Welcome to Villa Emilia (My Woodland Garden), a photography blog with a slant towards gardening and nature. An amateur gardener and photographer, I hope to share beautiful moments with you through pictures. Let me know if you like them! ❤

Thank you for your visit.

12.4.2015

Of this and that


A cute little pelargonium is opening its first buds. (Click to enlarge.)




There isn't much to see yet, in the garden and surroundings. First I thought these tulips are the only signs of spring...




... but then I noticed that the lupins, my faithful friends, are coming up!




I like the picture above.  -  In the following day, I noticed that there are also brave little baby lupins coming up. I decided to add one more photo (below) and to link the post to Susanna's MakroTex challenge. This week's theme is April. (The next week's theme will be "Treasure". That sounds like fun!)








Anyhow, I had decided to do also something a little bit different today. In many blogs, there are posts about the blogger's favourite cosmetic products.  Here's my top 5, the products I just couldn't do without! (NB There are no advertisements on this site and the opinions expressed are my own.)

The lavender essential oil hand cream by L'Occitane en Provence, the mascara and automatic eyeliner for sensitive eyes by Lumene (a Finnish manufacturer), the BB day wear cream by Estée Lauder, and the lavender perfumed talc by L'Erbolario:



The Italian L'Erbolario is one of my favourite cosmetic companies for at least two reasons: many of their natural and plant-based products are really good and the company adheres to the "International Humane Cosmetics Standard: Stop the tests on animal".   -   Is your favourite brand cruelty free? See http://www.gocrueltyfree.org/search?country=231.

When I was into fashion and beauty, I decided to make my Monday collage of my favourite gardening apparel... :D


Shirt: Ralph Lauren Denim&Supply. Wellies: Ilse Jacobsen. Jeans: Tommy Hilfiger.



Do join us for
Mosaic Monday
at Judith's Lavender Cottage!

Links not valid anymore, unfortunately.


42 kommenttia:

  1. Lovely bud and signs of spring.. I love the lavender scent, the talc sounds nice.. I would think comfy clothes are necessary while gardening.. Enjoy your day and have a happy week!

    VastaaPoista
    Vastaukset
    1. Thank you, Eileen! Yes, the talc has a lovely fragrance. A pair of skinny stretch jeans is the most comfortable piece of clothing there is. :)
      Have a great week ahead!

      Poista
  2. Selviä kevään merkkejä siellä, ja niin kauniit kuvat :D
    Suosikki puutarha vaatteesi ovat kyllä tyyliltään samat kuin minulla :))) Värit minulla vain vaaleammat.

    VastaaPoista
    Vastaukset
    1. Kiitos, Tuitiina!
      Oletko tehnyt vaatepostauksia? :)
      Oikein mukavaa uutta viikkoa!

      Poista
  3. Your signs of spring are great. Love your beauty projects. Have a blessed day and keep on gardening. Oh yes love the outfit for gardening. Madeline

    VastaaPoista
    Vastaukset
    1. Thank you for your lovely comment, Madeline!
      I can hardly wait to get busy in the garden...
      Have a blessed new week!

      Poista
  4. First buds of spring are always most exciting, but soon all will be green and lush around you. I use the lavender handcream of l´Occitane too and more products of l´Occitane. My gardening outfit consists of old clothes, because I have roses in my garden, many, and they have thorns.......

    VastaaPoista
    Vastaukset
    1. Thank you, Janneke!
      We always have to wait a long time before spring comes, but then it really bursts into life.
      Your roses are gorgeous, and I'm very much looking forward to seeing this summer's photos!
      Have a lovely week!

      Poista
  5. Hello Sarah,
    It's always nice to see new plants come back above ground. These are the gifts of spring!
    I have special products for my skin, because I have a tough skin. But I'm going to look at the products from L'Occitane.
    Have a nice week, we become a lot of sun this week!

    With love, Gerry

    VastaaPoista
    Vastaukset
    1. Thank you, Gerry!
      We, in contrast, can feel the rain and the north-west wind this week... but we can smell the earth, its fragrance now full of promise! :)
      Have a lovely week!

      Poista
  6. I'm always interested to read about what other women use for cosmetics. Someone once gave me a L'Occitane hand cream - rose and violet - and I loved the way it felt on my skin and smelled so wonderful.
    Your collage of garden wear is cute and oh, so appropriate! Enjoy working outside.

    VastaaPoista
    Vastaukset
    1. Thank you, Lorrie!
      Yes, the boots are really needed in these days. :)
      "Rose and violet" sounds lovely.
      You too, enjoy the new week!

      Poista
  7. Fun post! I enjoyed seeing what is making an appearance in your garden. Fun to see your "favorite" cosmetics and fashion (got a few giggles....)!! I do love lavender anything and like the Occitane products, too.

