a tale of two gardens

Spring has really sprung around here!

I’m not sure if you remember,

 because this was a while ago,

but my neighbor Nancy had her garden

photographed for Country Gardens Magazine…

about four years ago.

Well, it’s finally being featured in this month’s issue! 

Yes, she’s now officially

the queen of the hill, haha!

It’s funny because originally

we thought they were going to highlight her

amazing she shed

but instead they focused their story on

the beautiful sloped hillside in her back yard.

I think the article turned out great,

and I’m sure Nancy’s garden has changed

a lot over the last four years!

Maybe we can share some 

updated photos soon!

Just about a mile down the street from me

is the home of my dear friend Marion

who has her own amazing secret garden that

just keeps evolving as time goes by.

Over the years, her magical garden has

become a little outdoor oasis...

In fact, it’s so fabulous

that it was just one of six gardens to be highlighted

on the Sherman Gardens annual tour a few weeks ago.

Marion’s love of antiques and her

eye for European style really come through

in her garden.

As we sat in her kitchen having coffee,

we had a prime view of the side yard,

its fountain and all the little feathered friends

that make her garden come alive.

Marion favors plants that attract

butterflies and pretty birds.

This is one of the two paintings of the garden

that were created by artists during the tour.

Pretty garden urns planted with succulents.

Life imitates art,

or in this case, vise versa.

Plein air painting in the secret garden.

Marion found these antique gates at

a flea market in Pasadena...

and now they mark the entrance to her

alfresco dining area.

A lovely shady spot.

A peek at the garden tour guide book.

And of course, the ever charming little Dante

enjoys every inch of the secret garden as well!

 ciao! fabiana

cement style tile stencil project

Here’s what I’ve been up to this week… a cement tile look for a lot less! I created this custom Santa Ana tile look for the entrance to my shed for under $25. All you need is a fabulous stencil and a little black paint.

When we moved to our home 20 years ago,

we were fortunate enough to have a custom garden

 shed on our property, in addition to a nice pool house.

Over the years these two little buildings have gone through lots of transformations as our kids grew

and our needs changed…

and as I’ve mentioned before,

I’ve recently cleaned out and claimed

the shed as my own domain!

A useful she shed

to hold all my extra blogging and gardening supplies.

I have so many plans for this little shed,

and I’ve been spending all my free time

out here in the garden.

The next big project will be to replace

these old doors with a new kind of fancy door 
with glass that I’ve been holding on to.

It'll be painted black with two sidelights 
for extra light inside the shed...

so with that whole vision, 

I also wanted the look of cement tile for the entry.

I found an easy, quick and inexpensive solution 

for me to get this look with just the perfect stencil.

All I needed was the right kind of patio paint and

this whole look was completed in about three hours.

I do plan on sealing it today,

but let me know what you think of this look!

 ciao! fabiana

Here are the three simple and inexpensive things

I used to create this look, and

they’re all available on Amazon!

Santa Ana Tile Design Stencil available on Amazon.

I got the MEDIUM size stencil.

Black acrylic patio paint available on Amazon.

My project used two containers of this paint.

Stencil brushes available on Amazon.

beverly hills lifestyle

How many of us watch the

Real Housewives of Beverly Hills?

I do, I do!

I’ve been watching since the beginning…

and it’s especially fun for me to see all the

amazing parties they host and attend,

and also to get a glimpse inside their fancy homes. 

With Lisa Vanderpump now the editor in chief of

Beverly Hills Lifestyle magazine, we get another little peek at the Real Housewives…

drama and other stuff!

For example, here are the photos of Dorit that caused a little controversy with the women. Dorit was doing Lisa a favor by modeling Lisa’s jewelry for a photo shoot. Well, when Dorit complained about how she looked in the pics, and then Lisa went ahead a published them anyways, with the simple solution of cropping Dorit’s head off!!

Take a look…

What do you think about the

“off with her head” ploy?

Back to the magazine…

it has some interesting content

like Lisa’s pick for holiday gifts.

Simply a pink Chanel luggage set!

💗

(photographed at Lisa's house, of course! )

And look who else graces the pages of BHL…

our Newport Beach pal Barclay Butera

with his holiday guide to fun destinations in So Cal. 

But best of all,

we get a really nice look inside Lisa’s own home,

which she calls Villa Rosa.

As Lisa's party planner, Kevin Lee always says…

fabulous!

 ciao! fabiana