of both flowers with their red tones and textures.  Plus carnations are more affordable than roses and are good fillers.

In looking for a different container, I found an old white milking pail, with rust and all that we purchased for one of our barn sales.

I soaked some floral foam in water.

And then placed the wet foam inside a large Ziploc bag to keep any excess water away from the metal bottom of the pail.

I added the roses first, pushing them into the foam.

Carnations typically come with their petals tightly closed.  With some gentle manipulation, you can get a fuller carnation in a few seconds.

After using the 12 roses and the 12 carnations, the container still needed some filling.  I roamed the yard and clipped some greens to add to the empty spaces.

After the arrangement was completed, I thought I would hang it with a red ribbon on the red front door.  However, the red ribbon and red flowers just got lost against our red door.  Too much red. So I hung it on the side gate which leads to the rose garden.   It really pops against the dark green door!

With our chilly morning temperatures, I expect this will last for quite a while.  Of course, you could easily make this with high quality artificial roses and dry foam as well.  Here is another shot of the milk pail with my trusty companion, our pocket beagle, Sox.

May your February be filled with love and joy!

P.S. Thank you to Megan, my daughter, Elisabeth’s friend for lending her beautiful hands to this photo shoot!

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Typically, we enjoy sunny, sweater weather during the winter in Phoenix.  I can’t recall a winter season being so gloomy and rainy~~don’t get me wrong, we love and need the rain, but it’s rare having several days of heavy, gray, overcast skies.  The weather for the next 5 days will continue this pattern so I thought I’d share some sunshine pictures of the yard I took last week.  Unlike other parts of the United States, winter is our “green time”.  Some of the trees have lost their leaves, but for the most part, our landscape is colorful this time of year.

The orchard is abundant with citrus.  The tangerine tree is so heavy with fruit this year and each piece is delicious.

We have lemons and grapefruits and a wide variety of oranges.

The previous owners planted a kumquat tree to celebrate a wedding anniversary.  Now we get the benefit of this sweet/tart little fruit.  A few years ago I made kumquat marmalade.  It was a complete hassle trying to get all the numerous seeds out.  I’m not sure I’ll admit it was worth the effort, but I’m certainly willing to try again! Or if anyone has a good recipe involving kumquats, let me know.

The garden is filled with lettuces, endive, cauliflower and broccoli.  Tomatoes are still green but hopefully we will be picking those once the weather warms up.

Next to the vegetable garden is the flower garden and a perfect place to sit in the late afternoons.

My husband built this obelisk for me. It’s painted a French blue and has its place in the garden.  Look at that cobalt sky!!!

The geraniums (which we brought down from the mountains a few months ago), are loving the cooler, damp weather.

And of course, here’s Cooper.  He’s my constant companion following me around the yard on this gorgeous day.

Wherever you are, I am sending some sunshine to brighten your day!

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It is very easy to get into the habit of doing the same thing over and over again-especially when something is tried and true.  At the holidays, I attempt to switch things up a bit and create new ideas out of common things.  As Susan and I were getting more treasures out of the barn, we came across several pieces of milk glass and decided to create a simple holiday arrangement/centerpiece.

We started with a tray.  This wooden tray was in the mud room, filled with papers that I hadn’t gone through in quite some time.  After wiping off the dust, we were had our base piece.  Any tray that you have laying around will do.

Next we chose this dish towel as it is a nice holiday red color.   I like the texture and pattern, but again, any towel, napkin or piece of fabric of your choosing will do. Placing it at an angle creates interest. Probably should have ironed it, but once it is covered, who will know?

Next we added a combination of artificial greens and some fresh clippings from the yard.  Getting different textures and shades of green was the objective.

We also added some ornaments.  We found these large glass orbs on one of our shopping trips and I love the vibrant color.  Any ornament will do. Next we took a few pieces of the milk glass and filled them with white roses and red berries.  Using different container shapes adds multiple heights.  The all-white color theme gives it consistency.  You could use coffee cups, glasses, any container ready to hold water and flowers. Also, the rule of thumb is to have an odd number of pieces-not sure who’s rule it is, but it seems to work!

Lastly, we added a taper candle in a milk glass holder for height and dimension.  This was a simple, easy and yet festive arrangement that would look great on any table.  The milk glass containers will be available soon on our online store.  Please let me know what everyday items you use for centerpieces!  Happy creating!

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The kitchen at Bella Terra is a mess–a happy mess- but still a mess!  But the pies are made and the table is set.

Wishing you and yours a happy, safe and blessed Thanksgiving.

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What an honor to host a charitable English tea party event at Bella Terra, our historic home in Phoenix, Arizona. Speaking at this tea is New York Times best selling author, Rhys Bowen. Since Rhys Bowen is British, our fundraiser’s theme is a proper English tea party. And if you aren’t familiar with her books, you must add them to your reading list! Many are on the New York Times Bestseller’s list.

The Entrance

This afternoon event is set outside. As guests arrive, they travel through the gated entrance with a tea cup wreath to the side garden.

The Attire

And what is a tea party without a fabulous hat! Nearly all participants arrive wearing such lovely head attire. Fortunately for me, Dillards has such a great selection of springtime head wear. And the tea length Ralph Lauren dress is a comfortable choice for this event.

With anys fundraiser, one needs to minimize expenses.  My dear friend, Linda, let me to borrow her extensive collection of old English china.

The Table Setting

Susan, my lifelong friend and co-sponsor is the best person to help organize the event. Using Party People, we easily rent the tables, chairs and linens. Julie Greder is a very creative local caterer. She creates a fabulous menu centered around the English tea theme.

The tables, set in the side garden, remain cool under the shade of the immense date palms. As our guests gather and mingle, we serve chilled champagne. It is such a civilized time to make new friends and participate in interesting conversation.

The Menu

Everyone claims their seats at the tables, and we begin to enjoy the delicious menu. Teacups are filled English tea. The menu includes: Currant scones with fresh Devonshire cream and lemon curd; cucumber dill, champagne egg salad and tarragon chicken salad sandwiches (no crusts).

Next, for dessert, come lavender shortbread cookies and chocolate praline tarts. Rhys regals us with her stories of being an author. With a longstanding career as a an author, we learn about her inspiration for her settings and character development.

The Presentation

As a parting gift, our guests receive a package of French macarons from Bonbon Macarons. These macarons rival anything I’ve tasted in Paris.

The Charity

With nearly 40 people in attendance, we raise significant contributions for a non-profit organization that works through one of our local high schools.  Family to Family Foundation provides scholarships to students in rural El Salvador.

Living in a low socio-economic area with no funds for schooling, these children are unable to receive an education. Each year the students from Brophy College Prep travel to this village in El Salvador to meet these scholarship students.  

What an enjoyable and very informative day!  Between the delicious food, stylish hats and outfits and Rhys’s delightful personality, it is the perfect afternoon. We hope this will become an annual fundraising affair.

Thank you for joining me on my very first blog post! I hope this inspires you to subscribe and follow more adventures from Life at Bella Terra. To see the second fundraising English tea event with Rhys Bowen, please click here.

If you enjoyed this post, please feel free to share with others on Pinterest

This post shared with 617th Tablescape Thursday at Between Naps on the Porch.

For more information about Rhys Bowen and her books (I just completed the Royal Spyness series), check it out here: http://rhysbowen.com/

Photos were done by Unfading Beauty Photography http://unfadingbeautyphotography.com/SaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSave