Sweet Dreams With Dena Designs

Recently I had the pleasure of meeting Dena Fishbein, a hugely talented artist and designer, when I wrote about her beautiful California home.  Her house is being featured in the upcoming issue of Romantic Country Magazine, and trust me, you won't want to miss seeing it!

Along with being an amazing award winning designer, author, and TV host, Dena is simply a wonderful person!  I knew right away after speaking to both Dena and her husband Danny, that everything they create is done with passion.  Whether they are scouring the flea markets in Paris together, or working on Dena's next design venture, the two of them are enjoying every minute of it.

One of Dena's latest projects is a line of beautiful bedding that will be available through Bed, Bath and Beyond stores this fall.  Thanks to Dena and her great team, I was lucky enough to get a sneak peek at these wonderful collections and even had the opportunity to photograph them to share with all of you! 

True to her fun and whimsical romantic style, Dena has created three wonderful collections that will make any bed envious!  The first collection is known as the Wish Collection!

 

It is a gorgeous grouping of pillows done in a soft green and paired with crisp white details, all of which coordinate perfectly with the lovely floral quilt from the same Wish line.  

The quality of all three of Dena's collections is really amazing and the attention to detail is unsurpassed.  Each of the pillows in the Wish Collection is a unique play on the green and white color scheme, and I love how they compliment the quilt without everything being too matchy!

Wouldn't you love to dress up a bed with this very sweet collection, I know I would!

And I just love all of the feminine touches Dena has infused into each of her collections!  Just look at those darling ruffles and the appliques on the two pillows pictured above.  

Dena's next fabulous collection is the Cloud Collection.  This dreamy bedding is soft, simple, and oh so pretty!

It boasts shams, a quilt, and bolster pillows each adorned with delicate ruffles.

The Cloud Collection, along with all three of Dena's latest lines of bedding, is really perfect for someone of any age.  I can see this beautiful ruffled bedding on a toddler's bed, providing glamour to a teen's room, or adding sophistication and romance to any bedroom!

Just look at how pretty it looks with the turquoise walls in my own bedroom!!

The crisp white color, flirty ruffles, and covered button details on the bolster make me want to re-do my daughter's room in all white and buy this gorgeous bedding to be the icing on the cake!

Just in case you weren't having quite enough trouble deciding between the last two collections, take a look at the Moroccan Garden Collection!  This colorful bedding collection has something for everyone with it's bold colors and fun floral designs!

The moment I opened the boxes for the Moroccan Garden Collection I was in love!  Dena has paired stripes and florals to create a beautiful one of a kind collection that is colorful, fun, and just makes you want to smile!

The quilt has the perfect mix of vintage charm and lively rich color to make it my own personal favorite among her new collections, though I have to say that choosing just one collection to love is not an easy task!

And the details are what really set all of Dena's bedding apart from your average run of the mill bedding I see so much of these days.  Instead of boring, the Moroccan Garden collection is bold, beautiful and with its many colors, it would be at home in almost any bedroom!

Just look at the detail on this embroidered pillow...and you could easily use this with The Cloud Collection too.  I love the versatility of all of Dena's bedding and how you can mix and match among the three collections!

I also love this pillow that combines striped fabric, ribbon, and beautiful crewel work!

The Moroccan Garden collection will definitely be on my wish list when it comes out in just a few months...and I'm thinking that with three bedrooms and a son leaving for college this fall I might just have to buy all three of Dena's collections! ;-)

I would like to thank Dena, Alex, and Allison for helping me get this beautiful bedding so that I could share it with you.  And to the wonderful girls from The Vintage Source for letting me borrow one of their great quilt racks to use to display the Wish and Cloud Collections in some of the photographs.

And be sure to pick up a copy of Romantic Country Magazine this September to see Dena's gorgeous home!

Road Trip

Last weekend I snuck away for a few hours and got a chance to hang out with my dear friend and fellow blogger Connie from Hartwood Roses.  I have been dying to get over and see Connie's beautiful historic home in person, and to buy some of her wonderful roses to add to my new fence...so off I went!

Connie lives a few hours from me over the river in Virginia, not far from where I spent my freshman year of college before transferring to play tennis at a school in Maryland.  When you come down the country road leading to her home, you know that this is a land of genteel living.  Just look at her driveway and those grand old growth trees!!

