dimanche matin....

{old prune trays hanging outside our friend's barn}

Yesterday was a beautiful day here in SW France, not too hot and clear blue sky or as the French say le ciel bleu.

We managed to squeeze in a quick visit to our friends house and whilst we were there I snapped some shots.

Our friends are local farmers who farm plums and chickens and it is a fabulous place to visit as there is always something new to see.

I will even let you into a wee secret, a famous English chef spent some time at the property and as a result photos of our friend's property appeared in one of his french cook books.

We saw these fabulous creatures as we drove up the drive.....

Once we arrived at the top of the drive we saw racks and racks of plums everywhere. The Prune season is underway in SW France and I love the smell of them drying in the big ovens.

Love how everything here is done the old fashioned way - all by hand and naturally.

The farm is such a restful place with row upon row of beautiful trees........

A shot of our friends with Mr FF who is very camera shy at the best of times....

And one avec moi..love the flowers that appear to have sprung from Mr. A's tete..

A truly fabulous time, just wish that we could have stayed longer..

A la prochaine,

L x

vendredi fleurs...

I love flowers displayed in old wooden crates and currently have some lavender displayed in a wine box, which I am especially loving as the lavender is the "no water" variety, hence no maintenance is required.

It has been a hot day here in SW France 36 degrees and tomorrow a storm is forecast, which should cool things down a bit.

Wishing you all a fabulous Friday and hope that it is filled with flowers....

***********

Je vous souhaite à tous un fabuleux vendredi et espérons qu'il est plein de fleurs.....

L x

Summer love....

{melons at our local market}

There is nothing nicer than fresh melons, and they look a lot nicer in a basket at the local market than in a box at the supermarche...

A demain mes amis,

L x

Today.......

{image from here}

.......I want to do this, especially in this dress and shoes......I feel like I need another weekend to recover from the weekend.....what about you?

Signed a très fatigué moi x

Vendredi fleurs.....

{image from here}

I cannot believe that it is vendredi already, where did the week go?

It has been a busy week; shop and guest wise and I am looking forward to a more chilled out week next week.

How was your week? Did it pass quickly and is August just as busy for you?

Dit moi.....

L x

Searching for.......

{image from here}

Hope that you are all having a fabulous week. Mine has been a busy one and is set to get busier, if that is possible.

I recently bought a fabulous French cabinet which I am planning on using in one of the bedrooms of the apartment and it has the same wallpaper on the inside that I have used in one of the apartments.

The plan is to add a couple of additional shelves an then use it to display old perfume bottles, hence the image above is most inspirational for me today.

Just need to find some now, a demain....

L x

It's not your onions!

This French expression makes me smile. The saying is "C'est pas tes oignons !"

It means it's none of your business.

If you translate it literally it reads "it's not your onions".......

And to me France and onions go hand in hand, although it has been a while since I have seen a French man wearing a beret with a string of onions around his neck......maybe these are no longer in fashion in this part of France......or is that I just do not notice them anymore!

Je vous souhaite une semaine fabuleuse,

L x

Sunday treasure...

Look what I found this morning.....

A demain,

L x

bon week-end a tous

{our neighbours beautiful flowering baskets}

It is Friday, and I am looking forward to the weekend. I have a facial booked for the afternoon which will provide a chilled out start to the weekend.

We may even manage to get some shopping in on Saturday and a vide grenier on Sunday.

Sunday we have the oyster and white wine festival taking place on the village square, so fingers crossed that the fine weather continues.

What are you doing this weekend?/Que faites-vous ce week-end?

L x

*****

p.s. The petit coterie order arrived yesterday and 1/2 of the order has already disappeared at lightening speed!

I had to smile......

I think that I have mentioned Bernard before, he is the lovely man that I bought my first mannequin from and has a lovely Brocante across the road from Maison No. 20. This is rather dangerous to say the least and you can imagine the two of us bargaining......

Both him and his lovely partner; Nicole are tres gentil with Nicole being an expert in the restoration of antique French furniture.

Last night I texted Mr FF and said how about a picnic or as the French say pique nique after work.

He agreed that it was a good idea so we dropped in at the local supermarket and bought some cheese, pate, fruit and two huge pieces of flan and off we set for a nearby lake when we spend many a night during the warmer months of the year.

The lake is heavenly with not a person to be seen which considering that the season is in swing and there are tourists in places where you would not expect them, it was a luxury.

