Happy Birthday Pink Saturday

Well, if you have not already guessed by the title today is Pink Saturday's first Birthday so lets celebrate......

What is a birthday party without a cake.........french of course!

Now we need something to drink...........

Now what shall I wear, I know my pink chanel suit.........





Now I need some shoes......

Not forgetting lipstick, something dior and ...........

.......pink! Now what else do we need?

A beautiful pink gift from the fabulous Oooh la la Cadeau website, isn't it lovely and oh so fabulous!

Lastly I feel that some flowers are in order, there are so many to choose from.......

Photo: Wild poppies

I love tulips but they never seem to last long!

I think that these will do........

Photo: Wild poppies

Please join Beverly and all the other lovely participants in celebrating Pink Saturday's first Birthday at how sweet the sound.

Hope that you have a wonderful and very pink filled Saturday

Leeann x

J'aime Côté Table Homeware

I have just ordered some items for Maison No. 20 from Côté Table, one of my favourite french brands.

I love their homeware as their style is so french and it is also very good quality.

This photo is my favourite...................

I had better go as I have just finished some more painting and I am supposed to be cooking dinner......

à demain

L x

Awe-Summm award.....

Last week, the lovely Kate from everydaycalm gave me a blogging award.

As a result I have to list 7 things that make me awesome. This is by no means an easy task, but here goes.....

1.I am an optimist, no matter what happens I always look on the bright side.

2.Once I set my mind on doing something, I follow through and get it done.

3. I am honest and straightforward, sometimes too much so!

4.I adore learning about new places and new things. When I am not travelling I am collating ideas on where to go next.

5.I like helping people and never expect anything in return.

6.I like to think that I add value where ever I go, hence I have set up two businesses in France and are in the process of setting up a third with my partner.

7. I have attention to detail, and although I am a big-picture person,I like to make sure that I do not miss the smaller but often very important items.

Now I have to choose seven awesome blogs...that's a tough decision.

1. St Mary

I am so in awe of you Mary, you overcome every obstacle and I adore your blog abouting renovating the church.

2.Brabourne Farm
Leigh's blog is one of may favourites, I always go there when I am seeking inspiration

3.The house that AM built
I will be a little sad when the house is complete and I love hearing all about Anne-Marie's trails and tribulations of building a new nest for her and her family - it is such a great blog!

4.How sweet the sound
My saturdays will never be the same thanks to Beverly and Pink Saturday and with 160 fellow bloggers it is sure to be one fabulously pink party!

5.Hooked on houses
I too have been hooked on houses for a very long time and I love reading all about them, no matter where they are in the world. Fabulous and I am mad about "hooked on fridays".

6.De gode ting i livet
AK's blog is like a breath of fresh air - J'aime beaucoup!

7.Ella and baba
Cate always posts fabulous photos and I am enjoying learning about her renovation project.

That was a lot harder than what I thought it would be as there are so many awe-summm blogs and it is hard to single out a few so for those that did not get a mention - I adore you all and you make my life a better place even if my partner does not think so - I think that he thinks that you are all figments of my immagination - make believe friends!

Below are the rules and guidelines to the Awe-summm award:

* List 7 things that make you Awe-Summm and then pass the award on to 7 bloggers you love.

* Make sure to tag your recipients and let them know they have won!

* And finally link back to the blogger that tagged you.

à la prochaine

L x

Life is a balancing act....

Photo: Rodney Smith

Do you ever have one of those days where you have lots to do and everything is a priority task?

Well today is one of those days for me, I have given the skirting its second coat and should be painting some alcoves but have a french lesson in a little over an hour and had not done my homework.

I also have a tax return to prepare but need to find last year's return and I am not sure where I put it so may end up spending some hours hunting for it :-(

And this all started because I had to go and collect the most fabulous antique mirror last night and as a result spent a lot of time this morning trying to work out exactly what era it came from....when I should have been painting.

Hence the photo that I posted also has a fabulous mirror in it, note this is a little larger than the one that I bought last night.

Had better go, I have homework to do!

L x

Taupe on my mind.....

Photo: Roche Bobois

I adore taupe and are using a lot of it on our current project. It is such a great colour as it works well with so many other colours................

Photo: Roche Bobois

I adore mixing modern and old pieces, also pieces from different countries as you will soon find out......as I am mixing French and Indian furniture at Maison No. 20.

Photo: Roche Bobois

I especially love this photo, the floor tiles, the bed, candelabra, bed, chandelier..............all beautiful pieces.

Bon semaine

L x

ps I have a day painting skirting, what fun, I guess that someone has to get all the great jobs!

I am loving......

Photo: Lawrence Pasquier

........this photo, it is fabulous.

I love the chandelier, the fire place, the buste.......

c'est parfait!

Bon weekend everyone.

