Tuesdays With Tracy Summer In Our Home & Garden

Hello Friends, happy June!  Summer has arrived in Colorado along with Miller moths and weeds.  I just went out on our deck and one of those Miller moth buggers flew into my hair.  I’m sure if any of the neighbors were watching I gave them quite a show with my wild hair flinging dance. 

*As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. This post contains other affiliate links too for your convenience. Click here to read my full disclosure policy.

Welcome to Summer in Our Home & Garden

You might want to grab some coffee or tea and sit a spell because, well…peonies.  There is a strong possibility that I could be over sharing!

We’ve had plenty of rain and lots of visitors on the pond, even some new babies.

A Peek at Our Summer Decor

Come on in to my home.  I refreshed it for summer with seashells, lighter pillows and some peony filled vases.  In the entryway the sideboard has some shells and starfish in a rattan box that Kelly has featured often because we love them so much.

To the right of the entryway is the dining room. I am planning on having a summer tea party with our girls and grand girlies to dream together about a future trip to London & Paris. We have always dreamed and said “some day”, but the grands are at such a fun age so maybe the “some day” has more potential.  The table has some items in preparation for the tea party.

Stepping a little further in the entryway is the pew I found at a vintage market years ago. The vintage baskets underneath are storage for art supplies and magazines.  

In the living room I rotated in some blue and white pillows and currently some peonies.

It’s fun to move pillows around seasonally. Sometimes that is all that is needed to enjoy some change.

The dark blue embroidered pillows are usually in a chair in our office. We’ve had them for years and they are from Pottery Barn. Some similar ones are linked below.

On the left side of the living room is our fireplace and TV area.  I have always struggled with the awkwardness of this area.  How does one decorate a twelve foot long mantle?  Well I just treat it as a library shelf with stacks of books and an assortment of other items. For a touch of summer I added a rattan box and a photo of us with the grands at the beach.

Currently on our coffee table, surprise… peonies in a basket with books and a seashell.

On the old trunk below is a big blue and white bowl full of fishing floats from Japan.

My favorite uncle managed Wake Island, a very small island in the Pacific Ocean.  He was there in the 1960’s and said these used to float up to the beaches. They still have the Japanese letter symbols on them.

Red, White & Blue Outdoor Table

Let’s head out to the back yard where I’ve set the table for some outdoor eating.  I’m definitely looking forward to 4th of July.

We love eating on the patio with family and friends.  It’s fun to linger on warm summer evenings.

Peonies

Below is a sampling of several of the early bloomers in the garden. Top left is Rozanne Hardy Geranium. We have two of these perennials and they bloom June to October. Love me some long bloomers!  The two light pink peonies are Sarah Bernhardt and the deep pink/crimson one is Kansas. The peonies open to about six inches when in full bloom!

We’ve had a LOT of rain here in Colorado. I check the peonies daily because they can suddenly bloom overnight.  I went out one morning when the clouds gave us a window of sunshine and Wa La (not really a word but we all used it! Ha!), the Gay Paree peonies on the side yard had bloomed!

OK seriously, is our God not so beyond creative! 

Hawaii Summer Celebrations

We went to Hawaii for a week with all the kids and grands.  It was my husband, Larry’s 70th birthday and we sure enjoyed our time there. It was storming and flooding at home and the weather alerts were constantly pinging our phones as we were enjoying the Hawaiian sunshine.  Several houses in our neighborhood struggled with flooding as rivers of water ran down the streets and filled our pond to overflowing. We are so grateful to have not experienced any damage to our home. 

Below is a photo of our grands kicking up their heels on the beach. There was much laughter during the multiple attempts! 

And below is me and the birthday boy.  He is such a wonderful husband, father, and grandfather, and it’s a pleasure journeying through life with him.

“God’s love is like an ocean; you can see its beginning, but not its end.”

Rick Warren

Shop the Post

Wishing you sunshine, flowers, and love,

Tracy