Mystery Picture

I love this picture. I just can't remember where we took it. It is obviously in a mall somewhere, but where? Perhaps in Hawaii? It looks like the most beautiful metal art in the world. I wish I had this in my house.

This is not a mystery. I took this picture from the front porch of our house in Kailua. We had the nicest, most inviting entry courtyard. Off to the right from here there was a little side plant-lined courtyard, and that was the entry to my piano studio. (I had the best commute in the whole world, that's for sure.) To the left, behind the wooden wall, was another courtyard, which was the view from our living room. My husband planted the garden in there with gorgeous, colorful Hawaiian vegetation. It was so spa-inspiring. There was even another small, plant-filled courtyard beyond the sliding glass doors in my piano studio.

Now imagine if instead of the wooden gate in this picture there had been one made from the green metal in the top picture. How spectacular that would have been!

Why we never had a Bethel Valley Girl retreat there during our nine years living in Hawaii is completely beyond me. How ridiculous of us! Our spa days would have been epic and would have been finished off with time spent in our pool:

I'm fantasizing about outdoor massages. Oh, and here's something we had fun doing for visitors. We would have them swim in the pool at night, with the pool lights on and tiki torches lining the backyard. Our guests would swim up to the edge of the pool and we would serve them Mai Tais, complete with fresh pineapple spears and little drink umbrellas while they were waiting for the fresh fish to be done on the barbecue. This would definitely have been a BVG treat for a BVG retreat.

Oh, if only we could go back in time!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!