Hello! I want to thank all of you who sent emails wondering where the heck I have been! Hopefully this post will explain my bloggy absence...
We took the family plus one (Leila's best friend joined us) to NYC to visit Charlie. We spent several chilly hours ice skating at Rockefeller Center and Central Park.
We ate, shopped and walked the days away. It was wonderful.
We arrived back home New Year's Day. Since then, I've been spending a lot of time at this wonderful place.
Let me explain... I joined the Ventura Master Gardner Program and am throroughly enjoying it.
The Master Gardeners are community service volunteers who love to garden. To become certified, I receive over 80 hours of horitcultural training from U.C. Cooperative Extension and other experts. In return, I am required to volunteer 50+ hours to the community. The Hansen Argricultural Research Center is one of the approved volunteer sites. I hope to do most of my volunteer hours here.
They have an impressive greenhouse...
and a charming potting shed, where they propogate hundreds of plants.
Yesterday, we learned about pruning fruit trees. Only you passionate gardeners will understand how much I enjoyed learning about the correct way to shape a tree!
We've been experiencing unusually warm weather here in California, and our trees are blooming!
Steve and I are also working on several exciting design projects that I will be sharing with you this year...
We've been involved with this very special project for a while now. It's a French Normandy style home on the beach here in Central California.
This is the street elevation...
Large windows on the ocean side of the house allows for maximum views of the water.
The house is situated around an interior courtyard. This space includes a fireplace and a barbeque.
The house has a very open floor plan. The main living room is a lovely, tall space that connects to the courtyard as well as the beach.
Here is what the house looks like right now...
Steve took this picture from the second floor, looking across the courtyard. The turret is one of my favorite features.
Many of the rooms have gorgeous wood ceilings, like this second floor game room. The small door to the left enters the tower.
I will share more images in the next couple of weeks, once the drywall is finished!
Meanwhile, back at Patina Farm...
The ducks have discovered our small pond!
I think it may be time to get a floating duck house!
We're also getting ready for the mini donkeys. Steve designed the most amazing mini barn, but when the bid to build it came to $50,000 (that's a lot of hay!) we had to rethink the situation.
So we bought one of these...
stained it and added a vintage cupola... I think the donkeys will be very happy here :)
Other than trying to potty train our new puppy, Sophie, I think I've shared most of what I've been up to!
Your friendship and support mean a lot to me! I do want to thank you for being patient with me. I promise to share more design inspiration here on Velvet and Linen this year. In between posts, I will be posting images on Instagram (follow VelvetandLinen) .
I hope that 2014 is off to a wonderful start for you all!
xo
Brooke
