a bright surprise

Don't you love it when something unexpected turns up - especially if it's pretty!

I walked in to the house yesterday afternoon to find a wonderful silhouette pattern on a wall.  The autumn afternoon sun had come down low, and bounced off something shiny outside, through a window, throwing the perfect outline of candelabra, and window frame, as clear cut as if it had been painted.

little things please little minds .... 

it certainly made me smile!

oh, and don't forget the giveaway, running until next Friday

falling in love again

I have always loved the used of stone, brick and flint stone in the traditional Normandy buildings but I haven't often seen such a beautiful example as this little château, currently up for sale.

This place must have been designed by a man in love and full of bubbling enthusiasm and admiration for the woman he adored !!  He made this château as pretty as possible with intricate designs in the brick work, a multitude of fancy  windows on the roof, carved stonework and a couple of asymmetrical towers, just for fun!

This black and white diamond design, is created using specially cut and split flint stones for the black, and local stone for the grey - the château may be 16th century, this sort of detail is still fashionable today! 

To create beautiful hand carved stonework like this over the main entrance, he would have employed the nomad craftsmen called 'les compagnons de France', who travelled around the country selling their expertise as they went.

In case I've got you dreaming, you might like to know that this pearl is up for sale for just under 800.000 euros.  It has 8 bedrooms and 10 hectares of land.  A beautiful family size château, I am totally under it's charm!  Inside there are fantastic fireplaces, wood clad walls and original window panes, I believe that  major restoration is required.

I love this monochromatic portrait,, framed by stunning stucco leaves and fruit, and more pretty patterns in the brick and stone walls.

Any takers?  I'd love to come and visit if you do buy it!

an amazing dress giveaway

When we get to a change of seasons do you open your wardrobe cupboards and sigh ... what to wear?  I find that a new dress really brightens me up.  The kind people over at Shabby Apple seem to have read our minds, and they want to spoil you, they are offering an amazing giveaway to my readers.  So let's see what you could choose from!

I love that the Shabby Apple collections are really fun and  fashionable yet easy to wear.  Their different cuts  mean that everyone can find something to suit them.

Their dresses are feminine and could be dressed up for special occasions or worn simply for those moments when you want to feel good and look fantastic without looking overdone.

They have some fun photo shoots, I'm loving this line called Oh La La , shot in Paris, or the Roamin Holiday collection shown in Rome.  I'm longing for a vespa at the moment, so I love these red vespa shots!

Shabby Apple's offer is most generous, the giveaway winner will choose a dress from any collection except for the Green Leaf.   To enter is easy,  just  pop over to their site and come back and tell me which dress you like best.

To get an extra entry share this giveaway on facebook or twitter and come back to tell me.  Bonne chance!

The giveaway is open until Friday 7 October - I'll draw a name and tell Shabby Apple which dress the winner would like to receive.  The giveaway is open to anyone, but if you live outside the States you'll have to cover postage.

Good luck and happy shopping!

this week we're eating ... wild mushrooms

It's mushroom season here and in the forest people are behaving strangely.  Walkers look secretive, as we approach on horseback they try to hide behind trees, or even pretend that the basket on their arm isn't full of beautiful wild mushrooms.    Best friends won't tell each other where they find their mushrooms, this information is best kept in the family !!

Yes ...  where to find the best mushrooms is one of France's best kept secrets.  Collecting mushrooms is a favourite Sunday afternoon activity - a slow walk after the family lunch, armed with a basket , a small knife and hopefully some knowledge of mushrooms.  It's surprisingly easy to pick the wrong sort,which could be dangerous.  Those with doubt about mushrooms found outdoors,  take them to a local chemist who is trained to identify and advise.

The good news is that if you don't know where to pick them, you can buy them fresh in the markets and grocer stores.  We love a fricasée or a poelée of girolles.  These bright yellow upright trumpet shaped mushrooms are full of flavour and, lightly fried with garlic and parsley, they are fantastic with meat.

So if you are able to get your hands on some girolles, here's the recipe for a simple fricasée:

500grams or 1 lb of girolles

30 g or1 oz of butter

a bunch of parsley 

2 cloves of garlic

Wash and dry the girolles, discard the earthy end to the stem.  Melt the butter in a frying pan and start cooking the mushrooms, chopped garlic and about half the parsley finely chopped.  Once the juice from the girolles has evaporated turn the heat up and continue cooking for about 10 minutes without letting the mushrooms become dark in colour.