    VastaaPoista
    Vastaukset
    1. Thanks, Snap!
      It's interesting to notice that L'Occitane seems to be known by many, also in your continent...

      Poista
  8. Kevät on parasta aikaa, joka päivä ihmeitä täynnä! Sinulla lubiini työntyy maasta minä huomasin pionin kurkistelevan:) Laventelin tuoksu on miellyttvä.
    Sinulla on kunnon puutarha tamineet. Itse innostun toisinaan likaamaan hetkessä vaatteeni, kun "unohdun" kukkien kanssa puuhasteluun:)
    Sinulla on kauniit kuvat<3

    VastaaPoista
    Vastaukset
    1. Kiitos, Sirkka!
      Kevät on ihanaa aikaa... ja sen huomaa varsinkin sinun blogissasi, joka on jo nyt täynnä aivan ihastuttavia kukkia! <3

      Poista
  9. Dear Sara!
    You are welldressed in your garden!
    Lovely signs of spring in your garden!Here in my southern parts you can nearly hear the growth and the flowering.
    Best wishes,
    AnnA

    VastaaPoista
    Vastaukset
    1. Thank you very much, AnnA!
      We so envy the climate zone in Skåne, your mild winters and the species-rich flora! :)
      Have a great week!

      Poista
  10. It's exciting to see the first buds breaking the soil isn't it? Your lupins are different from mine - the leaves seem to stay green over winter and a flower spike will push its way up later on.
    A big smile when I saw the lavender hand cream. My mascara is from the health food store, a natural line without chemicals or else I couldn't wear it. Skincare is from L'Oreal, the drugstore brand from Estee Lauder I believe. As for gardening clothes..you wouldn't want to see what I wear! Old, comfy sweat pants, a tee shirt and ball cap on my head. I do have pretty gardening hats for days when I'm not doing heavy work.
    Thanks for linking to Mosaic Monday Sara.

    VastaaPoista
    Vastaukset
    1. Hello, dear Judith!
      We always have to wait a long time before spring comes... and when it starts to arrive, we almost explode from joy.
      Interesting what you wrote about lupins: here the parts above ground die back in winter. (And we don't need to worry about the weight of the snow.)
      I'd love to see photos of your gardening hats! :)

      Poista
  11. A little bit of spring popping up...love lavender anything so that hand cream would be perfect. Here's to spring sprouting more soon for you!

    VastaaPoista
    Vastaukset
    1. Thank you, Donna!
      Here's to a lovely spring full of flowers!!

      Poista
  12. Beautiful signs of spring - lovely back-lighting on the tulips! I wear much the same for gardening - flannel shirts, old jeans and gardening clogs and always wear gloves. I would love the lavender hand cream and I do wear cruelty free products. xo Karen

    VastaaPoista
    Vastaukset
    1. Thank you, Karen!
      I planted those tulips last autumn and didn't know the young leaves would be so colourful. They are rather pretty.
      It's lovely that you use cruelty free products! ♥

      Poista
  13. Sieltä ne maasta nousevat ja ilahduttavat jo pelkillä aluillaan

    VastaaPoista
  14. Niinpä niin, tänä huhtikuuna näyttää kasvukausi olevan aluillaan.

    T. Täysin arkista

    VastaaPoista
  15. Kaunista ja ihanat saapikkaat!

    VastaaPoista
  16. I love to photograph new growth popping open...it's so fresh and perfect in color and form! Your photos and mosaics are just beautiful! I'm visiting from Mosaic Monday :)

    VastaaPoista
    Vastaukset
    1. Thank you, Debby!
      There are gorgeous photos of plants and landscapes on your blog. :)
      Have a blessed day!

      Poista
  17. Kunis kokonaisuus. Laventeli käsivoiteesta pidän sen hyvän tuoksun takia.

    VastaaPoista
    Vastaukset
    1. Kiitos, Päikkä!
      Laventeli tuoksuu tosiaan ihanalta.
      Kaunista huhtikuuta sinne omenatarhaan!

      Poista
  18. Beautiful photos and such lovely spring images - the sun shining through the tulip leaves is just stunning. Thank you so much for stopping by my blog earlier - I must apologize for being so late in replying. Enjoy your week!

    VastaaPoista
    Vastaukset
    1. Thank you, Diana, and don't worry: It's that time of year when we all start to get busy... working our gardens or elsewhere. It's always lovely to visit your blog. Your lavender photos are wonderful, I would like to hang them all on my wall! :)

      Poista
  19. Lovely spring pictures from you! Beautiful!
    Always so much inspiration on your blog...
    Have a happy week!
    Titti

    VastaaPoista
    Vastaukset
    1. Thank you so much, Titti!
      Wishing a lovely week to you as well!

      Poista


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