And when I pulled up this is what greeted me...a gorgeous 1800's home that has been lovingly restored by Connie and her wonderful husband Steve!

The beautiful trim work and antique brickwork had me at hello!  And as if restoring an old home wasn't enough, Connie and Steve also run an heirloom rose business on the property known as Hartwood Roses.

Now I complain regularly about trying to keep up with the various flower beds I have around my house, but after seeing everything Connie has to take care of, I won't be complaining again anytime soon!!  This summer has been brutal in our region, with very little rain and extremely high temperatures, so even with all of her loving care, some of the roses weren't blooming.

But because Connie has over 800 varieties of roses from tea roses, to hybrid teas, to climbers and miniatures...you name it this girl has it, there was color to be found almost everywhere in her breathtaking yard!

And everything from the rose beds to the fencing was picture perfect!  I love this unique old cement fence, that runs down the property line on one side of the house!

Now unlike me, Connie can rattle off the names of hundreds of roses!  And these little beauties have the greatest names, if you click on the picture you can read some of them, which are sure to bring a smile to your face.

These are just some of the potted roses that Connie has for sale each weekend and that she ships all over the country to other avid rose enthusiasts like herself!

Connie patiently propagates these sweet smelling roses on her property and then shares her love of roses with anyone who is interested...including me!  I picked up two climbing roses, including a fragrant New Dawn, while I was there, and I can't wait to watch them flourish along my fence line the way Connie's do on hers.

She has so many wonderful varieties growing all up and down her fences, some of them extending 16 feet from where they are planted!  I plan to visit next spring when I imagine it must feel, and smell, like you are in a French perfume factory or flower market!

And not only is her house beautiful, both inside and out, but Connie also has the most awesome outbuildings!  

I want a red barn like hers!!!  She hopes one day to use the barn for a few Alpacas...sure Connie you don't have anything better to do...buy yourself some Alpacas girl! ;-)

Her rose gardens just go on and on!  Even in the heat of the day I didn't mind wandering around and seeing every last rose bed!

And if you weren't quite jealous enough already, take a look at the property which borders hers...yup, that's a winery!  So not only is Connie's property to die for, but she gets to be neighbors with the Hartwood Winery!  Connie says they are the best neighbors ever and she raved about their wines!  How cool is that to be able to wander across your rose garden to the winery next door to pick up a bottle for a dinner party?!

And speaking of dinner parties, she has the perfect spot to host those too!!  This wonderful gazebo overlooks the barn, the rose gardens, and the winery!

And the gazebo is shaded by this huge Pecan tree that must be hundreds of years old!

There is also a lovely fenced in back yard for her two VERY sweet greyhounds and three kitty cats to roam around in!  Connie does tons of great work with Greyhound rescue and cancer research within the breed through an organization called Greyhounds Rock!  Ok, are you like me and wondering if she ever sleeps?!

She is also a very thoughtful person and gave me this book she found at her local Goodwill.  I've already perused it and plan to use some of the wonderful decorating ideas I found inside it!

After  touring around her home (sorry I didn't have my bounce flash or tripod so you'll have to visit Connie's great blog to see inside pics of her home!) we headed out to a lovely old tavern for lunch and then on to The Big Flea show at the Expo Center in Fredericksburg, Virginia!

We were both good girls and didn't come home with too much stuff!  I bought some Howard Restor-A-Finish for my dining room table, and then a C and a W to add to my old printers' type collection.  And Connie picked up a beautiful old rose painting!

I needed these two letters so that we all have our family initials represented, and Connie was so kind as to get her fingers all dirty along with me trying to find a C.  Who knew that C's were so scarce in the printers' type world?!

After a wonderful day filled with fun and friendship, Connie and I hugged and said our goodbyes and I headed back home, across the river!

It really is a lovely drive between her house and mine, filled with spectacular scenery and lots of open spaces!  I decided to try my hand at snapping pictures with one hand out the passenger side window!

I'm pretty darn sure there is a whole chapter on the dangers of doing this in driver's ed...so please kids...don't try this at home!

