a few of my favorite things...

Well Christmas is almost here and I wanted to share a few images of my little shop with you.

I do love Christmas...and the beach...and my garden...and all things vintage.

All of these things were the inspiration for my shop this holiday season.

Enjoy!

 

It may not look like the winter where you live but this is winter on Sanibel Island...

 

My love of the garden and the sea mesh together in my little world...

 

Pale pink mercury glass is the perfect ornament for this section of the shop.

 

 

And snowbirds are nesting here there and everywhere...

 

There are even hand painted dragonflies peeking between the petals...

 

Every cupboard is filled to the brim with one-of-a-kind gifts ready to fill your list...

 

Beautiful glass blown conch shell ornaments really say "Sanibel".

 

 

You will find sea inspired jewelry...

 

...and lots of treasures from the sea!

 

There are bottle brush trees...

 

...unique planters and gifts for the gardener in your life.

 

 

There are fragrant jar candles that smell as amazing as they look!

And vintage inspired ornaments like these skeleton keys.

 

 

The most popular gift this year is the polished seashell coin purse...

 

...only $7.50 each!

 

You can always find wonderful purses...

  

I love these green turbo shells. They look like tiny Christmas trees!

 

This just might be one of my favorite items in the shop...

 

The beadboard wall shelf.

 

So many treasures just waiting for good homes!

Thanks for taking the time to look. If you have questions about anything you see please email me...

mail@surroundingsbymelinda.com

 

You can shop online anytime at

www.surroundingsbymelinda.com

 

There will be many more pictures to come of the Christmas tour of Surroundings by Melinda on Sanibel Island.

 

 

garden courtyard...

Last week was the holiday open house in my little shop

Surroundings by Melinda.

Here are a few pictures taken in the garden courtyard of my shop.

It was a magical night...

~click on images to enlarge~
 

 

Even Peanut seemed to enjoy herself...

 

Wine was flowing

and the assorted cheeses, artisanal crackers and cinnamon spiced almonds were enjoyed by all...yum.

 

This is winter on Sanibel Island...

not too shabby!

 

I'll be posting pictures of the shop soon.

I hope you enjoyed your visit to my enchanted garden.

Everything is more beautiful by candlelight!

 

 

 

 

enjoying work...

Well I must say I am enjoying "work". Hard to call it that when it's this much fun. I think I have embraced being the garden guru.

Here are links to my first two columns...

Enjoy!

 

Click on the photo to read the article.

 

Garden inspired décor...

 

 

 

A shade garden...

 

 

I am working on the next installment now.

Can't wait to share it with you!

 

 

 

so excited...

I am really excited about my new title...Garden Guru! What a hoot. All those hours in the dirt has paid off and now I get to share my love of all things garden with you.

It is such a blessing to love what you do...I am grateful.

 

 

(click on the image to visit Garden Variety)

I sure hope you will visit this awesome new site called

Garden Variety.

Lots of inspiration to be found!

the industrial rolling shelves...

As my ever changing world continues to evolve I have to count my blessings. One blessing is my friendship with Jo Packham.

She is an amazing lady to say the least.

One of her many ventures is the proud introduction of

 

Create-ologie.

 

It is a fun and eclectic grouping of housewares available online at Create-ologie.com. Jo asked me to select a few pieces for features on my blog. What a treat and an honor.

 

The hardest part...only selecting a few!

The site is chalked full of wonderful treasures...

Here is the first of several postings...

 

the industrial rolling shelves

 

 

I adore my quirky beach house. But it is quirky.

There is no formal dining room. I have an eat-in kitchen

(which was featured in Where Women Cook...thanks Jo!)

and an open great room but no actual dining room.

So when it comes to entertaining I need to be creative.

One section of the living area gets transformed into additional seating for guests. The industrial rolling shelves from

Create-ologie really come in handy...

 

These rolling shelves become a mobile serving station!

It is remarkable just how much I can store and transport...

 

I can load the shelves with dishware, serving vessels, silverware, teacups, stemware and anything I may need for entertaining.

It wheels effortlessly from one table to the next

making serving a snap.

 

 

Plus it looks amazing! Industrial chic at its best...

 

The fact that it takes up very little floor space is an added bonus!

 

The details are amazing

and right on trend with vintage industrial goods...

 

The casters make it easy to transport loads of dishes...

 

The lines of these shelves are so simple yet they make a huge design impact. They would look as fabulous filled with old terra cotta pots in the garden as they do carrying fine crystal in a dining room!

 

This is just one of MANY uses I have found for these shelves.

I can't wait to share future posts with other terrific

Create-ologie products.

 

Now it's your turn to go and have some fun!!!

Visit Create-ologie.com and start shopping...

 

once your shopping cart is nice and full here, is a treat for you...

 

enter the coupon code "MelindaGraham" at the time of checkout

 

 and receive 10% OFF your entire order!!!

 

 

Act now because the coupon code will expire November 15th.

 

Happy Shopping Everyone!