Timeless



1993

The August issues of Victoria Magazine, classic,

featured entrepreneurial women.

Shopping for Romance

was a repeated theme.

1993

In the 1993 issue, Nancy Lindemeyer said,

“When I think of the shops that have stolen a piece

of my own heart, I find they are the ones that inspire me to dream---and the ones whose owners treat customers as dear friends."

1994

The Editors of Victoria magazine have always

treated us as dear friends.

Sharing the dreams and visions of so many women

was one such way.

1994

Review with me some of the inspirations over the years

and tell me. Couldn’t they be culled from your dream

list today. Aren’t these visions timeless – quite

appealing to us today….

1995

1996

1996

1997

1997

1998

1998

1999



1999



2000

2001

This is one of the reasons I continue to be inspired

by the back issues of Victoria Magazine

and, thankfully, by the current issues.

Don't Miss out on entering the
RAMSIGN Giveaway I am hosting this month!

A Return to Loveliness

is a weekly blog party I host

sharing and celebrating bringing

Loveliness

into our lives and into our homes.

To Join

Simply, publish a post expressing

how you bring loveliness into your life and into

your home.

Copy the URL address specific to this post

and apply it to the
Linky below.

Thank you for participating

and for your visit.

I am having computer challenges

so, I have and may be delayed in

visiting, I will do my best to

see what you have shared!

Wishing you a very Delightsome day,

Creating Your Summer 

Bliss

In the 1999 and the 2000 issues of Victoria magazine

a 'Bliss Team' was created -

Tricia Foley, Leslie George, Nancy Lindemeyer, Susan Maher and Robin Reiser.

"Be Happy. It's one way of being wise"

~Collette

Planning Your Bliss

First up in the morning...

"Put aside a pretty cup

Some Irish Breakfast tea

Buy a dozen oranges

Find the juicer at the top of the closet

And something juicy to read

Start with a stretch

Add peppermint shampoo with a hint of tangerine

Then you'll need a linen robe

Comfy slippers

A favorite blanket

A place to put up your feet

The morning is yours

to take a walk

to take up needlepoint

to take on nothing at all"

These Delightsome Ladies created their

B list

White linen shadow striped robe

natural raffia slippers

Botanica tea with seven herbs

White perfect-to-hold cup

Grass-scented laundry fragrance

Classic woodframe screen door.

Encouraging beauty

The Bliss team encouraged us to find items

that would inspire us to be good to ourselves.

Freshly scented products, soft textures

and a clear, bright summer afternoon

to wile away the hours in.

The Perfect Thing

SUMMER STRAW

"Hovering just above our thoughts, hats are all about dreams."

Give the gift of Bliss

Set aside time to do those tasks

for yourself or for others that you've

been meaning to do.

Bliss Invitation

Invite your truest friends to lunch amongh

the trees

offer a lovely, simple summer lunch

and

b.y.o.b

(bring your own breeze)

Name your own Bliss

"standing in the doorway, waiting on a sudden downpour"

"forgetting the time"

"A long train ride"

"The sound of flip-flops"

"A suitcase with five things in it"

"Drying your hair in the wind"

"Writing your name in the sand"

These are some of the suggestions

sent to Victoria magazine in the 1999

issue.

How would you name your

Bliss?

Wishing you a very Delightsome day,

Enchantments of Summer

through the pages of

Victoria Magazine

Enchantments of Summer

through the pages of

Victoria Magazine

A cloud filled bright-blue sky.

The fragrance of flowers in the breeze.

Picnics under the shade of trees.

The sights and the sounds of the busy birds and bees

Games on the lawn or a leisurely nap in a swaying hammock.

These are but a few enchantments of a Summer day.

Victoria magazine shared with us some beautiful examples

of Summer enchantments over the years in the July issues.

Capturing the summer light by the sea.

American artist Frank Benson was featured in

the 1992 issue. Bensons artwork depicting his

family in their summer whites enjoying the 

surroundings at their summer home in Maine.

Listening to Summer from a porch.

In the 'Chimes' section of the 1993 issue

of Victoria magazine, Kill Waller recalls memories

of summer on the lake, reading on the porch and

going on treasure hunts.

Days lazing on the beach are recalled in the July 1994 issue with a quote by Anne Morrow Lindbergh,

"one should lie empty, open, choiceless as a beach - waiting for a gift from the sea".

From an Herb Lover's Garden

1995

A delightful setting in an herb garden 

celebrating the cuisine of herbs

upon a beautiful lace tablecloth 

Celebrating the allure of picnics.

One is transported by this romantic setting

under a canopy of leaves in the 1996 issue

of Victoria Magazine.

Antique wicker and antique lace tablecloths

set a lovely table beneath a rose filled garden

in North Carolina where a couple restored

an old Victorian Glass House for their daughter's wedding.

I was so thrilled to see this colorful picture with a 

garden statuary so very similar to one of my dear ladies

I recently painted and shared with you here.

In the 1998 issue of Victoria the Garden Artistry of

Agatha Youngblood's California garden is shared.

Summer = Pleasant, light and airy rooms. The rooms of

an echanting home in Tennessee are shared in the 1999 

issue of Victoria Magazine.

Gorgeous Senggigi baskets and food covers for 

outdoor dining are shared in the 2008 issue of Victoria Magazine.

Summer is filled with enchantments that have inspired

artists and poets over the years. Celebrating the beauty of

life is one of those Lovelies we can enjoy each day.

Thank you for your visit.

 

Wishing you a very Delightsome day,

A Return to Loveliness

Peonies

'Known in the orient as the flower of twenty days, the peony enjoys a deliciously brief moment of glory.'

'For most of spring, the flower's lush, fluffy pompoms are but a promise, until all of nature bursts into perfume and powdery pastels.'

'Then as suddenly as they arrived, the Peonies are gone again, lingering through the summer as a frilly memory.'

Tovah Martin

Victoria Magazine 1992

Tovah sang the praises of one of the most beautiful flowers that can be found in one's garden.

She said peonies were as 'ephemeral as fireflies'.('92)

'Flowers that make artists of us all' ('92)

In the 1996 issue of Victoria Magazine,

we are introduced to 

'The Garden that Celebrates a Single

Beloved Flower'

Tovah shared J. Watson Webb Jr.'s garden in Burlington, Vermont. 

Here one could find a full acre devoted to this feathery bundle of petals in every hue.

Webb's home is surrounded by these

amazing blooms and his enthusiastic garden

cascades along to Lake Champlain near his home.

Webb estimated that he had 2003

Peonies planted in his garden.

"you should see them at twilight

with petals silhouetted against the 

northern sunset", he said.

In the 2003 issue of Victoria Magazine

Tovah once again shared a family estate

with 'its labyrinth of thick walls and arched doorways beckoning into sequestered gardens". 

Linwood gardens are famed for their

tree Peonies and for hybridizers like

Nassos Daphnis who worked with owner Lee Gratwick's father to create tree Peony specimens such as 'Leda' and 'Gauguin'.

According to Gratwick, the most reliable way to propagate tree peonies is to graft

cuttings into the roots of herbaceous peonies. The cuttings will then form their own roots.

"I am sure the Rose is jealous"

Alice Morse Earle

Peonies hold a dear place in our hearts -

the anticipation of their arrival brings us into our gardens on a daily basis - the unfolding of their voluminous blooms brings

joy to our hearts.

Yes, their presence is fleeting, but their memory
will linger andbring a smile to our faces -

until the next spring.

Thank you for your visit, I hope you've enjoyed my tribute to Spring's fleeting guest, the Peony.

Wishing you a very Delightsome day,