Coffee anyone....

Today is a chilly day in SW France and I can think of nothing nicer than having a coffee here and watching the world go past.....

Always busy, with lots of people to serve......

Anyone feel like joining me?

Leeann x

vendredi gateaux...

{photo take by moi in La Rochelle, last weekend}

How was your week? For me, the semaine passed tres vite. My list of things to do grows longer by the day.

Instead of fleurs this week, I thought that we would have a sweet treat today.

When I saw these fabulous gateaux in a shop window last weekend in lovely La Rochelle, I just had to take a photo.

As someone famous once said......let them eat cake..... and eat cake I shall whilst living in this fabulous cake filled country.

Bon week-end a tous,

Leeann x

I want......

{photo from here}

..........a big cat like this one. It is the perfect pet as it never needs feeding or taking for walks!

Just a little dusting now and then......

Leeann x

p.s. the photo was taken at the Toulouse Natural History Museum, which is 1 1/2 hour drive from us, should anyone wish to see the big cat "in real".

vendredi fleurs..

{lovely windowsill, St Emilion, France - photo taken by me}

It is chilly here and our guests from New Zealand are certainly feeling the cold. My French teacher asked why New Zealanders are referred to as kiwis as she thought that we named after kiwi fruit, but I have not put her right about the lovely bird that does not fly and only comes out at night. It is called a kiwi and we are named after it!

Wishing you all a week-end fabuleux....

Leeann x

Lovely shop window.....

{Shop window, St Emilion 17 January 2011}

I simply could not resist taking a photo of this lovely window. As you can imagine the shop was full of lots of lovely items including bon bons/sweeties,

confitures/jam and many gorgeous looking gateaux/cakes. We put one of these.....

It is called a kugelhopf. Part bread, part cake, kugelhopf is made like brioche, but not as rich. It was studded with raisins and brushed with a butter and dusted with sugar.......very yummy.

a vendredi...

Leeann x

Love is in the air..

I thought that we would start the week with some "amour".

New in at Fabulously French are these vintage post cards which date back to the 1920's.


They would make great cards for Saint Valentine's day or would look fabulous displayed in groups, in an old frame.

There are many fabulous photos depicting a bygone era.................so fabulously kitsh!

I love the way that the female is always the centre of attention and the male, always gazing adoringly at her.....

Love the idea of painting on the photos, just think a winter's day in the Dordogne could become a fabulous day on a greek island....

Love the roses, so timeless....

So elegant, all is fabulous.....

They are 1 euro each + postage. Note we have quite a few in stock so it is possible to buy a series of 10 different cards, but please email as we can post at a reduced rate.

Wishing you all a fabulous week, I am still working on my list of things to do from last week which includes listing the tresors that I found in the old suitcases.

**********

Je vous souhaite à tous une semaine fabuleuse..

Leeann x

vendredi fleurs...

I adore roses and hope that you enjoy selecting a bouquet from the above photo.

Wishing you all a very happy weekend.

Leeann x

p.s. my thoughts are with those affected by the terrible rain in QLD.

Fabulous find...

{an antique valise full of lots of lovely tresors}

This valise/suitcase is one of two suitcases that I stumbled across recently, and is full of beautiful treasures which I plan to photograph and share with you. Once photographed, the very lovely and of course very French objets will be available in the fabulously french online shop for purchase.

Many items date back to the late 1800's and there are some very special tresors which I am certain that you will love almost as much as I do.

A lot of beautiful dyed antique linen (sheets, pillow cases, tablecloths and napkins) has arrived direct from Paris and will start appearing in the online shop next week. There are many fabulous colours including a very soft rose, antique grey, lovely lavender and a lovely shade of vin rouge. Lots to do so I had better fly......

......a la prochaine mes belle amies.....

Leeann x

We ate this.....

Bonjour from a chilly SW France,

I hope that you all had a fabulous weekend. This weekend we bought and ate the very yummy Gallette de Rois, that you can see in the above photo.

The Galette des Rois is an ancient tradition that refers to Epiphany which is a catholic tradition that goes back to the IV century. Every catholic church celebrates Epiphany on Jan 6. Before Christianity, this celebration was for the apparition of the Greek God Dyonisos who was attached to seasons, he died during the decline of vegetation and would resuscitate with the light. Basically, I think it’s called Twelfth Night in English referring to 12 days after Christmas.

Epiphany derives from Greek that means “event” and refers to the birth of Jesus. Epiphany refers to to acceptance by the Magi (The Three Wise Men) of Jesus being the Messiah.

Galette des Rois was starting to be popular already in the XIV century. Its round shape referred to the cult of the sun of the Saturnales, a pagan celebration. Galette des Rois is split into equal parts, you have as many parts as there are guests, with an extra slice for anyone who would drop by. Inside the galette, a “fève” (I think it’s called charm in English) is hidden, and the one who gets it, is the King and gets to wear the crown. This ritual goes back to Roman times when during a feast, one king was randomly picked by hiding a black or white coin in the food. The one finding it, would become king.

Fortunately I did not find the "feve" and think that it may have resulted in another trip to the dentist.
The one who finds the "feve" in his slice, gets celebrated king. All bakeries in France sell Galettes des Rois with a paper golden crown during this time of the year, so that the celebrated King can wear it. Then the king gets to pick his queen. Nowadays, its religious meaning has been a little lost, and everyone enjoys a good Galette despite its religion.

It is best served warm and the filling has a lovely custard-like texture and the pastry is fine.

With champagne it is indeed a fabulous treat, fortunately they are only sold at this time of the year.

Wishing you a very happy and productive week (I have a list of things to do which is growing by the day as per normal).....

Leeann x

vendredi fleurs

{photo taken by moi, florist in Bordeaux}

It's that time of the week already.....the first week of the New Year has speed past and I only hope that the year does not pass in the same fashion.

Wishing you all a fabulous Friday and a wonderful weekend....

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Je vous souhaite à tous un fabuleux vendredi et un merveilleux week-end
Leeann x

Fabulous and French.....bien sur

{fabulous photo from here}

Today it is a little grey in SW France so this image is perfect to brighten a dull day. It has many things in it that I adore.........

Louis style chaise, nest of florentine tables, old fashion print, taupe coloured head board, white linen with a spash of red and a fabulous mannequin.

Hope you are all having a fabulous week, mine has been spent taking down Christmas decorations.....

.....a la prochaine......

Leeann x

View from the window...

{view of the fabulous garden at the hotel where we had coffee, yesterday}

Yesterday a friend and I spent the day sight seeing in the Dordogne. So many things to see and do including the fabulous Chateau de Lanquais where you can have a medieval banquet or tour the Chateau with candles by night ......

Also visited Tremolat which sits high in the valley of the prehistoric man.....

We even had coffee at a very special hotel ......

where some lucky guests arrive or depart in this.....

All in all, another fabulous day in a fabulous place that am fortune enough to call "home".

Leeann x

p.s. have lots of new goodies for the Fab French shop which should start appearing later this week!