something from nothing - decoration tutorial

The major quantities of snow we have here have caused problems - living in the bottom of a valley may be pretty, but in these icy conditions it has made it almost impossible to drive places and I STILL haven't got everything ready for Christmas H-E-L-P !!!

Today I rediscovered that necessity is the mother of invention.  I wanted to do a little more decorating before family arrives at the end of the week.   I couldn't get out to the shops to buy stuff so had to make do with what I found here.

Here without further ado is a (very) quick tutorial on some (very) easy door decorations.

First find a silver beech tree.  Cut a few of it's beautiful weeping branches and if necessary let them dry out.

If you have silver paint for this bit, it's ideal.  Being unable to get out to the shops etc etc, I made do with some white paint and some glitter.  I found it looked prettier if I used very little paint and left alot of the natural branch colour showing.  While the paint was still wet, my willing helper (thank you young man!)  scattered glitter all over the whole kitchen    the painted branches.

While all of this dried properly (and the person who shall remain nameless swept up!)  I grabbed a hammer and thumped a couple of nails into the top ledge of the door frame.  This only makes small holes and they will never be seen.  Now I simply draped the branches over the doorway, using the nails to keep everything in place.  Once the branches were set as I wanted them I attached a few tiny pearl and silver wired baubles, left overs from past years decorating!

Et voila!  Instant decoration for zero cost, and very little time.

I was so pleased with the effect that having done this door in the dining room, I went on and applied the same treatment to two doorways in the entrance hall.

Thank you so much for all the amazing comments on my pictures in the last post.
Several people used the word "magical", but the real magic for me comes from the
warmth and spontaneity of your wonderful contributions to my blog.
Merci beaucoup mes amis.

ma maison in the snow

Some of you have been kind enough to say you like my header picture of our home in the snow, and even to ask to see some more.  It's unusual to have so much snow here so I have been snapping away -  we're loving it.

The lights in our drive looks so much prettier when
they're almost covered in snow- even in the dark

gates to the potager

These two shots were taken in the garden 

of the (abandoned) house next door.

It breaks my heart that no one lives here so now and 

again I climb the garden wall and wander round

how the French like Christmas

A French family home opens its doors to show us their Christmas decorations.  Calm, elegant, soft colours, comfortable.  Love it.

Photos thanks to Journal de famille

chevaux et neige

I just love the way morning light turns fresh snow blue.  This morning the snow and the cold made the horses frisky, not ideal when it's slippery on the ground and my blacksmith was coming to shoe.  Didn't stop the jockeys next door taking out the trotters though.

a former christmas gift from Paris

As I took photos of these vintage evening gloves today I found myself wondering who they had been originally bought for.  They are probably almost 100 years old, but are unworn.  They still have a little square of tissue paper tucked inside the button opening.

The gloves are in pale cream soft kid leather, made by  Gant Perrin  in Paris.  Each wrist is closed with 3 tiny pearl  buttons.

They may have been made to measure because they are tiny, nobody I know today has hands this slim.

Do you think a young mademoiselle once received these for Christmas?
They are up for sale in my shop .

I love it when an object shoots me back through time.

please please papa noel!!

Here's a little scoop for you, and a cool idea for a stocking filler!  Well OK - a big stocking.  The French railway authorities are putting up for sale by auction   tomorrow 14 maisons garde barrières.  That is to say houses that were provided for their employees who looked after level crossings on railway lines.

We're not talking châteaux, or even country manor house.  They are all in Brittany or in the Loire (both nice parts of France), all in need of major restoration, mostly very small, mostly built in the early 1800's, mostly next to disused railway lines, and  ...... mostly starting at auction around 23.000 Euro , in fact the cheapest will start at 7.000 Euro!

So here to amuse, inspire and make you daydream is a sample of the prettiest.

ce mercredi je mange ... une tarte poire amandes

For my "ce mercredi je mange" post, (this Wednesday I am eating) I thought I'd share another great recipe  that I used at the brunch - pear and almond tart.  A true winner of a dessert that I  often make - using pears in the winter and peaches in the summer.

First make up, or use a ready made, rich sweet pastry.  Roll it out and bake blind at 180C until golden.  It's definitely worth while doing this step to ensure that the pastry base of the tart is crisp as opposed to soggy.

This recipe is best baked in a 30cm / 12" loose bottom tart mould, failing this do as I do here, and use two lengths of wax paper, to line the mould, left to overhang on each side.  That way when the tart is cooled, you can use these paper 'handles' to lift it out without dropping or breaking

Here I used dry beans to bake blind, but if all else fails I sometimes 

lay a couple of forks on the wax paper.

 Peel 4 or 5 good sized, just-ripe pears, cut in half lengthwise and remove the cores.

Arrange the pear halves, cut side down, neatly around the pastry case.

 Now to make the almond mix.

Pop into your mixer (trying hard not to think about calories)

250g / 8 oz  butter

250g / 8 oz ground almonds

250g / 8 oz sugar

 When it looks like breadcrumbs, add 2 large eggs.

Beat  until well mixed then spoon the , rather stdgy looking, mixture ovr the top of the pear halves.  Don't worry if it looks a mess at this stage, it will sort itself out as if by magic in the oven!

Pop into the oven at 160 C.  While this starts baking, and as an option, you can roll out any pastry left over from the case and cut into strips.  After the tart has been baking for about 15 minutes, lift it out of the oven, and lay 4, 6 or 8 strips across the tart.  Up to you how you do this.

The tart takes about an hour to cook, you can test if it's done with a knife stuck into the middle.  If it comes out clean then your tart is ready.  Best served slightly warm, but cold is good too!

Bon appetit!

If any of you want to try this, send me a photo and I'll add your picture to 

this post and link back to you.
 .................

Now look at this beautiful pear tart that Gina sent in from her lovely blog Gina Ceramics
Thank you Gina, this looks delicious