L x

French Friday - Strawberries

I promised Ak that I would participate in French Friday so have been trying to think of something french that I adore.........

There are so many fabulous things but one that springs to mind is french strawberries.

The area that we live in is famous for its strawberries, which are rated as some of the best in the world. We even have a Confrérie de la Fraise du Périgord, the brotherhood of the Périgord strawberry!).

They are the gariguette variety, usually the most precocious of varieties and one that is non-remontante, which means that the bushes bloom only once a year.

They are tasty and sweet and have the most amazing texture complete with delicious scent.

They are great on their own but one of my favourite recipes is french rice pudding with strawberries, it is so yummy!

Enjoy your Friday where ever you maybe in the world and if you feel like indulging in somemore french things please visit AK's fabulous blog for more french things....

L x

My favourite car....

Photo: Rodney Smith

I have always loved the 2CV. It is a car that makes me smile everytime that I see one.



Photo : Rodney Smith

Our neighbours had one in NZ and I adored it, never in my wildest dreams did I ever think that I would ever be living in 2CV land.

One of our friends has just bought a fabulous white and black one so I am hoping to take some photos this weekend, weather permitting!

A bientot

L x

I am obsessed with...

..............wallpaper, I am loving wallpaper at present.

I have used the same wallpaper that we used in bedroom one of the first apartment in the wardrobes of the 2nd apartment and it looks fab! I will show you some photos once Mr FF has laid the sisal inside them.

I had better get back to the painting......

L x

Chanel No. 5 New Commercial

Are you all enjoying the new chanel No. 5 commercial as much as I am?

I adore it as it brings back fond memories of when I lived in Istanbul some years ago....

For those of you who have not seen it, please click here to see it.

Bon semaine

L x

Pink, pink Saturday

Hilda Rues the day

I cannot believe that it is that time already, I am not sure where the week went!

This week I have some fabulous paintings to share with you.

The artist is Jenny Webb, an English painter who has lived in our village for many years.

Jenny not only paints but also offers painting classes in the village and her students are currently hard at work preparing paintings for an exhibition being held as part of the Castillonnes 750th celebrations.

Pink Satin Shoes

Pink Cyclamen


Mother's day - watercolour & glitter


For more on Jenny's fabulous work please visit Jenny's website.....

and for many more luscious pink things visit Beverly's blog for details of who's participating this week.


Happy Pink Saturday


L xx

Hooked on......french baths

Photo: The Water Monopoly

This week I thought that I would let you into a little secret.........................

I am hooked on french baths, I adore them and hunt for them every chance that I get.

As you know we have a claw foot bath in one of the rooms at Maison de Poitiers but I long to get something a little larger.

Photo: The Water Monopoly

The problem is that once I find one, I will need to find a new house to put it in :-) hence that could be the beginning of a whole new adventure, only time will tell.

I adore the room above and think that this is a good size for a bathroom!

Photo: The Water Monopoly

I like the contrasts in this photo - the colour of the floor, paneled walls and curves on the bath.

So now you know my dirty or should I say clean secret, what are YOU hooked on?

Go visit Julia at Hooked on Housesand see what others are "hooked" on!

Bon weekend

L x

ps Don't forget that it is Pink Saturday tomorrow!

Rain, rain go away

Photo: Rodney Smith

We have been lucky as the forecast was rain all week but it held off........until today, which is fortunate for our guests from Norway, who incidentally are celebrating their 10th wedding anniversary today - perfect weather for snuggling up.

As for me I am not that lucky and am about to start painting the kitchen.....

L x

Festival de Cannes

The very fabulous Brigitte Bardot

I received an email this morning re these prints being on sale and thought that you may like them as much as I do......

This is Johnny Halladay, who is much loved in France......

Jane Birking and Serge Gainsbourg - love the bag!

Coco Channel and Romy Schneider looking fabulous as per normal.......


The Beatles..........


There are many more on the brandalley website, all of which are just as fabulous.

L xx

Hunting for......

Photo: Raised in Cotton

.........a vasque or as it is called in english an urn! And it is all because Carol put this lovely picture on her fabulous blog, raised in cotton.

Fortunately I have managed to find a pair via ebay.fr and I am planning on having them in my shop when I open in September, now I just need to decide what to plant in them...........any ideas?

I love the idea of ivy trailing down but are not fixed on this idea :-)

L x

750th Anniversary........

As you know, I was born in the youngest country in the world, which is how they are promoting New Zealand at present around the world so it is a little surreal when the village that you live in is celebrating it's 750th anniversary.

Hence Castillonnes is getting ready to party this year and we have a lot of events taking place including music concerts in the square and also medieval banquets complete with costumes.

My very lovely and patient French teacher's husband (Didier) has taken a series of photographs which are going to be used as part of the 750th program.

