Queen Mary's Garden

 I  was certainly in the pink today.

I have never been among so many glorious roses.

Queen Mary's Garden is such a beautiful place.

If I had a care today they vaporized walking among the roses.

with my best friend.

Need a Big Garden Inspiration?

 I have been stepping through one grand gate after another enjoying breathtakingly beautiful gardens. 

This one is at the Oxford University in England.

Oxford began to flourish in 1167 when the English king, Henry 11 ordered all students and scholars in France to return home.  

The dining hall and the stairway were used in the filming of Harry Potter.  It was hard to capture a good picture while on a tour with many others.   All I seemed to get were heads and sneakers.

In 1968 President Bill Clinton won a Rhodes Scholarship and with that the opportunity to study at Oxford where he studied government and played rugby.

And I,  just finished walking through the halls and grand buildings and in the garden and my mind is full, perhaps not with the wisdom of what so many others have learned in this place but full no less of appreciation for the experience.

Need a little Garden Inspiration?

 Do you need a little garden inspiration?

While taking my daughter boot shopping in South Tampa we  visited all of my favorite shops on S. Manhattan St. Three Fabulous Shops filled with wonderful furniture and decor.

First stop was the beautiful outdoor space at Relic.

Makes you just want to go outside and plant something doesn't it?

 If you don't have a green thumb then just strategically place a floral picture for a pop of color.  

 I love this happy looking metal bird.  It just may keep the cranes out of my garden!

 I love all the pots.   They can look rather attractive all grouped together when not in use.  

Isn't this grouping wonderful.  I am less likely to forget to water a pot of plants that feeds me.  Here we have plantings of herbs and flowers and vegetables all in a pot.

So when the stress of this life gets to you and you just happen to be in Tampa, step into this sweet secret garden section called SPROUT at Relic.  We will step inside the 3 fabulous shops all a garden stones throw from each other making this destination a great place to take your girlfriends.  Make sure you bring a truck.   You are going to want something I promise!

Enjoy your weekend.

Hugs

Becky

With a good pair of boots....

My daughter is going to a Kenny Chesney concert next week and what proper concert attending country music loving lady wouldn't dress for the occasion.  So off we went to Keys Country, one of the best boutiques in South Tampa known for country girl bling and boots.

 This cute gal is one of the owners.  

 Check out the wall of boots that awaited us!  

 My personal favorite were the Abby Rose Old Gringo Boots.   Obviously they were others too because they didn't have my size.   However we played in the boot pile trying on this one and then that one.

 I loved these blingy boots!    

 I also loved the brown and tan boots and my daughter the floral boots.   Now mind you, boots are an investment.  The low end starts around $250 and the ones I had on were $450 so settling was not an option for us no matter how dog gone cute the other boots were.   Feeling all good about ourselves about not being impulsive or keeping ourselves from being shot by our husbands we left empty-handed.  As we were driving home my daughter got a call from her hubby and placing me on speaker phone we agreed that with a major birthday approaching she should have the boots she wanted.   I told him that he would never regret the purchase as I had purchased the boots that she is wearing below when I had had the same major birthday. ( I won't mention how many years ago that was, ok?)

 Do cowgirl boots ever go out of style?

She makes an old pair of boots look great doesn't she?

These are the boots she chose.
So with that we would have to agree with the Keys Country slogan however adding to it just a bit... 
" I'm fairly certain that with a new pair of boots, a sweet mini dress and a string of pearls I could rule the world and look awesome at a Kenny Chesney concert!