Floral Park Neighborhood Home Tour and an Award!

This weekend, I have been blessed with the gift of friendships, both in blogland and in my homeland. Sweet Chandy @ What Now Tablescapes gifted me with my first award! Now this newbie is still learning a lot of blog lingo, like memes, tags, buttons, etc., but I do know enough that awards hold a place of honor, and honored I am!

Do you know that feeling when you first meet a special friend and you click right away, talking, laughing, and sharing as if you've known each other for eons? Well, I guess it happens in blogland, too. Thank you Chandy, my dear blogging friend. I wish I could reach into my computer and give you a big hug!

You know, when I started blogging, I thought it would just be a creative outlet, a personal challenge to improve my computer skills, and a chance to play with my digital camera. Never did I imagine that I would meet so many wonderful ladies and experience such camaraderie. For this I feel truly blessed and grateful.

Now it's my turn to gift this award to 10 other ladies who express the spirit of gratitude in their blogs, as well as my gratitude to them for all their words of encouragement.

1. Laurie@Bargain Hunting with Laurie
2. Margaret @ Margaret's Ramblings
3. June @ Simple True Life
4.Crystal @ The Hummingbird Cottage
5. Kammy @ Small Home in the Country
6. Christine @ Christine's Home and Travel Adventures
7. Marty @ A Stroll Through Life
8. Allison @ A Little Shabby Always Chic
9. Jan @ Rose Haven
10. Brenda @ Coffee, Tea, Books and Me

Listed are a few rules for the recipients of this award:


The Rules of Accepting and Sharing this Award
1. Put the logo on your blog or post.
2. Nominate at least 10 blogs that show an attitude of gratitude.
3. Link to your nominees within your post.
4. Comment on their blogs to let them know they've received this award.
5. Share the love and link to this post and the person who nominated you for the award.

Thanks again, Chandy!

Oh, but there's more! Like I said, God has blessed me with many new friends this weekend. On Saturday, I joined a new ladies social group for a vintage home and garden tour in the OC. It was in the Floral Park Neighborhood of Santa Ana. These vintage homes were built in the 20's and 30's. For you folks in the east coast, that's 1920's and 1930's. Remember, we here in California were not part of the original 13 colonies, so our history is not quite as rich as yours!

The styles of the homes varied from traditional, to contemporary, to Meditteranean, to Cottage. Pictures inside the homes were prohibited, so I can only share the outside.




They even had vintage cars on display. Sorry, but this shot is about how much time I spent looking at these cars. My hubby on the other hand would have liked to see more pictures of them.
The homes ranged from stately mansions to modest bungalows.




Here are some of my new friends. This is Candy on the swing. She's as sweet as her name implies, and a ton of fun too.

Candy and Jill

Mari and Dee
There was also a lovely lady named Sharon from Kentucky, but she was camera shy.


This was a spectacular garden owned by two Vietnamese physicians. We got a tour and a history lesson as well. Their pride in their homeland was lovingly expressed in their magnificent garden.


This is a small Vietnamese home that the owners had shipped from Vietnam and reassembled in their backyard.



Ancient water vessels
A small tea room
A bronze drum dating back to 200 BC.
This tiny cottage is for sale. They're entertaining offers between $625,000 and $650,000. Quite reasonably priced for southern California. Care to make an offer?


As if the homes were not enough to see, there were dozens of vendors selling their wares. What fun!

Sorry for the blurry photos. I must have had a finger print on my camera lens.









I didn't leave empty handed, of course! I'll be sharing my find with you a little later this week.




Hope you enjoyed the tour. Thanks for dropping by at the Lace and Ivy Cottage. Make sure to leave a comment and say hello. I love hearing from you!

Till next time,