Some people like to add a little cream at this stage, optional!  Serve with the remaining parley cut finely over the top.

Bon appetit!

flowery french fields

Remember Monet's pictures of poppies in wheat fields?  Those were the days before selective weed killers and maximum return on crops, but in today's farming world our birds and bees have a hard time finding pollen and food.

Farmers have kept a 'green' border to their fields for many years, but more recently  the famous French biscuit manufacturer LU, created a project encouraging farmers to lay aside a small border on their fields to be sown with  flowers.  Packets of seeds were distributed, cornflowers, sunflowers, cosmos, escholzia and many others depending on the region.

LU is a major consumer of wheat flour and this way they hope to improve their corporate image as well as the fashionable bio friendly image of their biscuit.

In the meantime, whatever the motive behind the operation, we get to enjoy flower-edged fields all over the valley, and maybe the best bit of all, nobody stops to pick the flowers, everyone has understood they are there for a reason and the best way to enjoy them is to let them grow where they stand.

as they fly the nest ...........

As you may know I have just settled one of our daughters to start her studies in Nice.  With this comes the  practical side of course: the move; the settling in; decorating the flat; - and I loved that she let me share the fun in all of that, - but then there is the emotional side to it all.

The empty nest ....  what most of us dread.  It's looming shadow was one of the reasons that pushed me to start my blog " to reinvent myself !" 

With four children the empty nest doesn't happen overnight, they slip away one by one, sometimes temporarily before they return - also temporarily -  filling the house with urgency and fun then re-disappearing for longer, maybe for ever.

So what do you say as they finally flap their wings and jump overboard on their own, solo in this big wide world?  Do you offer words of advice or do you just say, "what they haven"t learned by now, it's too late to start teaching". 

Is it more difficult to watch a girl go off than a boy? not because your affection is greater of course, but because the dangers sure seem to be.

Is part of our need to still be with them, an underlying need to keep them little, or are we wistful for  our own youth and wishing to live vicariously through their new experiences?

I guess it's really a mix of all the above and more, but I wondered about  the best adieu .....

Good luck!

Be brave!

Be kind!

Be on your guard!

Eat proper food!

Wash your socks!

Dare!

Enjoy!

Spend wisely!

Come home often!

Write me!

Work hard!

Tell us all about it!

The danger here is that it sounds like a list of commands, orders:   "Atten......SHUN!"

Maybe the very best words are simply to say,

I love you, I believe in you, I trust you,
I'm here if you need me, 

you will do well 
 ♥♥

I wish you all a beautiful Sunday, with or without your family.

Be kind to each other, enjoy.

la belle côte d'azur

I couldn't leave Nice without taking a few shots of the port, the old town and the Promenade des Anglais.   La Riviera has been a popular jet setter destination for centuries, hence the Quai des Etats Unis, the Russian Church, la Promenade des Anglais.  All reminiscent of the 19th century glory of la Belle Epoque, when Edith Wharton liked to portray her heroines taking in the Riviera as part of their Grand Tour.

small is beautiful

In Nice this week to help my daughter settle into her new flat for her studies, I have rediscovered the joys of the student garett where small is beautiful and less is more.    Fitting a bedroom, kitchen, bathroom and living space into less that 500 square feet is an interesting exercise, and to help us with some ideas I indulged in a little research.

These pictures are from a tiny flat in Rome where full visual effect  has been made of the 15 foot ceiling height, and the bold use of colour and geometric design takes your breath away without leaving you time to wonder how they fit it all in.

The style maybe the opposite to the way we live in our home but I love the freshness and the bright airy atmosphere.

  I could definitely live here if I had to be in town - how about you?

all photos thanks to Cote Sud

Off to la belle Nice for a few days, a dose of sunshine 

and colour, I love this town, it is busy and vibrant,

and even it's buildings fit in with the fall colours. 

I'll keep you posted ...

twin pleasures

We've got double fun this week, as among the lovely guests to our guest cottage are two totally delicious little twin girls.

They may have travelled around the world to visit us, that has never stopped them smiling and being up for any fun going on around them.

Jet lag seems to be an unknown concept, so  .....

they have taken apples to the horses each day, 

played in their bedroom ...

(I had such fun reworking the cottage to accommodate twin beds)

discovered some of my girls' old friends ....

brought our little play house back to life ...

and finally they have given Gibson the opportunity to feel big and  responsible, 

and for that he is truly grateful!