The one that I sharing with you today is my favourite, I am sure that you will agree.

A demain et merci beaucoup Didier, c'est super!

L X

It rained and it rained....

Photo: Rodney Smith

Hope that you all have a good weekend and a lovely Mother's Day. It rained here most of the weekend so the vide greniers were a bit of a wash out :-(

That said I still managed to find some interesting pieces for the shop. I will try and photograph this week and then post a photo or two of my latest treasures. .....this week is a busy week as we have a lot of guests staying at Maison de Poitiers, our Chambres D'hotes.

Bon semaine

L x

Happy Mothers Day/Bonne Fête des Mères

Photo: Polly Wreford

Happy Mothers day to all Mothers out there, Mum if you are reading this, hope that the flowers arrived in time.

Photo: Polly Wreford

Have a fabulous day, you deserve it!

Bisous L x

Pink, pink and more pink

I am really adoring these pink Saturdays, thanks to Beverly at how sweetthesound, I cannot imagine having a Saturday now without a little pink in it...

I adore this images by Nate Walton, they are all fabulous....

This necklace is fabulous, all I need now is a dress to go with it.

I had a charm bracelet when I was small, I love this photo, c'est trés belle......

And of course last but not least, something french and very fabulous.......

A very pretty pink bracelet complete with minature Eiffel Tower.

Happy Pink Saturday, for more lovely pinks please visit Beverly's blog.

Leeann x

French Friday

Photo: Polly Wreford

This week I have been invited to participate in the french friday blog party hosted by AK, if you have not already guessed by the name, she is saluting everything that is french, every Friday.

I love everything french and I adore living in France.

One of my favourite things is Louis chairs, I adore them and believe that you simply cannot have enough of them......

just as one can never have too many shoes, be too thin or too rich :-).

Enjoy your Friday where ever you maybe in the world and if you feel like indulging in somemore french things please visit

Bon weekend

L xx

Some flowers for you....

Aren't they gorgeous? I love the colours.....

à la prochaine

L x

Shoes...............

Photo: Nat Welton

I adore this photo as my shoes always start off tidy in the wardrobe (I have lots of those hanging shoe thingys) and then they seem to take on a mind of their own and I am never able to find two when in a hurry.

Hope that you are having a good day.

L x

Tour Ma Maison - Final part

I am a little later than normal today posting my blog as I have been busy painting and also had a meeting with my "curtain lady" Maureen who is going to alter some of the curtains that I have bought for apartment 2 and she will also be making the window seat cushion for one of the bedrooms and making some cushions to go on the beds and no doubt a few other things....

Mr FF spent yesterday wallpapering the inside of the wardrobes which look fabulous but he was not that happy about it as it was quite fiddly to do! As I write this he is putting the base down for the sisal flooring in one of the bedrooms so I figure that by the end of the week I will have the furniture in :-) that said we still have a coat of base on the ceiling to go and the two coats of top so maybe not.

I have just remembered that there is a big vide grenier (french equivalent of a flea market) taking place on Friday so I am hoping to get more stock for the shop so maybe the room will not be finished until Sunday, well a girl can dream can't she!

Right back to the tour, we will start with the Chambre Verte.......

Maison de Poitiers - Chambre Verte

This room has the biggest bed in the house 180 x 200 which is large by french standards as a lot of the antique beds are 140 x 200 or even 135 x 190 cms.

The room was already green so rather than go to a lot of additional expense of changing the decor, I decided to go with the existing colours.

Chaise in the Chambre Verte

This room gets the sun in the morning so this chair is perfect for watching the birds and enjoying a nice quiet cup of tea......which incidentally is always requested by our Parisian guests as they consider it to be quite exotic much to my partner's amusement who is english hence he takes the tea thing for granted.

That is something that I loved about living in India as I lived in the Taj Mahal Hotel for a year and in the afternoon darjeeling tea was served in the lounge by a butler with white gloves in a silver teapot - how fabulously decadent!

Both this room and the Chambre Baroque have basins in the bedroom as opposed to the bathroom which has worked well as the exisiting dressing rooms were rather petite.

Vanity in the Chambre Verte

Along the hall from the Chambre Verte is the Chambre Baroque......

Maison de Poitiers Chambre Baroque

This room has the original wallpaper and I like it but my partner is not that keen on it.

I had a lot of fun furnishing Maison de Poitiers as it was my first house in France and I love it when the french say how french it is, it is a real compliment.

Sadly we are in the process of selling Maison de Poitiers as we are hoping to buy a property that will serve as a retreat during the winter months when it gets too cold in France.

We are keeping the property that we are in the process of renovating which, from the beginning of July, will operate as apartments/Chambres D'hotes complete with shop on the ground floor opening in September 2009.

Hope that you have enjoyed the tour of Maison de Poitiers.

L x