my favourite French tableware

Among the goodies I picked up at the fairs yesterday were a couple more pieces of my favourite old Sarreguemines tableware.

Sarreguemines , based in the East of France, near the German border,  has been manufacturing since 1790.  Napoleon 1st was a good client, but they have produced china adapted to all social levels.  In 1838 they started producing china for Villeroy and Boch, and very many of the pieces that I find in brocantes today can be traced back to their factories.

They made colourful china, transferware and many different designs, but the line that I am drawn to again and again is this creamy coloured, slightly fluted pattern.  Accessibly priced, we use it daily.  Many of the plates and serving dishes I have found are around 100 years old but they are happy to be washed in the dishwasher.

Do you have a favourite old china, maybe a speciality to your part of the  world?

I'd love to hear about it.

a monochrome loot shoot - less is more

Few words,

few colours,

little time to write,

many pictures

much enjoyment.

 I don't know why, but today I was only attracted to neutrals at the brocantes I visited.  Came home, opened the car and couldn't believe how monochrome my purchases were.  Love it!

Ella helped me with the pictures today - thank you honey! -   Busy, busy busy here, lovely guests in the cottage, a trip to prepare in the coming week, deadlines to meet.

I'm not sure if I'll have time to list all of these items in the brocante store.  Some are already reserved!  A couple I've kept for myself :).  If you're interested in anything you see, don't hesitate to drop me a line, and I'll fill you in on the details.

Thank you for following my loot shoots,

thank you for reading my blog

I wish you all a happy and colour coded week!

autumn pleasures in my garden

Leaves are beginning to tinge orange and rouge, the wind is picking up and it's time to pick apples to store for winter.  This is the season of excess, of strained branches, of deep pinks and purples, the sweet perfume of ripe fruit on the air.

We like to store our apples in the cellar on 'clayettes', special trays designed for storing fruit.   I sometimes buy these stacking trays in brocantes, love that they are practical and beautiful.

and if you'd like to see more pictures taken in our garden pop on over to see Julie at Being Ruby, she's showing more shots from her stay here, and they are way better than mine!

Repetto - shoes for Frenchwomen

If there is a shoe that represents French women for me, it has to be the Repetto ballerine.  Forget the heels, forget the logos, you can even  forget Louboutin, Repetto wins hands down every time.  Comfortable, pretty, available in every possible colour.  They seem to suit everyone and every occasion.

First created as a real ballet shoe in 1947 by a certain Madame Rose Repetto, the company has grown in leaps and bounds.  Today they do more than just the ballerina flats, but they are legendary for their quality and their chic, and famous for their gorgeous boxes.

I have pair upon pair of ballerina flats - not all Repettos ! - some perfectly simple, and some more dressed up.  Put me on a desert island with a pair of Repettos and a pair of good riding boots and I'd survive and keep my sanity!  How about you, what's your live-in shoe?

great guests in our cottage

We have been lucky this year to have such great guests coming to stay in our cottage.  Many visitors from Australia and from the States, all totally delightful.  

Just today, I waved goodbye to Debra from 5th and State.   She stayed for a couple of days, and it was great to get to know her and show her around our part of the world.  You'll hear more about her visit later on.

In August,  Julie from Being Ruby came to stay. If you know Julie's blog, you'll be familiar with her talent as a photographer, and today she has been kind enough to write a post about her stay in the cottage and show some of  the beautiful pictures she took here.  She has such a good eye for taking a picture, I just love these shots.

I think she might share some of her pictures of our brocante hunting soon, so if you'd like to see Normandy through her lens pop on over and say hi from me.

Thank you Julie, you are the best!!

southern French hospitality

I like this picture taken in August in the South of France.  We came across this charming restaurant after having stocked up at the local market.  Lunch wasn't exactly planned, it just happened, that 's what holidays are for, after all. 

I loved the gates wide open, the natural invitation to walk in, settle down and enjoy.  The trees are lush, the gravel raked smooth.  May not be my favourite colours for the table scapes, but in this setting they worked.

Southern French hospitality, good simple food in a pretty setting, served with a smile!

Le Bois des Moutiers - the most english corner of France

On the Normandy coast, about an hour from here, there is the opportunity to acquire one of the most remarkable properties in the region, indeed in France.

Le Bois des Moutiers was deigned by Edward Lutyens, then a young architect only 29 years of age, not yet famous for such achievements as the Viceroy Palace in India. The gardens were laid out by the incomparable Gertrude Jekyll, and today is still a lesson in garden design. 

In 1897 Guillaume Mallet bought the land, that was already outstanding for it's position overlooking the sea and for the beautiful mature trees. He had met Lutyens at the Unvieral exhibition and asked him to design the house, and turned to Jekyll for the gardens.

The Mallet  family, still the owners today, filled the house with music, philosophy, literature and and painting and were proud to be a flagship to the Art and Craft movement. Virgina Woolf, Claude Monet, Proust, are just some of the famous names drawn to this exceptional property.

Today, although the property is listed historically and open to the public, the Mallet family can no longer keep up with the upkeep and maintenance.  They are hoping that a wealthy foundation, or private person, with a real understanding of the history and value of the property will fall under it's charm and step in to save this treasure.

If you have the patience, watch at least the first 30 seconds of this little video, the shot coming up the cliffs and over the house is breathtaking!