I just couldn't resist when I passed one of my very favorite spots in the whole world known as Allen's Fresh.  And aside from feeling like the world is tipping over, they really turned out pretty good, all things considered.  I didn't ever take my eyes off the road and just held the camera up and hoped for the best!

So there you have it, my fantabuloso, fun, flower filled day over the river and through the woods!  Connie and I have already begun scheming our next get together, flea market, food, and lots of chatting are in the works!

Thanks to everyone for your thoughts and prayers for Ms. M, she continues to improve with each passing day!

Out For A Sunday Drive

Saturday, I took a few hours for myself and drove 2 hours to visit with my great bloggy friend Connie from Hartwood Roses.  Connie is just the best, and we have so much in common so anytime we're together it's always a fun day!  I'll be posting about our adventures and about her gorgeous house in an upcoming post!

Mr. Tide returned from Saudi Arabia on Thursday, and after the crazy few weeks I've had, I was in need of some "me" time so off I went to Virginia to see Connie!  But when I got home yesterday evening, Mr. Tide said they were having a beach party at a small town nearby and did I want to go have dinner there.  Our son was also working the event, so I said sure why not!

By the time we arrived in Leonardtown for the beach party the sun was low in the sky, but everyone was still having a great time and there was plenty of good food, fun, and music to be had.  I'll be posting pictures of the the party in a post this week!

As we made our way past the fire trucks, vendors, and other amusements, I spied something shiny!

Actually it was several shiny things in the form of beautiful vintage cars!!!  Now you may not know this about me, but I'm a car lovin' girl!

I always have been, there is just something so stylish and sophisticated about a shiny car!  And the vintage ones have always held a special place in my heart.

I think it may have to do with the fact that like a great pair of shoes or a fashionable handbag, cars are also a reflection of the fashions and design trends of each era.

The futuristic dashboards of by gone eras, the colors that represent the whims of each decade, even the new fangled fabrics which were introduced through the auto industry spoke to Americans and the dream life they wanted to experience each time they slid behind the wheel!

Although I've never been someone who is defined by what I drive, I do feel like what we drive is a reflection of who we are and can speak volumes about our sense of style.

Just as we do with our own homes, cars are often picked because of their practicality or to fill a need, like station wagons and minivans!

But sometimes we are drawn to the nostalgia of it all, like our first car, the one we drove cross country in, or maybe it was even a model owned by our parents or the one driven by a past love.

And sometimes it's just the color that catches our fancy and makes us swoon, like baby blue, candy apple red, or jet black!

Like that special black cocktail dress, or those perfect pearl earrings, cars can also become a favorite old friend that we go to over and over because we know we can rely on its simplicity and classic beauty.

Often times, people think that it's the men who have a love for everything car related, but I'll admit to dating a few guys not "just" for their cars...umm that would be shallow right?!...but hey it never hurt when a date picked you up in a really nice car right?!  But there are lots of women who love the power and agility of a well designed car.

My love of cars is not really shared by Mr. Tide.  Don't get me wrong, he can appreciate a nice car, but he'll take a fast airplane over a fabulous car any day of the week!

My son Bugs has inherited my love of cars, and I think my daughter also has a good appreciation for a really nice automobile, but it's Bugs who babies his car and polishes it often!

I was like that once upon a time, weekly washings, a waxed finish so shiny you could check your hair by looking down on the hood.  But then minivans, spilled juice boxes, happy meal toys, and sports equipment happened.  And a shiny well kept car didn't seem so very important anymore.

And although I would never trade a snazzy car for my wonderful husband and children...

I can still get a little weak in the knees, want to caress the leather seats, feel the wind in my hair as I accelerate, and drool just a little over layers of lacquered paint.  It's like seeing a huge flawless diamond, or a pair of designer heels, the sheer indulgence combined with power is something that will make this car girl's heart skip a beat!

Thank you everyone for your wonderful support and comments over the last few weeks!  I'm sorry that I'm so behind in responding or even visiting other blogs!  Every spare moment lately has been taken up with getting our son ready to leave for college, visiting Ms. M, and finishing up stories which are due this week!  I WILL get back into a routine, but for now I'm treading water, so thank you for understanding and for giving me a life ring to help me get through this busy time in my life!  xoxo