a Question of Pleasure

Dog resting. No matter how hard and unwelcoming the surface, a dog know hows to relax.
This boy is awaiting his owner outside the Tipsy Pig in San Francisco.

we are all celebrating Summer!

Finally the hot weather has arrived, and I am in the mood to recreate some pleasure seating in the garden and enhance the moment of homecoming.
The orange set is fading and cobwebby. The walkway is boring and pitifully flower poor. This past weekend I decided to buy a bunch of pots and plants and create an array of potted plants. Funny thing about words and language. When I first came to America, I used to say pot plants and people thought I meant the type of plant you smoke. Now I carefully remember to say potted plants. Which makes me think of potted shrimp (terribly English & picnic in the garden)
Which makes me think how fun it is to create picnic spots in ones own yard.
On a blanket, a rug or with chairs. Much more civilized dont you think?

and this set above outside Anthropologie in Palo Alto, looks so inviting. I feel ready to sit with friends and have an ice-cream sundae.



this floor would be fab in the yard, to rest a patio set, spied this at a cool coffee shop, in a historic building on Ramona Street, Palo Alto.

Here are some other fun ideas to liven up the back yard living room, and next week I will reveal my "Transformation"

Think about how you can use your existing patio furniture and add some fun accessories,
to set up your perfect picnic hideaway - without leaving home.


A colorful rug can add so much to a concrete floor or hard dirt like this fun rug
from Patio Shoppers

What about an interesting table? like this one below found on Etsy and created by
Timothy Adams Designs






a cool light like this one below





some outdoor art
like these Reflect Spheres or Breeze pinwheels - same old stuff with a modern twist







and no garden spot would be complete without some plants, like these lush beauties



Enjoy!