Cherry Blossom Festival

As we continue to pray for the people of Japan, this Saturday

marks the beginning of the Cherry Blossom Festival in Washington, DC.

If you have ever been lucky enough to be there during

peak blossom time, it is enchanting.

History of the Cherry Blossom Trees and Festival
Each year, the National Cherry Blossom Festival commemorates the 1912 gift of 3,000 cherry trees from Mayor Yukio Ozaki of Tokyo to the city of Washington, DC. The gift and annual celebration honor the lasting friendship between the United States and Japan and the continued close relationship between the two countries.
In a simple ceremony on March 27, 1912, First Lady Helen Herron Taft and Viscountess Chinda, wife of the Japanese ambassador, planted the first two trees from Japan on the north bank of the Tidal Basin in West Potomac Park. Between the governments of the two countries, the financial backing of Dr. Jokichi Takamine, a world-famous chemist and the founder of what today is the global pharmaceutical company Daiichi Sankyo, Dr. David Fairchild of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Eliza Scidmore, first female board member of the National Geographic Society, and First Lady Helen Herron Taft, the trees arrived in Washington.
A first batch of 2,000 trees arrived diseased in 1910, but did not deter the parties. Just two years later in 1912, new trees arrived and were planted. These are the trees that now turn the Tidal Basin into a cloud of pink each spring for all to enjoy.
In 1915, the United States Government reciprocated with a gift of flowering dogwood trees to the people of Japan. A group of American school children reenacted the initial planting in 1927 and the first “festival” was held in 1935, sponsored by civic groups in the nation’s capital.
First Lady Lady Bird Johnson accepted 3,800 more trees in 1965. In 1981, the cycle of giving came full circle. Japanese horticulturists were given cuttings from the trees to replace some cherry trees in Japan which had been destroyed in a flood.
The Festival was expanded to two weeks in 1994 to accommodate a diverse activity schedule during the blooming period. Today, more than a million people visit Washington, DC each year to admire the blossoming cherry trees and attend events that herald the beginning of spring in the nation’s capital.
The above information was taken from
http://www.nationalcherryblossomfestival.org/


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Williams Sonoma Home

While up visiting Miss B recently,

we went to the Williams Sonoma Home store.

They had so many nice vignettes setup in the store.

Tons of blue and white!

Love the blue and white. It makes me want to

re-do my living room book cases back to blue and white again.

Most of the store still seemed styled for summer time.

Here's Miss B posing in front of the lamp selection.

Sunflowers with blue & white - yummy!

I took this photo b/c I liked the lighting inside the bookcases.

A nice color combo of coral, white and brown.

A wall vignette of mirrors, clocks and prints.

Just a touch of fall on the front table.

I'll be quiet while you visit more blue and white around the store.

We had a great time browsing the store and I hope you did too!

I'm joining Blue Monday & Tabletop Tuesday.

Rabbit Hash, KY

On day 2 of my visit with Miss B we were ready to venture out

beyond malls and shopping centers.

Rabbit Hash, KY was out destination.

Located about 1/2 hour from Covington, Rabbit Hash, KY

is famous for having a dog mayor.

Visit their charming website to read more here.

Off the interstate, most of the drive looks like this,

country roads winding up and down for miles.

Past fields recently harvested.

Small country churches

Rolling hills of farm after farm.

It was a beautiful day for a drive in the country. They weren't kidding when they said this was right

on the Ohio River. This is a picture from

our car maybe 30 feet from the waters edge.

When you think you are almost to nowhere,

you've made it! Now don't blink -

because you'll miss it! Here is Rabbit Hash's General Store.

An apparent favorite this day of the Harley crowd.

It was a great drive and even better chance to visit, but

this would not be a day trip worthy adventure, unless you wanted

a really cool place to visit and a really, really nice there.

I'm joining Outdoor Wednesday today.

Caspari Tour II

Today I thought we'd visit Caspari in Charlottesville, VA again. If you did not see my first post click here to visit our first part of the tour.

The first post about the store was focused mainly on table settings since I was linking to Tablescape Thursday that day.

But these photos are mostly of displays,

which are abundant throughout the store.

Faux florals in cache pots.

Love blue and white with the punch of lemon.

Caspari's outstanding stationary line of products.

I enjoyed seeing their use of vertical space.

Here with the ladder and wood shelves . . .

next to painted bench and table.

I adore this cube table with faux boxwood.

Chairs with cushions and pillows to match

Lots of tables in front of tables, I need to remember that trick!

These coral background book cases reminded me of mine :)

They had Mary Lake Thompson towels!!

Lots of their cases had glass shelving, which really

showcased the dishes nicely.

Even the window displays were tabletop designs.

Hope you enjoyed these pictures.

I'm joining Table Top Tuesday today.