Where is this story going you may ask? Well after a fabulous pique nique we arrived back at the house just as Bernard and Nicole were locking up. Mr FF offered them a bottle of wine which we had only drank half off - meaning have it with dinner. Bernard said no grab some glasses and we would all have a glass in a showroom.

So there we are, the four of us, drinking a fabulous bottle of St Emilion red on gorgeous antique chairs surrounded by beautiful French objects.
I think that this is the time when I should let you know into a secret - Bernard has a thing about English objects even though he is a French antiques dealer.

He mentioned that he had something fabulous to show me, immediately beautiful chandeliers and candelabras came to mind along with visions of an armoired full of antique linen - all with monogrammes!

To my surprise, he brings out to ENGLISH coronation mugs and asks me what I think of them. I had to smile as I saw one in some photos of Rachel Ashwells home a few months ago and thought that I may like one and Mr FF mentioned to me that his mum had one so to ask her about it the next time we spoke. I never though any more about the mug......

So if anyone is looking for an ENGLISH coronation mug, I know a very nice FRENCH man that is selling one....

A demain,

A bemused L

Look who I found....

{my latest purchase - alias the divine Miss M}

Yesterday morning, we woke early bound for a vide grenier in the nearby village of Lauzun.

My first purchase was a very heavy jardinere, which Madam very kindly packed in a box before putting in a bin liner as it was a little heavy to put in my straw panier. The only problem was that it was heavy and I could not move as quickly as I would have liked as the aim is to spot as many treasures as possible, before they are snapped up by the ever hungry dealers who are all doing the same thing!

So with jardinere under one arm and basket on the other, I walked as quickly as possible towards the treasure that I had spotted, in the distance.

On the way I managed to purchase a couple of cartons of blue and white china, which I decided was best to leave and collect later.

A few minutes later, appears Mr FF, who cannot believe the fact that in the space of a few minutes I have managed to accumulate so many items, none of which are very light.

We decide that I should stay with my purchases whilst he moved the car as near as possible.

After what seemed a lifetime of waiting, Mr FF appeared and we carried all the purchases back to the car including the very divine Miss M, which to the delight of the locals I popped under my arm as if it is perfectly normal to be carrying a mannequin through what is now, a very crowded vide grenier .

All treasures were carefully loaded in the back of the car before securing the divine Miss M in the back seat.

I am pleased to advise that this morning, the divine Miss M and my other mannequin, whio is currently nameless, appear to have bonded well.

Love the stencilled "STOCKMAN" letters on her "front" ...............

and also the fact that she has the words "Paris & London" on her lower half as I lived in London for a few years and adored every minute that I spent there.

I had better fly as my French teacher is due and I still have my homework to do.....

A tres bientot mes amis,

L x

PS I love you......

{image from here}

I must admit it has been a while, since I have last participated in Pink Saturday and I am hoping to participate on a more regular basis.

***

What could be more appropriate than some lovely delicious not to mention very pink macarons?

***

Wishing you all a very Happy Pink Saturday and a very relaxing weekend.


L x



p.s. Mille mercis to Beverly for her her continuous hard work and to all my fellow particiapants for their gorgeous PS entries week in, week out.

One day/un jour.......

{image from here}

.........we will have a house by the sea. Cannot wait for that day to come!/Un jour on aura une maison à côté de la mer. Je ne peux pas attendre ce jour-là à venir!

Reves douces a tous,

L x

I want....

....this door! It is gorgeous and I also love the colour of the doors to the left of it.

Definitely meets the criteria.......

..........fabulous and very French!

A demain,

L x

Weekend finds......

Yesterday we managed to squeeze in a brocante and returned with the following treasures/tresors.......

The first find was this fabulous altar cross which is over 80 years old, it was bought from a brocanteur who is also a close friend of Mr FF's.

The next find was an antique rosary which I am in the process of removing rust from the chain, so any tips would be appreciated. I have tried baking soda, white vinegar and am now about to try some coke.

Another treasure is this fabulous applique, which I think, looks equally as good with candles but as you know I have a thing about candles and have them all over the house.

I love the ivy detail and the bow is tres belle.....

Another find was this gorgeous pillow case complete with fabulous monogramme.....

There is something about monogrammes that I adore and to think that I never have seen one before I came to France....we have antique monogrammed sheets on our bed and Mr FF moans if I put normal ones on in their place!

All these treasures are bound for the fabulously french online shop, I will try and update before the end of the day.

Had better get back to work as I have quite a bit to do before Mr FF returns home from work and I have yet to decide what to cook for his dinner - who said life in France is easy?

A tres bientot,

L x